Page Four

September 6, 1943

2 Internation

O88 nc womans vore2@® : al Convention’s Program

~ To Winthe War and Secure the Peace

Two hundred and seventeen delegates, representing 12 District Councils of the International Woodworkers of America (CIO), from as far north as Alaska, as far east as the Mississippi, and as far south as Mexico, returned home this week after charting the course in demo- cratic convention for the IWA for the coming year.

Fifteen delegates from B.C. Locals were present, and it was noted that the British Columbia District Council

in our International union and that B.C. has the second, third, fourth and fifth largest local unions.

Three resolutions which received the unanimous backing of the convention, and which were of vital con were: (1) Instructing the international officers to communicate with Hon. Humphrey Mitchell and Hon. Geo. ment of the Queen Charlotte Island arbitration award and the establishment of a Canadian “Wa United States immigration authorities with properly accredited trade union delegates was conde

and the international officers instructed to take the matter up with both the Canadian and United States governments; and (3) At the latter part of the convention, delegates rose as a body to cheer a message of greeting to the Commander of the Canadian forces overseas, General McNaughton; and leader of the United States forces, General Dwight Eisen- hower. The convention went on record pledging the lumber- workers of the American continent to do their utmost to pro- duce the wood necessary to finish the job and completely

destroy the forces of fascism.

‘The seventh annual IWA convention concluded with a firm de- termination to return to their jobs in the logging camps and mills to speed up their production of logs, plywood and other wood prod- ucts in order to win the war in the shortest possible time with the least possible loss of life and resources. ‘

Cooperation of labor and industry to win the war and to solve the problems of post-war adjustment are an.absolute necessity, the convention delegates emphasized. The trade union movement has endeavored the best it can to develop a better kind of relationship between the leaders of industry and of labor.

Alan Haywood, vice-president of the CIO, and the main speaker at the convention, who was accorded a hearty welcome by the dele- gates, pointed out the dangers not only to the trade union, movement, but to the common people generally, of the fascist way of life.

“If Nazism should win, there will be no trade union movement,” Haywood asserted. “Workers will be slaves to the state.”

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Haywood blasted the defeatists at home and condemned the in- famous, anti-labor Smith-Con- nally Act as one of the most dangerous pieces of legislation passed in the United States dur- ing the war. Haywood charged the reckless policies of John L. Lewis with being responsible for these latest bursts of anti-labor legislation, and pointed to the fact that Lewis, to his eternal dis- credit, was the one important American labor leader who failed to speak out in opposition to the Bill when it came before Con- gress.

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Haywood urged the IWA to or- ganize and work for the repeal of this reactionary fascist-like legislation, and appealed to the delegates to give full support to the win-the-war policies of CIO Leader Philip Murray as the best mieans of protecting labor and se- curing the peace. He appealed to the Convention to support the de- mand that dependents of soldiers be given a decent subsistence allotment; that every soldier have the right to return to his job with full seniority at the war's end, and injured and disabled soldiers have proper care for life and an adequate program of rehabilita- tion,

“We will not be satisfied to conclude the war,” he stated, “with anything Jess than the Casa- blanea terms of ‘unconditional surrender’ of Hitler, Mussolini, and Hirohito,” adding, “with re- gard to our splendid Commander- in-Chief, Franklin Delano Roose-

velt,, labor is going to back Roosevelt for a fourth term.”

James Carey, National CIO Sec- retary, explained the CIO “Politi- cal Action Campaign” to eliminate

reactionary, anti-Roosevelt con- gressmen supporting anti-labor

legislation undermining the war effort and workers’ morale. He also urged support of the “Price Roll-Back” plan for wartime eco-

nomic stabilization, which was en- dorsed, as well as resolutions con- demning race riots and color discrimination; calling for the lowering of limitations on, and increase of, old age pensions, urging the application of the Atlantic Charter principles to India and Porto Rica; asking for elimination of the poll tax and

RENOMINATED FOR 4TH TERM

NIGEL MORGAN Local 1-71 Delegate

adoption of a tax program which would place the burden on those most able to pay, asking for a better rationing system and addi- tional meat and food supplies for loggers and calling for labor unity

and Anglo - American - Soviet friendship.

That the Convention was still under the influencé of a group who are not in full accord with Policies of the National CIO, was shown by the fact that a resolu- tion urging the opening of a Sec- ond Front, which is feared today more than anything else by the Nazis and which can bring a com- plete Allied victory this year, was defeated. Likewise, a resolution

urging the American government to break off relations with Fin- Jand’s Mennerheim and Spain’s Franco for their pro-Axis sym- pathies, was voted tabled. The fifteen delegates representing all B.C. locals voted unanimously against this action.

Another resolution strenuously opposed by the entire B.C. dele- gation was one asking President Roosevelt to pardon anyone who might be convicted under the Smith-Connally Bill. It was clear- ly pointed out to the Convention that such a resolution was incon- sistent with the “no strike” policy of the CIO, endorsed by the IVA Convention for the last two years —and that such a policy was simply playing into the hands of reactionaires who are trying to destroy the public support for trade unions, and drive a wedge between labor and the armed forces on the battlefronts,

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Constitutional amendments rec- ommended by the Convention in- cluded resolutions calling for con- vention representation to be based on the average membership for the previous SIX months instead

“Am Essential For Victory”

of TWELVE months; proposed a clarification of the exoneration clause to provide that anyone working five days or more in any one month shall not be eligible for dues exoneration; providing that IWA delegates to the CIO shall be elected annually in the IWA Convention and recommend- ing an increase of ten cents per month in International per capita, for negotiations purposes, From the discussion in the Convention, it appeared that all of the consti-

is now the third largest

cern to the B.C. membership, S. Pearson requesting the enforce- igner Act”; (2) Interference by Canadian and mned by unanimous vote of the convention

tutional amendments had practic- ally unanimous support, with the exception of the per capita in- crease which now is to go out for referendum vote to the entire membership before being put into effect, and which is extremely unlikely to be adopted.

Special commendation was

made of the B.C. District for the rapid organizational gains that have been made and for the ef- forts of the Canadian membership in obtaining improved labér leg- islation. The growth in the mem- bership in B.C. was by far the greatest of any in the Interna- tional Union.

A seventeen-point production program was adopted which re- iterated the IWA’s pledge to work for all-out production. The pro- gram called for the appointment of a Lumber Co-ordinator and Labor Management Industry Councils, both of which have been repeatedly endorsed and request- ed by the B.C. woodworkers.

Officers nominated by the Con- vention, and to be voted on within 30 days on an international ref- erendum ballot, include for Presi- dent, Worth Lowery, incumbent, renominated by acclamation; for Vice-President, James Fadling, in- cumbent, Claude Ballard who was recently appointed to the unex- pired term of Vice-President Carl Winn will be opposed by Fred Seiftkin, one of the charter mem- bers of the IWA who has done an excellent organizational job in the Inland Empire dictrict. For Secretary, the present incumbent Benedict will be opposed by Ed Laux of the powerful Plywoods District Council. Wilf Killeen of Cowichan Lake was nominated for International Trustee to oppose Herb Irving, the present incum- bent. For International Board Member for District No. 1, I was renominated without opposition.

Delegates elected to the Na- tional CIO Convention in Pitts- burgh next November to repre- sent our International {includes President Worth Lowery, Vice- President James Fadling, Inter- national Bd. Member Nigel Mor- gan, Ed Laux, Vern Case and Ed Lohre. Vancouver, B.C. was chosen as the “Convention City” for the next International Conven- tion in 1944,