ee 8 ET,

POST OFFICE STRIKE...
rot urges members to keep the
doors closed until a collective
agreement is signed.

—Fred Wilson photo

Par-

Back PO
strikers
VLC calls

Continued from pg. 1

Council Tuesday. ‘And we know
that Joe Clark and the Tories will
support him.

“There’s no doubt that we’ll be
trodden into the ground unless the
whole labor movement is behind
us,” he said, in appealing for the
full backing of all unionists.

Ingram emphasized that when
“the economic times get rough,”
the government aims its attack
against those who have the least ...
“In this case, it’s the CUPW, and
all other unions covered by the
Public Service Staff Relations
Act.”

He told the meeting that he
hoped the Canadian Labor
Congress would take a firm stand
on the issue and declared “In
getting behind CUPW in this battle,
the labor movement won’t just be
supporting postal workers —
they'll be speaking up for the rights
of working people right across the
country.”’,

Earlier, Fishermen’s Union
delegate John Radosevic had
warned that the strikebreaking law
imposed by the Liberal govern-
ment. was “an attack not just on
postal workers but on all labor.

“The government was bent on
provoking this strike in order to
take action against CUPW and
then to hang its club over all public
sector workers,” he told the labor
council meeting.

Radosevic also blasted claims by
acting labor minister Andre
Ouellet that the government had
“made every effort to settle the
dispute over a number of months”
as “‘a pack of lies.”’

- The government did a lot of
things,’’ he said, ‘but not one of
them was to bargain in good faith.”

Radosevic called on ‘‘every local
union” to get behind the postal
workers, emphasizing ‘“‘It’s time to
come out fighting against this
legislation.”

His call was echoed by CUPE
vice-president Evert Hoogers who
warned, “It’s imperative that we
fight this legislation — if they can
do it to us, they can do it to others.”

B.C. Federation of Labor
president George Johnston said
Wednesday that the entire trade
union movement, including lak-
councils, federations of labor ana
the CLC ‘“‘must be prepared to
indicate the full support of the
trade union movement for the
inside postal workers.”

B.C. Federation of Labor convention

Policy hangs on elections slates

The importance of the November
convention of the British Columbia
Federation of Labor is reflected in
the coverage it is receiving in the
Vancouver Sun and Province, the
major capitalist newspapers in
B.C. :

The labor commentators of these
papers are openly speculating on
the different combinations that
appear to be shaping up for the
election of officers. Sometimes,
they leave the impression they are
sports writers speculating on
which horse is going to win the big
race.

Up to this point, the Tribune has
made no comment on _ the
leadership race. However, it has
given considerable space to key
policy questions confronting the
labor movement.

Elections are held every two
years. This year, as in 1976, George
Dobie of the Vancouver Sun has
picked his favorite for the top
position and is going all out to
drum up support for him in the
labor movement. In 1976, Dobie
was the unofficial press agent for
Art Kube, who ran for what was
then the only paid position on the
executive, that of secretary-
treasurer. Art Kube was the
candidate for the right wing and
went all out to remove the John-
ston-Guy leadership — but he was
unsuccessful. This year, the
delegates will elect a full-time
president as well as a full-time
secretary-treasurer. The president
will be the chief executive officer
and spokesman.

George Dobie is obviously

backing Jim Kinnaird, president of
the BC.

and Yukon Building

BOB DONNELLY... on ad-

ministration slate.

Trades Council and formerly
associate deputy minister of Labor
under the Barrett government.
Kinnaird has announced that: he
will not run again for the
presidency of the Building Trades
when that body meets in con-
vention next week. He has not
made an open declaration of his
intention to run for the top position
in the Federation, but he has given
every indication that he would like
to line up an overwhelming
coalition of forces in order to win
with a decisive majority.

Although the Johnston-Guy
forces won the battle in 1976, the
right-wing was able to muster 44
percent of the delegates to vote for
Art Kube against Len Guy. It
seems obvious that Kinnaird would
not like to run unless he was
assured of winning with something
like a 75 percent majority. There is
talk in the labor movement that if
he doesn’t run for the presidency of
the Federation, he will consider
moving on fo a paid position
elsewhere, which has been offered:
to him.

Kinnaird has yet to announce his
choice of running mate as can-
didate for the position of secretary-
treasurer.

It is significant that some key

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—October 20, 1978—Page 12

’ treasurer.

people from the International
Woodworkers, the B.C. Govern-
ment Employees Union; the
Canadian Union of Public Em-
ployees and the United
Steelworkers have strongly urged
Kinnaird to run for president.
These are the same wheelers and

dealers who went all out for Art

Kube in 1976 in a drive to reverse
the policy direction of the
Federation. _

In my opinion, this group has
decided that if it gets Kinnaird to
run for president, it will pick up the
large bloc of Building Trades votes
that went: against them in 1976.
They also hope that with a can-

policies Guy and Johnston stood
for. He would, in my opinion, go all
out to subordinate the Federation
to the NDP; no matter how far to
the right the NDP leadership went
and no matter how much their
policies clashed-with the aims,
objectives and aspirations of the
trade union movement.

