10 B.C. LUMBER WORKER Evidence Exposes Flagrant Profiteering In Food Items By MORDEN LAZARUS ; TORONTO (CPA)—The Royal Commission on Price Spreads of Food Products has now in process of preparing ! deal of work to be done by its findings may completed its hearings and is ts report. There is still a great the Commission's staff so that not be ready until September, according to Cleve Kidd, labor’s representative on the Commission. One of the best submissions to the Commission was made by the Packinghouse Workers whose In- ternational Research Director Lyle Cooper spent a few months in Canada working with the Can- adian UPWA research depart ment in preparing their well- documented brief. . Twice the Profits . In essence the UPWA case _is that chain store groceries in Ca- nada are growing even faster than similar supermarket chains in the United States; that they are mak- ing twice as much profit on the sales dollar as are the U.S. chains even though the U.S, supermarkets are making too much; that they are underpaying the producers and overcharging the consumers; that they are wasting substantial sums on advertising and promotional gimmicks which add nothing to food values but a great deal to food prices; that they are exercis- ing increasing control over all phases of food production, pro- cessing marketing and distribution so as to constitute a threat to the positions of the farmer, the food worker and the consumer alike. Farmers’ Wellbeing The packinghouse worker has to be concerned with the wellbeing of the farmer. If livestock prices do not provide the farmer with a in marketing organizations but they are racing both against time and the recent trend in chain store policies of by-passing auctions, terminal markets and wholesale commission markets and signing contracts directly with the farmer. Some farm leaders fear that the “outcome of the contract system which chain stores . . . are in- troducing into agriculture will cul- minate in the family farmer be- coming a new species of ‘share- cropper’. The food industries of Canada are relatively more important in our economy than are U.S. food industries in the U.S. economy. “Food industries of Canada ac- count for one-fourth of all em- ployment in the nation” and there- fore occupy a central place in the Canadian economy. Low family income and. substandard wages which prevail among Canadian food workers mean that too many Canadians are living on inadequ- ate diets. What To Do? If food costs were reduced, the average family would be able to buy more for the same dollar ex- penditure. But chain store policies and practises have been tending to increase food cos The big ques- “Chain Store Policies Tend To Boost Costs” fair return, he cuts production. This in return results in cuts in marketing and slaughtering which “play havoc with our members’ ability to obtain steady employ- ment and stable incomes in the packing plants.” Hence it is just as important for farmers to be well organized to bargain collectively with the pack- ing houses and the chains as it is for workers. But the farmer’s bar- gaining position is weak for a number of reasons over which he has not very much control such as access to market information and ownership of storage facilities. But the farmer could help himself ap- preciably and at the same time help to reduce price spreads on food products by “a much more wide- spread organization among farm- ers for collective bargaining pur- poses.” Race Against Time Farmers are taking more interest The Dental Association has for- bidden Dr. R. Llewellyn Douglas (Old Doc) from announcing publicly that he is willing and able to provide top quality, quaranteed dental plates at only $40 per plate. Dr. R. Llewellyn Douglas 712 Robson St. Vancouver 1, B.C. (Corner of Granville) Phone: MUtual 1-4022 tion is what to do about it. There are already 2000 super- markets in Canada, half of them belonging to the big operators like Loblaw’s, Dominion Stores, Grand Union, Safeway and A. & P. Their volume of business has in- creased from 26.9% of total sales of grocery and combination stores in 1947--51 to 42.9% in 1957. They are going to grow bigger still, and “integrate” even more by taking over bakeries, canneries, dairies and packing plants. Larger Business Apparently the Canadian super- markets while patterned after the U.S. chain store, surpasses the lat- ter in “efficiency”. It does a larger volume of business per store, has a smaller gross margin on sales and lower operating costs, result- ing in “almost 4% net profit be- fore taxes compared with slightly over 2% in the United States.” One reason that the Canadian store has lower operating cost is that it pays lower wages. U.S. supermarkets pay out 10.04% of the sales dollar in “salaries of ex- ecutives and other employees.” The Canadian chains pay out only 7.6%. Super Earnings Because the Canadian chains make more money than their U.S. counterparts is no indication that the latter are not making enough. In fact the U.S. Federal Trade Commission has decided to make a study of the “integration and con- centration of economic power” in retail food distribution in the United States. Obviously it is un- happy about the “super earnings” of the U.S. chains. What should be said about the Canadian chains? The UPWA brief calls for an investigation into the chain store grocery business in Canada, as all the evidence points to the fact that the Canadian consumer is being systematically overcharged by the giant food chain operators. Part of this overcharging is due to fancy and excessive packaging, part is due to sales gimmicks and advertising, part is due to control- led prices and lack of competition —- but whatever the reason, the ultimate effect is higher prices for the consumer and super profits for the chains. Variety may be the spice of life, but monotony provides the gro- ceries. PAT O'NEAL, new Secretary of the B.C. Federation of me George Home success in his new job ‘of Director of Political Education — for the CLC, at the luncheon held in Home’s honour, January 7, in Van- — couyer. Group are left, Pat O'Neal; Tom Gooderham; Labour, Black. * The “Record”, the official jour- nal of the Transport and General Workers’ Union, reports how some of the dockers who volun- tered to unload a cargo of fruit to save it from rotting refused to accept the wages for themselves. Television Set They decided to buy the old people in Wessex House, Leyton- stone, a television set with it. Realizing that the viewing tastes of the two sexes in the home were likely to be different they thought they ought to buy two sets. The 102 pounds in the “kitty” was not enough for two sets, so they had a collection among them- selves to raise the rest of the money. New Paper A new and confidential weekly led “This Week”. is beirig pub- hed by Labor’s Chief Whip in the house of Commons to strengthen and co-ordinate the attacks of Labor MPs on Govern- ment policies during their week- end campaigns. A number of specialists from the front and back benches, and Labor Party headquarters, have been given the duties of going through Hansard and newspap- ers to collect all ministerial and Conservative statements which can be turned against the Govern- ment. s All matter on current events is to be submitted for following up and questions will be tabled, de- bates initiated and speeches made on vital issues. Communist Vendetta fi A special committee of the Amalgamated Engineering Union comprising the President, General Secretary, and two members of the Executive Council, has re- ported that a Divisional Organ- izer who complained. of- a Com- munist vendetta was the victim of “a concerted and sustained campaign.” Mr. Thomas Chapman was elected Organizer of the North London Division of the union 17 months ago after the post had ayailable through Co! First Aid Certif Board of B.C, Basic Accident Prevention. THE INDUSTRIAL FIRST AID ATTENDANTS ASSN. OF B.C. 180 West Hastings Street INSTRUCTION IN INDUSTRIAL FIRST AID pondence Courses leading to Industrial es approved by the Workmen's Also Correspondence Course in Timekeeping and Compensation Vancouver 3, B.C. Rotting Fruit Story Proven Falsehood By K. C. RATHBONE CPA London Correspondent LONDON (CPA)—The newspapers which made much of stories about fruit going bad during an unofficial strike of London dockers during the summer missed a really good story, perhaps deliberately in some cases. been held for 20 years by Com- munists and sympathizers. He sent in a 20 page list of com- plaints of obstruction and non- co-operation, stated that his dom- estic peace had been disturbed by anonymous telephone threats, and questioned the honesty of his staff with an allegation that correspond- ence was often missing for months, Counter Allegations Counter allegations of inneffi- ciency were made against him by opponents. Following the report the Execu- tive Council have suspended the Assistant Divisional Organizer (a Communist) for one month with- out pay, recommended the dismis- sal of a female member of the office staff, and told a Commun- ist member of the staff that he violated Executive instructions by attending district committee meet- ings and that he should not do so in future. The committee found that an ac- cusation that Mr. Chapman had indecently assaulted a female member of the staff (not the lady recommended for dismissal) was not substantiated, and the lady concerned stated that the accusa- tion was not true, Secretaries Reprimanded Three District Secretaries were criticized and reprimanded for not co-operating with Mr. Chapman. They were told to send all corres- pondence to him rather than to his deputies, According to the report part of the campaign was to inundate Mr. Chapman with trivial claims which normally the district committees would not have pursued very far. They then criticized him for not getting results or not keeping them properly informed. The re- port states that as Mr. Chapman had come straight from the shop floor he was a rather inexperienced official, and he had understand- ably made some mistakes when faced with so many cases which were impossible to solve, and with three hostile district committees. The committee thought that members of the office staff had been considerably influenced against Mr. Chapman by the cam- paign, but the evidence was not sufficient to uphold an accusation that they deliberately lost corres- ponce or withheld it from Mr. Chapman, Public Relations Organized OTTAWA (CPA) — The 35 thousand member Canadian Brotherhood of Railway, Trans- port and General Workers CLC) has established a depart- ment of public relations and has appointed Richard G, Nielsen, 30, of Ottawa, as director, ac- cording to national president William J. Smith, Mr. Nielsen joined the staff of the CBRT & GW in April ,1956, and has been assistant to the direc- tor of education and research, Freelance Writer Before joining the Brotherhood he was employed as a reporter for the Kirkland Lake Northern Daily News and the Toronto Star. He has done freelance writing for the CBC and the BBC in England, where he lived from 1950 to 1954. Appointment of Mr. Nielsen was effective January 1, Mr. Smith said. The new public relations direc- tor, who is married with two chil- dren, was educated at St. Thomas College, Chatham, N.B., and Mt. Allison University, Sackville, N.B. Vancouver. Convention Decision to establish a public re- lations department, said Mr. Smith, was approved at the Brotherhood’s national convention in Vancouver last September. 5 The convention also changed the name of the union from the Cana-_ dian Brotherhood of Railway Em- ployees and Other Transport Workers, and adopted plans for expanded organization of road transport employees and general workers. Liberals Try New ° ° Gimmick The British Liberal Party trying to attract trade union- ists to its ranks with a fortnightly publication called United. It will be published by — the newly-reorganized Associ tion of Liberal Trade Union It is claimed that the paper aimed at “the worker who for himself”, and that there plenty of volunteers’ ready to it “on the job’. It will encour workers to attend their union meetings. The paper will support beral policy of co-ownex pose the closed sho) political affiliatic poe nea