By LESLIE MORRIS

Pork chops are

N the past 10 years the membership of the Canadian

trade unions has grown to almost a million, if the
Catholic Syndicates are included. That means that about
30 ‘percent of those Canadians who depend only on their
Wages are organized. Not too high a percentage, but
the highest yet recorded in this country. The trade
unions will never embrace all workers, at least while
capitalism lasts. But this is not to deny the big organiz-
ing job that still has to be done and can be done; nor
that the tripling of the membership in the past 10 years
isa solid achievement. But simply to be a member of
a union is not enough. It is only the beginning of work-
ing class wisdom. A passive membership, made up of
“hitch-hikers’” and just plain dues-payers, will only
Strengthen a burocracy.

The very reason why unions grew up during the
factory system is to be found in the necessity not only
for combining together as wage-earners, but for keeping
up a constant battle, and moving forward from pure and
simple trade unionism to politics, which is a larger field
that covers all the strivings of the common people for
iberation from the effects of capitalism—until the trade
unions emblazon on their banners not only demands on
the capitalist system, but demands for the change of the
System, for socialism.

If the trade unions stand still and permit right-wing
eaders to accommodate the unions to the needs of the
government and the bosses, they will disintegrate and die
away as effective instruments. That is the bitter lesson
of more than a century of trade unionism.

And if the trade unions confine themselves only to
€conomic questions in their own trade or shop, or con-
tinue to be just “trade” unions, they will also not be really
effective as workers’ organizations, for the workers’ fate ’
is decided: by a hundred things other than the affairs of
the shop or industry: by peace or war, by government,
by the threat of fascism, by taxation, prices, and the
World struggle between the camps of socialism and im-
Perialism.

6

. At this present moment when the economic depres-
sion is mounting, an” event against which the LPP and
thousands of far-seeing union members have been fighting
Since the end of the war, it is more than ever necessary
to take up a fighting stand. ; :

—

not enough “=~

Unions must enter political struggle

Unemployment will continue to grow because of
boss policies. Jobless workers who compete with each
other for a chance to earn their bread and butter, harm
the trade union movement and bring joy to the wage-
cutting employer. It is a thousand, times wrong to think
that unemployment and misery caused by the economic
depression will of themselves, automatically, make workers
fight. Not at all. They sometimes can have the oppo-
site effect—can lead to breaking up unions, dividing the
workers into employed and unemployed, into “‘privileged”’
and “‘underprivileged’’ groups, and by threatening the
loss of a small home or certain securities can destroy the
desire to fight back. _

o

The employers-know this. Having failed to smash
the unions by “purges of the reds’? and other means,
they look to unemployment for a chance to smash the
unions and to “‘teach the employees a lesson’.

If the trade unions permit present policies (with
fighting exceptions like the UE, the CSU and others) to
be governed by red-baiting, union-splitting and _ retreat
before the economic storm, then the employers can get
their way. If unions fight against the right-wing,’ stand
by the CSU and the principles of trade union democracy,
and put up a real scrap against the corporations (like
the Massey-Harris workers) then several things can
happen.

@

The ugly experience of the *20’s when the unions
were smashed, can be avoided; the workers would retain
their strength during economic depression and force the
reduction of hours as a means of checking unemploy-
ment; they could keep their unemployed members in the
unions and fight for them; they can cement the activities
of unemployed organizations and trade unions—which
were so separated last time. And they can better and
more swiftly prove—on a bigger scale than the good old
Workers’ Unity League was able to do in the 30’s—that
the workers can fight back and win in times of depression;
and by so doing advance the whole cause.

This won’t come about just because some people
wish it so. It won’t grow like Topsy. It will have to
be fought for. The outcome of this present fight ovet
policy, for trade union unity and to lick the tar out ol
the splitters, could decide the future not only of Canadian
labor but of Canada altogether.

LONDON LETTER Cae

‘

e
LONDON
RITAIN’S latest financial crisis hasn’t yet spread
to the offices of the big monopolies, and to the
armament manufacturers who are already reaping a
tich harvest from the propaganda which creates
“cold war” hysteria and so provides the pretext for
the tremendous military expenditures crushing Britain s
economy, \ .
In the first three months following the budget
announcement that the duty on bonus issues was
netted $58,000,000 in bonus issues on securities. 4
And the biggest bonus issue of all has been.made
by the ee ah firm of Vickers, which has handed
out $24,000,000. d
These facts were revealed in the House of Com-
mons by Ronald Chamberlain, Labor member for
Norwood, who was opposing the clause in the Finance
Bill which repeals the 10 percent duty on bonus
Issues, ;
W. Gallacher, one of the two Communist mem-

British armament manufacturers
reaping'millions in ‘money for jam

“to be repealed, the shareholders of 39 countries have _

bers, asked if there were not people who were more
deserving of relief from income tax. He agreed with
Dalton when he spoke of bonus issues as “‘money for

jam,” he declared.

