io ripped off
by progressives

in  Outaic CCL

By MEL COLBY

TORONTO

While red-baiting and witch-hunting by the right wing of the Can-
adian Congress of Labor has robbed the rank and file of much of its
former militancy on convention floors, there is no doubt that basically the
CCL membership is prepared to fight when leadership is given.

This was evident at the Ontario Federation of Labor (CCL) conven-

tion last weekend. The rank-and-
file was subjected to some of the
most hysterical red-baiting yet to
come from the right wing, but
when the real issues were debated
free of a witchhunt atmosphere
delegates reacted in a fighting man-
ner. “-

Desire of the rank and file for a
militant program was reflected in
the way the convention rejected
wishy-washy resolutions dealing
with unemployment and housing;
they sent them back to the resolu-
tions qommittee to have “some
teeth put in them.”

Suspension of the UE and the
expulsion of Mine-Mill had given
the right wing hope that its em-
ployer-endorsed policies on raiding
would go unchallenged; but, in-
stead, it found itself challenged
right down the line by a militant
group of progressives whose contri-
butions were of such a major nature
that the reactionary Globe and
Mail was compelled to admit that
the voice of the left had been far
from silenced.

For the first. time in Ontario’s
postwar labor history a convention
representing some 200,000 CIO-CCL
unionists heard fascist utterances
fallow on the heels of vicious red-
baiting. Cries of “Shame!” swept
the hall when Roy Baldassi, Local
1005, United Steelworkers of Ame-
viea, declared: “I think a fascist

is a hell of a lot better than a
Communist!”
‘Baldassi’s Hitler-like remark

came during debate on a civil liber-
ties resolution and followed a red-
baiting speech from R. Geddes,
(CCL Oilworkers) who expressed
the view that “I support discrimi-
nation by employers and the gov-
ernment against Communists and
Fascists.”

Lyle Dotzert, Ford Local 200,
United Auto Workers flayed the
Geddes speech as “sacreligious”
and pointed to the fact that
“anyone who wants to get away
with red-baiting tries to do it by
lumping Communists with Fas-

~NEW ADDRESS

3 EAST HASTINGS

cists, but it won't work; fifteen
million Soviet citizens lost their
lives in the war against Fascism;
‘they didn’t fight that war, nor
did our Canadian dead, in order
that Fascist speeches could be
imported into labor conventions.”

It was the issue of labor unity,
the need to end raiding and split-
ting which drew most of the con-
vention debate. Even though the
right wing was assured in advance
of a machine-controlled vote it had
to fight every inch of the way in
the effort to win endorsation for
the CCL’s expulsion of the Mine-
Mill and UE unions.

Dave Wisebrod (Fur and Lea-
ther Workers) in an appeal to the
convention to reject raiding and
splitting, challenged the right wing
to “not sit here doing the work
of the bosses; that’s what you're
doing when you plead the case for
union raiding.”

Lyle Dotzert told the delegates
that Ford Local 200, UAW, would
“not go along with a policy of union
busting.”

“Mine-Mill wasn’t expelled, nor
is the UE suspended, because those
unions haven’t fought for the wor-
kers,” said Dotzert. “They are un-
der fire because they opposed poli-
cies of the CCL leadership which
are wrong policies, policies that
were introduced into the Canadian
labor movement by way ee Wall
Street.”

Al Hershkovitz (Fur and Lea-
ther) told the convention that
“the employers, the Financial
Post and the Globe amd Mail will
welcome the attack on the UE
and Mine-Mill, but the workers
in the shops won’t and they are
who you will eventually have to
answer to.”

Even while the right wing was
red-baiting the convention into
okaying a splitting policy it was
evident that the UE and Mine-Mjll
are already missed. This year’s
,OFL-CCL gathering was the smal-
lest since the Federation was foun-
ded. The split brought on by the

CCL 1 |
I: leaders is also reflected in fon | this Commission special powets to

OFL financial statement which
shows a decline. Red-baiting poli-
cies have reduced the OFL to the
point where secretary-treasurer
Cleve Kidd was forced to admit
the Federation is “receiving very
little support from local unions, It
is very disheartening. There seems
to be a lack of interest.”

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HEARINGS OPEN

BCE report
‘not for you’

“Dear Strap Hangers: We'll
meet you at the Public Utilities
Commission public hearing on the
BCElectric application for a per-
manent fare increase, starting
at 10 a.m. in the Medical Dental
Auditorium, 925 West Georgia,
Thursday, February 9. (Signed)
Fellow Sardines.”

This advertisement, inserted in
the “personal” columns of the dai-
ly press by Civic Reform Associa-
tion, is drawing spectators to the
BCER fare hike hearings which
opened this week.

CRA honorary president Effie
refusal of the Public
Utilities Commission to releasé
BCER financia] figures has preven-
ted preparation of a CRA brief,
but the organization intends to
read a statement at the hearing,
outlining its determined opposition
to a permanent fare boost.

Exchange of letters between the
CRA and the PUC reveals a high-
handed position adopted by the
latter body. In response to a re-

; quest from the Civic Reform body

for a copy of the BCE’s 1948 fin-
ancial report, the PUC replied
haughtily that “there is no such
report.” .

CRA officials replied: “We sub-
mit that the BCE must have sup-
plied the PUC with operational
figures and data, upon which you
base your findings and decisions,
otherwise you could have no true
picture.”

PUC officials sent this stuffy ans-
wer: “The Public Utilities Act gives

obtain from the companies under
its jurisdiction the information it
needs to carry out the terms of
the Act. Under these powers the
Commission is continually obtain-
ing and checking information on
all phases of the property and ope-
rations of the company. The in-
tent of the Act is that this infor-
mation is to be obtained for the
use of the Commissicn. It is not
available as public information.”

