UBC students picket U.S. Consulate

Almost 200 UBC student picketed the U.S. C worth, spokesman for the students, said picketing will

he Tuesday to protest race violence in the south
demand freedom for the Negro people. Dick Woods-

late in

—Fisherman photo

continue every day at noon until the fight is won. Stud-
ents sang freedom songs and carried placards.

Socred health plan
branded as ‘fraud’

The hottest debate in the cur-
rent session of the Legislature

erupted last Friday over the-

issue of Medicare when the
Socred government’s medical
grants plan came up for debate,
Both New Democratic Party and
Liberal opposition members
branded the government scheme
as a “fraud.”

NDP MLA’s said in the debate
that the government’s scheme
was a phony plan aimed at en-
dorsing the support of the big
insurance interests andthe medi-
cal profession, Speaker after
speaker.charged that the scheme
will leave thousands of people
without medical coverage.

The government’s scheme
would provide for medical insur-
ance plans, Under it the govern-
ment would pay halfthe premiums
of people with no taxable income,

NDPer David Stupich said,the
bill is designed against poor

people to make sure that not too
many people start “cluttering
up the doctors’ offices.” He said
the premium for a married man
would be $120 a year, yet many
people are going to have to pay
$60 and they just can’t afford it,

NDP provincial leader Robert
Strachan charged that the scheme
had been dictated by doctors and
the insurance companies and that
it is aimed at bailing out the
doctor-controlled Medical Serv-
ices Inc,, which is in financial
trouble,

Liberal Gordon Gibson said
there is plenty of money to be
got from B,C,’s forests to pay
for full medicare; or the govern-
ment could cut its highway budget
by $20 million or $30 million to
do it.

The government bill is due to
come up again this week for sec-
ond reading and further sharp
debate is expected,

City labor backs rights fight in U.S.

E oS the request of President Ed,

. . in sympathy and unity with

Seas brutally beaten and

ae os the U,S, civil rights

5 Uuggle,” Vancouver Labor
Ouncil (VLC) delegates opened

is week’s session by standing in
One minute silent tribute to the
elma, Alabama victims,

a ecient letter addressed to U.S,
=a ney-general N, Katzenbach
cee the Washington Post was
dele mously endorsed by VLC
ee Copies have been for-
wee to all local newspapers,
a and TV Stations, Delegates
aa approved an executive
i Bec endation to donate $100
€ Selma Fund, (The letter to

© US, attorney-general by the
Human: Rights Committee
Ped also approved by the B,C,
eration of Labor (BCFL), with
een donation to the Selma
- See text of letter on page 2.

Was

ze Student Dave Yorke, rep-
enting the Students’ Non-Vio-
Co-ordinating Committee,
pate the Council delegates,
a ton he battle is not over by
ae Shot, Today 200 students

en €d before the U,S, Con-
ik € in protest against the bru-
authorie: Alabama government
chs ties against the Civil

coh marchers , , , we plan to
ack every noon hour to the

Te

addre

1130 K.C.
CK WX 6:55 P.M
~ SUNDAYS
OMMUNIST PARTY’S
WEEKLY RADIO
COMMENTARY

<3

by NIGEL MORGAN

U.S, consulate until the Negro
people are permitted to march
to their capital city of Mont-
gomery.”

Yorke made a strong plea for
greater labor support in these
demonstrations, stating that
“Labor support is essential to
win victory for the Negro people,”
The young speaker won a re-
sounding applause,

VLC delegate comment on the
Selma events indicated a deep
concern and a growing apprecia-

tion of what is involved in the-

Negro civil rights struggle,
“Labor has most to gain by a
victory for the Negro people and
an end to race discrimination,”
stated Les McDonald, IBEW dele-
gate, “Organized labor must not
absent itself from marching.”

“Labor has a lot to gain,”
added delegate Bob Gregory, “Not
one of us can be free if others

are enslaved and discriminated
against,”

Delegate C, Stewart expressed
the opinion that, with very few
exceptions, the leaders of the
big international unions are not
in this vital struggle, “Canadian
members of these international
unions have the right to expect
much more from them,” said
Stewart,

VLC secretary-treasurer
Paddy Neale outlined some of the
desegregating work the trade
unions are doing in the Deep
South, a hazardous job for union
organizers, “with many whipped
and even shot because they are
doing a good job, , .. While we
should do more, we should give
these union organizers credit for
the job they are doing.”

e
Delegate Wm, Stewart of the

Marine Workers, raised theissue

of Canada’s minority report on
Vietnam, “Prime Minister Pear-
son,” stated Stewart, “went out
of his way to do a ‘me too’ job
for U.S, aggression in Vietnam,
We in the labor movement know
what minority reports mean,” His
proposal that the VLC register
its protest on the use of this
minority report, and ask that
“similar publicity and coverage
be given the majority report of
the International Commission,”
was unanimously endorsed by the
VLC body,

