May Day message

of the WFTU

Workers of the world!

On the occasion of May Day, 1959, the World Federa-
tion of Trade Unions sends you fraternal greetings and its
message of peace and international solidarity.

In a few days’ time you will assemble in yeur millions
in all countries under the banner of the working class,
in a powerful international demonstration of class soli-
darity. You will bring forward your common problems,
qinite in your struggles, your victories and your hopes, and
firmly express your will for peace, for social progress, and
for unity.

Together we shall welcome the peaceful victories gained
this year by workers in the socialist countries, and the
great perspectives opened up for all mankind by the im-
plementation of the Soviet Seven Year Plan for happiness,
freedom, and world peace.

We shall all celebrate once again the recent successes
of the liberation movement of the peoples of Africa, the
Middle East and Latin America. We shall rejoice together
at the progress achieved this year on the road to unity and
fraternal co-operation between unions of different count-
ries and affiliations,

Against the coalition of the monopolies which wish
to force the wage earners to bear the burden of the capi-
talist economic crisis and of military expenditure, we shall
raise the economic and social demands of the workers of

_ the capitalist countries in their struggle against unemploy-

ment and misery and for decent wages and trade union
rights which are threatened on all sides.

Together we shall demand an end to nuclear experi-
ments and the cold war which only foster international ten-
sions and benefit only the armament monopolies.

Together we shall demand that all questions under
dispute, and above ail the problem of a peace treaty with
Germany and the Berlin question, be solved by negotiation
and not by force, and that the fantastic amounts devoted
to the atomic armaments race be used in the interests of
the peoples, for action against unemployment, for higher
wages and pensions,

Workers and trade unionists throughout the world!

Your unanimous determination to ensure peace and
a relaxation of international tension, your common in-
terests and demands in the face of economic crisis of
_ capitalism and the coalition of the monopolies render
united action and international trade union co-operation
of foremost importance.

Increase exchanges of delegations, multiply agree-
ments between organizations of all tendencies.

See that the First of May, 1959, marks a new stage on
the road to united action by the workers and trade unions
of the world.

—for wage increases, for the protection of the unem-
ployed and the defense of trade union rights in the
capitalist countries;

—for peace and an end to nuclear tests and the cold
war;

—for a summit meeting and settlement by negotiation
of questions under dispute;

—for the development of trade and cultural relations
between all countries without distinction;

—for the recognition and the respect of the national
independence of all peoples and an end to the colonia-
list war in Algeria.

—Long live peace!

—Long live unity and the international working class
solidarity!

—Long live May Day!

| PATRONIZE
PACIFIC TRIBUNE

ADVERTISERS

1946: Ontario police use violence against striking Great Lakes seamen.

WHO PROVOKES VIOLENCE?

“Has anyone ever heard of
troops being used to protect
the rights of workers?”

This question was posed by
Clarence Darrow, famous de-
fense attorney when he de-
fended Eugene Debs, leader
of the Pullman Strike in 1892.

And the question has been
asked many times over since
that time.

Darrow’s question arose
when President Teddy Roose-
velt sent federal troops to
smash the Pullman. strike.
The troops were dispatched
despite the fact that Gover-
nor Peter Altgeld of Illinois
did not ask for them and des-
pite the fact that there had
not been a single ‘incident’
on the picket line of the Pull-
man strikers.

As Darrow was later to
prove in court it was the use
of federal troops on behalf
of the labor-hating Pullman
company that caused an out-
break of violence to erupt.

And this pattern has fol-
lowed in both the United
States and Canada. “

Recently the Toronto Daily

_ Star ran an article entitled

“Newfoundland Strike — Vio-
lence Not New in Canada.”
The gist of the article was to
lay at the door of the work-

ing people responsibility for —

‘violence.’
What are the facts?
One of the cases cited in

the Star article was the Win-
nipeg General Strike in 1919.
This was a peaceful strike of
35,000 men and women. There
were absolutely no incidents
of violence in this strike of
metal trades workers for un-
ion recognition which led to a
90 percent endorsation by the
entire Winnipeg labor move-
ment who came out in sup-
port of collective bargaining.

The bosses provoked vio
lence in the situation by
bringing in the North-West
Mounted Police, forerunners
of the RCMP, and by firing
the entire Winnipeg police
force which had been sympa-
thetic to the strikers and had
kept exemplary order in the
city. In their place the city
council swore in a “special”
police force of over 1,000.

The provincial government
then rushed through an am-
endment to the Immigration
Act in 40 minutes which gave
it the power to deport British-
born citizens. A series of
raids by 50 North - West
Mounted Police and 500 of
the ‘special cops’ was launch-
ed and dozens of the strike
leaders arrested.

Rev. J. S. Woedsworth and
Fred -Dixon were charged
with seditious libel.

Simultaneously raids were

carried out against every un-
ion office, desks were smash-

ed and a reign of terror insti-
tuted.

The strikers decided to
peacefully protest the acts of
violence carried out against
them. On June 21 they as-
sembled — mainly war vet-
erans—to march to the Royal
Alexandra Hotel to lay their
protest ‘before the Minister of
Labor. As they began to form
their ranks the North - West
Mounted Police suddenly
charged, swinging bludgeons.
When the workers sought to
defend themselves the police
fired into the crowd killing
two workers and wounding
40.

At Estevan, where three
miners were killed and over
50 wounded; during the As-
bestos strike; at Stratford:
down through the history of
labor struggles a similar pat-
tern has followed.

The story has been one of
working men and women
striking for justice; of peace-
ful picketing being carried
on; then of violence being
precipitated by the police
forces being brought into the
strike situation always on the
side of the bosses.

The question posed during
the Pullman strike is as_time-
ly today as it was in 1892.

“Has anyone ever heard of
troops (or police) being used
to protect the rights of work-
ers?”

May 1, 1959 — PACIFIC TRIBUNE—PAGE 9