Viet war causes inflation

By WM. ALLEN

President Walter Reurner,
United Auto Workers told 2,800
delegates to a special conven-
tion that the real source of
inflation in America is the mo-
ney being spent for the arms
race and the war in Vietnam.

Said Reuther, ‘““One of the
two very real sources of infla-
tion in America .. . is the fact
that we are spending $80 billion
a year in the arms race; we are
spending $30 billion in the tra-
gic war in Vietnam . . . when we
spend that, this does not im-
prove the living standards of one
worker, or build a better house
for a worker's family, or ‘give
his kids a better education, or
give older people more social
security.”

Reuther said those billions are
@ total economic waste in terms
of the needs of the human com-
munity and it’s those billions
spent for war that are the prime
feeder of the forces of inflation.

“This is why the UAW leader-
ship shares with millions of
Americans the view that so long
as America is involved in the
tragic war in Vietnam our na-
tion will be torn by serious divi-
sion, our youth will be alienated,
our resources will be wasted and
our critical social-problems will
be neglected,” Reuther declared:

Reuther charged that the

Nixon administration is so ob-

sessed with fighting inflation
that they have the mistaken
notion the way. to fight inflation
is to increase the levels of un-
employment..

He said that it’s within this
framework that the 1970 nego-
tiations will be fought out, with
millions of workers unemployed
and $110 billion a year being
spent for the arms race and the

The following is a translation
of the column entitled “The Que-
bec Scene” by Samuel Walsh,
president of thé Communist
Party of Quebec, as published in
the Nov, 14 issue of Combat, on
the eve of the biennial _conven-
tion of the Quebec Federation of
Labor to be held in Quebec City,
November 19-22:

Quebec is moving rapidly to-
wards corporatism. On a par
with its 10-point program alrea-
dy applied in practise to make a
police state of Quebec, the
Union Nationale government is
undertaking decisive steps in
the direction of a corporatist
State, thus realizing the dreams
of Maurice Duplessis and Daniel
Johnson, not to speak of the big
monopolies.

What is a corporatist State?
In fascist Italy, Mussolini prov-
ided the most notorious exam-
ple, thus winning the boundless
admiration of Maurice Duples-
sis.

What is the main aim of cor-
poratism? The direct use of the
power of the State in regulating
class relationships between the
employers and the workers in
each industry, as well as in so-
ciety as a whole, by setting up
obligatory structures to avoid,
to mitigate or to ban strikes or
all other forms -of class conflict,
all done in the interests of mo-
nopolies. The idea is to give the
working class the illusion it is
being ‘treated on a basis of equal-

‘ity by granting it “equal repre-

sentation” with the employers,
while the representatives of the
State stand above and beyond
the classes of society. Exper-

war in Vietnam. “Maybe the em-
ployers and the Nixon adminis-
tration think that this is a more
favorable climate in which to
confront unions in 1970,” Reuth-
er told the convention, “but I
want to say to you and for the
1,500,000 wage earners whom
you represent that we are going
to the bargaining table in 1970
to get our equity and we don’t
care what business’ attitude or
the attitude of the Nixon admin-
istration may be.”

Continuing to slash at the

Nixon administration’s ‘‘anti-
inflation” program, Reuther
said, “I say if we are going to
fight inflation in America, let
the sacrifices be made by the
people who can afford to sacri-
fice in America. When millions
of workers are being laid off
because of the Nixon policies of
so-called fighting inflation, none
of the corporation executives
will be laid off. Not one of them
will have to support his family
on inadequate unemplayment
benefits, nor have the humilia-
tion of going to the welfare of-
fice to feed his kids.”

Reuther said that when the
worker who makes $4,000 a
year. to feed his family goes to
the bargaining table for a raise,
the hue and cry goes up that it
is highly inflationary and “will
undermine the stability of the
economy.”

He charged that the Nixon
administration is openly encour-
aging corporations to resist
labor’s legitimate demands.

“Today the General Electric
Corporation is carrying out that
policy, “said the UAW presi-
dent. “One hundred and forty-
seven thousands GE workers,
7,000 of whom are in the UAW,
are on strike today . . . because

>

ience has invariably demonstra-
ted that the State in a capitalist
country is the instrument of the
dominant section of the bour-
geoisie, and that the monopolies
make use of it as a legal strait-
jacket for the working class.

