eg

LPP elects 11-member

national committee

TORONTO

An ll-member national executive has been elected by the

Labor-Progressive
in a

party’s

new
two-day session following the party’s recent national con-

national committee, meeting

vention here, it was announced this week.
The report said that the new executive was elected follow-

Lucco cant
sue Crown
for pension

An application by Jack
Zucco to sue the Crown for a
Norkmen’s Compensation
Board pension for silicosis has
been refused by the Bennett
eabinet. Zucco’s application
asked that the WCB rejection
of a silicosis pension be set
aside and the WCB ordered to
pay such a pension, plus the
costs of the action.

_For many months Mrs. Zucco
has campaigned vigorously on
behalf of her husband’s claim
for a silicosis pension, picket-

ding the WCB offices and the
provincial

legislature, and
bringing the now celebrated
case before innumerable union
meetings for support.

British Columbia locals of
Mine-Mill have supported Mrs.
Zucco’s claims on behalf of her
husband as part of the union’s
long struggle for adequate leg-
islative protection and cover-
age for workers suffering from
this dreaded industrial disease.

Recently, and largely due
to the efforts of Mine-Mill, the
Bennett government acceded to
union demands for a board of
referees to review cases re-
jected by the WCB. This board
will consist of a union repre-
sentative and three doctors ap-
pointed by ,the government.
These are Dr. Robert B. Kerr,
Dr. D. W. Whitelaw and Dr.
Donald S. Munro, all members
of UBC medical faculty.

The first case slated to come
before this newly appointed
board of referees for review

will be that of Jack Zucco. In

the opinion of many trade
unions whose members have
regarded WCB rulings as fre-
quently arbitrary and unfair,
the new board of referees is
a long step forward in secur-
ing just treatment for all in-
dustrial accident and disease
compensation cases.

Les Walker, B.C. district sec-
retary of Mine-Mill told the
Pacific Tribune that “Mine-
Mill, representing the hard-
rock miners and smelter work-
ers of this country, will con-
tinue under all circumstances
to fight for the right of all
workers to full compensation
if as and when such needs
arise.”

He described the new board
of referees as “a step in the
right direction, but only aj
step.”

lengthy discussion of the work
of the outgoing executive.

Those elected were: Tim
Buck, Leslie Morris, William
Kashtan, John Weir, Alf Dew-
hurst, Sam Walsh, John Boyd,
Danielle Dionne, Edna Ryer-
son and Nelson Clarke.

Buck was named as general
secretary and Kashtan as or-
ganization secretary. The post
of national organizer was sus-
pended and Morris, who held
this post on the outgoing ex-
ecutive, was assigned to labor
press duties.

Appointments to other full-
time posts were deferred until
three newly elected national
executive members now resi-
dent in the West, Dewhurst,
Clarke and Walsh, can move
to Toronto.

The executive announced
that a special convention issue
of National Affairs Monthly,
the party’s theoretical and dis-
cussion journal, would be pub-
lished to acquaint LPP mem-
bers with convention decisions.

Dealing with unfinished bus-
iness assigned to it by the
convention, the national com-
mittee heard the balance of
the report of the convention
resolutions committee.

A substitute resolution
brought in by the resolutions
committee, arising out of a
resolution on Hungary sub-
mitted to the convention by
J. B. Salsberg, was accepted.

The = substitute resolution
calls on the national committee
to “gather by all means avail-
able the fullest information on
events in Hungary so that the
party membership can _ be
fully informed and so that
our party can draw the full
lesson of the Hungarian
events.”

A special committee was set
up to study policy resolutions
submitted to the convention
and to prepare a summary to
guide the work of the national
executive.

The party’s federal election
platform-and a declaration on

ALF DEWHURST

NEILSON CLARKE

the party convention adopted
by the convention are to be
edited by the executive and
published. The platform is to
be sent to each province and
region for printing, with local
matters added by the respec-
tive committees.

Audit and appeals commit-
tees were elected by the com-
mittee.

It was agreed that National
Affairs Monthly be published
“in an appropriate, modest
format as a political-and or-
ganizational journal of the
party, to be edited by the na-

tional office staff.”

The national executive was
instructed to set up a program
committee, and an interna-,
tional committee “to receive
and exchange political mater-
ials with other parties and to
make important information
known to the party.”

The next full meeting of the
national committee will be
held over Labor Day weekend.

