THE WESTERN CANADIAN LUMBER WORKER NOVEMBER, 1974 3 FED. The problems of unemploy- ment, inflation and housing, were the major concern of the more than 700 delegates who attended the 19th Annual Con- vention of the B.C. Federation of Labour November 4-8, in Vancouver. ; The Convention, one of the quietest in years, saw the majority of top officers of the Fed. re-elected by acclamation and also the election of the official slate for Executive Council Members. Regional President Jack Munro was elected Fed. 1st Vice-President and Local 1-80 President Fernie Viala and Local 1-217 1st Vice-President Erich Ewert were elected to the Executive Council. Other officers elected were President George Johnson, 2nd Vice-President Mike Parr, 3rd Vice-President John Squire, 4th Vice-President John Fryer, 5th Vice-President Monty Alton, 6th Vice-President Bob Donnelly, Secretary-Treasurer Len Guy. RE-ELECTION — The Convention also voted to increase the salary of the Sec- retary-Treasurer to $450 a week and up the per capita tax from ten cents to thirteen cents per month. Guest speakers heard from included Premier Dave Barrett, Labour Minister Bill King, Don Montgomery, Secretary-Treasurer of the CLC, and Kathleen Ruff of the Human Rights Act. Another speaker slated to address the meeting, Cesar Chavez, President of the United Farm Workers, was too ill to attend but his place was ably taken by Jessica Govea, a UFW organizer, who deeply impressed the Convention with her: description of conditions among the farmworkers. In the comprehensive report of the Executive Council, the officers continued to criticize the provincial government on a number of points, particularly the new Labour Code, of which the Federation has been highly critical of from its enactment. - THE GREAT RIPOFF: HERE IS WHY FOOD COSTS ARE HIGH Is the high cost of food getting you down? Well prepare yourself for even higher prices in the months ahead as the giant food cor- porations plan even greater ripoffs at the expense of the Canadian consumer. Here is how they do it and no federal government authority appears to give a damn. The president of Loblaw’s will inform a press conference they just have to raise the price of bread because their ‘“‘major ~ supplier” has upped the price to them. He will not divulge the fact that their major supplier is George Weston Company, which just happens to own Loblaw. At another press rally Weston will be explaining that they raised bread prices because their ‘‘major sup- pliers’? increased prices; notably on sugar, flour and milk. An ingredient missing in this mix is the information that they own Donlands Dairy, Royal Dairy, Westcane Sugar Refinery, as well as a flock of milling companies, including McCarthy, Streetsville, Soo Lines. Always missing in the tale of ever-increasing prices at the supermarket level is the fact that they also own the wholesaler. Weston’s owns National Grocers, York Trading, Atlantic Wholesale, Westfair, Malkin and Kelly- oe This coast-to-coast wholesale apparatus assures that Weston sets the price it charges to its supermarkets and chains of stores. These include, along with Loblaw, the Zehr chain in Kitchener, Sobey’s in the Maritimes, ; Valu in B.C., Red & 1ite stores and Lucky Dollar stores throughout Canada, Pickering Farms and Dionne Ltd., O.K. Economy, Power, Busy-B, etc. Weston also owns the company that makes the paper bags. When they gave green stamps, they owned the company that produced these. They own Universal Cooler and their own refrigerated trucking system. Somerville Industries is in the Weston family to provide point-of- purchase displays. The- company has its own property division to make sure that ‘‘no third party”’ cuts into Weston’s preserves. Possibly the ultimate in the business scope of the company was seen in the 1972 share- holders’ report that noted that the paper on which the statement was printed was “produced by your company’s wholly-owned subsidiary, E.B. Eddy Co.” Weston is also a manufac- turer and processor. Its brand names_ include’ Nabob, Squirrel, High Park, Hostess, Club House spices and a host of others. Weston also has a virtual monopoly on all salmon and sardines in Canada. - Weston owns B.C. Packers, which in turn owns Nelson Bros. Fisheries, Rupert Fish Co., Queen Charlotte Co., McCallum Sales, Nelbro Packing. B.C. Packers has at least three shipyards on the Pacific coast and a fishing fleet estimated at 400 boats. It has the company that makes the nets, its own printing firm for turning out labels, a refrigerated fleet of trucks, and it even owns the firm that sells coffee at ‘break-time’ to workers in its fishing empire. With this dominant position in the industry, it makes little toes % B.C. FEDERATION OF LABOUR delegates in session at the Fed’s 19th Annual Convention FOR OURSELVES WE wiS! FOR ALi” “£4 4 Pog, et November 4-8, at