IN: 1h) Shs \(a8 Use democracy, autonomy
\ in fight on cheap labor

8Y BRUCE MAGNUSON

tis an open secret that we
Ia society where employ-
and governments are openly

' 8 to weaken and destroy
i, e Unions. It is, therefore,
t disturbing to see workers
toiled in some internal union
Wis. The most recent happen-

timat, B.C., where the
S have voted to oust the
union in Canada after
Years as their bargaining
Mt, is something that calls
‘the most serious examina-
by all union leaders, mem-
“Sand friends of labor.
; at is wrong here? In the
Place we have here one of
, areest corporations, one
8 operating with imported
grant workers, brought in
government connivance,
Unwilling to pay anything
ie lowest possible wages.
‘tating in a harsh climate
ae isolated conditions it
vious that particular atten-
“Would have to be given in
Case to living accommoda-
» SOcial and cultural amen-
&s, plus special consideration
Wages and working condi-
'S-to make life bearable for
Ployees,

th articipation Restricted
1 anti-labor attitude of this
“Cular mammoth  corpora-
Was no secret to the leader-
) Of the Steelworkers Union,
Icularly after the exprien-
f the four-month strike two
ago, What steps then were

"by this powerful union to-

bilize its membership and re-

tke. to see to it that these
€rs received the kind of
rt and services required to
din the best possible condi-
S and wages?

a dissatisfaction is evi-
€d in the large vote against

the union cannot simply be ex-
plained away by “agitation”
from outside the union. The
deep and abiding disagreements
and brawls inside the union for
a considerable time clearly pro-
vided the fertile soil for the
membership’s overwhelming re-
jection of the Steelworkers
Union.

It is simply untrue to state
that the Steelworkers Union is
the most autonomous and de-
mocratic of international unions
operating in Canada. It does not
have a structure which permits
the members the fullest. partici-
pation in determining overall
policies and leadership in Cana-
da. True, it conducts membership
referendums .on Canadian and
District Directors. But any mem-
ber seeking office of Canadian
Director must have the nomina-
tion of 23. Local. Unions, and
for District Director, 17 Local
Unions. To be an International
Officer requires the nomination
of 125 Local Unions.

There are far too many ap-
pointees and straw bosses of all
kinds who cannot be called to
account for their actions, ex-
cept by top officials.

Signs of Progress

The problems that stand out
as the most important, in~ this
as in most other International
unions, is the need for sovereign
rights of the Canadian members
to conduct their own affairs,
completely free from any and
all interference from Interna-
tional Hearquarters in the Unit-
ed States. There is the matter
of inner-union democracy, which
calls for restructuring in such a
way that Canadian members can
hold their own conventions,
elect their own officers and de-
cide on their own policies.

One of the most encouraging

’ signs of change in the direction

of progress within the Steel-
workers Union was the stand
for overall trade union unity
adopted at the May policy con-
ference in Ottawa. There is no
reason why the membership of
this union cannot bring about
the kind of changes needed to
make this union one of the most
autonomous and democratic in-
ternational unions in Canada,
making it a force for a united
and sovereign Canadian trade
union movement.
Company Unionism

Raiding by splinter groups to

fragment the trade union move-
ment in this country on the basis
of some false bourgeois nation-
alist slogans is no way to solve
the problem. In this sense ‘the
national director of the Steel-
workers, Mr. William Mahoney
is correct when he warns of the
danger to the Steelworkers
Union and Canadian labor “of a
new and insidious form of com-
pany unionism.”
- But «while we agree whole-
heartedly with Mr. Mahoney on
this, we must also point out that
the Canadian Labor Congress
and its affiliated International
and National Unions must stop
dragging their feet on the issues
of. bringing all unions into one
house of labor, restructure the
trade union movement along
voluntary and democratic lines
for greater operativeness and
effective service to the member-
ship, and for complete Canadian
autonomy.

Only by facing up to the big
monopolies, both employers and
governments on the basis of a
class approach, will it be pos-
sible to guarantee the “strength,
protection and leadership” work-
ers need and must have at this
time, as so correctly empha-
sized by Mr. Mahoney.

Home grants need extending

By C. H.
© answer to the housing

Ses are built every year,
te’s a good possibility that
Ousing shortage will con-
Ue. Why? Because very little
being done to conserve our
‘ting stock of older houses,
“ig new ones cannot really
sent an increase in the
I number of houses.
Michael Dennis and Susan
, in “Programs in Search of
licy—Low Income Housing
Canada” argue that Cana-
S should cease to regard
Sing as a consumer good,
ething that is used up and
a thrown away. Instead, we
ld regard housing as social
nah like schools and roads,
"th remains long after the
Sent users have gone.
Ney estimate that 500,000 to
0,000 housing units need
Provement to meet ‘decent,
_and sanitary” (National
Using Act) standards of ac-
modation. Also, half a mil-
“ units require structural,
Thee’ and plumbing work.
© cost of this work is not
ibitive: It costs more to
houses to the ground and
Tebuild them. Rather, it is
€stion of who pays. Most

homeowners cannot afford or
are not willing to go into fur-
ther debt to rehabilitate their
homes. Some, particularly the
elderly, simply cannot refinance
their homes to do it. Specula-
tion, razing, and rebuilding by
private developers almost guar-
antees that high-rise, high-den-
sity offices or apartments will
replace older housing.

