wa Gl ll Can Le io Tal ES Ti git ff eecnsan mt Nay ies r ory tt |e = us [Je = _ what recent studies show | By S. SARKIN echanical advances have been. responsible for methods in production in in- dustry throughout the land. New machines introduced in- to sections. as well as whole industrial complexes. are leading to greater and. ever- increasing automation. These changes in the evalu- ation of the forms of produc- tion have been. going on for some. time. Dating from the second’ world’swar. this..pro- cess has*in recent “years; been tremendously — accelerated. New machines are perform- img a multitude of functions which were formerly the do- main of workers. The result has been that growing num- bers of workers are now find- ing themselves in the ranks of the unemployed. _ Thus the general econornic ‘situation has been compound- _€d_by..automation which be- comes yet another factor in the. growth of*the ranks. of - the..jobless. This new: devel- opment brings to the fore new. problems as well-as new -Tesponsibilities. for the work- - Mg class iand. the’ trade-union Movement :in:our country. NEW TRENDS IN INDUSTRY: AND’ BIG BUSINESS — Simultaneous: with the new i developntent: noted’above; we 2 ADE also-“seeing ‘mergers’ in- > volving huge! industrial en- » sterprises ‘and financial = “inter- * .estsx: There: ‘is, of course, “no- ~ thing new in’ thefact® that huge enterprises have con- tinued - to» swallow » up small businesses-of all’ types” and kinds... Lately, however, “we are observing a new: Shoe omena — the*merging of the ‘big’. This is: to be seen’ in lumber, ‘pulp: and paper, in ‘Mining. banking,.. steel and Tailroads. Economics “experts” would have us believe that the am- algamation: of these “giants” is based on the concept of reducing overhead, cutting Production costs, etc. What THE DIESEL ‘ENGINE. In its wake it turned many Syd Sarkin, a veteran Canadian trade unionist, who has lived in Vaxcou- ver for the past few years, recently concluded a study of important problems af- fecting Canadian labor. - We present here a por- tion of that study dealing with the growing effects of automation, and _ the changes it is bringing to the labor movement. — Editors. they conveniently forget to say is that these mergers, coupled with automation, re- duces the working force thus ensuring great profits. THE RESULTS OF AUTOMATION The effects of automation in plants have already been discussed in the working class press in general terms. The time is ripe for a very practical discussion in the trade unions ‘and among workers about the results of automation in terms of jobs. Examples a-plenty. are before us now. A pipe- -producing plant was recently automized. This plant now produces four times as many pipes with one third of the number: of «workers. Two or three workers now operate an entire oil refinery. which is controlled by an el- ectrical brain. The task of these workers is confined to the pushing of buttons. Com: plters, operated by a very few workers now produce tools, automobile parts, aero- planes, etc. Needless to say the cost of production has been substan- tially reduced. C.M.&.S., the great smelting firm in Trail, B.C., is now building a huge plant at a cost of five to six million dollars. This plant will employ about eight (8) workers instead of two to three hundred formerly need- ed for such an operation. Sixty-five per-cent more cars. are being produced by railway communities | the same number of workers | 1947. | Auto | as were employed in In recent years. the Workers Union lost 350 thousand workers. A modern steel ‘plant now.» needs 12 workers per hour in order to produce a ton of steel whereas 20 were | required before. At the same time au- tomation has increased pro- duction per worker. Between the years 1947 to 1960 indus- trial production has risen 56% while .the number. of workers has risen 11%. The average workweek per hour has simultaneously dropped by 7% WHAT RECENT STUDIES SHOW Professor William Head, economist of the University of Toronto, has recently made -a study of secondary indust- ry ‘in: Canada. He: points out that in the first. six. months of 1960 production stood at 20% higher than that in 1955. while the employed had risen by one (1) per cent! The Financial Post: of Tor- onto writes: “Few Canadians grasp: the character and the seriousness of the present un- employed situation.” - While b autoynobile production has ‘in- | creased by! 