City ratepayers step up fight
against threatened tax boost

crisis in Vancouver
will bring the working By
ple, small business and
fessional people to the
and replace them with
sentatives who will c@
through long overdue;
uine tax reform measul®
“Growing ressures ff
the people has made the oe
cil aware of this fact. nis
why they are even consi®
ing the proposal of Ald
Wilson for a $2,000 pasi
emption. At the same »
they are desperately
about for other two-bit ?
ods of diverting the gr?
wrath of the ratepaye
“What is needed ni
the maximum  pressuU
compel the council to hol
line-on homeowner taxes ©)
year. The council should’ :
told* “Boost our taxes |.

such measure for fifteen wi
years is vigorously cam-
paigning for its adoption, and
at the same time is calling
for the application of the gen-
eral purpose mill rate to the
machinery assessment.

They point*out that in Van-
couver at present only the
school mill rate is applied to
the machinery tax, while in
Burnaby and many other
municipalities both the.school
mill rate and general pur-
pose mill rate is applied to
the machinery tax, This
would mean a saving to the
average homeowner of $38.89
if it were applied to the mill
rate in Vancouver.

A steady stream of letters
and petitions are coming into
city hall supporting the pro-
posal for a $2,000 exemption.
The Vancouver Labor Coun-

Ratepayers and_ civic
groups in Vancouver are
stepping up their demands
that there be no tax in-
erese on city homes when
the annual budget is
brought down this month.

The Vancouver Central
Council of Ratepayers is blitz-
ing the city with a petition
calling for a $2,000 basic ex-
emption on the assessed value
of residential property.

This petition is given add-
ed emphasis by a motion sub-
bitted by Alderman Wilson to
the Vancouver city council.
The council adopted the
motion to give consideration
to the matter of a $2,000 ex-
emption and asks the Board
of Administration to- report
‘on the feaesibility of such a
measure as well as what ac-

Cuban’s are actively increasing output of dairy products.
Photo shows a newly built shed in Rosario People’s Farm
in Pinar del Rio province. Many cattle have been bought
from Canada, including choice breeding stock. With
more liberal credits Cuba could buy many surplus Can-
adian products.

Unionists says Cubans eat better

“The people of Cuba never munist Party.

had enough to eat before the
revolution and now they are
eating food they very rarely
ate.”

This was the answer given
by Ted Foort to a question
regarding the present ration-
ing of some foods in Cuba.
Foort- was speaking at a
public meeting at the Nor-
quay Hali on April 5, spon-
sored by the Kensington and

Norquay clubs of the Com-

Foort, who has just return-
ed from a visit to the Carri-
bean island, pointed out that
even in a nation of plenty,
such as Canada, there are
times when food rationing be-
comes necessary, as it did
during the war.

He showed films of his trip,
spoke and answered other
questions asked by an audi-
ence of approximately 65
people.

tion would be needed by
council to bring it into effect.

The immediate result of
such an exemption would be
an average reduction of $40
to the homeowner on his tax
bill and a shifting of this load
unto high price residential
property, downtown business
and industry.

The Civic Reform Associa-'
tion, which has worked for

Woodworkers face fight

Cont'd from pg. 5
UNION DEMANDS

MODEST

The demands of the union
on the other hand are mod-
est, fully justifable and ob-
tainable.

Twenty-five cent increase
in wages, with no increase

last year,>and the profits of

MacMillan, Bloedel and Pow-
ell River up to $56 million.
A 25 cents an hour is not ex-
cessive or out of line.

Three more weeks holidays
with pay, is no substitute for
the seven hour day but it
could easily be afforded by
the employers.

Double rate for overtime, a:

good number of unions have
this already including the
Longshoremen.

The other demands are not

cost items and are only in-

tended to eliminate some
weaknesses in the agreement.

PREPARATION-KEY
Experience proves that ad-

equate preparation, well in
advance is the key to success
in any struggle, and exper-

— CHINAWARE
— LINENS

Open 9-5:30 Daily
9-9:00 Friday

ience also proves that readi- —

LOOKING FOR UNUSUAL BUYS
AT POPULAR PRICES?

We have an interesting choice of goods from the
U.S.S.R., Czechoslovakia, China and Poland.

TEA AND CONFECTIONARY
FROM U.S.S.R.

— EMBROIDERED GOODS
— SOVIET WRIST WATCHES
— CERAMIC FIGURINES
Gite <i <S
We specialize in arranging tourist visits
to the Soviet Union .
2 <a <i

UKRAINSKA KNYHA

2643 East Hastings Street
Telephone ALpine 3-8642

ness to put up a fight. for
their rights is often the best
way for workers to avoid a
knock down, drag out fight.

