UNEMPLOYMENT IN IRELAND. “Asi in Canada, the able of jobs

in Northern Ireland is a serious one. Long lines of people are regu-
larly seen before the labor exchange in Belfast, asin the above

photo.

Greek captives: new hope

Greek Premier M, Papandreou
has announced that he will intro-
duce a bill to parole political
prisoners who have served more
than ten years and whose alleged
crimes are not regarded as ‘‘at-
rocious’’,

**This is the most hopeful news
-we’ve had in 16 years,’’ said
Betty Ambatielos, British wife
of the Greek seaman’s trade union
leader, Tony Ambatielos, held in
jail all these years on trumped-
up charges, after hearing the
news,

*T hope this means,’’ she
added, ‘*‘that Tony and I, with his
mother and the rest of the fam-
ily, will be together for Christ-
mas,”’

She pointed out that the cam-
paign to release Greek political
prisoners has the support of
public opinion all over the world.

Although full details of the bill
are not yet available, it seems
that at least half of the 1,000
political prisoners still held in
Greece would be released.

Berlin: transit agreement?

All communication routes to
and from West Berlin belong to
the territory ofthe German Dem-
ocratic Republic, said deputy
Prime Minister Willy Stoph at a
recent session of the People’s
Chamber,

Disclosing that in a one month
period alone, 70,000 people had
used the G.D.R. routes to and
from West Berlin, Herr Stoph

asked what would happen if East
Germany behaved as_ West

German authorities do, such as.

preventing many G.D.R, citizens
from travelling to Nato countries.

The West Berlin Senate should
accept the G.D.R. offer to con-
clude a normal agreement on all
transit traffic — by road, rail,
water and air—he said,

Another H-plant accident

A huge explosion involving nu-

clear materials recently rocked a |

hush-hush plant at San Antonio,
Texas, where components _ of,
nuclear weapons are assembled.
The components, said atomic
authorities in Washington, in-
cluded high explosive and radio-
_ active materials, as well as
electronic and mechanical parts.
There was no loss of life due
to this explosion at this plant
which employs about 600 people
and cost about $18 million.
There have been a number of
“accidents involving nuclear ma-
terials or nuclear bombs overthe
last few years, mainly in the
U.S, Only one, it is believed, has
resulted in loss of life, but dis-
“aster, perhaps world disaster,

has been very near more than
once,

In 1961 a jettisoned nuclear
bomb with a potential power of
24 million tons of TNT nearly
exploded in North Carolina. Of
_the six safety mechanisms, only
a single switch prevented the
bomb from detonating.

In January 1961 three men were
killed in an accident at the ato-
mic reactor testing station at
Idaho Falls. It was only admitted

-after three weeks that the nuc-

lear explosion was caused by an
employee’s mistake,

Also in 1961 was the ‘war
that nearly was’’ when a false
signal caused the U.S. Strategic
Air Command to alert its H-
bombers all over the world,

U.S. should leave Vietnam

(Excerpt from recent statement by
Communist Party of U.S.)

For the past seven years, the
U.S, government has been en-
gaged in a virtual war of anni-
hilation against the people of
South Vietnam.

This has been carried on with
American funds, American mili-
tary equipment, and the partici-
pation of American armed forces
in the guise of ‘military
advisers’’. Even the concentra-

tion camp program is an Ameri- —

can contribution, in the formof
the Staley Plan,

The failure of its policy con-
fronted the Administration with
a decision--whether to hold onand
to step up its inervention still
more, with all the dangerous

aS

consequences this would entail,
or to let go and give up its hope
of subjugating the Vietnamese
people,

Evidently, it has decided to
hold on to its policy of inerven-
tion, and this is cheered by the
untra-right in adrive for thermo-
nuclear war now. This is the
meaning of the military coup,
which the Administration has
given such a warm welcome.