50% employment ‘rose by’ 11%’. Increase’ in el- ectrical sappliances: 54%*em* ployment 19%. “Certainly,” | writes the Post;“‘this:is good’ in terms of-costs; but it caus= es great hardship on both young and older workers who are confronted with layoffs.” L. P. Kennedy, manager of | the engineering division of General Electric; places the question without frills. He states simply “it pays, it is cheaper to use. machines: ra- ther than men.” Other experts are quick to inform us that we are only at the beginning of our automation’ process. Every possibility exists for the complete automation of every phase of industry. and manufacturing. Big firms are now spending millions in an into ghost ~ towns: ‘and’-brought unemployment to thousands of Canadian workers. This.is the trend ‘@verywhere unless labor develops a united fight for a program which will reine the ‘Worker: and” bring “him ‘some of the benefits from automation. number “of ST ee ae ne ae See nee STS | Magazine Section mee An example of new production methods introduced in B.C.’s wood indusiry some time ago. This. giant lathe the-big fir log into a strip of veneer that may be as long as one mile without a break, all of uniform thickness. From the lathe the eight foot wide veneer passes into cutting machines and dry kilns before being glued inio laminated panels. ----. “unwinds” YEAR 1. White Collar workers 2.. Industrial Workers 3. Service. Workers 4. Farm Workers DISTRIBUTION OF CHIEF FORMS OF OCCUPATION BY PERCENT* * Figures issued by the U.S.’ Department of Labor. A similar trend is evident in Canada. 1900 1930 1950 1959 17.6 29.4 36.6 424 35.8 °.896 ..41.1.... 39.9 9.0 98. <105. =123 366: BIZ 11.8 8.5 effort to achieve this end. World News and: Report,.in special issue says, ‘The ques- tion which remains.is.— how far and ‘how: fast to.go.”’ “AMIDST GROWING UNEMPLOYMENT The aforementioned is tak- ing place-at a time when the mass of. jobless workers are being joined by the second world war babies. These “‘ba- bies’, both in the United States and Canada are now coming of working age. The ranks of the unemployed are being augmented. To the general problem of unem- ployment is now added a new phase: chronic unemployment as a result of these new de- velopments in industry. New developments in in- dustry constitute only a por- ‘tion of the:problems confron- ting the working class and the organized trade union move- ment today. In reeent years the ranks. of the working class, both in Canada and. the United. States, . have. under- gone some important changes. These must receive our most | serious attention. -Let us for: example, exam- ine the relationship ‘between and the “white collar .work: ers.” For years it was anac- cepted fact that . industrial workers représented the over- whelming majority. between “the “white collar -workers’’)con+ ,Stitute. a_ relatively unimport- ant factor in the working class movement. the industrial .working class: these: two. categories. “Phus: ait ‘l-was considered ‘that — }this important | and . This fallacy is still preve- lant. today. Many trade un- ionists.and trade union offic- ials. are unaware of. the great changes in this-regard. Yet an appreciation 6f) these chang- es are important ‘to the pro- per estirAation with respect to such problems as the or- ganization of the unorganiz- ed, as well as the whole mat- ter of unity of the working class in order to be able to withstand the onslaught. of the bosses. The Department of Labor in the United States provid- es us. with some very reveal- ing figures reprinted on this page. While these are U.S. figures they are nevertheless very close approximations of our own situation. in Canada. The number of industrial workers continued: to rise up to 1950 even though the in- erease was slight. In 1959> the number of industrial workers had fallen below. the. figures in the hungry. thirty’s. On the other -hand, we note a con- tinual. upward climb among: white collar workers, and’ this sector has in fact sur‘ passed the figure of industrial‘ workers. -process: of automation on the The effect of. the’ growth of the white collar’ worker has yet to. be-proper-. ly: assessed in order to be able to»appreciate it’s full impact. -and to: take’ ‘the’ steps” neces-! ‘sary to mobilize the full re-) ‘sources of the Canadian trade: union: movement: to organize rapidly. growing section of our work- ing population. February 16, 1962—PACIFIC TRIBUNE—Page 5 |