Dr. R, Llewellyn Douglas
ee. Lowell

B.C. LUMBER WORKER

Tmportance of the role assumed |
ment in the field of civil liberties was str

y the trade union moye-
sed by Director

Sid Blum of the Human Rights Committee of the Canadian
Labour Congress when interviewed by District. Assistant

Jack Moore on a recent Green
When questioned regarding the
work of his committee he said in
part:
Discrimination Exists

“In spite of impressive gains
jn the past, much remains for or-
ganized labour and_ interested
community organizations to do in
the field of human rights. Tn-
stances of discrimination because
of race, religion and nationality
still arise in Canada. Discrimina-
tion in employment or public ac-
commodations still exists, even in
those provinces where it has been
outlawed by fair practices laws.
Housing accommodation, includ,
ing projects financed with the aid
of public funds, is still denied in
many instances to members of so-
called minority groups.

Fighting Bigotry

“One of the basic ways in which
discrimination can be eliminated is
hy the filing of complaints against
those firms or individuals who vio-
late fair practices laws. Local la-
hour unions, service clubs, and
community groups can do more
to educate potential victims of the
discrimination as to their rights
under the law, and encourage them
to effectively safeguard those
rights by taking the appropriate
Steps under  anti-discrimination
laws. Fair practices legislation
on both Federal and Provincial
levels can be made more effective
by public education programs, the
establishment of Citizens Advis-
ory Committees, and extension of
iscrimination Iaws to cover
housing accommodations. These
remain important objectives for
all groups in their demands on
governments across Canada.

Principles Versus Practice

“In our work in human rights
education we have found that too
many people are content with the
assertion of the principle (of
brotherhood, equality, etc.) or as-
sume that the principle is auto-
matically followed by the prac-
tice. Human rights committees
of the labour movement, when
filing complaints of discrimination,
continually find the complained-
of employers asserting that they
believe in brotherhood and have
fair employment policies. One of
the most important cases under-
taken under the Canada Fair Em-
ployment Practices Act was
against the management of a large
Canadian railroad who asserted
that their employment policy was
fair, but that Negro sleeping car
Porters were not suited for the
position of sleeping car conduc-
tors, The railway management
maintained that they weren’t dis-
criminating and it wasn’t a ques-
tion of color, though they had

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WHY

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The Dental Association has for
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Gold radio program.

f

SID BLUM

Member Canadian Labour Congress
Human Rights Committee

never had Negroes in that posi-
tion before. It took eight months
of conciliation and persuasion be-
fore the qualified porters were fin-
ally promoted.

“Oddly enough, the independent
union (not affiliated with the Can-
adian Labour Congress) in this
field tried to use the same argu-
ments as management to prevent
Negroe conductors from becoming
members of the union. The pro-
cedures applied ‘to the union under
the law were the same as those
applied to the railroad.

“After a period of negotiations
the union removed its objections
to the newly appointed conduc-
tors. These were the first Negroes
ever admitted to membership in
this indepedent union of 17,000
members. Without the force of
the federal anti-discrimination law
to back up the complainants, I sus-
pect that no amount of brother-
hood campaigns or ceremonials
would have made either the rail-
road management or the indepen-
dent union change their policies.

Another Instance
“IT undertook another case in
the Maritimes where a cafeteria
worker in a hospital complained
that she had been denied a job as

Petrillo Retires

NEW YORK (CPA) — Am-
erican Federation of Musicians
president James C, Petrillo will
retire next month, according to
a message by him to the AF of
M membership in The Interna-
tional Musician, the union’s pub-
lication. 3

Mr. Petrillo said his doctor told
him to “take things easy.” He is
66 years of age, and has held of-
fices in the labor movement for
42 years, the last 26 as an AF of
M officer and the last 18 as the
union’s president, He is also an
AFL-CIO vice-president. ,

Alex B: Macdonald

Barrister & Solicitor
Notary Publi

204 Holden Bldg.
16 East Hastings St.

VANCOUVER 4, B.C.

MU 4-6641 - 4621 - 4939

TO THE 1 W.A.

SOLICITOR

~ Jed.

a switchboard operator because
she was colored. The personnel
manager of the hospital was
known for his fairness, He said
that he staked his professional
reputation on his fair treatment

of the hospital’s empl He

_| believed in fighting discrimination

and prejudice and was shocked
that one of the girls had complain-
He maintained that the girl
was not qualified to be a switch-
beard operator, I argued that if

)|she hadn’t been colored, he would

have given her an opportunity to
train for the job along time ago.
If she didn’t learn the job in the
training period — that would have
been another matter. There had
never been any colored switch-
board operators in the hospital
(or even in the city) . previously.
The manager agreed to allow her
to train after her regular work-
ing hours. A a few months later
she was appointed as a relief
switchboard operator for the hos-
pital.

“I have cited the above cases as
examples where the principle was
cenfused with, and in fact used as
an excuse, for failure to practice
a fair policy.