Not surprisingly, the federal
government has become in-
volved in housing rehabilitation
in selected urban renewal areas.
One project currently underway
in Vancouver is the Strathcona
Rehabilitation Program. Grant-
loans are for a maximum of
$3,000 and there is a sliding
scale of contributions, depend-
ing on the annual income of the
property owners, from the
grant-loan ‘fund. Persons mak-
ing more than $10,000 a year are
ineligible. Winnipeg, Toronto
and Montreal have similar pro-
grams. The most outstanding
feature of these publicly spon-
sored housing rehab programs 1S
its complexity. A single applica-
tion for a grant may include five
pages, of which three deal with
the financial statement of the
applicant. A co-ordinating com-
mittee, composed of federal,
provincial, municipal and citi-
zens’ group representatives,
makes the final decision on eli-

gibility and the amount of the
grant-loan applicable. Because
of the “experimental nature” of
the program, the federal govern-
ment claims it wants to keep
close tabs on the progress of
the program to the. point of im-
peding any progress at all.

The Dennis-Fish report re-
commends universal uncondi-

tional grants to homeowners for

housing rehabilitation. Deter-
‘joration of housing is just not
limited to specific “urban re-
newal” areas. Placing conditions
on the grant makes the program
more expensive to operate, less
acceptable, and more stigmatiz-
ing (ie. means test) to the in-
dividual.

Similar grants could be made
available to cooperatives, non-
profit housing corporations and
municipalities to acquire and re-
novate properties. |

Since over half of the units
requiring work are owner-occu-
pied, the universal unconditional
grant system makes sense.
Therefore, Canadians must urge
the passing of legislation to
make grants available to people
wishing to rehabilitate their
housing. Housing rehabilitation
coupled with new construction
of 250,000 housing units could
achieve the goal of equal access
to decent housing for all Cana-
dians.

opinion.)

Maoists say.

every child,

CEG

point

Bee. es upcoming federal election is of vital interest to
us campus, and it is necessary that they k
as possible about the parties ji Mee ee,
’ s involved, However, one
practically unknown to the average person because of the Arie
ae asl it by the major news media, and: there are theretege
isconceptions about it. That Party i:
- the Communist P,
of Canada. (Before | go on, | m ee se ahd
. ; ust emphasize that the Gatew
av ha.
not been taken over by the CPC. This editorial is my fancbaia?

The worst misconception is that the CPC i:

entirely of tired old men slavishly following eer
have found out in the last two weeks tkat this is absolutely
false. Many of the people working for the Communist candidates
in this city are students, and the Edmonton-Strathcona candidate
Liz Rowley, is herself a student. And | have yet to meet a CPC
member who is not primarily interested in solving Canada’s
problems in the Canadian context

The next mistaken idea is that the Communist Pi
Canada (Marxist-Leninist) nas something to do eagle
The CPC(M-L) is a Maoist group which seems to be primarily
interested in sloguns and hassling the CPC. The tendency of
people to associate the two parties is a major problem in this
campaign. Don’t write off the CPC because of anything the

The CPC does have a substantial, serious platforin
prepared. What is your personal concern in this election? Jobs?
If 50, the CPC's platform advocates a 10 year plan to create 2
million new jobs in Canada, a 32 hour work week with no
decrease in take-home pay, lower retirement ages and a $3
minimum wage. Housing? The. party recommends ‘building
250,000 new units annually. Peace? It wants the dissociation of
Canada from US foreign policy and to cut the arms budget by
50%. Women’s rights? The CPC stands for day care as a right for
removal of abortion from the criminal code
adequate abortion facilities, and equal pay for equal work.

The CPC platform elaborates on these and its other
policies, and it is well worth the effort to get a copy of it. Just
looking at these ideas you see that they cannot be rejected out
of hand because they are supported by Communists.

You. can _hear Liz Rowley speak at the next election
forum. here at Dinwoodie on October 18. Come~out and
compare her with the other candidates before you reject the

From the Gateway, University of Alberta.

staff comment

Kimball. Cariou

The big issue is jobs
in Edmonton-Strathcona

By ELIZABETH ROWLEY

The campaign in Edmonton-
Strathcona has been an excel-
lent one with massive sup-
port from students, unemployed
youth, and young workers who
have no previous connection
with the Communist Party but
have been won over by the
strength and correctness of our
election platform and _ socialist
perspective. Without the help of
so many hands, feet, hearts and
heads the campaign here would
have been much less successful
due to the fact that very few
party members live in the con-
stituency. |

The big issue here is of course
jobs. With the large numbers of
young people attending the Uni-
versity of Alberta, Grant Mac-
Ewen Community College, Col-
lege St. Jean, and various high

a

Elizabeth Rowley speaking to a
youth rally.

~ adian

schools in the area, Trudeau’s
so-called “anti-inflation” policies
are an immediate and very real
threat. Students attempting to
continue post-secondary educa-
tion find grants and bursaries
impossible to get, while qualifi-
cations for loans become more
and more complicated and
waiting periods for assistance
grow longer and longer. Second-
ary and post secondary gradu-
ates are in quandry: whether to
go into the labor market and try
to find a job, or go further into
debt and continue an education
that may leave them “‘over-quali-
fied” or ‘“over-specialized” or
trained for a job that may soon
be phased out.

Education, then, is the second
big issue, with the question of
American professors and teach-
ers in Canada tying it up to Can-
independence. and _ the
struggle for peace.

The party platform has been
accepted in Strathcona and has
managed amongst other things,
to dispel many misconceptions
concerning the Communist Party
which were so carefully nur-
tured by our own Cold War-
riors during the 1950’s and
1960's.

Some problems do exist, the
main ones being the press black-
out, which has only recently be-
gun to open to us, and the sud-
den emergence of a CPC-ML
(Maoist) candidate in Strathco-
na. Their campaign as our “sha-
dow” has served only to confuse
and anger the working people,
students and unemployed. The
air is beginning to clear, how-
ever, and things look well for
us again.

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—FRIDAY, OCTOBER 27, 1972—PAGE 9

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Sack