U :
ae Its convention at Victor-
a es the Canadian Cham-
Session, eo held a “bull”
ing ee nae to restrict the grow-
This cat of organized labor.
i ae Session produced a few
x pee of them very original—
as tal call to hold the line
lishing ae methods of accomp-
“stubbos ag the unions remained
Q; and, of course, the old

mand f, “
or “mo ‘
es5 Pay as th re production and

Since
t
"apidly, hen events have moved

€ key to prosperity.”

Ployeg hs . number of unem-
S tisen to approximately
€ts of a million, prices
rae a. to soar and profits
feng the} Maximum levels. To de-
ig at re Standards several
Mike and oe been compelled to
 °Xtig ers are facing similar
- Stand in ae of the employers’
€£0tiations,

E
sep, Poldened b

re
a *€ quart
Ve Contin

Y a growing “re-

€a 2 5
CMa we vf jobless workers, the
Wages its hold-the-line-on-

fol]
| ation ae are putting into
*D labor aa long-planned. attack
| the € front-page editorial
Set the “couver Sun on March 1
P Stowin A tone and now there is
“nti, a clamor for restrictive
of Omp | Bislation in the form
u :
Csure.  Y Atbitration, that is,
and com : outlaw strike action
thei, Pel the unions to arbitrate
an «28 for
te
Partial?

UStral:. .
‘Siar 1S pictured as being
and ne Sountry for management
‘latio : ¥ Since it imposed such leg-
th’ Which peety Australian la-
ae as been shackled with
| Years, dev pulsory arbitration” for

Wage increases before
tee oe .
judicial tribunal.

—
Pacific Tribune

P
pone MUtual 5-5288
Ma ne or — TOM McEWEN
® Editor — HAL GRIFFIN

| Subscription Rates:
One Year: $4.00
Six months: $2.25

Roo, UDlished weekly at
6 — 426 Main Street
4ncouver 4, B.C.

Can :
‘Ott; an and Commonwealth

1
& Shia (except Australia): $4.00
yy". Australia, United States

other countries: $5.00 one
’ year.

labor must tight unitedly

esc 5
bes it as “dog-collar’ -

legislation, more provocative of
labor unrest and strained labor-
management relations than ever.

While B.C. labor is full justified
in seeking higher wages to meet
rising living costs — and the profits
of our big corporations show that
such increases could easily be paid
without any interest in prices —
labor must also be aware of the very
obvious danger of CMA- inspired
“dog-callar” legislation, designed
to abrogate its democratic right to
strike and bargain collectively, and
to' cripple its efforts to win a more
equitable share of the vast wealth
its produces. To meet big business’
attack and defeat it will require
a leadership alert to the dangers of
the employers’ provocations and a
united membership alert to the dan-
gers of employer-inspired division
and disruption, no matter in what
guise it is presented.

{

BE aot) Veal

*NoW, MOTHER, YouR CHILD IS PERFECTLY SITE~-FROM PoLto

AST week in this column I

made some comments on those
imperialist “statesmen” who in-
variably invoke the deity to justi-
fy their evil cold war policies.
This week I received a circular
letter which brings God right into
the current wage struggles in
“BiG,

Signed by A. J: Shepherd of
the Shepherd Logging Company
of Victoria, this remarkable mis-
sive is accompanied by a “cov-
ering” letter, explaining that the
form one is being “sent to most
unions, labor councils, employer
associations, chambers of com-
merce, boards of trade, corpora-
tion heads, and leading Church
dignatories in B.C.”

Publicity for the aims set forth
in the form letter is also being
requested of “ .. all the radio
stations and leading newspapers
in the province.”

Now to get at the meat of the
subject. Shepherd lists the reas-
ons for our high standard of life
during the past 100 years as “our
rich natural resources, a system
of free enterprise, organization
of labor, and... adequate world
markets for our goods.” From all
this, “good profits and high
wages” have flowed, but now,

alas, these have had a “serious

effect” on our competitive posi-

tion in world markets.

To put it briefly, Shepherd is
saying what every profit-grab-
bing monopoly is now proclaim-
ing from the housetops in high
priced advertisements in the press,
on the radio and TV — and
through Liberal, Tory and So-
cred spouters on the hustings:
that high wages are pricing B.C.
(and Canada) out of world mar-
kets?

(Last year B.C. Power Corpor-
ation, parent body of the B.C.
Electric, pocketed a cool $13,792,-
214 net profit and this while the
B.C. Electric howls to high heav-
en about the “unreasonable” wage
increases sought by striking el-
ectrical workers).

To give his impassioned plea a
patriotic touch Shepherd con-
tinues: “This is our Centennial
year, a year of celebration, but is
it not our greatest opportunity to
give thanks to our Maker for
past and persent blessings and
shew our appreciation by HOLD-
ING THE LINE ON COSTS (his
emphasis)? To the business ex-
ecutive a little less profit for one
year. To the wage earner, make
no wage demand for one year. No
cost increases for one year...
let us all for the Centennial year
ppull in those outsertched palms
and join those hands in building
a good foundation under our next
100 years.”

Those are indeed noble senti-
ments, but as unrealistic as Tory

or Liberal pre-election promises:

It’s not difficult to imagine the

monopoly devotees of maximum
profits giving ‘thanks to their
Maker” for a prosperous rakeoff,
but to ask of the same gang that
they forego profits for one year
is a heresy of the highest order.
Their “God” certainly wouldn’t
countenance any such tampering
with their profit system which is
after all, the ultimate in “free
enterprise.”

Wages however, are something
else. On more occasions than we
can mention here the exploiters
of labor, with the aid of their
“God” and a goodly squad of
club-swinging policemen (all
sorts) have given many fine dem-
onstrations on HOLDING THE
LINE ON COSTS, a fact which
labor has never had any special
reason to be thankful for.

Moreover while we join with
Shepherd in his enthusiasm for
our great Centennial achieve-
ments, it is already painfully ev-
ident that in the minds of many
of its appointed promoters the
“outstretched palm” for tourist
dollars is much more in evidence
than is pride in those working
men and women of field and fac-
tory, forest and mine, whose la-
bors, sweat and blood has built
this great province.

Since wages never come near
to rising living costs and monop-
oly profits, it is obvious that
Shepherd’s exhortations to “our
Maker” on HOLDING THE LINE
is just another of those Chamber-
of Commerce-Vancouver Sun
anti-labor discordant arias, de-
signed to list “outstretched
palms” for wage increases as a
new “moral sin” against monop-
oly exploitation and its “Maker!”

March 21, 1958 — PACIFIC TRIBUNE—PAGE 5

st

Sa ap i RUE cs