‘By WILLIAM ALLAN

. Abel, president of the
Steel Workers, AFL-CIO
to have won re-election
he presidency of the union,
the three International union
who count the votes are
g six U.S. cities, to look
plaints by his challeng-
staff attorney, Emil
The six cities are Hous-
; Chicago, Gary, Buffalo,
Cleveland and Pitts-
Numerous complaints
made by Narick and
orters of misuse of the
n machinery. This is the
me in steel union history,
tellers, elected always
-USW convention, have
t into the country to in-
election procedures.
got unofficially, 264,000
nd his unknown opponent
87,000.
e opinion of labor obser-
is another signal, loud
par that rank and file
ements are growing and are
ng up the labor “Establish-
observers in Detroit
the steel election for
with an eagle eye, con-
y query newsmen about
‘was the count. The nation-
ndum vote to elect offi-
the Steel Union is not
UAW elections. Dele-
the constitutional con-
each three years elect
Officers, and regional di-
a slate proposition. Nu-
is attempts have been made
i the UAW elections to
rendum style but it wag

tes to the Annual Con-
of the United Fishermen
ed Workers Union at
iver decided to press for
liation to the Canadian
Ongress while still leav-
ne door open to merger with
er organization.

On officers, who reported
‘convention on the merger
vith the United Packing-
Workers (now in the
ood Workers Union) said
“never really got off
* because the Packing-
nion while interested in
orkers section of the
on had little understand-
1¢ Fishermen,

terms of the proposed
ccording to the officers,
ve left their organiza-
the need to shoulder
work load as at pres-
Well as pay a substantial
ta to the parent organ-

stressing the union’s
ice for direct affiliation
CLC, the delegates said
IFAWA should be willing
lore merger with “any
ion as a step towards
unity of the Canadian
vement.”

ss Agent Jack Nicholl
that the CLC seems to
double standard when
With applications for af-
The 7,500 members of

arers International Un-
© noted, has been been
to the Congress des-
fact that there are at

always defeated. Some day,
someone is going to ask some
government body why they can’t
elect UAW officialdom by the
direct rank and file ballot meth-
od. UAW president Walter Reu-
ther might, as well as Frank Fitz-
simmons, Teamsters acting pre-
sident, see a great light and
switch.

Close tabs by top leaders of
the UAW and Teamsters, now
in an alliance for labor action
(ALA) is kept on growing rank
and file movements inside orga-
nized labor. They are watching
the run for his money being giv-
en National Maritime Union
(NMU) president Joe Curran,
seeking re-election. They also
are aware of the 40 percent vote
rank and file movements got in
the Retail Clerks national ballot-
ing.

Entrenched (they thought)
UAW local union officers are
hearing of opposition in the com-
ing elections. “The days of the
no-contest are about over. No-
body is sacred these days,” said
a federal mediator.

USW leaders, like Chuck
Younglove, regional director, are
puzzled by the high vote for
Narick in Detroit. They had es-
timated he would get about 15
percent, but in District 29, which
has over 30,000 members, Abel
carried the district by 5 votes.

We spent a night going around
with Narick, in the downriver
Detroit steel areas and he drew
large numbers around him, wher-
ever he stopped. Abel men were
hanging around and telling peo-
ple, Narick was a nothing, no

man’s Union continues to be
denied membership.

Homer Stevens, UFAWA Sec-
retary said support for affiliation
by the union is growing across
the country which reflected the
good relations they have built up
and maintained with affiliated
organizations. He went on to say
that the question of merger
should be examined more closely
in the hope that “something

union man, like Abel who had
been an organizer since 1930.

Told all this, many of the
young steel workers replied, “to
hell with Abel, he’s been around
too long.” They were bitter at
their low wages, ho cost of liv-
ing clause to keep up with soar-
ing prices, and this group is a
growing sector of the USW.

In the UAW, one million of
the 1.5 million membership, have
five years seniority, and 40 per-
cent of them are under 30 years
of age. They couldn’t care less
about Abel or Walter Reuther's
stories about the Great Depres-
sion, the pitched battles and sit-
down strikes of the 30s, part of
union tradition.

It’s fast becoming a new labor
movement, that asks, “what
have you done about today for
me?” The young black workers
are a militant catalyist in this
growing new labor scene. The
“sanctity” of the long three year
contracts, gets no respect from
these new echelons of labor.
Like in Chrysler, these young
workers see the Corporation de-
liberately stall on grievances
dating back to last April, in the
Eldon Road gear and Axel shop,
so they say “to hell with this
contract” and they walk out,
stop the lines, march to local
and international headquarters.
They want action not jawing
about “you got to follow pro-
cedure.” This new labor rebel-
lion that covers black and white
workers is rocking the boat of
organized labor. It is shaking up
the UAW in Detroit, in Cleve-
land, Pittsburgh, Euclid, O. They

ishermen seek
ways to unity

development of big industrial
unions to combat monopolies
should be encouraged, he held,
and the possibility of the
UFAWA merging with another
organization should not be dis-
missed out of hand.

