EDITORIAL

Unity spells victory

}° British Columbia big wage struggles are shaping
up. With the steady spiral in living costs and unpre-
cedented monopoly profits, this could not be otherwise.

Big unions like the International Woodworkers of America
have been compelled to demand the reopening of their two-
year wage contract signed one year ago, because of rising costs
on all commodities essential to life, which have long ago eaten
up most if not all of the wage gains achieved. This while
lumber costs and profits have soared to an all-time high.

Many other big unions in B.C. are faced with the same or
an equally pressing need for substantial wage boosts, a greater
range of fringe benefit in the area of health, vacations with
pay, safety regulations and other basic requirements on wage
earners. Then there is the fundamental problem of automation
and technological advance, affecting most every basic
industry, leading to the displacement of workers, with as yet
far too inadequate provisions for their replacement or
economic wellbeing.

Many industries are affected in this 1969 wage drive
negotiations involving tens of thousands of workers in
construction, transport, wholesale and retail, food workers,
etc., to say nothing of thousands of government and civil
service employees, all faced with a like necessity, that of a
substantially greater takehome pay to meet the rising costs in
the business of living, in which social services, health and other
amenities of life are at issue.

And for government and civil service employees generally,
the additional struggle for the right of trade union organization
and collective bargaining, and a final end to a too long status of
second class citizens.

In these great struggles emerging on the scene in British
Columbia, the central and probably the most vital question
confronting all workers in their respective unions and
associations, is that of coordination, cooperation in a common
cause, unity for a common goal.

Each and every union in the various fields of operation
may have different problems, different conditions to deal with.

But at bottom all face a common opposition to their wage and
other demands — that of big business monopoly, determined to
pocket all the profit the traffic will bear and backed up by
monopoly-dominated politicians in provincial and federal
parliaments, who seek to block all labor’s legitimate demands

and basic rights with various forms of vicious anti-labor class

legislation.

. Obviously in face of such powerful monopoly-government
opposition the unions have only one source of strength in
meeting these attacks head-on and winning substantial wage
gains, a shorter work week, improved working conditions, and
a greater share of the Wealth they alone produce for
themselves and families: That of the maximum unity and
coordination between all unions striving for substantial wage
hikes, corresponding to rising living costs and profits.

Such unity cannot only win the day but also provide the
incentive to organized labor, regardless of the color of its
collar, to build safeguards to the end that its forces won’t be
decimated by displacement and unemployment, but on the
countrary begin the process of beginning to write into all wage
agreements, large or small, the right of a worker to a

‘“‘guaranteed”” annual income at the expense of monopoly,
regardless.
In these big economic wage struggles on the B.C. labor
front, unity is and must be the watchword for victory.

Editor—TOM McEWEN = Associate Editor—MAURICE RUSH
Published weekly at Ford Bldg., Mezzanine No. 3, 193 E. Hastings St.,
Vancouver 4, B.C. Phone 685-5288.

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_ PACIFIC TRIBUNE—-MAY 16, "1969-_Page 2

dante atinaatitnltn dant tectarecentiety

By ALD. HARRY RANKIN

A rapid transit system should
take priority over freeways in
Vancouver. The movement of
people should take precedence
over the movement of vehicles.

This appears to be the
concensus of informed public
opinion, including community
planning experts, and of those
who have the best interests of all
of Vancouver at heart and who
serve no special or private
interests.

Big business promoters in the
downtown area like those behind
the Block 42-52 scheme and
Project 200 want to funnel all
traffic into their ventures. Big
construction firms want the huge
contracts involved in a freeway
complex that could easily cost
many millions of dollars. Big
real estate firms see profitable
deals in a freeway scheme.

But is it fair to saddle
homeowners and tenants of
Vancouver with .enormous
increases in taxes and rents for a

generation just to satisfy the .

downtown promoters?

I’m all in favor of another inlet
crossing, although I think it
should be about half way
between our present two bridges
so as to miss the downtown area

altogether, I also think we need a —

street level waterfront road
stretching along the entire
length of the harbor to service
the waterfront and provide
access to the public:

But a freeway system to funnel
all north-south and east-west
traffic through our already
overcrowded downtown
bottleneck (and that’s what our
downtown peninsula already is)
just doesn’t make good sense.
And for city council to commit
it to such a freeway complex
before agreements are arrived
at with Ottawa and Victoria over
costs would be sheer financial
irresponsibility.

The downtown area can handle
unlimited numbers of people but

not cars. The only sensible
solution then is a rapid transit
system to bring people without
their cars from North and South
Vancouver and from _ the
populous areas east and south of
the city.

If city council goes along with
the plan for a freeway complex
in its present form we will never
get rapid transit. That's why we
must insist that rapid transit be
given ‘priority and be our first
commitment.

