The Trade Unions in the Struggle Against the Economic crisis and the Menace of War
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THE TRADE UNIONS IN THE STRUGGLE AGAIIJST THE ECONOMIC CRIS IS AND THE M-::NACE OF 'qAR (Co-r eport of J . B. Salsberg to N ati onal Committe e Mee ting - 1:ay 2l- 23rd , 194· ?) Comrade Tim Buck gave us two ver y i mportant reports. One was e comprehens i ve and penetrating analysis of the Canad ian economic and political si tu ation and the other was a review of t he new Europe from which he has just returned. Those complem en t ary repo rt s provide us with an understand ing of the main trends in wo rld affa irs and in our own country . They al so in dicat e the action that must be t aken if the C anadian people a re to figh t successfully against the di sastrous effec ts of the economic cri sis which big business and it s governme nt s are heading us towards and if we are to defea t the m enace of a th ird wor ld war . Vlo rld r eac tion, led by u .s . A. imperi ali sm, i s engaged in a fr anti c offensive to turn ba ck the cl ock of hi s tory; to halt the march of democracy and to destroy the l abor and democ ratic fo rce s in their own country . On the other hand, it is abundantl y evident that the anti - fascist war brought about profound changes in class re lations on a wor ld scale. World imperialism is weaker than it and the forces or socialism , or labor , of democ ra cy and progress are s tronger. The leader s or American imp erialism and their sup por t er s and alli es in other countries find thems e lves seriously challenged by the n ew democrati c fo rces of the wor ld in the ir effo rt s to i mpl ement their overall pl ans fo r worl d domination . The unity of la bor, the a lli ance of labor and the other democrat ic people's moveme nts in man y par ts of th e worl d and the ins piring r o l e played by the powerful Communi st parties in Europe and e l sewher e just ify our confidenc e in th e achievement of a and democ r atic vict ory in lar ge ar eas of the gl obe . Cana di an i mpe ri a lism pl ays a prominent role in the post-w ar •f fen s ive of •.•orld reaction . O ur own impe ri a list rul er s have integrated Canada w it h the Truman doc trine. Canada ' s pr esent foreign policies and its milita ry plans dove tail r:i th those or the U. S . A. ruling class . At horne, too, Canadi en monopoly capit a li sm, lik e it s olde r and more powerful partn ers to the South, is pur su ing a relent l ess or r ens i ve against the Canad ian people, aga in st the l abor movement end aga inst all democr a ti c forces . The spy scar e, the r ed- baiting campaign, the uege and price policy or the gove rnment and Big Bus i ness end tho many - s ided attac ks on the trade u ni on moveme nt ere or thi s r eac ti onary offensive on the home front. But, as in the world at large , so also at home ma ny chan ges have taken place to chal l enge tho pol i cies or r eac ti on . Cl ass r el ati ons in Canada have changed cons i de rably. The tremendous indus tri al ex pa ns i on incr eased the army or indu stri al workers . Canadian la bor i s more numerous, be tt er organized, m ore expe rienced and possesses mor e prestige and authority than ever before. the Canad ian bour geo isie commenc ed its post- • .7ar a tt ac k on labor and the p eopl e, in orde r t o r e turn to th e pre-w ar rel at i onships, they round unexpected r es ist a nce from the Canadian wo rkers and sections or the farmer s . The trade union movcmen t, 11hich has doubled its me mbe rship sinc e tho lat e th irti es , put up a heroic battle on the i ssue or wages during 1946 . Tens or th ousands or i ndustrial worke rs were involved in long and bitter s tri ke struggl es during the summer or 1946 and compell ed bi g business to make important concessions . As a result of those struggles , too, the trade unions ext ended their ranks and 170n an incr eased measure or union securi ty. It is on thi s background that we , l eaders or the perty or the l<orking cl ass , must examine t he problems fac ing our Canadi an trade uni on movement . It is not fo r us to make decis ion s for tho uni ons nor t o for ce our opinions on tho tr ade union l eadersh ip. Bu t 11e ere anxious to he lp the organized '.'IOrkcrs to understand the full impli cat i on s of the problems th at now confr ont them and t hat 11i ll l oom befor e them in the immedi at e futur e. 'Ve , and a ll our par t y members, must givo th e trade union movemen t tho kind of' assis t ance thll.t 11i 11 enable it to defeat it s en emi es ; that 17 i11 s trengt hen and broaden
