Railroaders want

By JOHN STEWART

ANADIAN railroaders are growling. They have three main beefs: working

conditions which have left

them considerably behind the status of the average or- §anized industrial worker; the leadership of their brotherhoods which has, with studied deliberation, avoided the slightest sem- blance of democracy or mil- itancy in fighting for their rights; and rail bosses’ con- stant bleatings that they can’t afford wage increases,

This growl of dissatisfac- tion can be heard from one end of Canada to another. I talked to many railmen in the Toronto area, and corresponded with workers as far west as Vancobver, and the story is basically the same.

The beefs are the same everywhere: pay is too low, hours are too long, “we're getting damned little back for our union dues,” and now, layoffs and speedup.

Most Canadian railroad- ers work a 48 to 56 hour week. (Those in the ishop crafts do 44 to 48 hours.)' A section hand gets about 90 cents an hour and no statutory holidays.

A fireman is paid $1.08 an hour—é60 cents an houn below the pay for exactly, the same job in the United States. (A fireman aboard a Canadian lake ship. got $45 a month before the Can- adian Seamen’s Union be- gan its great organizing drive a few years ago. Now he gets $180 a month for an eight-hour daty with time and a half for Sundays and holidays and other benefits won by militant union ac- tidn.)

Fifteen international rail brotherhoods, coverling some 60,000 rail workers, not including the running trades, engineers, conduct- ors, etc., are now negotiat- ing with the rail bosses fon the 40 hour week with no take-home pay loss,’ plus a seven cent an hour boost. The Canadian Brotherhood of Railway Employees (CCL) covering another 30,200 members, is asking 10 cents an hour, 40. hour week and the check-off.:

What will they come ou with? f

Last year they started on

a new deal

a 35 cents an hour) demand. After taking a strike -vote that’ was backed by more than 90 percent of the railmen, they settled for 17 cents, following some inside shenanigans when A. R. Mosher, CBRE leader, backed away from a “united front” demand and Frank Hall, chief bargaining agent, sold out the rail workers’ basic 25% cent demand for 17 cents—without even consulting the membership. (Hall is also front man for Canadian ship- owners who are out to destroy the Canadian Seamen’s Union.)

That 17 cents, plus an earlier 10 cents, is all the Canadian rail workers have won since before the war. By contrast, a militant union such as the United Elec- trical Workers won more than 41 cents in wage increases from 1945 through 1948,

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But there is growing among rank-and-file workers a demand for a much greater measure of unity.

The Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers are voting on the question of amalgamating their unions. So far the reports of the votes range from 65 to 95 percent in favor. | :

But—and it is a big but—therie is already evidence that top union leaders are out to sabotage amal- gamation even before the vote is counted. In Edmonton, for in- stance, the top leadership of the engineers has sent out letters trying to influence the member- ship against amalgamation. It is said that the engineers’ leaders fear exposure of certain financial dealings. ?

The report from Moose Jaw,

Saskatoon and Prince Albert is that the rank-and-file is solidly for unity of the two brotherhoods and there is the strongest re sentment against Grand Lodge leaders under Alvaney Johnson spending huge sums of the brotherhood’s money on plane fares to campaign against amal- gamation. The argument that in- Surance furlds would be “endan- gered” is considered a phony by the rank and file engineers. “ It must be remembered that leaders of the rail unions are not like ordinary industrial union leaders, elected by the member- Ship at annual meetings. Many rail union leaders are even ap- pointed for life.

When I asked one rail worker why the men didn’t put. their heefs before meetings of the lo- cal, he replied:

“Meetings? Our local meets only once a year. We elect our

officers and that’s that.”

e : Today Canada’s rail workers face another serious threat to

their security: layoffs. That ugly word is sweeping across the rail lines and hitting every locality.

In the Spadina Shops in Tor- onto, 20 were laid off a week or so ago. In London, 50 have al- ready been let out. In the CNR back shops in Saskatchewan, 650 have been cast off. Vancouver shops reported 46 laid off two weeks ago and more than 120 from the maintenance of way gangs at the height of the usual extra gang season.

There have been layoffs in the Montreal shops, in Winnipeg and other points. A machinist from London, who signs himself “Front

' End,” writes about how the Lib-

erals made a special appeal to railroaders to “Vote Liberal and save your job!”

“But one week after the elec- tion that false slogan exploded like a soap bubble,” says Front Ender. “Approximatey 50 rail- roaders got their walking ticket —which is only the beginning. The policy is to dribble them off sO as to cushion the shock.

“Many Canadian ex-servicemen of the Second World War are being thrown out of railroad ser- vice, while Tory-plan immigrants are being retained with Only a few months’ actual railroad ser- vice, which, according to long- standing railroad standards, is a violation of seniority rights and wage agreements,

“The treacherous Frank Hall, through his agents in London, in both the AFL and CCL, is par- alyzing the trade union move- ment. ... From past experience the railroaders may expect to have the shorter work week pro- jected as a ‘solution to layoffs, without a compensating raise in pay. This, of course, will be false, as layoffs are scheduled regard- less.”

