Brother Max: Labour Organizer and Educator Max Swerdlow Brother Max: Labour Organizer and Educator Brother Max: Labour Organizer and Educator Max Swerdlow Edited by Gregory S. Kealey St John's: Committee on Canadian Labour History Copyright © 1990 Committee on Canadian Labour History All rights reserved. Committee on Canadian Labour History Department of History Memorial University of Newfoundland St. John's, Newfoundland A1C 5S7 Canada ISBN 0-9692060-8-9 Keyboarded and typeset by the Committee on Canadian Labour History Printed and bound in Canada Printed by Robinson-Blackmore Printing & Publishing Limited Cover photos: Front May Day 1969 Georgetown, Guyana. Richard Ishmael, President of the Guyana Trade Union Council with Max and Anne Swerdlow; Back: May Day 1969. Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data Swerdlow, Max, 1915-1990 Brother Max: Labour Organizer and Educator ISBN 0-9692060-8-9 I. Swerdlow, Max, 1915-1990.2. Trade-unions — Canada — Officials and employees — Biography. I. Committee on Canadian Labour History. II. Tide. HD6525.S83A3 1990 331.88'092 C90-097647-0 To my wife, Anne who was fully involved in my work and whose boundless help and wise counsel added significantly to the substance and excitement of our lives. You can't organize successfully without educating; you can't educate effectively without organizing. Max Swerdlow Max Swerdlow died on 21 October 1990 while this book was in press. The Committee on Canadian Labour History also dedicates it to his memory. TABLE OF CONTENTS ABBREVIATIONS / vii FOREWORD / viii CHAPTER ONE Riding the Freight/l CHAPTER Two Learning About Unions /ll CHAPTER THREE From the Shop to the Field /19 CHAPTER FOUR Organizing in Quebec / 27 CHAPTER FIVE The Quebec Labour Movement Some Leaders and Some Internal Battles/40 CHAPTER SK The Merger/57 CHAPTER SEVEN Labour Education / 68 CHAPTER EIGHT The International Spirit / 76 CHAPTER NINE The Broader Involvement / 83 CHAPTER TEN The Labour College of Canada / 90 CHAPTER ELEVEN The World Conference /109 CHAPTER TWELVE International Assignments /112 POSTSCRIPT / 129 ABBREVIATIONS AFL — American Federation of Labor AFL-CIO — American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organization CAAE — Canadian Association for Adult Education CBRE — Canadian Brotherhood of Railway Employees CCCL — Canadian and Catholic Confederation of Labour CCL:— Canadian Congress of Labour CCF — Cooperative Commonwealth Federation CIO — Congress of Industrial Organization CLC — Canadian Labour Congress CNTU — Confederation of National Trade Unions ICFTU — International Confederation of Free Trade Unions ILGWU — International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union ILO — International Labour Organization NDP — New Democratic Party TLC — Trades and Labour Congress of Canada U AW—United Automobile Workers vii FOREWORD MAX SWERDLOW was a remarkable Canadian. I first knew him as a Director of the Frontier College, where I worked as a labourer-teacher in the early 1960s. By this time, Brother Max was the most experienced labour educator in Canada. On Frontier's Board he represented the Canadian Labour Congress and was instrumen• tal in cementing a working relationship with corporate leaders towards a common interest—promoting human development in outlying communities throughout the country. His influence at ths Frontier College was so strong that his presence remained powerful long after his departure to international assignments later that decade. It would be difficult today to estimate how many labour educators are at work in Canada. Yet, only a few decades ago, they were small in number and Max Swerdlow was their mentor. In his words, "since none of us was a trained labour educator, we relied on each other for ideas, advice and assistance. Our inter-dependence resulted in a close knit group of colleagues and good friends." He blazed a trail and set high standards. When I first saw the manuscript for this book, Max told me that he has often been asked "What does a labour educator do?" Brother Max: Labour Organizer and Educator was his answer. His purpose in writing was to illuminate and share his life's work in labour education. While this volume is not intended as labour history, or autobiography, or a text book, it contains elements of all three. Readers will find it at once entertaining, enlightening and inspiring. Through Max's eyes, we also gain insights into the work of others, leaders such as Claude Jodoin, Howard Conquergood, Gower Markle and Roby Kidd. I do not know which of his many achievements gave Max Swerdlow the greatest satisfaction. But what a list of candidates! Leadership of the CLC's Education Department Establishing the Labour College of Canada. Animation on behalf of the International Labour Organization in the Caribbean and in Asia. Establishing the principle that making love in a storeroom is not a cause for dismissal under a collective agreement. I invite readers to join with me in celebrating the life and work of a great Canadian. Through his example, well documented here, he inspired a new gener• ation to excel in a noble goal — creating a humane, just, and democratic society; a learning society led by learning adults. Ian Morrison Executive Director Canadian Association for Adult Education viii PHOTOGRAPHS 1. TLC Policy and Negotiating Committee, DIL Industries, Valleyfield, Quebec, 1943-1944. 