Nanaimo

liffe as special government prose-
cutor was made,

The striking laundry workers,
who have been out for nearly two
weeks in protest against the fir-
ing of two women workers, are
now liable to the heavy daily fines,
and jail terms if unable to pay the
fines provided for under the ICA
Act. The union is open to a $125
daily fine, and union officers a
fine of $50 each day.

Quickly rallying to the govern-
ment’s challenge, the Island Labor
Council has issued a call for an
“emergency conference of all trade
unions” to be held in Nanaimo this
Thursday night “to consider the
writ issued by the government to
the Laundry Workers Union.” The
call was issued by Percy Lawson,
bargaining agent for the Striking

laundry workers and an official of

the Island Labor Council.
he B.C. Federation of Labor

(CCL) issued a Special call to all:
local unions to rally support for

the striking laundry workers. :

Alex McAuslane, vice-president
of the Canadian Congress of

Labor, this .week appealed to all.
CCL unions to support the Na-'

naimo strike and send delegates
to the emergency conference. Mc-
Auslane said: “The OCL will give
all possible support to any union
that encounters trouble with Bill
39,” which he labelled as being
“completely anti-labor.”

McAuslane stated flatly: “We're
not calling the strike off. If Mr.
Hart wants to test his bill out, he
can test it out on the employers.
Does he think employers are £0-
ing to be allowed to fire people
whenever they feel like it?”

As the Pacific Tribune went to
Press, McAuslane was preparing
to fly to Nanaimo with Harvey
Murphy and Harold Pritchett, top
officers of the B.C. Federation of
Labor, to attend the emergency
meeting Thursday night. Plans
are expected to be made at the
conference for unified action by
CCL unions to back the Nanaimo
strikers. If mass arrests of strik-
ers are made, through. inability
to pay fines, it is predicted mem-
bers of other unions will join the
Picket line to take their places,

Meanwhile, special prosecutor
Cunliffe was vague as to what
action would be taken against
the strikers,

Although -CCF leader Harold
Winch this week declared “Bill
39 is in line with Hitlerism”,
prominent CCF figures in Van-
couver Trades and Labor Council

_ Opposed extending aid to the Na-
naimo strikers because they were
not members of a TLC union.

LPP Provincial Leader Nigel
Morgan this week pledged full
Support to the Nanaimo strikers.
Morgan declared: “Premier Hart’s
shameful announcement to use
the full force of Bill 39 against
the Nanaimo laundry workers,
stands in sharp contrast with
the government's failure to uct
against the company for wrongful
dismissal of employees” which pre-
cipitated the strike.

“The Labor-Progressive Party
will join with all other labor and
progressive forces in support of
the laundry workers, and in the
fight to rescind anti-labor Bill 39,”

| Style
Value
Quality

Always at the Home
of UNION MADE
CLOTHING — and
Friendly Service

Established For
Over 40 Years ©

THE = Hus

Phone PAc. 8645
45 E. Hastings — Vancouver

Mrs. Dorothy Richardson

Price controls
delegation aim

William L. White, president of
Vancouver Labor Council (CCL)
and Mrs. Dorothy Richardson,
secretary of the B.C. Housewives’
Consumer Association, will repre-
sent British Columbia on the dele-
gation which will interview the
federal cabinet on June 25 to de-
mand action to curb soaring liv-
ing costs.

In many Canadian centers dur-
ing the past weeks buyers’ strikes
have been staged by housewives’
organizations. Key salesmen for
the big wholesalers have made
off-the-record statements to the
effect that such ‘strikes’ have cur-
tailed wholesale deliveries by ap-
proximately 25 percent in the lar-
ger centers,

The Montreal Consumers’ Fed-
eration will stage a mass parade
June 21 against ‘out-of-hand’
prices and the government’s pol-
icy of price decontrol. Members
will carry banners urging all
housewives to join in a buyers’
strike for;the week of June 21-28.

Protests have been lodged by
the Consumers’ Federation
against the action of Premier
Duplessis’ provincial police, who
have refused the housewives per-
mission to solicit signatures to
@ petition urging the federal
government to reestablish price
controls,

Similar action for a national
buyers’ strike is being undertaken
by Toronto Housewives’ Consumer
Association. It is planned that
Such foods as canned peas, caned
Soups, jam, honey, peanut butter,
candy, ice cream, soft drinks, to-
gether with certain cotton goods
and furniture, be included in the
‘don’t-buy’ week.

