Canada-wide boycott called Bakery workers fight for first contract AJAX — A bitter twelve-week fight by 59 striking Bakery and Confectionery workers, against the Mother Parkers Ltd. sub- Sidiary, Sandra Instant Coffee Ltd., has prompted the Canadian Labor Congress to launch a Canada-wide boycott of the com- _ Pany’s products in an effort to force the U.S.-owned company to Negotiate with its workers. Since June 17, the strikers have en on the picket line in this Oshawa area community, de- Manding union security, and a One dollar an hour wage increase Over two years. Management has refused to Negotiate on the question of union Security and offered the workers a Wage deal which they consider in- adequate in times of runaway in- flation, and insulting as it dis- Criminates against women. The Company has ‘‘offered’’ the men 67 cents an hour over three years, For more than two months 3,200 Toronto electricians have en on strike for a 30-hour work Week. Motivated by a deep feel- Ing for their unemployed brothers i. the..construction,,,industry, , these members of Local 353 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers have shown Teadiness for self-sacrifice and exemplary working-class Solidarity. Unfortunately the same cannot said of their international of- ficers and their representative in Canada. These gentry consis- tently throw in their lot with the big money bags, developers and Construction companies. As soon as the strike started to pinch, the big bosses set in motion their ap- Paratus for bringing the strike to an end by either one of two Means: a) let their pack of trained Seals in the news media, the 80vernment and the international Union south of the border do the best job. possible to break the Strikers’ solidarity. That is what Ken Rose, inter- National vice-president of the IBEW and international union boss in Canada, undertook to do ' Wo days after a tentative settle- Ment and before the strikers had a Chance to vote on it. He ordered all strikers back to work. In the Customary arrogant manner, Ose announced that he had in- Structed his own personally instal- -1€d business manager, William ardy, to have the 3,200 striking €lectricians back on the job no later than Tuesday, Sept. 6. _ This happens to be the second time in less than a year that the _™embers of Local 353 have been deprived of their democratic right to vote. Last March the intei-. National union stepped in to ap- Point Mr. Hardy after the local Union had ousted him from office ™M an earlier vote. On this occasion Mr. Rose Claims the decision to instruct the Ocal union to recall its members while proposing the women should accept 48 ‘cents an hour over the same term. : Inan open union-busting effort, the company hired scabs, aided by ‘“‘security guards’’, for more money than the union demanded, to cross the pickets. A camper truck, bringing the strike breakers through, Aug. 2 knocked down and injured striker Wilma Pace. Two days later, with the help of Durham regional police, the com- pany was able to drive 30 scabs into the plant. It took 24 cops ar- riving in seven cruisers, three paddy wagons, and four un- marked cars to shepherd the school bus loaded with ‘‘sheepish’’ strike breakers through the plant gates. While the strikers protested the scabs’ cowardly actions, the ‘ police photographed and video- taped the strikers. : The strikers’ fight for survival: before they’ve had a chance to vote for or against ratification of the proposed .agreement was made solely on the basis of his (Mr. Rose’s) re-evaluation of the _hardships,the strike was causing. , But, the important question is, who’s hardships? It was the labor relations man- ager of the Toronto Construction Association who said he was ‘overjoyed’? with the move: ‘‘The general contractors (sic) will be most happy to see them back at work. We have suffered long and hard for this thing,”’ he exclaimed. Ontario Tory Labor Minister Bette Stevenson said she was ‘just delighted” by the union’s decision. This is the same Ontario - Tory Labor Minister who is pilot- ing through a bill in the legislature ‘whose aim, she says, is to ‘‘create stability in the construction indus- try and contribute, ona provincial level, to the federal government s anti-inflation campaign.” The truth, of course, is exactly the opposite. Bill 22 will do no- thing to stabilize conditions in the construction industry of Ontario. On the contrary, it will bring utter chaos. It will, in fact, with the blessing of the international union bosses in the USA, bring about a dictatorial regime of the employers and government over the construction workers’ unions in Ontario. This legislative man- ‘ oeuvre is nothing else than a cam- paign to assist the monopolies and their governments to load the cost of the capitalist economic crisis unto the backs of construction labor and all working people. Bill 22 exposes collusion bet- ween the Ontario government and multi-national finance and con- struction companies to _under- mine and, if possible, eliminate Canadian autonomy, establish a continental control _ over employee bargaining units _and remove the members and their in- fluence from the bargaining pro- PACIFIC TRIBUNE—SEPTEMBER 16, 1977—Page 5 A significant strike! has captured the attention of the labor movement locally and Canada-wide. The Metro To- ronto Labor Council,, voted unanimously Sept. 1 to endorse the strike and boycott, and do- nated $25 to the workers’ strike fund. In announcing the Canada- wide boycott, CLC secretary- treasurer Donald Montgomery cess altogether. The time is long overdue for all iconstruction workers to fall in line with the example- of local 353 IBEW, and start an all-out. drive for the, 30-hour work week with 40-hours pay or more. Such a campaign has to embrace both economic and political struggle, with pressure