Gov't disavowal of

seollusion’

boasted

by raiders sought

Vancouver City Maintenance Employees Federal Union No.
487 .(which is the latest title adopted by the Carl Berg group of
union raiders who have sought, unsuccessfully, to form a splinter
group of outside civic workers during the past two years) came
under fire this week from Vancouver Civic Employees Union.

A union delegation called on
provincial Labor Minister Lyle
Wicks in Victoria on Wednesday

. this week to seek aSsurance that
the provincial labor department is
in no way in collusion with the
raiding group, as claimed by Van-
ecouver Alderman R, K, Gervin.

The delegation deposited with
Wicks an affidavit signed by An-
drew Buksa, swamper, of 4160
Balkan Street, Vancouver, outlin-
ing the part played by Gervin in
organization of Local 487.

Buksa described how he attend-
-ed an organizing meeting in the
Vancouver Labor Temple on May
23, 1952, at which Gervin was
present.

“During the course of the meet-
ing, a question was asked of Ger-
vin whether No. 487 could gain
certification for the employees of
the city working in the scaveng-
ing department and in the city
shops and city garage combined
as a single unit for collective bar-
gaining.

‘In reply, Gervin stated he
had been assured by the high-
est possible authority that No.
487 would be awarded the cer-
tification. if it gained a majority
of all employees in the said de-
partments.

“At the meeting I saw Gervin
collecting dues for No. 487.

“As an officer of Vancouver
Civic’ Employees Union, Outside
Workers, I know that Gervin is
a member of the conciliation com-
mittee of the City of Vancouver,
my employer, which said concilia-
tion committee carries on collec-
tive bargaining on behalf of the
city.

“T am also aware of Section 4
(1) of the Industrial Conciliation
and Arbitration Act: (ICA) which
provides in part that ‘no employer
and no person acting on behalf
Of an employer shal participate

in the formation or administra-
tion of a trade union or employ-
ees’ organization.’

“TJ have never returned to any
meeting of No. 487 because F do
not want to helong to a union in
whose formation a representative
of the employer took an active
part.

“Hyver since the said meeting
I have heard it commonly stated
by employees in my department,
‘who have made themselves known
to me as members of No. 487, that
Ald. Gervin would see to it that
No. 487 would get certification
for employees in scavenging, city
garage and city shops.”’

A bulletin issued this week
by Vancouver Civic Employees
Dnion, Outside Workers, called
on civic workers to “defeat this
new attempt to raid and split
the outside civic workers of
Vancouver.”

The bulletin recalled the pre-
vious raiding attempts made by
Car] Berg and the now discredited
Local 407. “Having failed, de-
spite two years of disruption, to
smash our union through 407,
they have now set up 487,” said
the bulletin. Tom Alsbury, who
is a delegate to Vancouver and
District Trades and Labor Coun-
cil from Local 407, is now one
of the chief organizers of No. 487.

Action of 487 to prepare an ap-
plication for certification was
blasted as ‘raiding and _ back-
stabbing’ by the union bulletin.

Vancouver Civic
Union, Outside Workers, have
more than 1,200 paid-up mem-
bers out of a total working force
of 1,500. The union will hold
its annual wage conference on
Sunday, November 7, to work out
recommendations for the coming
negotiations, which open in Jan-
uary,.

(EU TERITMLUELL

TOU IL TE UL UROL UU iD UL SLi be baat

DUA COLO OO Td UT

CU Te a a

queuiaiial

Wednesday, Oct. 29 - 8 p.m.
ODDFELLOWS HALL
NANAIMO

rit i

| 4

HEAR
TIM
BUC

and

ERNIE KNOTT

LPP Federal Candidate .
For Nanaimo ~

TIM BUCK wills

Victoria Ballroom
1400 Government St.

peak at Victoria
: Thursday, Oct. 3

8 p.m.

CUCL UN LOLO GOGOL A GOON e TCO CGI Nt) GONE TORO IE GLI UL I ULL

SLM

UM

PR Le

Employees.

MRS, KAY GARDNER

Peace penalty
Board ‘drops’
Kay Gardner

Vancouver Library Board has
“dropped”? Mrs. Ray ° Gardner,
delegate to the recent Pacific and
Asia Peace Conference in Peking,
and she will not be reinstated to
her job at Hastings branch lib-
rary ‘until she can convince me
that she should, have her job
back,” Librarian E. S. Robinson
announced last week.

