Toronto labor demands
plan to combat racism

TORONTO — Delegates to the Toronto Labor Council, at their
last meeting unanimously voted for an executive board statement
that called on the Ontario Federation of Labor to call a meeting to
formulate plans to combat racism.

The call to the OFL was for “a meeting of concerned individuals

and organizations to
racism.” -

The statement read:

“The Executive Board views
the current rise of racist inci-
dents with alarm and deep con-
cern. The frequency of overt and
- blatant racist occurrences, start-

ing with construction hoarding

slogans through to the tragic
killing of a teen-age student, to-
. gether with the questionable
handling of many recent depor-
tation orders, including the im-
migrant Haitians in Montreal
who are being forced to return
to Haiti, can no longer be over-
looked. All the recent racist in-
cidents cannot be solely attri-

plan a concentrated program to combat

buted to isolated acts or the
lunatic fringe.

“There are dangerous indicat-
ors that ethnic discrimination
and racism is quickly becoming
an issue of major proportions
and in fact, it is the opinion of-
the Executive Board that this is

‘one of the single most important

issues facing us as a community,
and we can no longer wait for
public reaction to these inci-
dents.

“We, therefore, publicly de-
nounce these recent occurrences
of racism because, to stay silent,
is to literally condone the cur-
rent situation developing around

ethnic discrimination, and that,

under no circumstances, can we ©

tolerate.”
. A lively debate ensued on the
issues of endorsation of the
statement. One delegate, Reg
Stroud of the Packinghouse
Workers, and representing the
right-wing lunatic fringe of the
council, said-in regard to rac-
ism, “to place an emphasis on
racism is to play into the hands
of those who espouse it. It is
like Hitler, if people had ignored
that nut he wouldn’t have be-
come a problem.” -
Use to Divide Workers

Responding to Stroud’s usual
tirade, Art Jenkyn of the United
Electrical Workers said, ‘We
have to break with this attitude
of ‘if we ignore it, it will go
away. .

“Racism is not solely the work
of a right-wing lunatic fringe. It
is used by both the corporations

Brampton labor blasts racism

BRAMPTON — At their last
meeting the delegates to the
Brampton and District Labor
Council passed a resolution call-
ing on all its affiliates “to unite
in a campaign to expose and
fight racism and discrimination
based on nationality, color, reli-
gious and political beliefs, age
and sex.”

The resolution also urged the
Ontario Federation of Labor “to
launch a public campaign of
education and legislative action
to expose and erradicate these
cancers from our province.”

The statement as adopted: read
in part:

“Racism has increased and
spread rapidly in the past couple
of years. Ugly manifestations of
it have appeared in many forms

Continued from page 5

less. He had fallen behind in
purchasing power in that two
year period.”

And again pointing to corpor-
ation profits the brief noted,
“profits, not wages are respon-
sible for high prices. It is clear-
ly evident that the big increases
in profits, more than trade union
pressures for higher wages, have
been pushing up prices.”

The OFL then attacked the
Ontario government policies.
“Queen’s Park is passing the
buck to Ottawa. The federal
government is blaming interna-
tional pressures, has adopted a
policy of do nothing and is pas-
sing the ball to the consumer—
heal thyself, use restraint.”

Looking to solutions to the

economic crisis, the trade union
federation said, “Any solution
to the problem of inflation must
ensure that the real growth of
the economy is fairly shared be-
_ tween profits and wages.
“Our effort should be directed
' to restore the kind of living
standards that we had succeeded
in achieving before the infla-
tionary period set in. In addi-
tion, we have to improve our lot
so that tomorrow will be better
than yesterday. :

“We see no alternative but

including huge signs such as
“White Power Country”, ‘Out
with the Blacks” appearing on
hoardings. .

“Racial violence is becoming
dangerously prevalent with beat-
ings and even murders recently
reported in Toronto.

“Racism and _ discrimination
and prejudice on the basis of na-
tionality, religious and political
beliefs as well as color, age and
sex have always been favorite
tools of these in power to divide,
weaken and defeat the working
people and other democratic
forces struggling to improve
their lot. Big corporations have
traditionally used these weapons
to defeat or weaken the unions
of the employees and the labor
movement generally. ~

“Unfortunately the victims,

b ] f
for the workers and their unions
to seek larger wage increases
and cost of living escalator pro-
tection for the sake of their
families and to protect and ad-

‘vance their standard of living.

The OFL viewed a massive
housing program as one of the
prime measures needed to create
jobs and add a stimulus to the
economy. Among the measures
proposed by the federation to
fill the housing need were:

e Housing must be declared a
social responsibility.

e The government must im-
mediately embark on a massive
housing program.

e Land’ must be given prior-

ity for shelter.

e Interest rates must be low-
ered—in particular, to a reason-
able level for low income hous-
ing. :
e Coordinated planning on. a
provincial and municipal level
must be embarked on. \

e Municipalities should only
tax for services, and property:
tax must be removed from hous-
ing.
e All sales taxes must be re-
moved from building materials

-used for home building.

e All land ‘should be taxed,
with one exception. Taxes on
homes owned and lived in by

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—MAY 23, 1975—Page 8

the working people in the first
place, are not immune from this
dreaded disease. There is evi-

dence that some workers are

succumbing to the massive es-
tablishment-created social press-
ures against Black and Asian
workers, and Greek, Italian, Por-
tuguese and many more national
minorities.

