fhe Week’s Roundup wyer Locke’s )fense’ C.-H. Loeke, K.C., ultra-tory cor- poration lawyer who is conducting the scase of the logging operators in the current arbitration hearings _ union agreements in Queen Charlotte Islands logging gs, Snould re-examine his whole line of argument before ..J oves embarrassing to him. Mr. Locke’s main “defense” i #1: case to date has consisted “ie emptinge to prove that be- : the International : (ies of America took a stand position to certain features th #e War prior to 1941, it should ie entrusted with serving the -bas interests now. He has quité a point of this, in igS returned to it time and i @ could be reminded, hoyw- that the very type of men- wy he seems to speak for was smiisible for the war in the k@place. Who was it but the ip @e ictory Municheers that dm Hitlerism possible, that ap- wei Germany so effectively git was able to bloodlessly Biover a greater part of BHur- fWar industry prior to 1939 2 Ottawa Tr nd Wood- and to later launch the world into the greatest bloodbath in history? It was because. the men of Munich and their tory sympath- izers in Allied countries were Guidine the policy of the war right up to 1941, that many sec- tions of labor were distrustful of our ultimate war aims. Since that time, however, no one can ac- cuse labor, and particularly the IWA leaders, of failing to work for victory. This is proven by the union’s present active campaign for increased production of lum- ber and its whole attitude to- ward labor-management coopera- tion in the war effort. Mr. Locke should consider these facts, and consider them well, be- fore going any farther with his ridiculous charges. * Further evidence piled up this week that such a thing as the “Ottawa mind” does exist—that certain government officials in the nation’s capital have developed a jot reasoning completely at variance with the rest of the | ty. How else to explain the continued bullheaded refusal 3w a special meat ration to cE rS in certain heayy indus: fe Lhe eminently sensible pro- placed before the board by workers and employers in “Sisging, mining and fishing ries are brushed aside as rationing branch of the Wartime Prices and Trade Board ing life—good food and accommo- Gation. There is nothing else. Re- duce the content of his meal— and meat is the main dish in all such camps—and you take away One of the principal features that makes his working life bearable. The result will be a new exodus of workers from “logging, mining, construction and fishing camps into the main centers, where at least they will be able to sup- plement their meat ration in res- taurants. All this is apart from the established fact that men do- ing arduous work need a more energy-producing diet than those in lighter work, a fact that is conceded in almost every other country. Ottawa will have to be made to recognize these facts. Other- wise here will be a greatly in- tensified labor problem in such industries and a drop in war pro- duction that will be extremely difficult to overcome. fi * ‘Atrical - -10nism All honest workers in Quebec as elsewhere will join with Arthur D’Aoust, secretary- treasurer of the Trades and Labor Con- gress of Canada, in his condemnation of the olic Syndicate “unions,” one of which recently provoked yaike in a Quebec paper mill and forced the company to Punce its agreement with the International Brotherhood *alp and Sulphite Workers, ‘It is time that the govern- W) was made to realize that ‘atholic Syndicates are noth- tore than a clerical form of any unionism, made even reactionary by the fact that F are controlled by certain s8S of the Catholic hierarchy. : D*Aoust, speaking before ags of the WNational War ' Board, revealed that work- #2ve been brought before the spriest and forced to renounce = membership in international mS on the threat of excom- S-ation by the Catholic bh: He could have added that myst cases the Catholic Syndi- # are controlled and officered 'tholic priests, some of whom —-S the entire executive of sinion.” There are even cases + the membership of the wate will include the local banker and principal business- men, as well as lawyers and doc- tors. The point here is that the workers in Quebec do not willing- ly join these perverted versions of trade unions. But they find it difficult to fight against them so long as Canada lacks compulsory collective bargaining which would force employers to~ recognize genuine unions andn make it im- possible for any religious order to use its influence against labor. This is only one more reason why the government should pay close attention to all the union testimony that will be placed be- fore the Wational Labor Board in the course of its hearings, If the government does this, it can only conclude that national col- lective bargaining legislation is the primary labor question facing Canada today, and will take the appropriate steps. This week we present the first of two articles summar- izing for our readers the events featuring the victori- ous fight waged by the mem- bership of the Boilermakers Union for control of their union and their affairs in the interests of the majority. This first article deals with the lessons to be drawn from the constitutional diffi- culties faced by the union in its lengthy court fight. The second article will appear at an early date. Both should be required reading by all trade unionists. HE recent struggle by the rank and file of the Boil- ermakers Union should be studied by all workers, for in all such disputes in which workers take part there are lessons to be learned, and it depends upon themselves as to whether the knowledge gained and the lessons learned Shall ben- efit them in their never-ending struggle for economic security. A classic example of how the worker can be fooled is readily seen in what has.