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Paper's insolent demand

threat to NDP democracy

HE April issue of Miners’

Voice, published by the

United Steelworkers Union
of America, carries an editorial
which virtually, lays clam to
ownership of the New Femo-
cratic Party on behalf of the
Steelworkers Union.

The opening paragraph in-
forms us that “The United Steel-
workers of America does not
stint its money or manpower in
backing the New Democratic
Party . . . Steelworker full-time
staff representatives contribute
generously to the party’s coffers
by way of salary checkoff. Thou-
sands of rank and file Steelwork-
ers’ are party members and
workers. The union is the party’s
largest Canadian labor affiliate.”

All this is to the good. For-
ward-looking Canadians would
like to see all unions give similar
support to the NDP. They would
like to see all unions affiliated
to the NDP and the. senseless
ban against some unions imposed
by the party on the instigation
of Steelworker leaders removed.

But the recital of assistance
given to the NDP by the Steel-
workers is only to lay a founda-
tion for the Miners’ Voice edi-
torial’s claim of Steelworker
ownership of the party. It bears
a marked resemblance to em-
ployers’ arguments laying a
foundation for their claims of
“managements’ rights”.

The editorial goes on to say:
“One takes for granted that the
party’s politicians reciprocate
this solid support. One could at
least expect that they would not

HE'S THE MOST CONSCIENTIOUS
SUPERVISOR IN THE PLANT ”

ignore, dismiss or condone mali-
cious attacks on the Steelwork-
ers by the union’s opponents.”

Who are the Steelworker “op-
ponents” the editorial wants
NDP “politicians” to take up
cudgels against? Stelco? Dofas-
co, which is unorganized? Algo-
ma or Inco? —

No! It is the Mine, Mill and
Smelter Workers Union, harass-
ed and raided by the Steelwork-
ers for the vast 16 years.

The editorial in Miners’ Voice
calls Steelworker cannibalism a
policy of building “one powerful
mine union.” But it happens that
a great many NDP members,
along with the majority of union-
ists across the country, oppose
union raiding no matter what
label is put on it.

It is this healthy opposition
by NDP members and leaders
to dirty wars against their fel-
low workers which riles the
Miners’ Voice. So the editorial
thunders: “For some years we
have suffered these antics (op-
position to raiding — A.D.) in
silence. We think the time has
come when responsible NDP
leaders and members had better
declare themselves. We want to
know where they sit.”

Shades of all reactionary poli-
ticians! For years the old-line
party politicians charged the
NDP is ruled by the big union
“paymasters’’. Now, as if to con-
firm this charge, the editorial in
Miners’ Voice declares. “We
want to know where they sit.”
In other words, he is saying,
we pay the fiddler and are en-
titled to call the tune.

The editorial singles out two
NDP personalities as special
culprits. One is the veteran MP
for the Kootenays, H. W. Her-
ridge. The other is Leonard

Quebec convention

Full union rights

- “Civil service in Quebec will
never again be what it used to
be.” This is the way Le Travail,
organ of the Confederation of
National Trade Unions, recently
described the first convention of
the Quebec Union of Civil Serv-
ants (Syndicat des fonction-
naires provinciaux du Quebec).

The convention made it clear
that Quebec ‘civil servants are
pressing for the same rights in
the province as are accorded to
all other categories of workers: .

right to association, right of
affiliation to a central organiza-
tion, right of free negotiation
and the right to strike if nego-
tiations fail to bring agreement.

If these objectives are to be
attained then Quebec civil serv-

ants and the labor movement .

will have to win a number of
amendments to the Quebec
Labor Code (Bill 54) and to the
Civil Service Act.

In his report to the March
13, 14 and 15 convention, Presi-
dent Raymond Fortin stressed
the union’s demand for the

Mahoney,
Township.

Their crime? Holding different
opinions on what constitutes
trade union unity and worker
solidarity than the writer of the
editorial in Miners’ Voice.

The insolent demand that NDP
leaders and members toe the
Steelworker line, or else, is ob-
viously based on the editorial
opinion that Steelworker policy
is automatically NDP policy by
virtue of Steelworker dollars
and manpower.

reeve of Mountjoy

The fact that such an assump-
tion can be held by a Steelwork-
er editor thrusts the fundament-
al question of party democracy
to the fore in the NDP.

The NDP is organized on the
basis of membership clubs, con-
stituency associations and union
and farm affiliations. This is
what gives the party a promise
of parliamentary success. But
the promise can only be fulfilled
through the united efforts of the
party’s members, affiliates and
supporters around a genuine
anti-monopoly platform.

The dictatorial stand of the
Miners’ Voice editorial can serve
only to disunite. Workers and

farmers desiring to get a steady
succession of Liberal and Con-
servative governments off their
backs are not going to be en-
couraged to vote NDP only to
be dictated to by a section of
the'r own arty, no matter how
b’g or rich that section is. And
this includes the members of
the Steelworkers union.

Canadians who want a gov-
ernmental change.from the old
parties want democratic govern-
ment free from domination or
corruption of any kind. This the
NDP can give, providing it holds
high the banner of equal rights
within the party, and for all
democratic - minded people in
conducting the affairs of the
country.

The fortunes of the NDP in
the forthcoming federal election
concerns masses of people far
beyond the ranks of the party.
These masses need to be assured
that the democratic aims of the
NDP will be upheld without fear .
or favor.

Poll-emics?

Union officials in West Ger-
many have concluded that pub-
lic opinion polls don’t amount
to much when husbands and
wives are questioned on the
same issue. Recently a nation-
wide ll was’ conducted on
whether German husbands
helped their wives with the
housework. Exactly 75 percent
of the husbands said yes, they
did. But only 51 percent of the
wives said they got any help
from their spouses.

to raiding.

Steelworker local hits raids

When five delegates of Steelworkers Local 3302 in Van-
ccuver reported back to their membership after a meeting
with the Cominco Mine Mill council in Trail, a surprise visi-
tor attended the Steelworker membership meeting—M. J.
Fenwick, editor of the Miners’ Voice.

He witnessed a unanimous vote of approval for the local’s
actions by a record membership turnout and a unanimous
disapproval of his own raiding policies.

The Vancouver Labor Council also endorsed the action of
the Stelworker local which has a long history of opposition

ing for recognition of
right,” he added, “if we did not
intend to make full use of it.
That is why we strongly favor
the affiliation of our union to a
central organization which can
be no other than the Confede-
ration of National] Trade
Unions.”

Never in the history of the
Quebec labor movement, Fortin
continued, was the need for a

this .

for civil service

remain no misunderstanding on
that point,” he said.

“There would be no use fight-

central organization so clearly
shown asin the struggle which
led to the freedom of civil serv-
ants,

“Our union can only remain
genuine if we join the thou-
sands of workers who are al-
ready contributing in various
ways to the social promotion of
all salaried workers.”

The convention indicated its
support for Fortin’s suggestion
that the union wov'd seek affi-
liation to the CNTU if the right
to affiliation is won in forth-
coming legislation.

May 7, 1965—PACIFIC TRIBUNE—Page 5