ANB BLL fe a

© their officers and execu-
Ne council. The convention
X place in the Mount Pleas-
Mt Legion hall.
\While the gathering lacked
}*color of the national mer-
convention earlier in the
Mar, it was not ‘lacking in
scerity and devotion to the
‘Hels ana principles of united
boy,
the mood of the convention
best illustrated by three
7, "ates, on the methods of el-
“ting the executive council,
»,2Ublic ownership of the
1 Power Corporation and
, the proposed readmission
Bthe suspended United Fish-
hen and Allied Workers’
‘Non,
Phen it was first proposed
i,t six officers from the
f "and ten council members
},™ the different area groups
€ province, it was obvious
},, ° Sharp division of opin-
typ Vouwr'd take place, and
Ys what happened.
I Se who favored the idea
Ta it would give more direct
iy, Ore effective representa-
4 to Vancouver Island, In-
a and northern trade un-
}, Centres. Those in opposi-
a argued that the conven-
Ta, Should be free to vote for
Th €st men available, ir-
iyrective of where ‘they re-
}j, °° The final vote was 177
Wor of election at large
ty 10 in favor of area rep-
a “ntation.
yy tly every speaker, pro
iy, 0) Voiced his determina-
‘i, © make the federation a
Vip cratic organization re-
five to the wishes of the
fnership, Although. the
fe? TLC body had \area
a entation and the form-
hy EC body did not, the vot-
the “ut across these lines. But
Moyesetes passed out later
en that the majority
om onstrained to make
ing Concessions to the feel-
Of the minority.
 «Ve-line resolution word-
int Ublic Ownership”, sub-
in DY Vancouver and Dis-
Council, nearly
a five-hour debate,
Monee finally adopted in
Thi Y amended form.
Ihe 'S resolution called upon
Nome Officers in their next
hing on to the provincial
tne’ to press for provincial
Uh, Sip of the B.C. Power
he, sion, parent company
Mth of public ownership
Berne: Electric.
tty, <tt King of the B.C. El-
OK. Office Employees, Art
thy of Electrical Work-
nine (under international
Unio tation) and E. P. O’-
Meng” of the B.C. Govern-
Nain Mployees, were the
tig, PPOnents “of the reso-

se2
bod

den of their argument

LC, CCL

~ Last week in Vancouver, lab

“Pat four days hammering out a co

ai

By JACK PHILLIPS

WILLIAM BLACK

Sk PARED
GEORGE HOME

was that provincial govern-
ment employees were denied
collective bargaining rights
and worked for sub-standard
wages and conditions. They
maintained that to enlarge the
sphere of public ownership be-
fore winning collective bar-
gaining rights for government
employees was dangerous.
They did not try to deny the
fact that public ownership of
basic utilities is CLC national
policy, but sought to bypass
it.

Teed off against them were
such well-known figures in
the labor movement as Robert
Strachan, delegate from the
Carpenters and leader of the
CCF: Opposition in the legis-
lature, Arthur Turner, Steel-
workers and CCF MLA for
Vancouver East, Bill Black of
the Hospital Workers and John
Hines of the Painters.

They pointed out that their
opponents had confused the is-
sue by dealing with two ques-
tions, preserving our natural
resources for the people and
civil rights of government em-
ployees, instead of one. They
declared that public owner-
ship did not necessarily mean
denial of rights to public ser-
vants,

Strachan . used Saskatche-

or history was made when the unions of the former
Wtadian Congress of Labor (CCL) and the Tradessand Labor Congress of Canada
HLC) joined in setting up the new British Columbia Federation of Labor. Close
1400 delegates from every part of B.C., representing more than 100,000 workers,
| nstitution, debating policy resolutions and elect-

wan to prove his: point and
took some pointed digs at the
Socred government in B.C.

Black blasted the same gov-
ernment for the raw deal it
gave his hospital workers,
but. placed himself strongly
on record as being in favor of
public ownership.

“We know that if we didn’t
have hospital insurance in
this province, many workers
would not be able to afford
hospital care, and we would
not be able to serve you,” he
said.

Turner caused a commotion
when he flatly charged the
B.C. Electric Office Employ-
ees’ Association, represented
in the convention, with being
the voice of the B.C. Electric.
This was in reference to a let-
ter circulated to delegates. by
that association, suggesting
that whenever public utilities
come under public ownership,
collective bargaining rights are
lost and wages and working
conditions deteriorate.

Angry delegates from the
association and from Electri-
cal Workers Local 213 sprang
to their feet, shaking their
fists in the general direction
of the ceiling and shouting
“Retract! Withdraw!”

At the chairman’s request,
Turner withdrew his remark,
but it was obvious that the
majority of the delegates were
not. unduly shocked by his
sharpness. On the contrary,
they were amused at the ex-
plosive reaction of those who
spoke for employees of the
B.C. Electric.

The motion was finally car-
ried by an overwhelming ma-
jority, with the provision that
there should be adequate pro-
tection’ for the bargaining
rights of the employees direct-
ly concerned.

