Sweat labor !!

cars brought from Asia...

Special to the Tribune DETROIT — Ford, General

Motors and Chrysler are busy.

buying into auto firms in Japan in preparation for using the Japanese auto industry as a front for selling their cars in Southeast Asia. Ford for ex- ample is preparing an “Asian” car to sell for $750, for which the parts will be made in Tai- wan and South Korea at wage rates of $2 a day and assembled in Japan at $1 per hour rates. It’s profitable now for GM, Ford, Chrysler, with 35% con- trol of Japanese auto firms, to bring in and sell in the U-S. cars made in Japan.

Car imports in the U.S. now make up 20% of the ’71 car sales, almost double that of ’69.

Meanwhile Automotive News, “bible” of the industry, reports that unsold new cars in hands of dealers on July 1, numbered 1,799,078. Also they report that new car sales plunged 12% as July got underway.

Model-changeovers is a fake and: is being used to lay the workers off while the employers hope to milk down the pile of unsold cars. Little or no change is evident in the 1972 cars, a little face-lifting is all. Actually drastic car changes will come only every five years now. Ten years ago U.S. car manufactur-

ers were making 8 out of every -

10 cars produced in the world, today they make 4. With their export of capital abroad, buy- ing into auto companies in other lands, establishing their own plants in over 38 countries, even making 4 out of every 10 cars produced in the world will be cut, and so will their work force.

Lobbyists in London warn against the plot to drag Britain into the European Common Market, which will deal further blows to workers’ living

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standards and jobs. Unemployment in Britain has reached the highest figure since the depth of the crisis in the 1930's.

Speedup, penalties in Windsor

By WILLIAM ALLEN

WINDSOR — To make fewer workers produce more, especial- ly if they are young, ‘new in the union, that’s the game of man- agement in its constant drive for maximum profits. The work- ers have only one recourse to this threat of pending unem- ployment (working themselves out of a job), by fighting the proposed speedup, through job actions.

The United Auto Workers members in the Ford plant here did just that. It’s important to record this fight of the young workers, because the UAW now is a union where 60% of its 114 million merabers have less than five years seniority. It’s also important to record the as- pects of the Windsor-Ford-UAW young workers’ struggle, be- cause the. 1972 new cars are

New deal for prairies urged in Saskatchewan

Social Credit Premier Strohm of Alberta has called a snap provincial election for Aug. 30, evidently to get it over before the impact of the NDP victory in Saskatchewan and its initial legislation, which is expected to be of a reform character, can influence the vote in the foot- hills province.

Premier Blakeney of Saskat- chewan has called the provin- cial legislature into special ses- sion on July 28, where the anti- labor law of the previous Libe- ral administration may be re-

pealed. In a letter to Mr. Blakeney, provincial Communist Party

leader Fred Schofield suggests that while such questions as a Labor Bill of Rights, a guaran- teed annual income, measures to ease the monopoly squeeze on the farmers and others, may require more study and work-

ing out, “some problems are so pressing and urgent they will brook no delay — such as the serious problem of unemploy- ment, the lack of opportunity for youth, and the crisis in agri- culture.”

Noting that for the first time two neighboring prairie provin- ces, Manitoba and Saskatche- wan, have elected social-democ- ratic governments, the letter urges co-operation “to streng- then and give leadership to the struggles of the working people for progressive alternatives to the reactionary policies now fol- lowed by all other senior gov- ernments in Canada.”

Mr. Schofield enclosed .the program advanced by the Sas- katchewan Committee of the Communist Party and stated the party’s readiness to discuss their proposals with members of the government.

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PACIFIC TRIBUNE—FRIDAY, JULY 30, 1971—PAGE 6

coming down the line, no pro- duction schedule will be set by the companies until they are forced to, they’ll use the old- time excuse “we have to get the bumps out of ’em, and we’re just filling the showrooms, so don’t tie us down.” Meanwhile the ’72 models have started shooting down the assembly lines and “she’s a speedup baby”, commented one worker. Here from one of the Ford- Windsor-UAW workers is the story of their fight against speédup and the obstacles they faced.

On Thursday, June 17, a work stoppage took place and 54 young workers left the plant. The trigger for the walkout was Ford’s action to cut out a man on the hot test engine job. Ford promises to improve some bad working conditions were never fulfilled.

When the stoppage occurred the company met with Steve Harris, the president of UAW Local 200, and the inplant re- presentative of plant 2 and agreed to put the men back in the hot test. The union was to post a notice to this effect, in- cluding a list of past complaints the company agreed to rectify immediately. But Ford would not agree not to punish the 54.

