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I) *Y GEORGE MorRiS

IF The
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Unions march to end war

ation’s headquarters across from
Lafayette Park and within sight
and hearing of the giant demon-
stration must have looked cold-
ly at the many banners of labor
groups in the march. After a
decade of U.S. war in Southeast
Asia, during which these leaders
boasted that their hawk line rep-
resented the unionists of the
country, they have the heart-
breaking experience of seeing
open defiance of their position.

Smashed Lie

The recent Harris poll among
trade unionists, showing a 64 to
27% majority for pulling out of
Vietnam NOW, smashed the
long-peddled lie that trade
unionists are on the hawk side.

‘But in the recent period we have

also witnessed an organized de-
fiance of the leadership at the

lower levels of the federation.
Even some top leaders of unions
endorsed the march.

An indication of the trend was
the refusal of four locals of the
Federation of Government Em-
ployees in Washington, and 18
leaders of nine other locals who
back them, to heed an order of
the union’s top heads to “cease
and desist” from participating in
the march. Nobody is afraid of
the Meanys today.

Veterans’ Force -

The growing pro-peace move-
ment among veterans of Viet-
nam was well demonstrated in
Washington during the week be-
fore April 24. American Legion
and other “official” spokesmen
for veterans were helpless in
face of this new rank and file
force.

Another powerful contingent
in the march was the National
Welfare Rights Organization,
that has more than 700 branches
across the country of people on
welfare. It’s a militant force
that speaks for the millions of
persons in the steadily growing
mass of men, women and chil-
dren forced to rely almost per-
manently on welfare. The
NWRO is therefore driving for
a change of priorities, from war
to peace programs, with those
on welfare either assured jobs
or a standard equal to at least
the government’s lowest three
family budgets. :

Black People ° -
The top leaders of the Nation-
al Association for the Advance-
ment of Colored People showed
little interest in the march. But
the most viable forces of the
black liberation movement were

there, especially followers of the
late Dr. Martin Luther King and
the Southern Christian Leader-
ship Conference; also the many
black caucus movements in
unions, the National Negro La-
bor Council, and the many
church and community groups
of the black people.

The campus groups were
there as they have been in the
previous great peace marches.
This time the students represent
a more stable, unified force, less
influenced by the “crazies” and
“Weathermen” and such ele-
ments and more closely alligned
with the progressive forces of
labor and black liberation.

New. Groups

Many other groups have
sprung up: because those who
were expected to give leadership
were either aligned with the
enemies of progress or didn’t
act. We see it in the movement
for women’s rights, in the mili-
tancy of tenant organizations,
squatter trends of poor people
sure for community control of
eccupying vacant houses, pres-
schools, and some beginnings of
councils of unemployed.

The sweep across the country
in defense of Angela Davis is
another indication of the vigor
and unity of many campaigns
and organizations in defense of
all political prisoners.
Political Action

To cap this newly developing
trend is the increasing evidence
of political independence. The
polls show a steadily rising per-
centage, now well above a
fourth of the electorate, who
class themselves as “indepen-
dents.” A sample of what this
leads to is the recent Berkeley
election that swept into office a
coalition of black and white pro-
gressives and the _ significant
vote such a coalition drew in the
next door city of Oakland, Cal.

The trend is only getting un-
derway. But its already-apparent
characteristics recall a similar
trend and spirit during. the Thir-
ties. Then, too, the popular force
that eventually won some im-

portant changes, credited to the -

New Deal by historians, was the
confluence of several indepen-
dent movements of peace, jobs
and progress. - :
(Daily World)

NS. fight for labor's right

Canso, stopping briefly to shout
slogans in front of Acadia Fish-
eries Ltd. manager A. L. Cade-
gan’s home and later held a
“meeting of concern” chaired by
Mayor Hanlon.

The meeting
“wholeheartedly stand firm be-
hind the right of working people
to join and be represented by
the union of their choice; and
that a vote be carried out to
determine which union truly re-
presents the fishermen.” ;

Speakers at this meeting in-
cluded Rev. Ronald Parsons, An-
glican minister of Canso; Rev.
Robert Lauder, executive direc-
tor of the Catholic Social Ser-
vice Commission in Halifax;
Rev. Tom Morley, a Roman Ca-
tholic priest who worked for the
United Fishermen and Allied
Workers Union men during last
summer’s strike; Steven Hart, a
spokesman for the committee
seeking a free vote among the
fishermen on the union issue,
UFAWU president Homer Ste-
vens; Donald MacPhearson, an
executive member of local 1064
United:Steelworkers of America
from Sydney; M. A. MacKenzie,
representing a Sydney Typogra-
phical union local; and. trawler-
man Arthur Ryan.

