’

LABOR COMMENT

The TLC-CCL Unity Committee

which met in Ottawa to draft
a constitution for the new con-
gress, still has to resolve a num-
ber of ticklish questions.

The merger principles, for ex-
ample, left open how duplication
and conflict of jurisdiction by
different unions in one industry
is to be eliminated. These unions
will continue their efforts at. or-
ganizing. Moveover, continued
emphasis on both craft and in-*
dustrial forms of organization is
bound to create friction.

The no-raiding pacts do not
resolve these problems. Neither
do the merger principles which
‘declare: ‘

._ “Affiliates of the new. congress,

will be encouraged to settle, any
differences which may arise “by
voluntary agreement in consulta-
tion with the officers and of-
ficials of the new congress; by
mutual agreement between them-
selves; or by such other means
as will resolve the issués amic-
ably and intelligently.”

I doubt very much whether
this declaration is adequate to
meet the situation.

Basically these conflicts will
only be résolved through the ‘pro-
cess of mergers of different
unions in each industry. Work-
ers will give increasing support
“to such mergers as part of the
fight to protect and advance their
interests.

Concentration of the power of
monopoly requires a concentra-
tion of the strength of the work-
ers. :

Textile is a case in point. Were
the five different unions to
merge, they would be in a far

better position to face up to wage
' cutting, speedup and layoffs.

Railway is another. Were the
21 unions in that industry to
merge, their strength would be
multiplied a hundred-fold. This
_ holds true all down. the line.

TLC-CCL unity, the inclusion
of the Catholic Syndicates, Rail-
way Brotherhoods and indepen-

United labor’s new constitution
must be Canadian, democratic

Gent unions in the merger makes
the slogan “Oné Union In Each

Industry” a relizable objective

in the immediate future. ~

This should be reflected in the
constitution — with a proviso
that such mergers are to be car-
ried through by voluntary agree-
ments, -not by coercive methods.

% og it

There’s a reason why the
merger principles evaded this
issue and gave no _ indication
how organization of the unor-
ganized is to be carried out — in-
cluding the role of the new con-
gress in this regard.

The reason lies in USS. control.
The basic decisions on these mat-

ters rests with U.S. unions and

with the new labor federation in
the U.S.

But if the new ‘congress eb te

Canada has no say or power, on
these questions, what actual
autonomy wil! it enjoy? The
constitution will need to resolve
this question and in a way which
will give authority to the con-
gress. '

What it boils down to.is this
—will the constitution be a Con-
adian constitution or a replica of
one agreed to in the U.S.?

“tf an “autonomous labor. cen-
tre” is to have meaning it should
spell out the fact that sovereign
power fests with the Canadian
membership; that’ only the new
congress’ will have the right to
formulate policy and execute it;
that neither the “roadmen” in
Canada, the U.S. unions, or the

new labor federation across the
line, shall have the power to in-
terfere, veto or ‘overide any de-
cisions democratically arrived at
by the new congress. This is the
nub of the matter.

% % %

U.S.Canadian trade union re-
lations should be established
through the constitution as that
of equals.

And, if it is to be a Canadian

constitution, McCarthylike poli-'

cies of the witchhunt and the

ination and equal rights for every

‘jeadership of the new congress.

bes padlock, symbol of tyr-
amy in Quebec, is being
converted into an instrument
for free speech. :
Montreal Civil Liberties
Union “has announced that it
| is going to sell tens of thous-
ands of small tags in the shape
of the padlock as part of its
campaign to raise $10,000 to
contest the Duplessis govern-
ment’s Padlock Law before
the Supreme Court.

.The padlocks bear the -slo-
gan: Defeat the Padlock Law.

The Civil Liberties Union has
appealed to all democratic
organizations across the coun-
try to purchase the padlocks
in quantity for sale to their
members, friends, and shop-
mates. — ‘

“The key that wil unlock

Unlock the Padlock

They sell.for 25 cents each. ,

the Padlock Law,” said CLU |
secretary Paul Normandin, ©

“js the generous support of all
Canadians of goodwill. A pad-
lock in your lapel is a sign
‘that no one in Canada can be
free until the padlock law is —
defeated.”

Orders for the padlock tags
should be sent to: Civil -Liber-
ties Union, Box 52, Station G,
Montreal. ae "

i
:

blacklist should be thrown out
of the window. The constitution
should clearly establish the de-
mocratic rights of the member-
ship based on an end to discrim-

trade unionist. including respect
for’the autonomy of each affili-
ate, ;

If this approach prevails it is
bound to be reflected in the set-
up of the new congress.

However, there are rumors
afloat that a proposal will be
made to replace annual conven-
tions by bi-annual ones and to
replace the election of officers
by the appointment ‘of a com-
mittee of 35 roadmen who, to-
gether with the executive com-
mittee, would constitute the

Such a proposal aims to create
a senate, not a united parliament
of labor. :

The conclusion from all this is
that once the draft constitution
is available for discussion, the
workers should make sure that
what they adopt will have two
union characteristics: that it is a
Canadian constitution and a de-
mocratic constitution.