For the Tories, Oliver Stanley welcomed with

_open arms this new concession to the City of London. -

Then Chamberlain. demanded to be told why
this time of stringency, when the workers were being
called on to make sacrifices, had been chosen for
such a concession.

It would have been understandable if industry
were going through a difficult time, he declared, point-

jing out that industry had enjoyed a royal time, and

in general a golden time, over the last few years,

“T could have understood the repeal of the bonus
issues duty if the budget had made concessions to the
working class,”’ he said. “But new burdens are being
imposed on them. é ae

“Yet the chancellor chose this time to hand big
business what his predecessor, Mr. Dalton, has de-
‘scribed as ‘sheer money for jam.’ ””

2. tem

LABOR FOCUS By J. B. SALSBERG

Beware of jackals
in the dog days

HESE are the dog days when the summer heat is

at its worst. Traditionally, this is a time of slack-
ened organizational activity, particularly in the trade
unions. In recent years, as a result of the growth and
struggle of organized labor, annual paid vacations have
been won in most industries throughout the country.
This important accomplishment, however, has aggravat-
ed the dog days in action in many unions.

Of course we have no intention of complaining about
paid holidays for workers. Nor have we any inclination
to complain about the vacations which, as a result of
the holidays-with-pay gain, many workers and their
families are now able to enjoy. In fact, we would
like to see them longer. I have just returned from
vacation myself and wished it were longer. But this
period of -slackened organizational activity and the
temporary absence of many workers from thé cities is
used against the workers by the most undemocratic,
burocratic section of trade union officialdom.

Yes, the labor jackals welcome this period of the
year. They feel freer than at other times to operate
in their favorite manner. A

I am thinking of those labor officials who despise
the democratic process inside the unions, who look with
contempt upon the rank-and-file and resent any forms of
rank-and-file expression, especially if it questions the
behavior and the policies of the labor czars.

I have in mind the type of trade union jobholder
who dislikes to face the membership, who disapproves
of frequent local meetings and who is happy in the
summer when he can win some support for cancelling
of all union meetings “for the summer.”

In addition to the relief which suspension of rank
and file activity brought to that type of burocrats, it
also gave them an added advantage. It enabled them to
keep theit membership in ignorance on the issues which
arise annually at the trade union congress conventions
which usually meet in September. The convention calls
are issued, as a rule, towards the end of June; the
time allowed for sending in resolutions is usually lim-
ited to the month of June or to July and the early
part of August. If no meetings take place during those
weeks there is no rank and file discussion on issues
and there are no resolutions forwarded to the trade
union centers. That suits the trade union burocrat to
a T. He hates to “have his hands tied” by the rank ~
and file. He likes to come to the conventions “free” to
do as he likes. : ‘

And he usually likes to do the things that are harm-
ful to the rank and file. He is ideologically under the
influence of big business. His world outlook and orien-
tations are shaped from outside the labor movement.
His actions at the conventions are as a rule contrary
to the best interests of the workers.

This year in particular the burocrats will be an-
xious to slacken union activity to an actual halt. In
the Trades and Labor Congress the “roadmen” and their
old and new won friends hope to deliver the oldest
and largest of Canada’s trade union centers lock, stock
and barre] to the Ottawa government to the big shots
in general and to the grand chief potentates of the
AFL executive. In the CCL the Conroys will try the
superhuman in order to retain their position of “being
ahead of the TLC” in red-baiting, union-splitting and
the defense of “our way of life.”

t

On the eve of such conventions this type of labor
burocrat doesn't want rank and file mobilization, doesn’t _
want rank and file delegates, doesn’t want independent —
thinking delegates, and certainly is dead-set against
delegates who favor labor unity. They will, of course,
not rely on slackened trade union activity alone to -

_ achieve their purpose; they will use their powerful

machine in effort to send none but “yes men” to the
conventions. They will use their treasuries to finance
delegates from all financially insolvent locals
such locals will let the burocrats select the
Quite a number of AFL unions are now brazenly pur- |
suing such a corrupt policy. They will do many other

_ things to attain majorities at the 1949 conventions, in

order to rob the Congresses of the autonomy, inde-
pendence and degree of democracy which they possessed
until now. They also count on the dog days to help
out + :

_ Canadian unionists cannot afford a seasonal slack
in the inner life of their unions. Holidays or no holi-
days, scorching days or not, the inner trade union life
must be more intent now than it is during any other
time of the year. The over-all labor issues which will
arise at the conventions should be discussed in
unions even though it be too late for the adoption
resolutions. Delegates could be instructed by the
and file on how they should vote, up to the last
ment. Delegates must be chosen by the rank and file
and not appointed by the union bosses. And only proven
champions of union democracy, of unity, or rank and
file control, of fighters for the welfare of the workers
and their families, deserve to be elected as delegates.

Beware of the labor jackals at all times, but es-—
pecially in these crucial summer weeks!

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—AUGUST 12, 1949—PAGE 9