Mine-Mill parley
states unity stand

KIMBERLEY, B.C.

The 34,000-strong International Union of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers
(Independent) ended its ninth annual Canadian convention here last week*with a

forthright declaration of its support for full trade union unity.

The convention

was attended by more than 100 delegates from every hard-rock mining and smelter

area in the country.

Kimberley was a fitting
centre for the annual conven-
tion of this long-established
fighting union. The discovery
of the great Sullivan mine, the
world’s largest source of lead,
zine and silver ores, in 1892
heralded the’ birth of Kimber-
ley Local 100 of the old West-
ern Federation of Miners, fore-
runner of Mine-Mill and a
militant influence in British
Columbia’s early trade union
movement.

Occupying a prominent place
in Mine-Mill officers’ report
to the convention was the issue
of greater labor unity, endors-
ed by a unanimous standing
vote of all delegates.

“Exploratory talks’ have
been opened up between Mine-
Mill and the Canadian Labor
Congress with a view to bring-
ing Mine-Mill within the unit-
ed union centre.

The officers’ report, stating
the union’s stand on this issue,
said: “Mine-Mill has no inten-
tion of being dismembered or
yielding its jurisdiction” in re-
turn for a formal unity.

The report also rejected as
“entirely false’ any charge
that Mine-Mill is “dominated
by or in any way aligned with
any political party.”

The report said that the
union’s stand for trade union
unity was based on the closest
fraternal relations and coop-
eration ‘with all unions in the
day-to-day struggle for econ-
omic and social betterment of
the people.

In a keynote address, West-
ern vice-president Harvey

Continued

OFFICE

$12.50 a month, not retroactive.
The workers rejected that’ of-
fer, and took a strike vote in
December. Tuesday this week
was the last day a legal strike
could be called.

Had the office workers hit
the bricks, it would have been
the first time in B.C. labor his-
tory that union office workers
marched on_ picket lines.
(“Marched” isn’t strictly ac-
curate, for picketing theuisland
plant would have been done
from boats.)

When CIL officials saw that
the office workers intended to
go through with strike action,
and had the support of other
plant workers .and the organ-
ized labor. movement, they
quickly capitulated to ward off
a tieup which would have
crippled heavy construction
within a fortnight.

direction.

HARVEY MURPHY
“Unity on honorable terms.. .”

Murphy stated, “I think this
convention demonstrates once
again the position of our union
Since its establishment . . .
that only the membership de-
cide all questions, and that
goes for unity too. .. .”

Continuing, Murphy said:

“Newspaper reports across
the country have tried to make
an issue out of me, but the
only point they built on is
that when the CLC asked me
if I would be an obstacle to
labor unity in this country, I
replied that ‘nobody would.’
Out of that has come a story
that_I am resigning from the
union. That is sheer nonsense.

“My leaving the LPP was
purely a personal decision, with
no pressure brought from any
Our position is one
of no retreat. If we are to
have unity, we'll have it on
honorable terms. ...” -

President Nels Thibault sum-
med up for the officers’ report
when he Said, “The rights won
through struggle in this org-
anization shall remain. We
shall continue in freedom of
thought, speech and action. It
is quite clear that this con-

vention discussion confirms
that stand.”
Many fraternal guests at-

tended the convention. Among
them were Abe Moffat, presi-
dent of the Scottish area, Na-
tion Union of Mine Workers,
executive officer J. McGowan,
and pit delegate Willie Ban-
nerman, all three from the
British mine workers’ union.

Vice-president Orville Lar-

sen and executive board mem-
ber Chase Powers represented
the U.S. section of Mine-Mill.

Other fraternal» guests in-
cluded James By rne, MP
(Kootenay East); Ross Russel,

United. Electrical Workers (In-
dependent); Ray Masse, Wood-
workers Industrial Union; Sam
English, pyesident of sub-dis-
trict_8, United Mine Workers
of America, and Dorothy Mc-
Donald, Mine-Mill Ladies’
Auxiliary Coordinator.

In his address to the con-
vention, Abe Moffat predicted
a sweep for Labor in the next
British elections. ‘Even before
Suez,” he said, “the people
were entirely out of sympathy
with Tory policies, and now
the disillusionment is greater
than ever.”

