UFAWU LOBBY DEMANDS: ‘Abolish injunctions in labor disputes’ Placards demanding an end to. the use of injunctions in labor disputes and freeing of imprisoned leaders of the United Fishermen and Allied Workers Union were carried by about 200 members of the union in a lobby in Victoria last Thursday, Feb. 15. _The hundreds of colorful placards carried by fishermen, shoreworkers and members of the union’s women’s auxiliary, encircled the Legislative buildings as officers of the union presented a brief to Labor Minister Leslie Peterson. Signed by acting president T. (Buck) Suzuki, acting secretary Glen McEachern and business agent Jack Nichol, the UFAWU brief condemned the widespread use of injunctions in B.C. labor disputes. It gave figures to show that on a per capita bases the use of injunctions is many times greater in B.C. than that in the U.S. “The labor movement views injunctions as an employer weapon that provides the employer with an unfair advantage in a labor dispute. The injunctive process suppresses fundamental rights that the labor movement fought bitterly to establish; the right to free collective bargaining and the' right to take strike action when necessary,’’ said the brief. Charging that the notorious Bills 42 OUR LEADE® and 43 are ‘‘employer biased’’ legislation, the brief says that this legislation precipitated the deluge of labor injunctions in B.C. ‘‘The. escalation of the use of labor; injunctions and the Trade Unions Act amendments have not resulted in the attainment of the objective of ¥¥ i: : HELP US GET fh. URT APPEAL = UNITED 6 ALLIED INJUNCTIONS HANG LABOR MEN & % fare NION “fe fe UFAWU lobby in Victoria last week AFTER SCHOOL FREEZE LOBBY ‘House will never be the same’ . By A MARCHING MOTHER The B.C. Legislature will never be quite the same again. From the 400 delegates who crowded the steps of the legislature early in the day to the dramatic protest in the public gallery later that afternoon, it was quite a day. The 400 delegates from the lower mainland arrived at the Legislative buildings at 11:30 a.m. to demand that the Government’s school construction freeze be ended immediately. One hundred union men from the Building Trades Council — carpenters, plumbers and electricians — participated to back up the demand for school construction. The corridors of the House were jammed with PTA ladies buzzing about, buttonholing their MLA’s on the question of over-crowding in classrooms. Many MLA’s were conveniently busy and were nowhere to be found until the legislative proceedings began at 2 p.m. A group of PTA delegates learned from the NDP caucus that between 400 - 500:classrooms are needed for I LEGISLATURE a and. CK W X 10:10 P.M. SUNDAYS 1130 K.C. COMMUNIST PARTY'S WEEKLY RADIO COMMENTARY by NIGEL MORGAN BRUARY 23, 1968—PACIFIC TR \ Ae ae : Wh. SAN Sept. 1968 and that 14,000 - 15,000 students will be affected and will, likely be on swing-shift because of the shortage. The crisis that exists in educational finances is due to funds being shifted into Hydro bonds. Each delegation from the various PTA locals had its own particular grievances on how the construction freeze was affecting it’s own school. There were at least two or three separate petitions to be presented to the Government asking for an end to the freeze. The Coquitlam PTA had collected over 5,000 names on its petition and Lord Nelson PTA had collected 1,100 names in the Vancouver East area requesting the building of the Lord Nelson Annex which was promised four years ago. Several delegations were unsuccessful in their efforts to meet with Premier Bennett and Mr. Peterson, but the delegation from Lord Nelson managed to catch Bennett on his way from the Socred caucus to the. House which was sitting at 2 p.m. The Premier told the PTA ladies to raise their own money by selling bonds ‘‘across the counter’ and that the local school boards should take the responsibility. The President of the Nelson PTA, housewife Mrs. B. Chedore told Premier Bennett that it wasn’t the responsibility of the local board to raise money, but that it was the Provincial government’s duty. Then Bennett scurried away saying that he was happy to see so many beautiful ladies. He would have been much happier, I’m sure, if they were all at home that day with their hands in the sink. During the sitting of the House some of the PTA delegates watched the proceedings while ‘others were waiting in halls to sit in the public gallery. Unfortunately many were not able to see the session. Education Minister Peterson began the session by bringing in the new education finance formula report. He hinted at plans to operate schools on a 12 month basis and - insisted that money could be saved UNE—Page 12 on construction of schools. He completely denied that a freeze on school construction existed. On the ~ question of school funds being used for Hydro bonds he said it was political trickery used to discredit the Socred government by the NDP Opposition. At 3:35 p.m. the President of the Lord Nelson PTA, Mrs. B. Chedore gently unrolled her PTA’s 30 foot long petition over the balcony railing to the floor of the House, interruptiag Peterson’s speech. She explained that her PTA had a pre- arranged appointment with Peterson and Mr. Capozzi (MLA-Van Centre) at 3 p.m. at which time her delegation would have presented its petition to them. She went on to say that as the ladies were leaving on the 4 p.m. bus, and Mr. Peterson’s speech hadn’t finished in time for the appointment, and it was already too late for such a meeting because of the length of Peterson’s speech, she said her PTAwanted to present its petition to Peterson personally. The Speaker of the House shouted, “Get, that woman out of here.’’