Canadian Autoworkers Union president Robert White leads his union conting-
ent in the largest-ever annual Toronto Labor Day parade which this year drew
some 20,000 participants. Organized by the Metro Toronto Labor Council, the
parade was intended as a mass rally against free trade, as were other Labor Day
events in Windsor, Winnipeg and elsewhere.

Jobs cited

An imminent four-year capital works
plan for the city of Vancouver should be
aimed at creating jobs for the city’s thou-
sands of unemployed, says the secretary of
the Vancouver and District Labor Council.

Frank Kennedy told a special hearing of
city council Sept. 8 that the labor council
considers “‘the persistence of high levels of
unemployment and the growth of poverty
in this province and this city ... absolutely
disgraceful.”

Kennedy, who is set to run as an alder-
manic candidate for the Committee of Pro-
gressive Electors in the Nov. 15 city election,
said jobs can be provided, city services
maintained and “‘infrasturcture” improved
if council sets its priorities accordingly in the
proposed 1987-1990 capital plan.

Council was to vote on the plan, which
would involve a plebiscite in the fall elec-
tion, at its regular meeting Tuesday.

In city plan

Kennedy said the labor council supports
a recommendation from council’s finance
committee that $10 million be committed to
upgrading city buildings, sewers, sidewalks
and other examples of infrastructure. The
proposal, which would involve matching
grants from the provincial and federal
governments, has been supported by the
COPE-Unity forces on city council.

Citing a study carried out by the Van-
couver Unemployed Research Group
which showed more than 30 per cent unem-
ployment in the city’s Kingsway area,
Kennedy said the infrastructure program
“will not only prevent the decay of our
beautiful city, it will ensure the maintenance
of services to people, it will provide much
needed jobs in the construction.and build-
ing sectors, and . .. provide a further stimu-
lus to economic recovery.”

Dance for

with
Annette Ducharme
Holly Arntzen

Nicaragua

Saturday, September 13, 1986
York Theatre, 639 Commercial Drive
Tickets: $8 employed/$5 unemployed, students

Available at Octopus East and West, UBC. Grad. Student Centre, MacLeods Books,
Spartacus Books and Black Swan Records.
Presented by Tools for Peace, 1672 East 10th Avenue, Vancouver, Phone: 879-7216

Pp

WORKERS’ BENEVOLENT
ASSOCIATION
OF CANADA

A progressive, fraternal society in Canada,
operating since 1922, offers insurance
protection at minimum cost.

Salutes labor solidari
struggle for a world

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in its
peace.

126 PACIFIC TRIBUNE, SEPTEMBER 10,1986

Nfld. strike renevi
call for wage part

Continued from page 1

“Provincial employees have traditionally
been the least militant of public employees
here and have often just accepted the
government’s offer,” March said.

“But the disparity is just too great. And
our members have said that the time has
come to take a stand.”

The government’s final offer, put repeat-
edly before union negotiators, would only
have given NAPE members parity with
hourly rated public employees and would
not have been effective until July 31,
1989 — more than five years from the time
the last contract expired March 31, 1984.

“In effect, we’d be looking at a six-year
agreement,” March said. “Our members
have said that’s just too long.”

He emphasized that the union is seeking
parity on the basis of annual salary with
earlier implementation.

Newfoundland Treasury Board chair- -

man Neil Windsor, in an obvious effort to
undermine strike solidarity, told reporters
this week that government figures show that
20 per cent of the union’s members are not
‘supporting the strike.

But the union disputes the government’s
claims, pointing out that the computerized
records for strike pay show that more are
participating than in the spring.

“Windsor is phoning the media every day
with his numbers,” March said, “but they’re
just not accurate.”

The union’s strike action was also called
off in April on the basis that the government
would reconsider Bill 59, the sweeping
essential services legislation that forbids
strike action until essential employees have
been designated and empowers the govern-
ment to designate more than half of the
employees as essential.

“But Bill 59 is still on the books,” March
said, adding that there had been no discus-
sions with the union about changing it. In
any event, the legislature is not expected to
meet again until the spring, effectively pre-
venting any change until that time unless
there is a special session.

As a result, the second wave of the strike
was launched in defiance of the restrictive
legislation, as was the first.

March himself faces a contempt-of-court
trial in Newfoundland Supreme court in
October for breaching the sweeping injunc-
tion which barred all NAPE members from
participating in what the court called an
unlawful strike.

White said tht the court docket over the
next few months was filled with appearan-
ces for NAPE members charged with pick-
eting, mischief or obstruction.

Those appearances are likely to heat up
public anger against the Peckford govern-
ment whose actions have been likened to
those of fellow Tory Peter Pocklington in
the Gainers strike in Edmonton.

The labor movement has also responded
with a campaign of solidarity, echoed by
Carr during her speech to the NAPE rally
Monday. —

March said the Newfoundland Federa-
tion of Labor has once again thrown its full
support behind the strike and was expected

to begin organizing a series of SUPP
lies over the next few weeks.

Earlier, National Union of Pf
Government Employees Union
John Fryer pledged an additional §
lion to NAPE to assist the union}
taining the strike. “This is just
payment,” Fryer stated following!
of NUPGE’s board, “It is what's ™
the moment but we make it
they’re not going to be starved off
and we have many other resources
make available.”

March said that the union intends
a picketJine vigil around the Co
Building in St. John’s and that he hi
would likely be staying with the
around the clock.

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