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FRIDAY, MARCH 21, 1958

Britannia story not
ended’ says Murphy

“The story of Britannia Mine is not over,” Harvey

Murphy, Canadian representative of International Union of
Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers, told the United Fishermen

and Allied Workers’ convention here last week.

Murphy, ‘one of several
guest speakers at the UFAWU
parley, said Mine-Mill would
continue the battle to “save
Britannia from being drown-
ed out and abandoned.”

When the Howe Sound
Mining Company closed down
the mine on a few hours
notice, after 55 years of un-
interrupted production, it was
just one action in a program
of shutdowns and reduced op-
erations in base metal mining
across Canada, indicating that
the metal mining industry was
cut to create scarcity through
a 20 percent cutback.

“We claim there was a
written agreement covering
federal payment of a $20,000
monthly subsidy to the com-
pany,” said Murphy. “Is it
reasonable that the govern-
ment would put up the sub-
sidy without an agreement?
If it was a gentleman’s agree-
ment, as the company claimed,
then I suggest the responsi-
ble officers of this company,
with headquarters in Salt
Lake City, were not gentle-
men, and should not be
treated as such in the future.”

History “of recent arrange-
ments was that the union had
given up a five-cent hourly
raise last December in the
face of closure threat and ac-
cepted the company’s claim
of loss in operation. Neither
the union or the B.C. govern-
ment had ever been able to
see this private company’s
books.

As a last discourtesy fol-
lowing 19 hours’ notice before
closing down, the company
agent from Utah had ignored
the B.C. government’s request
for a representative to meet
cabinet members in Victoria,

HARVEY MURPHY

and had vanished as quickly
as he came,

“Imagine the uproar if a
union had acted similarly in
such circumstances,” said
Murphy. :

On Annacis Island, said the
Mine-Mill speaker, Western
Copper Mills would soon be
able to use more raw copper
than Britannia could produce.
The union had urged stock-
piling of copper at the market
price, from somewhat reduced
production, as a sane compro-
mise’ to avert the tragedy of
Britannia.

Another guest speaker at

the convention was James
Sinclair, former minister of
fisheries.

NEGOTIATIONS RESUME

| @
The B.C. Electric bowed to
meet with striking electrical workers. Throu

pu iy

ince’s biggest monopoly

4

of wages was excluded from the agenda.

The 600 strikers employed by
the BCE and the 900 employ-
ed by Hume and Rumble and
Peterson Electric ‘having re-
jected a unanimous concilia-
tion board report because they
were dissatisfied with recom-
mendations on wages and
working conditions, have been
on strike since March 3.

A key role in making the
meeting possible was' played
by Vancouver Labor Council.

On Tuesday this week the
council went into closed ses-
sion to discuss the electrical
workers strike and lockout of
Teamsters by the Heavy Con-
struction Association.

Electrical Workers, who had
been planning to extend their
strike to include the Vancou-
ver transit system, requested
help from council delegates.
They were assured of full sup-
port in their struggle against
the BCE but were advised to
avail themselves of a coun-
cil offer to bring the two par-
ties together ,around the bar-
gaining table. They agreed to
this and next day Lloyd Wha-
len, council president, phoned
BCE president Dal Grauer and
arranged a bargaining meet-
ing for Thursday this week.

It was announced later that
all questions in dispute would
be open for discussion. It is
reported that if agreement can
be reached between the two
parties, Hume and Rumble
and Peterson Electric, will
settle on the same basis.

Charles Stewart, Street Rail-
waymen’s business agent issu-
ed a public statement after the
council meeting in which he
said “the public interest would
be better served if both sides
were to rennew negotiations.
No strike has ever been settled
without a session around the
bargaining table.”

The Labor Council meeting
according to reports reaching
the Pacific Tribune, also ex-
pressed its willingness to help
the embattled Teamsters.

Government charged |
with union-busting —

VICTORIA, B.C. — Education Minister Les Pee
announcement that he would wipe out B.C. teachers’ ©
shop” unless they stopped advising their members 19 y é
cept positions in “‘no-agreement” areas was denouse
“union busting” by CCF leader Robert Strachan this ¥®

B.C. Teachers’ Federation
has been advising teachers not
to apply for jobs in areas
where school boards have ar-
bitrarily fixed salaries. The

sovernment calls this “black-
listing.”

Peterson, rising in the
House to move second reading
to the new Schools Act, said
that he would not proclaim the
“closed shop” clause carried
over from the old to the new
act unless the BCTF agrees to
stop “blacklisting.”

“Union busting!” cried Stra-
chan.

(B.C. teachers reacted an-
grily to Peterson’s statement,
and rejected his demand that
they stop advising teachers
not to take positions in areas
where school boards refuse to

. pay Salaries acceptable to their

federation.

(Charles Ovans, BCTF gen-
eral secretary, said he expected
all teachers would back up
the federation’s stand, and
suggested that the government
should direct its fire against
the school trustees.

(School boards in the black-
listed districts have imposed
fixed salaries on teachers un-
der a section of the Public
Schools Act never before, used
for that purpose. The BCTF
wants them to reopen nego-
tiations and agree to Wage in-
creases of approximately 12
percent.)

iS &

pinion
: od

public opinion on Wednesday this week and agree ‘of

gh paid. advertisements in the daily press; the Ti 1
had previously refused to meet with the union unless the 4

t0

| '

Alliance’ prof!
of Tory decely

Maurice Rush, LPP
date for Vancouver
told an election meetiné
Monday this week:

“John Diefenbaker a5? yi
ed hands with Maurice ‘1
plessis of Quebec to wit /
election. Here we hav®
man who made a careet y
pousing a Canadian
Rights uniting with the ®
of the pro - fascist P# %
Law. Nothing has done ae
to expose Conservative ey

Griffin, Morgan i
speak at Island me?

Hal Griffin, managing —
tor of the Pacific crit
will address a public mee
in Port Alberni at Eri¢
Hall this Sunday, March 28
2 p.m.

Nigel Morgan, LPP Pa
cial leader, will speak i? ~
Cowichan on Monday; M
24, at 8 p.m.

LPP RALLY FOR JOBS AND PEACE
Speakers: Maurice Rush and Tom McEwen

oe
FRIDAY, MARCH 28 — 2 P.M
POWELL STREET GROUNDS |

Pee

£
March 21, 1958 — PACIFIC TRIBUNE—PA®