Another resolution that
sparked debate was one re-
commending readmission of
the 5,000-strong United Fish-
ermen and Allied Workers’ Un-
ion. The powerful resolutions
committee swung its weight
to recommend non -concur-
rence, on the grounds that
such matters were normally
dealt with under the terms of
the constitution, by national
conventions or by the nation-
al officers.

Despite this fact, one third
of the delegates voted for re-
admission, demonstrating
the strong democratic feelings
of the rank-and-file trade un-

ionists.
William Stewart, Marine
Workers, stated that while

such unions as the Fishermen
had been suspended or expell-
ed for being “totalitarian” or-
ganizations, there was no defi-
nition of totalitarianism.
Referring to Electrical
Workers 213, he said:

“There’s one union in Van-
couver that has not held an
election for more than two
years. The recent Tunnel and
Rock Workers’ dispute is an-
other type of domination. We
have a duty to ask the Cana-
dian Labor Congress to remove
this ban at its next convention.
There are certain unions which
shouldn’t be part of the Can-
adian labor movement. The
ones we should bar are those
that don’t hold meetings and
elections.”

Dea‘ing with the Columbia
River system, delegates called
upon the provincial govern-
ment, through the B.C. Power
Commission, to take the fol-
lowing action:
® Undertake construction of

Mica Creek dam at an ear-
ly date, as the initial step
in cverall development of
the river for irrigation and
flood control.

® Establish the B.C. Power
Commission as the sole
agency for Columbia Riv-
er development.

The convention voted ‘to
protect the country’s resourc-
es from U.S. encroachments
and requested the national of-
fice to make a study of “the
problems of ever-increasing
American ownership in Can-
ada.”

The fate of a resolution on
world peace, submitted by
Pulp and .Sulphite Local 312.
illustrates the traditional
method of handling resolu-

Sask. seals
labor merger

REGINA

One hundred and seventy-
three delegates from the Sas-
katchewan Federation of Lab-
or (CCL) and the Saskatche-
wan Provincial Federation of
Labor (TLC) warmly shook
hands across convention tables
last week when they adopted
the constitution that trans-
formed the two organizations
into one 20,000-strong labor
body at a 4-day merger con-
vention in this city.

The convention ratified a
new constitution, elected a
new executive under the presi-
dency of Fred McClelland,
from the CBRE in Saskatoon,
and passed a large number of
resolutions.

A highlight of the conven-
tion was the expressions of
farmer-labor unity.

A guest speaker, Chris Han-
son, president of the Saskat-
chewan Farmers Union, point-
ed out to the delegates the fact
that the average wages per
worker last year in. Saskat-
chewan was $2,547, the aver-
age farmer’s income was $724.

He said the worker “is not
getting too much.” But he
pointed out the need for joint
action in obtaining their com-
mon objective, that is a fair
share of the national income.

NOVEMBER 23, 1956 — PACIFIC TRIBUNE — PAGE 5

unions unite in B.C.

tions in a Canadian labor con-
vention. The debate was not
on the resolution as submitted
and recorded in the resolution
book, but on the substitute
resolution drawn up by the -
resolutions committee chosen
prior to the convention by the
responsible executive body.
Thus, a resolution which
noted the terrible destructive-
ness of nuclear weapons, re-
ferred to the Suez crisis and
called upon Canada to work
for peace through the United
Nations, was redrafted to take_
in a much wider scope. As fin-
ally adopted with almost no
debate, it called for:
® Canadian support to UN
action for “cessation of
open warfare and aban- +
donment of armament con-
Spiracies in Middle East.”

® Support of UN police force
in Middle East and estab-
lishment of permanent
world police force.

© Steps to bring nuclear en-
ergy development under
control of world author-
ity

@ Condemnation of “brutal
Soviet murder of the Hun-
garian freedom wmove-
ment”.

@® Canadian sanctuary
Hungarian refugees.

Later in the convention,
delegates unanimously — sup-
ported “maximum trade with
the Soviet bloc,” with the pro-
viso that “strategic materials”
be excluded, although, as noted
by several prominent B.C, in-
dustrialists recently, Ottawa’s
interpretation of “strategic
materials” is so wide that it is
almost impossible for China
to trade with this country to
any extent.

In the field of political ac-
tion, delegates voted to “pro-
mote and develop action
with the cooperation of politi-
cal parties pledged to support
the legislative program of the
Canadian Labor Congress, ex-
cluding Communist and Fas-
cist dominated parties.”

This was in line with nation-
al policy and, despite its re-
servations against one section
of the left, offers many oppor-
tunities for political achieve-
ments by labor in alliance with
farmers and political parties
pledged to work for labor’s
program.

A committee of 14 was
struck off to make a thorough
study of the political situation
in the province, in order to as-
sess the possibility of new po-
litical - alliances involving the
trade union movement, farm-
ers’ and political groups pledg-
ed to support the CLC legis-
lative program.

All in all, the unity conven-
tion was a big step forward
for labor in this province.

As a result, there will not
be two delegations, from two
separate provincial bodies,
seeking audience with the cabi-
net in Victoria. Instead, the
spokesman for the vast ma-
jority of the organized work-
ers in this province will pre-

sent one brief.

for