Grape strikers seek boycott support

The lot of the agricultural worker
in California is as wretched today
as when it was pathetically pic-
tured during depression years in
John Steinbeck’s “Grapes of
Wrath.” A strike of 1,200 -grape
workers of the huge Giumarra
Corporation at Delano Cal., which
started in early August, is. again

public opinion on the
super exploitation of migratory
farm workers.

Candi Clarke, representative of
the United Farm Workers’ Organ-
izing Committee, told UE News
that wages of 90c- $1.25 an hour
are the going rates for the back-
breaking farm work. The work-
ers are not covered by the Na-
tional Labor Relations Act and
can only win union recognition by
strike action.

The strike at Giumarra Corp.
she said, was ‘provoked when
management refused to negotiate

with the union, or to even dis-
cuss any possible solution of
problems in spite of the fact that
more than 90 per cent of the
workers through requests for
labor board elections and by di-
rect action showed they wanted
to be represented by the union.
Twelve million annual profit is
sweated out of the laborers who
farm the 12,000-acre Guimarra
property, she said. “Entire fami-

“You got to have patience.
Why Tom, us people will go on
livin’ when all them people is
gone .. . Rich fellas come up

alf dewhurst

an’ they die, an’ their kids
ain't no good, an’ they die out.

But we keep a-comin’.
John Steinbeck—Grapes of Wrath

lies work in the fields and earn
barely enough to survive on. “The
average schooling of the farm
laborers’ children is at a grade
six level,” she said.

BOYCOTT SOUGHT

“Bread and justice” is a key
slogan of the grape workers, who

“The fields -were fruitful and
starving men moved on the
roads. The granaries were full
and the children of the poor
grew up rachitic, and the pus-
tules of pellagra swelled on
their sides. The great com-
panies did not know that the
line between hunger and an-
ger is a thin line.”

John Steinbeck—Grapes of Wrath

are determined to keep the strike
going until they win these basic
rights.

The Farm Workers’ union asks
the cooperation and assistance of
Canadian workers by refusing to
buy Guimarra grapes until the
corporation grants union recog-
nition and signs a union contract.

Scab grapes are sour grapes.

Funds are also needed desper-
ately. The national union contrib-
uted $500 to the UFWOC strike
fund. UE locals will also have the
opportunity to contribute to the
strike and to rally public opinion
to boycott the Giumarra labels.

(See this page for Giumarra
brand names.)

“S'pose you got a job a work
and there's jus’ one fella wants
the job. You got to pay him
what he asts. But s’pose they’s
a hundred men wants that job.
S'pose them men got kids an’
them kids is hungry. S’pose a
nickel’ll buy at leas’ sompin
for the kids. An’ you got a hun-
dred men. Jus’ offer ‘em a
nickel—why, they'll fight each
other for that nickel.”

John Steinbeck—Grapes ef Wrath

(Reprinted from UE News)

Arta
Uptown

Anton’s Quolity

Ar-Cal

Bestbet

Blue Creek

Blue Jay

Bounty.

Camelot
‘Columbine
Del Ora
Double J

Gamco
Haddad
Hi-Life

Hi Style

Shee

Los Angeles
Marlin
M&C
Mary Jo
Mother

DON'T BUY THESE BRANDS

Giummara markets under the following lobels?
Grope King vc
Big G

Honey-Bunch

My

New Yorker
Normandie
Porky

Pound Sterling
Pow-Wow —
Prosperity
Rich Pak
Royal K

Sage

Sail-n-Ann
Sandrini
Silver King
Sunview

3 Brothers
Tiget

Tudor

VBZ

White River
Sierra Moon

- Messiah for U.S. monopoly

By WILLIAM BEECHING
Sg senor Premier

Ross Thatcher has made it
TS;

— in monopolies’

_ Who's Who, the U.S. News and

World Report (20.11.67), under
the heading “In Canada, Social-
ism Loses: A Portent for the
U.S.A.”

What, exactly, is behind the
guilt-edged underwrite for Sas-
katchewan’s_ successful small-
town hardware merchant?

Part of the reason for the
love match is this line in the
article “. . . and to open the
door for development capital,
including U.S. investment.”

The article claims that Sas-
katchewan, from a “have not”
province, has become one of
Canada’s “richest and fastest
growing provinces in967.2 22.

What are the facts? Who has
become rich? From the ranks of
the rich can be eliminated the
Indian people (the most of
whom voted Tory in despera-
tion). It is claimed 70 percent of
farmers sell a gross of less than
$10,000 a year, which effectively
eliminates them. In addition,
manufacturing employment is

very low, and generally speak-

ing there’s a strong lag between,

wages in Saskatchewan and
those paid in the highly indus-
tralized areas of Canada.

