B.C. LUMBER WORKER

2nd Issue, November

a a full- ane the cause of

He is Charles Greth, a Force Ouvriere officer’ with a long back- ground in the labor struggle, who took over the organizing job in June, 1952, after returning from a special trade union school. The

_ training school was sponsored by the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions of which Force Ouvriere is the French af- filiate.

Until now, the port and ship workers in the Rhine city, “Capi- tal of Europe” have either been organized by the Communist- dominated Confederation Gener- ale du Travail, or, in even great- er number, not organized at all.

Lacked “Cadres”

The democratic Force Ouvriere Transportworkers, Federation, formed four years ago, has simp- ly Jacked trade union “cadres”: trained men who cannot only cope with management in bar-

» The ey. port of Strasbourg, dominating a crucial curve of the Rhine River, historical trade artery of Europe, now ie dock and boat workers’ organizer fighting

ree trade unionism, trained by the ICFTU.

the tough Communist unionists on their own, sometimes violent,. ground.

Greth already holds the post of seeretary-general for the FO Transportworkers’ in the Bas Rhin Department, another recog- nition of his militant trade union record, stretching back 28 years.

At the age of 15, he started working on the docks, and joined the union, the pre-war democra- tie Confederation Generale du Travail, as soon as he was elig- ible, at 18.

Election as workers’ delegate (shop steward) followed soon after at the same time as Greth was working up to a foreman’s position. .

War Years

During the German occupation, he continued working at the

gaining and gaining trade unions’ port, but managed, typically, to

legal rights, but can also meet calmly express his feelings.

In

ICFTU TRAINED

CHARLES GRETH, experienced trade unionist, who, after training under the ICFTU, has assumed special duties for the Force Ouvriere union at Strasbourg, strategic trade union centre in Europe.

his part of France—Alsace—80 percent of the people speak Ger- man dialect. Greth stopped using German for the duration, speak- ing only French to show his con- tempt for the Nazis.

After the war, he labored to clear the debris of the city and to rebuild. He organized the workers around him into the CGT of the time, Then, agaiti work- ; ing at the port, he helped re- form the union there. Later,

Greth moved to the Heppner In- |

Communist-Led

By late 1947, the CGT was no

longer the umified trade union movement it had been just be- fore, and just after the war. The Communist party had almost completely taken over the top leadership. Finally the democra- tie activists, “friends of Force Ouvriere”, withdrew completely land set up the CGT-Force Ouv- ‘ viere.

Once more Greth started a

ternational Transport Company’ union, the first FO Transport

in Strasbourg as loading fore-; man,

Local in the Department. They | were only 18 members out of 36

Publication date of the next issue of the B.C. LUMBER WORKER is December 3rd. Deadline for ad copy is November 26th and for news copy November 27th.

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employees, but it was a begin- ning.

Determinedly, Greth used his free time to go out and organize other transport workers in the Bas-Rhin, Soon he was elected Secretary-General of the Depart- mental federation.

Union Isolated

“Upto that point,” Greth re- calls, “all of us in FO in the De- partment felt a bit isolated from other free trade unionists. The ‘cocos’ in the region had their outside connections; but we were far away from the center in Paris.”

Then one day last spring, oc- curred what Greth describes as a crucial turning point. It was in the form of an invitation via the ‘Transportworkers’ Federation in Paris to send someone to.a new trade union school being organ- ized by the International CGon- federation of Free Trade Unions and FO.

Important Session Greth was chosen to attend the two-week session, for trade union organizers in transport, held at a chateau in the Forest of Com- piegne, north of Paris. »

“tt was just about the most important, experience of my life,” he says, “I’ve been working hard at organizing and dealing with the bosses and fighting the ‘co- cos’ for along time and I thought I knew a lot. But after meeting some of my comrades from ofher places in France, with other problems and experiences, I re- alized there was still lots to learn.”

The Strasbourg union leader spent two weeks exchanging trade union experiences with the other 44 FO transportworkers. at the school. The site, Chateau de la Breviere, had been lent to the ICFTU by the Swedish trade unions and Social Democratic Party.

Not Alone

“I went back to Strasbourg with the knowledge that my com- rades and I in Strasbourg are not alone at all, but part of a large movement of democratic trade unionists everywhere,” Greth says.

Greth has no illusions about the toughness of the job ahead of him in organizing the port. He was chosen for the post when he returned from La Breviere just because he was the kind of clear- thinking “trained militant” so badly needed in the Bas Rhin—

and everywhere else in France.

MAJORITY RULE WINS

The Nova Scotia Labor Board, following successful appeals against its earlier decision in the Supreme Court of: Nova Scotia and of Canada, last month cer- tified the Industrial Union of Marine and Shipbuilding Work- ers as the bargaining agent for 250 workers at the Steel and Engine Products’ plants in Liver-

Board had denied certification to the IUMSW on the basis that one of its officers was a Communist, The Supreme Gourt of Canada, in June of this year, ruled that the LRB must certify a union that represents a majority of the workers in the unit and is not company-dominated and that the Board had no power to deal with

pool, N.S. Over a year ago the | Communism in relation to unions.

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