And there is another letter from a worker in the Weston shops, Winnipeg. He writes: “It wouldn’t be far wrong to guess that the shop staffs on the CPR have suffered a cut far in excess of that on the CNR. Ever since the victory bugles sounded the end of the last war, men in these shops have been retiring with no replacements being made. It is Senerally agreed that the staff in the Weston shops is around 300 less than it was in 1945, which means that there has been a lay- off of about 14% percent.

“Despite this creeping paralysis of laying off men, production has at least been maintained at the 1945 level... .”

And that raises the question of speedup. Efficiency experts have been seen around the shops with stop «watches, carefully timing every motion made by the work. ers. Speedup and layoffs £0 hand in hand.

Why speedup? Why layoffs?

A look at the news these days provides the answer in one dread word: Depression. The crisis in Britain will cut off hundreds of freight loads of Canadian goods to Britain and the Empire coun- tries. There will be less pulp shipped less grain, less meat, less manufactured products.

One rail worker from the west put it tersely when he said: “The growing crop on these prairies looks good. The question always in our minds is: Are we going to be able to sell it to the. world? We workers cannot see why not.”

(Half the world—Eastern Eur- ope, the Soviet Union, China, woukd buy from Canada, but the St. Laurent government Says No. Why? Because, along with his masters in Washington, St. Laur-

ent believes he can bring about.

the collapse of these countries by refusing to sell them food and machinery. The fact is, however, that these are the very countries that have made greater recovery since the war than any other in Europe.)

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And what of the running trades, the engineers, firemen, conduc- tors, trainmen, etc., whose broth- erhoods were organized as far back as 1873 and the early ’80’s— among the first unions in Canada. They “are not included in the present negotiations. They'll take what they can get later. But don’t get any idea that the rank-and- filers are not grumbling as much as in the other crafts.

Said a veteran railioader on the Coast: “There is considerable dis- cussion going on among the men that the contract should be open- ed up in order that the maximum mileage should be cut to at least 3,000 miles per month, thus spreading the available work out. It would likewise ease the fatigue and make for safer running con- ditions,”

The maximum mileage at pres- ent is 3,800 miles a month, which works out to about a 38-day month, and it is present policy of the rail bosses to work some the maximum while keeping others On slack time.

Engineers still remember how, back in the last depression, so many of them had-to revert to firemen.

Take a look at another branch °

of the railways—the sleeping car and dining car porters. Porters, practically all of whom are Ne- sroes, must work 240 hours a month. While they are on a run they get only. four hours out of 14 off plus a half hour for lunch, and they may work 8-10 days at a stretch like that. For this they are paid from 60 to 81% cents an hour, depending on length of ser- vice and type of car. When a

porter is asked to do the job. of, the sleeping car conductor as A ~-which happens frequently—the rate goes up to 83% cents. :

But here is the shameful fact: A sleeping car: porter can never become a conductor or hold any job except that of a portel; though he may be fully qualified to do the work. The reason? ws

The color of his skin.

“We are compelled to remaii porters,” one of them said, “and there is no other reason for it than race prejudice.” ae

Porters on the CNR are orgal- ized in A. R. Mosher’s CBRE, but no one can ever recall Moshe! uttering a single word against this vicious form of Jim Crow On ithe Canadian ralways. CPF Porters belong to the Brother- hood of Sleeping Car Porters, af filiated in the U.S. with the AFL

As for general working condi tions on the railroads they have to be seen to be believed. Bunk- houses and wash houses that £° back to the horse and bugey days; smoke and grime and airt and little protection. Truly did one worker “from Edmonton say: “Railroad machine shop worker® are far behind workers in other industries both in wages and working conditions.”

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Now, of course, the cry has again gone out from the rail com” panies that they can’t afford t? pay. They put out the most cook- ed-up financial statements ‘? make it appear that they are 10° ing money. (One can just imagi?® the board of directors of th® CPR continuing to operate a SY* tem that was losing money Bid stead of showing them a profit:

The CPR mining and real &© tate interests alone — they OW? the fantastically wealthy Consol dated Mining and Smelting ys B.C., hold oil rights to 11,378.67 acres of the praries and own out right 1,684,041 acres of good C4 nadian land in addition to hotels and other ventures, all of the? making profits—return a has some investment on CPR stock more and more. of which is g0i& across to the United States.

Evidence before the st Commission on freight . ro clearly indicated the ability Ae the CPR to pay—especally afte! they had won a. 21 percent ee crease in freight rates and nas recently upped their passemé and express rates. :

The government-owned or can likewise afford it. After a First World War, the governme? rescued the stockholders of Bs old Grand Trunk and the Ce dian Northern by taking tgs over, while guaranteeing ae dividends—just as they are

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ee eer AGE PACIFIC TRIBUNE—JULY 29, 1949-P.