An economic policy statement
Placed before a conference of
Canadian Steelworkers in Win-

_ Nipeg May 4 to 7 says that total

losses to wage and salary earners
as a result of the so-called ‘‘Anti-
Inflation’’ program may reach the
billion-dollar mark before the
Program ends. The statement also
States: “‘There have been no
Tollbacks for banks and other
lending institutions that continue
to enjoy windfall profits from high
Interest rates, which are a direct

Tesult of federal money policy.”’

The conference adopted a
five-point program that calls for a)
an immediate end to wage con-
trols; b) selective and substantial
tax cuts; c) the removal of spend-
Ing ceilings on social programs; d)
a large-scale public investment
Program, and; e) a review board
to monitor prices.

Monopoly’s Motto

‘The war on inflation conducted
by the monopoly capitalists and
their governments was never
meant to be anything else than a
war on the working class, its liv-
Ing standards and jobs. This is
Proven by the fact that the con-
trols on wages and salaries are ac-
Companied by lavish grants and
Subsidies to the big corporate sec-
tor. Likewise, tax relief for the
corporations shifts the tax burden
more and more to wage and salary
earners in addition to zooming liv-
ing costs. The motto of our soci-
ety is: ‘everything for monopoly
Profits at the expense of working
people who produce all the
wealth.’ That is what the ruling

_ Class means when it talks about a

’

total war on inflation.

Even Donald Tansley, ad-.

Ministrator of the Anti-Inflation
Board, is now on record as telling
a House of Commons Committee
that, as of March 29, 1977, neither
the AIB nor any company had
asked him to re-examine a deci-
Sl0n on profits or prices. Only ap-

- Peals relating to employees’ com-

Pensation, both direct pay and
fringe benefits, have been referred
to him, Mr. Tansley said.
The situation is perfectly clear.
re are no rollbacks of prices
and profits. Only labor income,
th direct pay and fringe benefits
are being rolled back.
A preliminary Report on Busi-
Ness survey shows after-tax pro-
ts of corporations in the first
Quarter of this year to be up by
3.7, Percent over that of the
Previous year.
_ But union contracts negotiated
' the first quarter of 1977 pro-
vided for an annual increase in
aS€ rates over the life of the con-

_ Tact of Only 8.6 percent, as re-

Ported
of ‘aay the federal Department

PS This proves that the economic

“8ts are as the Steelworkers’

sconomic - policy statement so
aptly described the situation.
he AIB may be able to regulate

Wages, but is incapable of control-
ng inflation.’

Ruins Home Market
Nevertheless, Ronald Ander-
N of the Toronto Globe and
al lost no time in criticizing the
ing workers Union for present-
na what this zealot of big busi-
€SS chooses to call ‘‘nonsensical

®conomic arguments”.

But Mr. Anderson is unable to
refute the irrefutable. He ignores
the facts about corporate profits
and capital accumulation. He
simply repeats the big business
assertions about the alleged heed
to slow down the rate of wage and
salary increases, controlling
money supply and government
spending (without specifying
areas and type of spending), ex-
cept to call for more incentives for
capital to invest in new and more
efficient facilities for producing
goods, ‘‘as an essential element of
any successful anti-inflation prog-
ram.”

What Mr. Anderson calls for is
more of the same medicine which
is already killing the patient. In-
flation is getting worse, and un-
employment is costing the coun-
try more and more billions in lost
production.

Big business and capitalist gov-
ernments cannot control inflation
by wage control because wages
are not responsible for inflation in
the first place.

Secondly, depressing wages
and salaries reduces buying
power of the majority and ruins
the domestic market for goods
and services.

AIB costs workers
$1-billion in wages

Thirdly, controlling govern- ,
ment spending on people’s needs 2
and increasing the tax burden on s
the working people, while shifting 2
spending to subsidies for the pri- ®
vate corporate sector and reliev-
ing it of taxes as an incentive to 2
increase and modernize produc- *
tive facilities, merely result in &
layoffs and more unused produc-
tive capacity.

Employment Policies

What we need now is uncondi-
tional removal of wage control,
restoration of full and free collec-
tive bargaining and extension ofits
scope.

What has become a must at this
time is a complete reversal of gov-
ernment policy to one of full
employment by putting all who

“want and need a job to work.

What we need is an end to cut-
backs in vital social services, and
a curb on private monopoly
power by expansion of the public
sector under public ownership
and democratic control.

The five-point program of the
Steelworkers’ union is a much
welcome move in that direction.
All that is missing now is an effec-
tive program of action to imple-
ment decisions made at Winnipeg.

Jessica Govea (centre), one of the original organizers of the
Farmworker’s boycott has been active in Canada since the middle 60's.
A farmworker herself, Jessica began picking cotton at the age of five.

_ UFW marks 10 years
_ of Canadian solidarity

By STAN DALTON

TORONTO — Nearly 700
people jammed the Nativity of
Our Lord church here April 30 to
join the-United Farmworkers to
celebrate 10 years of Canadian
solidarity with the UFW in their
struggle for justice.

Labor, church and community
leaders reflected the broad .sup-
port. Ontario Federation of Labor
president Cliff Pilkey reaffirmed
labor’s backing of future UFW
struggles and CLC president Joe

Delegates walk out on labor minister

AFL rejects ‘right-to-scab’ law

Special to the Tribune

CALGARY — Some 700 dele-
gates, representing more than
100,000 organized workers in Al-
berta met in the annual conven-
tion of the Alberta Federation of
Labor here early in the month.