2. TLC Quebec Organizer. Front row from left Emile Nantel, unknown, Rosaire Desjardins, Jean LaRiviere; Back row: Phil Cutler, Bernard Boulanger, Neil McDonald, unknown, Max Swerdlow. x 3. Bargaining Committee, DIL, VaUeyfield, 1943. In centre of photo is Robert Haddow. 4. Cartoon depicting TLC/CCLMerger Talks. FTomTheThirdPage, Windsor, 2 June 1955. xi 5. 35th Session of the ILO, Geneva, 1952. Left to right Paul Goulet, Director, ILO; M.M. Maclean, Assistant Deputy Minister of Labour; Leon Jauhaux, President, Force ouvriere, France; Max Swerdlow. 6. TLC-CCL Joint Policy Conference, Kitchener, Ontario, 1953. xii 7. TLC Organization and Education Field Staff, 1956. 8. Canadian Conference on Education, Ottawa, 1958. Left to right LL Col. K.R. Swinton, Dr. Wilder G. Penfield, Max Swerdlow. Xlll 9. ICFTU-ILO, Seminar on Labour Participation in Economic Development, Singapore, 1974. 10. ILO, Trade Union Seminar on Population Questions, Calcutta, 1973. xiv 11. Breaking ground for the Critchlow Labour College, Georgetown, Guyana, 1968. From left to right Richard Ishmael (with spade). Prime Minister Forbes Bumam, Max Swerdlow. 12. Architect's Model, Critchlow Labour College. Left to right Richard Ishmael, Prime Minister Forbes Burnam, Architect George Henry, Max Swerdlow, Claude Marriman, Minister of Labor. xv CHAPTER ONE Riding the Freight THE TRAIN WAS OUT OF REGINA, bound for Montreal, and I had a box car all to myself. It was not the first time I had travelled this way; but this time it was different. It was the end of April 1934, May Day was near and, since I was about IS, I had always taken part in celebrations of that international labour holiday. Now, at the age of 19,1 was lonely and felt somewhat guilty. I thought back to the May Day rallies I had attended in Winnipeg, Regina, and other centres. I missed the fiery speeches and the cheers of the crowds. The rallies had, for me, been a source of inner strength, challenge, and defiance. These were the Hungry Thirties, and I was one of thousands who were aimlessly "riding the rods," "sleeping in jungles," and walking the streets in search of work and food, or just chasing rainbows. But I had stars in my eyes and I refused to accept the deprived and meaningless life of so many around me. I was aware of the injustices of the social system, and I blamed capitalism — the greed of the rich and the indifference and callousness of politicians. I was a rebel, but a rebel with a cause. As the train rolled along, images of the past unfolded with all their excitements, difficulties, and adventures. This was what had shaped, and would continue to shape, the tapestry of my life. I was born in Odessa, Russia, in 1915, at a time when my family was caught in the turmoil and disorder between the outbreak of World War I in 1914 and the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917. Before the war my grandmother, uncles, and aunt had emigrated to the United States. My parents and grandfather were to follow; but when the war broke out, immigration into the United States was restricted, and they were unable to leave. Both my parents were performers in the Jewish theatre, and my father was particularly talented. When I was about two, and my brother one, my father was drafted into the Russian army and sent to the Austrian front, where he was taken prisoner and held until the end of hostilities in 1918. He then returned to Odessa and resumed his efforts to get our family to America. My grandfather had decided to remain in Russia. Finally, in the summer of 1923, we left Odessa for Bremen, Germany, from where we were to sail to the United States. At Bremen we were taken to a quarantine compound on the outskirts of the city. Surrounded by a high stone wall, the compound comprised several dormitories, each housing about 75 men, women, and children. They slept in double-decked bunks and ate from long uncovered tables in a common room that also served as a recreation hall. We soon learned there were hundreds like us, waiting their turn to sail. Soon after we arrived we were told that only my father could be admitted to the United States. He qualified since most of his family was already there. My mother, brothers, and I would have to wait until immigration regulations were 2 BROTHER MAX eased. My parents were deeply depressed. The question was whether my father should go on alone, or wait with us; for how long we did not know.