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LPP elects 11-member

national committee

TORONTO

An ll-member national executive has been elected by the

Labor-Progressive in a

party’s

new two-day session following the party’s recent national con-

national committee, meeting

vention here, it was announced this week. The report said that the new executive was elected follow-

Lucco cant sue Crown for pension

An application by Jack Zucco to sue the Crown for a Norkmen’s Compensation Board pension for silicosis has been refused by the Bennett eabinet. Zucco’s application asked that the WCB rejection of a silicosis pension be set aside and the WCB ordered to pay such a pension, plus the costs of the action.

_For many months Mrs. Zucco has campaigned vigorously on behalf of her husband’s claim for a silicosis pension, picket-

ding the WCB offices and the provincial

legislature, and bringing the now celebrated case before innumerable union meetings for support.

British Columbia locals of Mine-Mill have supported Mrs. Zucco’s claims on behalf of her husband as part of the union’s long struggle for adequate leg- islative protection and cover- age for workers suffering from this dreaded industrial disease.

Recently, and largely due to the efforts of Mine-Mill, the Bennett government acceded to union demands for a board of referees to review cases re- jected by the WCB. This board will consist of a union repre- sentative and three doctors ap- pointed by ,the government. These are Dr. Robert B. Kerr, Dr. D. W. Whitelaw and Dr. Donald S. Munro, all members of UBC medical faculty.

The first case slated to come before this newly appointed board of referees for review

will be that of Jack Zucco. In

the opinion of many trade unions whose members have regarded WCB rulings as fre- quently arbitrary and unfair, the new board of referees is a long step forward in secur- ing just treatment for all in- dustrial accident and disease compensation cases.

Les Walker, B.C. district sec- retary of Mine-Mill told the Pacific Tribune that “Mine- Mill, representing the hard- rock miners and smelter work- ers of this country, will con- tinue under all circumstances to fight for the right of all workers to full compensation if as and when such needs arise.”

He described the new board of referees as “a step in the right direction, but only aj step.”

lengthy discussion of the work of the outgoing executive.

Those elected were: Tim Buck, Leslie Morris, William Kashtan, John Weir, Alf Dew- hurst, Sam Walsh, John Boyd, Danielle Dionne, Edna Ryer- son and Nelson Clarke.

Buck was named as general secretary and Kashtan as or- ganization secretary. The post of national organizer was sus- pended and Morris, who held this post on the outgoing ex- ecutive, was assigned to labor press duties.

Appointments to other full- time posts were deferred until three newly elected national executive members now resi- dent in the West, Dewhurst, Clarke and Walsh, can move to Toronto.

The executive announced that a special convention issue of National Affairs Monthly, the party’s theoretical and dis- cussion journal, would be pub- lished to acquaint LPP mem- bers with convention decisions.

Dealing with unfinished bus- iness assigned to it by the convention, the national com- mittee heard the balance of the report of the convention resolutions committee.

A substitute resolution brought in by the resolutions committee, arising out of a resolution on Hungary sub- mitted to the convention by J. B. Salsberg, was accepted.

The = substitute resolution calls on the national committee to “gather by all means avail- able the fullest information on events in Hungary so that the party membership can _ be fully informed and so that our party can draw the full lesson of the Hungarian events.”

A special committee was set up to study policy resolutions submitted to the convention and to prepare a summary to guide the work of the national executive.

The party’s federal election platform-and a declaration on

ALF DEWHURST

NEILSON CLARKE

the party convention adopted by the convention are to be edited by the executive and published. The platform is to be sent to each province and region for printing, with local matters added by the respec- tive committees.

Audit and appeals commit- tees were elected by the com- mittee.

It was agreed that National Affairs Monthly be published “in an appropriate, modest format as a political-and or- ganizational journal of the party, to be edited by the na-

tional office staff.”

The national executive was instructed to set up a program committee, and an interna-, tional committee “to receive and exchange political mater- ials with other parties and to make important information known to the party.”

The next full meeting of the national committee will be held over Labor Day weekend.