Anyone knows that even
a baseball team must spend
many months “getting into
shape” before it goes out to
win the pennant in a major
league.

It is now the time, when
the I.W.A. needs to start get-
ting into shape for June 15,
there is no time to waste.
The woodworkers can’t just:
sit there and let such a serious
threat as the employers de-
mands hang over them with-
out doing something about it,
nor can they be satisfied that
they are going to win any of
their own demands unless
they are prepared.

With two months left to go

“now is the time for action.

The following steps are neces-
sary. .
Publicity — The employers
aims and objects must be ex-
posed. The union has the
means to do this, it should
see to it that the public, the

— GLASSWARE
— TEXTILES

Vancouver 6, B.C.

Closed Wednesday

‘rest of the labor movement

and its own members are
made fully aware of the
greedy, grasping nature of
the profit mad monopolies
who are the employers.
Information on Negotia-
tions — The membership
should be told the whole
story as it unfolds and they
should control, through rank
and file participation, the
policies of their negotiators.
Strike Preparation — No
one wants a strike but exper-
ience proves that strikes are
forced onto workers when
they least expect it. There-
fore strike machinery should

‘be set up and everything

made ready for any event-
uality. All the operators of a
strike should be ready to
function and the members
prepared very soon.
Involvement — It is not
only the men but the wives
and families that need to be
made ready. Ladies auxiliar-

‘jes should be formed in all

locals where they don’t exist
and strengthened where they
do. The wives and families
should be involved and given
a voice in the union’s affairs
as soon as possible.

Labor support — All the

other unions need to be ral-
lied to support the I.W.A. and
steps should be taken soon to
get pledges of support from

the whole labor movement of ©

Canada and elsewhere. It
may be necessary to call on
them later for financial sup-
port as well.
ALL LABOR SUPPORT

The woodworkers have
spent many thousands of dol-
lars over the years, paying
per capita and other costs of
maintaining their .member-
ship in the C.L.C.,
Federation and other labor
bodies. The purpose of this is
not to maintain all the ap-
paratus of these bodies but
primarily to strengthen the

unions when they meet the.

employers at the bargaining

the B.C. |

cil, Fishermen’s Union, Office
Employees Union, and many

other organizations and indi- -

viduals have bombarded the
council with letters and wires
urging passage of the meas-
ure.

Indications are that house-
holders will face a tax hoist
this year estimated from $20
to $40. Even so this will be
accomplished by chopping
down on a whole number of
much needed services.

Bill Stewart, secretary of
the Communist Party in Van-
couver, told the P.T.: “The
NPA dominated Vancouver
city council faces a dilema.
If they continue to serve the
business and real estate inter-
ests which elected them they
precipitate an ever deepening

table or on the picket line.
The I.W.A. can now call on
that support if it is necessary
to win the demands this year.

The I.W.A. is a big union.
It is faced with a critical sit-
uation. It has great resources
at its disposal. It is up against
a formidable opponent. Now
is the time when every min-
ute counts, because it may
not be possible to avoid a
fight in any case.

To rely solely on the nego-
tiating ability of a few people
on a committee and neglect
the steps necessary to organ-
ize and rally the thousands
of members on the job spells
disaster.

To win the demands is
necessary and possible. When

the membership are- deter- :

mined to win they can do it.

The important thing is, the
employers must be defeated,
the union must win. There
has never been a better time

we'll boost you out of oe
next election”. Ag

AID CUBA
Miners from the West!
hemian town of Horni
kov have raised money. to?
fit a school at Giron f
in Cuba — where the inv®
of counter-revolutionaries™
repulsed last year. }
wo 4
Obituar
Archie Mathieso?
Many people in thi
union and progressive |
ment were saddened
week by the death of #
Mathieson, who passe
in his 79th year last”
day morning. i
Born in Glasgow, scot i
he was orphaned at sits,
youngest in a family of ©
chilldren. As a boy he ¥
to Canada as a farm V
and later went to wor
steamfitter, joining the
at 18 years of age.
mained an active membe
the Plumbers and sie
fitters Union for almost
years, holding a numd© |
executive positions. }
His wife, Helen, Wj
troduced to the Sg
movement by Archie 4
‘went on to become an #9
member of the Comml,
Party, holding leading Fe
in the Party for many
Funeral was held 08 |
day at Roselawn
Home. A tribute to the
ceased was made by Pie
Tribune associate editor "4 A
rice Rush, who exe
condolences to his wi
family on behalf of i
in the labor and progt
movement.

to do it.

AGAINST COMMON MARKET. Photo shows miner
Decazeville coalfields in France demonstrating agait
of the European Coal and Steel Community to clo

the mines in 1965.

ee ee a al
April 13, 1962—PACIFIC TRIBUNE—