Last week opposition parties
in the B,C, Legislature, support-
ed by a number of Socred back-
benchers, compelled the Bennett
government to reverse its “no
increase” standon current Work-
men’s Compensation Act pension
levels,

In view of .this development
Labor Minister Peterson has

stated he will give the matter full
consideration and recommend
pension increases to the Cabinet,
which will be retroactive to Janu-
ary 1 of this year,

Present WCB pensions paid to
widows does not exceed $90 per
month, with an allowance of $35
per month for each child, Per-
centage of earnings for time lost
through accident or injury by
workers is also far too low,

Mine-Mill Compensation offic-
er Les Walker, commenting on
proposals for WCB increases,
told the PT the “Legislature’s
move is highly welcome, but the
increase has to be much more
than a mere relieving of its own
conscience for the pittances now
paid injured workers, widows
and orphans,” Mine-Mill brief
on WCB pensions recommended
a minimum pension of $125 per
month to widows, with a cor-
responding increase in all other
WCB pensions,

Prince George electricians win fight

By T. WALL-BENDER

A large step forward was taken
by. the building trades unions in
the victory of the electrical work-
ers at the Marwell Construction
pulp mill at Prince George.

The three-day strike ended last
Monday when H, Ayling, spokes-
man for Marwell, ceded to the
demands of the grievance com-~
mittee led by Dave Coddington
and agreed to take the question
of living out allowance to arbi-
tration, reinstate all workers
and sign a no-discrimination
agreement,

The unity displayed by the
building trades for the electrical

workers enabled the latter to —

score a double victory, One
against shoddy camp conditions
—poor food, insufficient washing
and drying room facilities, only
one recreation trailer for 825
men; conditions which affected
all trades,

Another vittory against the
arbitrary decisions of Interna-
tional reps and phoney business
agents in cahoots with the em~
ployers, in signing away long
standing conditions (in this case
the living out allowance) without

as much as a “by your leave”
from the members,

The long simmering contra-
dictions came to a head Wednes-
day, March 10, when IBEW Inter-
national Representative J, Ross
called a meeting, ostensibly to
explain policy, after the men
previously had wired Internation-
al Vice-President Ladyman,
calling for him to straighten out
the problems,

Ross’ refusal to allow the
meeting to be conducted in a
parliamentary manner, with
chairman, recording secretary,
etc., ended with him being booed
ungraciously out of the meeting,

After the exit of International
Rep, Ross the members got down
to business and voted to stay off
the job next day, to back up their
demands,

Company and union officials
of the Kamloops (993) local got
together immediately and in
splendid harmony agreed to fire
all the electrical workers,

The men countered by picket-
ing the job Friday noon and
bringing the whole project to a
halt,

Over the weekend meetings
were held with other trades,
leaflets passed out and delegates
chosen to drive to Vancouver to
put their case before the regular
meeting of the Vancouver Labor
Council, seeking its support, At
a mass meeting Sunday a wire
was sent to BCFL secretary Pat
O’Neal, asking him to intercede
on their behalf,

On Monday morning the pickets
were served. with the expected
injunction, They retired to dis-
cuss the situation and the com-
pany and some union officials

_ persuaded some 125 of the other

trades to go to work. A goodly
number of these went with the
express purpose of talking the
rest into walking out again!

After serious consideration of
the implications involved in ig-
noring the injunction, the picket
line reappeared again at noon
and the job came to a dead stop,
injunction notwithstanding,

At this point Henry Ayling, a
veteran tactician in the never-
ending labor-management
struggle and one who knows when
the hour of retreat has arrived,
suggested it was time to meet

with the grievance committee and
settle things graciously,

The root cause of the dispute
is a direct result of the policy
of the IBEW in recent years, in
allocating jurisdiction on major
projects to small locals in the
province—thereby breaking down
the pace setting conditions of the
large Vancouver local (213) and
studiously avoiding the hiring of
213 men,

Those who do succeed in find-
ing their way to the project jobs
are paying dues to both locals
and have no say in the policing
of the agreement on the project,

The obvious result is what
happened at Prince George, which
means the IBEW will have to
take a second look at the policy
of “paper locals” in the province,

The fact is the workers today
are not prepared to accept the
dictates of the top brass, carving
up jurisdictions like a boarding
houses pie and waiving conditions
like a hero, always to the advan-
tage of the companies, The sooner
they face up to this fact—the
better,

March 19, 1965—PACIFIC TRIBUNE—Page 3