~

BY BOB O'NEILL

ieee
C =a domination of the
ae ot is reflected
ae of autonomy in large

nts of :
ment, Canada’s labor

This problem

a is ;
ifications complex with

“aad to international
ional. ne balance belong to
ae ions Yanging from
MS to Qrendent one - plant
as Pu wide organiza-
ae € Canadian Brother-
eral Wy Way, Transport and
1 ae or the Cana-
Included 4 Public Employ-
nN the national un-

e
bec-pace Tench Candian or
€d unions,

Be:
Betisse unions are
§ to

a tie the trade union cen-
nae A eae Labor Con-
ea se Confederation of
ot Unions. However,
arge and important
os do not belong
Union centre in
ition “ the Seafarers Inter-
® Obert the Teamsters;
iu; . § Engineers; Mine
“ ited Electrical Wor-
. Phere pares Mine Work-
Te al |
ber ot SO a goodly
ones bigs pour independent
ed inter are unaffiliated,
© ithe, sw onally or with the
a ae Choice or because
Used entry by the

“W trad
& (Le,

A

ent ¢
ere . “Vents have shown that

nog al 2 &Towing sentiment
Sito Sctions of the work-
ee democratic con-
expr Unions, ‘This drive
Pending 1O in many ways
ate circumstances
5 8iven situation,

on

ye goes. of the
n ‘ founded new or-

an effort to sup-
= cas pee are also

of the

Ming
Probie Stated the gen-
What e he logical ques-
auton &1 be done to en-
'Ssum re and what can
- We a9 se beneficial
Tir St so od
> BoWidenation ence

wis Con,
rm ae Necessary for
2ppay © there and if not
mn te they must be
hfy ertecy, corrup-
Crati S, complicity and
"Sm = actions by the
Temp €xposed by the
s. 7S Of the union to

e

© wil

s

‘0
Sure the imag-
ay of a major
rking group,
: ;
has action once enun-
8 er it be reform

Canadian unions must
Correct errors made

‘were pressuring

within an existing structure or
reforming into a new organiza-

tion) must be capable of imple- |

mentation within a reasonable
period of time. A functional path
of unity must be maintained for
the workers to travel. In other
words, the reform or reforma-
tion must not lead the workers
involved into a cul-de-sac where
their economic position becomes
worse than before.

In Ontario, there was 4 vast

feeling of discontent amongst
the Stationary Engineers with
the performance of the Interna-
tional Union of Operating En-
gineers.

In spite of the formidable ob-
stacles thrown up by government
regulations, antagonistic bosses
and enraged international repre-
sentatives, a majority of the sta-
tionary engineers in eight South-
ern Ontario cities were able to
establish and consolidate an inde-
pendant and autonomous union,
which served the interests of its
members _ considerably better
than the old international.

The proof of the pudding came
recently, when all of the Oper-
ating Engineers in Ontario were
faced with a vicious legislative
onslaught by the bosses who
the govern-
ment to change the *¢Operat-
ing Engineers Act’? in such a
way that the trade, and the
unions, would have been dealt a
mortal blow. Acting on the prin-
ciple of workers unity, the lead-
ers of the Canadian Union of
Operating Engineers called for,
and achieved, unity between all
organizations representing Op-
erating engineers. In spite of
all else the international repre-
sentatives were forced to bow
to the need for unity as called
for by the workers and the pro-
gressives in all of the organiza-
tions.

The other example occurred
in British Columbia, There the
Iron Workers were faced with
an even worse set of circum-
stances, wherein the internation-
al representatives interfered
with a successful strike on the
Second Narrows Bridge.

A new organization sprang
up—Local 1, of the Canadian
Ironworkers, They blazed a
wonderful trail and everything
was going in their favor: public
sympathy, membership partici-
pation, and trade union support.
But something went wrong.
They could not get contracts
with employers and their mem-
bers had to maintain member-
ship (and still have to) in the
international Ironworkers in
order to be able to work. AS
time went on it became appar-
ent that all the conditions for
success were not there.

There does not appear to be
any hope for unity on any level
between the old and the new,
yet the split for reform has had
some effect because the interna-
tional has made some efforts to
improve the situation to be re-
solved, In this case the ques-
tion is: is any purpose served
in continuing to split?

