EDITORIAL

Back building trades fight

Canadian labor can only abhor the di-
visive actions of the Building Trades
union leadership which have compelled
their unions’ suspension from member-
ship in the Canadian Labor Congress.

The arrogance and high handedness
of these Washington-appointed leaders
can best be measured by the incredibile
fact that the membership of the unions
concerned, reputed to number upwards
of 400,000, have never been given an
opportunity to express themselves by
secret ballot or even a show of hands vote
on such a crucial matter.

The made-in-USA leadership simply
decided what was best for the member-

‘ship, then proceeded to stop paying dues
to the Canadian Labor Congress, forcing
their suspension after a year of fruitless
negotiations.

And what was the complaint of these
high-handed Washington brokers? That
the CLC structure was not democratic

Who opposes

In a world so threatened by nuclear
and conventional overkill — indeed an-
nihilation — realistic proposals for stop-
ping arms escalation and for building
mutual confidence should be wildly wel-
comed everywhere.

In Madrid, the 35 countries (including
Canada) which in 1975 signed the Hel-
sinki Final Act on security and coopefa-
tion in Europe, have received a Soviet
offer to throw open to inspection the
movements of Soviet troops, planes and
warships over a vast area, if NATO does
likewise.

How better to build confidence and
ease anxiety than by knowing what the
other side is doing militarily?

Soviet president Brezhnev, at the 26t
Congress of the Soviet Communist Par-
ty, in February, proposed a summit
meeting between himself and the.USA’s
new man in the White House, Ronald
Reagan. Since progress has often been
made at past summits, as between
Brezhnev, Nixon and Ford, here again
the road is opened to finding ways to
wind down the arms spiral. .

The Warsaw Treaty countries have
repeated their long-standing offer to
disband the Warsaw Pact simultaneously
with NATO’s disbandment. This makes
sense to them since their agreement was
set up (May 1955) in answer to NATO
(established April 1949). As a concrete

enough for them! By democratic they
meant the opposite. Their complaints
were about the rank and file nature of
the CLC which they want changed to the
U.S. AFL-CIO leadership-controlled
structure.

It is past time that such anti-demo-
cratic actions were put an end to in the
Canadian trade union movement. The
unity of the Canadian labor movement
cannot permit made-in-USA splits in its:
ranks..

The Tribune pledges its full and un-
qualified support to Canadian building-
trades workers as they tackle the difficult
and vital_job of ending once and for all
the disgraceful refusal of their inter-
national unions to grant them full and

- unqualified autonomy, while main-

taining the essential unity of their ranks.

We are confident they are equal to the
job.

peace offers?

step, they propose an international con-

ference on disarmament in Warsaw later.

this year. And — they are consistent bac-
kers of holding the United Nations’ sec-
ond Special Session on Disarmament. |

Millions of people in countries around
the globe have welcomed these proposals
and are watching the USA and its NATO
partners for their positive response.

In Canada, the media supporters of

the U.S. military-industrial complex and -

the - multi-nationals, feign objectivity,
then bury it in a garbage heap of slander
and. distortion.

Accordingly, agreements between
socialist and developing countries are
“aggression”, liberation forces are “ter-
rorists”, socialist agreements (e.g. USSR
and Poland) are “intervention”. The-
world’s people, apparently, cannot be
spared a massive arms burden and war
brinkmanship until these relationships
are Reed: jones

The reality is that such distortions, de-
signed for brainwashing, should be done
away with, so that Canadians can make
clear judgements about issues on which
their own lives may depend.

In this regard it is timely to ask, not
only where the government stands on
disarmament versus war preparations,
but where do the Clark Tories stand, and
where do the Broadbent New Democrats
stand.

Another food price rise

Families on working-class incomes
knew it before the figures were out, but
for the record, and as ammunition in the

rotest, the inflation jump in February
hi a 7-year high, reaching an annual rate
of 12.2%. Statistics Canada reported
Mar. 18 that prices for the month rose
more than a full percentage point, with
food, clothing and housing high on th
list. .

On March 12, Agriculture Canada re-
vealled that food prices alone had shot

up 16% in ae months, putting the .

weekly cost to feed an average Canadian

family of four at $78.76.
PACIFIC TRIBUNE—MARCH 27, 1981—Page 4

Meanwhile Finance
MacEachen made no apology for his
government or his budget’s pretence last
December that inflation would be held to
10.2% in 1981.

The post card protest addressed to the
prime minister, and operating across
Canada, is a mounting warning to the
profiteers and the governments which
defend them, to roll back prices as the
campaign demands, or face an outraged
consumer movement from coast to coast.

Don’t just sign a card; take a pack of
them and get others to sign.

‘Minister —

—conaperrittttt gs

The Law of the Sea

Flashbacks

25 years age... 50 years ago... ; :

COEXISTENCE OR

SELF-DESTRUCTION
Wide open trade between the

countries of the socialist and

capitalist worlds is urged for
“the future of our well-being” by

.the president of the Canadian

Council of the International
Chamber of Commerce.

“Economic are a stronger fac-
tor in man’s life than imposed
political convictions,” said R.C.
Berkinshaw.

“The alternative to peaceful
coexistence would appear to be
mutual self-destruction. If we
are to make coexistence a reality,
it is necessary that we take a
realistic approach — decide to
let others live as they will as long
as there is no interference with
the way of life we have chosen.”

Tribune,

March 19, 1956.

Brazil.

Profiteer of the week

‘CANADA'S GRIP
IN THE CARIBBEAN —

The Royal Bank of Canada
operates 44 branches in Cuba,
12 in Puerto Rico, Dominican
Republic and Haiti; 12 in British
West Indies and three in French
West Indies and 30 in Central
and South America.

The Bank of Nova Scotia has
11 branches in Jamaica, 8 in
Cuba, two in Puerto Rico and
three in Dominican Republic.
The Canadian Bank of Com-
merce maintains branches in
Barbados, Cuba, Jamaica,
Mexico, Trinidad‘and Brazil.

The Canadian-Cuban Sugar

Company owns 66,000 acres of

land on the island with 12,000
planted in cane. Brazilian Trac-
tion, Light and Power is the
Canadian-owned octopus con-
trolling light, power, gas, tram-
way and telephone systems in

The Worker,,
March 21, 1931

Labrador Mining and Exploration Co. Ltd., Toronto (yes, Toronto) had
an after-tax profit of $23,213,00 in 1980. One gets the uneasy feeling that

somewhere, somebody is paying for that in inflated prices of thin- —

gamabobs or whachamacallits. Maybe the rest of.us should start crying
for “incentives” to keep us “interested”, as mine owners do.

R

PACIFIC

’ Editor — SEAN GRIFFIN
Associate Editor — FRED WILSON
Business and Circulation Manager — PAT O'CONNOR

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