No defense of labor
by Winch, Cotterill

By LESLIE MORRIS

| Ae the Toronto Daily Star’s TV critic, Dennis Braith-

waite, wrote that Murray Cotterill of the United
Steelworkers of America, and Harold Winch, CCF MP
from Vancouver, put up a poor defense of labor against ex-
Congressman Fred Hartley (of the notorious anti-labor
Taft-Hartley Act) and that CBC favorite and unctious de-
fender of the status quo, J. B. McGeachie of The Financial
Post, on the TV and radio program Fighting Words.

2 One could call it “defense of labor’ only by way of
politeness, for on Nathan Cohen’s half-hour (repeated
twice on CBC radio) it was in fact an abject retreat.

The closing remarks of the program’s were Winch’s:
“If we don’t face up to productivity from the iron curtain
countries there can be only one answer, and that is social-
ism.” :

What do you make of that? You might, if you didn’t
hear the program, conjecture that Winch meant that
socialism would be a good thing, in such an event. Not a
bit of it. Winch called again on labor, management and
the government to take steps to control wages and profits
—so that “we” would win the production race. If “we” lost
the race, suggested Winch, “we” might have socialism —
which the good Lord and the CCF leaders forbid!

; * % *

A lot of Cohen usually goes a little way. We had too
much of him on this program. The common criticism of
Fighting Words is that it isn’t fighting but is full of words
—many of them Cohen’s. That Sunday night he used them
to good effect. Seeking to make the most out of Mr. Hart-
ley’s presence, Cohen at one point said to him: “Mr. Hart-
ley, that was not:the real purpose of the Taft-Hartley Act,
now, was it?” (Cohen was referring to the Act’s curbs on
labor's rights.) Cohen having pitched a nice slow ball,
‘Hartley promptly knocked it to centre field and scored.
“No, indeed,” said he. And went on to complain that the
trouble with the Taft-Hartley Act is that it isn’t tough
enough. Pe en
At another. point Cohen chided Cotterill by Saying:
“Now, aren’t you being very innocent?” and by so saying

opened the dykes to a flood of anti-labor oratory from

Hartley and McGeachie.

These two pressed the attack through ‘the half hour,
on the theme, “trade unions are not concerned with the
interests of the nation as a whole.” The best Cotterill and
Winch could do at times was to interrupt with “now thens”
and: “just a minutes.” Finally they took refuge in Claude
Jodoin’s pious plea for a conference to reach an “under-
standing” between labor, the employers and government—
the lamb to lay down with the lion.

And so the nauseating performance went. Had Winch
and Cotterill possessed half of Hartley’s and McGeachie’s
class consciousness they would have made mincemeat of
them. They could have identified labor’s interests with the
real, working nation; they could have punctured the prop-
aganda that high wages mean high productivity costs;
they could have exposed the way in which Taft-Hartley
has been used, and is being used, as a pattern for anti-labor
legislation here.

- & Dg
Cotterill and Winch not. only backed down before an
attack on the class rights of labor; they opened the door
for Taft-Hartley invasion by_their peurile performance in
the presence of the co-author of the Act, and in a way
prepared the soil in the UAW, as they have done in Steel
and a number of other unions, for alien attacks on the
opinions of Canadian citizens—right at the moment when
the maximum union unity is needed to defeat the attempts
of Canadian Big Business to fasten Taft-Hartley-like
fetters on Canadian trade union rights.

*% * %

This is a temporary leadership to be sure. Any group
of leaders who shout from the rear instead of encouraging
in the van, is doomed, eventually. But while it lasts it saps
and cripples. the wonderful trade unions, which have been

- built by Canadian men and women asa class protection and

a national protection: alike against the ravages of the
monopolies in the plants, and against the fouling of our
country by a gang which is interested only in maximum
private profits. -

.

Peace Council delegation to)
present brief February 17,

“The forthcoming summit meeting can be the prelude to peace, and ‘everything |
must be done to assure its success,” stresses:a- brief to be presented to the legislature) 3
by a delegation from B.C. Peace Council ott February 17. :

The brief, to be presented to
every MLA, supports the abol-
ition of all nuclear weapons,
under strict, international con-
trol, as an ultimate goal, but
contends that, meanwhile, the
spread of atomic weapons
must be stopped.

