; & ILABOR’S VOICE FOR VICTOR ~ Y Os 5 Cents IL No. 11 Vancouver, B.C., Saturday, March 20, 1943 = relations men claiming that tompanys “enlightened” labor y had created a “one big happy iy? free from internal difficul- M@ne of Trail workers, called ‘gh the sub-committees of the @ny union, was drafting a tele- to Minister of Labor Pearson i. W. Herridge, CCE-MILA for protesting against Blaylock’s 2 in sending a three-man dele- a from the Workmen’s Com- 2 to lobby against amend- » to the ICA Act, “and point- ut that this delegation “did epresent the “workers.” ‘bh this action disposed of the ne turned to an examination 2 company union setup, a sug- m being made that the entire erative’ scheme be thrown nd a bona fide union along in- ident lines be established. 6 days later a second meeting called, attended by delegates d from every department, 2 it was decided te arrange im open meeting of all em- es, and further proposed that international Union of Mine, and Smelter Workers be in- _ to institute an organizing iin the smelter. (Continued on Page 8) See UNDER FIRE rive Bulletin fax Erenberg, secretary of Jewish Progressive Club, ay brought in a $40 contribu- t frem the Club to boost the € receipts in the second sus- iuing fund drive for $4,000. iways actively engaged in €ressive activities, the club | done much for Soviet Aid in ent drives. jhe prompt response of this up to the appeal for funds z2elping The People to become tbor’s Voice for Victory.” ‘urther Press Drive reports Page 2. jrail Company Union Inder Fire By Workers \VRAIL, B.C.—S. G. Blaylock’s carefully nurtured Work- ’s Committee scheme, under which for years the 7,000 em- ees of the great Consolidated Mining and Smelting Com- 7 plants have been subjected to the most intense exploitation, ved new signs of coming apart at the seams this week. 4the latest crisis developed at the very moment that several * dailies, among them the Vancouver Province, were car- 3 two-column publicity spreads direct from Consolidated’s The same day, however; a- S. G. BLAYLOCK Minerva Cooper On ‘People’ Staff Changes in the business manage- ment of The People were made necessary this week when Mrs. Edna Sheard was forced to leave her position due to ill health, after contributing greatly to the progress of the paper since its beginning. Her place as business manager will be taken by Minerva Cooper, well known to thousands of Saskatche- wan people as editor of the Wes- tern Farmer. The new manager will bring to her position considerable experience as an editor, organizer, and radio speaker, having taken a leading part in numerous farm movement campaigns over the past few years. In addition to her managerial duties, Miss Cooper will be avail- able as a speaker, and it is ex- pected that many local press drive committees will make a call on her services. Metal Miners Build Union New Union Elections Forecast Possibility that a third elec- tien of officers will be neces- sary for the Boilermakers and Iron Shipbuilders Union, Local 1, as a means of overcoming an attempt to prevent the union from functioning, was foreseen in questions put by Justice Sidney Smith to counsels for plaintiff and defense during the hearing of an injunction plea in which R. J. R. Stephen is jointly petitioning with Thomas Bradley and David Thompson for a declara- tion that the union elections in Feb- ruary were illegal. : “The point that concerns me is this,” Justice Smith remarked, “if I find that the February meetings were illezal, what means can I take to keep the union functioning?” Suggestion of A. FE. Branca, coun- sel for the plaintiffs, that Stephen be appointed custodian, drew laughter from ‘Soilermaker spec- tators. C. W. Tysoe, appearing for the de- fense with John Stanton and Sid- ney Smith, believed the ordering of another election under proper sup- ervision would be the best way to solve the difficulties now prevent- ing the union from carrying on its business -involving an important war industry. Iwo elections of of- ficers have already been held. Barlier in the hearing Tysoe con- tended that the constitution of the Canadian Congress of Labor clearly proves the McGuire-Conroy com- mission to be merely for the pur- poses of investigation, having no power to suspend, Right of sus- pension, according to the constitu- tion, rests with the executive coun- cii of the CCL and provides that the council sit in tribunal with rep- resentation from the union con- cerned. The fact that the union was not notified of the reasons for the sus- pension before the commission sat and was deprived of representation at the hearings, with the right of eross examination, clearly shows the jillegality of the commission, he said, in addition to the fact that a three— man commission was appointed, of whom only two sat as a committee. “Who are these plaintiffs to come here and complain?” he -asked. “They weren't doing their duty. The secretary wouldn’t accept dues. Under the constitution and bylaws those who last paid dues in Decem- ber would not be in good standing in three months’ time and the union therefore would go out of existence. The shop stewards cannot be blamed for taking upon themselves the responsibility for holding their union together in the failure of the officers to act and the prevention of the new executive from taking (Continued on Page 7) See ELECTIONS At Princeton ac) 260 Men Join Up At Meetings PRINCETON, B.C.—In one of the swiftest organizing drives in history, 365 hardrock miners of the big Copper Mountain operation near here joined the International Union of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers in a body on Sunday to make the mine close to 100 percent organized. i Decision to set up a local of the union came at a mass meeting ad- dressed by Harvey Murphy, newly appointed representative of the in- ternational, who had arrived at the mine the same day. Copper Moun- tain is the second largest opera- tion of its kind in the province, employing close to 400 men, and of this number, less than 25 failed to join the union. The extreme success of the cam- paign was credited by Murphy to two factors—first, the enthusiasm of the miners resulting from im- proved BC labor legislation; and second, the fact that the men had previously taken steps to organize an independent union and were already in process of drawing up a constitution and working rules. The effect of the ICA Act amendments on trade union de- velopment was later stressed by Murphy at a public mass meeting in Princeton, where the news of Copper Mountain was announced and a pledge given that establish- ment of trade union conditions in the mine would result in improved production and bring about greater harmony in employer-employee re- lations. The new ILUMMSW local also took immediate steps to link up with the Princeton local of the United Mine Workers of America when repre- sentatives of locals held a joint meeting, pledged cooperation, and passed a resolution congratulating Minister of Labor George S. Pear- son and the government for passing the amendments to the ICA Act. ‘What People ‘Say About -- That they’re about at the end of their patience regard- ing the whole handling of the fuel shortage problem. That they’re more than dissatisfied with this tiresome passing: the buck going on between civic, provincial and federal authorities as to responsibility for the continuing fuel crisis. They can see nothing humorous any longer in the “Alphonse and Gaston” act being staged by Mayor Cornett and this Mr. D. Roy Cameron of the Fuel Administration Board, with each firmly, but none too politely, waving the other toward a responsibility that should be shared. Nor do they agree with Hon. C. D. Howe’s summary of the Situation in Ottawa that “everything will be all Tight.” They regard that as a frivolous evasion of responsibility, and are more than ever convinced that a solution to the matter must be initiated locally. Yes, Mayor Cornett, people are becoming convinced that the problem lies at your door, that civic government's first duty is to its citizens, not the mere collection of taxes or the unwitting protection of racketeering big fuel dealers with their $13.50 prices for wet bushwood. And they ask why you cannot, as a suggestion, initiate a broad con- ference of all interested groups, including labor, now. They feel that such a meeting could lay the sground-worl: for a survey of fuel needs, the planning for reserve stocks, and the control of distribution according to re- quirements. With this under way, they could then help you put pressure on the federal savernment to solve the other problems of labor to do the job. The thing is, people are angered as they have seldom been before. They see no reason why the greatest timber- producing area in Canada should be short of wood fuel. And there is no logical reason except the stupid evasion of responsibility and failure to tackle a problem. And that state of affairs must stop!