exerted in both the parliamentary and_ extra- parliamentary arenas. The bankrupt policy of center- ing the whole so-called anti-in- flation campaign on labor and workers’ wages, as well as on so- cial cutbacks, is obviously proven to be the exact opposite of what is needed to come to grips with the capitalist crisis. Today inflation runs much ‘ ahead of wage increases. It is the government and the monopolies who cause inflationary price in- creases, including the policy of . dollar devaluation to make im- ports more expensive, driving domestic prices upward while seeking cuts in the price of ex- ports. It is prices and profits of the monopolies. that must be con-. trolled, not wages. Much of the funds going to employers in the form of tax con- cessions and other subsidies from the public treasury ostensibly for the purpose of creating new jobs, go instead to new technology to be used for the elimination of jobs. Or it becomes surplus capi- tal for export by the multi- nationals. Until such time as the scientific and technological re- volution is augmented by funda- mental social change, the battle for shorter hours of work must play a greater role in the battle for full employment. To protect the flanks in coming battles, construction unions in Ontario, and everywhere in Canada, must establish Canadian autonomy leading in the direction of an independent, sovereign and united federation of Canadian construction workers. Police herding scabs at strikebound Sandra Instant Coffe Ltd. plant in Ajax. pointed out, ... the real intention of Sandra Instant Coffee and its mother company Mother Parkers Ltd., is to break the union. If it can afford to pay high wages to scabs, it can afford to pay the amount demanded by the union.” The boycott list includes 115 product names which organizers admit is impossible for consumers to memorize. ‘‘So what we are suggesting’’, Montgomery said, “is that shoppers look for the name of the manufacturer when they buy coffee,: tea, hot choco- late, creamers or other similar products.”’ A meeting between the union, the company ‘and the department of labor was scheduled for Sept. 12, local 264, business manager ~ Dominic Ricci said last week. Labor Forum on Unemployment set TORONTO — Delegates Sept. 1 unanimously endorsed the Metro Toronto Labor Council Executive Board Statement out- lining plans for the projected Labor Forum on Unemployment Oct. 21-22. : The two-day meeting, is part of the Ontario Federation of Labor program of _ six..-regional ‘unemployment forums across the ‘province which will produce re- ports the federation will use to prepare a position on unemploy- ment for the OFL convention slated for late November. Dates for these regional meet- ings have been finalized through- out Ontario. Including the two- day meeting Toronto, which will be ajoint effort of the labor coun- cils of Toronto, Brampton, Oshawa,. Oakville, and Coburg, the other forums are scheduled to take place: Oct. 12 in Kingston, representing the eastern region of Ontario; Oct. 14 in Sault Ste. Marie for the northern region; Oct. 17 in Windsor; Oct. 19, St. Catharines; and in Orillia Oct. 24. _In addition to affiliates from the labor movement, the labor coun- cils will also be inviting ‘‘con- cerned community organizations, municipal government leaders,”’ and the unemployed to partici-.- pate in the conferences. The Toronto executive board statement stressed the idea be- hind the conference was not only to outline the unemployment problem, but ‘‘more importantly to recommend solutions. Answers to the crisis is what we're seeking.”’ Two-Day Agenda The formidable size of Metro and surrounding region, plus the large number of organizations ex- pected to attend, prompted the council to depart from the one- day format suggested by the OFL and to expand to a two-day con- ference. The first day will be used for presentation of affiliates of the labor movement, and the second will see and hear community organizations and municipal lead- ers. The statement also noted the creation of a planning committee comprising representatives of each labor council involved. The delegates supported the executive’s call for affiliates to send the maximum number of de- legates, and for authorizing the executive board ‘‘to expend whatever money is necessary to ensure that the conference is a - success.”’ Suggests Local Committees United Electrical workers de- . legate Art Jenkyn gave his ‘‘full support”’ of the plans but pointed out the need for a broad ‘‘ad hoc committee of affiliates’’ of the various labor councils to guaran- tee full participation from the membership level of-the labor or- ganization. He called on the executive committees to fully in- volve the membership in mobiliz- ing themselves and others in their communities. In other business, delegates backed the executive’s contri- butions to several local strikes in the Metro area including: endors- ing the strike by the CPU against the Continental Can Co. in its To- ronto, Guelph and London plants; a $25 donation to local 264 Bakery and Confectionary Work- ers union on strike against Sandra Instant Coffee Ltd. in Ajax; and $25 to the Amalgamated Transit Union striking the Cambridge Transit Commission. Delegates also heard from executive board member Jim Bentley who represented the council at the recent United Farm Workers convention in Fresno, California, Aug. 26-8. About 1,000 attended the con- vention including 850 registered delegates and the 35 Canadian trade unionists representing labor councils, the UAW, Steel- workers, and the OFL. The convention” reported 84 negotiated pacts with 90 in pro- cess. Bentley said the union which now holds contracts for 30,000 farmworkers has matured over the years, and having estab- lished itself, is rising to the chal- lenge ‘‘to become better or- ganized administratively.”