IWA-CANADA reaffirms support
for New Democratic Party

Party election win in Ontario on September 6th

the IWA convention delegates unanimously adop-
ted a resolution to reaffirm the union’s support for
the NDP.

The adopted resolution urges all 21 IWA-CANADA
locals to affiliate themselves with the NDP and to
redouble the union’s efforts to elect New Democrat
governments.

“I think its absolutely necessary that we urge
every (IWA) member to become a member of the
party, that we participate in our constituencies,
and we make sure we attend those (NDP) conven-
tions,” said Local 1-85 president Earl Foxcroft.

“We have to get off our butts, we have to join the
NDP,” said Local 1-80 delegate John Little.

“You ask the Brothers from Ontario what it was
like just a while ago when Bob Rae was elected in
Ontario. It’s just like a dream come true for many of
these people from Kapuskasing and Hearst, that
they finally got the government of their choice,”
said Little.

“A government which is going to stand up for
working people, and stand up for better safety
conditions in the workplace.”

Thunder Bay Local 1-2693 president Fred Miron,
whose members helped elect 4 out of 5 NDP seats,
said the NP must be a government for all the
people but feels it should be a little “slanted”
towards labour.

“We supported them to get in. But once they’re in
there, I think we're gonna have to work even harder
now to be sure that they continue to form a
peyermentit said Miron. “And we intend to do
that.”

Irvin Baetz, financial secretary from Hanover
Local 1-500 said, “As long as I can remember,
people have been telling us socialists down there,
‘you might as well go bang your head on the wall
your never, ever gonna see an NDP government in
Ontario.’ We banged on the wall long enough, we
got through that damn wall. It pays to keep your
beliefs in the right place, and work on them.”

Local 1-367 president Dave Tones said “you
cannot support the New Democratic Party without

iE a mood of elation over the New Democratic

getting involved in the policy making of the party.”

Tones said that if anti-scab legislation is to
become a part of any Labour Code legislation in the
province of B.C., then in order to make that happen,
IWA members have got to be at NDP conventions
to ensure that those policies are adopted by the
party.

Delegates also passed a motion strongly urging
IWA members and other union members to become
active in promoting trade union issues within the
NDP.

In addition, delegates passed a resolution calling
for all IWA locals to involve themselves in municipal
elections in order to elect labour candidates or other
candidates that support organized labour.

The resolution also calls on the NDP to become
more active at the civic level by participating in
elections under-the Party label so working people
are provided with a vehicle to reach those goals.

Local 1-217 delegate Erich Ewert said in the B.C.
lower mainland, the municipal government is phas-
ing out industrial land in favour of residential
property.

“Unless we get serious about having a say in
what happens in our back yards, so to speak, we are
going to get chipped away and chipped away until
we have nothing left in our municipalities.”

Local 1-363 president Sy Pederson said that the
resolution shouldn’t exclude working with others in
coalition to further progressive politics at a munici-

pal level.
“T think thats important, so we get the broadest

participation, the broadest coalition and participa-
tion that we can around labour issues and things
that are important to working people,” said

Pederson.
Brother Robert Theriault, from Local 1-424, was

a candidate for city council in Prince George, B.C.,
said more labour people are getting involved in

politics at the municipal level.
Theriault said that municipal councils can help

labour by putting out tenders for companies which
pay fair wages. He also said our politicians can have
influence over police forces which interfere with
strikes by scab herding.

LUMBERWORKER/NOVEMBER, 1990/11