~ obstacles p! -_ troduced, elected to enact head table. e Communist movement in Okanagan were honored at an “‘Old-Timers’’ banquet in Vernon Nov. 3. Photo shows some of the veterans on the right listening to Maria McLeod of the Democracy in Chile Committee. Nigel Morgan and Maurice Rush paid tribute to the veterans —Martin Russ photo Ee Cont'd. from pg- \ sure that there are no es aced in the way of the t of cooperative work- ; men : develop which are con- i rrangements sidered necessary by the Canadian rantee that mergers or i ic re. necessary iliations which are ara desireable in Canada are not Eeirated by international con- itutions. rot ee provide a constitutional ee i rly ablishes hich clearly esta lishes cor ian sections of inter- Cana : - Beal unions enjoy full func- dona autonomy, associating freely and equally with their American counterparts. With the ! dorsement 0 position aero assistance to any riencing problems W jonal bodies. ; : Peaking to the resolution CUPE delegate Dave Wellin tolddelegates that “no country can be more in- than its trade union erent” and said that the fight to implement the provisions of the resolution would also have the effect of “spearheading the fight for full Canadian pasha Labor minister Bill King, who addressed the convention Thursday morning, came under fire when several resolutions asserting the Federation's approach to labor legislation were presented. e King chided delegates for failing to take into account ‘what kind of legislation any one of the three op- position parties would have in- * and added that he e sensitive to criticism Bed it was based on “veracity rather than intensity. But he gave no indication that criticisms already levelled would be heeded, In response, delegates angrily declared that the threat of other parties’ econ vines epee hat the a Se legislation that would give labor a fair deal. eto gua -esolution went en- f the Federation's iding all possible affiliates ex- ith their in- 253-1221 Pe S FOR ALL YOUR TRAVEL NEEDS GLOBE TOURS 2679 E. Hastings St., Vancouver 6, B.C. Delegate from the IWA, Lyle Kristiansen stated that it was not labor that had withdrawn support from the NDP but the government and particularly the cabinet, and added that,-at the upcoming NDP convention ‘they would be brought back” into line with the stated NDP policies. CUPE delegate Jack Phillips received a round of applause when he told delegates that “irrespective of other divisions, let it be known that we are solid and united in our opposition to the bill in its present form and that we want changes. “Our position is,” he declared, “that we are not a part of the NDP or any other political party; we are committed to do whatever is necessary to advance the interests of working people in this province.” Several resolutions. on labor legislation. were presented after King’s address calling on the NDP to honor its pre-election promises, repeal all anti-labor legislation and enact legislation guaranteeing all labor rights as proposed by the Federation. A further resolution called for the inclusion in the labor code of fishermen and agricultural workers. : Of particular significance among the proceedings of the convention was the report given by the women’s rights committee. The committee was pioneered under retiring secretary Ray Haynes’ leadership and while the discussion was marred by some sectarian ap- proaches, nevertheless strengthen- ed the unity of the delegates. Betty Merrall, president of Local 561 of CUPE pointed the way for the women’s committee when she noted that ‘there is no basic com- munity of interest between a woman wage earner and the wife of a multi-millionaire. ‘Women who run businesses are no more generous to women workers than men are,” she added, “and women need to become ac- tive in helping to build a strong trade union movement.” _ 254-2313 Labor united against code George Hewison, whose union the United Fishermen and Allied Workers won a significant victory last summer with the signing of an agreement calling for ‘‘equal pay for equal work” for women, noted the importance of that agreement and told delegates that the fight for equal pay and day care facilities and against job discrimination ‘‘en- compasses the whole trade union movement.” “Our victory last summer,” he pointed out, ‘‘was a victory, not just for women, but for all of us; no longer was the boss able to split the work force between men and women and impose inferior wage settlements.” Highlighted among the many reports presented to the 18th con- vention was that given by the inter- national affairs committee cover- ing a wide range of international events, from the racist repression in South Africa and Rhodesia to Canada’s continued participation in NATO and NORAD. In presenting the report, chair- man of the committee, Len Guy — who was also unanimously en- dorsed as the man_to fill Haynes’ position — noted xnat, when the report was being drafted, the events in Chile had not taken place nor had the Middle East war erupted again. Nevertheless, several resolutions buttressed the committee's report although there was not time in the convention to complete them. © ; On Chile, delegates unanimously adopted a resolution calling for ‘‘an end to the terror in Chile; free all political prisoners; no recognition to the junta from the Canadian government; that Canada grant asylum to Chilean political refugees and that Canada oppose any effort to seat representatives of the Chilean junta at the UN.” Fishermen's delegate John Radosevic told delegates of the reign of terror in Chile and said that ‘‘the Chilean people made it plain to the world just who they wanted to govern when they elected Allende and we support their rights.”’ Another delegate called the junta ‘a government of murderers and assassins” and called on delegates to dissociate themselves from the “traitorous, treacherous actions of the. external affairs department” which granted recognition to the junta. Another resolution on the war in the Middle East calling for settle- ment along. the lines of the UN resolution was not presented to the convention for lack of time but had the endorsement of the resolutions committee and was adopted in principle when the committee’s ~ «Report was accepted... ~~» « oud LABOR STUDY PROVES: Profiteering to blame for rising food costs “The Corporate Rip-off Con- tinues . . .”’ is the title of a special study prepared by ‘the research department of the B.C. Federation of Labor which was distributed to delegates at last week’s convention in Vancouver. “Taking a look at current profit and wage rates, the study contains some revealing facts and figures which prove that profiteering is the major cause of soaring food prices. In the face of overwheming data, industry has finally come to admit that its profits are up. But, industry hastens to add, the increases in profits are all attributable to cor- responding increases in sales. Not so, says the Federation study — and cites several examples. One is George Weston which rolled up a hefty 63% increase in profits on sales increases of only — 17%. Similarly Dominion Stores Ltd. reported profit increases of 92.6% but sales only increased 13%. What it amounts to is that in- dustry, particularly the food. in- dustry, is selling a little more but enjoying it hugely. Much the same is true of banks, as the report points out, which have reaped profit increases rang- ing from 50% for the Toronto- Dominion Bank to 105% for the Mercantile Bank — for the three- month period ending July 31, 1973, over the corresponding period in the previous year. And the staggering profit in- creases are attributable to one Single factor: the banks have raised interest rates five times since April of this year. The wage picture, however, is bleak. Even B.C. Industry, a business-oriented magazine in Vasncouver which the report quotes, had to concede that whle “inflation is a major bugbear of construction at present, labor has contributed surprisingly little to rising costs . . .” Whle corporations have been enjoying profit increases, many of them in excess of 100%, average in- creases for workers for the first half of the year have been a paltry 8.1% — as compared to 8%‘ for 1972. The average weekly earnings in Canadian industry rose from $149.10 in June 1972 to $162.04 in June 1973. And the increase — amounting to some 8.7% couldn't begin to offset rising costs for food, clothing or shelter. What is particularly revealing in the Federation study is a column reproduced from the Vancouver Sun, September 13, 1973. It shows that labor, costs — including ex- ecutive salaries — comprise very little of the total cost of production but are least in the food industry. In the food products category, only 18.2 cents of every dollar of production costs is attributable to labor. And this is down from 18.9 cents in 1971 and 18.3 cents in 1970 — which leaves only one reason for soaring food costs, as the study logically concludes: profiteering on an ever-growing scale. GVRD to meet with Barrett The Greater Vancouver Regional District intends to demand a meeting with Premier Barrett to settle the contentious question of financing a public transit system for the Greater Vancouver area. Farlier, representatives of the GVRD opposed the position of: municipal affairs minister James Lorimer who outlined a scheme whereby public transit would be financed by a two mill increase in the property tax — amounting to roughly a $15 increase to every homeowner. 4 Alderman Harry Rankin stated that ‘‘transportation is one of the most important issues facing the GVRD" and urged action to settle the question immediately. The Norman Bethune Marxist Classroom Series Presents Nigel Morgan On ‘THE EVENTS IN CHILE Tuesday, November 13, 8:00 p.m. In the Board Room of the Fishermen’s Hall 138 E. Cordova Classified Advertising COMING EVENTS November 24 — Saturday, November 24, SLIDES on Dorothy's trip to England and Ireland. XMAS BAZAAR TABLE. 8:00 p.m. at 832 Calverhall, North Vancouver. Good Food and Refreshments. Everyone Welcome. Admission $1.50 — Children 75¢. WANTED one. WANTED OLDER FURNITURE in Clean Condition. Cash. Coastal Recycling, 1336 Nanaimo. 253-7238. °°)?! | : fe a V2 Ee): Pein ee ~ aya ‘ PACIFIC TRIBUNE FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 1973--PAGE 1i HALLS FOR RENT UKRAINIAN CANADIAN CULTURAL CENTRE - 805 East Pender St., Vancouver 4, Available for banquets, wed- dings, meetings. Phone 254- 3436. od WEBSTER’S CORNER HALL Available for banquets, meetings, weddings, etc. For rates, Ozzie 325-4171 or. 685- 5836. "HELP PT DRIVE: =<: