Jim Bridgewood announced
last week that he had appealed
to the Public Review Board of
the United Automobile Workers
against the UAW International
Executive Board decision barring
him from holding office in the
union because of his member-
ship in the Communist Party of
Canada. ‘
The basis of Bridgewood’s ap-
is his contention that the
AW took action under a sec-
tion of the constitution which “is
not in accord with Canadian cus-
tom, practice and law.”

The Executive Board ruling
followed Bridgewood’s removal

A

Tony Ambatielos, the well
known Greek trade union leader
and anti-fascist, and his Welsh
born wife Betty are in Canada
speaking on behalf of the Greek
undergrourd. Their message is
solidarity between Greeks
abroad and the resistance move-
ment in Greece as well as an
international campaign of demo-
crats and anti-fascists around
the world for the restoration of
democracy in Greece.

In an emotion charged meet-
ing in Toronto, Mrs. Ambatielos,
whose courageous activity on
behalf of her husand, who was a
political prisoner in Greece for
almost 17 years, as well as other
political prisoners, made her a
well known political figure both

_ inside and outside Greece, call-

ed for world wide support for
the people of Greece.

Mrs. Ambatielos appealed to
the meeting, crowded mainly
with members of Toronto’s
Greek community, not only for
solidarity with the thousands of
political prisoners languishing in
the concentration camps and po-
lice stations through Greece, but
also alluded to the unconquer-
able spirit of resistance that is
so much a part of the Greek tra-
dition and spirit. She spoke
especially of the horrors that

appeals UAW discrimination

from office last May 26 by his
Local 707, which acted against
him when he ran as a Commu-
nist candidate in the federal elec-
tion.

Reaction to the UAW decision
is building up and below are ex-
cetpts from an editorial appear-
ing in the Oakville Daily Journal
Record of March 19.

“About one year ago this
newspaper brought the Bridge-
wood Case to the attention of
the public. It was the feeling of
the Journal-Record that the prin-
ciples involved in the case were
crucial because they centred
around some of the basic free-
doms upon which our democracy
is built...

“In the true spirit of a
John Henry Faulk, Bridgewood
is proving the wrong man to hu-
miliate and destroy. Like Faulk,
he has rejected the role of a de-
feated martyr, and has actually
turned on his tormentors by now
taking his case to the powerful
Public Review Board, an inde-
pendent agency set up by the
UAW as a court of last resort.
It is important, of course, that
Bridgewood does continue his
fight, just as it was important
for John Henry Faulk to press
his fight for sanity and civil
rights when he became involved
in a legal contest the like of
which has not been seen in the
annals of American trials. It was

this contest in the 1950s that in-
volved some of the very prin-

ciples now involved in the
Bridgewood Case, and it was a
debate which also centred

around Communists within a
union being discriminated
against, the union that Faulk
held membership in being the
New York local of the Ameri-
can Federation of Television and
Radio Artists (AFTRA)...
“Of course, not only are some
of our basic democratic free-
doms at stake in the Bridgewood
Case, but there is also the impor-
tant matter of Canadian union
members being governed by
rules and regulations that are
the products of American offi-

voice of fighting Greece

face the women of Greece, many
of them held in concentration
camps without either charges or
trial since the first day of the
coup in 1967. She was herself
imprisoned for several weeks.

Ambatielos, who spoke in
Greek, described the current
political situation in Greece, and
the growing movement inside
the country against the Junta.

Earlier in Toronto, Ambatielos
addressed a meeting called by
the Canada-Greek Trade Union
Solidarity Committee.

Five hundred trade’ unions
were outlawed by the Greek
military Junta immediately after
the seizure of power and the
remaining 2,000 unions were
transformed into fronts for the
Junta, he said.

In spite of this however,
Ambatielos told the meeting, the
workers have found ways to use
these unions to promote their
economic and social gains.

Although the Junta froze
wages when they seized power
the workers have set up worker
and factory committees and forc-
ed the government and the em-
ployers to give in on their eco-
nomic demands.

The workers in Greece, he
said are politically conscious
and understand that economic

— n

struggles are not enough. They
realize it is necessary to get rid
of the system. which creates
their hardships.

This is why the main weight
of the fascist regime is brought
down on the working class and
its leadership. The bulk of those
filling the concentration camps
are the left militant leaders of
the trade-unions.

No matter what the cost, he

assured his audience, no matter
what sacrifices might be entailed
the Greek working class will ful-
fill its duty to the nation.

We ask for your support, he
concluded, not because we need
it to do our own job. It is be-
cause we are fighting a common
cause, a cause which I am con-
fident will continue until imper-
ialism is wiped from the face of
the world.

cials. Witness Article 10, Section
8 of the UAW constitution, It
was written into the union’s con.
stitution in order that the UAW
would conform to certain |
requirements of the time in the
U.S.A., although at no time in
Canadian law has there been g
legal requirement of such a pro.
vision in union constitutions
operative in Canada. Should a
Canadian union member, there.
fore, be the victim of American
superpatriotism? And while there
may be “no conflict between the
laws of Canada and Article 10,
Section 8” does it not come in
direct conflict with our Bill of
Rights which, among other
things, guarantees freedom of
assembly and association? Ag
Bridgewood notes there are no
specified exemptions placing
members of any political party
outside of these two fundamen-
tal rights in pursuing their law-
ful social activities.

