10 B.C. LUMBER WORKER Second Issue, October REUTHER CALLS LABOR TO GREAT WORLD TASK In an eloquent and forceful 70-minute address before the International Convention of the IWA, Walter P. Reuther, President of the CIO, stirred an audience of delegates and guests who packed the Hotel Vancouver ballroom, October 15, with his challeng- ~ ing appeal “to complete the unfinished work in the vineyards of democracy” and was} accorded an enthusiastic ovation. In a generous tribute to the work of Phillip Murray and Allan Haywood, the dynamic CIO lead- er said: “They understood that the thing that we call the free labor movement is a part of a great human crusade of millions of ordinary people who share com- mon hopes and aspirations, who dream of a better world, but hav- ing dreamed of that better world, have the courage to organize and work together, to pool their strength and their courage in try- ing to make some contribution towards building that better world. Basic Human Values “Those of us who remain in the leadership and follow Philip Murray and Allan Haywood, we have got to join with you in re- dedicating ourselves to the un- finished work which yet remains to be done in the vineyards of democracy, both in the United States and in Canada. “We have got to redouble our efforts to translate ideals into practical living achievements, be- cause no value, nothing in the world has value, excepting as we can relate it to people, “The only thing that really counts in the wecld is people, men and women and children. We will make progress only to the extent that we are able to demon- strate that we can reflect prog- ress in terms of basic human values.” He outlined three basic tasks for CIO unions: to also Unionize the organized. “We have got to educate these people so that the rank and file will understand what we are do- ing, and how we are trying to do it, and we have got to make the membership realize that in a free labor movement there are no magic formulas, that they will get out of a free labor movement only what they put into it. “If they want the labor move- ment to be.effective in reflecting their hopes and their aspirations and meeting their needs, then thy need to give of themselves to the movement by participating in its work and its activities and making it stronger and more effective and equipping it to carry out the unfinished work that lies ahead. Cooperate in Community “Thirdly, we have got to strengthen oar cooperative rela- tionship with community and civie groups, because the labor movement that we believe in, the program and the policies and the philosophies that we are trying to advance, make it clear that we cannot solve our problems in an economic or social vacuum. “We cannot work as an eco- nomic pressure group and hope to find the answers to the com- plex problems that we face in the complex world in which we live. “We can make progress only as we work with men of goodwill in other walks of life, in other economic and social groups, in trying to find the answer to the that there is a new element in this struggle—the thing that we | call Communism in the world,’ and Communism exploiting that struggle and riding on the naked — backs of hungry and desperate people all over the world. “And therefore, we have got to recognize that if we want to make peace and freedom secure, that we have also got to w i terms of making social justice possible to those men in the world and those women and those children who never in their whole lives have gone to bed with enough to eat—hundreds of mil- lions of them. : “One-third of the world to- night will go to bed hungry because they liye on less than one dollar per week. Another third of the world lives on less than four dollars per week, that is one dollar and four dol- lars in ordinary American dol- lars, not these high-value Cana- dian dollars that you people in Canada have. “The Wrinkles of an Empty Belly” “We haye been saying for a long time that the surest route for Communist propaganda to travel is through the wrinkles of % ty WALTER P. REUTHER, CIO President, following a notable address - before the IWA International Convention is commissioned as Com- modore of the Loggers’ Navy, and here dons the uniform of his new rank and displays his commission before the cheering delegates. an empty belly, that when you are hungry enough, and you are desperate enough, you will listen to Communist propaganda, and that Communism in this world of ours has perfected the technique of exploiting human poverty and forging it into political power. poisonous propaganda of the Communists, not with pious slogans about the virtues of democracy, but we have got to answer their propaganda with the propaganda of the demo- cratic deed in terms of these basic unsolved human problems. ing the social dynamics of the changing world, what motivates people, what is the great power that makes Asia seethe with See “REUTHER” Page 12 1. To j _ |problems of the whole com-| “What we have got to do, while oes the sob oer | munity. we of necessity have got to be The .C.F.1.U. Used Mag’s & Books Dittoionize telocganized: We will make progress only as | strong in terms of military pow-| “That is why I think that I can from MICKEY SPILLANE 3. To strengthen the coopera- | We Work to make progress for er, in order to meet the threat of | say, in all good conscience, that to GYPSY ROSE LEE the free labor movement of the .. AND THEN SOME! Pocket Manuals Comic Books Magazines, MAILED POST-PAID (State Preference) Communist aggression wherever it may raise its ugly head, but that that military effort on the part of our nations in the free world is purely the negative hold- ing action, But that is not the the whole community. That is the philosophy that we are build- ing around, because we think that that is the only realistic approach to the basic problems that we face.” tive relationship with com- munity and civic groups, and all people of good will in the cause of social prog- ress and world peace. world, 58 million organized work- ers who make up the member- ship of the International Con- federation of Free Trade Unions, held its conference in Stockholm, Organize the Unorganized In amplification of these points, Reuther said: x “Rirst, we have got to com- plete the job of organizing the unorganized. There are still mil- lions and millions of workers outside the ranks of organized labor in both the United States and Canada who need organiza- tion, and who will not find ans- wers to their basic problems ex- cepting as they are able to build Unions, and working collectively with their fellow:workers, begin to fashion the democratic tools with which they can solve these basic problems in industry. Unionize the Organized “The second thing I said the CIO needed to give attention to was the’ question of that while we have got to organize the unorganized, we have got SAN FRANCISCO — TAILORS — LOAN MONEY ON Suits, Overcoats, etc. Loggers’ Boots, Sleeping Bags, Suitcases, Radios, Watches and Rings Expert Watch Repairing UNREDEEMED Suits and Caulk Boots For Sale _ MAIL ORDER 52 West Hastings Stroet VANCOUVER, B, C. As the speaker defined the out- look of labor on world problems, he asserted that peace like free- dom was indivisible, and that to enjoy freedom in this part of the world it was required that free- dom be made accessible to people everywhere. “Basically the struggle in the world, throughout history, has been an effort on the part of man- kind to struggle out of the dark- ness and despair of the past into the future of light and security and human dignity. Communism “The only difference today is field in which we can win the struggle. “Take the Offensive” “We have got to find the way to take the offensive on the eco- nomic and social fronts, in the positive struggle against poverty and hunger and human despera- tion, because they are the cess- pools out of which Communism builds its power. And as long as these millions of people are hungry, desperate, they will be a fertile ground upon which Com- munism will show the seeds of its propaganda, “We have got to answer the Champion of All Lightweight @ Caulked Boots @ CRUISER Featuring - High Carbon Steel Oil Tempered Boot Caulks FOR SURE GRIP Another Favorite... HEAD'S famous “SAFETY TOE BOOTS” for Mill Workers W. J. HEAD BOOT 21 East Hastings Se. (PA, 4844) “HEADS YOU WIN” FACTORY LIMITED Vancouver, B.C. Sweden, last July. “There were delegates there from the United States and Can- ada, from Europe, from Africa, from Asia, from South America. 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