It should be noted well that
it was without opposition the
Union Nationale government has
already this year obtained pas-
sage in the Quebec National As-
sembly of two Bills of a corpor-
atist nature, and that Maurice
Bellemarfe, Minister of Labor,
has given notice that many more
such bills can be expected.

Bill 50, adopted on July 13,
1969 changes the Labor Code
to eliminate the Labor Relations
Board of Quebec, and to replace
it in part by a Labor Court
(Tribunal), the first such court
in Canada. This court is to be
composed “of persons exper-
ienced in labor relations (ama-
teurs aren’t wanted for fear they
might by chance have some
sympathies with the workers)
named by the Lieutenant-Gov-
ernor in Council (the Cabinet)
after consultation with the Bar
and with the Consultative Coun-
cil of Labor and Manpower.”

Also for the first time in
Canada, this same Bill removes
from a union the right legally to
put into practise a collective
agreement not accredited by
the government according to es-
tablished procedure, even though
the union has been recognized
by the employer and has won
the collective agreement through
its own strength. That is to say,
only unions accredited by the
State can represent the workers,

PACIFIC: TRIBUNE—NOVEMBER 21, 1969--PAGE 8- °

this arrogant corporation re-
fuses to sit down with them and
negotiate . . . Their wage offer
to the workers would leave
them with real wages lower
than at the beginning of the old
contract three years ago.”

He repeated that the real
source of inflation is not work-
ers asking for higher wages but
the giant corporations in pursuit
of higher profits and spending
by the Nixon Administration of
$110:billion a year for arms and
the war in Vietnam.

UAW representatives are pas-
sing out peace buttons to deleg-
ates that show a white Picasso
dove on a blue background,
under the words, ‘Work for
Peace, Nov. 13-14.” Reuther
took note of the Rightists’ at-
tack on peace demonstrations
by saying, “We are not anti-
American, we are pro-American;
but we are anti-war because we
have to come up with answers
on how to end this tragic war in
Vietnam.”

even if the employer is willing
to recognize the union, or has
recognized it for years.

Let’s move on to Bill 290
which causes a “revolution,” or
rather a counter-revolution, in
the construction industry. The
Bill recognizes two associations
of employees, the Quebec Fede-
ration of Labor and the Confe-
deration of National Trade
Unions. This means the work-
ers directly involved—the con-
struction workers—have no-say.
Mr. Laberge and company, and
Messers Pepin and Chartrand
and company are to speak for
them. God knows they are cap-
able of speaking. But God knows
if they speak for the workers!
One thing certain, it’s not the
workers involved, but the gov-
ernment which has decided who
will speak for the workers.

On the other hand, it’s going
to be necessary for all five em-
ployer associations as well as
the two labor centres to agree
to sign an accord before a col-
lective agreement can be recog-
nized by law, can be “legal.”
This militates drastically against
the small contractors who can’t
afford the luxury of a lockout
ordered by the big guns of the
industry. This law serves to
force the small contractors to
concede to the demands of the
big outfits or to fold up. It de-
prives the workers not only of
the right to have their say, but
also of the possibility of reach-
ing agreement with the small
bosses against the big ones. The
hand that wrote this law is the
hand of Maurice Bellemarre, but
the voice is certainly that of the

By MAURICE RUSH

The massive giveaway of
B.C.’s resources is being pushed
with breakneck speed by the
Socred government. Within a
few weeks of the election, the
green light has been given to
U.S. and Japanese monopolies,
who were hiding in the shadows
waiting to announce their deals.
~ The Socred government seems
bent on the policy of doing ex-
actly what Minister Without
Portfolio Grace McCarthy let
slip at a meeting of businessmen
and newsmen: to speed the U.S.
takeover of B.C.—if not directly
at least in economic and politi-
cal terms.

The 20-year pact signed be-
tween Westcoast Transmission
Co. and the El Paso Natural Gas
Co. will see more than six tril-
lion cubic feet of natural gas
flow from B.C. to the U.S. under
fire sale prices.

Since then a string of new
announcements were made by
U.S. and Japanese monopolies
outlining plans for giant deals in-
volving mineral and other re-
sources. Here are some of them:

Kaiser Resources Ltd. an-
nounced it had concluded a deal
with the largest steel group in
Japan to ship an additional 24
million long tons of coking coal
from B.C. to Japan over the next
15 years. This brings the total
Kaiser sales to 75 million long
tons, the value of which is more
than $1 billion.

