Richard Milhaus Nixon’s friendly visit to the President AFL-CIO Executive Council meeting at Miami Beach in February, 1973, was a cool and calculated, and well planned trip to seek U.S. labor leaders’ support for continued wage con- trols, a drive for higher produc- tivity and, organized labor’s acquiescense in a no strike compulsory arbitration plan. The number one question now facing both United States work- ers — five million of whom are seeking new contracts this year —and Canadian workers, one million of whom are negotiating new contracts in 1973, is the fol- lowing: Should they permit the scrapping of provisions in union contracts which employers reg- ard as “interference” in their prerogatives and ability to do as they please, in order to give the bosses a free hand for speed-up, higher productivity, less wages, fewer workers and larger pro- fits, all in the name of meeting “stiff” foreign competition and “cheap” foreign imports? The cry against foreign im- ports is phoney: The corpora- tions who scream the loudest against foreign competition are the same companies who invest abroad, produce cheap, import commodities to America, and raise the prices to U.S. and Canadian consumers for all that the traffic will bear. Price Fixing Cited The AFL-CIO cites examples: the landed price of a portable radio made in Japan, $13.81, re- tail price, $39.95; tuner-ampli- fier, landed price, $38.80, retail price, $179.95; tape recorder, landed price, $90, selling price, $219.95. The real problem is monopoly control and price fix- ing. Moreover, the AFL-CIO says the U.S. Government provides the U.S. corporations with more than $3-billion in tax subsidies for their foreign operations. Clearly this is robbery of work- ers both as producers and as consumers. It is also a joint operation by the State as well as the big corporations, which is what is called State-Monopoly Capitalism. The AFL-CIO says American industry will go to any length to find the most under-paid, over- exploited people in the world in order to deprive American work- ers of their jobs. But here the AFL-CIO is only partly right, and partly wrong. The corpora- tions do not care a hoot-in-hell about workers and their jobs — they are out to make super pro- fits. For the same reason they plan speed-up and moderniza- tion of plant capacity at home in the U.S., ostensibly to meet foreign competition, but, in fact, BY BRUCE MAGNUSON LABOR SCENE AFL-ClO policies no good for Canadian labor to eliminate jobs, reduce costs and make bigger profits. Hatchet Job The AFL-CIO leaders say one way of dealing with export of capital and of jobs is to get the U.S. government to stop mak- ing such exports the profitable venture it is today. For this reason they have sponsored the Burke-Hartke bill to raise tariffs, impose imports quotas, ban the export of capital and techno- logy, provide for income tax on all overseas and foreign earn- ings whether or not they return the profits to the U.S. This is like asking the capital- ists of America to legislate themselves out of business and to voluntarily retire from impe- . rialist ventures. Besides being utopian and an exercise in futil- ity for the U.S. trade union movement, it serves as a smoke- screen for the Nixon Adminis- tration and the U.S. monopolies to do a hatchet job on both United States and foreign work- ers. The simple truth is that the AFL-CIO leaders, with few if any exceptions, are as usual helping to pull the chestnuts out of the fire for U.S. imperialism. In fact they are an integral part of the exploiter system, which brings them into direct confron- tation with the interests of the working class both at home and abroad. They support fully the President’s Commission on Pro- ductivity, the phoney Cost-of- Living Council, and participate in the so-called Labor-Manage- ment Advisory Committee to the Cost-of-Living Council. Could Rob Canadians The campaign of the AFL-CIO and 11 powerful international unions with hundreds of thous- ands of members in Canada to back up the Burke-Hartke bill which could rob Canadians of jobs, got under way soon after President Nixon announced the 10% surtax on imports and the DISC program on August 15, 1971. It caused leaders of inter- national unions in Canada, like National Director Wm. Mahoney of the United Steel Workers to come out over a year ago and charge U.S. leaders of interna- tional unions, including his own, with “not taking into considera- tion the interests of their Cana- dian brothers.” Commenting on the possibility of any split with the U.S. sector of his union, Mahoney said “If the United Steelworkers tried to tell us that we cannot have our own policy on trade, we would have to con- sider that possibility.” Can Run Our Affairs Now, that all the chickens are coming home to roost at one and the same time — the crash Z Excuse me waiter, but there's a scab in my soup Campbells Soup Company Ltd. is following the lead of the Ontario government and is hav- ing work done in a strikebound plant. Brookers Ltd. of Toronto, has been struck by workers in the Bookbinders’ Union for over a year and in that time univer- sity and community college publications were bound by scabs who were hired by the company to break the union. At last week’s Metro Toronto Labor Council, Charles Buhler, president of the Bookbinders local, informed the delegates that Campbells Soup is getting into the act and is having its Campbells Soup Recipe Book bound at Brookers. PACIFIC TRIBUNE—FRIDAY, MARCH 9, 1973—PAGE 8 saa. FAV EF - Cease RPS RR CHL ES of the “almighty” U.S. dollar, the loss of U.S. hegemony over the capitalist markets of the world, the inability of Uncle Sam to police the world, the defeat in Vietnam, the assertion of the right by people everywhere to run their own affairs — it is of course inevitable that the Cana- dian trade union movement can no longer go along with its head in the sand, as Brother McDer- mott of the UAW has so aptly put it, dismissing nationalist — and he might have said demo- cratic — sentiment. We also agree with Brother McDermott when he says that “someone has to give leader- ship,” and we are happy that he starts it off by “indulging in painful self-criticism,” some- thing that is long overdue and may not have been so painful had he