Electrical
leader hits
Steel raid

Jack Ross, international repre-
sentative of Brotherhood of Elec-|

trical Workers (AFL), returned
this week from a tour of the
Kootenays and wrote some caus-
tic remarks about Steel’s raid on
Mine-Mill at Trail in the IBEW
union paper, The Live Wire.

“With despicable underhanded
methods the Steelworkers conived
with former MineMill officers
to betray their organization,
something no decent trade union-
ist can condone,’ wrote Ross.

“Jf the Steelworkers should
succeed. and they can only sus-
ceed in disruption of an estab-
lished union, the whole labor
movement of British Columbia
will receive a big setback, be-
cause Mine-Mill is the union
which has organized the biggest
employer in the Interior.

“J am confident from my own
observations that Mine-Mill will
win out, but all organized labor,
regardless of trade union | affilia-
tion, must give expression to
their horror and disgust of such
union-busting tactics as are now
being employed by the C. H. Mil-
lards and Baskins, and the Gar-
grave politicians.

“Our union, the IBEW, has
been working side by side with
the Mine-Mill organization at Kim-
berley and Trail. Through the
years we have had no conflict
nor any reason to doubt the good-
will shown to our organization by
Mine-Mill. We hope the Consol-
idated workers will rejéct these
raiders who have brought dis-
credit to organized labor in B. ©.

CCF MLA raps
war hysteria

REGINA

Following the example of Hon.
John, H. Sturdy, another Sas-
katchewan MLA has raised his
voice for peace.

Harry Gibbs (CCFSwift Cur-
rent) declared in the legislature
that he was not the one to con-
demn any European country. sig!
think we've had enough of war"
he continued. “I don’t want to
see our children slaughtered and
debauched in the blood of battle-
fields. We've seen what an A-
bomb can do. The newspapers
are crying ‘Prepare, prepare!’ Pre-

for what—to be bombed out
of existence?

“Let’s do away with war. None
of us believe in war.Let’s settle
down and do a Dit of honest-to-
God thinking and take this war
"hysteria away from the people of
the province.” ‘

EAST END

| TAXI

UNION DRIVERS
. HAstings
0334

- FULLY 24-HOUR
INSURED SERVICE
811 E. HASTINGS ST.

NEW ADDRESS
9 EAST HASTINGS
Corner Carrall

I invite you to
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Phone
TA, 5552

Neon strikers in Vancouver start their second month on the picket line. *

which they

A packed union meeting of more
than 900 members
voted a special $10 monthly as-
sessment on all working members,
to “Provide assistance to the Neon
strikers and any others who may
have to take strike action.”

The. meeting instructed George
Gee, business manager, and the
negotiating committee to accept
“nothing less” than the union
conditions outlined in the union
representative’s minority report to
the conciliation board.

Meantime, a showdown is néar-
tic between the union and the con-
tractors Hume and Rumble and
Peterson Electric, over the Com-
pany’s attempts ‘to scuttle the
wage pattern established in the
contract between electrical work-
ers and the BCER.

A conciliation board, meeting
in Victoria, on Monday this
week trecommended an across-
the board increase of 14 cents
an hour for all line department
-employees of Victoria and Van-
couver Electrical Contracting
company, Hume and Rumble,
Ltd.

IBEW officials blame presure
from the BCER for causing con-

board precedents established and
honored for the past 30 years.”

Says the IBEW union paper:
“The contractors, who are depen-
dent on the BCER for a major
portion of their work, are under
unbearable pressure from _ the
BCER to scuttle the wage rates
achieved by the union,

“The contractors have appar-
ently agreed to dance to the
BCER’s tune but it is they who
will have to pay the fiddler and
not the BCER.

strike action be taken by the
union members to maintain wage
rates some of the contractors will
face bankruptcy, and not only the
small ones, either. We regret
this, for our relations with them
have been long and _ friendly.
But they are well awere the men
will not take this treatment ly-
ing down and they can make their
ehoice - that’s their business.
However, our business is to pro-
tect the health, welfare and con-
| ditions of our membership and
that is what we propose to do.

“A tieup of the contractors is
the last thing we wish. If de-
| cided upon by the men concerned
it will be taken only as a last

E. H. SKEELES
Transfer & Fuel

tractors to atempt to “toss” over-|.

“It seems certain that should].

line at Neon’s plant, Terminal Avenue, are receiving solid financial backing from their union, the

strong International Brotherhood of Electrical workers (AFL) }

‘Nothing less than 17¢’
declare Neon workers

Determined to accept “nothing less” than 17 cents an hour wage boost and other conditions for
“it the bricks” on March 8, Electrical workers entering their ‘second month on the picket

1,500

fees ean day | oe But if we take this step

it must be prosecuted with every
ounce of energy at our command,

Sheet metal workers and pain-
ters who refuse to cross picket
lines at Neon were refused un-
employment insurance benefits
this week, thus’ getting first-

hand taste of the lengths to
which the government will go
in order to smash trade union.
A delegation of business agents
from the Building Trades Council
unions will interview UIC of-
ficials and try to have the men
put on benefits.

