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Labor Day 1952

Labor Day was “officially” created in 1892, following a Mon- treal convention of the Trades and Labor Congress of Canada which “resolved, that the first Monday in September be made a public holiday to be known as Labor Day.” The trade union bureaucrats of that day. under the leadership of AFL president Sam Gompers were united with the politicians and “captains. of industry’’ on the need of such ‘‘re- cognition” for another reason... to head off the growing popularity and significance of May May as a day of international workingclass unity and solidarity. Nothing the bosses and their trade union fak- ers hate and fear so much as workingelass unity, Hence the ready agreement of capitalist gov- ernments in Canada and elsewhere to a statutory holiday as a “re- cognition” of labor in: the scheme of things, .

Unofficially, however, Labor Day had a more auspicious birth. Twenty years earlier, in 1872, the Toronto Trades and Labor Coun- cil, supporting the historic Toron- to printers’ strike of that year, “moved, that we have a demon- stration to be know as Labor Day.” This demonstration Was attended by over 10,000 ‘Toronto workers in support of the printers union and its fight to establish the right of trade union organization to win higher wages and improv- ed working conditions.

Our ‘‘safe and sane’ trade un- jon bureaucrats of today carefully avoid mention of that phase of the origin of Labor Day in their annual messages. Anything that smacks of militant united struggle js not considered respectable by the swivel-chair fraternity.

‘ x * *

Labor Day of 1952 confronts organized labor in Canada’ with tremendous problems. The war policies of the St. Laurent govern- ment. dictated by U.S, imperial- ism, have plunged Canadian econ- omy into a steadily worsening crisis. These U.S.-dictated poli- cies have resulted in the subordin- ation of our resources, our mar- kets, our productive capacity, and the economic and social security of our people. to the objectives and interests of a war-minded Yankee imperialism in its mad drive for world domination and conquest. c :

The drive of Canadian capit- alism as a junior partner of Wall Street to launch drastic wage cuts, “hold the line on wages” and depress living stan- dards; to pile up mountainous taxation for armaments. and cut expenditures for needed in- dustrial, civil, and social ser- vice expansion to the bone— these issues present Canadian labor with only one alternative for survival; united action for expanding markets, greater em- ployment, and higher wages; to win those advances commensul- ate with a peace-time economy, In other words, united action to win peace!

In the great strike struggles which have already taken place in B.C. during 1952, involving the IWA, building trades, hardrock miners, fishermen and _ others, some lessons are already obvious for all to see. , Wherever decisive and militant leadership prevailed, the workers won substantial wage gains, as in Mine-Mill and ‘the puilding trades. In other cases where the workers were misled

into aquiescent state of “‘wait and’

see’,, or where agents of the bosses managed~-to penetrate the ranks of labor with the insidious

the burden of lost markets,’ as in the case of the fishermen, the workers got little or nothing to meet steadily rising fiving costs. This despite the fact, that even in face of falling markets (for which the bosses and their politi- cal yesmen are primarily respon- sible) many of .B.C.’s most power- ful monopolist concerns chalked up record profit grabs in their 1951-52 fiscal year.

Labor Day of 1952 faces the

Canadian provinces with one of the greatest struggles in its his- tory, viz,.the job of placing the responsibility for lost markets, growing unemployment, rising liv- ing costs, dwindling social secur- ity, and excessive taxation, where it rightfully belongs—upon the doorstep of those political parties, interests and individuals who have tied Canada to the criminal war adventures of Yankee imperialism.

Difficult as the task may seem to be, it is just a simple and dir- rect as that, despite the opportun- ist political footwork of the Ben- goughs, Coldwells, Moshers, etc. As each new battle is.joined in growing strike struggles, it be- comes increasingly difficult for these social democrats and trade union misladers to travel their well-beaten “middle” road.

It was not Bengough’s unwill- ingness to cooperate with St. Laurent’s Minister of Labor Gregg when the latter suggested a ban on strikes at the recent TLC Winnipeg convention that made him back up; similarly, Bengough and his reactionary trade union hierarchy were right out in front with the yellow press in calling for the outlawing of the Labor- Progressive party. The factor that stayed their hand was the recognition by tens of thousands of trade unionists * throughout Canada (whom these fakers mis- represent) that the banning of strikes and the gagging of work- ingclass political parties, would be equivalent to liquidating trade unionism in Canada.

