LABOR SCENE

BY BRUCE MAGNUSON

“Genuine international union-
ism with Canada as a true part-
ner is one thing. A U.S. union
with a branch-plant mentality
and Canada treated as an 0C-
casional afterthought is some-
thing else,” says UAW Canadian
Director Dennis McDermott.

If, by “international union-
ism” Mr. McDermott means
that Canada is a separate and
distinct national, social, econ-
omic ang political entity, and
has to bei recognized and treat-
ed as such, that is as it should
be.
If, by “a true partnership” he
means genijne equality of rights
and duties, and mutual respect
based on valuntary and demo-
cratic princigiles, that is also as
it should be} and nothing less
than that will‘serve the interests
of Canadian members of U.S.-
based so-called international
unions.

Mr. McDermott speaks of “a
backlash of genuine resentment
by Canadian workers who are
governed from some remote
spot in the United States and
who have little or no control
over their destiny.”

Summoned to Detroit

This is so true with respect
to many international unions
that one would think simple
common sense would have sug-
gested that something should be
done to change such an impos-
sible and bureaucratic relation-
ship long before now. After all,
this is an issue that goes to the
root of democracy and funda-
mental rights of Canadian
members of such international
unions.

But how does this square
with the actions of the UAW In-
ternational Executive Board
during the Douglas Aircraft
strike? It is a matter of record
that the local union leaders in
charge of that strike in the Can-
adian plant of that U.S. Corpo-
ration were summoned to Detroit
to explain why that strike should
continue, and were given an
ultimatum to order an end to
the strike.

The right to call a strike, to
determine when to return. to
work and to be in complete
charge of all bargaining proce-
dures covering working condi-
tions and wages, plant closures
and technological changes that
affect Canadian workers, must
be securely established in Cana-
da and not subject to decision or
veto by the U.S. union leader-
ship. This is no more than any
union in any country in the
world enjoys.

Coordination of Effort

What this involves is the kind
of autonomy that provides for
a Canadian constitution govern-
ing Canadian members, Can-
adian conventions, Canadian
members’ rights to determine
policy on all matters of mem-
bers’ concern right here in Can-
ada. It involves the fullest in-
ner-union. democracy and re-
moval of all provisions enabling
‘U.S. officers of the unions to
reach across the border and
treat Canadian members like
second class union members.

Such democratic provisions do
not prevent in any way the pre-
servation of the closest possible
organizational coordination of
effort and fraternal cooperation
between U.S. and Canadian
workers who in many instances
face the same corporations in

Moment of truth!

bargaining, as is the case in the
auto, aircraft and farm imple-
ment industries.

Speaking of “global union-
ism” Mr. McDermott equates
this to separate Canadian repre-
sentation on international trade
federations, established by trade
union groupings throughout the
non-Communist world. Presum-
ably this means exclusion of the
trade unions of the socialist
world from any movement to-
wards international trade union
cooperation and united action.

Narrow Concept ;

But such a narrow concept of
global labor unity and solidar-
ity is on par with national nihi-
lism and doomed to failure. It
leaves American trade. union
leaders tailing behind the U-S.
monopolies, promoting U.S. im-
perialist aims and doing their
level best to prevent genuine
international trade union unity.

It must be noted that the
AFL-CIO Executive Council has.
even gone so far as to declare
war on its staunchest allies for
daring to take up seriously the
fight against monopoly exploita-
tion of the workers in Britain
and Western Europe. Behind a
smoke-screen of .anti-commun-
ism — which is the shameless
refuge of all scoundrels — they
seek to rekindle and restoke the
cold war, which is rapidly being
defeated by the growing unity
and militancy of the working
people throughout the capitalist
world.

Oil—our invaluable res

By CHARLES LUTZ

EDMONTON — The construc-
tion of an oil pipeline between
the Mackenzie Delta and south-
ern refineries has not received
the rubber stamp of. approval
yet. Like the James Bay hydro
scheme, the pipeline has spark-
ed — among: an_ increasingly
wary public — widespread dis-
cussion and soul-searching.