“This boss spawned and
spread disease must be fought
and rooted out of the factories
and eventually out of society it-
self. The labor movement whose
only strength lies in the unity of
its numbers, no matter how di-
verse they may be is the only
force which can lead the fight on
this issue. It has the most to
lose by racism and prejudice,
the most to gain by its eradica-
tion.”

pensioners should be removed.
The aged who need it should
have a shelter allowance in ad-
dition to Old Age Security.

e New housing locations
should take into consideration
the situation of employment in
high unemployment areas, and
also the proximity of these de-
velopments to jobs.

e We must be less rigid in
the standards for lot and house
size in municipal by-laws. High-
standards should be confined to
safety and health.

\

¥

st

TORONTO = Racismeadnd eacint incidents, precipitated mass) c

‘monstrations last week at Queen’s Park while the Toronto *,,
Council called on the OFL to establish a program to combat ©”

(See story on page 1.)

and the government to keep the
workers in this country and else-
where divided. The government’s
attitude is reflected in the Green
Paper .and it is evident from the
lack of prosecution that ele-
ments in the government con-
done acts of racism.

“The argument that has been
put forward: that if you ignore
the problem, ‘it will go away’ is
absurd. There were many who
tried to ignore Hitler and in the
end he was responsible for mil-
lions of deaths. We cannot af-
ford to ignore racism and fas-
cism, both have to be combatted,
and muddleheaded thinking does
not help in building the kind of
unity necessary to combat those
elements.” i

_ No Wage-Freeze -:

The delegates to the council
also voted to adopt an executive
board statement endorsing the
CLC position on Turner’s wage
restraints. The statement read:

“The federal government’s at-
tempt to impose voluntary re-
traints on prices and incomes is,
once again, an ill-conceived and
abortive attempt to come to
grips with inflation and the
economic problems that are
plaguing this country. :

“The program as proposed by
John Turner is obviously a nega-
tive, unjust and inequitable~ap-
proach with labor, once again,

e The Landlord and Tenant
Act should be improved: it
should state the rights and res-
ponsibilities of the two parties;
tenants should have security of
tenure; tribunals should be es-
tablished in each community to
adjudicate disputes quickly, pro-
tect tenants from eviction, en-
force repairs, etc., and these ‘tri-
bunals should be accessible in
the evenings and on weekends;
tenants should be allowed collec-
tive bargaining by law.

-e A Rent Review’ Board
should be established with pow-
er to prevent unreasonable rent
increases. Rent increases should
be geared to costs, not to
scarcity.

In the section on employment
standards the OFL recommend-
ed the adoption of the following
minimum standards:

e@ the Act should cover all
those who labor including taxi
drivers, salesmen, milk store
operators, agricultural workers,
and all those now excluded;

e‘the minimum adjustments
to reflect negotiated wage
trends; ye

e hours of work shall not ex-
ceed 8 hours per day and 40
hours per week;

‘e overtime should be volun-

lasts government —

_ whether there is a strike,

being asked to bear the bri!
anti-inflationary measures
no attempts whatsoever
strict spiralling rents, §
tive land prices, profes
fees and interest rates. __
Hard, Cold Facts
“The hard, cold facts of 4
Turner’s proposals would a
that the wage controls ¥
freeze the already reduced?
chasing power of the wage ich
er and in the process providy,
mechanism to protect the pu
against the very elements
are causing inflation, 1. |
prices, high interest rates: !)
fessional fees and rising —
costs. a
“It is the position of

‘Executive Board that beforé

anti-inflationary measures
even contemplated, let alon®
plemented, there must %/
attempt made. by the gow
ment to look at the whole
tion of the redistribution °
come in this country,
would at least involve an

ity of sacrifice among all fo
of income and profits. r
. “To date, the government
presented the whole quest!
restraint only to labor

- attempt to get a consensus 1)

industry and other groupS |
the result that labor is ©
again being made the scaP”
for the nation’s economic "|

tary, to be paid-after 8 how ’
the basis of time-and a hal!
permit to be granted exceP|
an emergency; i"

e vacation with pay “)
weeks after one year, 3 Wy
after 5 years, 4 weeks afte)
years; |,

e severance pay of 2 pet”
of earnings times years 0 |
vice should be provided D)}
employers for their employ")

e the Act should be str@y
ened to prevent discrimif®)

“against women, specifically,

corporating equal pay for

of equal value; a
e in case of mass layoff, 4

mination or shutdown:

a) the workers should |}
the right to reopen negotiat
with final determinant ©,
right to strike in such situat!
and ae
'b) any layoffs or termina!)
involving 15 or more w®
should constitute a group f0
purposes of the legislation,

c) employees should 8”
months notice of terminati?’
pay in lieu of, and ;

d) notice of termination ie
lation should apply in all io

out, bankruptcy, technol0
change or due to environm”
considerations.