Who have become really rich?
The potash interests, who have

FY

special privileges granted them,
first under the CCF (some so-
cialism!) and extended by the
Thatcher Liberal government.
So it is with the petroleum in-
terests and Saskatchewan’s first
U.S.-owned pulp mill. And of
course, the construction inter-
ests are waxing fat on juicy
highway contracts, etc.

This American billionaire ma-
gazine approvingly refers to
its Canadian protege, Ross
Thatcher, as having “argued (in
Ottawa) energetically against
tax reforms .. .” He has done
much more. He has emerged as
the champion ‘of postponing
social reforms — such as a na-
tional medicare scheme — and
for slashing and stopping all
social advantages.

He advocates a freeze on
prices and wages, and quotes
Britain’s “socialist” Prime Min-
ister as his authority. He wants

a freeze on all civil §
ings and already
freeze in effect 205
wan, thus lowering 4s
and working ph
civil service t0 fot
favored treatment
monopolies. Na
Key to understanding
of the whole articl,
to be had, and
Canadian governs
the way. Here's #
excerpts: :
“This vast Proving
square miles sae
than prairie Jands:
000 square miley
mostly untouched att
operations. Neatly att
Province lies 17 50°
ral-rich area—~
Cambrian shield.
helium and t

gredient of
—lies unde

Indeed, there
had.

It’s clear that the
Messiah in Sashes)
complete answeh 4
US. monopoly

é

Wage parity on the way

fe first round in the fight
for wage parity with U.S.
workers in all major in-
dustries in Canada has been
won by the UAW from Chrysler
Corporation. :

This assertion is made with
all due respect to those trades
(few in number) where wage
parity already exists. The signi-
ficance of the Chrysler settle-
ment is that Chrysler is an im-
portant company in a key ma-
nufacturing industry.

It is- suggested in the press
that General Motors and Ford
intend to fight the wage parity
demand right down the line.
This could be so. But regard-
less of whether they do-or not,

can be safely pred
GM. and Ford will eventually
sign-up for wage parity.

It could not be otherwise. For
these two motor car manufac-
turing giants share with Chrys-
jer the same labor market and
the same sales market. And the

of a full and compe-
tent work force to man produc-

tion lines in accordance with
sales demand rests on meeting
the highest wage rates estab-
lished in the industry.

Various experts have also been
heard expressing the opinion
that wage parity is the price
being paid by the auto manu-
facturers to their U.S. workers
as a consequence of the U.S.-
Canadian free market in motor
cars and parts. In other words,
a sort of a guarantee that U-S.
jobs will not be jeopardized be-
cause of unfair wage competi-
tion in a free market.

This line of reasoning is ad-
vanced to frighten Canadian
workers away from the idea of
wage parity. Wage parity, say
these experts, will mean less
jobs for Canadians.

This is a spurious argument
used by those who oppose the
concept of wage parity and who
visualize Canada competing in
foreign markets on the basis of
a low-wage economy. It also
brushes aside the basic reason
why U.S. companies establish
branch plants in Canada.

U.S. companies who set up

SECEMBER 8, 1967—-PACIFIC TRIBUNE—Page 4

shop in Canada do so in order
to take a resident claim on the
Canadian market and to benefit
as Canadian companies in those
countries which have a special
relation to Canada. And, if these
companies can get away with
paying Canadians less wages, .So
much the better for their profit
picture.

However, it would be naive to
think that because of this, U.S.
firms operating branch plants in
Canada will operate at a loss
just to keep a foothold in the
Canadian market. Experience
has shown that once their pro-
fits fall below what the same
dollar investment will yield
elsewhere they will move to the
greener pasture. This applies to
all firms including Caz.adian.
Profitability of the plant is the
determining factor.

Profitability is based on the
rate of productivity per man
hour worked, not by the wages
paid per hour. And the tech-
nique, employed is the determin-
ing factor in respect to produc-
tivity. Of wages, and not tech-
nique, was the basis upon which

profitability rests then India
and not the USA should be first
in the ranks of the billionaire
countries. Instead India is far
from the first ranks.

But Canada stands very close
to the USA in terms of produc-
tivity and profitability.

Canada is rich in vital energy-
producing resources and basic
raw materials. Its working class
is highly skilled. Canadian man-
hour productivity is one of the
highest in the world. And the
ingredients for wage parity are
at hand.

The winning of wage parity,
now economically possible, will
undoubtedly accelerate the
growth of man-hour productiv-
ity. This in turn will cheapen the
cost of production opening the
way for more competitive prices,
a larger share of the market,
and more, not less, jobs.

This has been the history of
production in Canada following
on the introduction of economic
innovations. Witness the intro-
duction of the 8 hour day and
later the 40 hour week. In both
these instances, the spokesmen

‘math of t

for a Jow-wase ©
ily predicted
for the coun

not economic
forward in

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