a

U.S. labor shows political strength © hy defeat of anti-labor measures

S & FRANCISCO

One of the most significant de-

velopments of the U.S. election campaign was the strength

displayed by labor in securing the defeat of anti-labor laws in five out of six states, despite the virulent anti-

to work”

“right

labor campaign of the past two years.

The 1 of defeat ranged from almost 2 to 1 in Califor- nia and Colorado to a _ hair-

breadth in Idaho.

The was State Ohio

open shop Washington

compulsory rejected by voters, 5 to 3, and by

voters, 3 to 2.

Kan- 4 to

Only in agricultural sas did the measure pass, 3.

In Indiana, Republican Go- rold W. Handley, who labor by

“right to

ernor Ha had double-crossed failing to veto a work” measure passed by the legislature, was defeated in his

bid for a US.

~

Senate seat.

fight work”

In California, the

against the “right to

sroposition stirred the state’s 1,600,000 organized workers into a fury of doorbell ringing leaflet distribution un- d in recent years.

and equalle labor generally sup-

the Democratic ticket, depend on the Demo-

While ported it didn’t

erats for leadership in the fight to defeat the “right to work” measure — Proposition

18 on the California ballot.

Labor established its own precinct organization and con- own campaign. In one day, through a mobiliza- tio of trade unionists, it dis- tributed election material to 251,000 of a total of 284,000 households in Alemeda County.

ducted its

; The question, for the future i: To what extent will labor develop its own forms of poli- tical activity, as in the cam- paign against the “right to work” measure, rather than rely upon its alliance with the

Democratic Party?

The victory of Democratic Edmund G. Brown over Re- publican William F. Knowland

in the California gubernatorial race is more than a defeat for the man who has become known as “the senator for For- mosa” because of his support for John Foster Dulles . and Chiang Kai-shek in the U.S. Senate — it is also a major blow, delivered in his home state of California, to Vice- President Richard Nixon’s 1960 presidential aspirations.

Nixon helped to promote Knowland over Governor Goodwin F. Knight as the Republican Party’s candidate

‘Democratic

L SENATOR KNOWLAND The voters retired him

for Now, as one re- sult of Nixon will go to the Republi- 1960

does

governor. Knowland’s_ defeat,

can convention in with

a delegation which not

control its own state.

At the same time, Nixon faces a new challenger for the Republican presidential nomination in Nelson Rocker- feller, flushed with his vic- tory over Democratic incumb- ent Averell Harriman in the “millionaires’ race’ for the New York governorship.

Harriman’s defeat was a re- buff to Tammany Hall and its boss, Carmine DeSapio. At the New York state convention of the Democratic Party, De- Sapio’s machine over-rode the Liberal Party, which has func- tioned as an independent ad- junct of the Democrats, in its selection of candidates. It was a victory for the machine, but it contributed to Harriman’s defeat.

One consequence of the victory, as the San Francisco People’s World points out in arguing for in- dependent political action by labor, is that “big business at- tentions and favors will be. in- creasingly lavished on _ the party as it controls Congress and a majority of state houses and bids fair to take the presidency in 1960.

“We have witnessed such a development in California. As Edmund G. Brown gained in his race against Knowland, so did he gain big money ad- herents including the Hearst press. And as these influences grew in the campaign the position on issues was watered down.”

Algerian vote sham charged

CAIRO — The

Algeria, of physically torturing

provisional

cusing the de Gaulle regime in France of using terrorist meth-

od to force Algerians to in-

the

candidates and to

the

stand as fluence outcome of November 30 elections.

French military authorities

are accused of threatening Al-

gerians who refuse to stand as candidates and, in one cited instance at Mila in eastern Algeria, of physical torturing men who refused to put their

names forward.

The control commission sent from Paris to supervise the elections has reported that lack of representative Moslem candidates will deprive the elections of any semblance ‘of validity. So far Algiers is the only in-which candidate lists been announced

city have

pepe ae This coming Wednesday, November 19, has been designate

as British Columbia Day,

swearing in at old Fort Langley (above) of Governor James Douglas of Vaneouver Island as governor of the new crow?

colony of Columbia.

marked by

British

has been restored at an estimated cost of $250,000.

TEN YEAR SURVEY

U.S. production up 37 percent : but 12 percent fewer workefs |

NEW YORK Production in the United States has risen by 37 percent over the past decade.

But this tremendous increase of goods produced was achiev- ed with 12 percent fewer em- ployees.

This information, which would apply equally in Can- ada, was released recently by Standard and Poor Corpora- tion, researchers and statisti- cians for big business.

The Wall Street Journal, big business mouthpiece, tells a similar story of “. soar- ing output with man- power.”

The Journal confirmed the point: already made by union researchers that the uptrend in production far outruns the rate of recall of workers to jobs.

The indication is that many workers now unemployed will not get back their old jobs in manufacturing industry.

Standard and Poor sees the phenomenal upswing stemming from new facilities, lengthen- ing of the work-week without going to overtime or adding employees, tightening up ef- fected: all down the line dur-

less

ing the better

recession period and employee discipline.

In a five year period, when productivity figures were reaching an all-time high, em- ployment fell off in the US. by better than two million workers. “The recession led to elimination of ‘deadwood’ and a general tightening up of la- bor force.” is the way -Stand- ard and Poor seeks to explain what -trade unionists simply call “speedup.”

Rising even faster than pro- ductivity, says Standard and Poor, are profits, “and with sales currently rising, profit margins should widen percept- ibly "3. there are strong reasons for feeling that corp- orate profits . . . will be running at an annual rate of $42 billion or more .. .”

At the same time U.S. gov- ernment economists note “in- creased resistance by employ- er to wage demands.” What the employers term ‘“moder- ate (low) wage boosts” will be absorbed, it is noted, ‘‘on an over-all basis as a result of the markedly increased indust- rial productivity.”

Although none of the busi- ness organizations and jour-

November 14, 1958 —

* 14

the 100th anniversary of

fy

The anniversary will a i

an official ceremony at. Fort Langley, whi ti iM

oh

. : \

nals that reported this st ing information on int at I productivity and employ™ t decline mentioned it, the 7. \ tire piece reads like 4 P® te | ful argument for the shor | work week. sti iy

Here is some of the 5# f \ cal data included in the at

Street Journal article: at we y

e From the low pol ro" ih 1949 to the peak of 1953 Fy due tion in manufacll the jumped 43 percent. Duri sy same period of time wor i staffs only went up 9 ee cent. “and

®@ Between mid-1954 be 1956 factory production ‘th fh ed another 20 percent wi | increase in staff of 0”

percent. ;

SPOTLESSLY CLEAN || i TASTY MEALS { BOOTH SERVICE

* : i ‘Hot’ Corned Beef ~ \ on Rye a Specialty sul 4

FOUR - TEN fly COFFEE SHOP

410 Main St. i 7 am. - 6 p.m. =] Me

Closed Sundiy a

(ei PACIFIC cure UNE