“We shouldn’t close the door
to merger, but neither can we
allow ourselves to be clubbed
into a position where others can
dictate which road we will fol-

positive may come of it.” Thelow,” Stevens said.

TOGETHER WE WILL CRACK

THE FOREIGN MARKET/

want the contract re-opened, it’s
not sacred to them. They want
cost of living raises with no cap,
a shorter work week, the right
to strike anytime.

The Transport Workers Union
is faced with a bolt of 29,000
bus and subway workers in New
York. Inside the Teamsters an
employer oriented dual union
setup seeks to operate and capi-
talize on long standing weak-
nesses there. A walkout by 20,-
000 workers last December was
the first strike against Consoli-
dated Edison in New York City
in 42 years. It was spearheaded
by young rank and filers who
complained about a “too-cozy”
company-union relationship.

Steel election mirrors union revolt

After three elections the Ma-
chinists Union narrowly main-
tained bargaining rights at the
giant St. Louis plant of the Mc-
Donnell Douglas Co. The beef
was lack of action and service
for the workers. The Teamsters
and UAW were the contending
unions,

Negotiations in steel, auto and
other unions this year are facing
a growing firebrand rank and
file leadership who won't be con-
ned into easy settlements by
everything being settled at the
“Big Table” bargaining sessions.
Abel’s near miss is another sig-
nal in the new labor rebellion in
the U.S. union movement. There
will be more.

in brief...

Price of health

Health care prices, according to the Department of National
Health and Welfare, as measured by the Consumer Price Index
(CPI), increased by 12.1 percent over the three years period ending
April 1968. This compares to an 11.9 percent rise in the CPI for
all items over the same span.

Highest measured price increases among categories of health
services were for dentists’ fees: 22.1 percent; and physicians’s fees:
15.7 percent. Somewhat lower rates of increase were recorded for
optical care: 13.2 perccent; and prepaid medical care: 10.2 percent.
The pharmaceuticals’ sub-index showed a decline of 2.4 percent.

Boy, that's some increase

Hamilton electricians take home 51 cents a week more in 1969
than in 1965 according to figures released by their executive this
week,

In 1965 their gross wages were $161.20 and after taxes and de-
ductions they took home $137.66 (family of four).

In 1969 the same workers gross pay had increased to $177 but
his take home pay had only gone up to $138.17, an increase of 51
cents a week.

That figure was for a 3744 hour work week but according to the
union the average work week for electricians in 1968 was 26%
hours per week. So much for the “high” construction wages.

Labor paper cuts back

The Fisherman, organ of the United Fisherman and Allied Work-
ers Union, Vancouver has announced that it will cut its publication
frequency from thrice monthly to every second Friday due to in-
creased postal costs.

The union estimates that the increased costs could be as much
as $9,500 yearly for the paper.

In announcing the cut-back the paper called on the government
to at least allow the labor press the same second class mailing
privileges as profit making publications. The Fisherman Says, it
will remove the charge that the government is merely using the
Post Office deficit as a means of gagging the non-profit press.

UNESCO to honor Lenin

The United Nations Human Rights Commission has adopted a
resolution welcoming the decision of the UNESCO general confer-
ence to mark the centenary of V. I. Lenin’s birth. The resolution
notes the “historic influence of Lenin’s humanistic ideas and prac-
tical activities on the development and implementation of economic
and social rights and in the field of culture.”

The Human Rights Commission will be represented at the
UNESCO symposium in Tampere, in April, 1970, on “V. I. Lenin
and Questions of Developing Science, Culture and Education.” It
is expected to memorialize Lenin at one of its own sessions.

Students help UE

Waterloo students have pitched in to help the United Electrical
Workers Union organize Marsland Engineering at Waterloo.

The workers in addition to helping with the distribution of leaf-
lets and other organizational tasks, put out a leaflet in the name
of the Student Labor Committee which in part said, “More and
more students are becoming aware of the problem they will face
when they graduate and at the same time are starting to realize
that they are workers just like you.

© other affiliated sea- gee “We are helping in this organizational drive because we wish to
lions in the Congress. show our solidarity with the workers at Marsland and all workers
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