Mr. MacPhearson and Mr.
Mackenzie promised the support
of their parent organizations. —

On April 23, Nova Scotia

labor leader J. K. Bell, suggested
that a vote by Canso area fisher-
men to select a union 0

f their

resolved to.

own choice might be initiated
by a “public body” other than
the government if the province
did not take quick action. Mr.
Bell, who is secretary-treasurer
of the Nova Scotia Marine
Workers Federation, as well as
secretary of the Nova Scotia
Federation of Labor, was speak-
ing at a press conferenec in Ha-
lifax, where a group of local
churchmen, labor officials and
concerned private citizens form-
ed an action committee to cam-
paign for the fishermen’s right
to “freedom of association.

The suggestion that a group
of impartial citizens might con-
duct a vote came up after read-
ing of a strongly-worded press
release from the committee say-
ing that “further measures
would be taken’ unless the pro-
vincial government intervenes
by Tuesday, April 27, at 10 a.m.

The. Committee For a Free
Vote For Fishermen includes
Mr. Bell; Father Lauder; John
Beuree, secretary of the Halifax-
Dartmouth Trades and Labor
Council; Canon Mel _ French;
David Lewis, vice-president of
the Nova Scotia New Democra-
tic Party and several other pro-
minent citizens.

It was directly as a result of
the United Fishermen and Allied
Workers effort to organize the
Nova Scotia fishermen, and after
a hard fought seven month strike
that the Nova Scotia Trade
Unions Act has now been
amended to give trawler fisher-

men in the province the right to
collective bargaining and repre-
sentation by the union of their
choice.

The Labor Relations Board
of Nova Scotia has refused. to
process an application by the
United Fishermen and Allied
Workers Union for certification
to represent trawler crews em-
ployed by Acadia Fisheries Ltd.
of Canso, The UFAWU has also
applied to the Labor Board un-
der the new legislation adopted
April 8, 1971, to have the Meat-
cutters phony contract declared
null and void on the grounds
that this union did not represent
a majority of the employees
this “sweetheart deal” was
signed.

The Committee For a Free
Vote for Fishermen announced
on April 27, after the govern-
ment failed to act on the matter,
that a ballot would be held May
3 in an attempt to show which
union the fishermen prefer to
represent them. Rev. Robert
Lauder, spokesmen for the com-
mittee said, following a meeting
with acting Labor Minister
Peter Nicholson and Health
Minister Scott MacNutt, that
the vote would be held in an at-
tempt to show there had been
an injustice.

Mr. Nicholson, who is also
acting premier in Mr. Regan’s
absence, said 81 applications
regarding unfair labor practices
at the Canso plant would be
heard by the Labor Board on

May 5. The acting premier also
said it was “significant” that a
second application for certifica-
tion by the UFAWU, filed on
April 16, had not been dismis-
sed by the board ‘‘when it could
have done so.”

Members of the committee to
supervise the May 3 vote are:
June Callwood of Toronto, mem-
ber of the national executive of
the Canadian Civil Liberties
Union; Dr. C. M. Nicholson,
principal of Pine Hill Divinity
School; Edmund Morris, a for-
mer Halifax MP and_ interim
president of St. Mary’s Univer-
sity as well as a radio and TV
commentator; Dr. Graham Mor-
gan, president of the University
of King’s College; and Dr. John
Savage of Dartmouth, president
of the Catholic Services ‘Com-
mission.

_ The applications for prosecu-
tion of. unfair labor practices
filed against Acadia Fisheries
come also from the Canadian
Seafood Workers Union at
Canso. The Meatcutters are out
to take over this union too, as
well as the Canadian Brother-
hood of Railway, Transport and
General Workers in the fishing
industry. Both are CLC-affiliated
unions.

(At the time of going to
press, the Tribune received a
press release from the CLC deal-
ing with this issue. We will
carry comment on this press re-
lease in our May 12 issue—Ed.)

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—FRIDAY, MAY 7, 1971—-PAGE 5