Speaking to a Trail audience,
Moffat made a strong plea for
greater efforts for peace.

“Our women and children,”
he said, “were not involved in
the First World War. In the
Second World War Britain was
a front-line area, and women
and children died with our
men. But in a third world war,
no country would be immune.
What benefit will more wages,
or better conditions bring, if
all is to fall into ruins under
an H-bomb?”

Key resolutions adopted by
Mine-Mill covered a _ wide
range of issues, some of press-
ing concern to Mine-Mill mem-
bers, and many of a general
national interest.

The convention endorsed de-
mands for:
® Substantial wage increases
for 1957.

@ Early retiremen on full
pension.

@® Paid sick leave for mem-
bership.

@ Major improvements in
health and safety provi-
sions.

@ A national health insurance
pian.

@ One hundred percent com-
pensation. benefits.

@ Extension of unemploy-
ment benefits to 75 percent
of earnings.

@ Increasing of senior citi-
zens’ pensions from $40 to
$80 a month, with no means
test.

a ae greater campaign of

union education, to include
a comprehensive history
of the origin and struggles
of Mine-Mill, such a his-
‘tory to be published in
English, French, German,
Italian and Polish.
During the past year many
new locals of Mine-Mill have
been established between Van-
couver Island and Newfound-
land. Growth of the union
has been marked in .: the
uranium field by establishment
of new locals in both the Blind
River and Bancroft fields in
Ontario,

Dr. James G. Endicott; shown here at a session of World
Council of Peace with Gabriel d’ Arboussier, will address #
public meeting at Bakers Summer Gardens, 641 Granville th’
Friday, March 8, at 8 p.m.

Continued from page 1

CPR ASSESSMENT

should have been $641,580, and
not $377,400.
Counsel for the CPR, F. H.

Morgan airs

LPP stand

In a sharply critical exam-
ination of the Wenner-Gren
deal, Nigel Morgan, LPP pro-
vincial leader, speaking over
radio CKWX last Saturday,
called for immediate consider-
ation of a government survey
to guarantee that the people
will receive a fair return for
the natural resources of *the
northern interior.

Morgan placed his party on
record as favoring:

@ A government evaluation
of the resources In the Rocky
Mountain trench.

@ All mineral, forest and
petroleum resources to be open
to competitive bidding.

@ Consideration to be given
to provincial financing, or
joint federal-provincial financ-
ing, or a combination of public
and private financing in the
development of necessary pow-
er and transportation facilities.
@ All agreements and com-
mittments to be laid on the
table and openly discussed, to
prevent giveaways..

@® Where private companies
are allowed to bid, Canadian
companies, particularly com-
panies with plans for process-
ing, fabricating and manufac-
turing. in B.C., should receive
preference.

Joe Gosky Saturday

Britton, interrupted Mulcab
as he began to explain his sub’
mission and _ challenged hs
right to be heard.

Britton protested that the
court had no right to hear the
appeal of a private citize
advancing the argument th?
under the provincial Equa”
zation Act, appeals are ™
stricted to property cwné
with a direct interest in t
appeal.

Britton also intimated thi
the CPR was prepered to &
to the Supreme Court to ™
quest an order quashing #
appeal.

Alderman .J. W. Cornell
chairman of the court, call@
upon corporation counsel Ry
sel Baker for advice, but Bak®
replied that he could only re?
resent the city, and not

provincial government.

The appeal was then 7
journed to Friday of this we
pending receipt of legal 4 7
vice from the law departme?
of the provincial governme?”

Funeral services fo!

Funeral services for J”
Gosky, leading member of the
Association of United Ukral®
ian Canadians who died he!
Tuesday this week, will
held from the Ukrainian Hal!
805 East Pender Street, th!
Saturday. March 9, at 9 a.m
it is announced by Jo
Dubno, AUUC secretary, wh?
is in charge of funeral arrang®
ments. |
—

/ 337 West Pender St.

) NOTICE

STORE IS NOW CLOSED ©
FRIDAY EVENINGS AT 6 P.M.

PEOPLE'S CO-OP BOOKSTORE |

MA. 5836

=.

MARCH 8, 1957 -- PACIFIC TRIBUNE—PAGE 8