Page Two

THE

‘ADVOCATE

April 26, 1940

Toronto Trades Council Expels Communists

‘Not In Best Interests
Of Labor,’ Says Buckley

TORONTO, Ont. — Despite the plea of Secretary John
Buckley that it was not in the best interests of the trade union
movement, Toronto Trades and Labor council on Thursday last
week voted 122-58 to expel Communist delegates.

Among those who opposed the expulsion were John Kelly,
ITU secretary, who declared that “if you pass this motion you
will help destroy the labor movement,” E. W. Gardner, Jewelry
Workers, and J. Andrews, Painters.

The expulsion motion was

the Machinists union, and the council by majority vote adopted
an amendment to the constitution designed to prevent Commu-
nist delegates from being seated.

All present and future members will be obliged to take an
oath than they are not members of the Communist party, it was

stated.

Collins Denounces
‘Roadmen’s

TORONTO, Ont.—Pointing

Mail, the mouthpiece of the open shoppers, that is urging the
exclusion of Communists, as it urged the expulsion of the CIO,”
and observing that the action is calculated to please the Hep-
burn government, Fred Collins, leading Toronto trade unionist
and candidate for city council in the last civic election, last week
circulated a letter to trade unionists here urging rejection of
the proposal to exclude Communist delegates from Toronto

Trade sand Labor council.

“@yery union local in Canada has
the inviolable right to elect any
member of their organization they
see fit to represent their local un-
ion,” Collins stated. “It is a viola-
tion of the democratic rights of the
union local to be dictated to, who
shall or who shall not represent
them at any delegate body.”

Text of Collins’ letter as releas-
ed to the press follows:

“T address myself to you and
through you to your organization
as one who has been active for
many years in the trade union and
jabor movement; as One who has
held executive positions in my own
international organization and in
the trades and labor council My
political opinions are well known
to all. My appeal to you and to
your organization now is to Oppose
the sinister scheme to destroy the
foundations of cur trade unions,
proposing to expel delegates from
the trades and labor council, be-
cause of their political beliefs,

“Today big finance, reaping
enormous war profits, is carrying
on a mighty attack on the living
standards of the Canadian people.
Already real wages have been cut
by approximately 20 percent. War
profiteering has increased the cost
of living. New taxes on life neces-
sities are proposed. Further tax
ation is contemplated by the fed-
eral government which will further
reduce the living standards of the
Canadian people.

“Today, as never before in the
history of Canada, a united la-
bor movement is the most urgent
necessity. Without unity our
fight against the attacks of re-
action on our living standards
will be tremendously weakened.
Already a small group of unprin-
cipled careerists and  office-
holders in the trade union move-
ment, centred around the Road-
men’s Association, have been in-
strumental in dividing the forces
of labor on the basis of the CIO
and AFL. This action seriously
cripples the labor moyvemenf in
the struggle for a Canadian stan-
dard of life, thus showing their
hook-up with the wage slashing
open-shop employers and reac-
tionary governments whom they
seek to please.

WHO'S NEXT?

“Having satisfied the wishes of
open-shoppers by ousting the CLO
unions, they contemplate still fur-
ther splits and divisions in the
ranks of labor on the basis of poil-
tical thought. Here then these
union officials who seek govern-
ment appointments are attempting
to abrogate the democratic rights
of the members of the trade union
movement by the expulsion of com-
munists from: the district trades
and labor council as a follow-up
to the expulsion of workers for
their belief in industrial unionism.
Who's next?

“These foreed splits and divi-
sions are not in the interests of the
working men, but in the interests
of selfish open-shop profiteers,
who seek to divide, to weaken and
to defeat labor. The expulsion of
the CIO and the present attempt to
eust Men and women because they
are Communists is aimed at the
destruction of the effectiveness of
trade unionism and thus sacrifice
the well being of the workers and
their families.

“Hyvery union local in Canada
has the inviolable right to elect
any member of their organization
they see fit to represent their local

2

7

Affiliated to Congress for Industrial Organization
GREETINGS TO THE ADVOCATE AND ORGANIZED

producers.

oatme

introduced by John Conlin of

Wins Auto

Elections

Overwhelming Vote
Gives CIO Victory
At General Motors

DETROIT, Mich. — United
Automobile Workers (CIO)
last week scored a decisive vic-
tory over United Automobile
Workers (AFL) in a ballot
taken by the National Labor
Relations Board among 130,000
employees in 60 General
Motors plants in 12 states to
determine whether the CIO or
AFL organization should rep-
resent them as a collective bar-
gaining agency.

