| Pacitic Tribune? i | Circulation Manager, Pacific Tribune, “Room 6 - 426 Main St., Vancouver, B.C. }|- PLEASE SEND THE PACIFIC TRIBUNE ] Six Months $2.25] One Year $4.00 “| to “A notice announcing your gift will be sent to the person for whom you subscribe. ON THE LABOR FRONT deserves a reply. the Seafarers International Union was brought into this country not by demand of the Canadian seamen, but by the shipowners. They, with the tacit support and approval of the Liberal government and the open blessings of the U.S. state department, were deter- ‘mined, no matter the cost, te destroy the Canadian Seamen’s Union. This, with the active support of right-wing trade un- ion bureaucrats, they did. It was an unholy alliance, an es- sential part of the cold war and the Canadian seamen were its victims. In place of a fine militant union which had ably defend- ed the interests of the seamen, an organization and leadership was foisted on them which even some right-wing bureau- erats found hard to swallow. The SIU, under a discredit- ed, racket-ridden and gang- sterized type of leadership, has been sitting on the backs of the seamen for a number of years. In the interval, mili- tants, left-wingers and Com- munists were thrown out of the industry. History will show this to be one of the black pages of trade union history. And it will equally expose the cowardice, dishonor and lack of intestinal fortitude on the part of those so-called labor leaders who, when events called on them to stand firm against the U.S. state department and AFL in- tervention in Canadian trade union affairs, folded up like a pack of cards. See, eae Be that as it may, events have now taken a turn which offers some opportunities for ‘Canadian seamen to break the stranglehold of the SIU over their affairs. At the convention of the Canadian Brotherhood of Rail- way Employees a decision was taken to change its name to the Canadian Brotherhood of Rail- way, Transport and General Workers (CBRTGW.) Apart from any other motivations, including the ambitions of its leadership, this decision has opened the door for the emer- gence of one all-Canadian gen- eral transport workers union. This action creates the possi- bility of uniting all transport workers into one union and overcoming, over the next per- iod of time, the divisions and disunity that have stood in the It may be remembered that | Way of e Only course for Canadian seamen is fight for democracy in By WILLIAM KASHTAN I received a few letters recently asking this column to deal with the current strug- gle between the SIU and CBRT. One of the letters asked: “What’s behind this, and how — does the left wing look on this struggle?” It’s a reasonable enough question and : CBRT greater advance for transport workers. If realized, it would create a powerful organization, one able to cope with the highly monopOlized transpori indus- try in a way advantageous to Canadian transport workers. It is a development which should be welcomed. : es gate In line with this decision the CBRT has stepped up its efforts to organize new sec- tions of workers, in the St. Lawrence. Seaway as well as elsewhere. On the other hand the SIU undertook to raid an- other union and was suspend- ed from the CLC for so doing. It is part of the twist of hist- ory that the same right-wing bureaucrats who helped bring the SIU into Canada were com- pelled to vote for its suspen- sion. The SIU and CBRT are now in sharp struggle on the west coast. That struggle may, be- fore too long, spread down to the Great Lakes and into the Atlantic provinces. The suc- eesses of the CBRT on the west coast shows that given the opportunity, the seamen will leave the SIU and join an organization which they feel can better defend their inter- ests, Some workers may _ ask: ‘“Tsn’t this like going from the In a sense this might bé so, were there another alternative, another path, for the seamen to take, such as the re-emerg- ence of the Canadian Seamen’s Union or another militant and democratically based seamen’s union. There is no such pers- pective, however. On the other hand, the CBRT has undertak- en to organize the seamen and on a basis which offers them a greater. measure of democ- racy and strength. Canadian seamen thus have an opportunity of rebuilding a militant and democratic or- ganization as part of the CBRT. But that won’t come of itself. The seamen will have to fight for it and they will have to make it clear to the CBRT from the outset that they must be organized as a separate division, be able to . elect their own leadership and hammer out their economic and other demands at regul- arly held conferences. On this 4basis progress can be made and the stranglehold of the SIU broken once and for all. Such development would constitute an important step forward for Canadian seamen. It would also be an important Step towards all-in unity of Canadian transport workers. All progressive trade union-< ists and seamen should help bring this about as quickly as frying pan into the fire?” Gert Whyte's SPOR ACK in the little Northern Ontario town where I grew up, the Christmas season meant crisp crunchy snow un- derfoot, the smell of ever- greens, and the jingle of sleigh bells. It was a time of year when we young fry indulged in fan- tastic dreams, many of which came true on Christmas Day. One year, when I was eight or nine, my dreams centred around a pair of real ice skates. I dreamed, and wished, and prayed, but didn’t really be- lieve I’d get them. i You see, my dad had been out of work for two months, and I was old enough to know that when dad wa? employed, Santa Claus had a hard time _ December 11, 1959—PACIFIC TRIBUNE—Page 7 possible. TLIGHT of it, too. About 6 a.m. on December 25 I crept downstairs to open my presents. There weren't very many parcels under the tree, but there, miracle of mir- acles, were the skates! Over a span of more than four decades, I can still remem ber the thrill I felt. It was hard to swallow my porridge that morning — I was eager to don my skates and rush over to the home-made rink in a vacant lot a few doors away. The kids in my neighbour- hood didn’t own a puck—but with the kind co-operation of many horses and the zero weather, we made out all right.