Live recording by Mr. D. Lehto of part of the 3rd Annual District 2 Convention of the International Union of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers held in the Mine Mill hall in Sudbury, Ontario. The afternoon session of the second day of the convention included: 1. Resolutions on subcontracting out of work by Inco formerly done by union labour, responsibility of the Canadian Labour Congress; abolition of the position of Ladies' Auxiliary Coordinator. 2. Address to Convention by Irving Dichter, International Secretary-Treasurer, on relationship of Mine Mill to CLC, AFL-CIO; rise of Ku Klux Klan following American Civil War, Palmer Raids following WWI, McCarthyism following WWII; indictments of Mine Mill leadership in the U.S.; anti-union legislation passed in the U.S., Taft-Hartley Act, McCarran Act, Landrum-Griffin Act. Dichter compares the AFL-CIO leadership under George Meany to "Dr. Faustus" selling his soul to the devil for earthly pleasures in their failure to fight the U.S. legislation, neglect of their membership, failure to involve the broad rank-and-file. He links the prevalence of raiding in the U.S. to anti-union legislation which makes it difficult to organize new workers, and to trade-union leadership only seeking to maintain their own positions in the union bureaucracy. Comments on trade union movement and civil rights movement, youth unemployment, urban immigration, old people, the poor. Dichter calls for world peace, connecting the Cold War with infringements on American democracy and attacks on militant unionism. Comments on Mine Mill alliance with the Teamsters to fight against repressive legislation. 3. Resolutions from Legislative Committee on Education call for Ontario to take over publishing of school texts, standard curriculum for Canadian schools. Resolutions on minimum wage, Canadian Economic Program (industrial strategy).~5. Resolutions on OHIP; free college education; demands for completion of road to Thompson, Manitoba, rent controls in Thompson; old age pensions. Vote to include women in all delegations to government on matters to do with Ontario Female Employees Fair Renumeration Act, Minimum Wage Act, Mothers' Allowance, Unemployment Insurance, Factory Shops and Building Act, Equal Pay legislation; vote to establish educational courses for women. A resolution to curtail hiring of married women to ease unemployment is hotly spoken against by Dorothy MacDonald, former Ladies' Auxiliary Coordinator, and is defeated. 6. Address to meeting by Harvey Murphy, President District 1 and Mine Mill National Vice-President, on importance of campaign to regain certification in Sudbury to the union in B.C.; effect of Steel raid on wages, not only at Inco, but across Canada; lack of solidarity of CLC unions in strike lost by airplane attendants at Pacific Western Airlines; Steel raid at Trail, B.C. in 1950. Murphy talks about the necessity for Canadian autonomy in unions so that they can speak in the national interest with regard to Canadian independence, foreign control of Canadian resources (which go undeveloped until there is an American market for them), and failure to utilize our own power to create secondary industry employment in Canada. He says splitting of the union movement prevents unions from dealing with the effect of automation on jobs, comments on expansion of the mining industry in B.C. while the number of jobs in mining have been halved, creation of large numbers of unemployed with no rights. The evening session of the second day of the convention includes: 7. Address by District 2 Secretary, William Kennedy, thanking Dorothy MacDonald for her work as Ladies' Coordinator; collection for American civil rights campaign in Bessemer, Alabama organized by International Mine Mill board member Ashbury Howard.~8. Resolutions on Canadian Economic Program, Canadian ownership and control of natural resources; right to leaves of absence for employees who wish to stand for public office; infringement of compulsory arbitration, laws and use of court injunctions on right to strike; raiding; moratorium on mortgage rates; social security. 9. Nominations for District 2 Executive Board made up of President, Secretary, and members from the five subdistricts. Included in nominations are testimonials to Mike Solski, William Kennedy; declining of nomination for president by Manfred Hoffman who talks about the importance of his work in the Mine Mill local at Bancroft, Ontario with mine closures; acceptance speech by Kennedy in which he talks about his experience in the early days at Inco, the Thompson, Manitoba agreement. 10. Resolutions on 40-hour work week, training program for displaced workers; welfare; taxation; Workmen's Compensation Act. Demand for a Royal Commission to investigate the operations of the Ontario Labour Relations Board; call for non-partisan political action campaign in upcoming Ontario election.~Live recording of the end of the 3rd Annual District 2 Convention of the International Union of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers. <23mn>
