Metro labor wants Oct. 14 CLC meet

TORONTO — Calling the Oct. 14 Day of Protest ‘‘a unique day in Canadian labor history’? Metro Toronto Labor Council president Sam Fox led off the council’s evaluation of the event at the Nov. 4 meeting.

Fox stressed that the labor movement should avoid destruc- tive recriminations towards non- participants, and that the fact that over one million workers were off the job that day was a signal to labor that ‘“‘we should recognize we did damned well . .. and go on from there.

“The widest possible unity of the labor movement should be one of the pre-requisites that we should work for’’, he said.

The discussion itself was among the recommendations

coming from an executive board statement on the Day of Protest which was passed unanimously by the delegates. The statement also called on the Canadian Labor Congress to convene a leadership conference to assess the fight back campaign to date, and for- mulate future plans.

Art Jenkyn of the UE said that the protest ‘‘had lifted the -under- standing of the Canadian people to a new political level. Hundre- d’s of thousands of people recog- nized that they have one common enemy and that is the whole boss class represented by its govern- ment in Ottawa’’.

The reprisals Jenkyn said, at- test to the success of the Day of Protest. ‘‘Let’s face it’’, he said “‘the bosses were smarting like

hell Oct. 14. They now want to show us who’s boss’’.

This pointed out, he said, the importance for each union to fight the reprisals, but that it was equally important for each union to have a unified labor movement to back them up in their fight.

He noted that the executive’s proposals indicated that the

council and the CLC are stepping

up the fight against the wage con- trols and will ensure that Oct. 14 was a beginning and not the end of the battle.

In other business the council unveiled its preliminary list of re- commended candidates for the forthcoming municipal elections. Which the delegates endorsed. Some however questioned the apparent discrepancy between

the selection criteria adopted at the last council meeting, and a subsequent 59 point question- naire which was circulated among the prospective aldermen on be- half of the council.

The bone of contention was a question in the survey requesting the candidates.to name their polit- ical affiliation if any.

Art Jenkyn noted that the origi- nal criteria approved by the dele- gates, determined a candidate’s eligibility based on support of the council’s municipal program.

“This was the basis upon which I and others supported the resolution,’’ he said. ‘‘Political affiliation should have no bearing on whether a person’s candidacy merits our support. Frankly I fear that if a person does not belong to

No Hamilton labor slate

By MARION TAGGART

HAMILTON — The Hamilton and District Labor Council at its Nov. 4 meeting displayed an in- teresting sequence of flip flops around the question of its endor- sation of candidates for the up- coming municipal elections.

The Political Action Commit- tee had earlier endorsed candi- dates expressing agreement with the council’s program for munici- pal reform, in line with accepted policy. PAC chairman Ben Des Roches gave the committee re- port, then declared himself in op- position to it.

He then read letters from five candidates requesting that their names be withdrawn from the council’s recommended list on the grounds that they did not want their names to appear alongside those of known communists.

In the past the council has al- ways endorsed New Democratic Party candidates.

Don Stewart, a candidate for Board of Control called the com- mittee’s action a ‘‘set up’’ and

First socialist revolution =r

asked the council not to ‘‘per- petuate red-baiting and witch- hunting’’. He reminded council that no candidates in the munici- pal elections were running under a party banner and that to be elig- ible for endorsation, the candi- dates would have to show their support for council’s punerpal reform program.

Stewart called for unity of all democratic and labor forces around a common program. He pointed out that not everyone considered the New Democratic Party the political arm of labor, but a part of the labor movement, and that there were other people who had things to say about and for labor.

Barry Fraser, a fellow member with Stewart in Local 105, Inter- national Brotherhood of Electri- cal Workers (IBEW), spoke in favor of the PAC report and told the delegates that his union had already endorsed Don Stewart for Board of Control.

Steelworkers’ delegate Brian Hinkley, who was one of the five

who had withdrawn his request for endorsation said, ‘‘I’ll be damned before I'll be part of a slate subscribing to wipe out our democratic right.”’

This type of backwardness was opposed by numerous delegates as they rose to support the PAC’s report.

Tom Davidson, United Elec- trical workers National Co- ordinator, said that the debate on the floor reminded him of 20 years ago when “emotions of the day had seen people black-listed and hounded.”’

UE Local 504 delegate Jim Pow appealed for unity in the council and reminded the delegates that the city of Hamilton needed every possible candidate to support and

carry out the labor council’s prog-

Tram.

Harold Keaton, Local 113 Rubberworkers drew the coun- cil’s attention to the unity of labor in Hamilton around Oct. 14 “‘when it didn’t matter what polit- ical party you belonged to.”’

He also blasted those making

DON STEWART

anti-communist. statements for having short memories. Citing the contributions of such people as Harry Hunter, Helen Anderson Coulson, and Peter Dunlop on city council, he reminded the de- legates that they were com- munists who as city councillors had greatly advanced the interests of the working class in the city while ‘in office.

The final result of the debate was that the Hamilton and Dis- trict Labor Council voted not to endorse any candidates for municipal office.

the ‘right’ political party, that this ) Les Kovasci, a member of the |

Municipal _ Action Committee, | which makes the recommen |

will eliminate him or her from this ° council’s recommendation.”’

dations to the council, responded by saying that the labor council had a long standing policy of elec

toral support for the NDP. How: ever he said, membership in the | Sh ‘was not part of the criten- |

”* for selecting prospective can- | didates “but a factor affecting |

PSAC, |

that decision.”’

