There are growing signs that the U.S. government is
trying to create an excuse for action against Cuba,

including armed intervention.

The people of Cuba are

rallying to defend the gains of their revolution. Picture
shows a unit of the women’s militia.

Woods safety'program
hit by Alberni workers

Accidents and deaths in B.C.’s forest industry. in 1959
rose sharply, according to reports issued recently by the
Workmen’s Compensation Board.

One reason for the heavy
toll in life and limb was
brought to light in a bulletin
recently published by Port Al-
berni IWA local 1-85. It relates
the following incident which
took place at the Franklin
River Division, MacMillan-
Bloedel:

“The action of camp man-
agement over the past several
months clearly indicates that
it-is a “Talking” safety pro-
gram in which they are inter-
ested. The “practicing” of
safety is being ignored.

7

Elections to the executive
board, Western District,
Mine Mill and Smelter
Workers Union, were com-
pleted recently with the an-
nouncement that G. A. Ben-
nett, of Britannia, has been
elected to. the executive

_ board from the west. Above

is Harvey Murphy, who was
elected president at the re-
cent district convention of
the union.

“On January 14th roads in
Franklin River were icy. Log-
ging trucks were sliding off the
road and gravel had to be
spread before they could be
pulled back on the road. The
H47, loaded with logs, lost its
booster brakes coming down
the hill in the icy area but
the driver succeeded in keep-
ing it on the road and man-
aged to get the load into camp.
The booster brakes were fixed
and the H47 proceeded to the
log dump.

“On returning to camp, the
driver of the H47 requested
that the clutch be checked, and
the truck foreman told him to
take the H22. The H22 is an
old Mack truck, notorious for
having a tendency to bunk
bind. The driver protested at
having to take this truck out
on icy roads, and stated that
rather than take such a truck,
in view of having had one
scare, he would rather call it
a day for that shift. Shortly
after, another driver who is
just completing trainee driver
program was instructed to take
the H22. He protested but fin-
ally gave in, and because he
did not have an accident with
the H22, Management insists
that it was safe to be taken on
icy roads,

“The driver who would not
take the H22 on the icy roads
is no longer an employee of
Franklin. River through -no
choice of his own. This-is the
second case of an employee
losing employment for‘‘practic-

The people of Elliot Lake
are up in arms, demaading
at the minimum government
measures to soften the blow.
They have been led up the
garden path of phony ‘pros-
perity” based on war produc-
tion and are learning the hard
lesson that only the companies
and shareholders are .protect-
ed by the warfare ‘welfare’
state. The workers are left to
fend for themselves.

Recently a delegation of 135
women staged a 400 mile cara-
van to Ottawa to place be-
fore Prime Minister Diefen-
baker their proposals aimed
at preventing Elliot: Lake be-
coming a ghost town. So far
all they have got is a promise
that a fact finding commit-
tee will be sent to examine
the situation.

Many of the workers invest-
ed their life’s savings in homes
which they may now lose. El-
liot Lake was built into a
town of 25,000 people at a cost
of $75 million to produce
uranium for the, U.S. Atomic
Energy Commission. Now that
the U.S. no longer needs -Can-.
adian uranium the mining
companies are planning to
shut .down §

The uranium workers are
represented by the Mine,
Mill and SmelterWorkers and
United Steel Workers. Both
unions have put forward pro-
posals to the federal govern-
ment to alieviate the situation.
These proposals include ade-
quate severance pay, re-pur-
chase by the companies and
NHA of homes bought by the
workers so that workers will
not lose their savings, finan-

ment payments and transpor-
tation costs to move to an-
other job. :

The unions are also propos-
ing that since profits of the
mining companies have been
exempted from taxes for the
first three years of production
that workers’ earnings should
also be exempt.

ing” . safety, while Franklin
River Management “preaches.”

The drive for more produc-

,|tion and profits by the com-

panies regardless of the con-
sequences is undoubtedly a
major reason for the high
accident rate in the forest in-

dustry.

for Elliot Lake workers

Uranium mining is back in the headlines with 4,000 workers in the Elliot Lake area
facing layoffs in 1960, and another 1 600 within the next three years. Hundreds” or
other people — tradesmen, service workers and so on — who depend for their living. on”
the earning and spending of these miners, will also be out of work and ae to: ‘loge
their savings ‘invested in businesses. The outlook is grim.

cial help through re-establish- |’

City Council asked to 0
act on unemployment

A 20-man delegation from
the Unemployed Workers
Action Committee met with
Vancouver city council Tues-
day and urged imediate action
on jobs.

The brief urged a speeded
up slum clearance program, a
third crossing over Burrard
Inlet, and a larger public

Treatment of U.S.
Negroes denounced

Violence has been unleash-
ed by organized white terror-
ist gangs in the southern U.S.
against the negro people who
have been peacefully protest-

ing segregation. at lunch
counters,

Latest incident to occur
near Houston, Texas, was

when four white men hung a
negro youth from a tree by
his heels and carved the ini-
tials “KKK” on his body with
a pen knife.

Police action has largely
been directed against the
negro people rather than the
trouble-making hooligans. In
Nashville, Tenn., 79 negro
students were each sentenced
to 33 days in jail while base-
ball-bat-swinging whites have
gone free,

Commenting on the treat-
ment of the negro people in
southern U.S.A., Vancouver
Civic Employees Union secre-
tary, Jack Philips wrote in
the union Newsbulletin of
March 11:

“When. American | states-
men talks so loudly about
freedom and’ democracy in
other countries they should
be asked about the rotien dis-
crimination against Ameri-
Can negroes. Personally, I
would like to see Canadian
unions declare a month of
solidarity action in support
“of the American negroes.”

When you have finished
with your copy of the Pacific
Tribune, pass it on to one of
your friends.

March 11, 1960—PACIFIC TRIBUNE—Page 8

works program through 4 cut
in arms spending. It also
urged increases in social a
sistance and payment of U%
employment insurance until
jobs are found.

Underlining the ‘urgency of
the delegations’ visit to city
hall was the announcement
from Ottawa that as of Feb:
18 there were 300,494 pea
tered for work with the NES

Tom Uphill, veteran Labor
member of the Legislature —
from Fernie (above) the

Thursday condemned the
Social Credit government’
anti-labor Bill 43 in a speech
in the House. “Bill 43 cannot -
be enforced and it is not a
fair law,” he said. ;

TegystaTurE (

(s

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