C10 unions hit Truman Greek plan 2 By GLADYS CARTER NEW YORK—The United Electrical Radio and Machine Workers, one of the CIO’s three largest affiliates, has an- nounced its support of Henry Wallace in his opposition to President Truman’s program for Greece and Turkey. The American people, the UE statement said, “want no empire” and “will not willingly perform for the king of Greece the service that Hitler and Mussolini performed for Franco.” With its statement, the UE became the fourth ‘national CIO British TUC to! aid Greek labor LONDON — Secretary Vin- cent Tewson of the British Trades Union Congress will leave here April 10 for Greece, where he will offer Brit- ish labor’s aid in reconstituting the Greek Confederation of La- bor. The TUC general council voted to send Tewson to Greece after pledging full support to the cam- paign of the World Federation of Trade Unions to reestablish demo- cratic control of Greek unions. The Greek labor movement is now in the hands of government appointed officials, who were nam- ed after the government deposed and arrested elected leaders. The government has trieq to impose its own appointees on each indi- vidual union and has passed a law withdrawing legal recognition from any union which insists on electing its own officers. Collec- tive bargaining has been outlawed. Workers protest palace repairs LONDON — Two hundred building workers engaged on large scale alterations § at Buckingham Palace, the King’s London residence, have de- manded an inquiry to determine the amount of building materials being used on the job. A resolution adopted by the workers expressed “disgust at be- ing employed on such a site when the suffering of the working class through inadequate housing is de- plorable.” The meeting askeq the London local of the National Federation of Building Trades Operatives to demand that the government withdraw labor and materials to more essential work. The work- ers claim that guards have been doubled areund the palace to pre- vent leakage of information that might cause public discontent. A few months ago when simi- “lar protests were made to the Ministry of Works, that office clamped down the official secrets act, making it illegal for the work- ers to divulge any information about their jobs. to land on Palestine soil. at Haifa harbor. From one prison fo another place between British forces and Jewish refugees seeking Desperate strug- gles are taking Tear-gassed and burned, a Jewish refugee woman resists attempts by British sol- diers to load her onto a Cyprus-bound deportation ship affiliate to oppos¢ the Truman plan. Others are the National Maritime Union, the United Of- fice and Professional Workers and the International Longshore- men’s and Warehousemen’s Union. President A. F. Whitney of the powerful Brotherhood of Rail- road Trainmen has also voiced opposition. The division among American liberals which resulted in the re- cent formation of two separate or- ganizations, the Progressive Citi- zens of America and Americans for Democratic Action, was also reflected in reactions to the Tru- man plan. The PCA, with which Wallace is associated, has been leading the opposition to the plan. A mass meeting sponsored by that organ- ization in New York attracted a crowd of 30,000, with thousands turned away at the door of the packed Madison Square Garden. Both Wallace and Elliott Roose- velt, son of the late U. S. Presi- dent, linked the current red scare with U.S. intervention in the Mid- dle East and came out sharply against the entire Truman pro- gram. s The ADA endorsed the Truman plan for Greece. Even in the ranks of ADA, however, there does not appear to be complete agreement. Mrs. Eleanor Roose- velt, who is a leader of ADA, opposed Truman’s foreign policy in her syndicated newspaper col- umn. Most of the opposition to the Truman plan has been based on ‘|the fear that it might serve as a death-blow to Uniteq Nations. A private member’s bill has been introduced in the House of Commons by Wilfred Lacroix (Quebec - Montmerency), propos- ing’ an amendment to the Crim- inal Code that would declare the LPP and “other organizations” illegal bodies. Such a measure is fraught with ~ Quebec unions to fight Duplessis labor code MONTREAL, Que.—In a move unprecedented in Que- bec labor history, the three local trade union centers—AFL, CIO and Catholic Syndicates—met here last week to map a plan of action against proposed Duplessis labor legislation. These major workers’ organiza- tions, representing about 95 per- cent of all organized labor in Quebec, started drawing tight their battle lines when the news leaked out that Premier Duples- sis was intending to sponsor bills at the present session designed to cripple the trade-union -move- ment. According to highly reliable sources Duplessis will try to bring in a labor code which would outlaw strikes, force union offi- cials to obtain licenses from the provincial government, and arro- gate to the Quebec labor board the right to hold strike votes. Initiated by the Montreal La- bor Council on instructions from top leaders of the Canadian Con- gress of Labor, the joint action now being studied by the three FRIDAY, APRIL ll, 1947 union centers plans to send large lobbies to Quebec to line up op- position to the bill, and meetings with Duplessis and provincial la- bor officials to register strong protest. : Alex McAuslane, vice-president of the CCL, in denouncing Dup- lessis’ anti-labor stand at the Montreal Labor Council last week, told delegates: “This legislation is showing the