the Vancouver Hotel in Vancouver. However, with the exception of a couple of minor points, the Report failed dismally to show where the new Code was detrimental to labour. The Report also took rather a negative attitude to the government’s many fine ac- complishments by suggesting that while these were steps in the right direction, more could have been done. difference whether the con- sumer selects Clover Leaf, Paramount, Sovereign, Loblaw, Carnation, A & P’s Perfect Strike, Safeway’s Sea Trader, Robin Red, Maple Leaf, Surf, or any of about 40 other ‘brand names’. They’re all caught, processed and packed by B.C. Packers or one of its subsidiaries. In August 1973 sockeye salmon sold at 72 cents for a 734 oz. can. But in the face of a eatch double that of 1972, canned salmon was stockpiled for over two months, then put back on the shelves in October at $1.09 to $1.19 for the 734 oz. can. The Vancouver Province at the time featured a front- page photo showing one warehouse stocked to the rafters with thousands of cases The Report of the Legislative Committee also damned the government with faint praise. It too attacked the Labour Code and suggested that some Cabinet Ministers had lost public confidence and should be replaced. The Report went on to say that the government should stop listening to ‘‘riders on the bandwagon”’ and start paying heed to its proven friends. It then intimated that the govern- of unlabelled cans of salmon. Company officials stated they couldn’t even quote a price until a world market situation, created by a poor USA salmon catch, indicated how high they could charge. The stockpiling lasted two months and then salmon again appeared on store shelves with a 50% mark- up. A worthy subject for a government that proclaims its belief in ‘free enterprise”’ to investigate is the ‘‘com- petition” in salmon where the consumer can choose Loblaw, Sovereign, Clover Leaf or Paramount in a Lobla w outlet. All labels are Weston’s, yet the facade is created that these brands, sitting next to each other on the shelf, are competitors. vig FRENCH UNIONS NEGOTIATE RECORD SOCIAL SECURITY MEASURE A revolutionary social security measure assuring that workers laid off for economic reasons will receive 90% of gross wages for a full 12 months has been negotiated between France’s five major unions and the Federation of French Employers. It was endorsed by government. The scheme will establish a one quarter billion dollar emergency -fund to be financed 80% by employers and 20% by workers. The measure reflects govern- ment and business fear that runaway inflation and a resultant economic recession could spark a nation-wide upheaval similar to that in 1968 when France was paralyzed by wide-spread strikes. y 4 ment’s policies were respon- sible for the erosion of not only new supporters, but also the departure of long-time sup- porters and members of the NDP. Both Reports. were vigorously debated on the floor and a number of speakers questioned why the emphasis was placed on attacking the government instead of praising Premier Barrett and his colleagues for a job well done. On Canada’s east coast the George Weston Co. is King of the Sardine, through its 99.7% ownership of Connors Bros., H.W. Welch Ltd. and Lewis Connors & Sons Ltd. This Weston operation is the largest sardine packer on the con- tinent, packing under numbers of brand names. The company has its own can factory, fishing fleet and the entire apparatus to control the industry. Through this ownership and control throughout the entire process it is little wonder that they can charge what the traffic will bear at every level. And when they proclaim “By gosh, the price is right’’, it could hardly be otherwise, with Weston companies marking the price tags at every step of the way. Pree nT CART aR SEE SCRE TSN TEES AOD ES SS a a SR Anew film has been released by the United Farmworkers called ‘Why We Boycott’’. The. nineteen minute color docu- - mentary was produced by the UFW to promote their cause and show the people in a more graphic and dramatic way the suffering that the union mem- bers have gone through to establish themselves in the grape vineyards of California. The film was shown to the five hundred delegates at the recent B.C. Federation of Labour Convention in Van- couver and the impact on the audience was stunning to say the least. Men and women who had spent many years walking picket lines and fighting for the working class found them- selves crying at the plight of the UFW members. Although not what could be called an excellently produced film, the producer and crew obviously did their best, filming under what can be des- cribed as very adverse condi- tions. The finished product is good and definitely makes the point that the struggle of the UF W is a lot more than most people thought. This film should be in every film library.