| Vancouver Outside Workers charge:

Pah ig

‘Wages

being made

political football’

Charging that “certain people are making a political’ football
Out of wages,” Vancouver Civic Employees Union, Outside Work-
ers, has issued a statement dealing at length with its attitude to

Wages and taxes.
Smith
Phillips.

Slightly -abridged text of the
Statement follows:

_ Vancouver civic workers are the
vicitims of unfair publicity. Prior
us the Opening of our wage nego-
“ations, “inspired”. stories appear-
ed in the daily press. Broad hints
Were given that civic unions would
Set their targets on fringe benefits
and forego a general wage increase.

povihere did ‘these stories come’
Tom? Not from the unions.

The action of the city council is |.

Unprecedented. On January 19 it
“Met and passed a resolution that no
Seneral wage increase would be
sranted to any group—but unions

Would be permitted to discuss fringe |,

ae In other words, “we will
aes seein with you on your wage
fees ands.” ‘This is contrary to the

er and spirit of the ICA Act
and
and District
and Labor Council (TLC-

.

| The preamble to the council re-

Solution expresses deep concern for
a a taxpayer. _The public was
hela oe unless civic wages are
1€ present level, taxes will

: - At one meeting with coun-
sha heard about the $50-a-month
Oner whose taxes may 2#o up
: hae Or $10 a year if civic em-
Yees get a y

to live on a pen-
aimonth. In the second
» the post-war increases in bus
pehave ha Na only one example,
small rat his Pensioner, and every
han 5 epayer, many times harder
The ae Increases in civic taxes:
spendin ene who uses the bus is
nowy aS wice as much on fares
costing paren with 1947. It is
More per © worker from $50 to $100
cil do ¢ year. What did the coun-
© hold the line on this front?

of nine the entire tax structure
it is Jog ty *@Nd_ you will find that
fee ed against the small rate-
tions, » In favor of the big corpora-

Ww :
ete not unmindful of our re-
ieve in ity to the public. We be-
exp eS efficient service and.
ieee to be paid atcording to.
tha comparable wages in_pri-
“argument. ta It is a childish
Certain rat 0 say _that because a
Week, a atepayer is earning $45 a
to gé6e Clvic workers is not entitled
= & week (the basic rate we

are ¢ i
ee sour are: Would you say that

—__Sditors, cireulation boosters,

Vate

: The statement is signed by union president Edward
» business agent Donald Guise and recording secretary Jack

compositors and senior reporters
are entitled to no more than $25 a
week, because this is the wage of a
shop-girl who reads your. paper?
Do you give your paper to the old-
age pensioner at a reduced rate?

Obviously, the basic answer to the
problem doesn’t lie along these lines.
The civic workers cannot subsidize
the city. We will join with any
public body and with any group of
citizens in support of the following
objectives: ‘

V_ .Comb out all waste, laxness
and inefficiency in the administra-
tion of the City and its Boards,
starting from the top and work-
ing downwards.

V_ Improve the tax. structure
on the principle of payment ac-
cording to ability to pay.

A square deal from the
senior governments in respect to
financial assistance. ?

V_ Reduce the terrible burden
of interest and bonded indebted-
ness. ,

V_ Less work by contract and
more by day work. The City of
Vancouver should undertake all
public services that can be effi-
ciently and economically operated
by the municipality.

Civic employees are sick and tired,
of being made the goat for: high
taxes. It is time for each union
concerned to set up a‘ civic affairs
committee. We must attend coun-

cil meetings and establish friendly .

contracts with organized ratepayers.
We must win public respect by ad-
vancing constructive policies. In
one breath, certain people tell us
that civic workers should keep out
of civic politics. In the next breath,
they make a political football out
of our wages. In other words, a
double standard!

As far as our union is concerned,
the Outside ‘Workers, we are going’

to do something about this state of

affairs. We, as organized workers
and taxpayers, will take our place
in the affairs of this city. We
know that a city run wisely, effi-
ciently and with a proper tax struc-
ture, is a good city for the rate-
payers. It is also a good city for
the civic workers. That’s our ob-
jective-.... ee

Once we willingly submit to one-
sided ultimatums, we are no longer
free men. Should we, the civic
employees surrender to such pres-
sure, then the rights of all workmen
will be in danger. This will not
happen. We will be true to our
selves and true to our fellow citi-
zens.

