"We must go beyond meeting’ _OFL plans mass demonstration TORONTO — “The time has come to go beyond just meeting the premier of Ontario in what we used to call cap-in-hand,” David Archer, president of the 750,000 member Ontario Feder- ation of Labor told the Tribune in an interview last week. “So this year on May 21, at 2 p.m. we are going to present our brief and we are going to be backed up by as large a demonstration of organized workers as the fe- deration and its affiliates can mobilize. More people in the de- monstration means more back- DAVID ARCHER May Day 1975 finds Canadian working men and women strug- -gling to prevent a drop in living standards at a time when every prerequisite exists for rising standards. They seek in vain for job security in a country with abundant natural wealth and technical know-how, a country capable of sustaining from five to ten times its present popula- tion. : What is wrong? What is. all this we hear about the need to “tighten belts,” “living within our means,” “wage restraints,” “a national consensus on the need for equality of sacrifice,” and so on, and on ad nauseum? It is repeatedly stated with great emphasis and finally that you “cannot take more from the economy than it can generate in real terms.” In every-day terms it is stated: “there is only so much pie to divide.” There- fore, if labor wants a_ bigger slice of the national pie, there will be so much less for invest- ment capital. But we need to ask at. this point, why not produce a bigger pie? Who determinnes the size of the pie we produce? Even more important, who determines how the pie is to be divided? State Power This brings us to the point at which we are forced to recog- nize the inescapable fact that we live under a capitalist system where corporate power has be- come merged with bourgeois state power, into the one and indivisible state monopoly pow- er that seeks to maximize priv- ate monopoly profits at the ex- pense of the working class and all working people. Under state monopoly capi- _ tive response, BY BRUCE MAGNUSON bone in the presentation of the brief.” The call for mass action by the federation arose out of seve- ral resolutions in the ’ past months from several labor coun- cils throughout Ontario, includ- ing the councils in Hamilton, Oshawa and Oakville. “The demonstration will add considerable emphasis to our de- mands for free collective bargain- ing, full employment, more hous- ing and a stop to inflation,” Archer said. “Of course our pri- mary demand will be for full employment but we will also be zeroing in on housing. It has al- ready been done by UE and IUE, but it bears repeating because if we can get people building houses we can put tradesmen to work. And the houses that are built will need electrical appli- ances that will create more jobs. Beyond the jobs, the demand for more housing fills a social need —giving people reasonable hous- ing at reasonable cost.” The call for the demonstration has met with considerable posi- Labor councils throughout the province have been issuing special leaflets of their own and most of the local unions are in favor of the plans. “The OFL, of course, has a direct responsibility, to get as _ many out for the demonstration as possible,” Archer said. “But there can be no uderestimating the role of the locals and indivi- dual union members in getting . all the support possible from their membership and __ their workmates on the shop floors.” The Federation has also in- vited the Civic Service Alliance of Ontario, the teachers federa- tions and Nurses Associations to join in the demonstration and Archer expressed confidence that several of these organiza- tions will take part in what he hopes to be the largest labor demonstration since the Rand demonstration, May 31, 1969. WINDSOR LABOR OPPOSES NORAD WINDSOR — The Windsor and District Labor Council has added its voice to the growing opposition to Can- ada’s renewing its involve- ment in NORAD. In addition to the cost of the pact to. Canadians, delegates also felt it resulted in a loss of Canadian sovereignty. The agreement expires May 12. LABOR ese 1975 battle for jobs, ; higher standards, peace | talism the old law of supply and demand is no longer the “auto- matic” regulator of prices in the market place. Prices are rigged by large multi-national corpora- tions, who then tell us that we are “pricing ourselves out of the werld market” the very market these same monopolies control. What humbug. The facts are that it is the - corporate power that is rolling back production when they should, instead, be rolling back prices.. Stopping workers from producing, maintaining artificial- ly high prices in order to reap _ maximum monopoly profits, while expecting higher output from fewer workers, does not expand the home market either. It is the system that must go. As for the state and state power, the time has arrived to take state power out of the hands of the exploiters and place it in the hands of the working class. This is the key to putting an end, once and for all to the system of exploitation of man by man. % * ‘k Take a look at Germany to- day, where we see two states and two systems working. In the past year the national in- come in the German Democratic Republic increased at a rate un- precedent since the formation of the Republic 25 years ago. The national income grew by 6.3%; industrial production by 7.4%; productivity by 6.3%; sale of consumer durable up by 8%; and the number of new houses completed was the highest ever. Since there are no inflation and no rising prices in the GDR none of these figures have to be weighted to allow for such factors.. PACIFIC TRIBUNE—FRIDAY, MAY 2, 1975—Page 8 Here is a country with-a new system, a system of socialism, where there is no unemploy- ment, no inflation, stable prices and a steadily rising standard of living. Here is a stable trading partner to do business with. Yet Canada is dragging its feet on diplomatic relations with the GDR. + Could it be that the reason is “caution” that grows out of fears that material setbacks (a new euphemism for capitalist crisis) or stagnation will sud- denly shift the advantage of at- traction to East Germany, “es- pecially among the young, who inherited the prosperous society and take it for granted but sometimes envy ‘Communism’s social. services and economic guarantees.” (Globe and Mail, March 25, 1975, Europe Today, by Flora Lewis, New York Times Service). : Study the Alternative Recognition and trade with ‘the GDR and expanded relations with the socialist world would be a more fruitful course for Canada to follow now than to haunt the ghost of a cold war Euromart that is falling apart in the face of real European unity for security and peace. On this thirtieth anniversary of the struggle that smashed the Hitler Reich and fascist oppres- sion in 1945, organized labor will be well advised to study the sccialist alternative. As John Dafoe warned as early as 1935, “Freedom of Public Opinion” cited in Canadian Forum: “There is in our system of government . a latent germ of fascism; and sometimes, if the political atmosphere is favorable, it shows signs of coming to life.” Strikebreaking violates rights! Once again Parliament has been used as the instrument of | the Maritime Employers Association to break a strike. This time | it concerns 2,200 striking Quebec longshoremen and 320 dock checkers and cargo repairmen at Montreal and Quebec City: | Again parliamentarians have stabbed workers in the back by supporting, in principle, a bill which, in effect interfere with and deprives workers of the fundamental right to strike. | The Communist Party of Canada condemns the action the government in thus using strike-breaking legislation as © | means to aid employers and to coerce labor, thereby denyin its fundamental right to bargain over its conditions of emplo ment. As long as this threat is held over organized labor fortifies employers’ resolve not to bargain in good faith am opens the door for the government to come to their aid means of ‘strike-breaking legislation. We likewise condemn the action of parliament in rubbe stamping this kind of undemocratic action. ' Consequently, we demand a complete reversal of government policy in the matter of labor-management relations, making employers respect the fundamental rights of working peopl to collective bargaining and the unfettered right to strike. This right, which is under increasing attack by monopolf: its Tory and Liberal politcal spokesmen and the reactionaty news media, must be upheld in the public service as w It is particularly inexcusable, and totally unacceptable for & labor-supported political party, the New Democratic Party, to refrain from criticism of the principle question involved !" |) strike-breaking legislation. by resorting to political ploys like |) amendments to such legislation, which, whether adopted 9! |, not, do not make such legislation one iota more palatable | and politically digestable. t We call upon the Canadian people, and the trade union movement in the first place, to demand action from the gov | ernment in this respect. The increasing infringement on collective bargaining rights | by federal and provincial governments, demands of organiz labor an effective. fight-back in contractual relations, as wW as legislatively and politically. Central Executive Committee, | Communist Party of Canada | CSAO TO FIGHT FOR. POLITICAL ACTIVITY TORONTO — The Civil Ser- vice Association of Ontario (CSAO) may go to court to win for its members the right to full participation in political. activity. CSAO president Charles Dar- row said the recent threat of the. ‘provincial government to fire a Hamilton property assessor for activity on behalf of the New Democratic Party was a “typical example of the way the Davis government has made second- class citizens out of its employ- ees.” : The government has indicated it will postpone the firing of Brian Charlton while it reviews its current policy. : AIR CANADA PLANE STILL HELD BY STRIKERS — PARIS — Talks aimed at set- tling a strike by Air Canada_ employees at Charles de Gaulle Airport bogged down with fail- ure to agree on terms to set ne- gotiations in motion. The stumbling block was the refusal by representatives of the 104 strikers to return one of the airline’s DC-8 aircraft into ser- vice, a condition which must be met before negotiations can be- gin, Air Canada said. The plane has been grounded since the strike began Wednes- day. The men, who work in ground maintenance, baggage handling and other passenger services, are protesting the air- line’s intention to sub-contract airport servicés to another union. The move would mean a 50% reduction in the airline’s French personnel, the union says. . epee. ‘campus, spokesmen said. of the federal police force, UNIVERSITY STRIKERS WIN MASS SUPPORT WINNIPEG — Supporters “a the striking University of Ma® toba workers turned out in 1afe numbers at a demonstration front of the Legislature. Representatives from six ca? pus bargaining units and stude?) organizations demonstrated ©) direct the government’s atte tion to the five-week-old str The executive of the 1,100 strikers, members of the ASS™ ciation of Employees Support!” Education Services, invited Pr?) mier Ed Schreyer, Ben Han’) chack, minister responsible f% Universities and College Aftaif® Labor Minister Russ Paulley! and members of the oppositio” to speak at the rally. MOUNTIES STILL TRYING FOR A UNION OTTAWA — The governme?! is not going to recognize Y new RCMP Association until it represents a sizable proportid™ Commons justice committee wa told. “There are a few fellas sell’ ing cards but it’s far from repre sentative of the RCMP,” Solici tor-General Warren ” allmané said. “This group is elected by 1? one,” RCMP Commission Maurie Nadon said of the ass” ciation, ‘which began sellin membership card less than t weeks ago and has about 1 members in the Ottawa area. He compared it with the divi’ sional representative _ syste whose members are elected an represent about 12,000 Mouf ties. It was described last week by an officer as “a company union.” :