CCL CONVENTION

Trade union unity a must,

states UE, seeking reinstatement

HEN the Canadian Congress of Labor Convention

opens in Winnipeg on September 25, the first item of
business will be the appeal of the United Electrical,
Radio and Machine Workers against its suspension from
the CCL. (In his Labor Day message, CCL President A-R.
Mosher states the UE “will undoubtedly be expelled.”)

The UE, which was a féunding union of the CCL, and
whose organizational ability in the electrical industry
caused it to become one of the largest Congress afliliates,
was suspénded by the executive committee ostensibly for
non-payment of dues. This was neither a fact or the
genuine reason. ‘The real reason, and it will be placed
before more than 75,000 CCI, members across the nation
in a four page folder the UE will issue before convention
time, is the fact that the right-wing CCL wanted to
silence its major critic. ‘

The UE, basing itself on the fact that the CCL is a
national centre of autonomous unions and not a union
itself, did not hesitate to express its views on incorrect
policies, whether they stemmed from CCL executive .
council or from affiliates such as the United Steelworkers
of America.

Before the UE’s suspension the leadership of the
CCL had repeatedly attacked the [UB for its outspoken
criticism of policies which the union did not think were |
in the best interests of labor as.a whole. The attacks —
always centered around the time-worn charge of com-
munisim, and following the suspension the Congress
right-wing used the same smokescreen to support and

participate in wholesale raids on the membership of the y
UE i : ‘

The raiding was actually carried on during contract
negotiations, but the UE membership has solidly re-
pulsed the raiders, stuck with the union and demonstrat-
ed its right to hold an organization that is baseéd upon

the widest rank-and-file democracy—a boast that can-
not be made by those unions whose leadership engages in
raiding. F

The UE will base its appeal to the CCL. membership
around the urgent need for the broad unity now needed
to protect the gains labor has already won and to extend
them. Naturally, this unity cannot be achieved unless
there is recognition and acceptance within the CCL on
the need for room for differences of opinion on the part
of those who constitute the trade union movement.

The disunity caused by raiding, slander, red-baiting,
suspensions and expulsions over the past months has
created a situation where the trade unions have been
partially disarmed at a time when employers, backed by
the government are on the offensive, when price rises are
wiping out modest wage gains—and when Canadians
are being hysterically hoodwinked into supporting p
for a war of aggression. j ‘

(The UE feels that these grave problems must be de-
bated vigorously within the CCL, that constructive crit- ~

icism of present policies is an issue which cannot be
evaded, that a rubber-stamp Congress will never be able
to provide guidance to the worker in the fight against
high prices, for wage increases, defense of their’ unions
against employer attacks and for peace. ;

That is why the UE is appealing its suspension, but
it is appealing as a matter of right, and not in any sense
‘asking: the Congress leadership or the convention dele-
gates to readmit the UE on any other grounds. '

“A ynified trade union movement,” says the appeal
which will g6 to CCL affiliates across Canada, “recogniz-
ing that different ideas and opinions are inevitable, is a
must if advances are to be made in improved living
standards and security for all workers.”

LPP COLUMN . ans
Today I received a copy of Comrade Ruddell’s re-
port on the progress of the National Party Fund drive,
as of August 18. A copy is also available to all club
members from your club treasurer. Every member
‘should read this financial report and tabulate it
politically as well as in total financial results.
There is so much in it that should be a cause of
pride in our party, Some Vancouver clubs have not only
reached 100 percent of their accepted quota, but have
gone over: Mount Pleasant, Hastings East, Com-.

mercial Drive, Niilo Makela, Mob-

erley clubs 1 and 2, East End clubs 1
and 2, Civic Workers, and North Van-|}
couver and Burnaby sections. All’
these reached or surpassed their ob-,

jective in this all-important campaign
to secure the finances essential to the
“great tasks facing our party at this
_ time, yi 5
Of these clubs and the work of
their membership we can be very
proud. Many other clubs in Greater
‘Vancouver area have ‘also made &
commendable showing, and I feel con-
fident will also reach and surpass the object

at. ; Ste Nitti
However, there is another side to the report, and

one on which I must express a feeling of srave eee

With the exception of a very few outside province

“points, the campaign for the National Fund and the

indeed. _ ;
Both you and
iberately pushed t
war. We know that the struggle of the common people
|. to ban the atomic bomb hangs in the :
| iknow too that through the work of our P
only political party working’ a rae
* consisen for peace, the balance cal :
favor sae people. But we know, t00, that just as
’ the evil forces of reaction subscribe and spend millions
to promote atomic war, our party, as be eter

