GEORGE JOHNSTON (left), LEN GUY. .

ee

. labor must rely on militant action.

_ “Prepare now for work
Stoppage’ - Fed parley

cont'd. from pg. 1

movement — the shop stewards,
the local officers, the active rank
and file members — will recognize
the necessity of winning this battle
through a strong and united labor
movement.”

Delegates interviewed by the
Tribune following the conclusion of
the one day conference, said they
welcomed the resolution to prepare
now for a work stoppage. The
overwhelming sentiment was ‘“‘we
have a big job to do to mobilize the
- entire labor movement in B.C., and
we must now go out and do it.”
Some delegates told the Tribune
they regretted there wasn’t a
bigger turnout from two of B.C.’s
major unions — the IWA and-B.C.
Government Employees — and
that some of their leaders did not
speak at the parley.

Speaking at a seminar at Simon
Fraser University on Monday, CLC
president Joe Morris said that ‘‘the
CLC has waged, and will continue
to wage an unrelenting campaign
of opposition ‘tagainst the federal
government’s controls.”

“The wage control legislation,”
he said, ‘‘was the first time in
times of peace that government
moved to control the end result of
collective bargaining. Historically
government has rested content
with legislating the procedures
under which collective bargaining
would be conducted while leaving
the price of labor to be settled by
the two parties — labor and
management.

“Although this may not appear
to the outside observer to be a
drastic shift in government policy,
for trade unions it was striking at
their very source of strength and
reason for being. Not only did it
strike at the fundamentals of trade

DEAF PROTEST

Cont'd from pg. 2

said labor should speak for the
rights of people who cannot speak
for themselves, the deaf. Eldridge
condemned the ‘‘insensitive,
inhuman and calculating manner
of the minister on this issue.”’

Walt Jacobs of the Marine-
workers’ Union, blasted the Socred
government for its policy, and said
it’s a pretty low blow when the
government directs its cost-cutting
against the deaf and blind.

The Vancouver Labor Council
resolution went on record opposing
any attempt to close or reduce
services at Jericho, and decided to
forward its protest to the minister
of education.

unionism, but the procedures
under the regulations also made
each employer an extension of the
State in enforcing the legislation, in
which the national-will became the
corporate-will, and the power of
the state was placed at the disposal
of each employer at the bargaining
table.” :

Major attention was also devoted
at the BCFL parley to recent anti-
labor legislation adopted by the
Socred government.-In his speech
to the delegates, secretary-
treasurer Len Guy charged that
the Socreds “‘are clearly out to
assist their friends, big business,
and punish their enemies—
working people, and particularly
organized workers.”

Guy said that the new Bennett
government seems to have learned
one lesson from the old. ‘Instead of
the kind of open, full scale assault
on the labor movement
represented by Bill 33 and Bill 88
(which was withdrawn in the face
of united labor opposition), this
new batch of anti-labor Socreds are
obviously intending to attack us in
bits and pieces of legislation,
hoping that we will lay back and
accept each attack as relatively
minor.

“Unfortunately, this strategy
has been made easier, as we
forecast a year ago, by the am-
biguous nature of the NDP’s Labor
Code. As we pointed out in our
criticisms at that time, the Code
was written in such a way that
relatively minor amendments by a
hostile government, combined with
any shift in personnel which
established an anti-labor majority
on the Labor Relations Board,
would leave us with very bad
legislation. :

“Clearly the Socreds have
embarked on that course. And,
unless we unite successfully to
resist their activities, they will
continue to -introduce anti-labor
amendments and to change the
make-up of the LRB to insure that
we end up with legislation and with
an all powerful LRB, both stacked
against us.”

Following Guy’s analysis. of
recent Socred anti-labor
legislation, delegates adopted a
series of resolutions which:

o Endorsed the federation’s
opposition to Bill 16, passed by the
Socred government, which would

B.C., and recommended that the
BCFL adopt a general policy of
ignoring LRB orders to remove or
restrict the “‘hot” declaration.

0 Protested the 40-day cooling
off period in Section 73 (7) of the

Labor Code and resolved that the:

BCFL adopt a policy of giving full
federation support to any affiliate
deciding to ignore or resist the
imposition of such back-to-work
orders,

o Condemned the enactment of
Bill 83 which grants non-union
contractors access to public
construction projects. The
resolution recommends _ that
federation officers and the B.C.
and Yukon Building Trades
Council develop a program of
action to fight this legislation.

Rivalries harm.
building trades

By JACK PHILLIPS

As the strike-lockout. in the
construction industry moves to its
fourth week, divisions between the
15 unions are unfortunately being
debated in the capitalist news
media. Instead of uniting against
the Construction Labor Relations
Association and its attempt to
compel the unions to recognize the
Anti-Inflation Board in a
memorandum of agreement, some
union leaders are fighting each
other.

In the Vancouver Sun of July 17,
Frank Stevens of the Cement
Masons accused the CLRA of
making an under-the-table deal
with the Electrical Workers and
the Iron Workers. On July 19, the
Sun quoted a spokesman for the
Electrical Workers as denying the
allegation.

The 15 unions are in two groups.
On the one hand there is the so-
called mechanical trades, with
eight unions, of which the Elec-
tricians, Plumbers and Iron
Workers are the key unions. The

second group is the so-called basic -

trades, with the Carpenters,
Laborers and Operating Engineers
as the key unions.