Mrs. Gardner obtained leave of
absence to go abroad with her
husband, Ray Gardner, newspap-
erman and secretary of B.C. ‘Peace
Council. ‘At the time she was not
asked where she was going, but
when the daily papers reported
that she was in Peking, the lib-
rary board decided. that she had
“apparently obtained her leave
under misrepresentation.’’

B.C. Peace Council has attack-
ed press statements to the effect
that the Pacific anid Asia Peace

Conference is ‘“‘communist-domin-

ated’ and denounced ‘‘implica-
tions that Mrs. Gardner is guilty
of subversive activities.’’

LDR. pressing for 4
full public inquiry 4

into Clemens: case ©

Vancouver ‘branch of the League for Democratic Rights at @
conference Thursday last week in Hastings Auditorium, struck off
a committee fo seek an interview with Vancouver City Council on
the Clarence Clemens case. The LDR is demanding that the beating

received at the hands of two policemen last July 19 by the 52-year’
old Negro longshoreman be the subject of a public probé. —

Clemens has now been a patient
in Vancouver General Hospital for
three months, under the care of
several doctors and a staff of
special nurses. He remains in a
semi-paralyzed condition and will
never recover from the brutal
beating he received.

A. J. Arnold, editor of the Jew-
ish Western Bulletin, a_ local
weekly, commented on the case
in the October 16 issue of that
paper:

“Tt is too bad that this case
was publicized in only one paper,
the Pacific Tribune, immediately
after it happened. In fact, it
didn’t come fully to light in the
daily press until Alderman Proc-
tor, brought it to the attention of

City Council.

“Wad the real facts been fully
reported when it happened surely
it would have received the im-
mediate attention of groups such
as the Givic Unity Council and

others that are rightfully con-}

cerned with the manifestation of
race prejudice in our city.

“In regard to the interest of
local Negro circles, can anyone
be surprised that they should be
very much concerned with this
case? Can anyone doubt the
sincerity of Negro citizens of Van-
couver in their concern that one
of their race lies close to death
because he may have been the

victim of anti-Negro feeling right
here in this city? .. .- i

“Tt is certainly necessary to
emphasize the seriousness of any —
case which involves allegations Clee
racial discrimination, especially —
when a possible charge of mur.
der may yet arise. We sincerely —
hope that this latter possibility :
will not come about. But regard: —
less, the charge of race prejudice
must be tracked down and prope! —
ly cleared up. We often was
wrathful about racial discrimin®
tion in far-off lands like South
Africa. We surely want to make
certain, that it never gains a foot
hold in our own country.” ;

‘ + eas ad

LPP to contest _
Alberta seats |

EDMONTON |
Alberta provincial committee Os
the Labor-Progressive party has
decided to contest most Albert# —
federal ridings in the coming fed
eral elections,

Preparations for nominatins —
conventions are underway SS
MacLeod, Lethbridge, Calgaty —
Edmonton and Jasper - f
LPP plans to have all its ca
dates in the field before the ©!
of the year.

2G eee

Coalition.

Fs

It has raised $311.20 on a quota of $300.
Websters Corners has already fulfilled its quota.

Will it be your club?

PARTY

N. one knows just when Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent will call a general
election, but when he does the Labor-Progressive Party will be ready.
Candidates are already in the field in Vancouver Centre and Nanaimo, and
nominating conventions will be held in half a dozen other constituencies
within the next few weeks. The LPP is in the field with the only program
that can bring peace and prosperity to Canada—the program of a People’s

.

Be other words, thé LPP is in action—and action needs money to sustain it- ThE
LPP membership has begun to respond to the call for completion of the
National Party Fund by December 15, with $772.17 already received toward
the $10,000 needed for'the LPP’s work in this period.

ae clubs, among others, stand out as shining examples of the kind of otk
that can be done and has to be done if the LPP program is to be known’
throughout the length and breadth of our province.

Hazlemere Club, in the Fraser Valley, is a newly organized élub. Last
Sunday a meeting was held, a quota of $50 accepted and oversubscribed
at that same meeting.

“West End Club; in Vancouver, is the first city club to go over its quota.

Who'll be next to go over the top ? Who'll be on the Honor Roll next week?

SEND YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS NOW TO LABOR-PROGRESSIVE

501 Ford .Building, Vancouver 4, B.C.

Inserted by the B.C.-Yukon Committee, Labor-Progressive Party