» WILLIAM KASHTAN

BERLIN LETTER

t if @ e

al course you are ‘not allowed
to criticise anything in Hast

Germany” said an Englishman

who visited me recently in my

office here in East Berlin.

I could not help thinking of
him as I read a newspaper which

appeared here the other day. .

There is a tradition in Germany
that newspapers produce a spec-

ial humorous number during the ~
carnival period preceding Lent, —

the “Naerrische
which may be
as “Fools’

and this was
Nachrichten,”
freely translated
News.”
_ The paper was on sale through-
cut Bast Germany, and it certain-
ly criticised high and low very
freely. It may interest readers
if I give them some idea of the
targets for its parodies, criti-
cisms, and jokes. f
oi ae

- On the front page, for instance,

the paper publishes a parody of

the press statements which are’

issued every week after the
weekly cabinet meeting. |

It is written in the stodgy bur-
eaucratic language beloved by
the official East- German Gov-
ernment Press Office, and is full
of those indefinable percentages
which are unfortunately often
used. The style: is not really
translatable, but here is a sample

- of this communique, describing

a meeting of the Berlin Carnival
Committee: i f
“In the course of the meet-
ing the proud results were sub-
mitted to thorough discussion.
It is of particular importance
that the restaurants in central
Berlin have over-exceeded their
norm for carnival balls by 137.8
percent compared to the figures
of the previous year...
“In overall figures the
duction of humor could be rais-
ed by 72°percent; costs ‘in the

entire field of humor, jokes and

satire could be

réduced by 90
percent.” ¢ ;

tomate |

USSR projects space laboratory

Moscow Radio announced last week that Peter Kapitsa, on
the Soviet Union’s best known atomic scientists and a former
fessor at Cambridge University, is among scientists appointed to ®
“permanent inter-departmental commission for interplanatary comm
The broadcast said: “This commission is coordinatl
work on probléms of mastering cosmic space.” Among the projects
the commission is working on is a space Jaboratory which wou
Drawings shown here 4!

munications.”

revolve around the earth as a satellite.
by Soviet artists depicting the first space. travel.

~

there's no freedom a
in East Germany ?

about art and architecture, °
full Ye
empty, phrases: about ‘“militaly —
sparse monumentality” and “
ative lyricism of architectura!

The East German newspapers
come in for a particular ribbing,
with two columns of platitudin-
ous “short news items.” One of
“hese columns presents news
items of monumental dullness

the parody, which is

*

e of e

and : .

4

and lack of interest, while the
other column presents similar
items each with a “progressive”.
moral dragged in by the skin of
its teeth. Here is a specimen:

“Mrs. Selma F.. went mad and
hit her husband over the head
with a book. The campaign
against decadent literature must
be stepped up, colleagues!”
Slow postal deliveries are criti-

cised in the following way:

“The Central Post Office of-
ficially denies rumors that have
been spread that it only takes
two days for a letter to go from
Dresden to Berlin (about 150
miles). All persons circulating
such rumors are hereby given a
serious warning. If letters have
in facet covered this distance in
only two days, this is due to the

inexperience of newly appoint-

ed postal employees.”
50 n it

necessary to know what is

sculptors,” hits off perfectly PO”
his style and his lack of conte?

To understand a parody, it

parodied, and it is difficult me)
give.more than « general ide@ ©
this paper’s style and humor
The ‘people and institution
criticised, parodied or aus ae
at in this paper include high iD
ficials who always ride arou! ee
their official cars; the railway :
authorities because trains 40;
comply with the timetables; — io :
director of East Berlin’s ™ ae
theatre, and East Berlin’s chie ta
architect; and the East G ;
radio system because of\ its 7
ing programs. BS short
_ So there is obviously no $ aod
age of criticism, and public 20
biting criticism, in the ip
Democratic Republic. note
case any readers should Be
clude that such criticism is 07

.

“about art and architecture by a

pro- ’

My favorite article in this car- to be heard once a year, a
nival newspaper is an excellent
parody of the articles written
_newspaper or magazine
very unpopular critic.in an East ‘which. does not contain
Berlin daily newspaper. ;
All the artists I know agree
that this critic knows nothing

in public life or

in the a
tration. Jol

t card

val time, I might add that
almost impossible to pick oe

criticism of some shortco a
mines IS

its

False Witness is bestseller
THE arsfiesition (50,000 copies) of Harvey Matusow’s sensati o

book False Witness has ben sold out ahd a second edition
000 is now going to press. It is being sold at major booksto

over the U.S. and many in Canada.

It is one of the most widely publicized books in recent 3

There have ‘been more than 20 radio and TV interviews in t
with the publishers sincé the book was announced.

One press clipping service said they had on
‘10,000 clippings commenting on the book.

. John Steinbeck headed a review in Saturday Review of Literat

“Death of a Racket.” ae

res §

hand more th

PA