Labour

its time to reaffirm solidarity

By JIM SINCLAIR

There was no lack of horror stories at the
B.C. Federation of Labour convention last
month. From every sector of the union
movement and from every corner of the
province, delegates rose to tell of the attacks
on their sisters and brothers. The themes of
privatization, free trade, scabs, deregula-
tion, government restraint and Bill 19 —
and the problems they are creating for
unionists — were repeated again and again.

What any delegate who listened to the
speeches must conclude is that we are not
winning the fight against the right.

However, the speeches weren’t the cries
of the victims for relief, but rather a clear
call for increased solidarity and for action to
defend working people and our allies in the
community.

What was missing — and remains miss-
ing — is a clear vision of how these indi-
vidual union and community struggles are
joined to create a movement in which solid-
arity between workers is a cornerstone.

This movement is not only a prerequisite
for the continued survival of the labour
movement as we know it, but a fundamen-
tal building block for the defeat of the Tory
government in the next election. ,

As the crisis deepens we must not assume
this movement will naturally arise from the
trenches we find ourselves in.

Anexample of this is the theatre workers
strike. During the convention, several
hundred delegates joined the picket line
outside a number of downtown Vancouver
theatres. It was a highlight of the conven-
tion for many because it involved real strug-
gle against the boss and scabs. It crossed
traditional union lines and showed that

Season's

32 e Pacific Tribune, December 18, 1989

Ee Sh ei Poe Re ae pen ae RE a. Le a EY eee en

Greetings
with hope
for a peaceful
New Year

from the officers and members of
The Vancouver-New Westminster
Newspaper Guild

Labour Forum

scabbing could be stopped.

Since then, I have been phoned at my
home twice by theatre workers almost
pleading for support on the picket line. Why
can we not provide this basic solidarity
when the future of the labour movement is
at stake? Delegates left no doubt that scab-
bing was increasing. :

For many trade unionists the answer is
simple. Their own unions are also under
attack as never before and they are using
every ounce of energy and resources to fight
their own bosses.

But the UFAWU fighting free trade to
the bitter end or the theatre workers fighting
scabs, or the government workers fighting
privatization does not result in the larger
movement so necessary for any one union
to be successful in the present climate.

As trade unionists we must look at our
work critically and decide how we can work
with others so the collective fight is built
beyond the borders of our individual work
places and union halls.

It means putting aside some traditional
prejudices and building trust between
unions and groups whose history may be
marked by friction and division.

We can do much to increase the collective
struggle in this province through our labour
councils and through the work of our own
unions in the community.

How this is done must be discussed more

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regularly, and solidarity must be organized
before the union or group is retreating in the
face of the joint power of the companies and
the government. There are no easy answers
to this. Resources and commitment have to
be rearranged. Coalitions must be formed
and reformed. New forms of organization
and ways of doing the work have to be tried.
That is our responsibility.

But if unions and labour councils have to
change the way they work, so too does the
leadership of the trade union movement.

The Canadian Labour Congress does not
appear to have any coherent vision of how
to mobilize or organize a movement to fight
these attacks. In fact, I would question if
they even support such a movement.

The “Grief and Suffering Tax” (GST) is a
classic example of the failuré of CLC leader-
ship to do its job. It is a national attack on
all working people and the poor that was
instinctively opposed by a broad sector of
Canadian society. Yet we never even picked
up on the ball on this one, let alone drop it
part way along. :

Instead, we got a series of mixed mes-
sages and no action to mount a campaign at
all. The right mobilized while we stumbled
around. The average B.C. resident heard
labour leader Ken Georgetti fighting with
Shirley Carr on whether or not there should
be a tax revolt or what we should call it.
Meanwhile, the right held meetings across

Canada calling for the government to cut ~
spending for social programs rather than
raise taxes.

Now we are going to see Mulroney lower
the tax to seven percent and cut social
spending. Where is labour is this debate? In
‘1976, we shut down the country for a day —
over wage controls and today we can garner
hardly a peep over the most regressive and
unpopular tax in Canadian history. |

There are national issues such as the
GST, the unemployment insurance cuts,
the destruction of universality which —
demand a national response. They are key —
issues which can unite working people and a
others across Canada in a movement to :
defeat the Tories. Labour must play a cen- _
tral role in this struggle.

The upcoming CLC convention mus
not just be a debate over policy, but a refer
endum on the direction of the labour —
movement in Canada. None of us have all —
the answers but we do know the leadership —
we are getting from Ottawa isn’t doing the —
job. :

We owe it to ourselves and our allies in —
the community to show the labour move- —
ment is willing to play a broader role in —
developing a new level of struggle in Can-
ada. 7

The challenge we face is to bring this —
demand to the convention and ensure we —
enter the 1990s with the kind of leadership —
and direction which will truly reflect the —
crisis we are facing and the need for a new ©
movement to defend ourselves and our —
country. 4

Jim Sinclair is a general organizer for the —
United Fishermen and Allied Workers Union. —

from the

HOSPITAL
EMPLOYEES’ —