AN

JUSTICE

= The late George Watts, a
longshoreman and aboriginal
leader, attributed eradication of
Poverty to unions. norman Garcia

Nu’Cha’Nulth leader had broad
vision for aboriginals and labour
The labour movement lost a close
friend when former Nuu- Chah-
Nulth-Tribal Council leader
George Watts, a member of the
Tseshat band near Port Alberni,
passed away last year. Watts was
a solid advocate of stronger ties
between labour and aboriginal
peoples of BC and Canada.

At the IWA‘s 2000 Convention
Watts said that then over half of
the forestry jobs for aboriginals
that were in the forest industry
were at minimum wage.

“On the other hand if you
look in this province and see
where we have got projects that
are tied to unions, you will see
that they have become economi-
cally independent communi-
ties,” said Watts, who added that
unions fight sub-standard wages
and working conditions.

Brother Watts told delegates
that due to downsizing and lay-
offs, aboriginal communities
had lost their strong union com-
ponent. He said it was time to
rebuild ties between labour and
aboriginals.

A decade earlier Brother
Watts told a BC Federation of
Labour Convention that it was
necessary to build bridges
between non-aboriginal and
aboriginal communities
across B.C. to help eliminate
poverty and social injustice.

sectors of the economy. NorMAN GARCIA

= The Steelworkers have effectively worked to represent aboriginal workers in many

IF WE ARE TO BUILD our union then we
need to know what we are all about, District
3 Director Steve Hunt told a group of del-
egates to the union’s Western Canada
conference in Winnipeg. He said that
includes the union needing to know
more about diversity and issues that abo-
riginal workers face in Canada.

As Western Canada’s demographic con-
tinues to shift over the next two decades,
more and more of the
workforce will be of whole
or mixed aboriginal
descent. In many com-
munities across the dis-
trict, aboriginal workers
face high unemployment,
poor wages and bad work-
ing conditions.

“Our union has spent decades fighting
social and economic injustices for all work-
ers, regardless of origin, race, creed or
colour,” said Hunt. “We need to continue
with that fight and we need to make our
union accessible to aboriginal workers.”

Hunt challenged workers to set up an
“Aboriginal Working Group” with reps in
each province and territory, to seek out

‘Steve Hunt

DISTRICT 3 FORMS ABORIGINAL WORKING GROUP

Reaching out to First Nations

new and innovative ways of representing
aboriginal workers.

Local 9074’s David Zirk said the USW
needs to “consolidate our strengths” and
that a working group is a good start. He
said both aboriginal workers and trade
unionists share a bond — an obligation to
their descendents to do the right thing.

Bob Desjarlais, a Metis from Local 6166
in Thompson, Manitoba, said the union
has recently assisted aboriginal apprentices
get set up. Four are now working at the
Inco mine.

District 3 Education Coordinator and
Local 2952 member, Darren Patrick, a
member of the Lake
Babine Nation of the
Dakelh (Carrier) peo-
ple, is heading up the
group in its early
stages. He told dele-
gates that there are
common values shared
between labour and
aboriginal communities, including fair
treatment for all and the eradication of
poverty for working people, their fami-
lies and communities.

Darren Patrick

THE ALLIED WORKER DECEMBER | 19