It says that, in this light,
Canada was wise in opposing
French plans to test an atomic
bomb — but unwise in agree-

ing to store U.S. nuclear war- |pose their spread to countries
heads on Canadian soil. not now possessing them, in-

Finally, the brief asks the |cluding Canada itself.”
legislature to adopt a resolu- Organized by B.C. Peace
tion which would “urge the | Council, the delegation will in
government of Canada to con- | clude representatives of other
tinue its efforts to achieve dis- | groups.
armament, including the abol- Further details may te B
ition under international con-|tained from B.C. Peacé Coun- :
trol of all nuclear weapOns, | cil, 119 W. Pender, Vancouver,
and, in the meantime, to op-|or by phoning MU 5-9958. ;

According to a recent edition
of the farm journal Butter Fat,
Canadians have a per capita
debt of $1,500. On an overall
federal basis, the aged, the
babe-in-arms and all in be-
tween “owe” $676 per head.
Provincially the per capita
debt “owing” is $144, with a
municipal per capita. “debt”
of $112.

On top of all that Butter Fat
tells us we “owe” a per capita
debt of $85 to the banks, $335
to our mortgage companies,
and another $118 to retail
stores, finance corporations
and credit unions.

OBITUARY

Veteran of the First World
War and longtime resident of
Vancouver, Gordon McQueen
of 3418 Oxford St. passed
away suddenly on January
22 from a heart attack in his
67th year.

A Scot by birth, Gordon
McQueen emigrated ‘to Canada
many years ago, spending most
of his years in this province
and in Washington state. Dur-
ing the war years McQueen
worked in the West Coast ship-
yards and was an active mem-
ber in the Marine Workers Un-
ion. In his earlier years Mc-
Queen also worked in the
woods in Washington and B.C.
and before the coming of the
IWA was proud of his
“Wobbly” (IWW) card.

Gordon McQueen also work-
ed for a number of years. as
an employee of the city, and
was a member’ of the Civic
Employees Union (Outside
Workers). For ‘a number of
years he was also an active
member of the LPP, and
throughout, a constant reader
and supporter of the Pacific
Tribune.

Peace is your business —
Morgan tells legislature —

“The Communist Party says the legislature must give
expression to the desire of British Columbians for peace;
it should insist that Ottawa take a resolute and un~
equivocal stand for complete disarmament on a ‘world
scale,” said Nigel Morgan, CPC provincial leader, in his
CKLG broadcast late Saturday.

“Now I know it is said that | SF
peace is a federal matter,” senior governments, starting
Morgan said. “But peace is with Ottawa, for the municipal |
just as much a provincial mat- |levels of government. i
ter as education. In fact, what|: “The B.C. legislature musi
we do about it will largely de-|press for world disarmament, |
termine what we can do about |It should call for energetic ac. ©
education, pensions, welfare, |tion for conclusion of an early
trade and jobs. agreement to usher in an era.

“Arms reduction would di-|of friendly relations and ex.
vert wasteful squandering of |changes with all nations. Thay
money spent on ‘defense’ to |is the way to get the resources
the satisfying of people’s needs. |to cut taxes and provide fou

“There is only one solution |our growing needs,”
to solve the crisis of rising “Little wonder,’ he com~
taxes — and that is the return |mented, “that homeowners are
of more revenues from the |in revolt.” 4 :

VIC, BCFL speakers
at rally of unemployed —

Officers of the B.C. Federa- of action.
tion of Labor and Vancouver} Other speakers are also ex:
Labor Council have been in-|pected to address the meeti
vited to speak at a rally in {including Sam Jenkins, presi.

Wavicouver. tos demand. action dent of the Marine ~Worke
Union, who was labor candi

on the growing unemployment | gate for council in the Dece
Cee ber civic elections.

The meeting will be held in
the Pender Auditorium, 339 the
W. Pender, Friday, February
12 at 1:30 p.m.

Rod Doran, chairman of the

Unemployed Workers Action aN 5
committee which is sponsoring N Nn YOU fi
the meeting, estimated there rae =a N \
are 70,000 without work in the ASTI j
Greater Vancouver area. He ce

said thousands of unempioyed
workers and their families are
suffering dire hardships and
that immediate action is need-
ed to alieviate the situation.
Main purpose of the meeting
will be to decide on a course

February 12, 1960—PACIFIC TRIBUNE—Page

Weekly a
Radio CKLG Every
Saturday, 6:10 p.m.

NIGEL, MORGAN
&