Nanaimo labor was represented ina parade for the first time in many years on May 21 with the above float
which was well received by the public. Labor's entry was co-sponsored by the Nanaimo-Duncan and
District Labor Council and the Vancouver Island Labor Picnic Committee. Riding in the car are George

Popplestone, president of the council, Grac

Tickson, vice-president, John Holmgren, |WA member and

Miss Labor — Linda Haugheland of Nanaimo. The float pointed to the upcoming labor picnic at Parksville
on September 2, which is a major Island event.

Cont'd. from pg. 1
with its profit motive its the
present housing crisis.

According torecentestimates
there is ample supply of suitable
land for urban development in
the Greater Vancouver area.
There are moré than 29,000 acres
of vacant land which is more
than experts say willbeneeded
in the next 25 years of develop-
ment. The problem is that land
speculators and real estate com-
panies are holding the public at
ransom withthe high prices they
are demanding for land on
which to build homes.

The same is true of the lum-
ber, cement and construction
companies. They have pushed
construction costs up to anall-
time high in their drive to
squeeze all the profits they can
out of the public. People who
want homes can build only if
they pay the ransom in the form
of high profits to the monopolies

Responding to the threat of

Seagram’s to shut down the
New Westminster plant, the
B.C. Federation of Labor called
on the provincial government
to consider a takeover of the
operation if Seagram’s seeks to
carry out the plant closure.

Inaletter to provincial trade
and industry minister Gary
Lauk, the Federation noted that
‘close to 200 jobs would be lost;
while the government could
keep the distillery open as a
profitable operation and could,
no doubt, expand its business,”
and offered to meet with the gov-
ernment at any time on the
question.

The call for government
takeover inthe event of a plant
closure is the latestina series of
action taken by the Federation
in support of the 180 striking
workers at the Seagram's plant
in New Westminster, all mem-
bers of Local 69 of the Dis-
tillery, Rectifying. Wine and
Allied Workers International
Union. Federation secretary
Ray Haynes sent repeated
demands to the international
office for strike benefits for the
workers and when funds were
not made available, the Federa-
tion canvassed affiliated locals
for money to give strike benefits
to Local 69 members.

Early in the dispute, the Fed-
eration intervened when the
international office of the
Distillery Workers sought to
deny the right of Local 69 to sign
its own contract by declaring
null and void an overwhelming
vote in favor of strike action.

The position taken by the B.C.
Federation in the Seagram's
dispute has been significant in
giving leadership to a number of
unions and locals seeking the
right to determine policies that
affect the local membership.
The action taken has been de-
cisive in maintaining labor unity
in the face of international non-
eooperation: ;

The support given the mem-
bers of Local 69 may well have
national implications particu-
larly inrelation to the campaign
of the Canadian Labor Con-
gress against breakaways. Last
week, Local 61 ofthe Distillery
Workers, representing some
800 members at the Hiram
Walker plantin Walkerville, On-
tariosent their charter back to
the international officein New
Jersey stating that the action
was taken as a protest against
the international’s ‘‘consistent
refusal to issue strike benefits to
our brothers in B.C. who only
want to gain wage parity with
us.

In a poll taken among the
Hiram Walker workers. 85%
opted for ‘an alternative union”
and instructed the local execu-
tive to find other affiliation.

The return of thecharterisnot
a decision to seek Canadian
affiliation since the local is pre-
sently negotiating with three
other unions only one of whichis
independently Canadian. It was
prompted more by a fear that
similar treatment to that given
Local 69 by the international
would result if strike action were
necessary inupcoming contract
negotiations.

Six years ago the Hiram Wal-
ker plant was onstrike for five
weeks without any -strike
benefits coming from the inter-
national office.

In commenting on the action
taken, Local 61 president Dick
Tighe said that the members
were “fully aware of the CLC
campaign against breakaways.
but we know of nothing the CLC
has done about disowning such
internationals as the Distillery
Workers.”

Clearly. action in favor of
unions whose _ international
offices offer no assistance in
disputes and noright to make in-
dependent decisions will figure
largely in any campaign to main-
tain unity in, the face of break-

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—FRIDAY, JUNE 15, 1973—-PAGE 12

aways. The criticism levelled by
Local 61 is not isolated; other
unions have beencriticalof the
Congress for failing to be
responsive to the underlying
reasons for breakaways.

