‘bat which they

Ever since the CCF leader-
‘ship got rid of trade union in-
fluence — by dissolving the
original “labor Section” of the
jfederated ©CE set-up — they
struggled: to prevent the, unions
from becoming an independent
political force: Instead, they as-
sumed to speak for “all labor,’
meluding the trade unions.

tnion Jeaders like John W.
3uckley, vice-president of the
Trades and Tabor Congress,
vere only tolerated in the CCF
dy the politically ambitious
‘friends of labor” who topped
the €CE leadership.

Many of these “Johnnies-
Jome-Lately” on the labor poli-
ical Scene assumed the role of
know betters” who would save
he “backward” trade unions
rom themselves.

Since, however, the bulk of
ié unions refused to be spoken
37, Particularly since what was
deken for them was not what
21ey wanted, the braintrusters
“ied a new scheme. They
ould, by ananipulating delega-
ons, try to secure “legal title’
» the political. voice of labor.
S a result, we had the unfcr-
imate deal made at the 1943
CL Convention at Montreal.
9 petty
ts that loskcd like an unpesi—
ve transaeticn.

AE fact that~the Montreal
‘decision did not correspond
h the wishes of the main
7: unions; that it did not cor-
spond with the non-partisan
litics of the largest trade
ion’ center. in-the: country, the
ades and labor Congress,
iat it failed to bring the unions
g-tied into the CCF, only
ade the brain-trusters more
sperate and now, on the eve
the federal election, they
‘ew all diseretion to the wind
d Kidnapped the PAG.

This is, ef course, a Pyrrhic
story. It is net a climax to a
scessful policy. On the con-
ry, it is an admission of a
jure of a policy.

‘This steal of the non-partisan
me of the PAC for narrow
itisan activities will not alter
“one iota the position of the
ttwhelmine majority cf the
nadian trade unions. The con-
st between the splendid non—
tisan role of the ClO’s PAG
the United States and the
“ul purpeses for which the.
traband PAG in Canada is
ag used will only strengthen
| determination of the trade
ens te iid their own non-
‘isan medium for political

Pression and action. This is
fuestionably true of the
‘des and Tabor Congress

ons..And is equally true of
main CIO unions who are-
Wiated to the CCL, because

hing in <common with the

_ the trade unions has reached its disruptiv
nade on the Political Action Committee of

bourgeois opporten--

Millard-dominated PAG has.

1

PAS of Murray, Thomas, Hill-

man, Fitzgerald, Dalrymple and

ether CIO union leaders.

- Nevertheless, it must be
acknowledged that this eynical
putsch by the Millard-Park
group may cause confusion and
weaken the movement for inde-
pendent political action at a
critical moment in the political
life of ihe country. This may
have~been the purpose of the
putsch. If that be so, then it is

all the more reason why the
unions should quickly clear the
air of all confusion and make
possible for the trade union
movement to enter upon the
public scene in the most influ-
ential, non-partisan role.

[= is no surprise that some

very important CIO unions
have- already withdrawn from
the partisan PAG. Most other

GIO unions will find it impos -_
sible to take any other course. ~

Paced with the most fateful
election im the life of the na_
tion; confronted with the need
for powerful, unifying cam-
paigns to attain legislative re-
forms and to plan together
with all democratic forces for
postwar jobs and security: in
the face of all this, the CIO
unions in Canada and their de-
mocratically-elected Canadian
leaders can have no other al-
ternative but to withdraw from
the Millard PAC.

Any other course would be
against the best interests of
their members and would be in
conflict with the successful
policies of their ‘International
unions. nS

This reaction is natural and
was to be expected. However,
it isn’t everywhere that the best
conclusions are drawn from the
disruptive move of the CCF. In
many plants and local unions,
workers began to dissolve their
Political Action Committees.

Nothing could be more harm-
ful than that.

The economie and political
conditions which prompted the
CIO to establish the PAC in the
USA and which convinced
-2rowing numbers of Canadian
“ayorkers of the need for inde-
pendent political action here
“are more urgent today than
they ever were before.

THE pressing needs for im-
proving our collective bar-

gaining and wage control regu-—
lations wil! not be met by the

partisan policies of Millard who
helieves that the worse things
are the better it is for the CCF.

-. The supreme task of
achieving full postwar em-

Forward To Indepen

By J. B. SALSBERG, MPP

N THE last issue of P.A. I tried to show how the harmful political course of the CCF in
e climax in the raid which the Millard group
the Canadian Congress of Labor at its meeting
$n January 16. This was a desperate attempt to create an impression of having achieved
tried but failed to achieve in reality. :

ployment and social security
will not be achieved by a goy-
ernment of reaction with the

CCF as the official opposi- ~

tion—as most CCE leaders
hope fer—but will best be
gained from a sovernment

of all democratic forces, with
labor, occupying an important
place i such a sovernment.

These are not secondary
problems for the trade union
movement. They are- the su-

preme issues against which all
others becomie’ relatively small.
The powerful Canadian trade

unions cannot, therefore, per-

mit themselves to remain either
politically inarticulate and in-
effective nor can they afford to
accept the CCF straightjacket
into which the Millard parti-
Sans try to press them at this
critical juneture of history.

