WORLD SCENE : MEANY CHALLENGED CHICAGO — The leadership of the National Coordinating Com- Mitte for Trade Union Action and Democracy has challenged AFL- ‘| 0 President George Meany to submit his tenure to a referendu Of “the éntire membership of all AFL-CIO affiliates.” : vi The statement was issued charging that Meany had engaged in “a love feast with the worst anti-labor President of the past 40 _ Years” on labor day. ‘| _ At Meany’s Labor Day conference he announced his support of ; US. war policies in Southeast Asia, for binding arbitration to re- } Place strikes, described workers who earn $8 or $9 thousand as } Middle class, and attacked liberals as “extremists.” acy own salary is many times more than $9 thousand an- y. WORST U.S. INFLATION WASHINGTON — The worst U.S. inflation in 20 years has spread } “Conomic trouble to most non-Communist countries and could a Mi eaten the stability of the world’s money system, the International | “Oohetary Fund claims. “The importance of arresting the U.S. inflationary spiral and ‘re- Storing price and cost stability can hardly be exaggerated,” the IMF Teport said. “At stake are the checking of the inflationary trend on 4 Worldwide basis, the long-run stability and efficiency of the U.S. Sconomy, the much-needed strengthening of the U.S. balance of pay- Bats and the sound functioning of the international monetary £m. : Inflation is continuing at the worst rate since the Korean war, 4 While unemployment has reached a 5-year high of 5%. U.S. eco- | "mic growth has lagged behind the rest of the world. ANGELA DAVIS LOS ANGELES — Concern is being expressed about the possible titeat to the life of Angela Davis. It is claimed that the police have y ln given a license to kill by the FBI which described her as atmed and extremely dangerous” and put her on their “ten most ted” list. The Los Angeles Sentinel, largest black community 3 Newspaper in Los Angeles has charged that Miss Davis is being | ‘“Snvicted by the news media.” 7 * DETROIT WAR REFERENDUM DETROIT — Close to 300,000 citizens expected to vote in the November 3rd Congressional and legislative election in Detroit Will have the chance for the first time to register a “No” or “Yes” Yote on an immediate cease fire and withdrawal of all U.S. troops om Southeast Asia. Bi The referendum was approved 6-3 by the City Council. It reads, Resolved that there be an immediate cease fire and withdrawal of all U.S. forces from Southeast Asia so that people of Southeast Asia Can determine their own destiny.” The Detroit Coalition to End the ar Now prepared the resolution and presented it to city council. ; In November, 1969, the voters of Dearborn, by about 20,000 to 14,000 backed a cease fire and withdrawal of US troops. The peace forces will hold a demonstration before the elections Mobilize support for the anti-war resolution. INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE |} _ WARSAW — The International Labor and Social Insurance Rights 3 Federation opened its seventh congress in Warsaw on September th, the first time it has ever held a congress in a socialist coun- . This reflects the world-wide interest in legislation in socialist juuntries, as well as a recognition of Poland’s rising status in this eld of jurisprudence. The gathering is to serve as a forum for a wide exchange of views experiences on matters of vital importance in the moulding _ f labor- relations. ® A U.S. SOLDIER’S STORY STOCKHOLM (ADN) — Another U.S. deserter arrived in Stock- holm and requested asylum in Sweden. 21-year-old John M. Swee- Ney is the first of the about 400 former U.S. soldiers now living in Weden who entered the country by way of the armed forces of - the National Liberation Front (NLF). | _ Sweeney was stricken with malaria in 1969 in Vietnam. Instead f of being cared for in hospital, he was forced to continue fighting _ 10 the jungle. He said he was left lying unconscious by his com- _ Tades and, after fourdays, NLF soldiers found him. “I had been told in my unit that I would be killed or tortured if | landed among the NLF forces, but I was treated humanely and - Teceived medical attention,” he said in Stockholm. WORKER-STUDENT RELATIONS ST. PAUL — Addressing delegates of the National Student Con- §ress, at a workshop, United Auto Workers President Leonard Woodcock stated that “the auto worker is not a part of the afflu- €nt middle class. He told the students not to fear relations with Workers, that “the hard-hat syndrome is not nearly as deep as some Would have us believe.” : | _ Answering questions, he said, “it would indeed be fatal if a group Of students moved in and told the workers, ‘we’re going to show _ You how to do things.’ But if we got into a situation where we Needed assistance, I’m sure any hostility that might exist would Sappear.” : : ‘Ys It was Woodcock’s opinion that such a situation is likely to arise _ Very soon, in the Union’s struggle with the Big Three auto makers. The following are excerpts from a speech delivered by Martin J. Ramirez C., Executive Secretariat member of the Stand- ing Congress for Latin American Trade Union Unity. Mr. Ramirez’ statement, re- produced in the magazine of the World Federation of Trade Unions, is of importance to the struggles of the Canadian work- ing class, because US imperial- ism has grabbed a large part of our country’s raw material re- sources, distorting and holding back Canada’s economic devel- opment: Important historic responsibil- ities devolve on the workers of Latin America — to win national liberation in their countries by putting an end to imperialist domination and achieving pro- found changes in their economic, political and social structures. The workers are conscious of this because of their bitter ex- periences learned in battles for their rights, and by struggles and bloody class battles to raise their inadequate standard of living and attain better working condi- tions. : Latin American workers are conscious of the necessity and the urgent need to overcome ‘and abolish the under-develop- ment which characterizes our backward countries and to pro- gress along the road to indepen- dent economic development in order to be able to satisfy the urgent demands of their peoples, -and to live as sovereign nations. But progress towards this in- dependent development is im- possible without first of all breaking the chains of neo-colo- nial and semi-colonial .exploita- tion, of oppression by foreign monopolies and North American imperialism. For our backward and under- developed peoples the question of breaking the old economic, political and social structures is urgent ... there is a real danger that our homelands will be transformed into a_ gigantic Yankee colony. American impe- rialism cleaselessly works