D.N. Secord, president of the
Canadian Brotherhood of
Railway, Transport and Gen-
eral Workers (CBRT) last week
announced that his union would
not support the CLC campaign
against breakaways because of
Several fundamental ommis-
sions from the program.

The program does not get at
the root causes of the erosion of
international unions in
Canada’’, Secord said. ‘‘It has

Veteran

been evident for years that
more and more Canadian
workers want control over their
unions— the right toelect their
own Officers, adopt their own
policies and programs to meet
Canadian needs, control and
decide their own spending, and
establish Canadian-oriented re-
search, education, legislative
and public relations services.”’

Secord emphasized that had
the CLC concentrated on ‘‘these
important reforms instead of
seeking simply to preserve the
Structural status quo’’ the
CBRT would have been ‘‘happy
to endorse the campaign.”

loggers’

leader mourned

The B.C. Labor movement lost
one of its most colorful and
staunch champions this week
with the sudden passing of John

McCuish, pioneer loggers
organizer and veteran Com-
munist. McCuish, who was

in his 75th year, died in his sleep
early Saturday morning.

JOHN McCUISH

Born at Ferguson’s Lake,
Nova Scotia, he came west in
1921 to work in the lumber
camps. Well known on both sides
of the border for his consistent
militant and fearless stand,
McCuish’s trade union activities
spanned more than half a
century from the days of the
I.W.W., the Lumberworker’s
Industrial Union, the United
Brotherhood of Carpenters and
Joiners, the Federation of Wood-
workers, the IWA-CIO and
finally the International Brother-
hood of Electrical Workers—
where he worked before retire-
ment ten years ago.

After working for several
years in the U.S. Northwest,
followed by astint of loggingin
the Hawaiian Islands in 1929,
McCuish returned to Wash-
ington State. In 1936 he was
elected to the woodworkers
Central Strike Committee,
where his fearless. incorrup-

: ‘who

building
rd

dominate the
industry.

The same is true with reg@
to apartment accommodatio®
The big landlords are quilt
frank in saying that ‘‘the retul!!
(profits) on the investment jl

hel!

isn’t enough.’’ Pay themt &

ransom and they'll build aP
ments. :
All this points to one fact:
There will be no major breé
through in solving the housit
crisis by depending on priv4 ;
interests. Housing experts hay
long pointed out that the privé
sector cannot solve the houstt
problem and that only throug
the large-scale injection of ot
lic funds and public action a
the housing problem be tae
seriously. at
The demand for govern
action has been voiced by 1a
the Communist Party, ten
and housing associations. vial
recent brief to the provines
cabinet the B.C. Federatlot
Labor called the hous!
situation ‘‘critical’’ and ie
the Barrett government to® at
an immediate confereh
involving all three levels of
ernment to discuss the meals
tackling the housing crisis. it
The BCFL urged the pris,
cial government, along with ;
federal government, ae
matter of top priority, -
available large amounts of @ ie
gage money at the Jo
possible rates of interes vl
called for a signifl@:
expansion in the amount
cost public housing. ‘of
A ee weeks ago Prem
Dave Barrett announcé inf
intention to appoint a ho A
minister ‘‘within a few we
That would be a welcome meh
but initself will not be onal
The appointment of a 500!
minister should be madé
and it should be accompal jag
a large scale plan for tae"
the housing problem. avail
Sucha plan should make* sy
able large sums of moni ell
public housing and to @ pil
easier for those wanting 1 calé
ahome todoso. The larbe "aj
injection of government the
the only way to allevi4 sit
housing crisis. The 10 rogl
squeeze by the mortgage” on
estate and building supP uel
panies has gone on long 2 j
t
tible, militant stand came a
attention of the U.S. opt
gration service who pea
deported him back to Ca
United States loss 7 cuis!
Canada’s gain for inl
scarcely missed a beat B
an outstanding contribUy ¢s
building the IWA-CION cag!
upcoast logging camp: © pid!
skippered the pioneet av!
organizational boat © d
Wayne’’ to become aff
ly known all the Way
Vancouver Bay an nat!
River to the Queen C
Islands and down the esd
of Vancouver Island aS “3 4
of the Loggers Nave
president of loggers 1? fof .
and upcoast organize! | adel
union, he was one of the rot!
of the historic que '
Island logger’s strike- t
A long-time mem yb?
Victory Square logger in
the Communist Party:
active to the end:

ection