Alex MacLennan, : asked if this being the case, whether ‘‘this section |

of the questionnaire will be in- e voked to choose recommended | :

candidates.’’

On a question of privilege Ali) Reese of the UE rose on behalf of _

local 514 which submitted 4

resolution earlier in the year call- | ing onthe council to endorse the _ Stockholm Appeal for world dis- armament and a UN-convened |

World Disarmament Conference:

Reese noted that the resolution _ had been discussed at three

executive committee meetings,

yet no action had been taken tO ~

place the question before the council membership for dis- cussion.

Vice-president Clive Ballat- 3 tyne told the delegates that the —

question had been referred to the

CLC for clarification, because the _

CLC policy statement which.sup- |

porters of the Stockholm Appeal say upholds the principles con-

tained in the peace petition,

namely support of disarmame was “‘an international matter’’.

This statement prompted Joe Grabek to ask “Do we have an

Ironworkers’ delegate

executive here that can make de- cisions?”’

Also in what was a surpise UP- set the results of the elections for _

delegates to the forthcoming On-

tario Federation of Labor Con- | —

vention indicated that Jim Bent ley and Ed Gentile of thé Pipe-fitters and CUPE respec tively were elected, while counc! president Sam Fox lost the ballot.

Fifty-nine years ago, on November >

7, 1917, arevolution of a new type took place in Russia. The Great October Revolution (Gregorian calender Oc- tober 25) differed from all previous popular uprisings, in that it banished forever class oppression and exploita- tion of man by man, and thus ushered in a new era in the world.

On the day the working class estab- lished its power in Russia, Lenin said: **A new period is now beginning in the history of Russia, and this, the third, Russian revolution must, in the end, lead to socialism.”’

How night he was.

* * *

The world’s first socialist revolution freed from capitalist slavery the popula- tion of a country which covers one- sixth of the earth’s surface. The revolu- tion took the country out of the butch- ery, destruction and exhaustion of the First World War, saved it from the danger of dismemberment and colonial enslavement, gave the peasant the long-awaited land, and freed the peoples of the country’s outlying reg- ions from national oppression.

The socialist revolution created the conditions whereby Russia, one of the most backward countries in 1917, was able to overcome its inferior economic position and, in a relatively short period of time, to overtake and surpass fore-

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—NOVEMBER 19, 1976—Page 8

most Western countries. Today the USSR has the most stable economy in the world and ranks as one of the two

’ most powerful countries‘on earth.

For the first time in the history of man the socialist revolution in Russia created the conditions for solving the problem of women’s rights, namely, the legal and actual emancipation of women and giving them equal rights with men.

And, most importantly, the revolu- tion gave rise to a new, socialist state whose foreign policy has from the very outset served the cause of peace and friendship cmonp nations.

* *

The socialist revolution in Russia proved, once and for all, that society can very well do without landlords and capitalists.

The revolution not only put the work- ing class in power but also proved in practice that the working class could successfully govern the state, manage the national economy and create a new people’s culture — socialist in content and national in form. It proved also that without capitalists things go much better.

The revolution brought to the fore many gifted people from the ranks of the working people who thanks to

4

-Marxism-Leninism in Today’s World

socialism had a chance to show their worth and to freely exercise their talents.

* * *

The enemies of socialism, not only in Russia but in the capitalist countries generally, ridiculed the possibility of ordinary working people being able to hold onto power. They said that work- ers did not have the necessary man- agement and administrative skills to do so. Capitalist newspapers asked who will rule? Answering themselves, they scornfully suggested that perhaps the

_ Tulers would be cooks, firemen, stok-

ers, stablemen or nursemaids. They said maybe fitters will look after theatres, plumbers will take care of dip- lomacy, and joiners will run the postal service.

The defenders of capitalism consi- dered it the height of insantiy to think that their former workers and servants could take their place as the rulers of society.

However, history answered this question in the affirmative. And, in so doing, made a laughing-stock out of th- ose who said it couldn’t happen. ,

* Kk

To turn the possibility of revolution in Russia into reality required a great:

deal of political and organizational —

work in order, to unite the numerous and varied currents of popular indigna- tion against the main enemies of thé people — the capitalists and landlords-

The Communist Party (Bolsheviks)

under Lenin’s leadership were able @ Bo accomplish this. It succeeded in uniting into a single revolutionary stream thé

socialist movement of the working |

class, the general democratic mov | — ment against the war and imperialis™: | the revolutionary-democratic struggle I;

of the peasantry for land and peace, and the national liberation movement of thé | non-Russian sectors of the Russia Empire.

* * *

The lessons of the first social

revolution merit serious consideratio? |

on the part of Canadian workers. Whilé

- the forms of struggle might not be thé _ same in Canada, the principles of thé! _

struggle for social emanicipation are a true today as they were 59 yeas ago if old Russia. : These principles include: united struggle by the working-class an democratic forces, the winning working-class power, the creation ol ¢

socialist state supported by all who toil &

and, above all, a working-class party 9 the Leninist type able and willing © lead the united struggle of the workin! people against monopoly power.