1 know that the world is being del~

of St. Laurent, by its consistent capitulation to the

ives aimed '

organization and sustaining fund is at @ very low ebb

\ the terrible abyss of atomic

be tipped in’

an By ALF DEWHURST

party of peace and socialism must find the finances
to speak up, louder and stronger, for peace.
All of us know from our daily contacts with the

people that the overwhelming majority hate war and
“long for peace. We know too, that the government

aggressive war polices of Wall Street, must inevitably
drag Canada into full-scale war, unless labor and the
nation can be effectively rallied for peace. All the
agencies of big business propaganda, spreading lies
.and ‘confusion, are arraigned on the side of the war
“mongers. Mey =
~ Our party, as the sole standard-bearer of peace
and socialism, can win the people of Canada for poli-
- cieg of peace, but only when we have mobilized all
~ our resources to wage a real struggle for peace. Hence
our financial campaign to ‘make it possible for our
party to do just that, is a political campaign of the
highést order. A failure to recognize this is revealed
most clearly in the totals of Comrade Ruddell’s de- _
- tailed report on finances. =
_ Recognition of a weakness in the work of our
party is always an important matter. But even. of
more importance is the taking of the necessaty steps
to eradicate the weakness, Evidently some drastic
steps are needed to eliminate the shortcoming under- _
lined in the work of financing our party,
‘Phe drive in B.C. is for $10,000. Two-thirds of
this amount is in. It is obvious to all’ that we need
that final third at least, and we could do with much _
more. And we need the money now, because the
— erucial fiight for peace, security and progress is now. —
'. With a little extra work, a little extra sacrifice —
on the part of each member, a little pulling up of all
clubs in provincial points (and a few yet in Van-
couver) our total objective can be easily reached.
There are scores of our members able to sacrificea —
day’s pay Lae ees ae go hundreds Jess fortun- _
ely situated, who cannot make big personal cash
contributions, but who, with a little increased ac
among their fellow workers, can pull their club quotas
close to the target point. ae s
 Let’s finish this job of financing our party in a
polshevik manner, with all objectives attained.

By MEL COLBY~

LABOR FOCUS By J. B. SALSBERG

W hat rail strike

brings out

HESE lines are written when the nationwide rail-
road strike is still only hours old. It would be idle
to speculate or to prognosticate about the developments
which will take place. A number of profoundly im-
portant lessons are, however, immediately apparent. They |
are lessons which the entire Canadian. working class, ©
and the organized workers in the first place, must learn
- and translate into policy and action immediately.

e@: The fact that the strike took place revealed the ex-
_istence of great militancy and detérmination in the ranks
of all railroad workers. This resolu-
tion on the part of the men to win
their modest but long overdue de-
mands and to strike for them if nec-
_ essary, determined the position which
the railroad union leadership took.
‘The fighting spirit of the workers was
demonstrated by the universal res- ,
ponse to. the strike-call, the :

given by the running trades, the
prompt picketi f all r y prop-
‘erty and the enthusiastic rades of

strikers “which were held in many
places. e
This militancy of the railroade
incides with strike action taken by Pron werkare: aie
_ as that of the Hamilton civic employees and the metal
miners. . It coincides with the rising pressure from be- _
low for wage increases in many industries which will
undoubtedly reach national proportions in the near fu-
ture. ‘The railroad strike highlights the resolve of Can-
adian workers to defeat the attempts of big business
and its government to undermine their living standards
and to throw the costs of war and war preparations
the shoulders of the working people. 3

@ The railroad strike was made inevitable b:
get-tough policy which big business in Gavin sind Gee ee
federal government has adopted. There is no question ;
_ about the justice of the railroaders’ demands. No one _
can deny the ‘fact, which Frank Hall revealed, that the
railroad employees’ income has now slipped to 55th place
among industrial workers in terms of wage increases re-
ceived in recent years. Nor is there any question about
the ability of the railroads to grant the demands of their
employees. ee ; ‘ (38

«

_ The heads of the CPR and CNR
in the face of-the irrefutable eoutasn te ae unions
‘because they were fighting on behalf of monopoly capital
at large. The Canadian government, which could have
averted the strike, allowed it to take place because they,
on behalf of Canadian big business, undertook to halt
cuanto peat k 8 wits ae eg ar and their
In a recent column we stated that the tment

of Brigadier General Gregg as labor eatiisie® aiginatind
the hardening of the government's anti-labor policies.
The railroad strike proves the correctness of that estima-_
tion and constitutes the first results of policies which

- Grege’s appointment clearly indicated. The Canadian
working people must expect harsh opposition from the _
Fe ca the military man placed —
head labor minist subordinate labor to

bie budiness wir policieas 0 =

@ For the railroad workers it should be c : 2
that they must emphasize their demand ii at aera
‘wage increase that will increase their take-home pay.
The 40-hour week demand must of course be won. . But
thai victory, decisive though it will be for the railroaders _
and all Canadian workers, will fall short of the basic
requirements of the railroaders and their families if it
is not acompanied by an increaSe in take-home pay. The ©
alarming rise in living costs, the worsening of the econ- |
omic ‘position of the railroaders since they presented
their original demands 14 months ago makes an overall _
‘wage increase urgently necessary. Failing to get such a
wage increase will result in a further and rather drastic _
reduction of the living standards of the railway men and
will also weaken the growing wage Movement in the
. country... - ‘es ; : : :
‘Now that the railroaders are on strike they should
reaffirm their determination to-secure the 7 and 10 cents

and their families need and are resolved to get the in-
an in their take-home pay before they will return to
_.@ In addition, the railroad strike leaves no room for
trade union movement of this country,
The war profiteers fatten at the expense of the w
people. The government policies help to sweep the
flationary trend forward. Canadian big business is ob-
viously determined to browbeat, weaken and divide
_ adian labor and to reduce its resistance to the
anti-labor policies.

defend Canadian labor
the class enemy.

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—SEPTEMBER 1,