LABOR SCENE

by Bruce Magnuson

* The Malton aircraft worker
who told the CBC-TV news that
Canadian and United States
workers were not at logger-
heads, was absolutely right. He
was answering a question as to
whether this was a good time to
go on strike when Canada and
the U.S. were at loggerheads
Over economic and trade poli-
cies.

The Douglas Aircraft negotia-
tions, and the current strike as
well, will clarify much about
class and national relationships
between Canada and the U.S.

To begin with, it is the U.S.
monopoly . capitalists—with the
Canadian capitalists as their
“junior partners”—that made the
deals, gambled and lost in their
nefarious and bloody scheme to
dominate and exploit all of the
capitalist world. Canada’s “‘spe-
cial” relationship in this imper-
ialist plot started immediately
after the defeat of Hitler. The
failure of the U.S. monopolies
to reach their goals has brought
about the current economic,
trade and currency crisis. The
hitherto almighty U.S. dollar is
no longer supreme. The U.S.
ruling class has come to logger-
heads with the ruling class of
all other imperialist countries,
which includes Canada.

But it is the working class
which is expected to pay the
cost of this crisis—which they
had nothing to do with creating
in the first place—through loss
in real income, worsened work-
ing conditions and mass unem-
ployment. That is the meaning
of President Nixon’s wage freeze
and tax concessions to Amer-
ican monopolies, which will take
billions of dollars away from
workers and give them to the
corporations in the U.S. That is
the meaning of proposals from
right-wing politicians in Canada,
that this country must follow
President Nixon’s example. To
accomplish this common class
objective, the ruling class seeks
to divide and weaken working
class resistance, using the old

’ “divide-and-rule” tactic.

It is now revealed that the
McDonnell Douglas Corporation
of the U.S., through its subsid-
iary the Douglas Aircraft Co. of
Canada, sought a trade-off in
negotiations with the UAW. In
return for some modest mone-
tary concessions in wage and
fringe benefits, the company
wanted a free hand to reclassify
jobs, reduce the number of
Stewards and committeemen,
tamper with contract seniority
provisions, gain compulsory and
unlimited overtime and changes
in plant and work rules. With-
Out. any union commitment on
these totally unacceptable de-
mands, the company simply re-
fused to make any wage and
benefit offer and the strike be-
came inevitable.

It is clear that this was not
negotiation in good faith, but
outright company _ blackmail
against the union. Using Presi-
dent Nixon’s wage freeze, the
company sought to undermine
and destroy all union protec-
tions against speed-up, rationali-
zation and layoffs in the indus-
try before offering even the
minutest concession in wages
and benefits.

Armed with a union commit-
ment to such a_ disastrous
course for the Canadian aircraft
workers, it would then use this
as a pattern for U.S. negotia-
tions to beat down the condi-
tions of all American aircraft
workers. A neat strategy, in-

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—FRIDAY, OGTQBER 22, 1971—PRAGE\4 3

deed, of pitting Canadian work-
ers against U.S. workers in the
interest of monopoly profits.

Consequently, the Malton air-
craft worker’s remarks hit the
nail right on the head. It is not
the workers who are at logger-
heads, but the rulihg corporate
giants who seek to solve their
problem at the workers’ ex-
pense.

All of this raises another most
serious question for both Cana-
dian and U.S. ‘working people.
Why did the executive council
of the 13-million-member AFL-
CIO, plus the heads of the inde-
pendent Teamsters and United
Auto Workers unions agree to
participate in Phase 2 of Presi-
dent Nixon’s economic policy,
which extends- the wage freeze
in the U.S. for another year?
Surely this action will not make
the UAW struggle in the aero-
space industry, either in Can-
ada or the United States, easier
for the. union.

It is a widely recognized fact
that the disastrous course em-
barked upon by the U‘S. presi-
dent will stand or fall on the
decision taken by organized la-
bor to tag along or to resist the
government-monopoly pressure.
As the press reported on Oct.
12, the spokesmen for the Nixon
administration considered or-
ganized labor’s participation in
the extended pay-freeze plan to
be “critically necessary” and
the mass media conceded that
labor leaders had it within their
power to “make or break Phase
2 of the president’s plan.”

It was on Oct. 12 that a mem-
orandum entitled ‘Grievances
against Canada: Major Items”
was released, in which a long
list of demands on Canada by
the U.S. government was leaked
out. The real meaning for Can-
ada of these demands, if acced-
ed to, was already spelled out
by External Affairs Minister
Mitchell Sharp, speaking to the
Centre for Inter-American Rela-
tions in New York in late Sep-
tember, i.e., more than three
weeks earlier. To quote from an
editorial in the Toronto Globe
and Mail of Sept. 28:

“” .. Suggestions from respon-
sible authorities in the United
States that Canada should re-
duce its secondary manufactur-
ing industry and concentrate on
the exploitation of natural re-.
sources are as insensitive as
they are uninformed .. .”

The paper went on to say: “‘So
there is nothing academic at all
about the idea that the Amer-
icans ‘just want us to be sellers
of natural resources to them and
buyers of their manufactured
products’. The suggestion has al-
ready been made. This could
mean that Mr. Trudeau was not
really being academic either,

about his consideration of alter-
natives. ‘We have a whole ga-
mut of choices —from integra-
tion with the United States to
total war against the United
States and everything in be-
tween,’ he said.

