Oral history interviews of Donald MacDonald, retired labour leader, by Wayne Roberts, labour historian and broadcaster. <5h>~Macdonald goes on staff of Canadian Congress of Labour as Maritime organizer, World War II; Regional War Labour Boards consented to major wage advances; no pattern of union attitudes to CCF; failure of organization drives at Ganong , Stanfield, Macleans; comments on "feudal system" at Macleans (local version of fascism), paternalism at Stanfield's; comments on female receptiveness to unions CCL competed with AF of L; Nova Scotia's Trade Union Act of 1937 meant that battle for recognition was not comparable to rest of country; failure of efforts in Prince Edward Island; recounts 1947 survey of Newfoundland , ''another planet in another age"; pulp and paper workers well organized, so were many crafts, but unorganized workers “in dark ages"; comments on isolation of Newfoundland outports; Harold Horwood , future novelist, on staff; comment on Joey Smallwood, his claims to be democratic socialist “a terrible character”; Macdonald 's survey of loggers led to I.W.A. campaign; comments on local labour leader on Bell Island , "excellent spirit" of union; comments on Newfoundland dispute over Confederation; Horwood ''a ball of fire", left union staff for political career; 1946 Steel strike at Sydney; comments on George Maceachern, who he considers overrated; decline of Communist Party in late 1940's; coal strike part of a coordinated drive that took on one industry at a time; comments on decline of such unified action resignation of Conroy, Macdonald drafted to replace him; Conroy dispute "boils down to personality"; "power-mad" forces in CCL against a strong personality ; inexperience of most CCL leaders; Macdonald came to job on condition he be supported in next election, but ''kingmakers were going to remove me"; Macdonald decides to fight, his campaign started at convention; Macdonald had ''excellent relations with the people who mattered'' and won over leaders' opposition; denies controversy related to international unions; denies controversy related to policies; judgement that Congress wouldn't have lasted" if taken over by Steelworkers; "tremendous innovations" in collective bargaining during 1950s and in international filed; comments on collapse of coalminers as centre of innovation; comments on Silbey Barrett during 1950s; CCL had always called for unity, in 1953-4 Macdonald initiated talks, laid out program; more resistance in TLC , especially crafts Canadian unification more profound than US; how Canadian Labour Congress got its name; CCF orientation "the most difficult policy problem to handle"; discounts any conservative motive to merger"; marvellous convention", "new lease on life" at founding convention private thoughts on need for new party to replace CCF; recollections of how Cape Breton miners affiliated to CCF, appeal was too narrow; wanted a new party with broad appeal; "New Party" committees; ~fears that unions would dominate led unions to adopt low profile; Macdonald unaware of craft opposition to NDP; recollection of CCL campaign for pensions; recollection of campaign against Price and Income Commission, "inequitable and inoperable"; portrait of Claude Jodoin, first CLC president, "the right man at the right time''; explanation of CCL treatment of president as nominal figure; portrait of Aaron Mosher; ''complete and absolute autonomy'' precondition for forming CLC; discounts significance of particular drive on hours; recollection of impossibility of organizing unions during 1930's, but sense of community laid basis for co-ops; role in International Confederation of Free Trade Unions; split from Communist federation; role of ICFTU for leaders of newly developing colonial nations; Meany of AFL a "commanding and demanding figure" who saw no distinction between democratic socialism and communism and had "unquestioning loyalty" to U.S. policies; Macdonald's conflicts with Meany; Macdonald conflict with Meaney over Canadian representation; role as vice-president of ICFTU; ICFTU first to raise "spectre of multinationals"; became president of ICFTU in 1972, first non-European elected to that post; comments on U.S. role in ICFTU of resisting on control; recollection of incident where Macdonald insisted that AFL didn't speak for Canada; "worked myself into the ground", since no staff assistance; comments on S.I.U. affair; "frankly we were nonplussed for a while"; Diefenbaker took no action, eventually CLC threatened to take matters in own hands; SIU "open warfare" on CBRE, "aided and abetted" by AFL and U.S. government; "nobody would raise their hands in U.S., nobody would raise their hands here"; CBRE tied up seaway, government appointed Norris Commission, Hal Banks jumped bail; claims SIU brought here due to "collaboration between the government ...and the TLC"; why C.L.C. called for government action, difficulties in making that decision; discounts importance of youth rebellion in 1960s; increase in militancy in 1960s due to economic conditions; comments on Prices and Incomes Commission of 1960s; C.L.C. called on unions to ignore PIC "and watched that bureaucracy wither on the vine''; "privately we were being threatened with legislation"; ''one of the proudest achievements of my life to stop that thing cold"; comments on rise of public sector organization; C.C.L. had long organized in that "virgin field"; public sector organized quickly, and in national labour centre, unlike pattern in other countries; discounts importance of public sector unions in autonomy trend; Macdonald resigns at 65; comments on fishermen's strike in Maritimes in early 1970s; comments on Nova Scotia fishermen's strike in 1970s.
