‘NATIONAL EMERGENCY”

PEOPLE’S VOICE FOR PROGRESS

Yo. 49

NCOUVER, B.C., SATURDAY,

5 Cents

OCTOBER 6th, 1945

dren in_Liberated Europe _
es, part of 2300 bales receiv

proudly pose in new

| Ottawa Meeting |

| itish Columbia’s All-Union Veteran. Civic Recon-
6 1 delegation to Ottawa met with government. officials

= eek, and were informed by

Reconstruction Minister

that the government considers that there is no un=

@yment probléfm and
jobs than workers to fill
‘In making this statement,
- construction. Minister com-
F- ignored the fact that the
‘ty of jobs which -are of-
- to- workers will mean a
f+ reduction in wages in

-2ases, and constitute an un-

P:ting of wage standards

s up by trade unions during
“yar.

Tiabor-Veteran delegation

ssing’ for government adop

p of a four point program in-

eng.

Introduction of
a for workers transferring
< war industries to peace-
# employment.
institution of the 40 hour
> immediately, with no re
ion in take home pay-
Labor -management repre-
ation at a reconvened Dom-
1-Provincial ‘Conference.
| Steps to assure continuance
a British Columbia’s shipbuild-
: industry.
jat Sullivan, President ‘of the
fiadian Seamen’s Union, Sec.
mdes and Labor Congress,
wich is at present campaigning
: the maintenance of a Cana-
dn merchant fleet, accompan-
i the B.C. delegation to Ot-
BVa.

William White, representative

severance

that there

of. the B.C. Federation of Labor,
stated that B.C. needed a mini-
mum of 200,000 jobs, and pointed
out that while Minister Howe
might, be correct in stating that
there were many jobs available,
the wages offered in many cases
were shamefully low. R. K. Ger-
vin, Secretary. of the Vancou-
ver Trades Council, brought to
the attention of the ministers
wage cutting methods being
practiced by employers in re-
hiring men let out into the same
job categories at lowered wages.

The British Columbia delega-
tion meeting with the govern-
ment underlined the need for gov-
ernment to step into the recon-
version picture with realistic
proposals to meet the situation.
The threat of strike hovered over
many industries as union-bust-
ing employers, taking advantage
of opportunities offered by mass
shifting of workers from war
industries to peacetime jobs, at-
tempted to sabotage wartime
gains of unions and institute
wage-slashing methods.

While the Reconstruction Min-
ister was able to point to the
grave need of workers in many

are at present

(Continued on page 2)

See CABINET

a

TORONTO—Ten
Rally

London

Meeting
Stalled

After eighteen days of consul-
tations, the meeting of the Big
Five foreign ministers in Lon-
don has adjourned without reach-
ing any definite conclusions.
Soviet Foreign Minister Mol-
otov, who has been the target
for the anti-Soviet bias of the
daily press, has fought. consist-

ed through UNRRA. dently throughout the conference

| binet Dodges Issues

to bring about a peace settlement
that would ensure the independ-
ence of the liberated countries.

The main point about which
‘disagreement revolved has been
the Balkan question. The Soviet
has continually ad-
vaneed the position that the lib-
erated peoples of the Balkans
shall have the right to freely

élect their own governments,
while the imperialist powers
have striven to gain a foothold
which might well lead to a repe-
tition of ‘the British performance
in Greece. .

While many expected that the
victory of the Labor government
in Britain, which placed For-
eign Minister Bevin in the con-
ference, would contribute sub-
stantially to the unity of the
major powers, his actions at the
conference have indicated that
Bevin is following a line that is
comparable to the reactionary
maneuvrings of his predecessor.
Bevin has displayed an attitude
of open hostility to Soviet Min-
ister Molotov to the point of
open insult, when he accused the
representative of the power
which contributed most to Nazi-
ism’s downfall of using Hitlerian
methods.

Conversations between Tru-
man, Stalin, and Attlee are ex-
pected to precede reconvening of
the conference.

Molotov leaving the econfer-
ence stated: “The Soviet delega-
tion is looking with confidence
into the future and hopes phat
the desire of all of us is to
strengthen our friendship and
collaboration to benefit our peo-

minister

ples and in the strengthening
of the peace of the whole
world.”

in Toronto’s Maple Leaf Gardens,
to the speaker of the Federal House and t
ment, demanding that t

By MEL COLBY

ction At

}
thousand: citizens of Toronto at a ‘Win the Peace’

unanimously endorsed resolutions
o every federal member of parlia-

he Ford strike and the Guelph Steel strike and

related labor problems be recognized ,as a matter of ‘‘national

emergency.”

Both

of parliament.
Members of

tended greetings from the
and veterans.

The resolution
ernment take immediate steps to
settle the Ford and Guelph
strikes, including the taking over
of the plants if necessary. The
resolution also
ment intervention at once to
grant union the
strikebound plants.

The endorsed the
sending of a mass deegation to

asked govern-
security in

meeting

Ontario’s Premier George Drew
-to--demand~a- special session of
the Ontario legislature to deal
with the present situation in the
province.

The called

rally by 130

GEO. BURT
Regional Director UAW ad-

dressed the Rally.

the AFL-CIO
mittee, was highlighted by
AFL-CIO unity. On the plat-
form were representatives of
both CIO and AFL unions, in-
cluding Ford Brand, who of-
ficially represented the Toron-
to District Trades and Labor

members of

Council, the largest AFL
council in the country.
Speakers ine lude George

Burt, Regional Director, United
Automobile Workers, CIO; C. Ss.
Zackson, International Repres-

the spe#ker and the members of parliament were
urged to put the present reconversion crisis

on. the floor

_ the British Columbia All-union Veteran
Civic Reconversion committee attended the rally, and ex-
British Columbia trade unions

passed at the meeting urged that the gov-

entative, United Electrical
Workers Union; Roy England,
President of Local 200, UAW-
CIO; Charles Millard, National
Director United Steelworkers of
America; Robert Carlin, Inter-
national Representative, Mine,
Mill and Smelterworkers Union;

Mayor Arthur Reaume of Wind- —

sor; and Controller Stewart

Smith of Toronto,

Out of town unionists, led by
a large delegation of Ford strik-
ers, came from all
southern Ontario.

Jack Henderson, representing
the Pacific Command of the Ca-
nadian Legion, extended greet-
ings, and urged that “Jabor and

the ex-servicemen stand togeth-

”?

“The Ford strike is the first
line of action to guarantee post-
war security for all Canadian
Workers,” stated George Burt,
who said that the strike could
be settled “in an hour” if the
government would tpke action
and make it obligatory for Ford
to sign a union security contract.

er

“In the face of the company’s
determination to refuse to bar-
gain, I call upon the government
+o take over the plant and op-
erate it,’ said Burt.

Roy England stressed the need
of’ continued AFL-CIO unity to
win present strike battles and
the other problems facing labor.
A collection taken at the rally
totalled several thousand dollars.

LABOR DETERMINED .
The Toronto mass rally, further
underlined the determination of
organized labor to meet the at-
tacks of reactionary capital with
bold action. Organized labor has
urged on both provincial and fed-
eral government for many
months the need for plans to
assure orderly reconversion from
wartime to peacetime production.
The governments, however, flat-
ly refused to take organized la-
bor into its confidence, or Ppro-
vide labor legislation covering
union security. The result of
government inaction in the face
of the crying need for action has
been the outbreak of strikes

(Continued on page 8)
See NATIONAL EMERGENCY

seetions ~of~

a

y ben tie’

40,000 Workers Demand —
Immediate

United CCL-AFL Rally —