auneane oe Oe

President A. R. Mosher’s two-
pronged attack on “capitalism and
communism” as the Canadian Con-
gress of Labor convention opened
in Hotel Vancouver this week was
noteworthy only because he made
feints at capitalism with a feather
and struck out at communism with
a club In both cases he missed
the target. -

Employing all the old cliches
about Soviet “imperialism,” Mosher
solemnly assured the 585 delegates
that the Russian people “are now
ruled by an autocratic and. ruth-
less bureaucracy, far more terrible
than their royal predecessors,” He
called for a fight against commun-
ism “on all fronts” and complained
bitterly that the bosses fail to
realize the danger and ‘sign con-
tracts “with Communist-dominated
unions.”

The first seven pages of Mosher’s
presidential report were devoted
‘entirely to his vicious campaign
against “communism.” From_ his
assertion “many people believe that
war with Soviet Russia and her

proceeded logically to the position
that the CCL should support the
Liberal government's war program,

Labor and capitalism, on the
other hand, have much in common,
according to Mosher. “It is not
too much to say that labor has
been fairly successful in dealing
with employers, “he said. “Never
before in the history of Canada
have, organized workers enjoyed
sucha measure of economic secur-
ity, and this is almost wholly due
to the work of the labor unions.”

Rosy as Mosher found things on
the economic front, he neverthe-
less felt that labor had’ failed on
the political front. This is the
fault of the old political parties,
he said. The solution? Election
of “a political party responsive to
the wishes of organized labor.”
Mosher did not name the party,
but every one knew he meant the
CORY4.

Pa
One thing bothered the CCL
president, although the contradic-
tions in his own speech precluded

satellites cannot be avoided” he

his offering a solution. “It is of

_ Hume exhumes issues
_ Mosher didn’t mention

the utmost importance that our
economy should not become so de-
pendent upon war-production that
peace will come as a calamity in-
stead of a blessing . .. it is there-
fore essential that a substantial
proportion of the machinery of
production should be devoted to-
ward meeting civilian require-
ments.”

Mayor Fred Hume, who greeted
the convention before Mosher de-
livered his address, was almost
“left” compared to the. union
leader. “The day must come when
injured workers on compensation
will be paid full wages,” said
Hume. “And Wages must be suffi-

cient so that every worker can

have .a decent home, and not be

forced to live in damp basement |’

flats without even toilet facilities.”

Mosher hadn’t found time in hig
address to deal with such questions.
Like the government, which sacri-

ces workers’ housing needs to war
projects. Mosher was too busy
carrying the “cold war” into labor’s
Danks? : ;

Final peace canvass Saturday,

eer
) B.C, Peace Council this week issued an appeal to all Ks Ra
concerned for the cause of peace to join petitioners who
out on the streets throughout the Greater Vancouver area an

qin

(3) abe ge
many other B.C. cities collecting signatures for. the five-pow? —

peace pact appeal this Saturday.
of the campaign.

_
The canvass will be the batt :

>

io a

: Peace | stand in

_ labor tradition, ae ee

delegation now a

_ policy statement for foreign rela-
_ tions as passed at the Montreal

ions involved in jurisdictional dis-

a Gordon : declares

~

Barred from: taking his seat as

HALIFAX
a TLC convention delegate of the

United Fishermen and Allied Workers Union of B.C., Alex Gordon,
former vice-president of the Trades and Labor Congress of Canada,

His statement follows in part:
Four years ago at the 62nd con-
vention, the delegates honored my
-union and myself by electing me to
the executive council. My stand at
Hamilton was plain and simple:
to build up the Congress ‘and take
into it the millions of unorganized
Canadian men and women who
fave yet to experience the benefit
of unionism; to push forward as
rapidly as possible toward coordi-
nated labor action for higher
wages and social reforms; in short
to win all those things the workers
of Canada were, and are, ‘entitled
to after years of depression and
war. . : ‘
My stand is still the,same. I
am generally accused by the ex-

ecutive of refusing to accept the

convention, and my participation
in the Canadian peace movement
is cited as proof. How can I, a
trade unionist genuinely. interested
in a better life for Canadians, not
take a stand against the’ war hys-
teria that has been fomented in
our country? I must do so, for’
preparation of war alone, and a
better standard of living, are in-
compatible concepts, without con-
sidering the incidence of war which
will bring ruination and misery to
all, rich and poor alike,

