Labour New UI cuts feared |) in April 27 budget Continued from page 1 The changes in qualifying periods and benefit payments are expected to bring in $1.3 billion in revenue. Of that, $500 million _ will be used to finance the changes required by the Charter of Rights while another $700 million will be re-directed to re-training schemes, including incentives to companies to provide training. But that is only forcing the unemployed to bear the cost of re-training — which should the responsibility of government and business, said Carr. “Even the government’s business advi- sors say the companies should pay for retraining,” she said in a statement April 11. “Now the government wants the unemploy- ed and the working poor to pay for it.” She also called for assurances that workers would be trained for quality jobs in their local areas and not simply reshuffled to other parts of Canada and low-paying jobs. ‘ “Subsidizing companies to train workers for minimum wage and short term jobs is a certain pathway to a meaner, crueler Can- ada,” she said. Georgetti also noted that the government was making the changes to ‘provide money for re-training that would be necessary because of dislocation caused by the Canada-US. trade deal. But the greater concern among unionists and unemployed advocates is the imme- diate effect it will have on jobless workers — and what more may be coming in Finance Minister Michael Wilson’s budget April 27. “I think the government has proposed these cuts as a trial balloon — and we should blast it out of the sky,” said Marty Smith, a business agent and unemployed advocate for the Carpenters Local 452 in Vancouver. The government clearly wanted some of the changes to UI out of the way before budget day and was able in its announce- ment to offset their effect by combining them with new provisions such as parental leave. But the changes do not cut overall government costs — and those cuts. are expected to come in the budget. They could include the reductions in, or elimination of, the $2-billion federal contribution to UI; increases in premiums, particularly for employees’; and further cuts in benefits. But even with the current changes, thou- sands of workers, particularly those in industries subject to frequent layoffs, will be affected. Smith said that the increase in the number of weeks necessary for a UI claim and cuts in the benefit period would have a devastating effect on construction workers where the unemployment rate is often far higher that the overall rate and where the work is short-term. “Our members depend heavily on UI because the work is intermittent. And many of them now will be forced on to welfare,” he said. Carr also warned in her statement that the government initiative could be the beginning of a government effort to create the impression of massive unemployment insurance cheating as a mask for making wholesale cuts to benefits. Smith echoed that concern, noting in addition that the federal government “can restrict UI by simple administrative changes,” including clamping down on UI claimants who decline low-paying jobs. That has already begun in the construc- tion industry, as many unionists currently collecting UI are being threatened with the loss of their benefits if they do not take available jobs in the non-union sector. . Many others will be forced to go non- union or even work at the minimum wage — an effect long sought by contrac- tors and business who have argued that UI is a “disincentive.” “Their idea of re-adjustment for workers is to force them to move somewhere else and take low-wage non-union jobs,” Smith said. Smith said that action against the UI changes and the federal government budget is being planned, including a demonstration outside a major free trade conference where External Affairs Minister Joe Clark and B.C. Business Council president Jim Mat- kin are among those scheduled to address participants on the “opportunities and chal- lenges” of free trade. The conference is scheduled for April 19 in the Vancouver Trade and Convention Centre. Demonstrators will be gathering there at 12 noon for a rally sponsored by Coalition Against “Free” Trade. B.C. Fed- eration of Labour vice-president Anne Harvey and coalition co-chair Father James Roberts will be speaking to the noon rally. MAY 1 Bar Closes. IWA Hall (Commercial Dr. & 13th Ave.) Downtown Eastside Poets Dancing rhythms with Africa Heritage, Keychange, Arlene Mantle, Rebel Peaches and more! TRY SHINDIG! with Sue Nou Hard Rock Miners and Tickets: $10 FINALE! ‘Playing It On the Line’ Stephen Fearing, D.O.A., Joelle Rabu, Roy Forbes and surprise uests sing labour classics. un. Ney , 8 p.m. Vancouver East Cultural Centre. Tickets: $12 : Advance Tickets: Zulu Records, Track