U.S. trades leaders push rift in CLG Will the Building Trades unions *in Canada be instructed by their in- ternational offices in the U.S.A. to pull out of the Canadian Labor Congress, Canada’s major trade union centre? Or, will they confine themselves to the continued withholding of their per capita tax to the CLC (payable from the U.S.A.)? If so how will the leadership of the CLC react? The CLC has some 2,300,000 members, of whom 400,000 belong to the Building Trades. (The Team- sters, with 86,000 members in Can- ada, are in the Building Trades, but were expelled from the CLC in 1960.) Thus, the Building Trades constitute more than 17 percent of the total CLC membership. This should explain why the eyes of the labor movement were focus- ed on the Canadian convention of the Building Trades unions held in Calgary on July 14 and 15. The CLC convention, held last May in Winnipeg, was, to some ex- tent, an indication of what was to follow in Calgary. As a result of a pressure campaign, less than half the eligible delegates from the Building Trades were registered at the CLC convention. Prior to the convention, Ken Rose, international vice-president of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and chair- man of the Building and Construc- tion Trades Department (AFL- CIO) in Canada, resigned from the executive of the CLC. Two weeks later, Raymond Gall, international vice-president of the Sheet Metal Workers’ Union, resigned from the CLC executive council. This left the CLC leadership without any building trades representatives un-' til the CLC Convention elected two replacements. The. key issue that led to these resignations was the refusal of the CLC leadership to move against its Quebec Federation of Labor when that body accepted into affiliation 12,000 electricians who had broken away from the IBEW as a result of a dispute with the international of- fice in Washington. Also cited as justification were incursions into Building Trades jurisdictions by industrial unions, such as the International Wood- workers of America in British Co- lumbia and the United Steel Work- ers in British Columbia and On- tario. In addition, the top leaders of the Building Trades unions in Can- ada maintain that the system of representation at CLC conventions fails to give true representation on the basis of per capita payment. As was to be expected in view of the undemocratic method of select- ing delegates to the Calgary con- vention, a resolution was adopted which urged affiliates to continue withholding per capita to the CLC, as originally recommended by the Canadian Executive Board at its May 22-23 meeting. As the Cana- dian Executive Board is made up of top international officers in Can- ada from each union, as appointed to that body by their respective in- ternationals, it is obvious that the decision to withhold per capita was either made in the U.S.A. or else ratified by the top international of- ficers before it could take effect. The documents from the con- tion cite three specific grievances: 1) Failure of the CLC Executive Council to have its recommenda- tions for voting procedures at CLC conventions enacted. (While there should be room to accommodate the Building Trades and other un- ions who believe that their form of organization, made necessary by their relationships with their em- ployers, gives them reduced repre- sentation in relation to smaller un- ions, the May CLC Convention correctly refused to give a two- thirds majority to an executive pro- posal which would have permitted bloc voting. 2) Jurisdictional problems with regards to the IWA and the failure of the CLC to enforce the decision of the Impartial Umpire Carl Gold- enberg with regard to the IWA and “other unions raiding the Building Trades unions in B.C.”’ LABOR COMMENT BY JACK PHILLIPS a ss ER) - 3) The actions of the Quebec _Federation of Labor in respect to the Electricians and the Building Trades as a whole, which are de- scribed as “‘interference in the au- tonomous affairs of the Building Trades unions in Quebec.”’ A resolution to the convention from the Vancouver, New West- minster and District Building and Construction Trades Council call- ing for endorsation of “‘the concept of an autonomous self-regulating (non-dependent) Building Trades Council in Canada’’ was defeated. ‘._ Also defeated was a resolution from the same council to request Olympic ‘news’ fabricated Continued from page 1 The largest ovation from the huge crowd was reserved for the delegation from Afghanistan. The Afghan athletes had almost to a person received threats or offers of bribes to stay away from Moscow | — and only a day before almost the entire Afghanistan national field hockey team had been murdered in : an ambush and massacre on an Af- ghan highway. The gang of about 50 murderers