CANADA'S | parliament will
assemble at Ottawa Janu-
ary 26. It is the fifth session
of our country’s 20th parlia-
ment. It will likely be the last
session before we fight the next
general election. Over 100 items
are on the agenda—and the most
important one of all should be
the so-called Atlantic Pact.
This Atlantic Pact, misnam-
ed a regional security pact for
defense, is, in reality, a Segment

plans
“The big brass and money
which dominates Truman’s ad-
ministration steadily press for the
- following objectives:
~ I Rebuilding the German Ruhr
as its massive European war
material base for production of
- guns, tanks, poison gas, etc.
2 Whipping together, under
* Marshal Montgomery, of a
Western Union army of 15 to

cenaries ready to fight against
their own peoples and the Soviet

_ Union and New Democracies.
3 > Linking up this Westem Un-
ion with the so-called Atlan-
tic Pact, and binding Canada

tughtly to an agreement to allot
huge sums from the federal treas-

idly increase Canada’s armed

forces, and to vigorously push

ahead the building of aggressive
war bases in Canada and New-
foundland.

Make no mistake about it
Wall Street is pushing desperate-
ly hard. Over the protests of
France and the opposition of all
German political parties, the U.S.
has decided to build up the
Ruhr as an arsenal. Even the
‘German Social Democratic party

_—-which supports the Marshall
_ Plan—has been forced to say:
“The U.S. Ruhr plan is worse
than our worst apprehensions.”

Montgomery is busy tying to-
gether his Western Union army,
and it significant that in a Lon-
don speech he said that this army

was going to have’ to do police
_ work, clearly implying that he
figures it will be used first of
‘all against the workers and de-
mocrats of the Western countries
it is supposed to defend!

The news leaking out from
secret meetings in Washington
indicates that the Atlantic Pact
is almost ready for signing. It is

‘sign it for Canada before Janu-
ary 26, before parliament or the

people have any chance to learn
5 Le full far-reaching commit-

a of this mncerinee the des-
ieee} haste with which Wall
; pushing its actual war
preparations under cover of a
myriad of stories which strive to
make the people believe that it
the Soviet Union which wants
ar.

- next months will be dan-
eat ones if they get away
with their present plans. Why?

use, let those trigger-happy
- hats and bankers of the

US. get Montgomery's army in
x let them get the Ruhr

es of war material, let them
= Canada committed — and

Il feel they can give the
signal for war. They'll become
more itchy for that shooting war
are constantly talking about.
Tt is indeed encouraging to
read that in France, Germany
and at ee there are strong
‘protests and struggles against
America’s Ruhr _ arsenal ee
z is Sgainahy hee to save
_ Europe from being the supplier
of the Sppnbirfodeler and vetim

Pa

of Wall Street’s aggressive war

20 divisions of European mer-—

ury for war preparations, to rap- ~

predicted that St. Laurent will .

turning out great quan-

of a Wall Street war against
socialism and democracy.
Canada too, faces the same
fate unless labor and the people
unite to condemn and frustrate
a cold-blooded scheme to drain
our country of billions of dol-
lars and millions of men td
serve the aggressive war plans
of Wall Street. That is the
issue of the Atlantic Pact.

Atl

By CHARLES SIMS -

What the
antic
act
means

Therefore, it behoves all pat-
riotic Canadians and in the first
place the labor movement, ‘to
fight this St. Laurent - Pearson *
scheme to railroad the Atlantic
Pact * through parliament. A
heavy responsibility falls upon
the CCF. The pressure from all
over this country from the peo-
ple can and must compel MP’s
at Ottawa to oppose, to. speak

against, and to vote against this
Atlantic Pact and to demand a
policy of friendship with our
northern neighbor, the Soviet
Union. Peace and progress for

‘Canada’ does not lie in surrend-

ering our national independence
to Wall Street; it lies in the op-
posite direction.

‘The people can and will pre-
serve peace, and make great so-

cial advances—but only on con-
dition that: they fight the war-
mongers. A new chapter i in Can-
ada’s struggle for peace is open-
ing up over this misnamed At-
lantic Security Pact which is no-
thing but a thinly veiled plan to
involve Canada: up to her neck
in the diabolical war schemes of
U.S. imperialism to dominate

the world.

A union shop for civic workers

In view of widespread at-

- tacks -upon the rights of public

employees to belong to organ-
izations of their own choice and
constant efforis to, deny them
union security already won by
workers in many other fields, the
Pacific Tribune> invited Jack
Phillips, secretary of Vancouver
Civic Employees (Outside Work-
ers) Local 28, to contribute this
article.

N 1948, the Vancouver Civic

Federation embracing at that
time the outsidq workers, the
firemen, and the, city hall staff,
were in collective bargaining
with the city. One of the demands
was for the union shop.

The arbitration board finally
referred this question to the joint
conciliation committée composed
of four aldermen, four represen-
tatives of the employees, and the
mayor as chairman. But, although
nearly six years have passed, the
unions have not been successful
to date in ‘winning the _union
shop.

