March of
750 tells
AGTto

ban KKK

Despite an incessant rain that
drenched placards and dem-
Onstrators alike, more than

people marked from Op-
Penheimer Park in Vancou-
ver's east end to Robson
Square Saturday to demand
that the provincial govern-
ment take action to ban the
Ku Klux Klan. According to

s the B.C. Organization to

Fight Racism which organiz-
ed the march, close to 15,000
People have signed petitions
to attorney-general Allan
Williams demanding the ban

Space
shuttle:
Pentagon

warhorse
— page 5 —

gar e

‘Stay

within the CLC,’

innaird urges trades

Negotiators for the Canadian
Union of Public Employees and
| the Vancouver Municipal and
| Regional Employees charged

Monday that the Employers

Council was ‘‘largely

| responsible’ for the latest crisis in

GVRD contract talks and the
prolonging of the strike that has
resulted. :
Talks between the two unions
and the Greater Vancouver
Regional District fell apart Satur-
day after GVRD_ negotiators
placed the unprecedented de-
mand that the unions’ bargaining
committee put a GVRD contract

proposal to their membership
without first knowing all the pro-
visions. GVRD negotiator
Graham Leslie also demanded
that the bargaining committee
make no recommendation on the
proposal and hold simultaneous
ratification meetings.

The two unions rejected the de-
mand, adding that no union
could ever accept such a precon-
dition since it would strip a union
of its basic right to bargain for its
membership.

Although there were more than
a dozen issues yet outstanding in
the contract talks, the GVRD

TAKE A STAND;

e

chose as the issue on which to
break off the talks, that of equal
pay — the same issue which the
Employers Council targeted ina
letter’ last month, urging
municipalities to ‘‘reject this
union demand.”’
Labor Comment
page 12

At a press conference called by
the union Monday, B.C. Federa-
tion of Labor president called the
Employers Council action ‘‘total-
ly irresponsible interference’’ and
warned: “‘If this is the attitude of
the employers, then we will have

TRIBUNE PHOTO—SEAN GRIFFIN

B.C. Federation of Labor presi-
dent Jim Kinnaird Tuesday called
on Building Trades unions to ‘‘stay
within the central house of labor,
the Canadian Labor Congress’
and urged Building Trades locals to
press their international head-
quarters to stay in as well.

Kinnaird’s made his appeal to
the Vancouver and District Labor
Council where in a detaiJed ad-
dress, he outlined the issues in the
dispute between the CLC and the
Building Trades.

Carpenters Stand
page 3

Building Trades
page 6

It came on the eve of threatened
action by the U.S. leadership of the
Building Trades to set up a new na-
tional labor body in Canada and
open a new split in the CLC, only
this year celebrating the 25th an-
niversary of its founding which was
based on the struggle to overcome
old trade union divisions.

Kinnaird, who is also a member
of the International Brotherhood
of Electrical Workers, one of the 12
Building Trades unions facing
suspension for non-payment of per
capita, warned the labor council
that the dispute would create ‘‘a
tug-of war of loyalties.”’

“Unionists will be bombarded

See STAY page 12

to take a long hard look at the
situation.” =.

The Federation would be con-
sidering future action in meetings
with the civic unions, he said.

On Tuesday, delegates to the |
Vancouver and District Labor
Council voted unanimously to
send a special council delegation
to Vancouver city council to press |
for ‘‘meaningful negotiations.’’

Another labor council motion
reiterated support for the equal
pay demand, backing the civic
strikers for their “‘struggle to get
clerical workers wage rates raised
to the outside labor rate.’

sgsseeml