for this. It is essential to end the semi- feudal exploitation of the land, to eliminate the present regime of land ownership. But it is not possible to make these fundamental changes in structure if at the same time the political direction of the State is _not:médified from top to bottom. Latin American governments must stop being instruments of oppression by the dominant classes and the imperialist mono- polies, and should instead, ex- press the interests of the masses of the working people. -That is why: Latin America is a continent in a state of perpe- tual social and political uphea- val, shaken by violent convul- sions... ' (Mr. Ramirez points out that Latin America’ produces a very large percentage of the world’s metals and oils; that it has a tremendous agricultural poten- tial, and forest zone correspond- ing to 24% of the entire world. He reports these riches are mainly in the hands of imperial- ist monopolies, notably Standard Oil, Royal Dutch Shell, the US Steel Corporation, Bethlehem Steel, and others.) To maintain their domination the imperialist monopolies hind- er the industrialization of our continent by every means, They reduce the majority of our countries to an economy of mono production and to the state of exporters of raw mate- rials, deforming the natural de- velopment of their economies. It can be seen for instance that although Latin America produces big quantities of vari- ous metals, it produces only two percent of manufactured steel, no manufactured tin at all, no manufactured aluminum at all. New forms and methods of exploitation Imperialist investments were formerly directed fundamentally towards the exploitation of raw materials, minerals, etc., but to- day the imperialists profiting from industrialization of our countries, are directing their in- vestments to management and control of all the main industrial branches .. . For them it is a question of controlling at their will the Latin American markets, vertically and horizontally ... According to their plans, in- dustrialization in Latin America can only be brought about on *the basis of dependent firms. Social consequences The economic policy imposed on us by the International Mone- tary Fund under the orders of the American imperialists takes the form of a- wage and salary freeze, the freezing of collective agreements and of workers’: claims, attacks on social security as well as attempts to modify labor codes to the detriment of the workers. ‘ The imperialist monopolies, through the intermediary of the Pentagon, the CIA and the North American State Department, have imposed their criminal the- ory of so-called “internal war” aimed at violently putting down the workers. Demonstrations, strikes, protests, etc. are consid- ered as “subversive” to be put down with the extreme criminal violence, The anti-imperialist feeling of the Latin American peoples is growing, even among large sec- tions of social groupings which, formerly, did not concern them- selves at all with these problems. Latin American workers put their struggle against the impe- rialist monopolies in- the fore- front and call on all popular, LA peoples on the move democratic, progressive and re- volutionary forces to unite and face the principal enemy of our peoples, and to struggle to win back the basic riches of our countries, win national liberation and real economic independence. _ A Significant Conference Within the framework of this struggle, last August in Lima (Peru), Latin American workers held the Latin American Trade Union Conference to support the nationalization of Peruvian oil and for the recuperation of the natural wealth of the Latin American peoples. This event was of extraordin- ary importance because of its content, and also because it was a striking demonstration of mili- tant, anti-imperialist working class solidarity with the workers and people of Peru, who are fac- ed with the interesting process which has begun in their coun- ‘iy. The Lima conference gave dir- ection to the workers and. peo- ples of the continent in their struggles to wrench the natural wealth of our countries from the grip of the imperialist monopo- lies. This conference had the re- solute support of the Standing Congress for Trade Union Unity, the World Federation of Trade Unions and many national and international trade union organi- zations. : In a number of Latin American countries, to a greater or lesser degree, workers are following the line of the Standing Con- gress for Trade Union Unity and are carrying on a constant che gle against the imperialist mono- polies, for the recuperation of their national wealth and, for sovereignty and independence... . Nothing and nobody can stop the wave of militant struggle of the workers and peoples of La- . tin America to raise their stan- dards of living, to achieve res- pect for and defend their rights, for further gains, for the recu- peration of the wealth of their peoples, for deep structural changes and for their indepen- dent development. He PY The International Conference On Racism & Wer Canon John Collins of Eng- land will be one of the main par- ticipants in the International conference on Racism and War according to an announcement this week of the Initiating Com- mittee. Collins, who was chair- man of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and active in working with pacifists and non- pacifists, Christians and non- Christians for peace, is now as- sociated with the Defence and Aid International of which he is chairman. Since 1956 this com- mittee has raised over $10 mil- lion to defend political cases in South Africa and care for the families of political prisoners. The Committee also announc- ed that Keith Parker, president of the student body at India State University in Bloomington, would be a conference particip- ant. Scheduled for October 16-18 in Toronto, the Conference will bring together people concerned about racism and war through- out the world. Information on registration is available at 76 Huron Street, Toronto, 130,-Ont. Other conference participants include Ruth First, one of the defendants in the 1956 Treason Trial in South Africa, author of 117 Days and South West Af- rica; Herbert Aptheker, director of the American Institute of Marxist Studies and author of many books on the history of blacks in the U.S. Aptheker who is a member of the national committee, CPUSA, is now a professor of history at Bryn Mahr College. In addition, Abdul Minty, author of South African Defence Strategy and honorary secretary of the Anti-Apartheid Movement and Florence Pinkus, American psychologist and auth- or will be presenting position papers. PACIFIC TRIBUNE—FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 1970—PAGE 9 BSV AIM nde asc. Cpa sgt tia