Labor demands a say in rum

TORONTO — ‘‘Oct. 14 isthe
beginning, not the end of the line
for the Canadian working class”’,
William Kashtan generai secret-
ary of the Communist Party of
Canada told more than 250 com-
munists and other workers
crowded into. the Lithuaninan
Hall here, on labor’s historic Day
of Protest against wage controls.

Organized by the Metro To-

ronto Committee of the party, the .

social gathering followed the
massive demonstration of
thousands of workers on the steps

: ——

con 438 fore

of the Ontario legislature as part
of the Canadian Labor Congress’
National Day of Protest against
Bill C-73, the monopoly-inspired
wage cutting law implemented by
the Trudeau government.

“‘What the working class was
saying in this demonstration
across Canada today,’’ Kashtan
said, ‘‘is that they must have a say
in how this country is run and how
the economy is directed . . . that’s
the essence of the thing.”’

Kashtan went on to say, ‘‘de-
spite the efforts of the.

fight

LS ius

fy?
i
oe

at?

PHOTO — SEAN GRIFFIN _

—a
2

ee
——

VANCOUVER — Part of the six-block long march coming down Geor-
gia Street section of the 10,000 who took part. More than 200,000 workers

monopoly-owned media to mini-
mize Oct. 14, no one can take
away the fact that it mirrors the
growing strength and confidence
of the working class and its pow-
er, and its increasing awareness of
the need to combine economic
and political struggle to advance
its aims.’”

He noted that the monopoly

media has striven to undermine —

support for Oct. 14 by stating it is
an illegal act. ‘“‘Why is an act of
dissent illegal, while poverty,

exploitation and unemployment -

are considered legal,’’ he asked.
“Isn’t it time to change. the
rules?”

“The Communist Party com-
pletely supports the CLC’s de-
mand for a greater say for the
workers,’ the communist leader
said. ‘‘It’s high time the workers
had a say on all questions of con-
cern to them.”’

He added that workers need to
have a say in the closing down of
plants, and in directing invest-
ment policy so that it. advances
their real interests.

Monopoly and its Government
stand in the way of achieving this,
he noted. This is underscored by
the Speech from the Throne
which provided no serious ap-
proach to easing the burden of the
crisis which the working people
are being forced to bear through

deteriorating standards. ‘‘In-
stead,’ Kashtan pointed out ‘‘the
government’s announced inien-
tion is to move in the direction of
restoring the free market place
and eliminate the adversary
character of labor relations. The
Speech from the Throne is a
further concession to monopoly
and a continuing blow to the
rights of the trade union
movement.

“This is why unity of action by
the NDP and Communist Party
around a common program is so
urgent’’ the communist leader
stressed. ‘‘The times call for a
real alternative to the crisis
policies of monopoly based on
democratic nationalization of the
commanding heights of the
economy, democratic planning
and a coalition government com-
posed of NDP, Communist Party
and other democratic forces to
implement\such a program’.

Kashtan observed that the
sooner such unity is achieved, the
sooner the working class will ad-
vance on all fronts. He pointed
out that at its recently concluded
23rd convention the Gommunist
Party had issued a call for unity
with the NDP and other democra-
tic organizations around such an
alternative program.

“‘We made an appeal,’ the
communist leader said, ‘“‘for the

and consultations which migilv
lead to agreement on a commoi<m
alternative program directed #*SS
win: full employment, nationé rk
zation of key industries a%"C
banks, public ownership ° o;
natural resources, repeal of Bl
C-73, and the restoration and @Whi
tension of the scope of collective |
bargaining to give the workers! Ogr
greater say in the administra alj
of production, investment poli¢.
layoffs, and health and safely
measures.” {

Kashtan however was critic lly
of the sectarian and opportunistirig,
practices of the NDP as expl™by).
sed in a leaflet distributed to ! ort
protestors at Queen’s Park clai "hich
ing the NDP to be the only polit is
cal party in support of labor’s 8" W
against the controls. Mat’

The communist leader point? ot
out that though the federal win8 tii; «
the NDP has opposed the contro ms
program in parliament, in ev@ Uetj
province where they forme? | te
government the NDP suppor
the wage controls. ‘‘The NDPM nth
two voices,’’ Kashtan said, ” Y tight
that is no good.”

In contrast to this, he pointe. ‘
gut that the Communist Party, ®
soon as the controls were 4
nounced, immediately oppos”
them warning that the govel™
ment’s monopoly-serving PM)

i) we

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—NOVEMBER 5, 1976—Page De

in B.C. stayed off the job Oct. 14.

high inflation, unemployment and

opening of serious discussions

Unions cajolled, threatened, lied to

By TOM MORRIS
What was the mass media coverage of labor’s Oct.
14 Day of Protest like where you live? How was it
treated before, during and after the event?

Not surprisingly, in many cities the coverage re-
vealed more about the media itself than the Day of
Protest. From the moment the Canadian Labor Con-
gress announced the date, a concerted and growing
howl arose against labor’s action.

