UPSIDE DOWN - RIGHT SIDE UP Despite the massive win by the Tories in the federal election of 1984, that summer campaign will down go in history as a watershed political campaign. It was during the dog days of summer that the tide began to tum for the Federal New Democratic Party. It was during those hot summer days that Ed Broadbent found the reserve, the strength, to keep on going. In doing so, Broadbent proved all the critics wrong. He made virtually every political pundit in the country eat their words. There was hardly a journalist any- where in Canada who had not predicted the demise of the Federal NDP. They all said that with the NDP sitting at 11% in the public opinion polls that it was almost a certainty that the party would be virtu- ally wiped out in the 1984 election. How wrong they were. History has recorded the errors of those predictions, history has shown that the NDP bounced back and made new gains during that water- shed summer. But why? What forces were at work? The NDP was not about to disappear from the political map because, Canadians would not have allowed that to happen. The pundits, in all their wisdom did not look much beyond the superficial polling information. They didn’t look at the politi- cal history of this country. Ifthey had, they would have seen a much different picture than the polls presented. They would have seen the kind of impact that the NDP has had on this country and they would have seen that the NDP is a permanent part of the political fabric of Canada. The NDP was not about to disappear from the political map because, Canadians would not have allowed that to happen. New Democrats have had a profound impact on Canada. The so called “social contract” in Canada can be traced directly to political fights waged and won by New Democrats right across Canada. Medicare, central in that social contract, is part of Canada because of the NDP. The social safety net we know as the social welfare system is also because of the NDP. The right to form, certify and join a free trade union, although severely threatened in some parts of the country, is a result of New Democrats. Protection for workers, anti-discrimination laws, ele- ments of our constitution, unemploy- ment insurance, and a host of other progressive institutions and laws are a direct result of New Democrats. In short the NDP has had as much, if not more, impact than virtually any other political party. Although a majority of Canadians do not vote for the NDP all the time, one in five voters did vote NDP in the 1984 election. If the current trend holds, we could see that increase to every other voter in the next election. Even those who do not vote NDP, acknowledge the need for a progressive party on the left and have long ago accepted and in fact, now embrace the concept of New Democrats having a real and meaningful impact on our day to day lives. The NDP sits poised, stronger than ever before, with a leader in the form of Ed Broadbent, who is one of the most popular political leaders in Canada’s his- tory. This is a party whose time has come, ina country whose time has come. Cana- dians as a whole are fed up, they're tired of the old line political parties. In increas- ing numbers they are turning to the NDP. To use a slogan from the last election, “Now more than ever Canadians need more New Democrats in Ottawa”, be- cause now more than ever we need to tum politics upside down in order to tum Canada right side up.* = WELCOME BACK Continued from page 1 graphed sheet, distributed to members on the picket line. Following the bitter log- gers’ strike of 1934, the Lumber Worker began publishing on a regular basis, mak- ing the leap from mimeographed sheet, to a printed paper. Now the paper is written and typeset on computer, and printed on laser controlled printing presses. The technological changes that the the Lumber Worker has experienced, are akin to the massive technological changes that the forest industry has expe- rienced over the last fifty-three years. One little known fact about the Lumberworker is that many years ago, a rather well know, recently retired scotsman was the editor of the Lumberworker. None other than that famous hagis eater himself, Jack Webster edited the paper for a brief while in the 1950s. You can rest assured, that the paper was published “precisely” in those days. This is an exciting time to be a IWA 2/Lumber Worker/July, 1987 member. Through the merger and sepa- ration (see separate story), the IWA is stronger than ever. The stated goal of IWA leadership, “One Union in Wood” is closer than ever because of the merger None other than that famous hagis eater himself, Jack Webster edited the paper for a brief while in the 1950s. and separation. IWA members have the strongest voice ever, and the Lumber Worker will be the focal point for that. Welcome to the new Lumber Worker, welcome to the new, stronger, and uni- fied IWA Canadian Regional Council. View from the East The following is an excerpt from a speech made by Carole Houssar, IWA member in the Hanover area of Ontario, I have been a member of the IWA for about eight years. As a