Results of the voting announc-
ed this week showed a tremen-

Clique’

out that “it is the Globe and

union. It is a violation of the dem-
ocratic rights of the union local to
be dictated to, who shall or who
shall not represent them at any
delegate body. ‘The contemplated
expulsion of the Communists
(which of course, Means anyone
they wish to designate as such)
should occasion a wide protest
against this action of the officials
in their attempt to handcuff Cana-
dian labor to the chariot of the la-
bor-hating Canadian Manufactur-
ers’ Association,

“This attempt to railroad pro-
gressive forces out of the trades
council will not only have serious
repercussions in the trade union
movement, but will result in Tor-
onto Trades and Labor council re-
verting back to that mutual ad-
miration group who used to meet
in a room on the ground floor of
the Labor Temple prior to 1936, and
who played a negligible roll in the
social and economic life of Toron-
to labor,

“Contrast this to the outstand-
ing role that the trades and labor
council has played since 1936
when unity was re-established.
From this period the trades coun-
cil grew and was known from
one end of Canada to the other
as the largest and most influen-
tia] trade union central body in
the Dominion.

“Remember, it is the Globe and
Mail, the mouthpiece of open-shop-
pers, that is urging the exclusion
of Communists as it urged the ex-
pulsion of the CIO. Remember,
it is Hepburn and Co. whom this
action is set to please.

“I appeal to you to protest this
disruptive and subversive scheme
of the Roadmen’s Association and
their stooges. In the interests of
unity, in the interests of the living
Standards of the Canadian work-
ers, vote against the expulsion of
trade unionists, because of their
political opinions,

FREEDOM LABOR’S BASIS,

“Surely the trade union moye-
ment which has attained its pres-
ent strength on the foundations
laid by the fathers of trade union-
ism, provides a basis for the com-
ing together of labor regardless of
race, creed, or thought. Our trade
union can only maintain its true
position and grow upon the basis
of freedom of discussion and free-
dom of political opinions.

“They that would destroy this
democracy in the trade union
movement will indeed destroy
trade unionism as such. Against
this, every trade unionist must
protest. I urge you to agree with
me on the question that Com-
munists with whom you may or
may not agree, but who have at
all times and everywhere, proven
to be builders and champions of
trade unionism, have the right to
full members of a. trade union.

“The attempt to work up a war
hysteria in place of calm logical
reasoning must be defeated. The
trade unions must not be used by
any political group to curry favor
with the forces of reaction. Men
have the right to advocate what
views they hold, have the right to
belong to political organizations
that they agree with and we, who
are fighting for freedom of organ-
ization, of speech and of press, who
have been the main victims of sup-
pression, must ourselves, within
the house of labor, set a better ex-
ample than the Roadmen wish us
to.”

dous majority for the AUW
(CIO). Of the 123,854 ballots cast,
estimated by NLRB officials to
be 95 percent of the total eligible
vote, 34,024 went to the AUV.
(CIO) and only 25,911 to the
AUW (AFL). Another 13,919
votes were cast for neither union.

The poll was the largest ever
conducted by the National Labor
Relations Board,

Victory for the CIO was forecast
two weeks ago when some 30,000
auto workers turned out here to
give @ rousing reception to CIO
President John L. Lewis and vice-
presidents Sidney Hillman and
Philip Murray.

“You're going to win the elec-
tion anyway,” Lewis told CIO sup-
porters, “so why not make it unan-
imous.”

The CiO leader declared that af-
ter the election the UAW (CIO)
intended to concentrate on organ-
ization of the Ford Motor com-
pany.

GREEN REPUDIATED

For AFI, President William
Green defeat of the UAW (AFL)
was a heavy blow. Speaking at
Flint on April 14 Green predicted
a victory for the AFL, charged
that the CIO was “stirring up dis-
content among the underprivileged
groups. Said he:

“The CIO has used you for ex-
perimental purposes. It has in-
volved you in constant warfare
with management. It has used
you as a testing laboratory in ex-
perimenting with revolutionary
processes, It has used you for the
secret purposes of its leaders and
to promote the consuming ambi-
tion of its dictator.”

Wow General Motors employees
have given the AB head their
answer.

Seek Probe
Of Murder

NEW YORK, NY. — Formation
of a national committee to bring
about “restoration of law, order
and civil rights” in Grays Harbor
County in the State of Washing-
ton, was announced here this week.

Included among members of the
committee were Representative
Vito Marcantonio, American La-
bor party member from New York;
Rockwell Kent, famous artist;
Freda Kirchwey, managing editor
of the Nation; George Marshall,
Josephine Truslow Adams, Lucy
strunsky and Elliott Paul.

A statement issued by the com-
mittee declared a conspiracy to
suppress civil rights existed in
Grays Harbor and said numerous
acts of violence had been directed
against members of organized la-
bor there,

In this category the committee
listed the unsolved vigilante mur-
der Jan. 5 of Laura Law, wife of
Dick Law, organizer, in Aberdeen,
Wash. The committee said it
would seek a federal department
of justice investigation of this
case,

Violation Of
Neutrality Hut

BROOKLYN, NY. Blanket
condemnation of both the Allies
and Germany for violation of the
neutrality of Denmark and WNor-
way was voiced here in a state-
ment released by the Scandinavian
Seamen’s club of America.

“We cannot favor a protectorate
under any of the warring nations,
especially with our knowledge of
the position of Ireland and India
under Great Britain, and the status
of Czechoslovakia and Poland un-
der the Nazi regime,” the state-
ment read.

