Friday, November 8, 1946
THE FISHERMAN
Page Three
REPORTING FROM NOVA SCOTIA
Newly'Elected Secretary Of Amalgamated Fishery Union Outlines Main Tasks
IT IS a little more than two years since the first convention of the Canadian Fishermen's Union in Lunenberg. That convention was able to record, after a year of very intensive work the firm establishment of the CFU as an organization that was here to stay and to grow. The long years of apparently fruitless attempts to organize the fishermen had finally borne fruit, the fishermen finally had an organization of their own.
At that first convention there were a few fraternal delegates from the fish handlers who were only then beginning to talk about organizing. The fish handlers' organization consisted of one local in Lunenburg then and had no relationship or connection with workers in other parts of the province.
Everyone here and everyone in Nova Scotia who has been watching what we do, can realize, .on the face of it, that we have made a lot of progress in two years since the Lunenburg convention. While we all know that, we will stop for a moment to compare conditions in our organization and in the industry as they were in 1944 and as they stand today.
When we met two years ago in Lunenburg, we were on the eve of what turned out to be a long drawn-out fight, to obtain legal recognition of the right of fishermen to organize and bargain collectively. No vessel-owner and no company recognized us then and the government boards were yet to be convinced they must force them to recognize us. Since that time certification for the vessels has been won, though we had to go all the way to Ottawa to get it We have certification for some of the draggers and in a few days time the Nova Scotia Board will be ruling on our application for the remaining trawlers.
The owners fought a stubborn legal battle to prevent us from winning this victory, their lawyers made speeches by the hour; they turned in piles of briefs that would stretch from here to North Sydney if you laid them end to end. We did a bit of talking ourselves and the national board agreed with our arguments and tossed the foolish technical arguments of the company lawyers back in their faces.
Perhaps some people may think that the reason the national board agreed with our argument instead of the companies' was because we were smarter and talked better and argued better than the company lawyers. I want to say right now that we did have a mighty good lawyer arguing for us.
But the most convincing argument was that the Regional Board had to admit 95 per cent of the vessel crews were members of the union, the fishermen were solidly organized and were holding their solidarity through all the lengthy legal battles we were forced to conduct.
After the national board ruled on our certification we began the process of negotiating with the owners for contracts. These negotiations have been going on for a number of months but they are now coming to a head. The company
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An interesting story of unionism among fishermen and shoreworkers, of Canada's east coast is told on this page by the first secretary of the amalgamated Canadian Fishermen and Fish Handlers Union, H. C. Meade. It is a story of struggle, of progress and of struggle to come, giving some idea to those engaged in the B.C. fishing industry of the problem faced by easterners. It was made In the form of a report to the union's convention taking place a few days ago.
and it is the company, the big new National Sea Products Company, with whom we are dealing, has been forced to recognize the union, to take a position on the union's proposals, and finally, last week, to make an offer of its own which is now being voted on by all the crews. The vessel fishermen, as we sit here, are deciding whether to accept the company's offer, or to reject it and fight.
Two years ago the vessel fishermen were talking about whether it would really be possible to get certification of their union and make the company recognize them. Today, they are talking, and they are not fooling, about getting signed agreements to provide the 60-40 lay.
The fish handlers' organization, too. has come a long way in this period. From a union with one local, lots of dreams, and no con-
tracts, it has grown into a provincial organization with seyen functioning locals, five of whom havo signed agreements, and two more, with solidly organized plants, where certification and negotiations are now pending. The ten-hour day, which was the norm in 1944, has been eliminated in all of the major plants. The eight-hour day is now the rule—and in this even-for-Nova Scotia-low-wage-industry, we have achieved not only the highest wages in the history of the industry, we have also achieved wage rates that bring us pretty close, and in some cases a wee bit in advance of the average labor rates in the major industries of the province. We are getting 65 cents an hour for laborers in Lunenburg. We are getting 74 cents for cutters in Halifax. We have established a 40-cent minimum rate for girls who not so long ago were getting as low as 22 to 27 cents in some places. We have the check-off in three out of five of our agreements, guaranteeing stable organization.
Yes, the fish handlers' union presents an entirely different picture from what it was at the last convention.