thought of it much earlier. The “anemic. guidelines” for Canadian autonomy will have to be replaced by a demand for a sovereign Canadian trade union movement than can come to - grips with workers’ problems and keep AFL-CIO class colla- borationist policies out of this country. — But more on that next week. ( Call mass protest Local 173 of the United Brewery Workers in Waterloo, se, has issued a call for a mass demonstration at Queen's Pal Toronto on Wednesday, March 21 at 10 a.m. : The call, which went to all labor councils affiliated with the Ontario Federation of Labor, came as a result of the experiences in the Dare Food Ltd. strike in Kitchener é company has used injunctions, and strikebreakers (Grange and his goons) to break the union. The demonstration ° the opening day of the Ontario Legislature, will deman i legislation of laws concerning the use of strikebreakers: use of injunctions against unions in.a legal strike an failure of management to bargain in good faith. The calls asks other unions to “have as many trade UM jocal's d the members available for this demonstration, to prove oe hi Tory government that the trade union movement in + is concerned about our labor laws.” by The Metro Toronto Labor Council endorsed the all Te ee 173 unanimously. ees al isi jon | : to this ntario | hi ar di “| need a ninth mortgage to pay for the eighth mortgo9 which paid for the seventh mortgage .. .” : : CUPE local fights union-busting By RICHARD ORLANDINI In the last month, commis- sions and committees of the Metro and city governments have been launching attacks aimed at the destruction of trade unions. Three weeks ago the Toronto Transit Commission voted unanimously to allow non- union shops to bid on the print- ing of TTC materials and for the uniform worn by the transit workers. This retrograde action by the TTC was quickly counter- ed by a representation of trade unionists who met with the TTC hierarchy and called for the return to union materials. Then, two weeks ago, the To- ronto Streets Commissian added its voice to the ever-growing bray of anti-union sentiments. The Toronto City Executive voted unanimously to allow a private, non-union fir.1- called Superior Sanitation to collect garbage in Toronto’s Forest Hill. The vote, which was moved by Toronto’s “reform” mayor Crom- bie, followed a deputation by Local 43 of the Canadian Union of Public Employees which bid to have the Toronto streets de- partment pick up garbage in Forest Hill. The union’s arguments were presented by Albert Syms, CUPE Local 43’s business agent, who said that the union could do the job cheaper and easier than the private firm. But Mr. Atyeo, Toronto’s Commissioner of Streets, who argued in fav- or of the contract for Superior Sanitation, appeared to have more in mind than “just” mak- ing the collection more efficient and saving the taxpayer money. _It has been argued that the city’s Commissioner of Streets is wary of continuing to do busi- ness with the workers in CUPE Local 43, after the members of that union demonstrated their militancy in the strike for bet- ter wages and working condi- tions last spring. Mr. Atyeo is still smarting from the wage in- crease won by the workers after the case went to compulsory ar- bitration, and now probably feels that a non-union operation would: be easier to deal with. If Mr. Atyeo’s intentions are to destroy the union, threat of introducing non-union firms to collect the city’s gar- bage would be a step toward that end. And he has plenty of ‘support Waiting in the wings. Private firms have been eyeing Toronto’s garbage for some time now. Albert Syms, CUPE 43’s busi- ness agent, told the Tribune in a telephone interview that, “A number of large firms are just waiting and if it opens up they will all come in. And these are big outfits from the U.S., from Texas and from Chicago. These firms are non-union and we have absolutely no. guarantee that they would hire the present city workers. “In the case of Superior Sani- tation (the firm that got the contract), they presently have the contract to pick up the Loblaw’s garbage and this con- tract amounts to millions of dol- lars. Superior Sanitation uses some of these profits to subsi- dize the Forest Hill operations. Then using the base in Forest Hill, they could try to get all the city’s contracts and once they get the city, they will be able to demand their own price.” Whatever Atyeo’s intentions were, they were partially block- ed after the City Executive meeting. Following the meeting, members of the CUPE 43 execu- tive were able to convince Mayor Crombie to refer the mo- tion back for further considera- tion. With Atyeo’s plot to destroy CUPE 43 falling apart, several questions come to mind. What are Atyeo’s connections with ec te at ae bt a a RE ANE Ae Oe NN Bo then the - ee ae -——— -— -70 CO ASO TD what move f the” Superior Sanitation? the steps the labor can take to be rid ° of a Mr. Atyeo? The first question ably never be answer" oi the answer to the sect 40 uj be found through the Me ronto Labor Council. i The actions show? Metro Toronto Labor Cc ne) the recent dispute with tebe were admirable. The U? a tion by the Labor Cour st cutive and by the rep te! yo tives of the unions 4 eo the TTC’s retrograde st MA to the fact that only, wh A a speaks as one can } A fective voice heard abi braying of reactionary # 5 union politicians. pes” i After what seemed con, of inaction by the 1abOF say’ on similar matters, th, 9d! now clear for concert? 4 i on the part of the Coun resentatives of CU. other working class halt Mr. Atyeo’s atl? union busting. Nor efforts stop there. also open to deman® ie % nation of city officials ~ gis Atyeo who continua anti-union attitudes: id Ke hi can p By tote beet et ee . Se pe oe Fee A PEN Se, Pe ORDER OF FRIENDS! The Presidium of tea i Supreme Soviet institut pies decoration, the Order © aki” ship Among Peoples, t© Soy 50th anniversary of th Union. {y Ve de The Order will be 2 ion J individuals and institl™ (igs services in strengthen! iggy ship and co-operation 4 nate socialist nations an | Com ities and for substantl®” <0! butions to the econom jaye . political and cultura the r ment of the USSR and republics. spel The Order is of a 29 includes an embross five-point star. a mie sea sien A toe