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