Led by the Toronto Star (circulation 494,000) labor
was wamed, cajolled, threatened and lied to. The
attack came in three distinct phases — pre-October 14
“softening up’’ process; ‘‘coverage’’ of activities;
“‘analysis’’ of the event.

The Softening up

This was a vital phase. Its aim was to play down the
protest, ridicule organized labor, warn the ‘‘public”’
about anarchy. Divisions and confusion were jumped
on with consuming passion and skill. Old and new
““experts’’ were dragged out to ‘‘prove’’ that the ac-
tion was unlawful, immoral, useless, self-defeating,
greedy, un-Canadian, and irresponsible. Some exam-
ples: “‘Unlawful and dangerous” says the lead edito-
rial in the Toronto Globe and Mail the morning of the
Protest.

Stories appeared of threats to the families of union

members who were not planning to take part and

several items questioning the legality of labor’s action
were added. Dark wamings of reprisals, beginning
with Trudeau and Labor Minister Munro were heard
as well as other threats from companies.

The press played the numbers game long before the
14th with a view to setting up a faiiure. On a smaller
scale, but just as insidious, was a story of a housewife
(whose husband is laid off at Ford’s) saying she works
a 15-hour day and the “national strike is laugh-
able .

Then a farmer is quoted in the same vein —~the
entire effort being to split the labor movement from
other sections of working people, creating the spectre
of ‘‘big labor’’ striking at the expense of the unor-

ganized. Naturally, little was to be found about the
CLC’s call to all sections of the population to join
together against Bill C-73.

Unions deciding not to take part in the protest were
given plenty of newspaper coverage. Members who
opposed the idea were quoted at length and it became
clear the main attack by the business media would
come around labor’s divisions.

This was perhaps most clearly seen in the massive
coverage given the speech of the former president. of
the Canadian Brotherhood of Railway, Transport and
General Workers, Donald Secord, in which he label-
led unions as ‘“‘greedy’”. The Toronto Star could
barely disguise its glee. It front-paged the news and
reprinted the entire speech inside. Once again labor

~learned which side the media is on and the price of

lack of unity.

The Coverage

The coverage was, classic. Actual numbers were —

played down and the press dragged out every availa-
ble scribe to do their job on the Protest. ‘‘The Rally
Becomes a Turkey”’ writes one columnist letting
loose on the Toronto Queen’s Park demonstration.
Globe writer Beddoes enjoyed himself in his ridicule
of the thousands who turned out. ‘“‘We slurped our
Marxist brath,”’ he wrote.

AIB boss Pepin was interviewed and saw the Day.
as “‘an admission of weakness’’ of labor. Editorially,
the big press decried the entire event and called for

reason and responsibility. They urged ‘‘cooperation’’

and asked labor to ‘‘re-think its role’’.

Masters of innuendo, the papers ran large photos of
the one or two wierdos who carried signs in opposi-
tion to the aims of the marchers. Out of the thousands
in Toronto, the Star could only find two people— one
carrying a sign saying ‘‘Who’s got the guts to stifile
union greed”’ and the other some strange slogans of
his own. These appeared on Page 1.

That paper’s Vancouver photo was of one person -

whose banner read: ‘‘I support C-73’’. The message
was clear. .

Some poor old man, 95 years of age, who took part
in the 1919 Winnipeg General Strike was tracked
down and told the reporter he doesn’t support the Day
of Protest. Then, further along, we learn he didn’t
sympathize with the 1919 strike either. But it made
good copy.

The letters pages were also enlisted. Oct. 16 To-
ronto Star printed five letters on the protest — all five
opposing labor.

The Analysis

Phase three varied little in its emphasis. Basically it
was a continuation of the campaign to smear labor and
its leadership.

The Toronto Globe and Mail editorially termed the
Day a failure and called that a success: ‘‘The cost of
the exercise — millions of dollars in lost wages and
lost production — will probably never be calculated
with any degree of accuracy, and no matter what legal
actions are launched, the losses will never be reco-
vered .

The Star’ Ss comments ran more along the line that
labor has had its fun, now lets cooperate and get

__ along.

+ 2%

Canadians re-learned the lesson that the labor
movement will not and cannot get fair reporting from
the business-controlled media. We saw once more
that the media not only distorts the news but plays a
key role in moulding and shaping events long before
the event takes place. It helps shape public opinion
and, with all the power at its fingertips, skillfully di-
vides and splits working people’s struggles.

None of this is new. We saw it take place recently
during the Ontario teacher’s strike. We saw this role,
open incitement in some cases, during the postal
strike last year. And we saw it used throughout the
October 14 Day of Protest.

What is new is that many thousands more will rec-
ognize this role for what it is — the voice of thé
employer and its governments, always giving the one
side, the anti-labor, pro big business side of the story
~—— and calling this ‘‘freedom of the press’’..

gram was detrimental to the wort :
ing class, would undermine