industry

The decision was made to go to
the Labour movement for help. We
knew that the strike could be won,
but there was more time needed.

The response by both CLC affili-
ates unions and non-affiliates alike
was overwhelming. Through the
generosity and solidarity of other
unions the IWA was able to raise 9
million dollars in a matter of weeks.

There were more than a few raised
eyebrows when the money was bor-
rowed. “How will that much money
be repaid?” “we'll never get out of
debt, never!” Were just some of the
comments that were heard from
those opposing the move.

On July 13, 1987 a letter and
cheque for one million were sent to
CLC President Shirley Carr. That
represented the last payment in the
9 million dollar debt. The Labour
Movement showed once again that
solidarity is the operative word.
They showed that when the going
gets tough that working men and
women can depend on each other for
help when it’s really needed. With-
out a strong and unified labour
movement, that 9 million dollar loan
would never have been possible.
Without that loan IWA members in

IWA GOOD CREDIT RISK

Last year after three months
of a bitter dispute with the forest
in B.C., the IWA Strike
Fund ran out of cash. It was
something the industry was
waiting to happen, waiting like
vultures so they could capitalize on
hard hit, strike bound families.

the west would have lost their strike
pay months before the settlement

was reached.

The loans contributed in a direct
way to the settlement that was even-
tually reached. The text of the letter
from CLC Secretary Treasurer Rich-
ard Mercier and a full list of the

unions helping out is below.
Canadian Labour Congress
Canadian Auto Workers

Canadian Union of Public Employees
BCGEU

IWA, Local 1-357

B.C. Projectionists Union, Local 348
Letter Carriers Union of Canada
IWA, Local 1-71 |
IWA, Local 1-85

IWA, Local 1-217

IWA, Local 1-417

IWA, Local 1-423

Marine Workers and Boilermakers Indus-

trial Union Local “1

TWU

USWA International

United Brotherhood of Carpenters and
Joiners Provincial Council

Energy and Chemical Workers of Canada
United Brotherhood of Carpenters and
Joiners Local 1928

Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Work-

Dear Brother Munro:
As Secretary-Treasurer of the Canadian
on behalf of President Shirley Carr,

Labour Congress, and

alf I want to express de
appreciation for your wonderful letter of July 23, 1987 oe Bee

cheque for one million dollars re, i
presenting re;
made by the CLC to your union. phi salencn EL

I wish to congratulate iC
t late you, your fellow officers and thi
membership of your union, first on the success of your nenotn

tions, and secondly, on the tremendous effo:

ship to repay your indebtedness as ae % a Cea
resourcefulness and considerable effort devoted to the settlement
has resulted in the advancement of the interests of the entire
labour movement. To achieve such an objective was not an eas:

task, and what you did is a fine example that the whole labeee
area would do well to follow. You have proven again that
Be unity are the best tools that exist to achieve our

It was a great pleasure for us to assist you financi i

very difficult fight. We knew how importer ee pe ee
movement in Canada that this strike be successful, and we knew
that our money was in good hands. We are proud that we could be
of some assistance to you, and the fact that you have bee

successful is worth more than many millions, in my mind, 4

Enclosed is the promissory note for the $1,000,000 marked

“cancelled”.

With kindest regards and best wishes, I am,

Fraternally yours,
RICHARD MERCIER,

ers Union
Retail Clerks Union Local 1518
International Union of Operating En-
gineers

IWA Merger Fund

Hospital Employees’ Union

Secretary-Treasurer

There is a group
that operates
out of Toronto
and Edmonton
called the
National Citizens
Coalition. It is
an innocent
enough sounding
name, but
beneath the
name lays one
of the most
threatening and
right wing
organizations in
the couniry.

UNION RIGHTS

They are anti-union, anti-regula-
tion and anti-people. The NCC has
recently demonstrated their anti-
unionism by the sponsoring of acase
before the Supreme Court of Ontario.
It is widely known as the Lavigne
case. They have had one victory in
the courts and are aiming for
another.

Herb Lavigne is a union member
who did not want to see any of his
dues money going to anything but
collective bargaining issues. He
objected to the union’s exercising of
its democratic rights and spending
its dues money where the majority
said it should. Mr. Lavigne wanted
to impose a tyranny of the minority
on trade unions and ignore the
wishes of the majority.

The National Citizens Coalition
took up Mr. Lavigne’s cause and
paid for the court case. The bad news
is they won the first round in court.
The good news is that the labour
movement is banding together to
fight Lavigne and the NCC and up-
hold the rights of the majority.

Like most major institutions in
this country unions are democratic
organizations. When members of an
organization don’t like what their
union is doing they have the right to

change those policies or change the

HREATENED

leadership through democratic
means.
That means getting involved in
their union by participating and
~

that involves work and dedication.
The NCC court case does not respect
the rights of the majority, they want
to impose the minority point of view
and in doing so ignore the 50% plus
that has exercised it’s democratic

rights.

The other point that the NCC case
misses is that in a democratic soci-
ety we have a responsibility to try
and make the world we live in a
better place. That may mean help-
ing miners in South Africa or giving
money to political parties who sup-
port the aims and goals of working
men and women. It would be quite
possible for us to go through life
worrying only about the collective
bargaining rights of our members,
but it would not be right. To do so
would be turning our backs on a
larger responsibility. A responsibil-
ity that goes beyond the simple col-
lective bargaining needs of the mem-
bership. It is because of a vision that
goes beyond those bounds that we
enjoy things like medicare and holi-
days for those who are not only
unionized, but for the unorganized
too. That is just the tip of the
iceberg.

The NCC/Lavigne case is a clas-
sic right wing populist issue. One
that on the surface seems to make
sense. One need only lift the flap and
look under the surface to see the
basic inequity and unfairness of it.
The IWA is assisting the CLC in its
fight against the NCC, you can look
for more updates in forthcoming

issues of the Lumberworker.

6/LUMBERWORKER/NOVEMBER, 1987