LINE vii a: a at Ds lnranaasesievaeldlls= FRIDAY, APRIL. 7, 1950 Soviet sales increase Record high living costs in Canada are reflected in Vancouver merchants’ general complaint that although stores are thronged fewer people are buying. In the Soviet Union, on the other hand, recent price slashes and constantly increasing supply and variety of merchandise has led to an 18 percent increase in sales for Feb- ruary in the Ukraine alone. Trades Council backs civic workers’ demand Vancouver and District Trades and Labor Council (AFL-TLC) went on record Tuesday night in support of Civic Workers Employees Union, local 28, in its fight for a union shop, with Ald. R. K. Gervin, council secretary Tribune for his wobbly stand on the matter) leading the denuncia- tion of tactics used to block civic workers. “Victoria is being used to stail this matter to keep civic employ- ees from getting union security,” said Gervin. Jack Phillips, Civic Workers, sprang to his feet. “We suppor- ted the city’s stand in seeking an amendment to the .city charter, but with reservations,” he said. “But we have always contended that the amendment was not nec- essary; that the city has the right to give us the union shop under the ICA Act. Now we're going to make a test case of it. Will you, Brother Gervin, as secretary of this council, recommend to the executive that our legal expenses in the test case be met out of the Trades Council defense fund?” - Gervin: “I will recommend fin- ancial support for any legal action you undertake in this connection.” On a motion by Phillips, council also passed a resolution calling on Victoria city council to pay the 7i cents an hour wage boost award of Labor Relations Board to Victoria civic workers. (See story on page 6). (who had previously been blasted by the Pacific Charles Stewart, Jr., reported that Division 101, Street Railway- men’s Union, had unanimously gone on record condemning Steel raiding against Mine-Mill at Trail. Council voted support to a Fish- ermen’s resolution commending Fisheries Minister Mayhew’s re- commendation for barter trading to help Canada’s foreign trade. U.S. top brass reported directing Chiang raids against People’s China | —PEKING The New China News Agency reported here last week it had evi- dence from reliable sources that American high officers are person- ally directing remnants of Chiang Kai-shek’s air and naval forces from Formosa in bombing raids against Chinese cities and efforts to impose a naval blockade. The news agency charged that Charles M. Cooke jr., former commander of U.S. naval forces in the western Pacific, had spent some six weeks on Formosa in “planning ‘morale-boosting sorties’ against China’s coastal areas, bombing of China’s cities and de- velopment of the naval blockade.” It added that Cooke had recently « inspected the Kuomintang air base ‘Get together to fight boss,’ says Pritchett Growing militancy among B.C, woodworkers found expression in New Westminster when 750 employees at Pacific Veneer plant walked off the job the last two weekends in a row, protesting hours of work and speedup methods. With 40,000 woodworkers from five states taking strike votes in the U.S. and 17,600 IWA members in B.C. pledged to strike action June 15 unless wage and contract demands are met, great strike battles in the woods appear .prob- able in 1950. Harold Pritchett, president of the Woodworkers Industrial Union —-took the first step toward ral- lying B.C. woodworkers to “get together and fight the bosses” when he called a meeting of the WIUC national council for Sun- day, April 9, “to consider plans on how to unite and mobilize all woodworkers behind their demand for a wage increase this year.” Pointing out that cost-of-living index has advanced to 163.7, an all-time high, Pritchett said the policy of employers is to chisel on wage rates and wipe out hard- won working conditions. “In the face of this grave threat it is imperative that woodworkers stand shoulder to shoulder and fight unitedly for a pay hike in 1950,” the WIUC president stres- sed. “The lumber market is boom- ing, and employers cannot use the old-alibi this year that the in- dustry cannot afford to pay,” con- tinued Pritchett. “‘The bosses can well afford 'to pay, and the WIUC will leave no stone unturned in its efforts to see that the wood- workers are united in the struggle to win their demands.” The WIUC paper, Union Wood- worker, this week called the lum- ber market “the best in the his- tory of the lumber market in British Columbia,” and declared that it is “shooting up the price of lumber and pouring a vast stream of wealth into the coffers of the lumber operators at a speed never before attained.” Said the union newspaper: “Under the impetus of large American orders, chiefly from the Atlantic seaboard, Vancouver lumber prices ,have shot up by 50 percent. since last October... “Even the operators themselves are stating that they expect the best year they ever had... “Never was the economic out- look more favorable for bringing wage rates into line with living costs ... There'is a scarcity of logs and thé mills are hungry for more. All economic factors to win a substantial wage hoist are present. “All that is needed is a firm, united stand by the workers to enforce their demands, plus the necessary work from below to unify the whole movement in a common struggle to ensure that all demands are granted in full.” Italian peasants join struggle with workers Not only are Italian workers openly defying the De Gasperi government’s new police state legislation, but Italian peasants are joining them in a common struggle for peace, bread and land. ‘at Kinmen Island. The agency also named Major General Dennis of the U.S. Ai Forces as having inspected installa- tions on Formosa and the Chou- shan Islands where, it states, he “is reported to have discussed pro- posals with Chiang Kai-shek for the building of two air fields for the use of heavy bombers in bomb- ing raids on China’s mainland.” UNIONISTS enemies. We must put an end to raiding by men such as Millard, who uses the dues money of the Steel members to atack other unions. “The international president of "Steel, Philip Murray, has the power to extend the jurisdiction of his union as he sees fit. Trail is the first major attempt in B.C. by the leaders of the Steel union to extend their self-proclaimed jurisdiction into other organized fields. What union will be next? “Helping to stop the raiders i§ YOUR business—it’s the business of every trade union member, joP steward and union officer.” The conference call is signed by Charlie Stewart, Street Rail- waymen’s Union, AFL; John Cameron, United Mine Workers: Cumberland, “CCL; William White, Marine Workers and Boil- ermakers Union, CCL; Alex Gor- don, United Fishermen and Allied Workers Union, TLC; Fred Jack- son, International Longshoremen and Warehousemen’s Union, CCL; Don Guise, Vancouver Civic Em- ployees’ Federal Labor Uniol, TLC; Dave McGhee, Mine, Mill and Smelter. Workers’ Union; Jcea White, United Mine Workers, Nanaimo, CCL; Sam English, Un- ited Mine Workers, Michel-Natal, . CCL; James Barton, Plumber and Steamfitters Union, AFL; William Stewart, Marine Workers ‘and Boilermakers’ Union, CCL: Hugh Ciark, United Packinghouse Workers, CCL; and Peatrl Wedro, International Fur and Leaqer Workers Union, CCL. ' Labor Relations Board hearing® on Steel’s application for certifica tion on Thursday this week we!® postponed until further notice: Mine-Mill was denouncing Steel’s membership claims as not valid b& cause the union collected no initia tion fee or dues from its so-calle “members.” These pictures show the peasants of Fucino on their way to take over land which they can work to produce the food the Italy people need so desperately. Italy has over 2,000,000 unemplo, PACIFIC TRIBUNE — APRIL 7, 1950 — PAGE 1?