Controversy still surrounds
the Athabasca oil sands develop-
ment, with Premier Lougheed
reluctant to unveil royalty rates
and Labor Minister Hohol still
unsure on how best to deliver
labor rights into the outstretch-
ed hands of U.S. oil interests.

The nature, use and misuse. of
our remaining hydrocarbon re-
serves are more and more look-
ed at in terms of non-renewable
resources indispensable to heat
and transport Canada, with an
added twist: what is good for
Mogul Oil Ltd. is seen as in-
creasingly bad for Joe Worker
and for Jane Consumer.

Half Billion Years Ago

Sea creatures and plant life
started drifting to the bottom of
long-forgotten oceans about 500-
million years ago. Mixed with
silt and given heat, pressure, and
time, they changed into billions
of droplets of crude oil encased
in pores of rock.

Rock movements formed traps
in which crude oil collected
until, eons later, geologists,
seismographic crews and drillers
located it with the help of grav-
ity meters, magnetometers and
aerial photographs.

Today oil is known to exist
in the soil of more than 50 coun-
tries. Not all is believed to be
recoverable and today’s techno-
_logists say they will pump out

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—FRIDAY, MARCH 16, 1973—PAGE 8

The truth is that these top
leaders of the AFL-CIO. and
their so-called _ international
unions simply do not give a con-
tinental second thought to the
interests of Canadian workers

‘when the chips are down. They

are too steeped in prejudice and
busy saving their own plush and
glorious capitalist way of life to
be bothered with such things as
labor unity and anti-monopoly
struggle.
Fraternal Solidarity

But such a struggle has got
to be organized if the working
people are to prevent being sad-
dled with the cost of inflation
and unemployment and_ the
general crisis of monopoly capi-
talism for which they are not
in any way responsible.

In order to be able to organ-
ize and carry through the strug-
gle to curb and to defeat the

huge imperialist corporations of .

America and other such capital-
ist exploiters of the working
people both unity and struggle
will be needed.

In the final analysis the aim
of Canadian workers must be an
independent and sovereign Can-
adian trade union movement; a
movement firmly united in fra-
ternal solidarity and cooperat-
ing fully with unions of all na-
tions, whether socialist or capi-
talist, on the basis of working-
class internationalism, a move-
ment united on a firm class basis
both naticnally and_ interna-
tionally.

< -

PROS

THUNDER BAY — Grain ele-
vator companies in the, Lake-
head are forcing the Brother-
hood of Railway and Steamship
Clerks into a strike situation
with a demand that, if accepted,
would put labor negotiations
back to the early nineteen hun-
dreds. The’ companies are de-
manding that the 1,500 employ-
ees who work in the grain ele-
vators accept a seven-day work
week at straight pay.

_The old contract, which ex-
pired December 31, 1972, had

By RUSSELL RAK
In light of the special bargain-
ing convention in the U.S. in
March and in Canada in -April,

auto workers in Canada have is-
sued a set of proposals of their
own which they feel should be
advanced.

At a membership meeting of
the GM unit of Local 222 UAW,
trade unionists adopted the fol-
lowing: a 32-hour four day work
week, at 40 hours pay, no com-
pulsory overtime, a substantial
wage increase, humanize the
production line — workers must
have a voice in setting produc-
tion standards, the right to
strike over the inhuman speed-
up, the right to a full pension
after 30 years service regard-
less of age, a dental plan (fully
paid by GM), the right to bar-

a SS

600-billion barrels of it. A barrel
represents 35 imperial gallons.

In addition to that, unproved
— but suspected — world re-
serves of crude oil may reach
into the trillion barrels.

Athabasca and other oil sands
deposits—known as “synthetic
oil” or “heavy oil” —.are not
included in these estimates. They
contain at least 300 billion bar-
rels of crude oil. As far as
“conventional” oil is concerned,
Canada is said to hold 2% of
the world’s total known re-
serves.