The Utah Construction and
Mining Co. of San Francisco an-

big bourgeoisie in the construc-
tion industry. Once again we
can see how workers’ “represcn-
tation” serves to hide the grip
of monopoly and its use of the
State.

On October 25 last, La Presse
of Montreal reported:

“Very severe penalties involv-
ing the exercise of the right to
strike and damages to property
caused during a strike are ‘fore-
cast in amendments to the Labor
Code which will be submitted
at the next session of the Na-
tional Assembly.

“This was revealed by Que-
bec Minister of Labor, Maurice
Bellemarre, shortly after Jean
Lesage, leader of the Opposi-
tion, had deplored the fact the
National Assembly had been ob-
liged to adopt two special laws
to settle labor disputes (.. . )
According to Mr. Lesage, chang-
es ought to have been made in
the Labor Code ( .. .) These
changes should project emer-
gency measures and certain re-
servations concerning the hold-
ing of votes to strike and to re-
turn to work.”

According to Mr. Bellemarre,
the amendments will deal espe-
cially with the making of rules
concerning the right to strike,
its exercise and the delays pre-
ceding the holding of a strike.

“There will also be,” said Mr.
Bellemarre, ‘a special section
dealing with the public sector,
as also a section for those who
cause damages to property dur-
ing a strike.”

The danger of. Quebec corpor-
atism is very, very grave.

rally the workers to the defers’

_tism is support for unilin

nounced it had concluded a mé>
sive contract to export coppe
concentrates from a new mint”
at Rupert Inlet on Vancouvel —
Island to -Japan. The deal is b@
tween the U.S. monopoly 4
the Mitsui Industrial Group
Tokyo. The sales are valued a
$400 million over 10 years. T®”
contract provides that 60 Pe —
cent of the mine’s output will Pe
smelted in Japan—the rest a :
parently in’ the U.S. since ® ~~
has no copper smelter.
Morrison Knudsen Company ;
of Idaho, one of the largest CO
struction and engineering yee i
in the world, has also mn
into the East KootenayS a 4
share in the spoils. It has jon i
with Scurry Rainbow Oil Ltd. ia
mine an estimated 100 millio
tons of coal. fe
Crown Zellerbach, the Bia” —
U.S. forest octopus, recently on B,
nounced the building of a? ol
tegrated $80 million forest |
complex in the Bella Coola et i
The project will include ih
sawmills and a kraft pulp wee
The U.S. company i
large handouts of tim it!
the Socred government for’ :
operations, including a chunk
Tweedsmuir Park an
Crown forest lands.
These latest giveawayS,
pled with those that have & ean}
before in B.C. forests, mn 4
water, gas and oil resources: |
dicate that B.C. is rapidly reat |
ing the point of no return. che ‘|
is not much time left to halt oe at
plunder of the Pacific provin® —

cour

QFL and of the CNTU doiné

of democracy against corpo is ‘
tism? Zero, , nothing. NIU ‘
Michel Chartrand of the Ch
doing? His remedy for cor a i
pune
ism— everything _ possible y
divide workers according
their origin.

As for René Lévesque and es
Parti Québecois, it’s enough
quote him: “There is ant
some trade union leadetS 9.
spokesmen in this area, and © 4
tain activists who swarm alo!»
them, a terribly persistent net
maturity which is carrying ¢ oe.
to ever more dizzy heig
irresponsibility. It could
seen in the timing and thé
folding of the strike in PM iy
transportation, then in ¢ :
credible prolongation of
Liquor Board Employees’ °° iye
and now in the strike % .
police and firemen,” etc. C.

Sy |
The conscious worker Oral
shout for all to hear: Ty oon }
enough of Bellemarre thé pir
bec corporatist and © of
squeak accomplices. Le! — js
trade union chiefs lead

q othel

gone i :

united struggle against CO's 4

tism and for the buildin’ op

labor political party indep®
of the bosses and capable @
dertaking the struggle f0% jy!
mocracy—or let them get

Enough of the indiffere"™ gh “¢

of

some of them, and of the

sounding nationalist phras®

others.” ‘
The moment is as serio¥

that!