Ist Issue, October

B.C. LUMBER WORKER

3

From Page 1
eee

“EXPERT”

ClO group, and the Upholsterers
Workers Union which was an
AFL group will undertake a joint
effort to organize in the furniture
industries, I think this is going
to prove very, very succesful.
They decided that wherever either
the AFL or CIO group has one
plant of a particular company,
they will take jurisdiction over
the other plants of that particu-
lar company. In this way they
work out and resolve jurisdic-
tional questions between them.

“Right to Work”
Q—What has been the effect
of the merger or labor’s cam-
paign against State “right to
work” laws?

A—We have had one success al-
ready. There ave 17 States in the
United States that had “right to
work” laws, During the past six
months, one State, that of Louisi-
ana, has repealed the “right to
work” law. This seems to me to
be a great step in the right dir-
ection. I think it indicates that at
state levels the merger will bring
about a united effort because in
Louisiana the AFL - ClO: are
merged. As a result of the
merger they went to the State
Legislature and were successful
in having the law repealed. I
think is a forerunner in what is
going to happen in other States.

Automation
Q—What is your opinion with
respect to the effects of auto-
mation? Has automation
gained sufficient headway in
American industry to threaten
any serious or immediate re-
duction of employment? Do
you consider the guaranteed
annual wage as one of the nec-
essary means of adjusiment to
automation?

A—Certainly automation is mak-
ing substantial progress, and we
could cite for example the tele-
phone industry. Here is a group
where some 17 thousand fewer
telephone operators are now em-
ployed in an industry whose ex-
pansion in terms of the number
of telephones has increased some
15 percent in a very short period
of time.

Automation is having its ef-
fects on industrial and white col-
lar workers, One of the ways that
this can be tackled, of course, is
through a shorter work week, and
through inereased wages and
maintenance of labor’s income
through the concept of the guar-
anteed annual wage. These are
all possibilities.

Q—What success has attended
the present program of politi-
cal education within the AFL-
CIO? Would you please explain

to our listeners the extent to
which this has involved parti-
cipation by trade unionists in
this year’s presidential election
campaign?

A—I think when we brought to-
gether the merger and combined
the political action committee of
the CIO with those for political
education of the AFL into the
new group now called COPE, the
committee on political education,
that we made tremedous ‘advances
forward in being able to co-or-
dinate the political activity, the
political education, the political
legislation, the getting the peo-
ple to understand the issues, get-
ting people out to vote. We’ve
combined these efforts in such a
way as to have a significant ef-
fect it seems to me upon what’s
going to happen this coming No-
vember.

Candidate Endorsed

Q — Could you explain to our

listeners the reasons given by

the AFL-CIO for the endorsa-

tion of Mr. Adlai Stevenson,

the presidential candidate for

the Democratic Party?

A—the executive council and the
executive board of the AFL-CIO
endorsed Adlai Stevenson and
Este Kefauver for president and
vice-president alike, They did not,
of course, as you know, endorse
the Democratic Party as such.
They endorsed the candidate for
the presidency, and the reasons
for endorsing Stevenson instead
of President Hisenhower, I think
are very clear.

We can make this clear by cit-
ing a couple of specific examples.
President Hisenhower was op-
posed to the dollar minimum
wage. He was opposed to giving
to the Congress specific sugges-
tions as to the individuals that
ought to be brought under cover-
age of the minimum wage laws.

‘Adlai Stevenson is for not only
extending the coverage of the
minimum wage law, but increas-
ing it from its present level of a
dollar and a quarter ($1.25).

President Eisenhower was op-
posed to disability insurance to
workers at the age of 50. He was
oposed to an earlier retirement
age for women at 62. Both of
these amendments were spon-
sored by the Democrats who
passed them last session of Con-
gress.

Tariffs and Trade
Q—What is the position, Stan,
of the AFL-CIO on trade be-
tween our two countries. Do
you believe in protective tar-
iffs?

A — That is a very interesting
question and I should like to

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RESEARCH DIRECTOR of the AFL-CIO Stan H. Ruttenberg being
interviewed by IWA District President Joe Morris on the Green
Gold radio program in the Board Room of Hotel Vancouver.

answer it because I recently had
the opportunity of being over in
Geneva, Switzerland, as an ad-
visor to the American delegation,
negotiating the general agree-
ment on tariff and trade. While
I was over there I had the privi-
lege of lunching with the chai
man of the Canadian delegation
and with some of his advisers,
and we discussed specifically the
attitude of the American Trade
Union Movement toward tariff
and trade between the United
States and Canada.

I am happy to be able to say
that as a representative of the
AFL-CIO, I could tell the Cana-
dian representatives: at Geneva
that the labor movement is
against protective tariffs, and
that the AFL-CIO supports the
idea of freer trade between our
two countries.

Also that we, as a labor organ-
ization have repeatedly made rep-
resentations to the Congress of
the United States to extend the
concept of the reciprocal trade
agreement program — originally
initiated under President Frank-
lin D. Roosevelt, as one of the
keystones of the New Deal pro-
gram.