The defeat .of the Bengough machine in the TLC convention and the growing awareness of the

being and freedom, give Labor Day of 1952 a special significance. Fulminating against ‘commun- ism” -never built a single union nor added an extra sou to a wage earner’s pay envelope. But it does —and has—reduced once’ pow- erful trade union organizations to a mere caricature of their former strength and influence; which is, of course, -the main purpose of the red-baiters*and witch-hunters, within and outside the ranks of labor. :

On this Labor Day the power- ful million-strong trade unions of Canada have a big job of work facing them; of spearheading a united people’s struggle for poli- cies of peace and prosperity, to win back Canada’s independence of action, freed from the domin- ation of a power-drunk dollar- imperialism: to win back the su- premacy of the Parliament of Canada as the voice of a sover- eign people, in place of rule by Yankee-inspired order-in-council decree, ;

Labor must make Labor Day what its trade union promoters of 1872 meant it to be, a militant “demonstration” for Canada by the working people who have built Canada: a ‘‘demonstartion”’ by a united trade union movement for markets, jobs, higher wages and lasting peace, in place of grow- ing economic crisis, fascism and war, That is the true significance

labor movement in this and other |&

Yankee threat to Canada’s well-|-

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yagi fever of the 90s.

Witness a few of the details:

@ Sixteen American army offi- cers arrived in Ottawa on August 24 for a tour of Canadian mili- tary and industrial installations.

@ A corporation has been formed in Boston of 10 invest- ment companies with assets of $800,000,000 for the purpose of buying up Canadian stocks, in- dustries and resources. It is call- ed the Canada General Fund, Inc., and in it are several leading Can- adian financiers, including the Rt. Hon. Arthur Meighan, former prime minister, his son, Col, Max- well Meighan, and former On- tario Lieut.- Gov. Ray Lawson.

@ It was announced several weeks ago that 48.12 percent of the common stock in the CPR is now owned in the United States —up from 39 percent in 1947.

@ The following U.S. periodi- cals and newspapers have within the last four months carried ma- jor articles on Canada, some de- voting an entire issue to Cana- dian resources, government, tax- ation, and other points of concern to the investor:

Saturday Review of Literature.

Fortune magazine—the $1.25 super-publication for the top brass of big business.

Colliers — a mass distribution

publication notorious for its Third World War issue showing world supremacy of U.S. through armed conquest. _ The New York Times—a series of three major articles by Finan- cial Editor John Forrest headed “The Giant Awakens.”

of Labor Day in 1952.

propaganda that “‘all must share e

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The Wall Street Journal, organ

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- “Buy Canada” is the new boom sweeping th In scores of magazines and newspapers, of investment houses, in a spate of advertisements’ in leading journals, the the is; Buy Canada!—"‘Land of Promise’; ‘“‘Booming resources——rich land to OM

north’; ‘““The Giant Awakens.”

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‘Buy Canada’ plot sweeping United States: investors seek to grab all natural resources |

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Time magazine, a branch of the Fortune Luce outfit controlled by J. P. Morgan interests.

In ali of these publications, the emphasis has been on Canada’s tremendous wealth of natural re- sources set against the report is- sued by President Truman’s ad- visers that the United States was running into critical shortages of key raw materials for her indus- trial plane and arms program; and on her strategic military lo- cation betwee the U.S. and the USSR. :

As distinct from the gold rush days, the Buy Canada Boom is not the result of an accidental strike by a prospector,

It is a highly organized plot, set in motion by the Canadian and U.S. Chambers of Com- merce, to sell Canada to the United States as quickly as pos- . sible, }

On April 7 in Montreal, the joint committee of the Canadian and U.S. Chamber of Commerce submitted an, 11-point program designed to streamline the inte- gration of the Canadian and U.S. economies. The program, adopted unanimously by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce ence, emphasized the need for an exchange .of speakers, booklets, advertising, films, etc., all adver- tising Canada in the U.S. and promoting the policies and ideo- logy of the United States — the “American Way of Life’? — in Canaida.

Recruited for the job of selling Canada south of the border are

PACIFIC TRIBUNE — AUGUST 29, 1952 — P4

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headed by External Affairs ister Lester Bowles Pearso™ — the role of sales manager. Pearson, Trade Minister © ei Howe, Resources Minister R. it Winters, Health Minister ter Martin, and Immigration Minis Walter Harris are amon who in the past several have made a series of im speeches in the United State? .. tolling the wonder of canede inviting the U.S, to come UP a see us, and shamelessly praise’ the United States as the “8! leader.”’ : ; det Witness, for example, the a dress of L. B. Pearson to the ©° ference of State Governors ke Houston, Texas, June 30, SP° ing of the “great coalition” own words) of Canada ane United States, Pearson told as governors: A ‘In this coalition, we 4. junio? partner and you are ¢ oh _great leader.” te \ p His entire speech was @) M, this theme. He began by $4).

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ay “I want to talk to you about OF ada and our relations wit he our great and. good nels nite’

Then he told of how the States was becoming “more © scious” of Canada, adding+ 4 “Previously Canada was gs land of fishing and nuntn ‘Mounties’ and old quere ‘where you got 10 cents the for your dollar. Now it 8g St. Lawrence waterway: , ore, oil and industries, bUC ,, ary surpluses, and soldier®

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