Pislebsliamamaaskers

Jobs jeopardized

mim, of the Latin American

@ Continued from page 5
and I won’t find out until June
if I'm still employed here or not.
And if I am laid off. Well, my
chances are pretty slim of get-
ting a job in July with the holi-
days and everything. And who
wants to hire someone over 30?
Who is going to hire me?”
Why Brazil?

The economics of Ford’s shift
of production to Brazil was
understood by the workers.
“This is not only happening to
Philco-Ford, it’s happening to
all electrical appliances in Can-
ada. How can we compete with
the government of Brazil? Our
government is going to have to
do something. The Brazilian
government is supporting Ford
radio for the next five years. So
Philco doesn’t need to pay a
lousy bloody penny for the
wages of all the people working
there in Brazil. Philco-Ford is
going to make $40-million there
in the next five years.”

Philco-Ford’s move to Brazil :

seems to fit into the general pat-
tern of Ford to move to low-
wage countries and especially to
capture the Latin -American
market.

An article that appeared in
March 1972 in the Wall Street
Journal announced that “Ford
Motor Company will spend $150
million to introduce its compact
Maverick model in Brazil. Ford
said all the components for the
Maverick enginess will be built
in Brazil and that some engines
could eventually be exported.”
Not at all surprisingly, the car
radios being built in the Don
Mills plant are fitted for the
compact Maverick.

Quick Riches

In a recent New York Times
article, one of Brazil’s chief
puppets, Joao Paulo Dos Reis
Velloso, the Minister of Plan-
ning and General Co-ordination
who describes himself as a
“technician with a social slant”
said that Brazil’s plans for more
sophisticated production “‘in-
clude expanded markets in com-
puters, heavy road-building
equipment, electrical equipment,
ships and motor vehicles.” Al-
most all of this is to come from
North American monopolies so
Ford isn’t alone in its lust for
quick Brazilian riches.

Ford’s move to Brazil has
other benefits for the company,
aside from the monies Brazil is
paying to have Ford re-locate
there. In an interview with the
Canadian Tribune, Tim _ Drai-

Working Group, a  Toronto-
based research organization,
said, “Since the 1964 military
coup in Brazil there has been
what is termed an economic
boom. But the boom is based
on the fact that workers’ real
wages are now a third of what
they were before the coup.
Meanwhile the cost of living has
risen six times. In Brazil, 40%
of the population earns between
$80-90 per year.
Repressive Actions

“Another factor is that since
1964 the government has used
increasingly repressive actions
to keep labor down. So, today
there is no effective trade union
movement there. Labor organiz-
ers have been shot by the gOv-
ernment as provocateurs.”

The workers at the Philco-
Ford plant in Don Mills want
the Canadian government to do
something to save their jobs and
not have their work shifted to
a fascist country.

“We want our union (Local
2113 International Association
of Machinists) and all other
unions to protest this,” one
worker said. “We can’t fight
Ford alone because we are too
small. The government is going
to have to stop it because, like
I said, Ford doesn’t care any-
Way.”

Burke-Hartke Bill

The move from Canada by
Philco-Ford cannot be isolated
from developments in the Unit-
ed States where the Ford Motor
Co. is headquartered. The move
may be a signal to Canadian
workers of how many U.S. Cor-
porations are planning to utilize
the Burke-Hartke bill. Because
the bill affords benefits to com-
panies to keep production “at
home” U.S. monopolies will be
hesitant to move their Own
“home based” plants to cheaper
wage areas. But if the Philco-
Ford runaway is any indication
— then the U.S. monopolies are
going to show no hesitation in
moving their foreign based com-
panies (Canadian) to still cheap-
er’ wage areas, including to
countries where fascists reign.

In addition to fighting against
the specific runaways such as
Philco-Ford, the Canadian work-
ing class is going to have to
step up its opposition to the
Burke-Hartke bill. It will be
through such a concerted and
ongoing opposition to these Pro-
tectionist measures that Cana-
dian jobs can be guaranteed.