had crossed into Af- ghanistan from Pakistan and were armed with U.S. weapons. Fittingly, as competition began July 20, it was a Soviet athlete who took the first gold medal. Alexan- der Melentyev, a 26-year-old shooter from Khirgizia, set a new world record by scoring 581 points in the free pistol event. The Soviets went on to take four gold medals in the first day, high- lighted by another world record for weight lifter Kanybek Osmonaliev in the combined lift. Monday, the powerful women’s swim team from the German Dem- ocratic Republic took over the new Olympic pool. In trial contests Monday, the GDR’s Barbara Krause set a new world record in the 100 metre freestyle, finishing at 54.98 seconds. The GDR women smashed an-> other world mark in the 4 x 100 medley, coming in at four minutes, 6.67 seconds. Tuesday, in the final for the 100 - metres, Krause broke her own record setting a new time of 54.79 seconds. In other pool action, Soviet 1,500 metre swimmer Victor Salnikov finished in 14 minutes 58.27 seconds, to be the first swim- mer ever to break 15 minutes. Salnikov’s world record time bore out his confident remark fol- lowing the event that, ‘‘even if Am- erican swimmers had taken part, I would have won.”’ _- The absence of the Americans from the pool competition is felt more than anywhere else, although the world marks being established in almost every event have eclipsed the shadow of the U.S. team. “The Americans couldn’t poss- ibly have matched Krause,” said Dawn Fraser, the Australian for- mer champion, now a guest of honor at Moscow. Moreevidence of growing Soviet strength in the pools was the gold medal taken Tuesday by Irina Kal- inina in women’s springboard div- ing. Silver and Bronze medals were taken by the GDR. A surprise winner in the 100 metre men’s backstroke was 18-year-old Bengt Baron of Swe- den, the first gold medal for an ath- lete from a capitalist country. Other world records Tuesday were set by Cuban weightlifter Daniel Nunes who set records in the 56 kilogram weight class with a jerk of 125 kilos and a two lift total of 275 kilos. And Hungarian rifleman Caroly Varga set world and Olympic rec- ords with a score of 599 points in prone rifle shooting. An ugly backdrop to the athletic competition in Moscow is the con- certed campaign of provocations and media manipulation of the Games by western correspondents. One story which grabbed head- PACIFIC TRIBUNE—JULY 25, 1980—Page 8 line space in western papers was the attempt of an Italian homosexual to chain himself to a fence in Red Square. The square was filled with western journalists who claimed they were waiting to interview Brit- ish runner Sebastian Coe. Later it was revealed that the western press had been sent to the square to photograph the Italian in what was clearly a premeditated attempt to cause an incident in Red Square. Another fabricated media report which received wide coverage was the alleged request of members of the Afghan delegation for assist- ance in receiving political asylum in the west. The report originated with Brit- ish TV correspondent Martin Lewis who claimed he was ap- proached by several Afghan ath- letes with the request. The story was branded ‘‘a low-standard lie”’ by Afghan athletes, but their re- sponse failed to make the news in the media outlets which sensation- alized Lewis’ claim. “Tt is disgusting slander,” said. wrestler Ghulam Sediq — one of those who Lewis claimed had asked for help. “How could we speak if I do not know English,’’ he said. “This gentleman is one who sees day, but says night.” Even the simplest of factual data is distorted in western news stories. The Vancouver Sun attempted to make propaganda value of the al- leged fact that Moscow had pre- pared for 400,000 foreign tourists, and only 100,000 had arrived. However, the Soviets report that over 400,000 tourists from. 34 countries have arrived in Moscow through the Sputnik youth tourist bureau alone. the Governing Hoard ot Presidents of the Building and Construction Trades Department (in the U.S.A.) to permit full representation on the Canadian Executive Board to a designated number of elected offi- cers from the Provincial Councils, or where none exist, from the ma- jor local councils. Similarly, a resolution that call- ed for Council representatives to be allowed to attend Executive Board meetings as observers was rejected. A resolution from the Vancou- ver Island Building and Construc- tion Trades Council ‘‘reaffirming our commitment to unity and soli- darity within the Canadian Labor Congress”’ was killed. That resolu- tion, correctly, in my opinion, call- ed for the Building Trades to ‘‘em- ploy the internal remedies provided when seeking redress for our griev- ances.”’ Another resolution from the Hamilton-Brantford Council call- ed upon the convention to ‘‘direct their respective Internationals to continue paying per capita to the CLC” and further, ‘‘to meet with the CLC executive to resolve the present dispute regarding the ac- tions of the Quebec Federation of Labor.”’ It was shot down. Of the 168 delegates entitled to attend, 154 were registered. The seven provincial councils and the 33 local councils were each entitled to send one delegate. All international presidents were entitled to attend and in most cases did so. Where a president was not in attendance, he was represented by a senior officer, as in the case of the Teamsters who were represented by International Director, Senator Ed Lawson. The Building and Construction Trades Department of the AFL- CIO was entitled to credentials for its president, Robert E. Georgine; its secretary-treasurer Joseph F. Maloney; and the executive secre- tary for Canada (appointed), James A. McCambly. All three at- tended. The dismal lack of Canadian au- tonomy enjoyed by a Building Trades convention was highlighted by the fact that Georgine chaired all sessions. To ensure that those who fight for Canadian autonomy in the Building Trades will be in the minority at any convention, the vast majority of the delegates were appointed by their international presidents, according to an agreed upon basis of representation. No question involving Canadian au- tonomy can be voted on except as a recommendation to the next con- vention of the Building Trades De- partment of the AFL-CIO to be held in the U.S.A. In the Pacific Tribune of June 20, 1980 I reported on an agree- ment signed by a CLC committee made up of representatives from industrial and building trades un- ions appointed by CLC president Dennis McDermott. The following is a quotation from that article: . “The B.C. Building Trades Council and the TWA can make a significant contribution towards guaranteeing the unity of the CLC by settling their jurisdictional prob- lems on the basis of the guideline document, to which they have af- fixed their signatures. There is no doubt in my mind that such an agreement is possible. But it would be wrong to assume that there will be no opposition to it.’’ I have since been informed that the Western Canadian Regional Council #1 of the IWA voted by 10 to one to table that agreement. The Financial Post of July 12, 1980, quotes Ken Rose of the IBEW as stating that he has assul- ances ‘‘from at least a half dozen unions”? that if he pulls his union out of the CLC, they will follow. -Russ St. Eloi, Canadian director -of the Plumbers, who signed the agreement negotiated under the auspices of the CLC, predicted at the Calgary Building Trades Con- vention that his union would pull out of the CLC at its next conven- — tion. “Come October, you’ll know we'll be out of the Congress,” he said. From reports I have gathered, it -appears that the rock bottom settle- ment for the.top leaders of the in- ternationals is a commitment from — the CLC leadership that it will move against the Quebec Federa- — tion of Labor because that body — took into affiliation the 12,000_ electricians who broke away from — the IBEW. However, the strong feeling for Canadian autonomy, and the feeling in Quebec that such autonomy must recognize the right of the Quebec Federation of Labor to a wide degree of freedom asa trade union movement represent- ing the workers of the French Ca- nadian nation, weighs heavily — against any interference by the CLC Executive Council in this _ case. The Victoria Colonist of July 16, 1980, reported on what Bill Zander, president of the B.C. Council of Carpenters, told the Calgary Convention: ‘Bill Zander, a B.C. delegate from the Carpenters’ Union, said he believed Canadians were mature enough to administer their own af- fairs, and characterized continued subservience of the Canadian branch to the international as co- lonial. “It’s an affront to the Cana- dian building trades and I guaran- tee you now that down the road there will have to be changes if this organization is going to survivein Het) this country. Asolution of the rift between the — Building Trades and the CLC is very important to the labor move- ment of Canada. A failure to solve it constructively could lead to ser- ‘ious consequences. To my way of thinking, the middle and lower leadership, along with the member- ship, must take a hand in resolving it, in their own interest and in the - interest of the labor movement as a -whole. I will come back to this sub- ject in my next article. RiBUNE Published weekly at Suite 101 — 1416 Commercial Drive, Vancouver, B.C. V5L 3X9. Phone 251-1186 Read the paper that fights for labor Addiréssies sor te City ortown=.. 33... Postal Code... aaa < 1 am enclosing: 1 year $10 [] 2 years $18 6 months $6 ‘| Old New Foreign 1 year $12 ©. Donation $ Ce Ce