The minority finns of that
board set up in 1943 has been the
majority opinion of successive
Non-Partisan city councils since
that date. Some of the aa a
used are:

- “The union ne would give
-the union power to discharge a

city employee from his employ-
ment; the city council has no au-
thority under the city charter to
give such power to a union or any
other body;

e@ Granting of the, union shop:
ta civic unions would give un-
ions absolute control: over who
shali be engaged as employees

by the city;

@ The city of Vancouver is gov-
erned by a democracy; if any
civic employee has a grievance
against the council such griey-
ance may be submitted to the
judgment of a democratic ypte
of the people.

-@ There is no resemblance be-

tween the government of Vancou-
ver and a private corporation or-

ganized for gain and controlled ©

by its directors elected by. share-
holders interested in- gain.

@
In 1948 the outside workers,

Civic Employees’ Union, Local
28, bargained for a wage _ in-

crease, the union shop, and other
‘demands. The city maintained
that the city charter did not per-
mit any form of union security
and tried to strike a bargain
whereby they would seek an
amendment to the charter allow-
ing only a maintenance of mem-
bership clause.

When this amendment came be-
fore the Private Bills committee
in Victoria, a joint delegation of
Vancouver civic workers and the
International Brotherhood of El-
ectrical Workers of Vancouver,
appeared before the Private Bills

\ committee in opposition to the
amendment,

This, delegation took the posi-
tion that the city of Vancouver is
a corporation under the law and
under, the’ provincial ICA act,
and as such should be bound by
all the provisions of the act and

not just those that were ac-
ceptable to the city council.

Spokesmen pointed out that the
ICA act permits the union or the
closed shop where employers and

employees agree, and that if the
city council were sincere in seek-—

ing an amendment to the char-
ter it would press for an amend-
ment whereby the city charter
would be brought completely in
line with the labor legislation of
the. province, ;

A few months later, the City of
Vancouver signed a_ collective
agreement with Local 28: with the
following clause in the pre-
amble: :

“It is agreed that Local No.
23 may by itself or in concert
with other unions, press for
an amendment to the city
charter which will authorize
the inclusion of a union secur-
ity clause (not necessarily lim-

ited to a maintenance of mém- —

. bership clause) in collective.
agreements with the city and

on the spot.

it is understood that the pres-

ent council will: recommend to ©

its successors in office that such
legislation be sought.”

The signing of this contract
was delayed for several months
by stubborn refusal of the city
council to include this clause in
the agreement. The union match-
ed this stubbornness with a re-
fusal to sign unless it was in-
cluded in the contract. Its ace
card was a document initialled
by the city solicitor and the comp-
troller, whereby they agreed, on
behalf of the city to include such
a clause in the agreement.

e -

With the city committed as it

is to seek a charter amendment

_ Which would permit any form of

union security permissible under
the labor law of the province,
and with the big three civic un-
ions and the police determined to
win union security this year, the
Non-Partisan majority is really

On December 2-3 a province-
wide legislative conference was
‘held by Trades and Labor Con-
gress affiliates in the province.
This conference unanimously en-
dorsed the principle that civic
workers should have the. same
rights before the law as all other
workers, and that the labor law
of the province should deal
equally with all groups of work-
ers.

A number of civic unions in
B.C. have been granted the un-

- ion shop. In no case has the pub-

lic welfare or the efficiency of
the service suffered,

More than 90 percent of the
outside workers employed by our
city are now members of the
union. The ‘city’s argument that
a union shop would mean com-
pulsion and denial of democratic
rights does not hold water.

The 90 percent who belong to
the union are recognized by the
city as the bargaining agency for
all of the employees in the group.
Through their collective strength
this 90 percent have compelled

the minority to accept | ywage in- .

creases of 22c ‘an hour in the last’
two years and a 40-hour week in
place of the 44-hour week. The
city has never raised the ques-
tion that the 10 percent are being
compelled to accept the stand-
ards laid down by the union.

The union shop would draw
this small minority into union
affairs and would give them full
opportunity, to participate in the
shaping of policy and in the vot-
ing on all vital, questions that
directly effect their welfare. Thus
the union shop would be an ex-
tension and not a limitation of ©
democracy.

Local 28 is seeking the union

‘shop whereby all new employees

will automatically become mem-
bers of the union within 30 days
of commencing employment with
the city and remain members as
a condition of employment. This
would give the union the secur-

.ity it desires’ and would not in-

owned by the

terfere in any way with the
rights of the city to hire whom
they choose, to dismiss for cause
other than union activity, and
to promote to confidential posi-
tions.

The main argument used by
municipal authorities in denying
union security is that a civic
corporation is a public body
taxpayers and

therefore a city council cannot

~

Ee aR Ee _ JANUARY U4, =4p4D oo ‘PAGE 4

logical.

legally grant the union shop to
civic workers.

This argument is highly il-
The voting public in-
cludes a majority of wage earn-
ers and a minority of employers.
Both the workers and the em-
ployers are permitted to enter
into union shop agreements un-
der the labor laws of the land. If
it was put squarely to them, they »
could not, in all fairness, deny
their public servants. the right
to enter into pet shop con-
tracts. .

Perhaps the Se iieere will
fight this demand of the union,
but we feel sure that organized
labor will back the civic workers. 4