More, despite denials of com-
plicity . . . ithas allthe earmarks
of a typical CIA operation,

The Vietnamese people will win
their independence. U.S,
perialism will be no more
successful that its French pre-
decessors,

im- —

RAIDING, RESOURCES SELLOUT HIT

B.C. labor demands
Canadian autonomy

‘By JERRY SHACK

The labor movement in B.C.
has demanded full Canadian auto-
nomy and freedom from interna-
tional union headquarters in the
U.S. In a series of dramatic
moves, delegates to the 8th an-
nual convention of the B.C, Fede-
ration of Labor, held in Vancou-
ver last week, resoundingly urg-
ed the Canadian Labor Congress
to press for such an objective.

The issue of autonomy was

brought on the floor of the con-
vention by a resolution sent in by
Vancouver Machinists local 1857,
In dealing with it, the resolutions
committee watered it down tothe
point where it would have been
practically meaningless,
- This action precipitateda
storm of debate from the dele-
gates, as speaker: after speaker
rose to condemn the committee
issue,

A spokesman for the machin-
ists told the convention his local
had plenty of good reasons for
submitting such aresolution. ‘‘In
our union we don’t even have the
right to elect.our own Canadian
Vice-President,’’ he charged.

Bill Black (Hospital Employ-
ees), a regional vice-president
of the CLC, denounced the com-

mittee for its attempt to detract .

from the original resolution.
**Tt?s time we told everybody con-
cerned that the Canadian labor
movement is determined to be-
come master in its own house,”’
he declared, and was answered

_by thunderous applause,

The convention then referred
the question back to committee
with instructions to return to the
floor with the original content of
the machinsts’ resolution.

Several minutes later Pen Bas-
kin, international representative
of the Steelworkers union, moved
that all outstanding resolutions
be referred to the incoming exe-

cutive for action. Delegates,
however, at once sawthrough this
ruse and Baskin was swept off
the floor of the convention by a
storm of protest.

Several hours later, the orig-
inal resolution - practically in-
tact - was overwhelmingly adopt-
ed. It calls on the CLC ‘‘topress
for full autonomy in Canadian af-
fairs for Canadian members of
international unions.”’

Prior to the autonomy issue,

stormiest debate had developed '

over the SIU-trusteeship situa-
tion and the question of raiding.
Speakers were almost unanimous
in condemning U.S. interference
on the trusteeship question while
remaining unalterably opposed to
trusteeship in principle.

In the debate on raiding, per-
haps the most telling point was
made by Jerry Le Bourdais (Oil,
Chemical and Atomic Workers)
when he charged: ‘‘TheSIU situa-
tion today represents the fruits
of the policy of raiding. It was
brought into Canada in 1948 to
raid a legitimate Canadian union
—and the labor movement played
a role in that manoeuvre.”’

Tracing the history of Hal
Banks’ importation into Canada
and the “‘mistake’’ made by
Claude Jodoin in helping Banks
obtain his citizenship papers, Le
Bourdais emphasized: ‘‘It’s not’
just a question of making a mis-
take - that mistake is being per-
petuated to this very day.’’

A markedly different approach
to raiding was displayed by two
speakers from the Steelworkers,
The first, Nick Smith, a rank and
file member of Local 3302, said.
that his local was not happy with
Steel’s raids on Mine Mill. ‘*We
have condemned raiding in the
past, have gone on record as be-
ing opposed to it - and will con-
tinue to do so,”’ »

Pen Baskin, however, held a
completely different view. ‘‘The

Dean Scarfe among
delegates to USSR

It was announced this week that
a delegation of prominent Cana-
dian educators is going to the
USSR to visit Soviet schools
and other educational institu-
tions. :

They are; Dean N. V. Scarfe,
Director of the College of Edu-
cation, University of British Col-
umbia; Dr, C, E. Smith of the
same college, UBC; Prof. A. D.

Lockhart of the History Dept.,-

College of Education, University
of Scarboro, Ont.; Mr. H. B.'
Dean, Assistant Supt. of Second-
ary Schools, Toronto Board of
Education; Mr. N. A. Sweetman,
Supt. of Public Schools, Toronto
Bd. of Ed.