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The Trade Unions in the Struggle Against the Economic crisis and the Menace of War by J. B. Salsberg
Transcript of The Trade Unions in the Struggle Against the Economic crisis and the Menace of War
THETRADEUNIONSI N THESTRUGGLEAGAIIJST THEECONOMICCRISI SANDTHEM-::NACEOF'qAR (Co-reportofJ . B. SalsbergtoNational CommitteeMeeting- 1:ay2l-23rd,194?) ComradeTimBuckgaveustwoveryi mportantreport s .Onewase comprehens i veandpenetratinganalysisoftheCanadianeconomicand politicalsi tuationandtheotherwasareviewoft henewEuropefromwhich hehasjustreturned.Thosecomplement aryreportsprovideuswithan understandingofthemaintrendsinworldaffairsandinourowncountry. Theyal soindicatetheactionthatmustbet akeniftheCanadianpeopleare tofightsuccessfullyagainstthedi sastrouseffect softheeconomiccrisis whichbigbusinessanditsgovernmentsareheadingustowardsandifweare todefeatthemenaceofathirdworldwar . Vlorldr eaction,ledbyu . s . A.imperi alism,i sengagedinafranti c offensivet oturnbackthecl ockofhi s tory;tohaltthemarchofdemocracy andt odestroythel aboranddemocraticf o rcesintheirowncountry .On theotherhand,itisabundantlyevidentthattheanti- fascistwarbrought aboutprofoundchangesi nclassr elationsonaworldscal e .World imperialismisweakerthanitandtheforcesorsocialism,orlabor ,of democ racyandprogressarestronger.Theleaderso rAmericanimperialism andtheirsupport er sandalliesinothercountriesfindthemselvesseriously challengedbythenewdemocraticforcesoftheworldintheireff ortsto i mpl ementtheiroverallplansforworl ddomination.Theunityoflabor, theallianceoflaborandtheotherdemocrat icpeopl e ' smoveme ntsinman y part softheworl dandtheins piringr ol eplayedbythepowerfulCommuni s t partiesinEuropeande l sewher ejustifyourconfidenceintheachievement ofaanddemocr aticvictoryinlargea r easofthegl obe . Canadi ani mperialismplaysaprominentroleinthepost- war f fen s ive of.orldreaction.Ourownimperi alistruler shaveintegratedCanadawith theTrumandoc trine.Canada ' spresentforeignpoliciesandits military plansdovetailr:i ththoseortheU. S. A.rulingclass.Athorne,too,Canadi en monopolycapitalism,likeitsolderandmorepowerfulpartnerstotheSouth, ispursuingarelentl essorr ens i veagainsttheCanadianpeople,againstthe l abormovementendagainstall democr ati cforces .Thespyscare ,ther ed-baitingcampaign,theuegeandpricepolicyorthegovernmentandBig Bus i nessendthomany- s idedattacksonthetradeuni onmovementere orthisr eacti onaryoffensiveonthehomefront. But,asintheworldatlarge,soalsoathomemanychangeshavetaken placetochall engethopoli ciesorr eacti on.Classr el ationsinCanadahave changedconsi der abl y.Thetremendousindus tri alexpans i onincreasedthe armyorindustri alworkers .Canadianlabori smorenumerous ,better organized,moreexperiencedandpossessesmor eprestigeandauthoritythan everbefore . theCanadianbourgeoi s i ecommenceditspost-.7arattackonlabor andthepeople ,inordert or eturntothepre- warr el at i onships ,theyround unexpectedr esistancefromtheCanadianworkersandsectionsor thefarmer s . Thetradeunionmovcmen t ,11hichhasdoubledits membershipsinc etholat e t hirties ,putupaher oicbattleonthei ssueorwagesduring1946.Tens orthousandsori ndustrialworkerswereinvolvedinlongandbitters trike struggl esduringthesummeror1946andcompelledbi gbusinesstomake importantconcessions .Asaresultofthosestruggles ,too ,thetrade unionsext endedtheirranksand170nanincreasedmeasureor unionsecuri t y. It is onthi sbackgroundthatwe ,l eader sorthepertyorthel
