LABOR ‘‘deliverer’’ from bondage. Ontario. clouded), don’t come cheap. unions and unionists. system. still needed. Labor in Action By GEORGE HEWISON At Leamington— the workers’ agenda If all the unorganized workers of Canada were as enthusiastic about joining the trade union movement as the fishing industry workers of Leamington, Ontario, the Canadian Labor Congress program of organizing the unorganized would be a cakewalk. A few months ago, a group of Lake Erie fisheries workers decided they had enough of employer indignities and took the first steps to organization. Last week, they packed the Leamington high school auditorium at their founding convention to adopt a constitution and elect-officers to replace the pro tem officials and temporary set of rules they had started with. - In between, they have launched several applications for certi- fication for various fish plants which dot the Lake Erie shore- front, signed up more fishermen and appeared before the Ontario Labor Relations Board where. they have complained about the firings of numerous union activists. The union, known as the Great Lakes Fishermen and Allied Workers Union (GLF & AWU) after the west coast United Fishermen and Allied Workers Union, and more latterly the Newfoundland Fishermen and Allied Workers Union, has now recruited into the hundreds and has its base firmly rooted in a community of fishermen who originated in the North Central fishing port of Nazaree in Portugal. The new union has the distinct characteristics of so. many of Canada’s fishing outports. The whole community from grand- mother and grandfather to the infants are totally behind the new Every new guest to the convention, who came to pledge sup- port for the fledgeling union, got a rousing ovation from the crowd which rose up to chant as one: ‘‘Union! Union!”’ Now the union turns its full attention to getting first contracts for its shore plant and fisheries members. Later the union can: look further afield to the several thousand lake fishermen, operat- ing on the other lakes in Ontario. In fact, to the surprise of many, the economic base of the Lake fisheries, in Ontario is as viable if not more so, than the commer- cial fishing operations on both east and west coasts. At some future date, it is expected the union will be applying to join the Canadian Labor Congress to further the job, along with other affiliates, of organizing the unorganized. While not in the cards at the moment, a merger with another existing fisheries union is not ruled out for all time. In the mean- time, the GLF and AWU will need the full support of the Cana- dian labor movement, and in the first place the trade unions of Lawyers’ fees to fight corporate challenges on picky points of law, (more so because labor law with respect to fishermen is so So far, the organizing drive has been entirely self-sustaining, save for advice and support coming from older, established The 350 banquet tickets selling for $25 bucks a ‘‘pop”’ will carry the union part of the way forward. So will passing the hat, which has now given way to an organized cash dues collection So far the members have been more than generous in making sure the union doesn’t fail for lack of funds. But more support is Other unions in the area will no doubt be canvassed for help, and we're sure that help will be forthcoming. The Leamington organizing experience gives the lie to the suggestion that poor economic times make organizing difficult. It is precisely in tough times like now that working people cast around for solutions. Organization of the 60 per cent of Canada’s workers who are as yet unorganized is on the workers’ agenda, as an important part of ultimate solution for Canada’s workers. ee TRIBUNE PHOTO — MIKE PHILLIPS TORONTO — Union stewards at Seaton House, one of the city’s hostels for homeless men have found out that not only does management not want their suggestions for improving service to the . public, they risk being fired for offering their input. At least that’s been the experience of Mike Hamilton and Stan Dalton, two Seaton House workers and stewards for Local 79, Canadian Union of Public Employees. Recently both men were fired for two separate reasons but which boil down to Seaton House wanting to operate the hostel without any input from the union as far as Dalton and Hamilton are concerned. ‘*Stan and I were good stewards. Management was becoming answerable to some extent to the union, they couldn’t be as arbitrary as they wanted to be, so their answer was to get rid of the union presence at Seaton House’’, Hamilton said June BY With Dalton and Leo Carrigan, the last remain- ing Local 79 shop steward at the hostel, Hamilton was pounding the pavement outside City Hall along with more than 50 members of the local and Seaton House workers to give senior management of the municipality of Metro Toronto the message that the union is backing its stewards and are Seaton House stewards Mike Hamilton, Leo Carrigan and Stan Dalton backed by CUPE Lo Fired hostel stewards supported), . ers including acting president Anne Du cal 79. determined to bring the hostel’s “pugey ee management back into the 20th century: a feat | The noon-hour rally brought out Local jo | Chisolm, and Dennis Casey to pledge the a full support and its intention not to let Me timidate and harass the local’s steward body: oss | h Metro councillor Jack Layton, flanked bY wh | Sutherland speaking for the Metro Labor Oo He | Si was also on hand to solidarize himself W' union and the fired stewards. The councillor, who has worked with the © in the past to expose the problems at Seaton ey singled out Dalton as one of the stewards vii i worked with in bringing those issues to the P™ | j attention. ers ‘‘There’s a tendency to blame the work! é: Seaton House and the people who live ¢ those problems, but that’s not the cas¢ problems arise from government policies » said. tw He noted that as the provincial governmen sg P cutting back on funding to health care instit i and emptying them were possible into a munity, facilities like Seaton House were hav : take up the slack with more work for the 4