“The UAW and its president,
Walter Reuther, have shown
themselves to be among the more
liberal-minded and contemporary
members of organized labor. But
Article 10, Section 8 of the UAW
constitution is neither liberal-
mindedness nor is it contem-
porary. It smacks of the very
type of discrimination and
breach of rights that resulted in
the John Henry Faulk case, and
which now makes the Bridge-
wood Case another cause celebre
deserving of public attention and
full debate when the UAW Lo-
cal 707 elections are held this
year. Or are the Canadian region
members of UAW international
content to be told from Detroit
who can hold office in Oakville?
The Bridgewood appeal is in or-
der, and so is a reversal of the
UAW decision. Such action
would be in keeping with the
spirit of the times and with the
terms of the Canadian Bill of
Rights which, in this case must
transcend any made-in-America
union constitution. This is Can-
ada, Mr. Reuther. This is an open
democracy where Communists,
too, have equal rights and equal
opportunity by custom, by prac-
tice and by law.”

aif dewhurst

Need bigger push

to end guidelines

Last week’s acceptance of a
6.5 percent wage increase for
each year of a two year agree-
ment by the United Transporta-
tion Union brings the number
of such settlements this year to
five in the sphere of public ser-
vice industries.

The 6.5 percent wage guide-
line won the day in three rail-
road contracts covering the
three major groups of rail work-
ers, i.e., the non-operating em-
ployees: enginemen and firemen;
conductors, brakemen and yard
crews.

The Association of Radio and
Television Employees of Canada
also last week accepted a 6.5
percent settlement for CBC’s
white collar employees for each
year of a two year agreement.
While the announced settlement
was for 17 percent over the two
years, 4 percent was a catch-up
on previous wage lags behind
the union. contracts.

The railroad and CBC settle-
ments saw the personal inter-
vention of the federal Labor
Minister. Mackasey now claims
seven settlements in a row for

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—MARCH 28, 1969-—Page 4

his ‘particular brand of direct
government intervention in bar-
gaining. It is worthy of note
that in all cases Mr. Mackasey
has been able to put over the
federal government’s basic wage
guideline policy.

Ontario Hydro Employees set-
tled for a wage increase of 6.25
percent for each year of a two
year agreement. The 35 day ro-
tating strike they conducted
succeeded in wresting impor-
tant monetary concessions from
the Hydro Commission but did
not succeed in breaking the
guideline figure on wages.

Organized labor cannot afford
to disregard the 6 to 6.5 percent
pattern established in these five
different sets of negotiations in
transportation and government
services.

For instance, the Ontario con-
struction industry faces a May
Ist deadline for settlement of
new contracts. And, the various
employer trade associations have
let it be known publicly that
they would like a settlement on
wages along the lines of the
Hydro settlement.

Basic steel, metal mining and
smelting in Ontario are likewise
moving towards zero hour in
contract talks. As yet the com-
panies have not leaked any
word on what lines they would
like a settlement. However, the
workers concerned may reason-
ably assume that these compa-
nies have likewise set their
sights on holding to the guide-
line figures.

For, after all, that is what the
whole idea of wage guidelines
are about. They add up to more
profits for the big employers.

In 1968 corporation profits as
a whole increased 10 percent
over the previous year. Within
this figure, the profits of the
manufacturing giants jumped by
37 percent.

And the captains of industry
anticipate bigger profits for
1969. Their expectancy is based
on a sharp rise in man-hour pro-
ductivity. In the final quarter of
1968 man-hour productivity in
manufacturing rose by 4 percent.

The rise in profits and man-
hour productivity was accom-

panied by a 4.2 percent rise in
the consumer price index (the
highest since 1951) and the high-
est rate of unemployment since
1957.

The big manufacturers greed-
ily anticipate a further 37 per-
cent, or better, rise in profits
for 1969. As such employers
figure their profits in terms of
millions this would mean at
least another $370,000 on every
million of profits over 1968.

But these same manufactur-
ers, with government conniv-
ance, would restrict a worker to
a 6 or 6.5 percent rise in wages
in 1969 while prices rise at a
rate of 4 percent a year, and
taxes and interest rates rise
apace with prices.

If wages are restricted to
the government guidelines it
would mean that a $2.00 an hour
rated worker would be limited
to only a 12 or 13 cents an hour
increase. It would mean only
$300 or $325 for every $5,000
now earned in wages.

This is far from being good
enough. However, in order to

break the pattern already set,
workers in negotiations must
ready themselves for some
mighty tough bargaining. T0
think otherwise is to get the
short end of the stick.

In this year’s situation it is
only good common sense 10
bolster basic wage demands with
other money demands. Employ-
ers should be pressed to pay the
full cost of medicare, hospital
insurance premiums and _ other
social benefit plans. Sick pay;
paid maternity leave, more pal
statutory holidays and extend
vacations with pay should also
be pressed for. The winning °
concessions on these items
would mean more total money
in the wage packet.

However, it is imperative 1
keep both eyes on the ball—the
basic wage settlement. Solid oF
ganization, full membership 1°
volvement and preparation fof
any eventuality, and not sweet
talk, is the need of the hour =
Determination, unity and solid-
arity can break the wage soul
barrier.