Collins will

aHend.>..

Ottawa jobless parley

Fred Collins, provincial chairman of the British Columbia Unem-
ployed Action Association, will attend a national jobless parley in Ot-
tawa on April 26. This was decided by a meeting of the provincial
council of the UAA held last Sunday in Pender Auditorium. A van-

couver Island Conference at Nanaimo on April 15 will also elect a!

second delegate to go to the Ottawa conference, and the UAA youth
division also hopes to send a representative.

Store workers
win pay boost

Wage increases for over 200
workers employed by Safeway and
Superior stores in Vancouver, Vic-
toriga and New Westminster were
won recently after protracted ne-
gotiations between employers and
the Amalgamated Meat Cutters
Union. ‘

Conciliation board
ations that wages remain station-
ary at Safeway, and that the
current Safeway rates be imple-
mented by Superior on June 20,
were turned down flat by the
Union. ‘ 2

Strike votes were taken wi
the following results: Safeway,
114 in favor of strike action,
2% opposed; Superior, 39 for
strike action, 12 .
Pre-strike negotiations arranged
by the Labor Relations Board
resulted in a last minute settle-
ment. Workers will get increases
of from three to five cents an
hour, commencing June 19.

Wells Ideal Cleaners

Work done at
Working Men’s Prices
3840 Oak St. - BA. 3022
RESIDENCE 6875 CURTIS ST.

: GL. 2675-F

. We Call for and Deliver
Phone Any Time

Lochdale Credit Union Member

recommend-:

Your Support Appreciated

Provincial delegates to the coun-
cil meeting heard reports on the
state of the unemployed organ-

izations in Vancouver, Victoria,
Courtenay, Cumberland, Campbell
River, North Vancouver, Nanai-|

mo and New Westminster, and
discussed plans for building and
strengthening the associations.

Vancouver UAA grievance com-
mittee was successful in “settling
a number of cases this. week,
chairman Herman Rush told the
Pacific Tribune. Here are two
instances:

@ John Thompson, through ef-
forts of the UAA, was able to get
social welfare, and along with his
daughter, was placed on unem-
ployment insurance.

@ Andre Gauthier, 22, unemployed
seaman recently cut off UIC bene-
fits, was reinstated after the
UAA took up his case.

Yellowknife

profits high,
wages low

YELLOWENIFE, NWT.

-Mine-Mill negotiations with the
Giant and Con Mines here for a
1950-51 contract deadlocked this
week as the companies refused
pointblank to grant wage in-
creases. A concilliation officer,
G. R. QOurrie of the Labor Re-

lations Board, has been appointed.

“Wages paid in Yellowknife
mines are the lowest in any
mining camp in Canada, when
northern living costs are taken
into consideration.” said Barney
McGuire, Mine-Mill business)
agent.for Local 802.
Operating profit of Giant Yel-
lowknife Gold Mine for ‘the last
fiscal year ending May 31, 1949,
was over $1,006,000. Indications
are that a greater profit will be
realized this year. Cost Aid (mon-
ey taken from the taxpayers and
turned over by the government to
the mine) was $511,020 last -year,
the third highest amount received
by any mining company. Not one
cent of this “cost aid” has been
returned to the workers in the
way of increased wages,
Operation of “commissaries’ by
the companies hits business men
in Yellowknife. The mines sell
work clothes and groceries to
employees, thus providing unfair
competition to downtown busi-
nesses. Mine-Mill proposes that
the companies close their com-
missaries and give workers 35
cents an hour wage increases,
Consolidated operates the Con
mine, which adds to the stream
of wealth pouring into that huge
corporation’s coffers. Consolidated
made $54,000,000 profit in 1948,
yet in the first nine months of

1949 accepted $231,531.97 in “cost
aid’ from the government.

TED HARRIS

Painters’ and Paperhangers’
Supplies ;
Sunworthy Wallpaper half price
Was 28c — Now I‘ a roll
757 E. HASTINGS HA, 2978

Brother's Bakery
Specializing in
Sweet and Sour Rye Breads
$42 E. HASTINGS ST.
PA, 8419

UNION HOUSE
ZENITH CAFE

105 E. Hastings Street
VANCOUVER, B.C.

Highest Prices Paid for
DIAMONDS, OLD GOLD
Other Valuable Jewellery

STAR LOAN CQ.

Est. 1905

PACIFIC 9588

719 Robson St. — MA, 2622

TT

| Jack Cooney, Mar.

| CEDAR, B.C.

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FERRY MEAT MARKET |

119 EAST HASTINGS
VANCOUVER, B.C.

FREE DELIVERY
Supplying Fishing Boats Our Specialty

Nite Calls GL. 1740L

PACIFIC TRIBUNE — APRIL 7, 1950 — PAGE 2 |
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