HS definitely time that the Conference of Shipyard Unions = Was revived. The shipbuilders have their federation in h all matters affecting labor relations are discussed, and a are able to present a united and consistent front. Labor ih§ - be in a similar position. The fact that the unions do not = §- and formulate a united policy on all matters, weakens $i when dealing with managements. “i§ here are numerous problems in the yards today which i #ire united action. Safety is one. Accidents are becoming - > numerous and the attitude of both the management the compensation board on this question is entirely un- factory. Labor-management committees are not func- ng properly and are not considered in the proper way she management, who still seem to think that the sole btion of these committees are to give the representatives fhe company an opportunity to receive suggestions from representatives of labor, which they accept or reject as rsee fit. There is no thought here of accepting labor as a ou ner in the vitally important task of turning out ships, and ® consequence is that these committees are becoming in- $uous bodies, incapable of fulfilling the important task _@ronting them. Labor must take a united and definite stand here, and in- “! that these committees function in the manner intended. REPORT published in a local daily would lead one to believe that the peak of production has been reached in Vancouver shipyards; that ships cannot be turned out faster than at present unless new assembly line methods f-onstruction are introduced. This assertion will certainly Suse most of the men. New production methods would ded up the present rate of production and there is still aty of room for improvement under the present system. # Contracts for the Victory ships call for a faster schedule M sroduction. There is no reason why this schedule should ‘| regarded as the ultimate; as a matter of fact most men the yards are aware that days could be lopped off pro- 4 tion time, without speeding up the individual. # A good deal of absenteeism is directly caused by the many Hiciencies which keep men from doing their work, Again, ‘matter of launching records doesn’t mean a thing if the ds are to lay at the outfitting docks for weeks on end, iting for boilers and other supplies. It doesn’t mean any- ag until they are completed, loaded, and on their way to tle fronts. : ‘This matter of obtaining supplies and materials is one it needs immediate attention. As the time for the invasion Europe draws.nearer the Axis is stepping up the sub- ine blitz. Ships are of the utmost importance; without sm all the tanks, munitions, trucks, guns, and food sup- es are useless. In Eastern Canada there is the threat of closing down me of the war plants, at a time when supplies will be eded as never before. Certainly there is no lack of demand. the Canadian forces are well supplied, then our allies can e@ all we can send them. China and Russia are crying out + supplies. If we have the shipping these demands can ‘Nothing should be allowed to stand in the way of obtain- 8 everything necessary to the production of ships, not cording to a schedule, but as fast as possible in order that ere will be adequate backing for the coming offensive. The | orkers are making numerous sacrifices, they realize more ill be necessary, but they insist that results be shown. jaas is why I believe that the time has arrived for the revival of the Shipyard Conferences. Then this whole latter of production may be gone over; then the united voice {labor can demand a thorough investigation into the supply id material bottleneck. At the time of writing the result of the referendum vote i the Richards agreement covering the continuous produc- on plan bemg taken in the Boilermakers Union is unknown, at all indications point to an overwhelming yes vote. The ten will be prepared to give their support, but unless steps te taken to eliminate the present inefficiencies it will be rasted effort. |_etters From Our Readers Soldier’s Opinion “Canadian Soldier’ duty, writes: on active Today while reading the paper I came across something that made me wonder, as a soldier in the army of democracy, just how much certain individuals on the home front were doing to back us up. With the newspapers telling us every day of the sacrifices and struggles of our Russian Allies, of smashing raids on Germany by our airforce, of the routing of Rommel in Tunisia, with every- thing to indicate that we are doing much to win freedom’s battle, I stopped and wondered a little bit. The item I came acrosS was about the great big voice of a: wee} “small man, recording for posterity the fact that events and history have passed him by. The small man is Alex McAuslane. For a number of weeks I have read with growing disgust his bellowings and rantings against a concrete expres- sion of the very things for which we are fighting. The final blow was his latest confidence that the “com- munists” were stirring up the trou- ble that he, through his reaction- ary policy, has instigated. As we understand it, the Boilermakers elected their leaders in a demo- eratic manner. Whether these men are communists or not I do not know, of course. But I do know that we in the army have a great deal of respect for communists, the respect of people who have seen communism uniting a nation of many races, creeds and colors, and welding it into the most active force in the fight against fascism. To us there is some discrepancy. The lie is either in the mouths of men like McAuslane