I am happy to be able to say
that it appears we are going to
be able to continue liberalizing
trade relations between the
United States and Canada, as well
as between the United States and
countries around the rest of the
world.

Effects On Bargaining

Q—With respect to this whole
question of trade, Stan, does
international trade have an ef-
fect on collective bargaining?

A—It most certainly does, Joe,
because as I look at the scene in
the United States, a union can
sit down and negotiate with its
employer on collective bargaining
issues, because we do not have to
take into consideration the extent
of export trade from the United
States. The United States is not
really dependent upon the extent
of exports to other countries
around the world. Therefore, col-
lective bargaining takes place in
the United States strictly within
the framework of the economic
scene within the United States.
The price and wage and profit
structure is such as it affects the
American economy, but as you
come to other countries the situa-
tion changes. As I understand it
here in British Columbia for ex-
ample, there is some 60 or 65 per-
cent of your lumber exported not
to the United States, but to coun-
tries around the world. The prob-
lem of the world market price
becomes very important, and
therefore it seems to me that this
is a consideration which enters
into the picture of collective bar-
gaining and must be given fairly
eareful attention by the negotia-
tors, It isn’t just enough to ap-
proach it in the way we do in the
United States. It seems to me
that you have to approach it the
way many of the countries
around the world have to, France,
Italy and England,

From Page 1

“INSTITUTE”

and District Labor Council, and
Tom Gooderham, the Institute
Director. Chairman Wade intro-
duced as keynote speaker, the
President of the ‘University, Dr.
Norman MacKenzie.

Dr. MacKenzie stated that the
University at all times desired to
assist in every way possible the
development of adult education
for such an important section of
the community as the trade
unions. He outlined the values of
education with special emphasis
upon the need of workers equip-
ping themselves to meet their
individual problems, and collec-
tively, their social problems.

Les Wismer Sees Crisis

Les Wismer, Legislative Rep-
resentative of the Congress, de-
clared that an emergency exists
in trade union education, as de-
veloping problems were out-
pacing the program of enlighten-
ment. The situation was emerg-
ent, he stated, because of the
need for money and trained per-
sonnel.

District President Joe Morris
was the guest speaker at the
banquet in the Mt. Pleasant Can-
adian Legion Building, which
concluded the Institute. More
than four hundred students, wives
and friends shared in the enjoy-
ment of a pleasant social occa-
sion, of which Tom Alsbury was
MC.

Morris Hails Progress

District President Morris,
speaking on behalf of Congress
President Claude Jodoin, stressed
the values of trade union educa-
tion. He affirmed that trade edu-
cation would strengthen the pur-
poses for which the merger had
been carried out.

He assured his listeners that
the values of trade ynion educa-
tion are now winning practical
results for the workers of Can-
ada. He said this has been most
apparent since the merger. The
unions could now talk about
great purposes with the certainty
of experience.

On this aspect of the situation
he said in part:

“The merger has given a tre-
mendous impetus to organization
of trade -unions across Canada.
Congress has granted more than
fifteen charters to units seeking
affiliation. The internationals af-
filiated with Congress are with
few exceptions, reporting gains
in membership. May I stress the
fact that these gains represent
substantial headway in organiz-
ing the unorganized.

I interpret this as indicating
that the workers at large now
have gained greater confidence in
our organized movement. I also
state that the combined effort of
the affiliates within the Congress
has made possible a greater con-
centration of organizing force in
fields that were formerly difficult
of access. Our labor movement is
not only better, but it is now
bigger by reason of the merger.
Witness in this regard also the
applications for affiliation receiv-
ed from the Railway Brother-
hoods and the CCCL in Quebec.

On the authority of the Con-
gress heads I may say that our
hopes of better labor legislation
have vastly improved, because
members of the Federal Govern-
ment and the House of Commons
have learned to show respect for
the potential political power with-
in the one million and-a quarter
member Congress. Recent events
have shown ‘that they are now
much more receptive to our pro-
posals, and that this increased
cordiality does not stem from any
other reason than the one I have
already mentioned. They fear
that we will learn to use our
great political potential on our
behalf and to their disadvantage.
Certainly the political climate is
much more favorable to our in-
terests.

Next December, the Congress
will make its first presentation
of legislative proposals to the
Federal Government. The Cab-
inet, as well as the House of
Commons, will find it in their
interest to give more sympa-
thetie consideration to our legis-
lative demands, notably those re-
lating to a national health ser-
vices plan, and better unemploy-
ment insurance benefits.

In this educational program we
are mobilizing all the intelligence
of which our movement is cap-
able. It is imperative that we do
so, when we realize that automa-
tion. is already penetrating the
industries on which we depend
for our livelihood. Our whole
program, in which we aim at full
employment may easily be jeopar-
dized, if we fail to meet the chal-
lenge of automation.”

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