' Kamloops restaurants

_ Cancel peace meeting —

i KAMLOOPS, B.C.
ae two local restaurant own-
“Use of — On their contracts for
Meetin eect rooms for a peace

heh 5 & here last week, Ray Gard-

ig po ctary of the British Colum-
‘Make sece Council, was forced to
Vien eee report on the, Peking and

ea
@athering. ce congresses to a house

& ‘
Seay meeting was first

ies me to take place at the
outs; dares B-Q, but threats from

: ources that his place
Would be “wrecked” Sina the
cancel the meeting. “
ranged to shift the meet-
Leland Restaurant ban-

A Was ar
8 to, the

quet room, and rent was paid in
advance. Later the management
cancelled the arrangement.

Gardner visited Mayor J. E. Fitz-
water ‘to complain of this discrim-
ination. “We are law-abiding citi-
zens here,” was the mayor’s evasive
reply. :

This week the Kamloops Sentinel
published a letter from Gardner in
which he pointed out that “law-
abiding citizens of Kamloops who
may have been interested in hear-
ing a first hand report (on the two
peace conferences). have been de-
prived of this right by a small group
of lawless and undemocratic per-
sons who threatened violence if I
spoke.” 3

Mine-Mill parley approves

setting up political action

committees in every local |

Establishment of political action committees in each local was recommended in the officers’
report endorsed by delegates to the tenth annual district convention of Mine-Mill here last week,
“Your board recommends that we affirm the program of our union on political action which
has been no endorsement of any political party, but support of candidates who will endorse the pro-
gram of our union and fight for legislation for the| betterment of our people of the country as a

Asks protests
on Bill 93

Thomas C. Roberts, - national
secretary of the League for Demo-
cratic Rights, this week urged
“every individual and every or-
ganization to make their opinions
known to the Special Committee
of the House of Commons now
studying Bill 93 and to other
members of parliament . . . to
prevent the repressive proposals
contained in Bill 93 from becom-
ing law.”

Roberts said that letters and
briefs should be addressed to:
Chairman, Special Committee of
the House of Commons on Bill
93, Ottawa.

MP ’s express alarm

at Bill 93

threat

to civil liberties

OTTAWA

Bill 93, the act to amend the Criminal Code, passed second
reading in the House of Commons on January 23 and has reached
the stage where a committee of 17 has been agreed upon, the: per-
sonnel of which has yet to be named. The bill was debated in
principle last week and most of those who spoke on it, aside from
Justice Minister Stuart Garson himself, urged a careful and lengthy
study by the committee in view of the widespread fear that: many of

its clauses attacked civil liberties
and trade union rights in Canada.

H. W. Herridge (CCF, Koot-
enay West) told the House that
he had received about one thous-
and letters about the bill. He add-
ed: “There are sections of this
bill of serious concern to the peo-
ple in the (trade union) groups I
have mentioned, who consider they
are a violation of traditional civil
liberties and traditional trade
union rights.”

Social Credit leader Solon Low
declared: “No matter what has
been said about it; we should be
prepared to take a careful look at
all opinions that .have been express-
ed with regard to it, and certainly
no one should have the right to
call anybody else a Communist
sympathizer simply because he may
sav something that the Communists
have already said.” Low said he
wondered if some sections of the
bill could not be classed as ‘“exten-
sions of the law that may have the
result of affecting seriously funda-
mental principles and liberties of
the Canadian people.” Many Can-
adians who have given this careful
study believe this to be so.”