19.5 Billion Barrels

From the field to the refinery,
crude oil will travel by tank
truck, railway tank car, ocean,
river or lake tanker. Some of
the biggest sea-going. tankers
carry as much as 320,000 tons.

The slowest, but yet cheapest
way for crude to go is by pipe-
lines. The Canadian oil pipeline
network is about 14,000 miles.

The 2,023-mile Interprovincial
pipeline which delivers crude oil
from Edmonton and the western
provinces to refineries in the
U.S. mid-west and Ontario, is

the longest crude oil trunk line
in the western world. It was
built from Redwater to Superior
in 1950 then to Sarnia in 1953,
Port Credit, Ontario in 1957 and
a new loop to Sarnia via Chi-
cago in 1969, The Interprovin-
cial pipeline system holds 19.5
million barrels and it is approx-
imately a one-month journey for
a barrel” (35 imp. gal.) of oil to

travel from Edmonton to Port.

Credit.

700 Different Products _

The oil is forced through the
system by pumping it at a 1,500
pounds per square inch pressure.
Different products may travel
the pipe in succeeding batches
and are easily kept from mixing.

Once it has reached the refin-
ery, crude oil will undergo a
series of automated operations
which will transform it into 700
different products, including
some 50 waxes, 140 greases, 80
asphalts, 350 lubricating oils,
several grades of gasolines and
a number of diesel, domestic, in-
dustrial and heavy fuel oils, and
petrochemicals.

“Automatic control is so well

clauses for time-and-ah ’

Saturdays and double-titt (
days. The companies vs or,
claiming that bottlen@= ge Cal
building up (the unit st ~
tains it’s because 9 as the
ships), and that no Slay |
gotiations will beg! . att of
seven-day work week 5” | Ser
ed. yma
A strike now appears Mr ta]
evitable and necessaly ig his
unions are to prevent ig Ex
lations from being PUS a
into industrial dark a6" ae
e
Coy
We
lo
gain at any time on aut 4
and technological chang i,
These are but $° ran all
rasa awe” all
main issues that One oF bn
workers feel should mal
list of demands whe? jay =
gins negotiations Ww. 4 $9
giants July 16. yi
The Oshawa aut yf BI
gals

moved that the prop? ;
mitted to the speci4 ort?

nal bargaining COM 47
UAW workers 10 Fi -
Detroit March 22 to *™ :

: pw

ANNIE BULLER 0 :
Members of the UMry!. 4.
People’s Order, Ell@ ..
gins Lodge, have votet nah
ously to change “~~ pv)
their lodge to the Ante
Lodge, in honor of the
leader and champio® ;

_ rights.
Ce
me te
e |
Ource |:
ry a
: - efiniNt) St
developed in oil ™ ical ,

an Imperial Oil techt
ation, “that a refiD fot
could be on the JO der

without ever seein® “yelp Fi
the products he I % :
make.” ,%

Few peopl? ie h

In spite of the fa au at
refinery worker, iS 7 agl
to. make” but actually, :
products, it is agree! fe
comparison wit of of
refineries use simp! and
employ few people ©
tremendous profits: jit

Refining faciliti€> (9
moving parts, havé
problems, few ware
blems; all
made from one %™
material handling * ip
most cases by simp! fit
cedures, and many, 4 ote h
cesses can be care ine
nuously unlike 5°71 p
that must make (aay
in batches. :

Next: the refiner oh

petrocheentoee aa |

RATIONAL FORE |

; red
Soviet scientists he pe 4
on a plan for the oft

Sections of f0F
grouped round 4 nt oa j
standing scenic C&P jaf

Unique mountal® i's ¢
waterfalls and rivet? 7
ivots. ie
PSome 150 acres. F ihe x
for a zoo park, 4 ge .
also includes 4 ig
park area.

and rational use ° k 5 a

the Caucasian B art b

The plan will ©" 4 tt

lion acres. i ae
es ef '