City Council is being high
pressured by the freeway
interests for a quick decision on
a by-pass linking an _ inlet
crossing with Georgia Viaduct, a
connection with Highway 401 and
a north-south freeway. Both the
provincial and federal
governments are joining in the
pressure on Council.

Ottawa proposes to put up $100
million for the crossing but will
take it back in tolls at the rate of

60¢ per car. Victoria will put up ~-:
$27 million for approaches but -
only if we guarantee to link the °°
inlet crossing with Highway 401. -°

But neither government will
commit itself to the other $400
million involved in the freeway
scheme.

. Spending,

In this situation I think the
stand we should take is that if
Ottawa and Victoria insist on an
inlet crossing at Brockton Point,
we will agree to a_ by-pass
through Vancouver only if (a)
Ottawa and Victoria foot the
whole bill since it is part of their
highway complex, (b) a rapid
transit system is integrated into
the scheme and is given priority.

Cut Armament
Spending

NARAMATA — The
B.C. Conference of the
United Church, meeting
in this Okanagan resort
town, approved a
petition at its session
May 7 calling for a
decrease in defence
and an

increase in aid to

“ developing nations,

The petition proposes
‘that Canada give at
least one per cent of the
gross national product
for aid to such nations.

Ald. Rankin Honored

Nearly. 400: Varieouverites from ally
gala banqu Ne and ¢ dance last Thursday night to honor Alderman Harry,
casion of his birthday.

Rankin on

ife gathered at a

Seated at the head table with Alderman Rankin were
representatives of the labor movement, the New Democratic Party,
ratepayer and other public organizations. Many of the candidates
who ran with Rankin on the COPE slate in last December’s civic
election were introduced by Master of Ceremonies Frank Kennedy,
chairman of the Vancouver Labor Council’s Metropolitan Affairs

Committee.

A hilarious skit entitled ‘‘City Council in Action’’ was staged by a

group of COPE supporters. The banquet was organized by COPE and.

proceeds from the event went to help the new civic organization with

its work.

Ald. Rankin thanked the hundreds of people present, for the

support he has received and called on their continued backing for

progressive policies at city hall.

CONDEMNED BY SOCREDS

OUR DAMMED VALLEYS

A strong campaign of protest
against failure of the B.C.
government to clear vast areas
in the interior which are being
flooded under the Columbia
Treaty, is being planned by the
anti-pollution groups this spring.

A recent article sent to the PT
by a reader, written by Elton
Anderson of the B.C. Nature
Council, says that the provincial
government is planning to clear
only a mile-wide navigational
channel in the lake being formed
behind Mica dam. This, he says,
would leave uncleared 200 of the
440 miles of shoreline, ‘‘nearly
all of it lying in the
recreationally desirable arms
and inlets which are up to 17
miles in length.”

“Our
Anderson

In an article entitled,
Dammed Valleys,”’
writes:

“Mr. Williston is reported to
have qualified even this
commitment (mile-wide
navigational channel) by saying
‘except where the shores are
steep. and rocky.’ Since this
des¢éription’ will fit most of the

shores it is apparent that no firm
undertaking yet exists to clear
more than a small part of the
shoreline.

“Furthermore, since trees
favor erosion by uprooting while
stumps hinder it, these shores
are the ones most in need of
clearing before flooding. . .

“Several other dams ,are in
various stages of planning. Five
sites are being drilled at a cost of
some millions of dollars by the
Water Resources Division on the
Liard River, where a series of
dams is definitely planned. In
view of the excellent timber land
that would be flooded, the cost of
relocating 130 miles of Alaska
Highway, the high transmission
costs from such a distance, and
the possibility of generating
reasonably cheap power by other
means near the market, we
seriously question the wisdom of .
damming hundreds of miles in
another of our major river
valleys.

“Hight dams, five of them in
Wells Gray Park, are included in
the recommended System Rf for

flood control on thé’ Fraser. Most >

appear to be far in the future but
the one of the McGregor River
north of Prince George which
would divert much of that river’s
flow into the Parsnip may come
sooner.

“It was recommended that
this reservoir should not be
cleared as no recreational use
was being made of the area,
however, the necessary road to
the dam would of course make
the lake accessible. The official

»view seems to have trouble

seeing past the dollar sign.”’

Leaving vast stands of timber
uncleared in large areas
throughout B.C. being flooded
for dams
recreational areas, as well as
valuable timber, and polluting
these new bodies of water,
turning them into dangerous
lakes with giant forests. slowly
rotting.

This issue will be strongly put
forward by naturalist and
conservationist groups in the
upcoming provincial election. As
Mr. Anderson says: this
government has ‘‘trouble seing
past the dollar sign.”’

is destroying-.-

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