WHY THE UNIONS DONT LIKE MCGOVERN

Speaking in the convention hall to the thousands of delegates, Abel brought the developing break between the labour movement and the party into the open when he assailed the nomination of McGovern:

'You may win the votes of the self-styled liberals, the anti-labour snobs, but that's not America, he declared When interviewed by 'Bulletin' reporter David North, Abel said:

Labour has been treated poorly at this convention. am a member of the platform committee, and since the convention started, I have not been consulted about anything. That is, except when they started to talk about money.

I don't think you can trust any of these politicians. Look one of the delegates here used to be in the steelworkers' union. When he ran for office as a Democrat, we supported him and helped him with with funds. Now, except for when I get together with him and talk about old times, one wouldn't even know he had any connections with the labour movement. Sure, he has what we would consider a good voting record. But when the chips are down, we can't count on him. Above: George Meany, President of the AFL-CIO. 'You can bet your life we will seriously consider a Labour Party' Asked by the 'Bulletin' if the question of a Labour Party had been raised, Meany replied: 'The position of labour over the years on the labour party has been very simple. That we didn't want to expend all of our energy running a labour party, trying to run the country, when we were able to bring workers of America, despite our dissatisfaction with conditions, a better condition than workers have in any other part of the world.

'But if we get to the point when we can no longer bring those benefits to the workers of America under the present two-party system, you can bet your life we will seriously consider a labour party.' Under pressure from reporters, he stated that he would not vote for either George McGovern or Richard Nixon, and Meany then added I only wish Norman Thomas were alive' president of the powerful United Steelworkers. George McGovern's treacherous anti-union record was detailed in a 'white paper' circulated at the Miami convention by the AFL-CIO. The document is a complete indictment of the 'radical Prairie' image of the Democratic candidate.

Senator McGovern has adopted the 'new populism' as a key campaign slogan. Yet the record shows that he has repeatedly voted wrong on legislation affecting working people and the trade union movement.

In 1959, McGovern voted for the Landrum-Griffin Bill, which was opposed by organized labour. The overwhelming majority of non-southern Democrats voted 'no'-among them such Democrats from Anderson and Metcalf of Montana and Senator Burdick of North Dakota, as well as four Democrats from Minnesota and five from Wisconsin. In 1960, McGovern voted against raising the minimum wage to $1.15 and extending coverage to 1.4 million retail workers. He was one of only five non-southern Democrats to vote 'no'.

In 1966, McGovern was one of only five northern Democrats who voted to deny minimum wage coverage to some 1 million workers in retail and service firms with gross sales of less than $500,000 annually. McGovern also voted against raising the minimum wage to $1.55.

Also in 1966, he voted against an amendment requiring states to provide eligible workers a minimum of 26 weeks of unemployment compensation coverage for 20 weeks of employment. Only five other northern Democrats voted 'no'.

In the same year, McGovern was one of six northern Democrats to vote for a Dirksen amendment to cut appropriations for the Departments of Labour and Health, Education and Welfare.

In 1968, the man hailed as the candidate of the young, voted, along with Republicans table a Javits amendment which would have provided $52.1m in appropriations to the Labour 1 Department for summer jobs.

McGovern and 14(b) • or the Case of Great Plains Wheat, Inc.

After the Democratic sweep in 1964, a Bill was introduced to repeal section 14(b) of the Taft-Hartley Act. The conservative forces mounted a filibuster to prevent the repeal Bill (HR 77) from coming to a vote in the Senate. On October 11, 1965, Mansfield moved to invoke closure. McGovern voted against closure-and the motion failed.

Two more closure motions were made — on February 8 and 10, 1966. McGovern voted for closure the first time, against it the second timethe only Senator to switch his vote. He explained that the first vote was to indicate his opposition to filibuster in general, while the second vote indicated his opposition to the repeal Bill.

McGovern is quoted as saying: 'It was a straight political decision. It was the only time in the United States Senate I voted against my conscience.' What was the politics of McGovern's decision to vote 'against my conscience'?