= 9
ns
(B.C. Division)

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ClO - UAW

Expel British
University
Labor Group

LONDON, Eng. — Brit-
ish Labor party executive
has expelled the University
Lake Federation because of
resolutions it adopted brand-
ing the war as imperialist
and. calling for peace.

Pollock (Glasgow) divi-
sional Labor party has also
been disaffiliated by the
Labor party execvtive be-
cause it broke the parlia-
mentary truce agreed to by
Conservative, Liberal and
Labor parties at the begin-
ning of the war and nomi-
nated an anti-war candidate
to contest the seat rendered
vacant by the death of Sir
John Gilmour.

CIO Seeks
Defeat Of |

Attempt To Weaken
Wage-Hour Law Seen;
WPA Increase Asked

WASHINGTON, DC. Mem-

urged by President John L.
Lewis to work for defeat of
three sets of amendments to
the wage-hour law. The CIO
head declared that the amend-
ments were originated by ‘re-
actionary Garner democrats’
and were designed to weaken
the Act.

Anti-Picket
Laws Out

WASHINGTON, DC.—Stat-
ing that free discussion of labor
disputes was indispensible to
popular government, the
United States supreme court in
two opinions handed down by
Justice Murphy this week de-
clared unconstitutional anti-
picketing laws passed by Ala-
bama and Shasta county, Cali-
fornia. Justice Reynolds dis-
sented in both cases but gave
no written opinion.

“In the circumstances of our
times the dissemination of infor-
mation concerning the facts of a
labor union dispute must be re-
garded as within that area of free
discussion that is guaranteed by
the constitution,” ‘wrote Justice
Murphy.

“It is recognized now that satis-
factory hours and wages and work-
ing conditions in industry and a
bargaining position which makes
these possible have an importance
which is not less than the interest
of those in the business or indus-
try directly concerned.

“Free discussion concerning the
conditions of industry and the
causes of labor disputes appear to
us indispensible to the effective
and intelligent use of the processes
of popular government to shape
the destiny of modern industrial
society.”

ALL METHODS BLOCKED.
The Alabama statute made it a
misdemeanor to picket “for the
purpose of hindering, delaying or
interfering with or injuring any
lawful business,” and to “go near
to or loiter about the premises” to
restrain others from dealing with
or being employed by the company.
“Tt is apparent,’ the court said,
“that one or the other of the of-
fenses comprehends every prac-
ticable method whereby the facts
of a labor dispute may be public-
ized in the vicinity of the place of
business of an employer.”

The other anti-picketing statute,
an ordinance of Shasta County,
California, made it unlawful to Ioi-
ter or picket or display “any ban-
ner, transparency, badge or sign”
near a place of business to influ-
ence persons not to trade or work
there. The court commented in
this case that “the carrying of
signs and banners, no less than
the raising of a flag, is a natural
and appropriate means of convey-
ing information on matters of pub-
lic concern.”

The Alabama statute was tested
in the case of Byron Thornhill,
convicted in Tuscaloosa county of
persuading an employee of the
Brown Wood Preserving company
where an AFI, union had called
a strike, not to return to work. In
the California case John Carlson
was conyicted as one of twenty-
nine men picketing the Delta tun-
ne] project with a sign reading,
‘This Job is Unfair to CIO”

GARFIELD A. KING

BARRISTER, ETC.

653 Granville Street

The proposals—sponsored respec-
tively by the labor committee, Rep-
resentative Barden (Dem. North
Carolina) and Representative
Ramspeck (Dem. Georgia)—were
scheduled for consideration in the
House this Thursday.

The CIO president’s report was
made in behalf of the organiza-
tion’s legislative committee, of
which he is chairman.

The report also advocated:

(1) Withholding of government
contracts from corporations con-
victed of violating the Wagner la-
bor relations act. Such an amend-
ment to the Walsh-Healy act has
been passed by the senate;

(2) Increasing the proposed
WPA appropriation for the next
fiscal year to provide jobs for 3,-
000,000 persons.

(3) Defeat of the Walter-Logan
bill facilitating court review of or-
ders of government agencies and
establishing uniform procedure for
them. This legislation, the report
said, “would mean that workers
Seeking the protection of federal
rights would have their rights de-
feated through the delays of liti-
gation while the violators of fed-
eral law would escape punishment
through obstructive tactics.” The
House passed the bill last Thurs-
day.

(4) Amendment of the social se-
curity act to provide free medical
care for low income groups and to
extend unemployment compensa-
tion benefits.

(5) Passage of the La Follette-
Thomas bill outlawing labor spies
and professional strikebreakers.
(6) Adoption of antilynching
legislation.

(7) Pasage of Geyer bill to wipe
out poll taxes as requirements for
voting in national elections.

(8) Defeat of ‘anti-alien and
other anti-labor bills.”

SERVICE
JEWELLERS
28 HASTINGS ST. E.
H. ZLOTNIK, Manager
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‘Amendment

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Sweet Sixteen,

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Specialists

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