As a result of our growing organizational strength and the substantial progress which our activities have secured as a result of all this, both the Canadian Fishermen's Union and the Canadian Fish Handlers' Union are becoming a recognized force in the labor movement of this province. Delegates from our locals partici-
HalifaX Delegates Here is the Halifax contingent of fishery workers
» who attended the first convention of the newly-
formea Canadian Fishermen and Fish Handlers Union. In the front row, left to right: H. C. Meade, secretary of the new organization; Isabelle MacLennan, Rebecca Spicer, Executive Board member; George A. Smith, president Halifax and District Trades and Labor Council; S. Knickle. Second row, left to right: Arthur Lovell, vice-president; Walter Lundrigan; E. Vivian, Earl Schaffenburg. Third row, left to right: A. GalK ant, I. Baker, L. Sullivan and R. Keefe.
pate in both the Halifax and Liverpool councils. At the recent national convention of the Ti-ades and Labor Congress our president, Brother McKenzie, was appointed to the Nova Scotia Provincial Executive of the TLC in recognition of our growing importance.
At the last convention we could say, with pride and confidence, we are here. At this convention, we can say with equal sureness we are on our way.
Before we go on to discuss some of the problems that lie ahead for our organization, let us take a look at the national picture for a moment. The past two years have been a period of progress for all the unions in Canada, the whole
/in8n„ frail Vlf>f*f Although the Canadian Fishermen and Fish Hand-"dSl,e ^UU riWl lers, Union COVers the east coast of Canada, there are some areas where, because of its extreme youth, it has not attempted organization. Concentration of forces is in Nova Scotia. The picture above shows Gaspe cod fishermen (Gascons) headed.for the grounds in their picturesque but cabinless sailing boats.
labor movement is a much more important and solidly-established force in our country than it has ever been.
Canadian labor's post-war program, which represents the very real and pressing needs of the working people of the country, labor's post-war program, was made clear many months ago. It is a program for shorter hours of work; for protection of the people's living standards, through wage increases, the retaining of price controls, government housing projects; for stronger measures of union security, to safeguard the most important organizations of the people, their unions.
This program has been fought for, and is rtill being fought for, on picket lines, beforo government boards and commlsj-cns, In Ottawa, in the provincial capita!?, and in towns and ci!:e3 across the country. It is being fought for against the bitter opposition of the big business interests of Canada and against ttie bitter opposition of the King government and most provincial governments.
^n the past months, strikes of far-reaching importance have been conducted, and won, by the unions in most of the basic industries.
The strikes already won are a signal victory for labor and for all the common people of Canada. The government's attempts to set a ceiliner of 10 cents an hour on wage increases have been defeated. Hours of work have been shortened in many industries and the basis is now laid for the 40-hour week as the normal pattern for Canadian workers in the near fu-tune. Many of the unions have made significant gains in union security in the new contracts, gains which have strengthened and helped to stabilize the labor movement. And the government's attempts at open strike-breaking, particularly in the steel strike, were definitely defeated.
These victories significant as they were, certainly don't mean that we have achieved everything that is needed, that we already have the kind of postwar Canada that we should and can have. Far from it The fight for higher wa,ges has bedn only the first round, in the battle for a measure of security and progress. All Canadian labor still faces very severe and pressing problems which will require just as determined a fight as it took to get wage increases.
What are some of these prob-
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lems ? First of all, the same big companies who have been resisting labor's wage demajnds and forcing long and bitter strikes for these demands, these same big companies are constantly pressing the government for higher and higher prices. And the government has been yielding very readily to this pressure. Already price controls have been lifted on hundreds of items—substantial increases have been allowed on most of the basic necessities a work-ingman's family has to buy. Meat, butter, furniture, clothing, fcnilk cost so much more today that the wage increases we have been winning scarcely make up for the rise in the cost of living since the end of the war. Now they are even talking of increasing the price of bread by two cents. And there is consideration being given to increasing rail freight rates, which for us in the Maritime3, would mean still further increases on practically every item we buy. The government's policy of encouraging this disastrous trend, must be changed. The labor movement must turn its full strength and fighting ability demonstrated in the recent strikes towards forcing the government to keep prices down and reduce prices on basic commodities which have already been allowed to skyrocket This is one of the most important jobs facing the union men and women of Canada today.
The question of housing is almost equally pressing. There is no need to repeat here what all of us and all the people of Canada know so well about the disgraceful and unnecessary crisis in housing. I say unnecessary because whatever excuse there may have been for serious overcrowding during the war ceased to exist 14 months ago. And in these 14 months there has been more talk and les3 action about housing than probably any other question. Everybody knows what is needed
—Continued on Page Six
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