In February, 1964, President time u shipmer by ple of sucl carried had be standin nedy h progran wheat to inc seeking per cer tinued On M: views memor: Plains special Commi Meai sident had ser stateme positio reply f dated for wi identici Great Sena clearly piece founde and dr was th to be since 1 nion boycott of wheat nts to the Soviet Union İging that 50 per cent h shipments would be in US flag ships. This ten the original underg when President Kenad approved the wheat nme, but several giant export companies sought rease their profits by ; a reduction in the 50 nt requirement. wheat companies conto press for a reduction. ay 19, the companies' were expressed in a andum from Great Wheat Inc. to the US Maritime Advisory Ittee. nwhile Paul Hall, preof the Seafarers' Union, nt Senator McGovern a ent of the union's n. Mr Hall received a rom Senator McGovern May 24. It was word ord, page after page, al to the statement of Plains Wheat Inc. itor McGovern was serving as a mouthfor an organization d to promote foreign omestic wheat sales. 1957 Civil Rights Act ne first civil rights law enacted by Congress the days of reconstrucMcGovern was absent age of this Bill in the House.

In 1959, when the House passed the Rooney Amendment to the Justice Department Appropriations Bill (H.R. 8385) to extend the life of the Civil Rights Commission for two years and appropriate $500,000 to it, McGovern was absent - and did not pair.

When the Civil Rights Act of 1960 was up for final House approval, McGovern was absent -and did not pair.

In 1960, McGovern voted against the McDonough Amendment (to the Housing Bill) which would prohibit the Federal National Mortgage Association from purchasing housing where discrimination was involved.

One month later, McGovern voted against the Powell Amendment to the School Construction Bill requiring that facilities built under the Act be open to all students without regard to race, colour, creed, national origin or religion.

On June 15, 1964, senator McGovern joined 22 other Senators - 18 of them from southern and border states, in supporting a last-ditch effort to emasculate the voting rights provisions of the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964. The McGovern-supported amendOn May 13, 1968, Senator McGovern joined in supporting punitive legislation that sought to disqualify anyone convicted of participating in a riot from Federal employment for a period of six years. This legislation was a thinly veiled effort to punish blacks who had participated in the disturbances that followed the Martin Luther King assassinaThe Atlanta Constitution of June 7, 1972, reported that McGovern offered two major concessions to the south in meetings Democratic governors, at the I conference in Houston.

One was to discourage frivolous challenges to delegations to the national convention. The other was a promise 'to push for a change in the 1965 Voting Rights Act which requires southern states including Georgia to submit state reapportionment plans to the justice Department'. (Portions of Georgia's 1972 plan were turned down.)

When McGovern's stands on these issues are combined with his votes on minimum wage, youth employment and other economic issues of concern to working people, the result is a record that this 'liberal' is a bitter enemy of the labour movement.

op: The Yalta, Three Power Conference. Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin Churchill, Truman and Stalin, July 1945. The Cold War began when the Potsdam broke down, because neither imperialists nor Stalinists were Press, Saturday The book by Roy Medyedev the Origins and Consequence is the first independent attem stand the Stalin era which ha: damning indictment of Stali everything which Trotsky degeneration of the first worl under which it is written, its of millions of people, is also conquests of the October destroyed. Medvedev writes oppositionist who is harasser to tell the truth as he sees i deserves a careful study both corroboration for the Trotsi out. On some crucial quest wrong. This series of artic detailed scrutiny with the against Stalinism to the en‹ his errors and omissions : rounded analysis which must which are cited in the footno CONTINUED translated as 'Let History Jud! ge: es of Stalinism' (Macmillan £5.; 75) ipt in the Soviet Union to undı ers come out of that country. It i: in and Stalinism which confir ms wrote about the bureaucra tic ‹ers' state. From the great tensi on passion drawn from the sufferir igs , a testimony to the fact that 1 1917 Revolution have not be en as a communist intellectual, an d and persecuted for his strug gle it. His book has great merits a ind for what it provides in the way ‹yist analysis and what it lear ves tions the book is fundamenta illy les submit Medveder's book aim of pursuing the strug gle d. It will deal in particular w ith and point the way for a mı ore i begin with the works of Trot: sky tes.

He does not analyse these agreements, though he does deal with some of their effects, notably in France and Greece. minority and pro1, February 1945. Above : Potsdam.

agreements reached at Yalta and prepared to make concessions one state'-the bourgeois state