The timing of the convention
corresponded to what may de-
velop into a vicious attack on or-
ganized labor in the province.
And organized labor replied in
fine fettle.

At the opening session, Neil
Crawford the labor minister of the
province’s Tory government was
to bring the greetings of the
Lougheed administration and
speak on health and safety mea-
sures the government was con-
templating. He had barely
reached the convention podium
when 600 delegates rose from
their chairs and marched out of
-the convention, singing *Solidar-
ity Forever’’. Crawford, with
Tory aplomb, proposed that he
and the remaining 100 delegates
engage in a question and answer
session, when the convention
chairman declared the session ad-
journed ‘‘for the lack of a
quorum’”’.

The demonstration of the dele-
gates was the reply of the Alberta
Federation to legislation pre-
sently before the Alberta house
which would remove 3,600 out of
the 30,000 civil servants now or-
ganized into the Alberta Union of
Provincial Employees from the
protection of the Alberta Labor
Act; deny them the right to strike,
and make them captives of a
government-appointed arbitra-
tion procedure from whose deci-
sions there would be no appeal.

In a sequel to the opening day’s
demonstration, labor minister
Crawford was asked not to attend
the Convention banquet.

Right-to-scab Laws

Along with the Provincial
Employee Relations Act, now be-
fore the legislature, the Conven-
tion noted a mounting campaign
in the province for ‘‘right-to-
work’ legislation that could be
coming next. With major changes
in labor legislation expected from
the fall session of the legislature,
labor now has served notice that
they will not tolerate any right-
to-scab laws.

The threat comes from
employers and the government
who suffered a set-back earlier in
the year over the efforts of a
non-union pipe-line contractor
who had bid on the building of a
pipe-line from Fort MacMurray
to Edmonton. His bid was thrown
out after unions threatened to de-
clare the construction project

_“hot’’ if a non-union contractor

was engaged.

The Convention militancy re-
flected a ground-swell of dissatis-
faction with the leadership of the
Federation particularly in its rela-
tions with the Alberta govern-
ment. Well before the convention
opened, public criticism was
levelled at the Federation execu-
tive for ‘‘playing it too cozy”’ with
the Tory government.

Reg Basken, Federation presi-
dent for the past five years, was
challenged by Larry Mead, a
Lethbridge firefighter and a rep- .
resentative of Int. Assoc. of Fire-
fighters. But before nominations
were placed in the Convention,
Basken announced that he would
not contest the presidency. Im-

mediately, Mead withdrew from
the race and declared his support
for Harry Kostiuk of Edmonton,
assistant executive secretary of
the Federation.

Doskoch Challenge

In the elections, Kostiuk won
the presidency which is now a
full-time job. He was challenged
by Walter Doskoch of the Plum-
bers and Pipefitters who polled
nearly 200 votes.

The new executive will consist
of Frank Kuzemski Steelwor-
kers, and Ian Downie of CUPE as
regional vice-presidents. Jack
Hubler of the Plumbers and Pipe-
fitters, Reg Basken of OCAW,
Larry Mead of Lethbridge and
Bill Broad of the Alberta Union of
Provincial Employees (AUPE)
will serve as vice-presidents at
large.

In a post-convention state-
ment, Kostiuk indicated that
priorities will be given to the fight
against the passage of the Provin-
cial Employee Relations Act.

Morris sent greetings: ‘‘The CLC
salutes the UFW and pledges its
support in the continuing effort to
bring farmworkers the benefits of
strength through unity ..."”

June Callwood, public person-
ality and longtime UFW suppor-
ter, Father Gregory Baum, Metro
Toronto Council president Sam
Fox, alderman Dan Heap and
several MPPs and MPs were pre-
sent at the celebration.

Guest speakers were Jessica
Govea and Marshall Ganz, both
original organizers of the Cana-
dian boycott of grapes in 1965-66.
Ganz recalled the long history of
the UFW struggles — against
child labor and for basic amenities
in the fields of California. He de-
scribed the tremendous impor-
tance of the boycott by Canadians

~ and how it greatly assisted the

embattled farmworkers.

Jessica Govea,.a farmworker
who grew up in California and
picked cotton since the age of
five, said: ‘This 10th anniversary
is not a celebration of something
that once was but is no more — it
is a celebration of something that
continues and grows ...
expressed gratitude on behalf of
the UFW for the support pro-
vided by their northern brothers
and sisters. Both Ganz and Govea
are presently working in the or-
ganizing drive underway in the
Imperial Valley.

Entertainment, Mexican food
and drink capped a memorable
event as Canadians prepare for
the second decade of UFW
support. °

Canadians owe $22-billion in
debts to banks, credit companies,
department stores, air lines credit
card issuers and oil companies.
This is a 16.4% jump over a year
earlier. About 1,800 sought help
in Toronto from the Metro To-
ronto Credit Counselling Service. |

Launch Italian paper

lotta wmitartn

 ORGANO DEL PARTITO COMUNIETA CAXADERE .

Above is the masthead of the new Canadian Italian Communist
paper published in Toronto. The first issue came out in April.
Anyone interested in receiving the paper for themselves or a friend:
should contact the B.C. Communist Party office, 402 Ford Bldg.,
Vancouver, B.C. or phone 684-1451.

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—MAY 20, 1977—Page 5

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