t

LABOR

Suspension of Trades spurs

Twelve building trades unions
with headquarters in the U.S. were
suspended last week from the Ca-
nadian Labor Congress for non-
payment of their monthly per
capita tax since April, 1980.

In my article last week I dealt
with the three issues in dispute: rep-
resentation at CLC conventions;
work jurisdiction; and the action of
the Quebec Federation of Labor
(CLC) in taking into direct affilia-
tion a local of the International
Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
which had seceded from that inter-
national.

Since I wrote that article, a new
and significant development has
taken place. The Quebec Federa-
tion of Labor won a major victory
over the international building
trades unions in that province in a
vote to elect a provincial bargaining
council. Normally such votes are
held periodically under Quebec leg-
islation. Up to the recent ballot,
there were five central organiza-
tions entitled to be on the ballot, in-
cluding the Quebec Building
Trades Council, but not the Que-
bec Federation of Labor.

This time, there was a special
ballot, under the terms of Quebec
Bill 109, which gave the construc-
tion workers the opportunity of es-
tablishing the representativeness of
the Quebec Federation of Labor —

Construction and the Provincial
Building Trades Council.
According to the Globe and Mail
March 10, the Federation received
49 percent of the vote and the
Building Trades only 19 percent. In
the previous vote conducted under
the Quebec Act governing labor re-
lations in the construction industry
and respecting the represen-
tativeness of central bargaining as-
sociations, the Building Trades
Council received 68.3 percent of

Labor
Comment

Jack Phillips

the total vote. Bill 109 was passed
on the request of the Quebec Fed-
eration of Labor.

An immediate result of that vote
will be that the.affiliation money
formerly paid to the Building
Trades Council will go to the QFL
from those locals where a majority
of members supported the Federa-
tion. The locals pay a cent an hour
to the central body for each hour
worked.

This development in Quebec
should be seen in relation to the ac-
tion the CLC will take as a follow-
up to the suspension of the 12 un-

Whatever the outcome of the
| CLC-Building Trades issue, the
impact will be felt most in

rE pegged Re make —
a greater proportion of the
BC. Federation of Labor af-

- filiates than they do in other —
: and Terrazzo Finishers which is —

provinces
"There are #2 biions effected:

: ie the CLC decisions: United _

| Brotherhood of Carpenters and
|. Joiners; Laborers International
Union; _ International

| Brotherhood of Electrical —

: Workers; United Association of

| of the Plumbing Industry; In-
- ternational Association of |
Bridge, Structural and Or-
national Union of ‘Castine +

| Engineers; International
Brotherhood of

| Allied ‘Trades; Sheet Metal
— Workers’
’ asocietiane International the

International

| Brotherhood of Boilermakers,
/ Iron Ship Builders,
- Blacksmiths, Forgers and —

| Building trades key

British Columbia where |

(the Machinists and

Painters and.

ee ee e re cre ee
There are also other unions in
the Building Trades Council
which are not affected by the
CLC decisions, ‘either because
they are not in the CLC (for ex- :
~ample, the Teamsters which is
independent in both the U.S. —
and Canada or the Tile, Marble _

the AFL-CIO only), or because —
_ they were not part of the original
boycott of per capita payments

Culinary

Workers ers). ee
The ‘number are” also |
somewhat difficult. Although —
‘the 12 unions affected have a’
total membership in British Col-
‘umbia of slightly more than
~ 65,000, some of those are in in-
dustrial locals. “
Both the B.C. Federation of.
‘Labor and the B.C. and Yukon.
‘Building Trades Council
estimate that there are 45,000 —
workers in construction locals in. :
province, all of whom are —
_ affected by the CLC decisions. .

In = eee at 17 |
~ percent ent of the Shon

+

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—MARCH 20, 1981—Page 12

ions. The executive council of the
CLC has decided to set up a CLC
building trades department, which
will then establish building trades
councils in every province and in

_the Yukon and Northwest Terri-

tories. Locals must join by April 30
of this year, or stand suspended.
These councils will then be al-
lowed to affiliate to provincial and
territorial federations of labor and
area labor councils, by locals.

Apress release from Dennis Mc- —

Dermott, president of the Cana-
dian Labor Congress dated March
11 outlines the situation as seen by
the Congress leadership.

McDermott pointed out that re-
peated attempts have been made
over a lengthy period to arrive at a
mutually satisfactory agreement
with the top building trades lead-
ers, who he said did not properly
consult their rank and file member-
ship.

He further claimed that the de-
mands advanced by the building
trades leaders tended to ‘‘seriously
undermine the democratic nature
of the Canadian trade union move-
ment,’ using the following ex-
amples:

@ Building trades unions were
to have the authority to appoint
delegates to CLC conventions, thus
bypassing the local structure and
the right of unions to elect their
own delegates and run agi own
affairs;

@ Resolutions to CLC conven-
tions were to be the sole responsi-
bility of a union’s national or inter-
national headquarters;

@ The CLC was to intervene

and dismantle the union structure:
in Quebec in which the construc-

tion workers of that province had
voted to participate and which the
Quebec government had recogniz-

ed Officially by legislation.

In reading McDermott’s state-
ment, I found the following para-
graphs to be the most significant,
not only for what they say, but for
what they do not say:

“Tt should be noted that the jur-
isdictional rights, the constitutions

- and the autonomy of each building

trades unions will be fully respected
within this new CLC department.