Teachers ask classes of

no more than 30 pupils

The recent B.C. Teachers’ Federation convention endors- ed a resolution calling for classes in grades 1 to 6 of no more than 30 pupils.

A resolution from Burnaby district council called for the smaller classes because “large classes create conditions of stress for pupils and teachers

alike,” and make it difficult for a teacher “to help create the right environment or to give individual help when a class is too large.” -

The Burnaby teachers said the problem has been recog- nized generally, but “shelved repeatedly by the department of education.”

Steel parley hears demand for autonom|

Powerful demands for increased self-government for Call

flected in resolutions at the union’s policy conference ]

weekend.

They came from the 5,000-member

Nova Scotia, one of the Big Three in basic steel in Can- ada and North Slater Local 3505 in Hamilton.

While both were turned down in favor of a non-con- troversial substitute resolu-

tion, the strong wording of the resolution took union lead- ers aback.

A growing restiveness among rank and file members who see thir dues going down the drain in raiding or to main- tain their $50,000-a-year in- ternational president David McDonald was held to be be- hind the autonomy movement.

In Canada, over 50 percent of those voting in a recent el- ection for the international presidency gave their ballots to an American rank and file

steelworker, Don Rarick, fighting bureaucracy in the union.

At the union’s internation- al convention in Los Angeles last year, the move was made to make the Canadian director of the union an appointed po- sition. This was fought bitter- ly by the Canadian delegation and defeated.

Now the autonomy revolt is out in the open again, des- pite its temporary stilling by the administration at the policy conference.

The Nova Scotia resolution. from the big Dominion Steel and Coal operation urged “that our national officers

St. Laurent’s opening gus fired with wet po wder

MONTR

Local 1064 of Sydnéh

our international leaders? the fact that Canadian St’ workers are sufficiently ™ ture to take direction of thé own affairs without prejudié to the existing) brotherly ™ lations between Canadian U.S. steelworkers.”

Steel director William M# honey declared the resolvul was “more scholarly” thé! the Hamilton one.

The resolution from Hamilton local reported } have the backing of the 2:0

ter local as well as many © the Stelco unit was advance by Art Laverty, a suppoly of the. Rarick movement Canada. OF

This resolution asked ™ conference “to instruct 0 Canadian executive to co? with the international leadet with a view to bringing @ t a greater measure of aul omy so that we may bé ot powered to call our own Cal adian conventions and 4! oF our policy to the laws, e0? omy and national sentimen!” Canada.”

Mahoney was have said that Laverty “technically correct’ in 4 ing that Canadians do not 2°” a majority to call an inter) tional convention to deal W problems that constitute — national emergency for union.

“ted i reported iy

of

wInnipsd un )

Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent fired the opening & Lint the Liberal election canypaign in Winnipeg this week by ten his audience “You’ve never had it so good — let us give

more of it.”

Head-patting, baby-kissing and demonstrative hand-shak?

were well to the fore in the prime minister’s repertoire. Some drama was added by a heavy police guard, detailed to see that he wasn’t “assas- sinated” when it was reported that a crank letter had been sent, charging him with selling Canada short to the United States. ;

Avoiding all controversial issues, St. Laurent stuck main- ly to the “great achievements” of his government during his hour-long address. These, he claimed, were the result of “a dynamic Liberal approach” to national wellbeing.

St. Laurent’s address was termed by some of his own Liberal stalwarts as being “dull, tedious and flat.” One party critic observed that ‘if the prime minister was fir-

ing the opening gun: his pow der was awfully wet.” A

In Edmonton, St. Laurent speech was equally ‘devo spectacular pronouncemen He confined himself, aS Winnipeg, to the great op?’ tunities and develop™ i awaiting Canada should 44 government be returne¢” power, and a greater flow j, immigration encouraged fol “provide home markets ~~ Canadian products.” + the

Political observes are of A opinion that Libera, straliiy) during the federal elect i! campaign will be to avole ao’ contentious issues both “4, mestic and foreign, and 5 concentrate mainly upon ch eral “achievements” in ae fields as social services; * sions and health..

MAY 3, 1957 — PACIFIC TRIBUNE—PAGE ‘