way for reaction throughout the country.” Declaring that if Quebec workers are made aware of the menace to their rights “they won’t vote for it at the next elections,” McAuslane called for the establishment of “a broad front to bring wide masses of the people into action” agains the proposed code. Z ; . Lacroix measure to outlaw LPP destructive of all civil rights TORONTO—Branding the introduction of a bill in parliament to outlaw the Labor- Progressive Party as a blow at the democratic rights of Canadian citizens, the National Executive of the LPP released the following statement: great danger for Canadian de- mocracy. It is not only aimed at the LPP. It is equally aimed at the trade unions and all demo- cratic organizations of the people; if allowed to pass can only. lead Canada to fascism. It is no acci- dent that the proposal to ille- alize the LPP coincides with the concerted attack of reaction- ary Big Business against the liv- ing standards of the people and against the democratic organiza- tions of the people, particularly the trade. unions. i It is a stupid lie to state, as Lacroix did, that the LPP advocates the overthrow of con- stituted authority. Violence comes from reac- tionaries who oppose the demo- cratic will of the people and not from those who defend it to the last breath. It is a brazen untruth to state, as LaCroix did, that the LPP is a threat to the safety of our national institutions, The threat to Can- adian democracy comes from Big Business which places prof- its above the needs of the people—from those, who, against the true national interests, tie Canada to Americar imperial- ism and its policies of world domination, war and economic crisis. What Canada needs today is more, not less democracy. The lessons of the recent period when the government has trampled on the civil rights of the people, emphasizes again the need for a Bill of Rights that would guar- wf antee the right of organization and freedom of speech to all democratic, socialist and anti- fascist organizations and to the Canadian people. We urge all those who uphold the right of organizations, free- dom of speech and assembly to inundate the government and M.P.’s_ with the demand that Lacroix’ pro-fascist bill be repudi- ated.” : Unions double | prewar strength TORONTO — Canadian unions now have a total membership of 711,117, according to the Ministry of Labor, This represents a drop from the wartime peak of 724,188 but is more than double the total of 358,967 in 1939. The largest union body is the Canadian Congress of Labor, which has a membership of 350-~ 000. The CCL includes branches of CIO unions in Canada as well as a number of national unions. The Trades and Labor Congress to which most AFL unions in Canada are affiliated, has a mem- bership of 330,000. The remaining union members are_ scattered among independent unions and unions affiliated to the Catholic labor center. ' United May Day parade planned “We have a: great oppor- tunity on May Day to show, as we were able to show in Victoria, that we are fully united and command the support of the overwhelming majority of the people in refusing to tolerate international or domestic repres- sion,” Fraser Wilson, chairman of the 1947 United May Day Con- ference told the first session of that body at its meeting Thurs- day night in the Pender Audi- - torium. “Those who have been conniv- ing at the passage of certain Straitjacket clauses in the new British Columbia labor act have been trying to spread the idea that the labor movement is dis- united. This year’s May Day par~ ade will represent all sections of the labor movement, as well a5 scores of other organizations. It will show that labor cannot be split and will not be broken by CMA-inspired legislation,” con- tinued Wilson, who was unanim- ously re-elected chairman, while John Turner was chosen as seC- retary. Committee heads were selected as follows: finance, Marshall Johnson; ‘hospitality, George Mil- ler; parade, Garry Culhane; pub- licity, Bruce Mickleburgh; and grounds, Don Barbour. A further conference was call- ed for Monday, April 21, at which reports of committees and participating organizations will be heard. Among the issues stressed bY speakers from the floor as de- manding publicity in the parade were the fight to guard the peace, need for social security and de cent old age pension laws, hous- ing for veterans, and defence of civil 1ights of Canadians. vincial government action, last week by Harvey Murphy, B.C. district director of the CIO Mine, Mill and Smelter ‘Workers’ Union, The union’s move is the re- sult of a decision handed down by the B.C. : Appeal Court = re- cently which ruled that the 44-hour week applies to all metal mines in the provi nes. Murphy pointed out that >CM & S owes its Miners to collect back pay Workers at Consolidated Mining and Smelting Com- pany at Trail are embarking on a campaign to secure pro- nent ; to compel the company to pay over $100,000 in overtime back wages, it was announced _ buling. em pl oyeeq Harvey Murphy ——— back wages for all work in ex-} . cess of 44 hours since last July 1, when the new Act went into effect. MMSW _ locals throughout British Columbia wilt also be pressing for full payment of retroactive pay, under the pro- | visions of the Appeal Court’s | It was noted by the |. union that the mine operators |) are already stalling on ‘pay- |: ment of the back wages and therefore the union will seek government action in having the payments made without further delay, it was stated. PACIFIC TRIBUNE—PAGE 2° _