Railway MWE Workers
Paid Starvation Wages

AA
S

A request for wage adjustment was Placed befcre the
Canadian Railways by the Maintenance of Way Employees

through their Union,

the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way

Employees, AFL-TLC, in September, 1945. This request was

turned down flatly.
fore the “National War Labour
Board’ for its consideration, and
aithough the he (began on
on March 13, 1946, to date, no de-
cision has been given.

These workers are, and have
always been, the lowest paid work-
ers in the Dominion of Canada,
and working under the worst
working conditions.
war years, a large number of these
workers left their employment for
better paying jobs, the railways
being unable to’ secure new men
for these jobs, made the workins
conditions of the remaining em-=
ployees harder than ever before.
These conditions remain today. In
many cases the foreman and one
man only are left te look after nine
to 10 miles of main line section,
and in some cases one, or both
of these men are nearing the pen-
sion age of 65 years, when they
cannot be expected to be as active
as they once were.

To the ordinary reader it will
be hard to understand why the
Shortage of men will make it hard-
er for the remaining employees.
The reason for this is, that main-
tenance work is mostly hard phy-
Sical work, such as handling track
ties, which weigh around 4a hun-
dred and fifty pounds and more,
Steel rails weight from 880 pounds
upward, a track motor car weighs
approximately 1000 pounds-~ which
is used daily for inspection pur-
poses, as well as going to and
from work. This material and
equipment is all heavy to handle,
and it is handled under all con-
ditions, 90 in the shade or 40 be-
low zero, rain or snow, makes no
difference.

The maintenancs employee,
commonly known as the section-—
man is there to see that the trains
Bet over the line in their charge,
safely.

Wages paid these employees,
will no doubt, appear ridiculous
and the gradual rate no doubt,
more so. The rates are 53c to 59c
per Hour for line sectionmen, with
2e more for men working in yards
er divisional points. The grand
sum of 59¢ per hour is received

During the:

Fhe Union then placed this request be-

at the end of two years service.
From these rates, it would appear
that the railways feel that it takes
two years to make a full-fledged
sectionman. Tif, to fill in a job a
man requires two years of train-
ing, one would think that, that
man should be worth more than
59c¢ per hour, and again one might
think that it is another way to
fleece the workers. :

In view of the foregoing, while
all this is going on, the question
arises: What is the union doing
about it. If you want to find out,
read the Canadiam and Pacific
Tribune.

B.C. TRADE UNIONIST,
Barrett Lake, B.C.

Foster

armed forces, and particularly the
atomic bomb, used to overawe
ether peoples. They do not want
their foreign loans made for re-
actionary purposes. They do not
want their food surpluses em-
ployed in Europe and Asia as a
elub against the democratic peo-
ples.

“If the economic, political and
Military might of the United
States is now being used in a wavy
dangerous to world peace and de-
mocracy, this is being done at the
behest of big capitalists who want
to rule the world, and it is not
an expression of the democratic will
of the American people,” he said.

Pritt

Court observers have stated that
the atmosphere of the “trial” and
the desire of the prosecution to
utilize the Russian traitor Gou-
zenko to the full, leaves one with
the impression that the Soviet
Union and not Fred Rose MP, is
on trial in this Quebec court.

The “Fred Rose Defence’ Com-
mittee” reports that financial
contributions are still urgently

needed to give every assistance

to the Rose defence.

~

Vacation

secinacreweern,

in the Sun

C ornwall

But as their dynamic 23-year-
old leader, Mike Jackson, put it:
“Now that they have seen what
it is all about they will live and
die for this Union.” Mike, by the
Way, served throughout the war,
stopping in France, North and
South Africa, India.

You have to be here to realize
how sweeping is public support,
not only ail the local unions, but
business people, foremen, taxi
drivers, have helped. . Everybody
is on the look-out for scabs. If
you remember that only eight of
the 300 strikers live in Cornwall
you will see how the sailors have
won the hearts of the people.

Last Thursday night the big
-Courtaulds Textile Workers’ Lo-
cal, CIO, had a regular meeting.
After donating $550 to the strike,
Passing resolutions, a telephone
call brought word of “strike-
breakers in town.” In five seconds
flat the meeting of 400 unionists
Was adjourned and the march to
the canal was on its way. it
proved to be unfounded but the
march continued down the street.

in a warm tribute to the people
of Cornwall, Mike Jackson said:

“We will remember this city
as long as we live. Every time
one of the ships passes through
your locks we will point up to-
wards this city and remark” with
pride, ‘There is the greatest little
city on the map, the city that
struggled with us side-by-side to
win the 8-hour day.”

