Housing issue in

Kitimat election

Labor has entered politics “with both feet”

KITIMAT, B.C,

in this new aluminum smelter town, and

candidates backed by United Steelworkers of America are hotly contesting three vacant
seats on the six-member municipal--council. Housing-is ‘the most contentious issue in the
elections which take place Saturday this week, but back of the fight for cheaper housing is
the key question of whether British Columbia’s new miracle town in the wilderness is to be-
come a “company town” —‘at a time when the vicious “company 'town” system has almost
vanished elsewhere in the province.

Steelworkers’. political action
committee is backing Ron Free-
man, Don.Stickney and Chris
Trower for council seats now
held by. Gordon Hertle, Basil
Baxter. and Douglas Cohoon,
whose terms expire. Hertle and
Baxter, who are running ‘again,
are both officials of the Alu-
minum Company of Canada.
Other candidates are Rick Hobbs,
a plant warehouse worker, and
George Madden, former business
agent’ of the AFL Aluminum
Workers’ Council.

The Steelworkers’ candidates
are fighting for better and cheap-
er housing, and are also opposing
a) plan,- now being studied by
council, to give Alcan an 18-year
franchise to supply power to the
» community.

When about’ 450 voters go to
the polls this Saturday their main
concern will likely be the hous-
ing question.

A probe of: housing conditions
in this: frontier town has been

ordered by the provincial govern-|

ment, following numerous com-
plaints from trade union workers
here,. and Deputy . Minister of
Municipal Affairs Everett Brown

will hold a public meeting in the
Kitimat School auditorium Dec.
20 to hear residents’ complaints.

Main complaint is that Alcan
charges exorbitant prices for
cheaply-built homes. A down
payment of $700 is charged on
a $14,000 home—which workers .
claim is actually a $10,000 home.
The company admits the homes
could be built for $11,000 closer
to civilization but blames,
transportation and high labor
costs for the difference.

There are 400 occupied, homes
here and-many more units,: in-
cluding apartments’ which are
under construction.

Workers’ chief beef is against
homes built by Johnson-Crooks
of Vancouver under contract
with Alcan. Homes built by
Norman Hulah Ltd. of Vancouver
are considered to be satisfactory.

An examination of homes b

‘a Vancouver reporter: recently

bolstered the workers’ Stesrtin
He found bad insulation, sub-
flooring, seepage in heating ducts
of some homes, stairs breaking
away from’ the wall, window
frames separated from the pane,
a loosely-attached bathroom sink.

VOTE LABOR.

END BIG BUSINESS DOMINATION

SAM JENKINS, ‘president ssident of the Marine Workers and Boiler-

coer
JENKINS

for ALDERMAN

ADVERTISEMENT

x

Deputations from both United
Steelworkers and AFL Alumi-
num Workers will place their
complaint before Deputy Minis-
ter of Municipal ‘Affairs J. E.
Brown when he visits Kitimat
December 20. Meanwhile labor
hopes to elect its own representa-
tives to municipal council this
coming Saturday.

Hannes Sula
dies at Sudbury

SUDBURY
Hannes Sula, 61, an outstand-
ing leader of the Finnish com-

munity here for many years, died
November 21 after a wplonged
illness.

Sula came to Canada from
Finland in 192Q and settled in
Sudbury, where he became active
in the labor movement. He joined
the Communist Party of Canada
in 1924.

One of his great contributions
to the trade union movement was
in the fight to establish Mine-
Mill Local 598 and its predeces-
sor Local 239. At the time of
his death he was a member of
Mine-Mill Local 902. : f

Until his recent illness, Sula
was a member of the editorial
board of Vapaus, progressive
Finnish newspaper; treasurer of
the Labor-Progressive party here
and an active member of the
Finnish Organization of, Canada.

The funeral was held November
24. Among the speakers at the
graveside ceremony were Nels

-| Thibault, president of Mine-Mill,

William Eklund, Hal Proctor and
Edwin Euksi.. A special message
was read ‘from the national
executive of the LPP.

Reunion in Detroit

By WILLIAM ALLAN
é DETROIT

Some 500 alumni’ of the FBI
got together in a national con-
vention in mid-November here.

They are doing very nicely.

The organization is “Society
of Former Special Agents of the
Federal Bureau of Investigation.”
Its members are in the top posta
eons of big business.’

The present work ranges oe
labor relations directors to per-
sonnel chiefs, as investigators.

One conclusion is obvious:
the FBI is an efficient train-
ing school for union busters.

J. EDGAR HOOVER’
Big U.S. corporations prefer ex-
members of his FBI for their
_personnel departments.

Ford Motor’ Company appar-
ently got the most benefit from
the FBI. It had 23 members of
its personnel,and labor relations
department at the convention,
headed of course by John S.
Bugas, former Detroit FBI
chief, now vice president in
charge of industrial relations for
Ford.

General Motors had _ several
at the convention as did Chrys-
ler, Fruehauf Trailer, Hupp and,
others, : j

The society has 45 chapters,
with some 3,000 members. Na-
tional president is Mortimer J.
Davis, executive vice president
of the New York Credit and
Finance Management Association.

Davis sees that contact is
kept between the members and
the “bureau.” He does this
through a tip sheet, The Grape-
vine, delivered’ in 48 states and

Ex FBI men become
hired union-busters

| the

33 foreign countries to pres-
ent and fofmer agents. \

The head of Ford’s investiga-
tive section was there.
Clayton A. Braathen, who joined
the FBI in 1934 and left in 1942
along with Bugas. Bugas, in fact,
took most of his Detroit FBI
bureau, giving Ford a govern-
ment-trained police force.

The investigative section re-
placed Ford’s service department,
the spy agency Hary Bennett set
up to try to Ret union
organization.

Other firms represented read
like a roster of big business.
There were executives of Dow
Chemical, Studebaker - Packard,
General Contractors of America,
American Cyanamid, Westing-
house, Republic Aviation, and
Burows Adding Machine.

The vice president of J. L. Hud-
son department store, now fight-
ing a unionizing drive, was on
hand. Likewise, Cliff Wickman
and Al May, now in charge of
the Detroit “loyalty” investiga-
ting comnfittee, at present under
fire of Detroit City Council.

Nothing was too good here for
the 535 ex-FBl’ers. They were
wined and dined by the city board
of commerce, Ford, Michigan
Brewers Association, Chrysler
Corporation, J. L. Hudson, de-
partment store moguls. Brand
new Thunderbirds awaited the
ex-FBl’ers to speed them wher-
ever they wanted to go.

One of the most important dis-
cussions held behind closed doors
was in the placement committee.

Each of the 45 local chapters
were urged to have a list, and
get the “word” around about
“good men.” ~

The investigators and security
officers luncheon was addressed
by Police Commissioner Piggins
of Detroit, where one of the topics
discussed was the role played by
Detroit Commandos, the
strike-breaking corps of 200
police, specially trained, equipped
with sub-machine, tear gas guns,
riot clubs, armored vests.

The lobby was filled with
representatives of the auto
companies, large and small, ob-
viously looking for talent for
their personnel departments.
Also conspicious were many

members of, the local FBI un-

doubtedly hustling new jobs with
the help of former FBYers.

VOTE for
and

RESEARCH!

ADVERTISEMENT

'

ALDERMAN for 1956 - 1957

DECISION! -

7

ACTION!

He is”

PACIFIC TRIBUNE — DECEMBER 9, 1955 — PAGE 10