Railroaders want

By JOHN STEWART

ANADIAN railroaders
are growling. They have
three main beefs: working

conditions which have left

them considerably behind
the status of the average or-
§anized industrial worker;
the leadership of their
brotherhoods which has,
with studied deliberation,
avoided the slightest sem-
blance of democracy or mil-
itancy in fighting for their
rights; and rail bosses’ con-
stant bleatings that they
can’t afford wage increases,

This growl of dissatisfac-
tion can be heard from one
end of Canada to another.
I talked to many railmen
in the Toronto area, and
corresponded with workers
as far west as Vancobver,
and the story is basically
the same.

The beefs are the same
everywhere: pay is too low,
hours are too long, “we're
getting damned little back
for our union dues,” and
now, layoffs and speedup.

Most Canadian railroad-
ers work a 48 to 56 hour
week. (Those in the ishop
crafts do 44 to 48 hours.)'
A section hand gets about
90 cents an hour and no
statutory holidays.

A fireman is paid $1.08
an hour—é60 cents an houn
below the pay for exactly,
the same job in the United
States. (A fireman aboard
a Canadian lake ship. got
$45 a month before the Can-
adian Seamen’s Union be-
gan its great organizing
drive a few years ago. Now
he gets $180 a month for an
eight-hour daty with time
and a half for Sundays and
holidays and other benefits
won by militant union ac-
tidn.)

Fifteen international rail
brotherhoods, coverling
some 60,000 rail workers,
not including the running
trades, engineers, conduct-
ors, etc., are now negotiat-
ing with the rail bosses fon
the 40 hour week with no
take-home pay loss,’ plus a
seven cent an hour boost.
The Canadian Brotherhood
of Railway Employees
(CCL) covering another
30,200 members, is asking
10 cents an hour, 40. hour
week and the check-off.:

What will they come ou
with? f

Last year they started on

a new deal

a 35 cents an hour) demand. After
taking a strike -vote that’ was
backed by more than 90 percent
of the railmen, they settled for
17 cents, following some inside
shenanigans when A. R. Mosher,
CBRE leader, backed away from
a “united front” demand and
Frank Hall, chief bargaining
agent, sold out the rail workers’
basic 25% cent demand for 17
cents—without even consulting
the membership. (Hall is also
front man for Canadian ship-
owners who are out to destroy
the Canadian Seamen’s Union.)

That 17 cents, plus an earlier
10 cents, is all the Canadian rail
workers have won since before
the war. By contrast, a militant
union such as the United Elec-
trical Workers won more than
41 cents in wage increases from
1945 through 1948,

@.

But there is growing among
rank-and-file workers a demand
for a much greater measure of
unity.

The Brotherhood of Locomotive
Firemen and the Brotherhood of
Locomotive Engineers are voting
on the question of amalgamating
their unions. So far the reports
of the votes range from 65 to 95
percent in favor. | :

But—and it is a big but—therie
is already evidence that top union
leaders are out to sabotage amal-
gamation even before the vote is
counted. In Edmonton, for in-
stance, the top leadership of the
engineers has sent out letters
trying to influence the member-
ship against amalgamation. It is
said that the engineers’ leaders
fear exposure of certain financial
dealings. ?

The report from Moose Jaw,

Saskatoon and Prince Albert is
that the rank-and-file is solidly
for unity of the two brotherhoods
and there is the strongest re
sentment against Grand Lodge
leaders under Alvaney Johnson
spending huge sums of the
brotherhood’s money on plane
fares to campaign against amal-
gamation. The argument that in-
Surance furlds would be “endan-
gered” is considered a phony by
the rank and file engineers.
“ It must be remembered that
leaders of the rail unions are not
like ordinary industrial union
leaders, elected by the member-
Ship at annual meetings. Many
rail union leaders are even ap-
pointed for life.

When I asked one rail worker
why the men didn’t put. their
heefs before meetings of the lo-
cal, he replied:

“Meetings? Our local meets
only once a year. We elect our

officers and that’s that.”

e :
Today Canada’s rail workers
face another serious threat to

their security: layoffs. That ugly
word is sweeping across the rail
lines and hitting every locality.

In the Spadina Shops in Tor-
onto, 20 were laid off a week or
so ago. In London, 50 have al-
ready been let out. In the CNR
back shops in Saskatchewan, 650
have been cast off. Vancouver
shops reported 46 laid off two
weeks ago and more than 120
from the maintenance of way
gangs at the height of the usual
extra gang season.

There have been layoffs in the
Montreal shops, in Winnipeg and
other points. A machinist from
London, who signs himself “Front

' End,” writes about how the Lib-

erals made a special appeal to
railroaders to “Vote Liberal and
save your job!”

“But one week after the elec-
tion that false slogan exploded
like a soap bubble,” says Front
Ender. “Approximatey 50 rail-
roaders got their walking ticket
—which is only the beginning.
The policy is to dribble them off
sO as to cushion the shock.

“Many Canadian ex-servicemen
of the Second World War are
being thrown out of railroad ser-
vice, while Tory-plan immigrants
are being retained with Only a
few months’ actual railroad ser-
vice, which, according to long-
standing railroad standards, is a
violation of seniority rights and
wage agreements,

“The treacherous Frank Hall,
through his agents in London, in
both the AFL and CCL, is par-
alyzing the trade union move-
ment. ... From past experience
the railroaders may expect to
have the shorter work week pro-
jected as a ‘solution to layoffs,
without a compensating raise in
pay. This, of course, will be false,
as layoffs are scheduled regard-
less.”

