LABOR FRON By WILLIAM KASHTAN Throughout the Norris Inquiry into the Great Lakes jurisdictional struggle, the one witness who has not been called to give evidence so far has been Joe Sailor himself. One would think the seamen should have something to say about the issues involved seeing that they will be the ones to carry the burden of whatever comes out of the inquiry. But this appears to be furthest from the thoughts of the main protagonists. As far as they are concerned the rank and file seamen, like the family skeleton in the closet, are to be kept out of sight and out of mind. In the meantime as the inquiry proceeds, more and more revolting and revealing statements come out showing the moral bankruptcy and degradation of the various actors. A self-critical s note was struck too, as when CLC President Jodoin was compelled to admit that he erred in backing Hal Banks’ application for Canadian - citizenship. * * * _ It is said that self criticism is good for the soul. In this case, however, Mr. Jodoin didn’t go far enough in his self-critical note. What he should have said and didn’t, was that the basic error he and others made was to bring the Seafarers Internafional Union into Canada in the first place. But this might be expecting too much be- cause then Mr. Jodoin would be compelled to expose fhe unprincipled deal perpetrated between the Amrican Federation of Labor, the U.S. State Department, the Trades and Labor Congress: and the ship- owners to smash the Canadian Seamen’s Union. He would have to show how the TLC was forced to capitulate to the pressures of the AFL. He would have to show how the entire deal was cooked up as part of the cold war and that its victims were the democratic right of seamen to choose their own union, the auto- nomous rights of the Canadian trade union movement to make its own decisions and the national right of developing Canadian shipping. All these were victims of that cold war deal. * * * It may be argued that this is now being recognized by virtue of the efforts being made by some sections of the trade union move- ment, to push the SIU out of Canada and replace it with the Canadian Maritime Union. But to this the answer at this stage would have to be a “yes” and “no.” This is to be seen in the rumors floating around to the effect that some deal is being cooked up whereby Mr. Banks will be sent back to the USA and a trusteeship imposed over the SIU. The stumbling block to such a “‘solution’” has to do with who will have the trusteeship — the CLC or Mr. Hall, president of the SIU of North America? Implicit in such a deal is the proposition that the CMU would be dissolved — another indication of how the seamen, who should have the first and final say about which union they wish to represent them, are completely ignored. * * * Another stumbling block to such a ‘‘solution’’ arises from con- flicting interests in the CLC itself. It is no secret that the CBRT attempted to become the union of all transport workers in Canada. The Brotherhood of Railway Clerks, headed by Frank Hall the inspirer and organizer of the drive to smash the CSU, also has a vested interest in pushing the SIU out of Canada. And so has the Steel Workers union, whose leaders see the possibility of taking over iron ore shipping as part of its jurisdiction. These three unions, according to Mr. Jodoin, were and presum- ably still are the main financial backers of the CMU—each for its own particular reasons. Thus, instead of a strong, united militant Canadian Union of Seamen there could well emerge a number of unions, not one of them speaking for or acting on behalf of Canadian seamen; none of them being able to effectively defend and advance the economic, social and legislative interests of Mr. Joe Sailor. * * * Such a “‘solution’’ obviously plays right into the hands of the shipowners. All these behind-the-scenes deals need to be stopped short by all sections of the trade union movement. The history of the long struggle of seamen in this country to establish a union of their own choice makes it quite clear that no cooked up solutions which do _ not take into account the real interests of Canadian seamen will or can be long Iasting. The only real solution lies in the direction of a Seamen’s Union controlled by the rank and file—not the shipowners; one that is Cana- dian, not American; one that is national and not atomized; and not least, one that is part of a united trade union movement. It is time Mr. Joe Sailor, the missing witness in the present inquiry, was brought tothe centre of the stage and helped to achieve that objective. THE UJPO DRAMA WORKSHOP PRESENTS — ~“*THREE ONE ACT PLAY EVENING” Sunday, Feb. 17th & 24th — 8 p.m. Peretz School Auditorium 6184 Ash St. _'The Bunker’ — ‘Bontche Shveig’ & ist Act of ‘Generations Sing’ “Admission by Invitation: Phone HE 3-0106 or People’s Co-op Bookstore MU 5-5836 PA NE—Page 2 1D rT) wee City budget threatens to more than wipe out Homeowner grant By WILLIAM STEWART What will Bennett’s budget mean to Vancouver? The homeowner grant will be increased from $50 to $70 this year. Given last year’s mill rate and assessment this would mean a $20 reduction for each Vancouver home- owner. The Government has an- nounced it will raise the Grant an additional $15 in 1964, and a final $15 in 1965 to bring it to $100. The only other additional general revenue for the city would be a grant in lieu of. taxes of $102,000 and an addi- tional $20,000 in the per-cap- ita grant. In terms of overall revenue to the city, the province will contribute, through the Home- owner Grant, per - capita grant, and grant in lieu of taxes on provincial property, $4,259,000 in 1963. This figure compares with a total of $3,782,378, which would have been the total pro- vincial contribution to Van- couver had the provincial government carried through its originally announced plan of, raising the Homeowner Grant to $100 this year and cutting off the per-capita grants. HOMEOWNERS LOSE However, although the to- tal to the city is greater, the degree of tax relief to the homeowner is $20 rather than the $34 on the average which it would have been had the original formulae been car- ried out. Big business in Vancouver on.the other hand has been spared a shift of taxatign of $1.2 million which would, have resulted from the remo- val of the per-capita grants and a hoist in the city mill rate to recoup this loss to city revenue. Taken over the full three ee SALAS "Now GET PEARSON TO PUSH THIS “ SALE WHILE DIEFENBAKER'S UPSET << <> > > > ow DB OB @ BOD OOD OD DO =| 1 GLOBE TOURS NOW ACCEPTING RESERVATIONS FOR TOUR OF i POLAND - SOVIETUNION __ ) WITH OPTIONAL EXTENSIONS TO VIENNA - ITALY or VIENNA - ISRAEL Departure Date From Canada—April 14th, 1963 POLAND—9 Days U.S.S.R.—13 Days Schools, etc. Cost per person Cost per person country. Cost per person