ing Service Employees Union (AFL), Local 234 as bargaining Tepresantatives for the hitherto un- Otganized workers at four Famous Players, four Odeon and two inde- Pendent theatres. Workers in the theaters include | doormen, janitors, usherettes and Cashiers. Theaters certified are yrrisdale, Orpheum, Capitol and , ctoria (Faméus~ Players thea- &rs); Odean-Hastings, Circle, Par- adise and Lux (Odeon Theaters); Emerald. miners Vote for union ne LSON, B.C.—Workers at the h €rald Tungsten Mine, near ape voted 64 to 11 recently for U Cal 480 of the International Rion of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers (CIO) as their official bargaining representative. The Vote was conducted by ‘the pro- Yincial labor department, which has now certified the IUMMSW at the mine. .| complete organization of this’ sec- ~ Ginema workers ask — wage boost, less hours _ Workers in ten Vancouver movie houses will now re- cetve the benefits of an aggressive trade union in their fight for Shorter hours and higher wages. Last week the provin- pal labor department, after considerable delay, certified the Lyric and Colonial (independent theaters). ae “All Famous Players and Odeon houses certified, have received no- tice from the union to be prepared to commence negotiations,” Pete Canavan, the Union’s business agent told the Pacific Tribune this week. Among the union’s demands will be establishment of a mini- mum wage of 75 cents-an-hour. At present some theaters in question pay wages as low as 40 cents, while others rarely go above 60 cents. Canavan stated that his union expected to apply for certification of 34 other movie theaters in Van- couver and the Lower Mainland, in the near future, in an effort to tion of the service workers, Elections for executive officers of the Building Service Employees Union here recently, saw Victor Galbraith chosen local president for another term, by acclamation. Also re-elected were Pat Ryan, vice-president; Bert Wybrew, re- cording secretary; and Pete Cana- ban, business agent, all unopposed. | New executive members elected are: Irene Coughlin, secretary; and Ken Creelman, guardian. Publications. Geoff. Webster, as € was known to a wide circle of friends, was seized with a eart attack while working at desk in his West Vancou- ver home and died in hospital A few hours later. He was 74 years of age. Described by those who New him best as a man of uncompromising intellectual honesty, it was typical of Webster’s modest, unassuming Character that only after his fath was it revealed that he Was an hereditary baronet but had consistently refused to use his title as Sir Geoffrey. Born in Broadway, Worcest- €rshire, England, Webster was & leading member of the Fa- lan Society before he came to Canada in the late ’twen- ties. In Burnaby, where he es- tablished his home, ne took & Prominent part in the foun- dation of the CCF, and when © Commonwealth was estab- lisheg he became its associate editor. r His scholarly: contributions to the Commonweaith’s pages Were an outstanding feature that journal until late in as when the division between 1 © faction of the CCF legis- Rive froup headed by Rev. Obert Connell and other CCF ’S and the provincial ex- ave of the party led to a Tuggle over direction of the Per’s policies, ebster and other _ staff stembers, all of whom held ey in the paper and con- no uted their full time for a beet wage, insisted that the hal directors fulfil. a com- “Sneha made when the Com- lish ent Printing and Pub- ng Company was formed ving? over to the CCF pro- ial executive, as trustee the party, a controlling of stock, William Prit- * Managing director and RG teat and his fellow direc brok, Most of whom afterwards joi ®/ away from the CCF to short Connell in forming the Bro: lived Social Constructive Romie’ refused to release the Misge, and Webster was dis- dismjc,2% 2ssociate editor. His dism Ssal, and the subsequent 4ssal of Don Maxwell, of Tribute to Geoff Webster A familiar face will be missing in progressive. cir- cles around Vancouver through ; Of last week of G. N. W. Webster, one-time associate editor of the Commonwealth and more recently a con- ttibutor to Canadian, American: and British left-wing — the death on Thursday the advertising staff, and Hal Griffin, news editor, for their part in exposing the directors’ actions on a CCF broadcast, precipitated. the staff walkout which ended the Common- wealth as a venture in labor journalism. CCF members cancelled their subscriptions by the hundreds and shorn of the support which had brought it into veimng the Commonwealth was soon forc- ed to cease publication. The same determination to fight for a principle which led to his dismissal from the Commonwealth characterized all Webster’s subsequent parti- cipation in the progressive movement. Though he dis- agreed with the former Com- munist Party and the Labor- Progressive Party in many things, he was convinced that only united action between the CCF, LPP, trade unions and other progressive groups could achieve progressive govern- ment and he did not hesitate to express this conviction. in his prolific writings and in his occasional appearance on a public platform. His disappointment in the failure of CCF executive mem- bers to carry through the unity policies approved by CCF pro- vincial conventions in the ‘thirties led to his eventual withdrawal from the CCF. Thereafter he devoted himself to his contributions to left- wing publications, including the Pacific Tribune and its predecessors. Webster is survived by his wife and one son, G. Steven, in West Vancouver, and a sis- ter, Kathleen, in England. Funeral services in St. James’ church here last Fri- day were attended by a num- ber of his former associates on the Commonwealth who were represented by Fraser Wilson, vice-president of Van- couver Labor Council, as a pallbearer. Among others who attended the services Tom McEwen, editor of the Pacific Tribune, Elmore Philpott, Van- columnist and _ radio couver commentator, and Garfield King, Vancouver barrister. ‘Reconstruction’ abroad, while at home...! ’ The bodies of four of seven Negroes killed at this “Brunswick, Ga., prison camp are -sprawled on the ground. The warden, it is reported, shouted: “Let them have it,” amd the guards shot to kilL An investigation is under way to determine whether the shooting was justified. It has been revealed that at the time he gave the order the warden was drunk. Bracken may be tossed out in atest tory ‘housecleaning’ plans OTTAWA.