Warsaw Ghetto uprising

To mark the 30th anniversary
of the heroic Warsaw Ghetto
uprising by Jewish freedom
fighters against the nazi occu-
piers of that city, the United
Jewish People’s Order has is-
sued an appeal to all Canadian
anti-fascists, calling On them to
remember that glorious day.

Sections of the appeal are re-
printed below:
“The entire world stood in

awe before the manifestation of
unprecedented heroism, Self-
Sacrifice and boundless fortitude

of the Jewish combatants who,

for six weeks, by day and night,
amidst the collapsing Ghetto
buildings and the ever-increas-
ing and all-consuming fires,
fought on and inflicted heavy
losses on the bestial nazi
forces ...

“As we commemorate this

epic in the history of our people,
we call, upon all’ Jews, and all
anti-fascists, to remain true to,
and uphold the heritage of the
Ghetto fighters, and fulfil loyal-
ly the behest of the six million
martyred people, the victims of
Hitlerism, as well as the mil-
lions of other victims of the
Nazis, who called upon us
“NEVER TO FORGET, NEVER
TO FORGIVE.” We call upon
you to join us in-renewing Our
Sacred pledge committing us to
the proposition that NEVER
SHALL SUCH A HOLOCAUST
BE REPEATED .. .”

+~PAGE 14 oan

eR
STOR Usg eT

is a)

it Cc
i, —2

ae ee
aA Oa arise CY

“ PALODLEATAN, |
PROECESSOR,
& RETAILER.
_SYSTERR AME.

**DON’T BLAME ME LADY — | DON’T THINK MUCH OF THIS SYSTEM EITHER!”

30th anniversary of the great -

WHY FOOD PRICES SOAR

e@ Continued from page 5

the trade unions for _“higher
production costs,” forcing unit
prices up. And so on.

A systematic study of a num-
ber of factors is necessary to
begin to get at the answer. But
some indications as to who is
responsible for high food prices
can be given here.

In a well-documented exam-
ple in his Labor at Home and
Abroad column in the Feb. 5
edition of UE News, Secretary-
Treasurer George Harris of the
United Electrical, Radio and
Machine Workers Union points
out the ease with which the
chain stores (Dominion, Lob-
laws, etc.) mark up prices. Per-
haps there are many factors in-
volved, but one of the biggest,
where retailing comes in, 3S
sheer profiteering.

Instant Price Jump

Mr. Harris illustrates: “One
small example — a six ounce
example, suggests that profiteer-
ing is very much a part of su-
permarket’s operation. Take a
close look . . . at a small pur-
chase made at a Dominion Store
in Toronto on Jan. 27:

“On Jan. 12, this six-ounce
package of corned beef loaf,
meat bits embedded in a liberal
amount of gelatine, retailed ina
Dominion Store for 72¢, aS can
be seen by the partly-exposed
laber under the superimposed
price label of 87¢. Perhaps Do-
minion Stores would care to ex-
plain what caused the price to
jump nearly 20% in two weeks.

“And if and when this explan-
ation is made, then the further
explanation is required as to
why a package of meat purchas-
ed by Dominion at a price that
allowed it to be profitably re-
tailed at 72¢ could, with the
lick of a label, be worth 87¢...”

Furthermore, we are informed
by a UE submission to the spe-
cial parliamentary committee on
food prices that just four weeks
later, the price of the same item
has gone up to 98¢.

Recent Figures

Aside from the price of that
one item, let’s see what this and
more translates into in terms of
profits. Recent figures of Domi-
nion Stores for 39 week ending
Dec. 16, 1972, show that profits
have gone up from $5,827,000 to
$6,091,000 in that period, with
the value of shares up one cent.

Not much, perhaps. But no
doubt Dominion Stores would
place the blame on meat pack-
ers which, in this case, happens
to be Canada Packers.

Here, some fuller statistics
are available. In their financial
report for 39 weeks ending Dec.
23, 1972, Canada Packers’ sales
went up from $701,689,000 to
$814,723,000, while profits were
up from $6,643,000 to $9,671,000.