In this, Low was referring to
Garson’s ‘claim that the bill did not
alter the law, but only “consolidat-
ed” it. :

Stanley Knowles (CCF, Winnipeg
North Centre), while characteriz
ing much of the criticism of the bill
as. coming from “those we do not
trust” (which would include some

highly placed union officers and.

lawyers), nevertheless expressed his
own fear that many clauses were
‘new laws” requiring close scrut-
iny:,

“In my view there is real danger
of this (referring to Section 52,

formerly 49) being an anti-strike

weapon. fF hope there will be com-
plete freedom and abundant liberty

|for the labor organizations of this

country to appear . . . before this
committee to state their views.” He
also questioned Section 365 on
breach of contract and Section 372
on mischief. He added that the
bill “seems to involve a good deal
of changing of established law.”

Under parliamentary rules the
bill could only be debated in prin-
ciple as a whole and detaiied de-
bate on specific clauses was ruled
out of order. f

J. M. Macdonnell (P.C., Green-
wood) said that “this question of
treason is terribly difficult. .
The only safe place I can find
where I can come to: rest is to say
that we shall not punish men for

what they think; we shall punish
them for what they. do.”

E. D. Fulton (PC, Kamloops)
and J. L. MacDougal (Lib., Van-

couver Burrard) delivered = anti-
Communist, anti-labor speeches.°
Some members laughed at Mac-

Dougal when he spoke of “sabo-
teurs” carrying “thermal bombs”
no bigger than a fountain pen..

Fulton expressed chagrin over
the fact that Tim Buck, LPP na-
tional leader, had appeared be-
fore the Senate committee and
proposed democratic amendments
to the bill. Without citing a fact
to back up his charge he asserted
that Buck “may have muddied the
water.” He then declared: “We
should not refrain from express-
ing our own idered opini
because we are in the unfortun-
ate position that somebedy else
may have spoken on the matter.”

correct.

whole,” the report said, and con-
tinued:

“Since our last. convention there
has been a provincial election. It
is the opinion of the board that our
union did not enter into the cam-
paign in that election as fully as it
might have, although certain sec-
tions of the union were mobilized
in their endeavor to send represen-
tatives to Victoria who would carry
the policy of our union. Your
board recommends that this work
be extended.

“In the Lillooet constituency our
union has three locals, forming a
substantial part of the electorate.
Without going into the personali-
ties involved and in which your
board has no interest, it has been
drawn to our attention that no ef-
fort has been made by the locals
involved to coordinate the work of
electing a suitable candidate. This,
in the opinion of your board, is a
complete disregard of the wishes of
the membership who are interested
in seeing those who will carry lab-—
or’s program elected.

“Our Copper Mountain local is to
be commended for participation in
the byelection in Similkameen with
a candidate of its own. There may
be those who will say that the vote
indicated that this policy was not
The fact is, however, that
the naming of a labor candidate by
the union resulted in issues of para-
mount interest to the workers,
which would not otherwise have
become issues in the_ byelection,
coming to the forefront.

“This action of Copper Moun-
tain can be considered only as a
start, and must be extended, and
your board recommends that in
all constituencies where our un-
ion is looked to as a leader in
the struggle for improved condi-
tions for workers, where our
membership forms a substantial
part of the electorate, and where
there are not candidates who ad-
vocate a policy in the best inter-
est of the working people, or who
cannot be reasonably expected to
carry out a fight for such a pro-
gram, that those locals name can-
didates in coming elections.

“Your board repeats its recome
mendations that each local set up
a political action committee for the
purpose of advising the membership
on what is taking place in the leg-
islative field. and to formuiate reso-
lutions to be submitted to the gov-
ernment.”

Former SRU
leader dead |

Vancouver labor has lost another
veteran from its ranks by the death
of A. R. Mason on January 17.

Born in Spaldin, England in 1886,

Mason came to Canada in 1910 and

immediately “became active in trade

‘union work. From 1912 to 1917 he ~~

was president of the Street Railway-

men’s Union here. He worked for |

a year as a coal miner before being
blacklisted for union activities. For
several years he was a shipyard
worker and helped -to fourid the
Dock and Shipyard Workers Union,
which later amalgamated with the
Boilermakers.

Since his retirement a few years
ago Mason had been an honorary —
member of the Marine Workers and —
Boilermakers Union. + =

PACIFIC TRIBUNE — JANUARY 30, 1953 — PAGE 7