Prejudice Common

“Prejudice and discrimination are
also frequently confused with each
other. Prejudice is the feeling,
discrimination is the act. Acts of
discrimination, which after all con-
cern the denial of the necessities
of life (employment, housing,
etc.) to the minority group mem-
ber, are more important to combat
than prejudices. The two are re-
lated, of course. But the elimin-
ation of discriminatory practices
is more evident, both to society
and to the minority group than
the elimination of prejudice. Feel-
ings are easier to disguise and
disregard than actions. The lip
service given to the evils of pre-
judice is not half as convincing as
a job obtained by a qualified mem-
ber of a minority group in an area
where entry was previously
denied.”

A CHECK on tonsils is part of Valerio’s regular physical exam at the
UNICEF-aided health centre in La Chorrera.

The company proposal to elim-
inate the diesel firemen, which
was endorsed by the Kellock
Royal Commission, divided the
men into three classes — those
with seniority before 1953, who
would be retained as firemen until
retirement; those with seniority
between 1953 and 1956, who would
be offered alternate employment
with the company; and those who
came on after April 1956, who
would be laid off but would be
given preference in new employ-
ment with the C.P.R.

Union’s Victory

_The union’s victory concerned
the second group — the 475-odd
who had seniority between 1953
and 1956. These men will not be
offered alternate employment but
will continue on the same basis as
those in the first, long-seniority

group.

BLFE Canadian vice-president
W. E. Gamble noted. that the
union still maintained that the

Important Gain
Made In Strike

OTTAWA (CPA) — A three-day strike by members of
the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen
(CLC) against the Canadian Pacific Railway ended with the
union winning an important concession from the C.P.R.

Kellock report “will never be
accepted as the final word on the
need for diesel helpers.”

Honorable Basis

Canadian Labor Congress pres-
ident Claude Jodoin said the CLC
is “pleased . . . that the strike
has been terminated on an honor-
able basis.”

“The basis,” he noted, “follows
a pattern which was proposed by
the Brotherhood of Locomotive
Firemen and Enginemen last
Thursday, prior to the strike, and
was advanced on their behalf by
the Canadian Labor Congress.”

“We are particularly pleased
that final settlement was reached
through negotiations between the
two parties directly concerned —
the union and the company.

“Tt is the view of our Congress
that such direct collective bar-
gaining remains the best basis for
labor-management relations,” he

said.

$1,100
Claim

Won

TORONTO (CPA) — Sever-
ance pay of nearly $1,100 has
been awarded a driver fired
from the Toronto Telegram
last October, according to a
leading story in The New Lead,
Toronto Newspaper Guild’s pa-
per.

‘The award was made by a two-
to-one decision of an arbitration
board headed by Judge Walter
Little, Board hearings followed
Guild grievance procedure.

“Gross Misconduct’’

The driver was employed for
seven and one half years before
he was fired for “gross miscon-
duct”. He was convicted in a
Toronto magistrate’s court for
drunk driving — but the offence
place on the man’s own time,
in his own car,

Guild nominee Bert Gargrave
of the United Steelworkers agreed
with the chairman that the man
was not guilty of “gross miscon-
duct”, but disagreed with an in-
ference of the Judge, that “gross
misconduct” could apply in some
cases to off-the-job actions.

‘The Guild-Tely contract pro-
vides that an employee discharged
for “gross misconduct” loses all
severance pay.

Mutual

At a weekend meeting the IUE
executive board also decided to
forego the rent payments of $1,000
a month for UAW Office space in
the IUE building.

IUE Reciprocating

The UAW has given the IUE
substantial support in years gone
by and now the IUE is recipro-
cating. A strong UAW of course
is of direct advantage to the LUE
which also has bargaining sessions
slated with GM this year.

“We'll probably be next in line
for the guillotine if they knock
Reuther off,” said President
Carey.

Heavy lay-offs have hit IUE as
well as the UAW but according
to Carey, new recruiting has made
up for the losses.

Million Dollar Building
“We have a million dollar build-
ing here, free and clear,” said
Carey, “If we ever need the
money, our credit would be good.”
IUE returned UAW’s latest rent
cheque for offices used by Vic
Reuther.

The IUE was given massive aid
by the Auto Workers’ union in

the big Westinghouse strike three

Aid

Practiced

WASHINGTON (CPA) — The International Union of
Electrical Workers headed by James B. Carey has voted an
outright contribution of $200,000 to the AUW to help bolster
the finances of the big auto union, hit by heavy lay-offs.

workers were out for 156 days.
Historic Dispute

“Neither these 50,000. strikers
nor the hundreds of thousands of
other [UE members who were not
on strike will ever forget that the
UAW contributed outright the
phenomenal total of $970,000 to-
ward the IUE victory in that his-
toric dispute.”

Mr. Carey said there was greater

need in the labor movement for
pooling resources,

No Ban On Sack

MONTREAL (CPA) — The
sack dress and the “chemise”,
those throwbacks to the giddy
nineteen twenties, are being
cussed out by scads of men and
a number of the fair sex — but
not by the International Ladies
Garment Workers Union,

The sack, the chemise, and var-
ious modificatoins of both, gave
the garment industry a needed
“lift” in the face of the current
recession, according to the

years ago, About 50,000 IUE

ILGWU research department.

Sears See S eee ee