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This picture shows prospectors in Ungava whose iron and other mineral riches are being
eyed by West German monopolists. .

EXPORTS SOAR

Canadian tron for
West German arms

By PHYLLIS ROSNER

BERLIN

The Ruhr barons are feverishly searching for iron ore deposits to feed their
furnaces, partly in anticipation of huge armament orders for the new Wehrmacht.

Their attention is currently concentrated on Canada. Jointly with the American
steel trusis they are planning to step up exploitation of Canadian iron ore deposits and
increase deliveries to West Germany. -

Between 1951 and 1956 Can-

‘adian iron ore deliveries to

West Germany increased ten-
fold, from 150,000 tons annual-
ly to 1,500,000 tons. If pres-
ent plans materialize, the 1956
figure will very shortly be
dwarfed.

Among the many joint Am-
erican-West German projects
are three particularly exten-
sive schemes.

A joint company, with half
the shares owned in the Unit-

Food costs $21.40 —
and still going. up

OTTAWA

A survey conducted by the
Dominion Bureau of Statistics
in five metropolitan areas
across Canada indicates that
families of two to six persons
with incomes from $2,000 to
$6,500 spent a weekly average
of $21.40 on food in 1955.

Montreal averages on both
a family and per person basis
were higher than for the other
four cities. Family averages
for the five cities for 1955
were: Montreal, $23.14; Van-

: _ couver, $22.03; Toronto,, $20.64;

Halifax, $19.18; and Winnipeg,
$18.21,

ed States and half owned by
Krupps, Mannesmann and
other mammoth concerns, is
planning to exploit iron ore
deposits in the Labrador area.

The second project, at pres-
ent only in preliminary stages

is for the joint exploitation of
iron ore deposits in the Lake
Wabash area.

The third is for the jcint
exploitation of iron ore in the
eastern part of Quebec prov-
ince.

Wages disgrace’ say
80 Simmons strikers

Eighty workers employed at
Simmons Bedding, 3585 Grand-
view Highway here, went on
strike last week after seven
months of fruitless negotiations
with the company.

Organized last fall by the
Retail, Wholesale and Depart-
ment Store Union the workers
are striking against wages they
claim are “a discrace to Van-
couver.” :

Before the strike, men were
earning from $1.25 to $1.35 an
hour and women were paid
as little as 85 cents an hour.

In negotiations, the union
sought a wage increase of 25
cents across the board, a re-
duction of the work from 42%
to 40 hours and fringe bene-
fits.

The company, which is no-

torious in Quebec for its low
wage, anti-union policies, of-
fered five cents an hour.

A majority conciliation board
report recommendation of a
10-cent an hour increase for
men and seven cents for women
was rejected by the workers,
who are now on strike for their
full demands.

Picket lines are solid and at
Pacific Tribune press time only
four scabs were reporting for
work. ‘

At Vancouver and District
Labor Council meeting Tues-
day this week, all affiliated
unions were urged to help the
strikers by calling upon mem-
bers. to refrain from purchas-
ing mattresses and ‘other pro-
ducts manufactured by Sim-
mons Bedding.

~ Cosed session hears

inter -union dispute

By BERT WHYTE

Vancouver Labor Council voted to go into closed session
Tuesday this week to discuss a jurisdictional dispute involving
the Carpenters and IWA, but only after Carpenters’ delegates
had voiced strenuous objection to excluding the press.

In closed session council decided to allow the 600-member

IWA Local 1-252 (formerly
B.C. Woodwarkers Union) to
affiliate. Carpenters will pro-
test the affiliation to Canadian
Labor Congress, claiming that
the vote Woodworkers took to
join the IWA was illegal.

“Why should the press be
excluded?” asked Percy De-

plissy of the Carpenters. “The

IWA distributed leaflets at the
door giving their side of the
story — why shoudn’t the
press hear our side?”

“Your officers are unanim-
ous of the opinion that any
contentious point in the labor
movement is the business of
the labor movement itself,”
said president Lloyd Whalen.
“This is not a move to stem
democracy. But why should we
go running to the press with
internal problems of the labor
movement — since when. has
the press been sympathetic to
labor?”

When the vote was taken
it was overwhelming in favor
of carrying on the debate in
closed session, and newspaper
reporters were asked to leave.

Prior to the council meeting
a léaflet issued by IWA Local
1-252 over the signature of
Vic Forster, secretary-treasur-
er was distributed outside the
Labor Temple.

- The leaflet pointed out that
B.C. Woodworkers Union was
a chartered local of the Can-
adian Congress of Labor, which
awarded the jurisdiction to the
IWA and advised the union to
transfer.

“On the other hand, the
United Brotherhood of Carpen-
ters and Joiners of the TLC
claimed the jurisdiction, and
when the two congress merged
... the union found itself in an
untenable position between two
internationals.

The leaflet said the Carpen-
ters “continue to raid as well
as exerting pressure on the
employer” but “the union held
solidly together despite the
raiding.”

In 1956 a referendum was
taken and the membership
voted in favor of going into
an international. Then, “with-
out informing the executive and
without going tp the member->
ship, the former business agent
took another referendum bal-
lot with two internationals on
the ballot. This ballot resulted
in a small 28 majority in favor
of the Carpenters.

“The Congress representa-
tive refused to certify the count
on the grounds the ballot was
not properly taken.

“The executive members did
not even know the ballot was

being taken until they read
about it in the newspapers!”

At the next membership
meeting a motion’ was passed
to cancel the ballot, and the
executive recommended that
the matter of transferring into
an international be tabled for
nine months.

In January this year, faced
with a situation wherein the
union would be without a
charter, the membership lifted
the motion and decided to hold
a referendum ballot on one in-
ternational. If that interna-
tional did not obtain a major-
ity, then a referendum’ ballot
would be held on the other in-
ternational.

The membership voted 339 to
146 to join the IWA.

“George Bengough of -the
Carpenters apparéntly decided
that the workers had no right
to vote in favor of the IWA,”
says the leaflet. “He protested
to the Congress but got no-
where. He then launched an
all-out raiding campaign on our
shops, and distributed leaflets
filled with inaccuracies. The
workers ignored the leaflet
campaign...

“We believe in cooperation
in the merged labor movement.
For four solid weeks we have
suffered this raiding by the
Carpenters. Our patience is fin-
ally exhausted and we are now
compelled to fight back in our
own defense.”

Walkout shuts
Island plant

VICTORIA, B.C.

A walkout of workers shut
down Sooke Lake Lumber ply-
wood plant Tuesday this week
when management attempted
to replace a “charge hand”
on the graveyard shift with a
company foreman.

The “charge hand” operated
a dryer machine and was also
in charge of the shift. Manage-
ment shifted him to day shift
as operator of a dryer, thus
depriving him of the extra pay
given to a “charge hand.”

Edwin Haw, financial secre-
tary of Local 1-118, IWA, said
management had the right to
put a foreman on the grave-
yard shift, but not, as operator
of the dryer, which is a job
for a union man.

The walkout began when 85
men on the second shift re-
fused to start work and joined
te 90 men of the day shift and
15 men of the graveyard shift
in protesting. the company’s
action.

APRIL 5, 1957 — PACIFIC TRIBUNE—PAGE 9

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