THE WESTERN CANADIAN LUMBER WORKER Dba ete x: eee LEAR THE A fa oak Dita Ramla: a ee ae PEneven it may seem like rubbing salt on open wounds, it must be said that a number of myths about NDP strategy went down the drain on August 27th. We call for a complete and frank re-appraisal of that strategy that the con- tinuing struggle for power may be more successful in the future. During the campaign, the NDP pre- sented a sound policy for social and economic progress that deserved a better reception. It was not its policy that ac- counted for reversals. Any party policy must be presented to the electors in a manner that facilitates its acceptance. The NDP weaknesses lay in its strategy of persuasion, forever necessary to win elections. We claim the privilege of speaking frankly, for this publication has consis- tently urged support for the NDP in ac- cordance with IWA convention decisions. We still believe that an NDP provincial government with a mandate to implement its policies would enormously improve the circumstances of the workers. It is not enough to say, ‘‘Here’s the policy you need and want.” Electors must be persuaded that it is so. Failure to undertake this task adequately enabled Bennett to sway with slogans and dis- torted facts a majority of the electors who were ill-informed about NDP aims. Not enough was done to win public confi- dence in NDP ability to establish a govern- ment that could successfully implement its ideals and assure greater prosperity for the people of the province. In this misfortune, there is a lesson for trade unions. The campaign disclosed renewed and artificially created public prejudice against unionism. Trade unions also require a well-developed strategy of persuasion to win general acceptance over employer-misrepr tati In this proposed self-examination, we do not downgrade in any degree the splendid efforts of NDP workers. It was the best campaign in the history of the organization. Berger’s leadership was outstanding in energy and statesmanship. The calibre of NDP candidates was of the best. Use of the media in the final days of the campaign was skilfully directed within meagre resources. We subtract nothing from a meritor- ious achievement when we ask why the results were so disappointing. This dis- appointment, which we share, should spur all NDP supporters to devise a winning strategy. The notion that campaign strategy applies only to the final weeks of the cam- paign should be completely discarded. Unless the preparatory work is thoroughly done in advance, a campaign of distortion finds fertile soil. People do not scare all that easily if they know the facts. It is when they are ill-informed that they choose ‘the devil we know rather than the devil we don’t know.” Bennett was able to hypnotize many people into the belief that “we mustn’t shoot Santa Claus,” largely be- cause of an indifference that the NDP had not dissipated. The effects of any last minute deluge of distorted propaganda can be minimized by the greater involvement of people in NDP policy-making through constant pro- motion. This means much more than endless membership and financial drives. It’s not good enough to permit a select group of the intelligentsia to hand down policy as from The Mount. Policy must be related to the day-to-day problems of the ordinary people. We ask if the greater emphasis should be placed on campaign gimmicks such as lawn signs. These are important and should not be abandoned. They are de- signed to reinforce the general strategy and the work of persuasion which pre- cedes the final campaign pressures. In any event such plans need revision be- cause of equally successful competition. Some NDP spokesmen allege a be- trayal by labour in the last campaign. Others claim that ties with labour imposed a distinct handicap on the NDP. This sentiment provides another reason for the proposed re-appraisal. It would be better to break the 1961 compact than allow the growth of uncertainties about the alliance. Let it be said at once that the trade unions never pretended to be able to we et © PAPER'S POLICY eae XXXVIII, No. 1969? The Editor: 10, August, the same privilege — right now! MRS. S. BOZMAN seems to me in review- ing the recent provincial elec- deliver a solid bloc of votes. They have merely provided channels for NDP per- suasion. The trade union movement is not structured as a political party. It has other important functions to perform in safe- guarding the living standards of their members. A close co-operation and better mu- tual understanding at all levels has been required without any infringement of autonomy. The fear of trade union dominance is another myth that should be discarded by the NDP. Consider the statistics of affiliation and quotas of representation at conventions. It is clear that the trade unions regard the political job as mainly a NDP job which can be advanced by full trade union co-operation. If the NDP now turns its back on the trade unions, they invite political disaster. Any broadly-based people’s party must command trade union support. The crux of this problem is that rank and file trade unionists in the main have not realized that political action in their own right is necessary to protect their economic aims in collective bargaining and social legislation. In the interval be- tween elections they must again be con- fronted with a decision in this respect. If they agree on the necessity of political action they must then agree with the plans of the Canadian Labour Congress as offer- ing the best kind of political action. The opposing parties are so structured as to prevent any genuine response to labour’s demands. The present level of affluence has little to do with the workers’ voting patterns. Never have the trade unions known greater pressure from the rank and file for increased wages and improved fringe benefits. Never have so many compro- mise settlements recommended by nego- tiators been rejected by the rank and file. There is no evidence that the workers are satisfied with their so-called affluence. Certainly there has never been a more pronounced feeling of insecurity. Only the frank re-appraisal conducted jointly by the NDP and the trade unions as proposed here will lay a sound founda- tion for greater electoral success. 2 Mae Rea liest, and lost,” they will be among the poorest, and low- ; As the wife of an IWA member and a mother of two IWA members, I would like to know who paid for the NDP advertisement in the Lumber Worker — Vol. Just because we belong to the IWA doesn’t mean we agree with your political views and if this front page is paid for out of our dues then I say all the parties get ? Beaver Cove, B.C. Editor’s Note: The Regional Council through convention action is committed to sup- port the policies of the New Democratic Party. THE WESTERN CANADIAN LUMBER i WORKER 38,000 copies printed in this issue. Published once monthly as the official publication of the INTERNATIONAL WOODWORKERS OF AMERICA Western Canadian Regional Council No. 1 2859 Commercial Drive, Vancouver, B.C. Phone 874-5261 Editor — Pat Kerr Business Manager — Fred Fieber Advertising Representatives — Elizabeth Spencer Associates Forwarded to every member of the IWA in Westérn Canada in accordance with convention decisions. 2 Subscription rate for non-members $2.00 per year. Affiliated with AFL-CIO-CLC tion that the average voter thinks of unions as represent- ing special interests. Even more perhaps than big busi- ness. Until such time as unions can be identified with the mass of British Columbia citi- “zens— with the poorly paid, with the handicapped, with the de- serted wives on welfare, with the old age pensioners — until such time, the unions will be a liability to any political party rather than an asset. When the unions can walk “in the clothes of the humble considered workers for the general interest of these little people rather than for the special interest of a few; they will be considered a hope for — the future of our Province and — of Canada. You may say that such un- selfishness — some would call it practical Christianity — will be beyond the powers of the leaders of unions and their brothers. If this is so, their prospects, and ours, are bleak indeed. Maurice Tozer, _ Sooke, B.C. :