U.S. armies continue retreat

_ Defeated by Fyorean People’s Army troops and
have rolled them back from the M

week despite efforts to establish

new lines in central Korea.

Chinese volunteers in two smashing offensives which
anchurian border to Wonju, U.S. troops were again in retreat this

ages will be top issue
B.C. convention

at IWA

By MAURICE RUSH

British Columbia’s largest union. the International Woodworkers of America, will hold
its 14th annual district convention at Victoria this coming weekend, January 19-21. More

than 150 delegates are expected to take part in its de

Representing one out of

every five organized workers

liberations.

in British Columbia, the 1WA

convention decisions will have a big bearing on the struggles of the whole trade union move-
é

rent in coming weeks. :

Top question before the con-
vention will be wages. Writing
in the B.C. Lumber Worker, re-
cently, president Stewart Alsbury
pointed out- that shrinkage in
purchasing power of the ,dollar
had brought actual wage gains in
the industry to only $1.44 a week
in July, 1950. Since then the add-
ed rise in the cost of living has
more than’ wiped out the gains
of last year. deg :
,Nearly all locals have adopted
resolutions for substantial. wage
increases. The demands range
from 17c to 35¢c. Most widely ac-
cepted demand among woodwork-
ers is that of Local 1-80 which,
was for a 25¢ increase across the |
board and a ‘guaranteed daily mini- |
mum of $17.50 for fallers and
buckers. :
It is expected that some an-
nouncement will be made by IWA
Officials shortly about the nego-
tiations with the operators. Much
criticism is heard of the district
leaders for keeping the member-
ship in the dark about these ne-
gotiations.

Newspaper reports state that
a 10c offer is expected to be.
put before the members soon.

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However, there are persistent
rumors that what has come out
of the negotiations is a propo-
-sition for a 5 percent increase
in wages, a cost of living bonus
to be reviewed every six months,
and extension of the contract
on- wages to 1952.

_If this is true, there is no doubt
that it will be opposed by the
majority of woodworkers, who
feel the need for substantial wage
increases, and fear the possibili-
ty of wages being frozen in the
near future. Such. a settlement
will fali far short of what is need-
ed. It will increase the differ-
entiation between higher and
lower paid workers, and leave the
woodworkers with a much _ re-
duced standard of living.

The feeling in the camps and
mills is that there should be a
substantial interim wage increase
now, and that the coming con-
vention should decide to give the
necessary 60 days before June 15,
1951, to re-open the contract for
the main wage negotiations.

Also high on the convention
agenda will be organization of the
unorganized. Despite growth, of
membership in recent months,
large sections of the industry still
remain outside the union.

A big reason for failure to or-
ganize many coast and interior
operations is the discriminatory
policy of top IWA leaders to-
wards former WIUC members.

Increasing numbers of IWA
members recognize that only by
ending this discrimination can
the ranks of woodworkers be fully
united, and a truly effective 100
percent union established in every
camp ‘and mill. Undoubtedly the
voice of the rank-and-file will be
heard on this issue from the con-
vention floor.

Resolutions . covering a wide
range of subjects will come be-
fore the convention. Included
among these will be demands for
union security, pension plan,
amendments to hospital insurance
and compensation laws, for peace
and against the high cost of liv-
ing.

Buck charges
ban on editor
dictated by U:S.

TORONTO

R. J. Campbell, editor of the
London Daily Worker, has .been
refused admission to Canada to

attend the Labor-Progressive
party’s national convention here
this month.

On January 6 the Canadian im-
migration department notified the
LPP that on compliance with the
(usual regulations regarding Camp-
bell’s maintenance while in Can-
ada there was no reason why he
would not be allowed to come in.

On January 12 a telegram was
received by the LPP national of-
fice from P. T. Baldwin, assistant
commissioner of immigration,
which said: “Since our letter Jan-
uayy 6 concerning J. R. Camp-
‘bell of London, Emgland, addi-
tional information has been. re-
ceived and regret to advise ad-
mission to Canada cannot be
|,authorized.”

Tim Buck, LPP national lead-
er, stated here this week:

“The arbitrary barring of Mr.
J. ‘R. Campbell, editor of the
London Daily Worker, from Can-
ada by the federal government, is
a scandalous violation of democ-
racy and a gratuitous insult to
the British working class move-
‘ment.

“In view of the fact that the
department of immigration had
already given approval of Mr..
Campbell’s admission to the coun-
try to attend the forthcoming
national convention of the Labor-
Progressive party, it is clear that
one more brazen. act of U.S. inter-
ference in the internal affairs of
Canada is the real reason for the

present reversal of the govern-
ment’s position.”

Right-wing group
pulls trick vote
in Trades Council |

Right-wing bureaucrats violated established procedure in
Vancouver Trades and Labor Council this week by foreing
through a motion to have nominations and elections on the

same night.