In other words, while sales
have gone up by 17%, profits
have zoomed by over 45%.

Those who would defend Can-
ada Packers are on shaky gound
now, but the usual way to get
out of this is to raise the hue,
and cry about-higher wages.

Revealing

We are also fortunate here to
have some interesting figures.
Canada Packers is a large firm,
not only involved in meat pack-
ing and processing, but also in
other areas of food production.
Shure Gain, a feed business es-
pecially for cattle, is tied in
with them.
_ Looking over some revealing
information, Canada Packers’
net profit in 1963 was $5.8-mil-
lion, rising to $10.1-million in
1972 (whole year). In 1972, the
cost of raw products to Canada
Packers. was ~ $693.2-million.
Salaries, wages and benefits to-
talled $119.6-million. So the ratio
of costs of products to wages,
etc., was about 6 to 1.
_ Looking at another meat pack-
ing firm, Pat Burns and Co., we
might attack the profit margin
from another angle. In 1963
Burn’s net profit was $663,000,
rising to $3.7-million in 1972. In
terms of productivity, we find
out that net profits per emplo-
yee were $130 in 1963—but that

World trade union meet in Chile
SANTIAGO DE CHILE — A World Trade Union Anti-Imperialist

Conference opens

in Santiago de Chile on Tuesday and will continue

until April 15. It is sponsored by Chile’s United Workers’ Confederation
(CUT) and will be attended by trade unionists from five continents.
CUT Chairman Jorge Godoy said a focus of the Conference will be the
struggle against multi-national corporations.

“All our experience,” Godoy said, “‘has convinced us that the prob-
lems of the struggle against multi-national monopolies are closely
linked with the questions of consolidating the international solidarity of
working people.” S.4. Dange, General Secretary of the All-India Trade

Union

(AITUC), a delegate to the Conference, said: “‘It is

only through working together in joint actions that working people can
win victory over their common imperialist enemy.’ Dange said the Con-
ference would also discuss problems of the developing countries of

Asia, Africa and Latin America.

net profits per employee in oss 3
went up to $720, a rise in S72) 7
ductivity of about 550%! Pro. “

If your wages went up i

last ten years by 550%, you the
not entitled to complain. are

Labor Not Guilty

Figures for the United St ps
which closely (in many Rtes
stances) approximate ours ine
reveal that labor costs are “Iso
to blame for increased ot
prices. A brochure publish foog
the Economics Commissig, by
the Communist Party, U of
points out that “Packing, Sa,
labor costs are only 3.59 CUSe
pound of meat today, as _ Per
pared with 3.4¢, 20 years Mm.
while meat prices have’ doy, 89,

“Between 1960 and 1972 Oleq’
or costs per unit of outp) ab.
food manufacturing wen, in
only 9%, while retail food pawn
went up 40%!” Tices

If you want to know
higher food prices go, it ig Vhere
simple — into higher profi, ite
the processors and food ch. for
They do not go jnto highs a

wages.

Ten-Year Rise

As mentioned at the out
lot of publicity has been (St, q
to higher prices on the far Riven é
ing responsible for higher ,»' bea |
in the grocery store. JP. eg |
general figures, the Can
food bill increased some g Vian —
lion between 1961 and 84.53 ’
while realized net farm in Lon)
during the same period, r Ome :
$660 million, or 169% of the’ by —
of the cost of food. Yet, an Vise
ing to the UE submission 4°Orq.
special committee on 3 the _
prices, the percent chan, t ;
food prices is up 30.6% i8e ay
half that time — five yearg. Just
1965 to 1972! from

More figures of this t go
to be made available, so th have
culprits can be exposeq *t ye
from the indications given, | Buy
is little doubt who the vithere
responsible for higher Naing :
prices are. It is not the ft f0oq
it is not the worker in the me,
inghouse or grocery Bag!
Plain and simple, it is the tore, |
who run the companies” "en —
make vast profits out of 4 Who
life’s necessities. Ne