And there is another letter
from a worker in the Weston
shops, Winnipeg. He writes: “It
wouldn’t be far wrong to guess
that the shop staffs on the CPR
have suffered a cut far in excess
of that on the CNR. Ever since
the victory bugles sounded the
end of the last war, men in these
shops have been retiring with no
replacements being made. It is
Senerally agreed that the staff
in the Weston shops is around
300 less than it was in 1945, which
means that there has been a lay-
off of about 14% percent.

“Despite this creeping paralysis
of laying off men, production has
at least been maintained at the
1945 level... .”

And that raises the question of
speedup. Efficiency experts have
been seen around the shops with
stop «watches, carefully timing
every motion made by the work.
ers. Speedup and layoffs £0 hand
in hand.

Why speedup? Why layoffs?

A look at the news these days
provides the answer in one dread
word: Depression. The crisis in
Britain will cut off hundreds of
freight loads of Canadian goods
to Britain and the Empire coun-
tries. There will be less pulp
shipped less grain, less meat, less
manufactured products.

One rail worker from the west
put it tersely when he said: “The
growing crop on these prairies
looks good. The question always
in our minds is: Are we going to
be able to sell it to the. world?
We workers cannot see why not.”

(Half the world—Eastern Eur-
ope, the Soviet Union, China,
woukd buy from Canada, but the
St. Laurent government Says No.
Why? Because, along with his
masters in Washington, St. Laur-

ent believes he can bring about.

the collapse of these countries by
refusing to sell them food and
machinery. The fact is, however,
that these are the very countries
that have made greater recovery
since the war than any other in
Europe.)

| 2

And what of the running trades,
the engineers, firemen, conduc-
tors, trainmen, etc., whose broth-
erhoods were organized as far
back as 1873 and the early ’80’s—
among the first unions in Canada.
They “are not included in the
present negotiations. They'll take
what they can get later. But don’t
get any idea that the rank-and-
filers are not grumbling as much
as in the other crafts.

Said a veteran railioader on the
Coast: “There is considerable dis-
cussion going on among the men
that the contract should be open-
ed up in order that the maximum
mileage should be cut to at least
3,000 miles per month, thus
spreading the available work out.
It would likewise ease the fatigue
and make for safer running con-
ditions,”

The maximum mileage at pres-
ent is 3,800 miles a month, which
works out to about a 38-day
month, and it is present policy of
the rail bosses to work some the
maximum while keeping others
On slack time.

Engineers still remember how,
back in the last depression, so
many of them had-to revert to
firemen.

Take a look at another branch °

of the railways—the sleeping car
and dining car porters. Porters,
practically all of whom are Ne-
sroes, must work 240 hours a
month. While they are on a run
they get only. four hours out of
14 off plus a half hour for lunch,
and they may work 8-10 days at
a stretch like that. For this they
are paid from 60 to 81% cents an
hour, depending on length of ser-
vice and type of car. When a

porter is asked to do the job. of,
the sleeping car conductor as A
~-which happens frequently—the
rate goes up to 83% cents. :

But here is the shameful fact:
A sleeping car: porter can never
become a conductor or hold any
job except that of a portel;
though he may be fully qualified
to do the work. The reason? ws

The color of his skin.

“We are compelled to remaii
porters,” one of them said, “and
there is no other reason for it
than race prejudice.” ae

Porters on the CNR are orgal-
ized in A. R. Mosher’s CBRE,
but no one can ever recall Moshe!
uttering a single word against
this vicious form of Jim Crow
On ithe Canadian ralways. CPF
Porters belong to the Brother-
hood of Sleeping Car Porters, af
filiated in the U.S. with the AFL

As for general working condi
tions on the railroads they have
to be seen to be believed. Bunk-
houses and wash houses that £°
back to the horse and bugey
days; smoke and grime and airt
and little protection. Truly did
one worker “from Edmonton say:
“Railroad machine shop worker®
are far behind workers in other
industries both in wages and
working conditions.”

e Rg

Now, of course, the cry has
again gone out from the rail com”
panies that they can’t afford t?
pay. They put out the most cook-
ed-up financial statements ‘?
make it appear that they are 10°
ing money. (One can just imagi?®
the board of directors of th®
CPR continuing to operate a SY*
tem that was losing money Bid
stead of showing them a profit:

The CPR mining and real &©
tate interests alone — they OW?
the fantastically wealthy Consol
dated Mining and Smelting ys
B.C., hold oil rights to 11,378.67
acres of the praries and own out
right 1,684,041 acres of good C4
nadian land in addition to hotels
and other ventures, all of the?
making profits—return a has
some investment on CPR stock
more and more. of which is g0i&
across to the United States.

Evidence before the st
Commission on freight . ro
clearly indicated the ability Ae
the CPR to pay—especally afte!
they had won a. 21 percent ee
crease in freight rates and nas
recently upped their passemé
and express rates. :

The government-owned or
can likewise afford it. After a
First World War, the governme?
rescued the stockholders of Bs
old Grand Trunk and the Ce
dian Northern by taking tgs
over, while guaranteeing ae
dividends—just as they are

Concluded on Next Page

ee eer AGE
PACIFIC TRIBUNE—JULY 29, 1949-P.