I believe that peace between un-

putes can be solved peaceably,
providing the rank-and-file mem-
bers of the unions concerned have
a free voice, because jurisdictional
fights hurt the worker and the
movement. In exactly the same
way and for the same reasons I

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issued a statement here scoring the high-handed action of the TLC
executive. _ hi a {

~*

believe that existing tensions in-
ternationally would soon vanish,
if the sentiment of humanity could
be expressed.

I believe the petition calling for
a five-power conference js one
method whereby the people can
express their sentiment and for
this reason I support and have
helped to obtain signatures on the

‘petition.

Aside from this particular ques-
tion, the executive: stated to me
that any individual or organization
connected with the TLC must
under penalty of disciplinary ac-
tion, accept blindly the policy of
the Congress executive, This prin-
ciple I will never accept because
I think their policies are wrong.
Thought control has no place in

‘the trade union movement; nor

will the rank-and-file membership
accept for long principles guaran-
teed to convert thinking people.
into robots. ose ‘

Because the UFAWU has stead-
fastly placed itself on record
against interference by Congress
in the internal affairs of affiliated
unions, I was accused of violating
the constitution of the TLC. The
UFAWU., constitution which has
grown out of the struggles of Bic.
fishing industry workers, over a
50-year period, Specifically dissal-
lows interference by outside
groups. ie Faas :

I was told the TLC constitution
overrides the constitution of any
affiliated ‘organization. Where is
the autonomy of individual unions
if this statement remains unchal-
lenged? Neither the membership
of the UFAWU, nor the member-

| ship of any union with a tradition
of honest trade unionism will ever] .

accept this principle.

Sycophantic acceptance of slav-
ish institutions is not the tradition
of Canadians. Autocratic ¢ontrol
from the top, which is inherent
in the expressed attitude of the
executive council will stifle the
development of a united and
strong Congress.

The Trades and Labor. Congress
must be united, democratic and
strong to harvest for Canadian
workers the abundant life, the
greater Canada, and the peaceful
world we all want. ~ :

Fighting Edifor

Flouting of the U.S. constitu-
tion, which forbids excessive bail,
is being challenged by defense
counsel acting for 15 California
working class leaders arrested. by
the FBI under the Smith Act.
One of the 15 is Al Richmond
(above), executive editor of the.
San Francisco’ Daily People’s
World. . ‘

Profits continue
Steady climb fo
dizzying height —

Hee : TORONTO
Prices are still going up—and
so are profits. The record cost-of-
living index figure of 189.9: was
released al most simultaneously
with the September dividend pay-
ment figures, also away up.
Dividend payments for Septem-
ber (as released August 31) will be
$48,660,596 as compared with $47,-

10,326 for the same month last:

ana 8 4 i Wie
Just as workers" food purchases
have declined due to profiteering,

‘so have the profit figures accumu-

lated. Total 1951 dividend pay-
ments declared by August 31
amounted to $391,674,629, a dizzy-
ing climb from the $38,927,858 paid
in the same period last year,
- Oil, a profitable war commodity,
will see three companies pay $3,-
823,534 in dividends as against
$213,486 paid out in the same per-
iod last year by two companies,
Despite their pleas for govern-
ment assistance, the mining com-
Panies are also able to report
an increase in dividend pay-
ments: 15 companies will pay out
$16,205,927 as against $14,932,681

- paid out in ‘the same period last

year by 16 companies.