—Long-smouldering discontent with the leadership of the servative party, both within Parliament and at broke into a flame of revolt. By MARK FRANK Bracken House, Progressive-Con- national headquarters, In-the-know sources say that a recent story predicting “a garret to cellar house-clean- ing” of Bracken House, was ap- proved by “about 85 percent” of the Tory group in Commons. Since the story is a two-edged sword aimed at cutting off the heads of its natonal organizer and John Bracken, P.C. spokesman in Commons—it might well be con- cluded that the number of “men around Bracken” are dwindling— either that, or they are becoming far and few between. Touching off the present deep- going rumblings in the Tory par- ty ranks, was the record of its standard-bearer in the recent Halifax by-election. He lost 6,000 votes compared to the 1945 elec- tions. Add to this the constant charges hurled at Bracken of a “lack of leadership”; the “lacadaisacal at- titude of the present loyal opposi- tion”; and the absence of a uni- form line within the group during the recent session in Commons. The discreet silence being main- tained by Mr. Bracken following sudden appearance of the story, appears to some observers, as a reluctance on the part of the Tory, ABCW certified on highway jobs More than 300 workers engaged in highway construction jops on Vancouver Island and mauiniand points won union recognition last week with certification of the Amalgamated Building and Con- struction Workers (CCL) as their bargaining unit, by the Provincial Labor Department in- Victoria. The certification covers work- ers employed by five construc- tion firms engaged in building and repairing provincial hignways from Parksville to Port Alberni on the Island, and in the Hedley- Princeton district of the main- land, Jack C. Barrett, secretary of the ABCW Industrial Local 1, informed the Pacific Tribune this week. : “This certification marks the first time these firms have peen organized, and is the result of consistent union work,” Barrett said. The ABCW will now com- mence negotiations for a union agreement for these highway construction workers, the main demand being a 20-cent hourly wage increase. chief to air family quarrels in the open. J. M. Macdonnell, Dominion president of the party, however, made a public declaration in which he admitted the need for strengthening of the organization. The few top men close to Brack- en refer to leadership in the Bracken House set-up as a ‘dicta- torship” ruling by divine author- ity, disregarding opposition views within the party. National Organizer Bell and public relations chief Charters are two members of Bracken House, mentioned in corridor gos- sip as key figures in the current P.C. crisis. Inside the House itself, there is evidence of a splinter group, face- tiously called “the Scorpion Club,” rumored to be working against the top leadership in the party. Another feature of the suggest- ed shake-up now pending is the figure of George Drew, aspirant for new and greater glories in the federal tory field. Informed sources here say the premier of Ontario would show no hesitation to taking on the mantle of Tory party leadership. It is recalled that his rise to pow- er in Ontario politics came in a similar manner—walking rough- shod over former leader of the Conservative Party of Ontario, Earl Rowe. This time it is John Bracken who must succumb — and George Drew “the most likely man.” One suggestion is that Drew may wait until another federal election when he can lead a fresh new group of tories, wiping out the tradition of little-snirit being left by its pres- ent leader. : All of this, of course, does not add up to a healthy thriving poli- tical organization. Members of the tory groun themselves and others are obviously aware of this condition, An indication of the desnerate position of the P.C. grounv is the thought. often-mentioned by noliti“ cal nundits here, that should an election be called now, it is very likely the CCF would become the official ovposition in place of the present tory proun. During the volitic#l warfare in the redistribution: debate Fernand Vian (TAberal, St. Boniface, Man.) onened the door on this prospect, Calling for a return, to “the two old parties,” the member lectured & ‘Mr. Bracken on the errors of his party. He asked: “If we are to judge from the results of the Hali- fax by-election . . .- which party is likely to be the loyal opposition after the next general election?” He warned the P.C. group that if they did not mend their ways and become more aggressive “their attitude will tend to an in- crease of socialism in this coun- try.” Fear of the risé of popular so- cialist thinking among more and more Canadians, coupled with an accurate picture of growing crisis within one of the old-line parties, is contained in this warning. It is a sign of the times. Seamen to seek wage increases Pressing demands for the betterment of wage rates and shortening of working hours of Canada’s seamen will be Pressing demands for the bet- terment of wage rates and short- ening of working hours of Can- ada’s seamen will be presented to shipowners in Montreal short- ly by the Canadian Seamen’s Union (TLC). The union is asking deep sea shipowners for a wage increase of 15 cents an hour, 48 hour week at sea, and 40 hour week in port. Approximately 4,000 seamen ship. out from Vancouver, the vast majority of them being CSU members. The deep sea contract comes up for renewal October 15. Explaining the reasons for the CSU demands, Jim .-Thompson, union vice-president, told the Tribune that a government war bonus to seamen, formerly grant- ed in full, was now merged with the general wage, and taxed, re- sulting in a substantial pay cut. Rising living costs for seamen’s families ashore was offered as a second reason. The purpose of the 48-hour week request was to al- low seamen overtime pay bene- fits, when working Sunday, as required at sea. Thompson disclosed that the CSU will resume negotiations with Stuart Research this week for 500 coast tugboat men. The CSU is asking a $25 monthly in- Crease, union hiring, and 10 days off each month, in lieu of the eight-hour day for tug boat crews. 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