What Kramer’s line would mean
for the Federation was well
illustrated by Gerry Stoney,
president of the New Westminster
local of the IWA and provincial
president of the NDP. Speaking at
the recent convention of his union’s
western region, he strongly
defended the back to work

== legislation enacted by the Barrett

LABOR
COMMENT

BY JACK PHILLIPS

didate of Kinnaird’s standing, they
will cut into other delegations
which voted against them in 1976.
Personally, I believe Kinnaird
would like to emerge as the peace
maker, the unifying force enjoying
the support of the left, center and
right. He is not the first labor
leader to have such an ambition.

This, of course, raises up the
vital question of policy, What
policies does he stand for? What
policies is he prepared to announce
publicly? To what. extent is he
prepared to go along with the
Munro-Fryer forces who have
consistently fought for what has
been described as a more
moderate and responsible course,
a course leaning towards _ tri-
partism and giving up the in-
dependence of the Federation in
relation to the New Democratic
Party? What concessions is he
prepared to make for their
support?

The officers of the Federation
have publicly announced they are
backing Bob Donnelly of the
Telecommunications Workers

Union for president and Dave

McIntyre of the Printing
Pressmen’s Union for secretary-
(McIntyre was ap-
pointed as interim secretary-
treasurer when Len Guy resigned
earlier in the year.)

The way this selection was made
and then revealed in the daily
press caused some resentment on
the part of a number of leading
trade unionists known as staunch
supporters of the Johnston-Guy
policies. Firstly, they believe this
matter should have been discussed
in a large caucus before any firm
decision was made. Secondly, they
are convinced that the Federation
officers should have responded
more positively to the overtures
made by Kinnaird, who wanted to
discuse the possibility of a Kin-
naird-McIntyre slate.

In the opinion of these dis-
satisfied leaders, such a slate, if
based on a principled agreement to
uphold -the policies of the
Federation endorsed by successive
conventions, would be a sure thing
to carry.the convention. In short,
they contend that this course offers
the best opportunity to maintain
the unity of 1976 and to isolate the
right wing forces. However, they
are also wondering if Kinnaird will
align himself completely with the
Munro-Fryer forces and become a
figurehead for their policies.

For example, there is a strong
rumor that Kinnaird is seriously
thinking of accepting Mike Kramer
of the Canadian Union of Public
Employees for his running mate as
the candidate for the secretary-
treasurer’s position. Kramer is a

.dedicated opponent of the basic

government in 1975, an action that
was sharply | condemned in a
Federation statement, which said:

“On Tuesday, October °7, the
Barrett government suddenly and
without warning introduced Bill
146, the most massive piece of
strike-breaking legislation in B.C.
history, ordering more thet 60,000
workers to work;

“Clearly, if-the labor ‘idvement
in B.C. is going to be able to resist
attacks. by this or any other
government, the membership of
our affiliated locals and delegates
to this convention are going to hav
to reject, in the strongest possible
terms, the activities of those in our
midst who defend the imposition of
anti-labor legislation. Only when

_ we have the kind of united front

which the Federation eventually
developed against the Mediation
Commission Act will we be able to
stop strike-breaking and anti-union
activities by government.”

If this statement is linked with
the following statement made by
the executive council to the 1974
convention, the picture comes
sharply into focus:

“We have consistently and un-
ceasingly sought to co-operate with
the government (NDP) and have
strongly supported various
government measures which are
under fire . . .at thesame time, we
have continued to pursue

‘vigorously the interests of our

members and all working people
through industrial activities. On
occasion, this has necessitated
conflict with government actions
or government policies which
adversely affected the legitimate
efforts of the trade union
movement to improve wages and
working conditions .. .”’

In short, the leadership of the
Federation, while firmly com-
mitted to supporting the NDP
electorally, was equally com-
mitted to preserving the in-
dependence of the trade union
movement as an economic
organization defending the in-
terests of its membership.

The leaders of the NDP tell us on
every occasion that they represent

a peoples’ party, and not a labor |

party or a party controlled by the
trade unions. It is ironic then, after
these declarations of independence
by the NDP, that their friends in

BisON

eee. running with Don

JIM KINNAIRD. seen 4
candidate in B.C. Federation ¢
Labor officers’ election.

the Federation would deny
organized labor’s right to be
dependent vis-a-vis the NDF:
Whereas the Johnston-Guy a A
were prepared to give critica
support to the NDP, the. right
demanded uncritical suppot
That, and the insistence of thé
Federation leadership on militant,
class struggle policies in collectiV
bargaining, is what the fight wé
all about then — and what it is 2
about now. i
The labor movement is fa e
with massive unemployme
inflation, attacks by governmi
on social security benefits, and fal
reaching threats to trade unid
rights. It is time to.close ranks
This means, in terms of the comil
Federation convention, tha
responsible leaders and_ activ!
union members who want to fa
up to these problems should,
least in my opinion, get toget
and hammer out a slate based 0!
firm commitment to the kind
policies the times call for.
The recent gains by the Com
servative Party in the federal
elections forcefully demonstrat
new danger to organized labor. 1
Federation convention can
meet this threat by adopting
fighting, anti-monopoly progral:
thus helping to lay the basis fol
unity of ‘all labor, left and
progressive forces :
battles that lie

DAVE MCINTYRE... Len Guy

SRA SERNA RAR

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