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

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