_ TORONTO — Even though the fed-
_ eral government stepped in to spike the
postal workers’ union one-week postal
Fate cut, the Canadian Union of Postal
_ Workers nevertheless succeeded in
_ ‘warning the public of serious cuts in
postal service planned by post office
_ Management.

Very few postal workers were sur-
_ prised, Dec. 7 when the Canada Labor
Relations Board ordered CUPW to can-
cel its appeal to the public to mail cards
_ and letters for 10 cents during the week of
Dec. 11-17 as part of the union’s protest
- against Canada Post’s preferential
treatment of corporate customers at the
expense of service to the general public

and postal workers’ jobs.
The board declared the union’s plan to
as process mail with less than the normal
32-cent postal rate, during the week in
question, was an illegal strike. CUPW
president Jean-Claude Parrot was or-

_ publicly renounce the union’s earlier call
for the public to ignore the 32-cent stamp
_ for cards and letters during the pre-
= copes season.
7 as Public Awareness
; At a press conference Dec. 7 the milit-
ant union leader claimed victory for’ the
_ union’s campaign to expose Canada
Post’s plans to balance its budget on the
_backs of the public and postal workers.
_He also noted that the 10-cent program
was only one tactic in CUPW’s strategy
_ to defend the public’s right to a decent
: Postal service.

Point made — public warned of cuts

LABOR

dered to call off the proposed action and

““We feel it was a good way to reach

the public and wake up Canada Post
Corporation’, Parrot told reporters.
‘“Maybe they stopped the program but
they didn’t stop a lot of people being
aware of cuts in the postal service.”’

He said he was disappointed by the
labor board ruling because he couldn’t
understand how the federal manage-
ment-labor relations tribunal could see
the action as an illegal strike when all of
the union’s 32,000 members remained on
the job.

Parrot said the union’s campaign to
expose the further deterioration of the
postal service will continue with the
leafletting of post office installations
throughout the country and a probable
court challenge to Canada Post’s five-
year plan to erase its operating deficit at
the expense of the public and its em-
ployees’ jobs.

Leafletting began Dec. 6 with the
distribution of a tear-off post card ad-
dressed to a federal New Democrat
Member of Parliament, (free postage),
calling for an expansion, not further
deterioration of Canada’s postal service
by the Crown Corporation.

Toronto Campaign

In Toronto, Dec. 6, Local CUPW pres-
ident Eric DePoe in launching his local’s
leafletting campaign charged that
deterioration of postal services has con-
tinued since the post office became a
crown corporation two years ago. “‘For
example, rural route delivery on Satur-
day has been eliminated”’, he said.

_ CUPW keeps the heat on Canada Post

“Postal stations have been closed,
hours of operation at wicket have been
cut back, and third class rates for the
public have been eliminated.”

Such practices, he said were clear vio-
lations of the Canada Post Corporation
Act, which mandated the corporation to
set as its main objective maintenance
and improvement of the services to the
public. ‘‘However, (Canada Post chair-
man) Michael Warren is only interested
in achieving financial self-sufficiency’,
DePoe stressed.

was a good way to reach the public and
wake up Canada Post Corporation, they
stopped the program but people became
aware of postal service cuts.”

relations, while giving large volum

CUPW leader Jean-Claude Parrot ... “‘it-

‘*He sees this as his only goal and in
pursuit of that goal he has reduced ser
vices to the public and aggravated labo

mailers giant discounts for first class ser-
vice.” 2

DePoe reiterated Parrot’s and the
CUPW’s warning of the so-called five
year plan being discussed at top levels o
Canada Post to make the crown corpora
tion financially self-sufficient.

Public Is Fed Up

Parrot has pointed out on numerou:
occasions that the mandate calls for pro
vision of a proper postal service to the
general public and that other governmen
departments, such as defence don’t loo!
at their budgets in terms of ‘‘deficits’’ o
“‘surpluses’’ but as expenses. a

With the five-year plan, DePoe
charged, Warren ‘‘has laid out how h
intends to reduce costs to achieve tha’
bottom-line objective. He is planning t
reduce the work drastically and to reduc
services by closing postal stations, cut
ting back to alternate-day delivery o
mail and providing group mail boxes in
stead of free delivery.”

The message postal workers want t
send back to Canada Post, DePoe said
‘is that the public is fed up with postal
cutbacks. We have a right to expect bet:
ter services and Canada Post has an obli
gation to provide better services. What is —
at stake is whether or not we want the
Post Office to be a service or a corpora-
tion to make profits by cutting back in

Seccouly the Canadian Labor Congress, under the
signature of its president, Dennis McDermott, circulated
a letter to the heads of all affiliated unions urging them to
embark on a raiding campaign against the building trades
unions in Canada, as the way to unite them with the

- mainstream trade unions in the CLC.