. An elderly doorman tried to pull Mrs. Chedore from the railing. Mrs. Chedore said to the doorman, “Unhand me, young man.’”’ And he did . He then called to three other men to help take Mrs. Chedore from the gallery. Mrs. Chedore very casually and gracefully gathered her belongings and left the gallery with the other members of the Nelson PTA following her in support. Mrs. Chedore’s action on behalf of her PTA delegation in its effort to end the Governments © school construction freeze was supported widely. The Socred Government was visably shaken by the effect of the PTA lobby. They need to be shaken up a little more often and they will be over the issue of education, unless they lift the freeze on construction. “Lift every voice to lift the freeze,”’ is the slogan of those who are concerned. Yes, The Provincial Legislature will never be quite the same. ; industrial peace. Quite the contrary. Labor-management relations in the province have deteriorated to an unprecedented low as evidence by the statistics relating to man hours lost through strikes.”’ The brief concludes by urging some form of legislation comparable to the ‘“‘Norris-LaGuardia Act’’ in the U.S. for abolition of labor injunctions. It urges MLAs ‘‘to support labor’s demands for the abolition of labor injunctions . Wednesday the Supreme Court of Canada announced that it had rejected an appeal by the union’s lawyers, heard earlier this week in Ottawa, to allow an appeal before the court for president Steve Stavenes and secretary Homer Stevens who are serving one-year jail terms arising out of last year’s Prince Rupert strike. Ferry strikers backed Cont'd from pg. 1 Charles Stewart of the Amalgamated Transit Union, said that in one day the B.C. government pushed through a bill changing the status of these workers. “‘This is our fight, and a victory would be a victory for all trade unions’’ William Stewart of the Marineworkers, charged that the government ‘was challenging the entire labor movement and said that this was an example of the kind of “industrial harmony” the Socred government is working towards with its new legislation. Their attitude to the ferry workers shows they want to put “‘labor in chains,”’ he said. Syd Thompson of the Vancouver local, IWA, said the ferry workers require the complete assistance of all unions and added that a victory for them would put labor on the road for the big battles that are still to be fough by other unions. Nigel Morgan, provincial leader of the Communist Party, told meetings in Nanaimo and Victoria this week that “‘the real issue in the ferry strike is the right of civil servants to bargain collectively.” “Obviously strong pressure is going to have to be exerted to bring this government of ‘highway holdup- men’ to their senses and compel them to grant this right, which was recently done by the Féderal government and by a number of other provinces. This is a fundamental issue of civil rights and the Socreds are off in the wrong direction,” he said. “A united labor movement,, rallying the democratic majority as it did two years which quickly won the oilworkers dispute, could turn’ the tide and bring an immediate and (Satisfactory settlement’’, Morgan said. ‘‘Public opinion is overwhelmingly on the side of the government employees. To fall short now could only result in grave consequences for all labor, because if the government succeeds in forcing such conditions and compulsory arbitration on 1,100 ferry employees, its extension to all 24,000 civil servants and the trade union movement as whole will be a formality. ‘“‘The Ferry employees and Officers Guild are in the front line today. United, militant support for their struggle can determine in no small measure the future for B.C. labor’’, he concluded. Report on foreign control sidesteps central question “The way to rid Canada once and for all of foreign control is by public ownership of U.S. subsidiaries and of the natural resources of our country,” says a statement issued by William Kashtan, national leader of the Communist Party last Friday. “The report of the task force established by the Federal government unfortunately sidesteps this central question of genuine Canadian control over the economy, which alone can ensure the strengthening of the independence and sovereignty of our country and at the same time make possible sustained and planned economic growth”, “Failure to come to grips with this question of foreign control has already undermined economic stability, threatens the Canadian dollar and weakens the ability of Canada to extend trade with all countries on a mutually satisfactory basis. “Nevertheless some of the recommendations of the task force if implemented in legislation could exercise some restraints on U.S. subidiaries in Canada, particularly those which call for measures to compel these companies to abide by Canadian laws and custom both in Canada and with respect to trade with other countries, including the proposal for establishing a Canadian Development Corporation. “It remains to be seen what will happen with the recommendations from which the Government has immediately dissociated itself. If past performance is any criterion, this report, alongside many Royal Commission Reports, will gather dust in the archives unless democratic Canadians press for their implementation in ways to strengthen Canadian sovereignty. “Not only the candidates who aspire for leadership of the Liberal Party but all parties should be compelled to declare themselves clearly and forthrightly on this issue. As for the Communist Party, it has long called for the adoption of new: national policies for Canada. We are pleased to see this is what the task force likewise declares itself for.”” it went on to say.