-now become known as the “Battle of the Boilermakers.” 4 Biges Boilermakers Union was a chartered local of the Gan- adian Congress of Labor. Each member of the union could obtain & copy of the constitution of the Congress. On the surface it seemed all that the rank and file uld desire. But until the CCL leadership attempted to impose their dictatorship on the rank and file, very few indeed had studied this constitution to see what rights were guaranteed a local union, or to the rank and file. Once the struggle against the dictatorship began in the law courts, and the constitution went before legal experts, the rank and file began to learn to their cost that the constitution was a very peculiar document. Keep Him Fed During 1942 the purchasing branch of the Munitions and Supply Department bought 80,000- tons of vegetables, 90,000 tons of meat, 33,000 tons of bread, 7,000 tons of butter, 8,500,000 dozen eggs, 2,000 tons of coffee and tea, and 9,000 tons of evaporated milk te supply the needs of the armed forces in Canada. Labor Must MaintainOwn Democracy They found out that at the last convention, delegates from local unions had allowed an amendment to go through which stated: “The president shall have sole authority to interpret this constitution, subject to appeal to the executive council.” Now it is hardly necessary to point out the danger of this amendment. It was on this clause that Mosher threw out the elec- tion and put in an administration board. As the president was backed up by the executive coun- ceil, an appeal would be hardly worth the paper it was written on. = The question also came up of expelling from the union those few individuals who were persist- ently taking legal action to re- strain the democratically-elected officers from acting. Here again there was a snag. The lawyers in- formed us that should we expel these people, they had the right to appeal to the executive coun- cil, who could overrule the expul- By VIC FORSTER Executive Member, Boilermakers and Iron Shipbuilders Union sion. On the question of secession, if 13,000 members decided to secede, and only five did not wish to secede, the secession was out, ac- cording to the constitution. It follows, then, that the mem- bers of all trade unions must study their constitution fully, and to see what protection they have against would-be dictators who may be elected to Office. ERMANY at one time had the strongest ‘trade union movement in Europe, yet it was smashed practically overnight. Before Hitler could impose his will on the German people, he had to eliminate the strength of the trade unions. Let no one think for one moment that the Canadian worker is immune. Let no one underestimate the dangers of dictatorship of organized labor in Canada. This attempt to con- trol the Boilermakers Union was the thin end of the wedge. If the Boilermakers had fallen, what would have happened to the smaller unions? This union was not fighting for itself alone; it was fighting for democracy within the trade union movement in Canada as a whole. The first lesson that we have learned in this struggle, there- fore, is that the voice of the rank and file must not be ignored by the leadership. This provision should be con- tained in the bylaws of every union and in the constitution of the national body. Fo? the workers of Canada must guard at all times against the possibility of unscrup- ulous leaders selling them down the river. The membership of the trade unions must exercise at all times their inalienable right to control the policies and actions of their leaders. And they can only do this by taking an active interest in what is going on in their organizations. We must frankly admit that there has been a feeling of apathy in this connection. The average union in Canada today has but a small percentage of its membership at- tending meetings. The trade union leadership which is sincere and honest should take steps to educate the workers in all phases of the trade union movement as well as in social and economic reforms. The interest of the in- dividual members must be aroused. Another lesson we have learned is that the trade unions have been asleep at the switch. We have learned, strange as it may seem, that the average worker knows little of the trade union move- ment, or of what organizing can do for him. We have, for example, no edu- cational policy or facilities. We have little or no sports sections, very little in the way of recrea- tion. We must cooperate, consoli- date, and educate. Only by so doing can we attain the objec- tives for which we struggle. o Roe the fruits of this land are plentiful. There is enough for every human being, man, woman or child, to live and enjoy life in the manner to S3vyhich he is entitled. Security can be had in all phases of life, but it can only be had by organization and edu- cation. It can only be had by the workers uniting together, study- ing together, fighting together. The organization to a great ex- tent depends upon the leadership of the workers; but the workers must see to it that the leadership is working for them and not against them. Any man elected to an office of leadership has a solemn obligation. For there is no greater honor that can be conferred on any human being han that he be given the trust, the loyalty and the leadership of the working people. The rank and file have an equal duty. Hach and every one must make himself an organizer. Hach and every one must work and study, and eliminate apathy. In the final analysis, it is the workers themselves, who will be credited with, or blamed, for that which they receive!