We are not out to attack anyone. .
Our sole objective is to permit the

building trades in this country to
have a full say in the running of
their own affairs and those of the
Canadian trade union movement.
“‘We simply feel that the people
who pay their union dues have the
right to govern their own destiny.
“Tt is indeed unfortunate that
the decision to suspend must be

taken at such a crucial time in our ,

history. But the Canadian Labor
Congress cannot accept the kind of
autocratic trade unionism preach-
ed by the international building
trades unions in Canada.

“The tradition of Canadian la-
bor is one of democracy and grass-
roots involvement at all levels of the
decision-making process. It is a tra-
dition we are proud of and a tradi-
tion we intend to keep.”’

While it is not spelled out in this
press release, it is generally assum-
ed that locals of suspended unions
will be able to affiliate to the new
building trades: department with-
out breaking away from their inter-
nationals. This, of course, raises a
number of interesting questions.

For example, the fight within
some unions to pay per capita to
the CLC and remain within that
body will go on, as will the fight for

-more autonomy and full conform-

ity with the Canadian standards of
self-government as adopted by the
CLC in convention. Already, there
is an indication that two interna-

DWAR AREAS
a
i+)
3
@

tional unions, and possibly a third,
may reconsider and pay up their
per capita. If they did so, would

they be compelled to join the new —

"DENNIS McDERMOTT

CLC building trades department as_

a condition of membership in the
CLC?

We might also ask if the creation
of a CLC building trades council
will create a situation in which there
will be two such structures in every
province and territory, the tradi-
tional council and the CLC coun-
cil? If so, will they be in conflict
with each:other?

For example, here in B.C. there
is a central bargaining council un-
der the auspices of the provincial
building trades council. What will
happen to that bargaining council
if some locals join the CLC build-
ing trades council and others
don’t? Or will the CLC building
trades council act as an umbrella
organization for those wishing to
remain in the CLC without restrict-
ing them from remaining in the tra-
ditional . building trades council
alongside of non-CLC affiliates?
Further, will those building trades
internationals who remain sus-
pended because of non-payment of
per capital permit individual locals
to join the CLC councils or will
they impose sanctions against those
locals in accordance with their re-
spective constitutions?

It is possible that some interna-
tional unions may brand member-
ship in the CLC umbrella organiza-
tions as dual unionism and a viola-
tion of their respective constitu-
tions. That, of course, could bring
them into conflict with the mem-
bership. It would be one thing if all
the locals of a big union in B.C. af-
filiated to the CLC department. It
would be another thing if there was
a serious split with, say, only half
the locals affiliating to the new de-
partment. Such a situation could
lead to many complications and
difficulties, particularly if the inter-
national office refused to recognize
the CLC building trades council as
a legitimate organization their Ca-
nadian locals should belong to.

With all of its unanswered ques-

tions and potential problems, the
current situation nevertheless re-

. flects an acceleration of the move-

ment towards more Canadian au-
tonomy for Canadian locals of in-
ternational unions. It also proves
that the goal of a completely inde-

pendent trade union movement in
Canada is fully realizable and is the
inevitable outcome of the continu
ous fight for more democracy. _

The Quebec situation points UP
the fact that building trades work-
ers come under provincial jurisdic:
tion and that thé very scope and na
ture of collective bargaining makes
the provincial building trades
councils a key element in deci
the future of the building trades ut
ions in Canada, at least at this time

While there are certain negative -
features about the Quebec expel
ence — for example, more gover:
ment control over the affairs of the
building trades unions — we must
conclude that objectively the d&
velopments in Quebec have serv
as a catalyst in the fight for Can@
dian autonomy.

The 12.unions suspended are:
Carpenters, Laborers, Electri
Workers, Plumbers, Ironworkers:
Operating Engineers, PaintefS
Sheet Metal Workers, Boilermak
ers, Bricklayers, Elevator Col”
structors and Heat and Frost Insu-
lators. Their combined averagé
paid-up membership in the CLC
was 229,783, out of a total
membership of 2,329,000.

It should be noted that unions
like the Electrical Workers, Opel
ating Engineers and Carpentefs
also have local unions in manufac:
turing and in the public sector.
their parent unions remain sus
pended, will such locals be able t0
maintain membership in the CLC
through the new building trade
councils?

It is too early to answer all ques
tions raised by the new develop-
ments. However, while we cannot
give the executive council of thé
CLC a blank cheque, we should
not forget that by presenting im:
possible demands and refusing t0
pay per capita for their locals, it
the top leaders of the internationals
who are responsible for any diffi
culties which may ensue.

The main objective of progress
ive-minded building trades workers
in B.C. — we must assume — wil
be to chart a course that will mint
mize divisions and maximize unity
— to the degree that it is possible
and consistent with sound tradé
union practices and principles. It
should never be forgotten that thé
main enemies of the trade unio
movement are big business and thé
governments and institutions that
serve them. The fight for Canadian
autonomy must be seen in this con-
text, that is, how to make the un-
ions more effective instruments fot
the protection and advancement of
the interests of the membership.

Every specific situation will havé

_ to be weighed up against such con-

siderations, with the full under-
standing that the right wing in the
trade union movement would like
nothing better than for progress-
ive-minded building trades workers
to be isolated from the majority in
their unions or from the industry as
a whole.

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