___ Justifying the recommendation, the letter spoke of
_Tepeated attacks by the newly formed Canadian Federa-
tion of Labor on the CLC, as well as raiding being carried
through by building trades unions against CLC affiliates.

Speaking to the recent B.C. Federation of Labor con-
vention he specified raiding being carried out by the
Union of Operating Engineers in Ontario against mining

— locals of the United Steelworkers of America and other

_instances across Canada. We expect he was especially
referring to Quebec where major attempts are being
made by building trades unions to regain previously lost
sections of the industry.

There is certainly no wish on our part to justify any of

_| the raiding of jurisdictions, or unions by the building

trades, nor to minimize the threat the CFL poses to labor
unity. We do, however, take serious issue with the solu-
tion of raiding held out by the CLC.

_ First of all, for the record it must be noted that the
raiding actions are by no means a one way street. The
Communications Workers of Canada just successfully

_ took away the telephone workers from the International

Brotherhood of Electrical Workers in both New-

_ foundland and Nova Scotia. In many other parts of
_ Canada one or another building trades union faces raids

on its membership, mostly in industrial sectors, by CLC
affiliates.
: Larger Issue at Stake

The larger issue however is whether the interests of
either CLC affiliates or bui!iiing trades workers will be
served by the CLC proposals for raiding. Experience,
we suggest, proves otherwise.
Building trades workers in Canada face one of the

- most serious threats to their wages and working condi-

tions, and in many instances the very future of their
unions, in their history. Unemployment reaching well
beyond the 50 percent level affects the industry in
some parts of Canada while 30 percent exists elsewhere.

Hands off the Building Trades!

Labor in action

William Stewart

Governments are pushing through legislation which en-
courages non-union contractors, allotting contracts to
non-union firms as an exampje for others. Union leader-
ship is panicking and making major concessions in many
sections of the industry in an attempt to stop the erosion
of their jurisdictions. Inside the industry itself there is
poaching on other jurisdictions using wages and inferior
working conditions as an inducement to hawkish
contractors.

Most of the roadmen (international representatives of
the unions on the U.S. head office payrolls) are pushing

concessions as the road ahead for building trades work- .

ers. Having lost most of the industry in the United States
(less than 20 per cent are organized), to non-union con-
tractors, they are seeking to regain their lost member-
ships by bringing union wage levels down to those of the
non-union sector.
Significant Opposition

It is most difficult for them to explain away a different
policy for Canada, so they are insisting on the same
approach here. At the same time significant sections of
the elected leadership of building trades unions in

Canada and most of the rank and file are quite opposed to —

the direction being pushed on them in the industry and
are trying to gear up for a determined and successful
resistance to concessions and for the organization of the
unorganized workers as the only way forward “r them.

Such a policy is consistent with the stated aims of the
CLC and everything should be done at this time to
encourage these elements in the construction industry
and make sure their objectives are won.

Such would not be the case if mass raiding takes place
against building trades unions. What will happen is con-
fusion and massive disunity in the ranks of the industry,
opening the door for the bosses to move in with their

policies of concessions, the governments to move in
further with their union-busting legislation. No matter
who might win this or that raid we would all lose and it
would take decades for the unions to recover their lost
positions.

At yet another level the raiding proposal is dead
wrong. In British Columbia; where workers are engaged
in the highest level of struggle against the monopoly in
Canada, building trades workers are fighting side by side
with them in Operation Solidarity and the Solidarity
Coalition. In fact they stood together with their fellow
workers on the floor of the B.C. Federation of Labor .
convention last week with voice but no vote to discuss
the fightback and unemployment.

Unity the Catchword

Dennis McDermott had to apologise to them for the
‘‘untimeliness’’ of his letter and said it did not apply to
B.C. We guess not.

The very next day, however, building trades workers |
in Alberta, together with the Alberta Federation of |
Labor demonstrated on the steps of the Legislature in
Edmonton and AFL president Dave Werlin, who is also
a member of the Executive Council of the CLC, told ©
cheering delegates at the B.C. convention “‘it does not —
apply in Alberta either’’. :

The B.C. Federation convention unanimously passed |
a resolution directed to their leaders to seek a meeting —
with the CLC to discuss how the building trades unions ~
can be brought back into the CLC.

Lorne Robeson, of the B.C. Carpenters Union, told the —
delegates that the only thing keeping his union out of the |
CLC was the Congress’ insistance in trying to jam them —
into a CLC building trades set-up which woould make
them guilty of dual unionism and subject them to dis-

~iune by their internationals.

Whatever prompted president McDermott’s letter on —
raiding it is to be hoped that the sharp response will cause —
the CLC leadership to rethink the matter and rather put —
on the top of their agenda steps to bring a united building —
trades industry back into the CLC to establish the unity
which won in B.C. and can win elsewhere. ae

Unity, not raiding, is the catchword for success today — :
as it was yesterday and will be tomorrow.

_ PACIFIC TRIBUNE—DECEMBER 21, 1983—Page 8