These are examples picked at
random, but the overall profit pic-
ture for big business is bright—
at the expense of the workers’ pay
envelope. Workers trying to exist
under the government’s present
war-bent economy are also hit in
another direction: layoffs.

visiting USSR

TORONTO

“A rank-and-file delegation of 10 Canadian trade unionists coal
from four Canadian provinces are now on a goodwill tour~of the Sone
Union, the Canadian-Soviet Friendship Society announced this Were

An invitation from the All-Union Central Council of Trade Union

of the Soviet Union to meet Soviet

‘tribute to establish contracts be-

: f
workers and study first-hand the!

ina ‘ ‘ < mi
conditions of work and life, was warmly taken up by the Labor Co i

mittee of the Friendship Society.

VOKS, the Soviet Society for the
Promotion of Cultural Relations
with Foreign Countries, trans-
mitted the invitation of the Soviet
trade unions, KP ihe :

The delegation includes a hard
rock miner, coal miner, lumber

worker, locomotive engineer, sea-|-

man, machinist, electrical, needle
trades and fur and leather work-,
er, |

The delegates are: Arthur Rob-
-erts (Albert); Neil Jacobson
~. (Saskatchewan) ; Pearl. Wedro,
Kenneth Smith and Alistair Mac-
Leod (B.C.); Dewar Ferguson,
David Biderman, Margaret Pop-
off, Harry Colegate and Archie
Hamilton (Ontario). _

Chosen by their workmates fol-
lowing publicity in plants and
workplaces, the group will _ carry
fraternal greetings and a peace
message to Soviet workers. Plant
gate collections and discussion
with workers featured the pre-|
paration for the trip. 7
“They take with them a series
of questions of workers them-
selves on how Soviet workers live,
their wages, the way the trade
unionists work. 4
_L. Soloviev, secretary of the So-
viet trade union organization, in a
letter to the Friendship Society
invited the group of Canadian
workers to spend three weeks in
the Soviet Union to study “the liy-
ing conditions. the work, and the:
activities of Soviet workers,”

“T express my sincere hope,” says
Soloviey “that the visit of a united
workers delegation . .'. will con-

tween the workers of Canada and
the USSR and strengthen friendly
relations between the working peo-
‘ple of both countries.”

On their return the “delegates
will report back their impressions
on their important mission of
peace and goodwill. ¥i :

One of the delegates Archie
Hamilton, president of United
Electrical Workers Local 523 in
Welland, asked by workers why
he -was going to the Soviet Union
commented: :

. “Ym an ordinary worker. ’m

Yve no axe to grind 7. aa
against Russia, and I don go
why I shouldn't be able % fy
over there and see for ad A

whether the things said in 16

newspapers are true. If it
is any curtain, then it’s bein’ wid
up by the very people who W® ape
prevent guys like me going to
for themselves. : reg On
“Trade union delegations Brit |
been going to Russia from the”
tain fora long time now— ag Ce :
last few months they have ed

people go from the Miner’s Ut

eration, the Electrical Trades oy,

ion andithe Teachers’ Feder 23 a

“I’m not going from Local Sagi
or the UE union: I’m golne ie
Archie Hamilton,'an average walys
adian worker, with a big fhe ite

, ule
‘and their future to think 220°

What’s happening in other ©

tries could affect me and my ance
ily tomorrow. This is a anal
for me to see whether the P
in Russia want war, whether
are talking war, getting ready ioe
war, or whether they want Pe" +
the same as you and me. I jot"
to find out how the trade UPT
ists operate there. :
“So if some people are goine st
call me names for going, aed
too bad—but I'll call them “pall.
see them, as we say at the ~

a poy * aire
——— ———

|THE WORKINGMAN'S
STORE |
For Fresh Fruits and .

‘Vegetables at Prices ox
_ Can Afford to Pay- i

Ask your friends about the :
Store with the Blue Awnine

2 member of no political Darty. || <= oa
‘ ‘PACIFIC TRIBUNE — SEPTEMBER 21, 1951 — PAG

eee

—

fami z :

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OE re

10738
tae

453 Powell St. |

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