Says Effie Jones: “It’s time we
ripped aside this veil of secrecy
and brought BCE affairs out into
the open.” ;

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Delegate likens
BCFL convention
to’Sunday school’

By BERT WHYTE

“This is a ae darn tame gathering for:a trade union convention.
It's more like a Sunday school class. The vital issues of unemployment,
rent controls, hospitalization, workmen’s compensation, don’t seem to
touch us very deeply. Why don’ t we get mad about these injustices? Are
we so wishy-washy because we're afraid of being called Communists if

we fight for labor’s needs?”

This challenge, hurled at 100
delegates to the sixth annual con-
vention of the B.C. Federation of
Labor on Sunday morning by Fred
Jackson of the Longshoremen’s
Union, brought cries of “Hear!
Hear!” from many parts of the
floor. The convention, which had
droned its way through a dull Sa-
turday session, livened up. Dele-
gates began to defy the right-
wing “machine” which had been
gloating that it “had the conven-
tion in its pocket”,

First sharp debate on the floor
centered around the contentious
issue of political support to the
CCF. While the convention en-
dorsed the CCL policy of political
action in support of the CCF as
“the political arm of labor’, more
than 20 of the delegates voted
against the resolution and many
supported it only after expressing
considerable reservations,

“This is a splitting resolution,”
said Sam Jenkins of the Boiler-
makers: “I can’t see one iota of
difference between a resolution
asking endorsation for one _ poli-
tical party and one asking us to
endorse the Baptist church over
all other churches.”

“I’m opposed to this resolution,”
stated Carl Anhslem, IWA, Port
Alberni. “Our main purpose as
trade unionists is to organize the
unorganized, yet our funds are
being spent to support the CCF.
There is a great deal of dissen-
tion in our IWA membership over
this policy. This money could be
better spent helping to organize
truckers, laundry workers and
other unorganized workers in the
Port Alberni area.”

Hugh Clark, Packinghouse, New
WestminSter, declared: “I op-
pose the resolution, but I am in
favor of political action. The
trade unions are asked to give
financial support to the CCF, but
have no say in the shaping of its
policies or the selection of its
candidates.”

Shortly after the resolution was
passed, delegates heard guest spea-
ker Murray Cotterill, PAC natio-
nal director, tell them that, “You’ve
committed yourselves and you're
going to be stuck, now that you
have so ‘enthusiastically’ endorsed
political action. You can go back
and tell your union members in
the locals that you’ve voted to
spend some more of their money.
In British Columbia you're going
to have to do a lot better than
you did last year in giving PAC
financial support.”

So much time was taken up at
the convention with speeches by
guest speakers (a priest, a prea-
cher, Mayor Thompson, CCF’ers
Dorothy Steeves, William Maho-
ney, Murray ‘Cotterill, and W. G.
Davies of the Saskatchewan Fede-
*ation of Labor) that many resolu-
tions had to be rammed through
with a minimum of discussion, and
several non-contentious _ resolu-
tions left over for the incoming
executive to handle,

Among the important resolutions
which were discussed and passed
were those dealing with:

KUZYCH CASE: Wholehearted
support both morally and financial-
ly to the CCL in their campaign
in support of the Marine Workers’
Union, recognizing that the Sup-

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6

RENT CONTROLS: Deplore the
recent action of Ottawa in permit-
ting increases of 18 to 22 percent;
urge the federal government to
retain rent controls; ask the pro-

vincial government to take over
controls if Ottawa relinquishes
them.

e

UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE
Amendment of the Act to increase
benefits to a minimum of $25 per
married and $18.50 for
single claimants; extension of un-
employment insurance to cover all
employees; shorten the nine-day
waiting period; eliminate the sec-

\tion dealing with non-compensable
| days; pay benefits for the full per-

iod that applicants are able to fill
the statutory conditions.

* HOSPITAL INSURANCE: A
full investigation be undertaken by
the provincial government into the
gress inefficiency and the short-
comings of the present scheme;

;amendments to the Act to include
‘labor

representation on the advi-
sory board and other improve-
ments in service and costs.

e

OLD AGE PENSIONS: Abolition
of the means test, and a $65 month-
ly pension at the age of 60.

e

LABOR RELATIONS BOARD:
The LRB to cease attempting to
interpret constitutions or rule or
base decisions on jurisdictions of
unions.

Right-wing brasshats who figur-
ed they had every delegation “sewn
up” to vote their hand-picked can-
didates into office were somewhat
shaken when Bill Stewart, Marine
Workers, picked up 22 votes in op-
posing their “machine” candidate,
CCL regional director Dan Radford,
for the Federation presidency. Rad-
ford polled 74 votes.

Other Executive officers elected
by acclamation, were: Stewart Als-
bury, IWA, first vice-president:
Hugh Allison, CBRE, second vice-
president; Pen Baskin, United
Steelworkers, third vice-president;
and George Home, secretary-trea-
surer,

The seven man executive board
for 1950 is: John Bond, Cumber-
land, United Mineworkers; Willi-
am Symington, United Packing-
house Workers; Stewart McKen-
zie, Longshoremen’s Union; Law-
rence Vandals, IWA; Robert Smeal,
Victoria; Herbert Gargrave, CCL;
and Allistair MacLeod, IWA, Dunh-
can.

eetis
IN MEMORIAM

William Bennett

Bevond the fields we plow, lie
others, waiting;

The fallow of the ages, all un-

known.

Beyond the puny harvests that
we gather

Are wider, grander harvests to
be grown.—Gerald Lively.

QUEENSBORO CLUB,
LPP

_  SWEDISH-FINNISH
~ WORKERS’ CLUB
ANITA and ARNE
ANDERSON,
Whitehorse, Y.T.

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—FEBRUARY 10, 1950—PAGE 6

eT