or in the shattered citadel of Stalingrad; in McAuslane’s scare talk of the “communist menace” or the broken bodies of Russian children. He seems to have been so wrapped up in the prejudices and hatreds of the past that his yes have been blinded by the brilliant facts of today. Somebody should tell Mc- Auslane that time has marched on; that you can’t scare Canadians by crying “red.” There is hope in the minds of Ganadian army men that the promise of an active part in the war for freedom will be fulfilled. The hope was stronger in the days that our forces were first called “the dagger pointed at the heart of Berlin.” But the dagger is still in its sheath, and from their new, realistic training, soldiers know that a knife in the sheath is little better than no knife at all. We want action now, we want “the dagger withdrawn from the sheath, and used in delivering the death blow to the monster of oppression and slavery that fascism and Ger- many synonymously represent. We hope, too, that while this blow is being delivered, other blows will be delivered by no less courageous fighters on the home labor front against those whose ignorance might sabotage the very things we are fighting to retain. Sometimes it gets us down to be sitting and waiting. But we are encouraged by the realization that our fight is being carried on on the home front. We see work- ing people doing a double job— producing the weapons for us to use in defeating the enemy abroad, and themselves defeating the enemy at home. The victory of the ICA Act amendments, the vic- tories at Trail, the victory in the shipyards, where the principle of the closed shop was upheld, and the victory of the Boilermakers, where union men fought the bitter battle against enemies in their midst, leaves in us a deep con- fidence that those things we have “we won't lose, and those we want The lighter side of the press drive is indicated in the follow- ing letter from a Prince Rupert press drive committee member, who writes: HE cat in our house, belong- ing to-a prominent Prince Rupert trade unionist, is in the family way- Everyone enter- ing the house and this includes multitudes, is asked to donate to The People. Those donating 50. cents get three guesses on the exact time of the “blessed event.” Those donating 25 cents Pussy Aids The Press Drive “pody who doesn’t kick through. get one guess. Closest guesser will receive a present from said prominent trade unionist. 1.e., “Meanwhile “‘Blackie,” the eat, ‘ain't sayin’ nothin’.” But she gives a dirty look to any- ‘Tis all for the cause,” is her only authorized quotation. And there’s a lurking bob-tailed tom in the neighborhood who now has added self-respect from his part in the struggle. And the kittens? them off, too! We'll raffle as our just due will also be We know that when 6,000 gather together to insist on their democratic right to choose their own leaders, they stand shoulder to shoulder with us in the com- mon struggle for democracy. Today I spoke to another sol- dier about the “red menace” refer- red to by McAuslane and others. His answer might be the answer of every Canadian today. He said: P‘That guy's answer is happening every day on the Russian front.” Anything I could say in addition is really unnecessary. ours. men The Chetniks Stephen Miosich, secretary, Joint Committee of Croatian, Slovenian and Serbian Organiza- tiens, writes: There are some who still con- sider general Draja Mihailovich as a Jugoslay national hero. But the people of Jugoslavia think differ- ently. We wonder who is right— those that know nothing about the situation in Jugoslavia or the peo- ple of that country? The struggle against the fascist forces of occupation in Jugoslavia at the present time is fought by the People’s Liberation Army (Partisans), not the Chetniks. The Jugoslav Government-in-Exile re- cently stated that Mihailovich’s forces number only three divisions, 100% Union House PAc. 0634] Meet Me at KING’S CAFE for a Square Meal! THE BEST OF FOOD Your Host .. GEORGE DRICOS 212 Carrall Street while the People’s Army has over 300,000 men under arms. A film now being shown at a local theatre pictures the Chetniks attacking and capturing the city of Kotor from the rear. None of us heard about the Chetniks at- tacking any Axis troops for more than 18 months, but the Jugoslav language newspapers in Canada and United States recently pub- lished reports how the Chetniks made an attack on the units of the Jugoslav People’s Army while they were trying to capture the town of Konjic from Germans and Italians. The result was that Par- tisans had to retreat and Konjic was saved—for the enemy! General Mihailovich today plays a role exactly opposite to what he is pictured in the film “Chet- niks.” That is why we consider it as an insult to our Serbian, Croatian and Slovenian brothers in Jugoslavia, who for two full years have most heroically struggled against superior enemy forces. We feel that they deserve help, not in- sults. Len Holland and his Accordion Band Russian and Ukrainian Songs and Dances, Sikh Entertainers and Variety Numbers Hastings Auditorium Sunday, April 25 $:00 P.M. Chairman—JACK WOOD Chairman Joint Shop Stewards Commuttee N.V.S.R. Auspices - “THE PEOPLE” New Books On Hand By Sam Carr By Dyson Carter By Dyson Carter THE USSR AT WAR 119 West Pender BRITISH COLUMBIA’S CONTRIBUTION TO VICTORY — By Fergus McKean THE FACE OF THE ENEMY SO THAT MAN MAY PROSPER MEN, MACHINES AND MICROBES Open to 6:30 p.m. The People Bookshop 105 Shelly Building MA. 6929 Vancouver, B.C.