2 B.C. LUMBER WORKER ‘ Bet, 1889 From Page 1 “Warning” and secure the right of collective bargaining? Is it not true that these activities have substantially helped to raise the standards of living for all Canadians, and that they have enhanced the natonal strength and well-being? When the employers talk about the power of organized labour, you can point to their glaring inconsistency. The power of the trade un- ions it not the power of money, nor it is the power to exploit; powers which the employers constantly seek to acquire. Any power vested in the trade unions is the right to free men and women to withhold their _ labour in the interests of justice. It is true that organized labour has gained a position of power in Canada. Trade unionists have reason to be proud of the manner in which this power has been used. It is to be hoped that in the years ahead, organ- ized labour will achieve greater power and continue to use it, as in the past, for the good of all the people in Canada. Is It “Monopoly Unionism” ? A favorite argument of the employers is that trade unions today enjoy monopoly rights in industry or what is called “monopoly union- ism”. The employers apply this term mainly to industrial unions, which include in their ranks nearly all the workers in a particular industry, such as the United Auto Workers, the United Steelworkers, or, coming closer te home, the IWA. Bargaining by one union on an industry-wide basis for all the workers in the industry is claimed to be monopoly unionism. This, it is claimed, leads to “wage-push inflation.” It is pictured as a monopoly that is contrary to public interest. On the above basis the employers propose that the provisions of the Anti-Combines Investigation Act should be made to apply to trade unions. The United Fishermen on the Pacific coast have already experi- enced this attempt on the part of the Fisheries Association and Govern- ment officials. The employers’ argument on this score sounds plausible. They say that as it has been necessary to place restraints upon large corporations with monopolistic practices, it is quite fair that the same restraints should be placed upon large industry-wide unions. Any proposal to apply the anti-combine laws to trade unions fails to recognize that there is a vital difference between human labour and the goods of commerce. Your Answer — Compete and Perish The employers assert that free-enterprise competition is the foundation of our natural economic policy. It is presumed that under this policy, competition is the best regarded force in a free economy. Never- theless, because monoply control of any commodity was most undesir- able it became necessary to enact laws imposing restraint upon industrial giants who were trampling all competitors out of existence. In the United States, the Sherman Act, and later the Clayton Act dealt with such monopolies. It should be noted, however, that in the Clayton Act it is stated, “the labour of a human being is not a commodity of commerce.” In addition, cooperatives, railroads, truck lines, airlines, pipelines etc. are exempted from these anti-trust laws. The anti-combine laws of Canada are patterned along similar lines. As long as workers have been employed in production units they have banded together in an effort to gain better working conditions from their employers. The in- dividual worker is helpless to bargain for higher wages. Individual workers can only take what is offered or go hungry. Acting collectively, they are better able to bar- gain, because they are then in a position to. withhold their labour if the conditions offered are unsatisfactory. One of the basic purposes of a Union is to eliminate cut-throat competition among the workers. Application of the anti-combine laws ‘® to a union inevitably resulting in open competition one member with the other, would wipe even the smallest union out of existence. Presumably the purpose in proposing that unions be subject to the anti-combine laws is to set up competition in the labour market. This means direct competition between workers for jobs, a situation which would inevitably lower their living standards, and render them helpless before employer exploitation. There are differences between the labour market and the com- modity markets which must be noted. See Also “WARNING” P, 7 DUNCAN BUSINESS GUIDE | LOUTET AGENCIES LTD. INSURANCE AND REAL ESTATE Duncan J. Lindsya Loutet Lake Cowichan 131 Jubilee St. Gordon R. Loutet S. 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