What is necessary is a
thousand times more indepen-
dent trade union political ac-
tion of a nonpartisan kind.
Local PAC’s far from being
dissolved, must be strength-
ened and multiplied many
times over.

These committees, if they are
to be living and vital political
instruments, will ghave’ no
choice but to reject the January.
16 resolution of PAG and en-
gage themselves and their ivca!
unions in unifying activities af-
fecting every immediate and
postwar problem of the workers
on a community, provincial and
federal scale.

Not to follow such a course
would mean io sacrifice the
most vital interests of thei
membe-s for tie partisan in-
terests af the CCF party am-
bitions. 4

(AS the powerful CIO unions

in this country follow such
an independent course success-
fully in isolation from each
other? Will these great indus-
trial unions be able to fulfill
the great political tasks, as has
the CIO’s PAC in the USA,
without coordinating their ef-
forts und withcut the coopera-
tion, of the membership which
belongs tc the unions momen-
tarily dominated by partisans?
The question may even be asked
whether the CIO unions in Can-
ada who adhere to the correet
policy of non-partisan political
action, will, even when working
in a co-ordinated fashion, suc-
ceed in achieving the desired
labor victories without the par-
ticipation of the powerful AFL
unions In the country.

“These ere all important ques- ~

tions. They surely challenge the
intelligence of every mature
trade union leader who is con-
scious ct the pressing respon-
sib:lities which now rest upon
the grown Canadian trade union
movement. The element of
time will not permit too Jong a

Ns
Git

oA FS

tures, February Wi Page it

J. B. SALSBERG
Toronte MPP

delay in finding the proper
answers to these questions. The
unions and their leaders must
find the answers without delay.

Of course there are no ready-
made answers to these impor-
tant questions. Nevertheless,
certain obvious steps would
seem to suggest themselves to
the majority of the GIO unions
in the country. These steps seem
to be inescapable in view of all
the circumstances which we
have examined.

The policies. of the CCFE-
dominated PAC are unaccept-
able to the majority of the
CCL unions and to practical-
ly all Trades and Labor Con-
gress uniens. The unani-
mous decision of the last
Trades Congress convention
and the adopted nonpartisan
policies of such wnions as
auto, electric, lumber, metal
mining (B.C.), shipbuilding,
western coal miners,-furriers
and most CCL unions in Que-
bee testify to that. Nor should
we overlook the many local
unions in the steel, rubber
and packing house unions
who oppose the Millard-Mc-
Kenzie-Dowling - political do-
mination.

All of these unions are con-
scious of the need for the most
effective non-partisan- political
activities bythe trade unions of
the country. They should, there-
fore, follow such a course in
their locals, in their industries
and in their communities. Their
local unien PAC’s should werk
in accordante with'such a pol-
icy and secure the cooperation
of all Jabor, progressive and de-
mocratic forces in their battles
for the attainment of the aims
of the laber movement: *

It would, further, seem rea-
sonable: to,.assumé that since
the political action programs of
these CCl unions coincide that
they attemptito find some way
of co-ordinating their efforts
to establish a “unified com-
mand with full authority to
speak on behalf of their mem-
bers who are in reality the
majority within the CCL.

for the Trades and Labor

tS)
A Congress unions, the prob-.

lem there seems no longer to
be one of-fightinge for a-correct

dent PAC

policy but one of implementing
the wunanimously-adepted cor-
rect policy for independent,
non-partisan political action.

Many unions affiliated to
that Congress may be justified
in asking why the decisions of
the last convention to establish
a national body to give expres-

sion to the Trades Congress’

political aims and to direct the
political work of its affiliated
unions has not yet materialized.
But this does not justify the
failure of so many TLC unions
to establish local union and
city PAC’s in line with the con-
vention decisions.

It would, therefore,. seem
logical for these unions to face
up to the pressing task of in-
fluencinge political events and
national policies through their
direct participation in the poli-
tical life of the country. There

is no reason whatsoever why. °

every TLC union in Canada
should not immediately estab-
lish a non-partisan Political Ac-
tion Committee.

Nor is there any reason why
a number of such TLC commit-
tees in a community should not
combine to form a city-wide
committee to co-ordinate and
direct the work of all their
unions in their common effort
to realize the decisions and the
program of the Trades and
Labor Congress.

That the Trades and Gabor
Congress unions can no longer
remain inarticulate in the pre-
sent political crisis was made
abundantly clear during the
Grey North by-election. After
the CCF proclaimed that their
candidate had the support of
“all labor,” the  secretary-
treasurer of the Trades Con-
egress felt duty bound to state
publicly that the Congress, in
accordance with its convention
decisions, endorsed no single
political party and no single
candidate. This brought forth
a shameful attack upon him
from the Ontario leader of the
CCF.

The Toronto District
Trades and Labor Council
felt obligated to protest
against the Jolliffe attack
and by an almost unanimous

vote to reaffirm the Con-
gress non-partisan political
policies.

@
THE establishment of TLC

committees in all local un-
ions and communities will not
only hasten the formation of a
national committee, in line with
the conyention decision, but
will, in all essential points,
coincide with the policies and
actions. of the main CCL trade
unions in Canada.

Such a perspective is very re-
alistic. To develop work in that
direction is the urgent need of
labor and democracy in Canada.
To do this is to create a situa-
tion which will, in many ways,
be more favorable and more
unified than that achieved in
the USA.

or