Folk Music Festival. information phone: 324-8821! AYWonrKS FESTIVAL of Culture and Working Life - 7, 1989 Music! Theatre! Poetry! Photography! Video! Arts! Community Cabarets: May 2-5, 7:30 p.m. ‘til : Toronto Dub Poet Ahdri Zhina Mandiela, and R 6, 8 p.m. Mantme. Records, Octopus Books East, Vancouver For more MayWorks volunteer and event 12 e Pacific Tribune, April 17, 1989 Unity in post office depends on the LCUC accepting vote result The struggle continues. That is the slogan of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) which is truer today than ever, as the Tories continue to privatize, harass, intimidate CUPW members. But there’s a new ingredient added to the pot — the unresolved status of Letter Carriers’ president Bob McGarry. How can this be? you might ask. Didn’t all the postal unions just conclude a government-ordered compulsory vote in which CUPW won the right to repres- ent all postal workers? We all remember brother McGarry’s pledge to return to his job in the Scarbo- rough plant if the Letter Carriers’ Union of Canada (LCUC) lost the vote. Well, brother McGarry hasn’t given up being president of LCUC. Not only that, he’s been involved in several campaigns to undermine the CUPW leadership, while at the same time, LCUC is planning a convention this June yearto decide what to do with the union. That was highly unexpected, given the executive board. They were also urged to campaign against the idea of putting off the national convention, scheduled for October, until the spring of 1990. CUPW’s reasoning for postponement is the union will be in the middle of negoti- ations with Canada Post, and would not have enough time to organize such a complicated convention. Just as puzzling is the fact that McGarry is still drawing his salary of $60,000-plus. In March, McGarry, a member of the executive council of the Canadian Labour Congress, gave a report on behalf of the postal workers to its last meeting. This is like having American Owen Bieber, president of the UAW, deliver a report to the CLC on the Canadian Auto Workers without Canadian president Bob White’s knowledge. CUPW president Jean Claude Parrot sent a blistering letter to CLC president Shirley Carr, with copies to all CLC executive council members asking for an Jan. 31 letter McGarry sent to all LCUC business agents following the vote: “The present LCUC membership, including all officers and stewards, will remain members in good standing even though they sign CUPW cards and con- tinue to work with this new bargaining agent after February 1, 1989. “Everyone is urged to maintain their pride and loyalty for LCUC and what it has accomplished as a bargaining agent. This same pride and loyalty should be displayed at CUPW meetings in our efforts to make CUPW the type of democratic union we want.” That part of his letter could be inter- preted as McGarry feeling down about losing the vote, but further on we read: “However, if we are unable to change the union to one we can be proud of, we will simply wait for an open period and an opportunity to change the bargaining agent.” That is polite labour jargon for “raid.” In subsequent letters from LCUC president McGarry, all business agents have urged to work and vote against a referendum put forward by the CUPW _ leadership that would add LCUC repre- sentatives on to the CUPW national LABOUR IN ACTION explanation as to why CUPW was not asked to make a report. The latest event in this saga is a letter from McGarry in response to the Parrot letter stating: “I am still the national pres- ident of the Letter Carriers’ Union of Canada, and until June 1989 when a special convention is called, I have the right to direct the membership .... At this convention the membership will decide what will happen to the Letter Carriers’ Union of Canada and until that time we will continue to work for the membership,” The government knew what it was doing when it ordered a vote to bring about one union in the post office. The role being played by McGarry, the exec- utive and business agents of the old LCUC union is a tragedy. If there’s a moral here, its that gam- bling with the stacked government deck is a dangerous game. But McGarry and the LCUC leadership did so and lost. Now, for the sake of their membership and all employees of Canada Post, they should accept the results, and live up to the spirit of brother McGarry’s initial statements made in the aftermath of the balloting. (Ss ee eee eee ee ee en 2 ee ee ee ee ee ee ee TRIBUNE Published weekly at 2681 East Hastings Street Vancouver, B.C. V5K 1Z5. Phone 251-1186 Name Ce ed Ce Postal Code rc Ce lamenclosing 1yr.$200) 2yrs.$350) 3yrs. $500) Foreign1 yr. $32 0 Bill me later ‘Donation$...... = Thane ce cane On Sn SS AS A A SS SS A el