Teachers ask classes of

no more than 30 pupils

The recent B.C. Teachers’
Federation convention endors-
ed a resolution calling for
classes in grades 1 to 6 of no
more than 30 pupils.

A resolution from Burnaby
district council called for the
smaller classes because “large
classes create conditions of
stress for pupils and teachers

alike,” and make it difficult for
a teacher “to help create the
right environment or to give
individual help when a class
is too large.” -

The Burnaby teachers said
the problem has been recog-
nized generally, but “shelved
repeatedly by the department
of education.”

Steel parley hears
demand for autonom|

Powerful demands for increased self-government for Call

flected in resolutions at the union’s policy conference ]

weekend.

They came from the 5,000-member

Nova Scotia, one of the Big
Three in basic steel in Can-
ada and North Slater Local
3505 in Hamilton.

While both were turned
down in favor of a non-con-
troversial substitute resolu-

tion, the strong wording of
the resolution took union lead-
ers aback.

A growing restiveness
among rank and file members
who see thir dues going down
the drain in raiding or to main-
tain their $50,000-a-year in-
ternational president David
McDonald was held to be be-
hind the autonomy movement.

In Canada, over 50 percent
of those voting in a recent el-
ection for the international
presidency gave their ballots
to an American rank and file

steelworker, Don Rarick,
fighting bureaucracy in the
union.

At the union’s internation-
al convention in Los Angeles
last year, the move was made
to make the Canadian director
of the union an appointed po-
sition. This was fought bitter-
ly by the Canadian delegation
and defeated.

Now the autonomy revolt
is out in the open again, des-
pite its temporary stilling by
the administration at the
policy conference.

The Nova Scotia resolution.
from the big Dominion Steel
and Coal operation urged
“that our national officers

St. Laurent’s opening gus
fired with wet po wder

MONTR

Local 1064 of Sydnéh

our international leaders?
the fact that Canadian St’
workers are sufficiently ™
ture to take direction of thé
own affairs without prejudié
to the existing) brotherly ™
lations between Canadian
U.S. steelworkers.”

Steel director William M#
honey declared the resolvul
was “more scholarly” thé!
the Hamilton one.

The resolution from
Hamilton local reported }
have the backing of the 2:0

ter local as well as many ©
the Stelco unit was advance
by Art Laverty, a suppoly
of the. Rarick movement
Canada. OF

This resolution asked ™
conference “to instruct 0
Canadian executive to co?
with the international leadet
with a view to bringing @ t
a greater measure of aul
omy so that we may bé ot
powered to call our own Cal
adian conventions and 4! oF
our policy to the laws, e0?
omy and national sentimen!”
Canada.”

Mahoney was
have said that Laverty
“technically correct’ in 4
ing that Canadians do not 2°”
a majority to call an inter)
tional convention to deal W
problems that constitute —
national emergency for
union.

“ted i
reported
iy

of

wInnipsd
un )

Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent fired the opening & Lint
the Liberal election canypaign in Winnipeg this week by ten
his audience “You’ve never had it so good — let us give

more of it.”

Head-patting, baby-kissing and demonstrative hand-shak?

were well to the fore in the
prime minister’s repertoire.
Some drama was added by a
heavy police guard, detailed
to see that he wasn’t “assas-
sinated” when it was reported
that a crank letter had been
sent, charging him with selling
Canada short to the United
States. ;

Avoiding all controversial
issues, St. Laurent stuck main-
ly to the “great achievements”
of his government during his
hour-long address. These, he
claimed, were the result of “a
dynamic Liberal approach” to
national wellbeing.

St. Laurent’s address was
termed by some of his own
Liberal stalwarts as being
“dull, tedious and flat.” One
party critic observed that ‘if
the prime minister was fir-

ing the opening gun: his pow
der was awfully wet.” A

In Edmonton, St. Laurent
speech was equally ‘devo
spectacular pronouncemen
He confined himself, aS
Winnipeg, to the great op?’
tunities and develop™ i
awaiting Canada should 44
government be returne¢”
power, and a greater flow j,
immigration encouraged fol
“provide home markets ~~
Canadian products.” + the

Political observes are of A
opinion that Libera, straliiy)
during the federal elect i!
campaign will be to avole ao’
contentious issues both “4,
mestic and foreign, and 5
concentrate mainly upon ch
eral “achievements” in ae
fields as social services; *
sions and health..

MAY 3, 1957 — PACIFIC TRIBUNE—PAGE ‘