Pe

- WORKERS DE

By PHYLLIS CLARKE

- Al Davidson, manager of the
Hamilton Building and Construc-
tion Trades Council probably put
it most succinctly when he was
introduced at the beginning of
the roster of speakers at the
Queen’s Park rally on May 31,
Saying, “Wowee!!””

He, and his counterpart in To-
ronto, Alex Main, Manager of the
Toronto Building and Construc-
tion Trades Council, both wel-
comed the thousands of assem-
bled trade unionists and support-
ers to this united demonstration
against the recommendations of
the Rand Report.

Greetings were brought to the
rally by Jack Donnelly on behalf
of David Archer, president of the
Ontario Federation of Labor.
Ron Tippler, on behalf of local
1005 of the Steelworkers Union
in Hamilton spoke briefly on the
support that his membership had
for the demands.

From St. Catharines, Gordon
Lambert, of local 199; United
Automobile Workers Union, ex-
pressed the determination of
workers all across the province
to resist anti-labor laws. He said,
“The government says that we

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should be nice guys. Well, nice
guys finish last and the labor.
movement hasn’t any intention
of finishing last.”

“To those who want to stand
in our way,” he continued, “those
that want to be obstacles, and I
don’t care from what source
they come, all I can say is that if
you jump in front of a train, it’s
suicide, not murder.”

Lambert concluded by saying —

to those assembled, “My sugges-
tion to you is that you go back
into the plants, stores and places
where you work and organize
and unite and unite! Take your
signs back with you. Put them
up where you work. We’re going
to raise a better standard of liv-
ing everywhere.”

He was followed by Gerry Gal-
lagher of the Laborers Union
Local 183 in Toronto, who as the
chairman said, is present at all
labor demonstrations. Gallagher
declared, ‘‘As far as the Rand
Report is concerned, we’ll get rid
of the government that even
thinks about implementing it.”

Ray Taggart, president of the
Ontario Council of the Teamsters
Union, followed with a hard-hit-
ting speech which called the

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PACIFIC TRIBUNE—JUNE 6, 1969—Page 6. .

ED STEEL WORKERS OF AMERICA

MARIE ONTARIO

AND REPORT"

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house Workers

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Rand Commission the “biggest
hoax ever perpetrated on ‘the
labor movement.”

“T’ll only say this about the
Rand recommendations,” -Tag-
gart said, ‘“‘we the working peo-
ple of this province demand a
commitment from the provincial
government that we will not
have the Rand recommendations
imposed on us. We will no longer
stand still for the imposition of
court injunctions to defeat
strikes and to cripple the labor
movement. Unless we get such a
commitment from the govern-
ment we will have bigger and
better demonstrations.”

He then turned to the demand
for a labor Bill of Rights: ‘We
in the Teamsters Union, and I’m
sure many in the labor move-
ment agree with us, say that
rather than the Rand Commission
we need a Royal Commission
appointed by the provincial gov-
ernment which will talk to labor-
ing people. Such a commission
will find that we have hunger
and poverty in our province.
Such a commission will find that
our people cannot continue to
bear the burden of increased
taxes. Such a commission will
find that our children are not
getting the kind of education
they are entitled to. Such a com-
mission will find. that thousands
of our people are jobless.

“I say that on behalf of the
entire labor movement we de-
mand a provincial Bill of Rights
that among other things will
guarantee a job at decent wages
for every man and women. Such
a bill will guarantee to all work-
ers including the civil servants
the right to collective bargaining
and the right to strike. We will
not settle for slum housing and
inferior housing. We want decent
housing in decent areas for all
our people and their families. We
will not settle for three meals a
day of hamburger and porridge
but we will demand steak and
roast beef, just like the bosses
have.

“This demonstration today is
the way of the labor movement
to bring our society into the
twentieth century and I think
that we are serving notice on our
government officials that we will

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enter the twentieth cents"
will gain the things tha pect
talked about here today et,
we don’t intend to sit jon8
be deprived of them a vi
“And the governmen ato
bosses and their colla : 68 yo
the news media might © ig
1 we

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understand that unt! if
obtained these things
we have truly gained 4
ciety there will be MOT | ll
strations. We will march gel
er, we will demonstrate. tt
and if necessary We ie
together.” i :
Tt is not surprising tHe
next speaker, Minister © af
Dalton Bales could not ©. pit)
over the jeers and boos i A
of the repeated reque’ im )
order from one of the © nis
Clive Ballantyne. Almost 9 F
sentence was a provoc 10
he said, “I find it difficull i. @
derstand the purpose
monstration.” |
Bales made it quite cle
in relation to the Rand go
the government was “PD? ¢
to reject it out of hand nat La
demand.” He indicated FRE |
Rand Report, the Woods ©
and the Goldenberg ReP? et
the Construction Indust?) ef
all being studied by the 2 ti@
ment and changes in lee é
were forthcoming. His ie fp
reference, he pointed oul rat
create a system of labor %
laws which will ‘in turt Pog
labor and management !. (9)
to each other with intelli }
and reason and with due™
for the public interest.” fic eo
In Bales’ view, the pub thal)
been “caught in a squeeZ® |,
not of its own makiNB: of

‘its anti-labor direction. ne
hy

Dante Delmonte, MPP,
al-Dovercourt) also foun’ ob
crowd unprepared to liste? ip!
views, although he state og’
the Ontario Liberals welt igi?)
pletely opposed to the PM og
of the Rand Report. NDP d if?
ber, Cliff Pilkey denouncé *)
report and its proposals ect
would “hamstring free call the!
bargaining.” He added pve
would “tip the scales that “gr
further on the side of the