member of this local I have learned a great deal about involvement and participation, and it is on that subject that I would like to speak today. Labour has an important role to play in the community, more specifically in the makeup of a strong active and progres- sive labour council. The local labour council is the heart and soul of the labour movement. It is from local labour coun- cils that we are able to build strong unified provincial and national organizations. In our area, right here at home, the local labour council was responsible for start- ing the Unemployment Service Centre in Brantford. This centre was established for all working people, both unionized and unorganized. We are able to provide assistance in looking for work, stress, budget counselling and general all round support for the unemployed worker. We have been successful in finding work for many of the people coming through our doors. We have also provided advocacy work for those having trouble with work- ers compensation, UIC, human rights and employment standards. We have won almost $90,000.00 in benefits for the people we have helped this year. All this takes place, plus the more traditional support such as the food bank. But this is just the beginning of labour's true involvement in the community life. Local Labour Council members sit on numerous boards, including the training advisory committee, the waterfront devel- opment project, the Mayor’s drinking and driving committee, civic advisory. committee and the United Way. Labour's voice is heard in our community. We are an active part of the structure. If we are to put an end to the continual bashing of labour this is one way to do it. The more we are involved in the community the more we will be understood. Community networking is one way we can break down the barriers between organized lab- our and the rest of society. We have been able to elect members of labour councils to City Council giving us a strong voice at the municipal level. La- bour has actively supported the New Democrats both provincially and feder- ally with some degree of success. Our MP isa New Democrat and we expect to elect a provincial member in the next election. We can and will have a major impact in our community, our region, our province and our country. Labor has proven through its actions over the years, that it has more than its self-interest in mind when we become involved in politics. We are able to see the larger common good and work towards those larger positive and progressive goals that will benefit all working people. As union members there is much that we can do to influence and change our society. Collectively we are much stronger than as individuals and we have a respon- sibility to work together to build a strong progressive labour movement and in doing so build a strong and progressive society. Bill strikes out The following is an editorial that ran in the Edmonton Joumal not too long ago. This paper is not known for its friendly attitude towards labour, so its criticism of Bill Vander Zalm’s heavy handed Bill 19 is not to be taken lightly. British Columbia’s first general strike in 11 underlines the absolute failure of Premier Bill Vander Zalm’s pledge to bring labor peace to the province. His confrontational and divisive Bill 19, which in its original form sought to severely limit collective bargaining and essentially abolish the power of unions, is the equivalent of waving a red flag before a bull. The bill has been amended to water down the most objectionable clauses — allowing strike breakers to vote on union contracts and giving an industrial relations commissioner the power to end strikes at will — but the damage has been done. Vander Zalm’s intentions were clear; he meant to break the backs of unions. While many. British Columbians might hope for some reduction of labor power, few think the existence of unions should be undermined. ‘No matter how much the premier dilutes Bill 19’s powers, the extremism of the initial bill will invite only labor confrontation and retaliation. It’s unlikely that labor will settle for anything less than withdrawal of the legislation. Vander Zalm’s clumsy and ill-planned labor law demonstrates the folly of using coercion where reason might prevail. Threats to clamp down even harder on recalcitrant labor are unlikely to succeed. Labor might be legislated into submission, but that would result only in a resentful work force that feels it has been dealt with unjustly. Such an outcome will hardly advance Vander Zalm’s goal: to bring labor peace in order to attract new investment. Few investors are likely to have confidence in a province where labor law invites union retaliation. How can an employer expect optimum productivity from people working under duress, with their rights legislated away? Given the erosion of labor power under Bill .Bennett’s premiership, it’s inevitable that labor is deeply suspicious of government moves to curtail what remaining power it has. Instead of addressing the situation with sensitivity and grace, Vander Zalm has created an unnecessary problem with his heavy-handed approach.