“Well, before Mr. Trudeau
considers ‘integration with the
United States’ — an integration
in which we would be no more
than a colony—he had better
make some determined efforts
‘to explore other relationships
that Canada might develop,
other markets we might find. If
our resources are to be our
chief bargaining point, why are
we not bargaining with Western
Europe, with Japan? If our re-
sources are to be sold, then it
is essential that they be sold not
just for dollars—many or most
of which would find their way
back to the United States any-
way — but for jobs for Cana-
dians.. =...

But Canada is not for sale or
grabs by any foreign monopoly.
We. cannot allow Canadian
monopolies to barter away
Canadian independence and in-
dustrial development for the ex-
clusive profit gains of a few.

Commenting on the press re-
on Canada in a statement is-
sued on Oct. 12, Mr. Donald
MacDonald, president of the
Canadian Labor Congress, stated
that acceptance of these de-
mands would “. . . not only re-
sult in grave danger to the
Canadian economy but would
also seriously impair Canada’s
political sovereignty ... We find
it difficult to believe that a large
and powerful nation such as the
United States would be so in-
sensitive as to aim its big eco-
nomic guns at a much smaller
country like Canada (he must
have forgotten about Vietnam
and scores of others — B.M.)
and we therefore hope that this
memorandum does not gain of-
ficial status. However, if it
should turn out that this be-
comes official American policy,
then we strongly urge the Cana-
dian government to reassess
completely both our economic
and political relations with that
country.”

But, this is official U.S. policy.
And the Trudeau government
knows that it is. The question
now is, particularly for organiz-
ed labor, to mount the most ef-
fective campaign for immediate
government action to _ recast
Canada’s national policy. This
means a reversal of the ‘“Ab-
bott Plan” of 1947, an end to
the cold war, and an orientation
towards world-wide trade in-
cluding one-third of mankind
now living under socialist sys-
tems that know of neither crisis
nor unemployment.

CLC hits ‘outrageous

OTTAWA—tThe Canadian la-
bor movement is deeply con-
cerned by the U.S. imperialist
onslaught on our country.

Donald MacDonald, president
of the Canadian Labor Congress
issued the following statement
on Oct. 12:

“We are greatly disturbed by
published newspaper reports
that the U.S. administration has
prepared a list of demands which
Canada allegedly must meet as
a condition for the removal of
the 10% surcharge on Canadian
exports to that country.

“If the memorandum entitled

‘Grievances against Canada:
Major Items’- actually reflects
official American policy, this
would be tantamount to outra-
geous economic and political
blackmail against Canada. The
acceptance of these American
demands as listed in this mem-
orandum would not only result
in grave damage to the Cana-
dian economy but would also
seriously impair Canada’s poli-
tical sovereignty.

“No nation can accept de-
mands such as are being report-
ed and at the same time. con-
tinue to regard itself as an inde-

U.S. bosses, not workers are foe”

UNCLE SAM’S NEW SUSPENDERS

Nixon's god is profits~
monopolies rake them!

By WILLIAM ALLAN

President Nixon’s big pitch
when he spoke to 5,000 big
business execs in Detroit was
to pledge allegiance to the
maintenance of the profit sys-
tem and making sure wage in-
creases, cost of living raises
due millions of workers will not
be paid. It brought great rounds
of- applause.

* ae *

A part of the Nixon plan of
stealing legitimate raises from
workers via the wage freeze
plan have already cost 200,000
auto’ workers in 1,000 plants in
the U.S. millions of dollars.
They have been denied from
4c to 8c an hour raises to meet
cost of living increases. This
boosts the profits. =

* * *

In November, some 700,000
General Motors, Ford, Chrysler,
American Motors workers, mem-
bers of the UAW, if they don’t
get a 28c an hour increase (cost
of living, and productivity raise)
stand to lose $7,800,000 each

blackmail’

pendent country. We find it dif-
ficult to believe that a large and
powerful nation such as_ the
United States would be so in-
sensitive as to aim its big eco-
nomic guns at a much smaller
country like Canada, and we
therefore hope that this memor-
andum does not gain officia
status.
“However, if it should turn
out that this becomes official
American policy, then we strong-
ly urge the Canadian govern-
ment to reassess completely
both our economic and political
relations with that country.”

no hewetric:)

_the second quarter 0

week they don’t get it e
keeping the profit system
as Nixon promised. Nixot!
Meanwhile, how well 190
wage freeze aids thé op
tions is seen by some &%#
of the big upsurge of
over most of 1971. ctu
Profits of U.S. manufas quit
after taxes for the seco? mate
ter of 1971 just about
their all-time highs of a
fits of manufacturers befOl
es (Nixon told 5,000 # i
executives that for @¥@ pel
made in profit the gov
gets $1) have skyrockelé (te
from before the wage
period.

* * Be ths J 4

For the first six MOP 1g
1971, General Motors Ji
after tax a profit of $1.2 fof
This is 43% higher that =
same period a year age

* *

Ford Motor Company rep
$367 million in after we y
for the first half of th Py
even after they claim off
million loss in profits ie i
65-day strike at Ford of 1g fi
If not for that strike, FO de Hh
half of 1971 profits WOM gp! §
been on a par with the
ny’s all-time record high on
ed for 1965’s first six ™

* * & 2

The profit rise among e
manufacturing corporal
d

one of the most widesPreng

the last 20 years, acc” pag
the First National City

his Detroit promise ° f
profits by continuing tht
freeze. He called for wi)
production (read: sPe@™ ‘opp
the way to get “more j
What he really meant W
profits, less jobs.

ao

IVs

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