The Toronto organization will
send a strong delegation to Ot-
tawa to demand return of subsi!-
dies to roll back prices, changes
in federal taxation structure to
ease the heavy tax burdens borne
by lower income groups and other

proposals aimed at halting the
inflationary spiral. The delegation
will also be augmented by dele-
gates from Winnipeg and other
western centers,

Vancouver Housewives’ Consum-

er Association has endorsed the:

projected buyers’ strike of June
21-28, and plans are being laid to

sions, was given

LPP offers

profits and the

to offset threatened depression

Sharp warning of the danger contained in the growing disparity between big business’
people’s purchasing power, as represented in wages, farm income and péi-
by Nigel Morgan, LPP
meeting of the Labor-Progressive Party’s provincial committee here last weekend.

provincial program

provincial leader, in his report to the quarterly

Asserting that big, business was

heading the country towards the
disaster of an economic crisis,
Morgan declared:

“Corporation profits are at a
record high peak. Abbott’s ‘rich-
man’ budget robs the poor, fur-
ther enriches the already wealthy
and speeds the blind descent of
our Canadian economy to chaos
and. depression.”

In contrast, he pointed to wages
lagging behind living costs and
lowered purchasing power.

To combat the threat of a new
depression, Morgan continued, the
LPP national committee was pro-
posing a seven-point program, in-
cluding demands for restoration

of subsidies, price and profit con-
trols, drastic tax revision, large-

Link US with Hungary plot

BUDAPEST—A letter from Dean Acheson, former United
States undersecretary of state, promising support to former
Premier Ferenc Nagy, accused by the government of conspiring
to overthrow the republic and now in the United States to
enlist American support, was said this week to be in possession
of Hungarian authorities,

' Existence of this document was announced by Jozsef Bevai,
Communist member of parliament, in a statement published
in the newspaper Szabadsag, ‘

In his statement the M.P. disclosed that Nagy had sent
a letter to Acheson in January concerning the Truman doc
trine. This was months before the doctrine was promulgated
and so labelled. “Also found was Acheson’s reply, promising
support,” according to the statement,

—.

scale public works, expanded so-
cial security measures and export
credits.

Enlarging on this, Morgan stat-
ed, “We need a provincial pro-
gram, im cooperation with the
municipalities where necessary.”

Main features of the program
he proposed were:

@ Improvement of existing
highways, roads and bridges.

@ Extension of transporta-
tion facilities.

@ Construction of urgently
needed hospitals, rural clinics,
schools, university buildings,
community centers and play-
grounds, ;

@® Completion of.a scheme to
bring all provincial hydro-elec-
tric resources under public own-
ership, with development of
rural electrification.

@ Carrying through of the
government’s own proposal to
establish a steel industry on the

IWA officials expecting q
members to back stand |

Overwhelming rejection of the 10 percent wage offer

of B.C. lumber operators, made through Stuart Research,
was predicted this week as tabulation of the industry-wide ©
ballot was. being completed. IWA officials predicted a r&
sounding ‘yes’ vote, turning down ee
the
union policy committee
a general work stoppage in the
industry. The
will announce full voting results
this Monday.

Officers of
“better than 90 percent” of the
local’s 4,000 members voted ‘yes’
on the two referendum questions,”

IWA “District President Harold

offer and authorizing the

to call

week that “if the employers CoB”
tinue their attempts to force US
into unnecessary and proloney
arbitration and thereby refuse '°
bargain collectively and in 80°
faith, we will, after reasonable
means have been exhausted, eee
porarily withdraw our labo

”
power. pe

policy committee

Local 1-71 said

coast.

@ Elimination of the moun-—
tain differential and other dis-
criminatory provisions of the
freight rate structure in order to
encourage — establishment of
manufacturing and other secon-
dary industries.

@ Construction of civic air-

ports to link all major areas.
' @ Launching of government
projects for land clearance, dyk-
ing, reforestation, clearing of riv-
ers and streams for fisheries con-
servation. “

The LPP provincial committee
devoted considerable of its dis-
cussions to Bill 39 (Conciliation
and Arbitration Act), character-
izing it as legislation “conceived
by the vested interests and design-
ed by their political puppets in
Victoria to hamstring labor and
reduce fits bargaining power to
as close eto zero as possible.”

But, the report adopted by the
committee declared, “labor will not
be daunted by this fleeting tory
victory. The inflationary spiral
let loose by the tory profiteers and
their government through ‘price
decontrol’ makes big wage strug-
gles as inevitable as tomorrow. Re-
action is hoping by restrictive la-
bor. laws and = anti-communist
elanders to terrorize labor into ac-
ceptance of lower standards of life
in erder to assure profits. By re-
pressive laws and the outworn tac-
tic of stalling it hopes to destroy
genuine collective bargaining—to
rob labor of its right to strike. In

mobilize wide support in making
it effective. :

this it will fail.”

oa a Good

REGENT

Suit or Overcoat

324 West Hastings Street

TAILORS

EVERY GARMENT STRICTLY UNION MADE

FRIDAY, JUNE 20, 1947.

CASH

for your empty

Beer Bottles

You will receive 25¢ per dozen for empty beer
bottles when you deliver them to any of the

following addresses listed below.

1445 Powell Street
1040 Hamilton Street
_ 2700 Yew Street
755 Homer Street
115 East Second Aye.
6 East Second Ave,
608 Main Street

Pritchett, referring to the current a
stage of negotiations, said 1a9¢_

See STIR