DEAN SCARFE

They will leave for Moscow
Nov. 30 for a two-week stay,
visiting Moscow and Leningrad
and perhaps other centres. Their
visit has been arranged by the
Canada-USSR Association in co-
operation with the Society for
Cultural Relations with Foreign
Countries, and their itinerary
and program in the USSR is ar-
ranged by the Ministry of Edu-
cation of the-RSFSR (Russian So-
viet Federative Socialist Repub-
lic),

Dean Scarfe will visit teach-
ers’ training institutions and cen-
tres for conducting experimental
work in education as well as vis-
iting Moscow University. Dr.
Smith will pay special attention
to the work being done experi-
mentally in educational psychol-
ogy and in the fields of human
learning and intellectual develop-

ment. He will visit Dr. Elkomin.

of the Institute of Psychology in
Moscow and Dr, Krutetsky on
the nature and structure of ma-
thematical and literary abilities.

The Canada-USSR Association
has arranged this visit in re-
sponse to numerous enquiries
from teachers for information on
the Soviet- educational system.
It is believed that a great deal
can be learned from a com-
parison of the different methods

_ in the educational systems of each

country.

Mr. Leslie Hunt, executive
secretary of the Canada-USSR
Association will travel with the

Broun to Moscow.

_ November 22, 1963—PACIFIC TRIBUNE—

(Plumbers), First Vice -Pres

issue before this conventionis not |
one of raiding as such; it is a
question of raiding certain un- |
ions.’’ He then proceeded to com-"
pare Steel’s raids on Mine Mill |
with the organizing drive of the |
CIO in the 30’s. :

At the height of the stormy de-
bate, a right-wing-inspired mo
tion to cut off further discussion
was rejected bytheconvention in
a standing vote. Result ofthe vote
was 169-160 to continue debate,
and speakers lined up four deep
at each of the four microphones —
to carry on discussion.

Referring to unions which had
been expelled from the CLC for
alleged ‘*Communist leadership’
John Hayward (Street Railway
men, 101) stated: ‘‘The labo
movement made a great mistake
when it threw out the Communists
at the behest of the AFL-CIO

‘Under federal and provincial
law any person can run for public
office as a Communist. But the -
labor movement, which claims to
be democratic, expels certain
unions because they happen to |
have Communists intheirleader-
ship.

**How ridiculous can we get?’
Hayward asked.

The rising tide of sentiment op’
posing outdated right wing col
war policies for labor was parti
cularly evident in the election of |
the executive for the forthcoming ©
year.

President Russ St, Eloi.

Jack Moore (IWA), Fourth Vice-
Pres. Al Staley (Carpenters) and
Sec.-Treas. Pat O’Neal (Pulp &
Sulphite) were all re-elected by
acclamation,

Second Vice-Pres, Ray Haynes
(Retail & Wholesale Clerks) how- —
ever was opposed by BillStewart
(Marineworkers) and won 188
votes to Stewart’s 163. Even
closer was the contest for Third
Vice - Pres., which saw Lloyd |
Wisheart (Firefighters) nose out
John Hayward, 187 votes to 171.

Resentment against U.S. inter-
ference in Canadian affairs
prompted adoption of an emer-
gency resolution which would
pave the way for retaliatory ac-
tion by West Coast unions against —
SIU-manned ships. The resolu-
tion instructed the incoming fede-
ration executive to ‘‘take under
advisement, in consultation with
the unions involved and the
(CLC), the matter of taking eco-
nomic action against Americal
SIU ships in B.C, ports.”’

As reported in last week’s PT; —
the early hours of the convention
witnessed strong stands on thé
Columbia river, B.C, fisheries
and the processing of our natural
resources in Canada,

These were all subsequently
strengthened by excellent resolu-
tions and debate on the need for
secondary industries in B.C.
(particularly in steel and petro-
chemicals), a shorter week, the
return of E & N lands to publi¢
ownership, trade with all count-
ries, and many more.

All in all, the convention e%”
pressed clearly adetermined de”
mand for new policies, in keepin&
with changed international rela~
tionships, and an end to artifici!
cold war divisions in the labo!
movement,

This convention could well
mark the beginning of a deep 8?
ing soul searching and repappré
sal of where the labor movem@
is heading and how it is going |
arrive there.

Sere ea