Meanwhile the young work- ers had set up picket lines and stopped the second shift. They also called a meeting for 7:30 p.m. that night with over 100 workers showing up. They de- cided to call another meeting the next morning at 11 am. Meanwhile the rest of the work- ers wouldn’t cross any picket lines, On Sunday a meeting was held and the young workers agreed to return to work. The 1800 workers at the meeting made it clear there were to be “no executions” of the young workers, or the entire work force of 4,000 would be out.

In the days that followed the Company began its attack on the youthful militants. Each one was interviewed in turn on why the job action, and it resulted in 10 being fired and 30 others suspended, some for 21 days.

Because of the growing an- ger of the workers inside the plant, the company reduced the 10 firings to five, with those other five being given the op- portunity to “resign.” Three ac- cepted, but two young workers didn’t in spite of pressure by the

Officials of Ford local 200, UAW. When they demanded at least arbitration, the UAW negotiat- ing committee refused.

A petition was circulated in the plant and 700 signatures were taken to support the de-

mand of the young workers who.

refused to resign. But the local executive board refused to call a -special membership meeting as provided for in such cases in the by-laws. They used as an excuse, that the pensioners were included and the petitions needed 800° signatures. Since 4200 people work in the plant, actually only 420 signatures are needed for a special member- ship meeting.

The scene now is this: the UAW local union leaders are

leaving these young brothers to

the penalties of Ford and not giving the rank and file 4200 members a chance through a special membership meeting to back them up and defeat the company’s retaliation. It’s signi- ficant that the job action by the 56 young workers forced Ford to drop the speedup move. One good thing is coming out of this struggle. workers are organizing them- selves into job action type of movements. The present local union executive were themselves involved, back in 1968, in a job action against Ford, but none of them were even called in by

the company like this time with

the young workers.

In the fight against speedup workers need every ounce of support and solidarity in the struggle around the ’72 models. The “liberal” Henry Ford _II, in- ternational playboy, isn’t going to let up for a second in the drive for constantly increasing profits.

The young

What's good for Ford...

NEW YORK — In an inter- view accorded the U.S. week- ly “Business Week”, Paul Lo- renz, president of Ford- Europe, expressed satisfaction at the proposed entry of Bri- tain into the Common Mar- ket.

“This will be a good thing”, he said, “because the cold breeze of competition might make British workers less in- clined to strike”.

Big batt in Britalll Europe :«

By JOHN WILLIAMS

LONDON — “Fold tg must have their ove it to fight Ford’s alm jg wide rationalization # i says a broadsheet 18Y Communist Party © ag tain to 40,000 rod the big Dagenham P! 0

“Britain is the 0 ip outside America WHE American gian oa Motors, Ford, hrysay slugging it out di abe each other. Betwee? if dominate the Amel! or int aim to extend futtiot rope and Asia, 4 it] British Leyland Mot0r M tain, Volkswagen | in fed Renault and Peuge? o Kee Fiat in Italy and 1 a Japan go to the wipre battle for profit % 2 ot fought at the exP’ gilt ... health, security | iit standards of the ae of all motor worké Fo ru

Congratulating the * sig! ers “for their OU”) iyi rage” in the recent} roi! the broadsheet no! tive gains (£4 a We gait increase with two © pe a week increases 1972, : 1971 and Augus pay for women extra holiday). ‘on Leal comings in the ¥ this struggle | strongest-ever syordeaice arrogance of gest international : ing in Britain”. wl

The broadsheet init a ral factual tables wt Ford as the mos | ploiter. Comparing . oe , panies in Britall. snows ded per worker } 400 Wal £1700, Chrysler #7 og Uae (GM) £2300 and When it comes railed of pay for semi-5 are 4 the comparisons ‘coollt from 84 p ($2) Hg Op £1.05 ($2.52) Ene and 81 p ($1.94) in SCO,” a ($2.30) in Englan® 6214p ($1.50). yt ttt

Indicating the % , f tle that lies ahealtig Europe executive “+ a that the number iy car manufacturers 5 tht from 16 to eigh A 10 years. f yt

With this kind ny ahead, great emP ct ep strengthening dit ern gf Ford __ plants Over the last have already this direction. workers at Dage? up? darity action 1” 2 nhs “ily

1 Ge ny ‘Wy Ford workers 170 7) pli who were on Sth’ ig taj 1969 Ford strik? om ii transt ie HES iat was refused 1! je5 4h German Ford faci got

ing that same Y° Wey stewards conferen ff i ,

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tain, West gium. In Oe wage parity ! was expressed fro (0 UAW president | e p ed the picket }!?

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