Latest developments include
plans to send a delegation to Ot
tawa, setting up of a joint CIO-
APL committee to support the
Strike. In addition tactics to meet
the threat of 600 strike breakers
are all set. Cornwall will be at
the waterfront at the first word
of any threat to the seamen’s
strike.

if anyone wonders how strong
is the feeling for labor unity, let
them study the lesson of CGorn-
wall. Erom now on the trade
union movement in organizing
public support will say, ‘“Remem-
ber Cornwall.”’ =

Province

ternational Typographical Union
for settlement of the dispute
which has led to open shop con-
ditions in the Winnipeg Tribune.

The statement read:

“The undersigned unions, rep-
resenting the overwhelming ma-
jority of all daily newspaper
workers in the city of Vancouver,

The pathetic victims who survived the horror of invasion

and the squalor of life under
tags. They are in desperate

enemy Occupation are clad in
need of all kinds of clothes.

An urgent appeal is made to every Canadian family to ran-

sack attics, wardrobes, trunks

, to contribute every service-

able garment that they can spare to the National Clothing

Collection. Everything

is needed—coats,

Suits, trousers,

dresses, shirts, sweaters, socks, pyjamas, bedding, shoes

and overhoes.

Bundles should be sent to your local depot.

WA

one. They are not coming -back
empty handed.

All along the line of march, in
Alberni and Courtenay, Lady-
smith and Duncan, the reception
they have received tells how
much the people regard the
woodworkers* cause as their own.

In this little coal mining cen-
ter, from whose fighting labor
traditions has sprung many a
tight now established wherever
men work in the province, the
townspeople have opened their
homes and their hearts to them.
Ever since the Princess Eliza-
beth, her rails crowded ‘with
cheering men and women, edged
into the wharf on Thursday after-
noon, the miners, the fishermen,
every one, have gone out of their
Way to help the lobbyists. And
when the march begins on Friday
morning some of ‘them will be go-
ing along too. :

From here, where Gary Cul-
hhane, secretary of the Shipyard
General Workers Federation,

Bert Melsness, IWA district sec-
retry, and Darshan Singh, are to
speak at a rally this Thursday
hight, the mainland contingent
will get under way in the morn-
ing for the capital. At the same

{

Lobby

of Victoria, coordinator, Ald. Walter
Yates of Alberni, Island coordin-
ater, and George Pulling, mzin-
land coordinator—have assembled
as Motley a caravan of cars and
trucks as has ever gone over
the winding Island highway. But
it is well organized, even to the
mobile “printshop” turning out a
mimeographed paper. And the
lobbyists themselves, organized
into squads, sections and contin-
gents under their own captains,
are conducting themselves with
a Mative discipline and order
which has won them respect in
every town they've passed
through.

To the people who line the
Streets and wave to them along
the country roads these are not
the “agitators” pictured by the
operators’ propaganda, but their
Own people, fighting for them all.
Some of them think that the goyv-
ernment should take over ‘the
lumber industry, grant the men’s
demands and operate it until the
operators come to terms.

They also Know, and no propa-
Sanda can erase it. from their
daily lives, that milk has been
increased two cents a quart, that
clothes are up in cost and that

£é tt -
: B.C., join with the demand Cf |time a second contingent from | the soaring’ price of lumber since
the International Typographical Courtenay, now at Ladysmith for |1939 has restricted Many 2 home
Union that the Southam Company]|a rally which will hear Coray | to the paper on which the first
os . Lta., on behalf of the Winnipeg Campbell and Charles McKend-| rough plans were drawn. No, fif-
: > kA * SHIRTS Tribune immediately enter intO/ricks, will leave for Duncan, | teen cents an hour is not enough.
<4 —— 5 negotiations with the union rep-| there to join the third contingent | And, on behalf of the people of
By Te x SH@ORAS resentatives. from Alberni, which also is hola-| British Columbia, several thous-
I Sif E E ‘ ing a rally to hear William Stew-|2nds are on their way to Vic
“Until such time as this good ve . ,
* SLACKS faith on the part of the Southam seat a ees ae ee fore: $0. tell ebe BONeTEeRe
ra Company Ltd, is established, we chett and Karly Tatsen. interne: f ‘
4 i = - j , as
PEAY. SUIS consider the VEREOUS: Daily | tional first vice-president of the
Province to be unfair to organ- IW.A. St le z
FUR STORAGE ized aber == a whole and call The men responsible for orgzan- y €
upon all trade unionists of every ization of the lobb Darsh Sinch
Just leave your furs at any one affiliation to rally to the support | Ie ESe an Sing ¢
of our eight conveniently located of their union brothers. —— Vv alue
stores. “United in one purpose we are 34 TRANSFER
. 4 pledged to support the Interna- Courteous, Fast Efficient e
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At this week’s meeting of Van- 406 Alexander Street
B U D G E T P L A N couver Labor Council (CCL) the | 3 q
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4 ees statement was unanimously en-|*“~~~ —
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PACIFIC TRIBUNE — PAGE EIGHT §

ERIDAY, JUNE 14, 1946