Tom Alsbury was elected president, R. K. Ger-

vin returned as secretary, and Robert McCulloch elected vice-

president. Many delegates were
unaware that elections would take
place at this meeting.

This undemocratic action of the
Alsbury - Gervin - Showler support-
ers has evoked widespread critic-
ism among council delegates and
affiliated unions.

It has been the practice in
council elections to have nomina-
tions at one meeting and elect-
tions at the next. Delegates of
years standing point out that this
is the first time in their memory
that nominations and _ elections
have taken place the same night.

Delegates expected the same
procedure would be followed this
year as last, when a decision was
made to forego the first meeting
in January because it came close
after the new year. At that time
nominations were made at the
end of January and elections took
place at the first meeting in Feb-
ruary.

Right-wing unions packed the
meeting to force through their
surprise election move. This was
revealed when credentials of a
delegate from New Westminster
was challenged as irregular. The
delegate reported that his local
officials had cleared it with R.
Gervin, and that he had come to
vote.

Tom Alsbury, former CCF can-
didate for mayor of Vancouver,
and a key figure in the election,
paid lip service to the democracy
violated by the entire election
procedure. when he took over the
gavel. “We must function in a
democratic manner and carry out
the will of the majority,” he said.
Alsbury served notice that he in-
tends to carry Out a “get tough”
policy against progressives in the
council. Lae
' One rank-and-file delegate who
belongs to the CCF said after-
wards: “I sure don’t feel happy
about the united front the lead-
ing CCF spokesmen on this coun-
cil have entered into with the
Tory and Liberal elements. CCF)
workers are going to have a lot
to say in the future about Als-
bury’s carrying-on.”

An earlier decision of the coun-
cil not to seat Berg’s rump Civic
Workers local 407 was overidden
on the basis of a letter. from
Congress general secretary, G. G.
Cushing, that the council could
not reject an application for dele-
gates to be seated from a charter-
ed local. 3

Strong opposition was heard
from the delegates against up-
setting the earlier decision. Wil-
liam Rigby,. Fishermen’s union
delegate, opposed action until Lo-
cal 28’s appeal against suspension
was dealt with.

Others elected to executive posts
were: R. E. Guthrie, Carpenters,
who defeated Orville Braaten,
Pulp and Sulphite, for chairman
of organizing committee. Jim
Burton, Plumbers, ‘was defeated
by George Johnston, Meat Cutters,
for chairman legislative commit-
tee, and Retail Clerks David
Wade was elected over Orville
Braaten as chairman of the griev-

CONTINUED

EVICTION

Mayor Fred Hume _ appeared,
with a Vancouver Sun _  photo-
graphker and reporter trailing him.
“I'm here as a private citizen,”
he said. “I am not interfering
with the eviction as such, but
these people are’ now out on the
street and I will do everything
I can to find them a place before
nightfall.”

From the Czonks we got’ the
story. The family consists of
Joe, the father, who has worked
steadily as a laborer for Domin-
ion Construction Company for
five years; Annie, his wife; Betty,
18; George and Frank, 17-year-
old twins, who attend Templeton
Junior High; and Eddie, 13, a
student at Strathcona school.

Rent for the ground-floor of
the sagging two-storey struc-
ture which the Czonks have
called “home” for the past eight
years is $10 a month. For the
past six month landlord Luey
Gan Jan has refused, to accept
rent from his tenants, and be-
fore Christmas he secured 2
“demand for possession” order
from the court. |

The assistant deputy -sheriff
claims an eviction order was serv-
ed on the family a, month ago
(“It was given to the girl, I
think”) but the Czonks state they

only received notice four days
ago.
Mayor Hume stayed on the

scene. for more than an hour;
phoned city hall in an effort to
find who the owner of an empty
house in the vicinity was; tried
vainly to get in touch with Ald.
Sprott; and on leaving, told the
Czonks that he would have a
police car sent around. to aid
them in their search for a house
before nightfall.

“These people can’t sleep in
the street,” said Hume. “One
thing I have found out, and
that is that many of these
buildings in this area must be
checked by the health and sani-
tary departments, as well as
the fire department.”

At one point the mayor, seeing
an empty lot, toyed with the idea
of having Hume and Rumble
throw up a. pre-fab structure to
house the evicted family for the
night, but decided that lack of
toilet and lighting facilities made
the plan impracticable.

“What this city needs is a
housing program in the East
End,” a spectator suggested.

‘Tve got to go now,” Mayor
Hume finally told the Czonks.
“T'll send a polic car to aid you
in your search for a house. You

-can phone me at the Terminal

Club within the next hour if
you need me, and after that at

ance committee.

SOOSSS SO SS OSS SSSS ‘

%

VICTORIA

Lenin Memorial Meeting

FRIDAY, JANUARY 26 —8 P.M.
; _ SPEAKER: BERT WHYTE .
g re Labor Editor, Pacific Tribune

PACIFIC TRIBUNE — JANUARY 19, 1951 a, Page 7

the city hall.”

oF oS