These two examples from the
many that exist illustrate some
important lessons for the work-
ers and the labor leaders. It is
possible to achieve democratic
trade union reform and there
are more ways than one to achieve

es

DRIVE STILL LAGS!
$7,700 needed yet!

By JERRY SHACK
(Drive Manager)

“With our ‘‘moment of truth”
rapidly approaching, the outlook
for the PT Press Drive looks
anything but rosy. After the best
start in some years the drive
looked like it was heading in the
direction of setting some impres-

_ sive records.

>

Along came the middle of May
and things star-
ted to slow down
‘ although
we looked at this
lull somewhat
seriously, we
felt it was only
a temporary
thing; after a
brief respite
during. which
everybody
caught their second wind, things
would once again begin to pick

UD ey

These hopes, however, have not
materialized and with only 10
days left till the windup date
(May 31) we’re still some $7,700

short of our target. This means
we have to take in approximate-
ly $800 A DAY to finish the
drive off properly.

There is no particular section
of B.C. to which this lag can be
directly attributed. For instance,
the city has turned in 58.2 per-
cent of its $11,000 commitment
($6,434.52) while the province is
55.7 percent. of the way home,
with $3,906.85 submitted on $7,-
000.

Clubs fighting for the honor
of winning the provincial PT
Shield are: South Surrey, $495
($300); Haney-Maple Ridge, $372
($325); Vernon, $251 ($225). But
their good efforts have been off-
set by other provincial points
which are ordinarily far ahead
of their present standing. These
include; Kamloops, $27.25 ($125);
Albernies, $60 ($350); Trail-
Rossland, $144.25 ($300) and

‘Ladner, $36.00 ($150).

Leading the way in the city
(where no club has yet made
its quota) are: Georgia, $138.60

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Closed Wednesday @

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($150); Victory Square, $470.50
($500); West End, $318 ($350).
Right behind this close race are
. dark horses NorthShore, $712.25
($925) and Vancouver East,
$973.85 ($1430).

The city also has its share
of clubs which have, so far,
failed to get untracked. For ex-
ample, Advance has raised only
$12 (250); Frank Rogers, $78
($375); Olgin, $187.50 ($450) and
North Burnaby $390.18 (800).

A great many other clubs in
both city and province areneither
good enough nor bad enough to
warrant being listed in either of
the above two categories. Press
Directors are urgedtocheck, and
if your club standing isn’t some-
where around the three-quarter
mark, then emergency steps are
definitely called for.

There’s still plenty of time left
for all clubs to do a commend-
able job. But we must realize
that time is now of the essence and
we can’t afford to lose another day
from here on in.

One bright spot inthecampaign
has been the number of new
subs registered. So far, the prov-
ince has come up with 34 and
the city with 28, for a total of
57 since opening day—or a little
better than one a day for each
day of the drive! This is a
most welcome sign which re-

minds us of a stirring message

penned a long time ago.
e

These words, written by the
great American socialist Eugene
Debs over 50 years ago, still
hold good today in the need for a
growing, fighting PT. Make them
your guide for asuccessful drive:

‘Ten thousand. times has the
labor movement stumbled and
fallen and bruised itself, and ris-
en again; been seized by the throat
and choked into insensibility; en-
joined by courts, assaulted by
thugs, charged by the militia,
shot down by regulars, traduced
by the press, frowned upon by
politicians . . . repudiated by ren-
egades, preyed upon by grafters,
infested by spies, deserted by
cowards, betrayed by traitors,
bled by leeches, and sold out by
leaders, but, notwithstanding all
these, it is today the most vital
and potential power this planet

has ever known and its historic ~

mission of emancipating the
workers of the world from the
thraldom of the ages is as cer-
tain of ultimate realization as the
setting of the sun.’’

SCOKCSTOCSOLSEEEEOECOOEOEOLEELE

Workers

Benevolent Assn.
- Of Canada

Progressive Fraternal Society
Caters to all your needs in the
Life Insurance field

LIFE INSURANCE
ENDOWMENTS
PENSION PLANS
WEEKLY BENEFITS
Apply to: B.C. office at

805 East Pender St. or

National Office at
595 Pritchard Ave.
Winipeg 4, Manitoba

e
Coe ceoresecccrercccccscosocs &

Prrrrrrrrr reer rr erred

May 22, 1964—PACIFIC TRIBUNE—Page 11