The basic trades are pressing for
an across-the-board settlement in
dollars and cents, because they do

- not want to see a widening of the

wage gap between themselves and
the mechanical trades. The
mechanical trades appear to be
more inclined to accept eight per
cent as of May 1 (in line with AIB
guidelines), with the proviso that
the second instalment will be
subject to a ruling by the Anti-
Inflation Board.

CASAW will provide
for those suspended

Cont'd. from pg. 1
strike, but acknowledged that

' Alcan did not come to the hearing

bring public employees under the .

federal wage control program and
establish a provincial Anti-
Inflation Board. The resolution
demands that Bill 16 be rescinded.

o Condemned the government’s
attack on the federation’s ‘hot’
policy as constituting a threat to
the whole trade union movement in

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—JULY 23, 1976—Page 8

“with clean hands” since it had
violated its undertaking to the
board.

Alean had also flaunted its
duplicity on the issue of the federal
guidelines when it arbitrarily
raised rents in company-owned
housing 10.6 percent and prices on
safety clothing 20 percent while
insisting on an eight percent wage
settlement.

In delivering its decision, the
LRB warned that the Alean dispute
in‘Kitimat was unique and should
not be interpreted as a standard for
board action in other illegal
walkouts. Dismissal for leaders
would be the general rule in such
cases, it stated.

It also noted that lengthy
Suspensions in a town dominated
by one large employer could have
the effect of dismissal since those
suspended would be virtually
unable to find other work.

That will not be the case for the
CASAW members, however. Ac-
cording to Burton, arrangements
have been made to provide for
Suspended members and for the
union, itself, the next few months
will be a time of consolidation.

Throughout the strike, donations
from union locals around the
province have been coming in to
the union office and although the
dispute has settled down, money
continues to come in.

Only this week, a donation came.

in from longshoremen at the
Vanterm dock who had taken up a

:

collection during a lunch break.

From the fund created by the
various donations, interest-free
loans, providing for 75 percent of
the former earnings of Alcan
workers, will be made available to
those under suspension.

President Burton intends, as do
Jim Brisebois and Wiheo Pap-
penbrock, to devote his energies to
the union and may well be elected
to the office of business-agent —
the only paid officer — when he
runs for the position in union
elections slated for later this year.

Much of their work will have to
be aimed at preparing for the
contempt-of-court trial scheduled
for September 13. All the weight of
both Alcan and the courts still
hangs above their heads as they
face fines against the union and
possible jail terms as well as suits
for damages..

Another court case, prompted by
the police arrests June 10, is also
before them but that case, slated
for September 21, does not hold the
same dangers.

Despite the punitive actions that
could yet be taken against them
and the fact that they were
ultimately forced to return to
work, the Alean workers have not
revealed any feelings of defeat.
And the bitterness against the AIB
inspired contract lingers.

“There’s no sense of defeat
among the members,”’ Burton told
the Tribune. ‘‘And even if they
were forced back on the job by the
police, the Labor Relations Board
and the courts, ithasn’t made them
any happier about the contract.”

‘other than in uniting for a 0

. Eagle, to be followed by a trial °

There is good reason to beli€l
that the leadership of the Canadié '
Labor Congress will soon set #
preparatory committees for !
general strike against wag!
controls. In this situation, to alld
a written reference to the AIB™
the memorandum of settlemell
would be, tantamount to UW
dermining the CLC position of ue
recognizing Bill C-73 in any Walp),
shape or form. uf t

Instead of playing oneupmanslil
with each other, as some leadeh s,
seem to be doing, no effort shoul te
be spared to find a con
bargaining position. Coupled be J
this there should be principh |,
opposition to any reference to™
AIB. Those leaders who are able™)
see beyond the narrow, craft #
terests of their respective uml!
should work to end a situation")
which two groups appear to” 4

th

more concerned with fighting @

settlement for all unions.

When unions become involved ly
petty squabbling, the major
jectives of the labor movement é
lost sight of. The inter-unil!
competition to get a few penn
more becomes more imporlé™
than the over-all interests of ™
working class. In the long 1 ]
‘these tactics are disastrous for @
trade union movement, includiy
those unions who momentalllj,
gain a few pennies.

It would appear that a
provincial government has deci@¥

a
not to impose a Council of Unidl i
on the building trades at this tim’)
The major construction companl&
are not asking them to do so. 7! :
government therefore has no ly
tention of inviting a confrontali])
with organized labor, at tly
moment in time. a

However, if the strike-lock0l
continues, and if the unions #
unable to resolve their differenc®
we can expect the government ©
intervene on behalf of the ely
ployers, in some fashion.
intervention will be careful
timed. This strike-lockout has
created the early  politic®
pressures that would be the cas@™
a strike of hospital or fel)
workers. |

It would be much better if H
unions would unite around !
common program and negotiate #
settlement without governmel
intervention, and without ul!
dermining labor’s fight against th)
AIB.

PELTIER

cont'd. from pg. 1

Rapid City, South Dakota. F

The other member is Leona!
Peltier who is awaiting the oul
come of both his legal appeal of th®
warrant of committal {0
surrender following his extraditio
hearing, and his appeal to thé
minister of justice for politic#!
asylum in Canada.

The Committee charged that
separation of Eagle from the tri@
of Butler and Robideau is aimed #
‘and holding a separate trial f?

Peltier if he is extradited. In th®
way, says the Vancouver-bas
Committee, the U.S. prosecuto
hope to finally pin the blame oP
AIM-members Eagle and Peltie!’

“The prime target is Leonafé
Peltier,’’ says the Committ :
which points out that the campaig”
to gain freedom for Peltier is &
panding across Canada. ;

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