Walt Jacobs, secretary-treasurer Marine Workers and the Boilermakers Union, was invited by the Soviet Trade Union Congress to visit the Soviet Union during the May Day celebrations. Trade unionists from many countries attended the celebrations. Photo shows Jacobs (right) laying a wreath at the memorial in Volgagrad. of Labor demands Basford probe of extradition Cont'd from pg. 1 court. Peltier’s defense was limited to seven days as opposed to three weeks for the prosecution. About 80 per cent of the defense’s testimony, including Poor Bear’s story, was ruled out by U.S. judge Paul Benson — a right-wing judge who has had more decisions over- turned than any other judge in the state. Tyndall said there is no doubt that the conviction will be over- turned in the appeal but in the meantime it will be used-to harass and persecute those who assisted Peltier to evade the FBI. Following his conviction April 23, Peltier issued a statement through his lawyers in North. Dakota, brought to the Tribune by Tyndall and Poor Bear. It reads in part: “By the laws of America I am entitled toa jury of my peers. This was denied me. “By the laws and constitution of Forum set on racism. Human rights director Kathleen Ruff will head a panel of seven that will take part in a discussion on Racism and the School, Tuesday, May 24 at 8 p.m. in the auditorium of Killarney Secondary School, 6454 Killarney St., Vancouver. Sponsored by the education committee of the Committee of Progressive Electors, the public meeting will be shown the con- troversial British Columbia Teacher’s Federation showing on racism, followed by the panel discussion and a_ public question period. Panelists will be asked for their comments on the COPE position paper Racism and the School. In addition to Ruff; the panelists include Vancouver School Board trustee Dave Pratt; the co- ordinator of the Vancouver alternative program for native Indian studies, Angie Dennis; teacher and program designer, Betty Hood; Ed May of the B.C. Teacher’s Federation; Dr. G. S. Gill of the East Indian Canadian Friendship Society; and professor Gerrold Coombs from _ the University of B.C. The meeting will be chaired by COPE education committee chair- woman Dr. Pauline Weinstein, All are welcome. slide’ America I am entitled to a neutral judge, yet U.S. district judge Paul ‘Benson showed complete bias against the defense. Again my rights were denied to me. “Now that the United States can no longer practice their war games in some sovereign nations such as Vietnam they are using their colonizing police force to continue carrying on the 500-year-old war against the Native people. Now Vietnam is being played on the Independent Oglals Nation in Pine Ridge and Rosebud lands. The government forces are now showing their strength with helicopters, machine guns, ar- mored personnel carriers and troops of Gestapo-like.U.S. mar- shals and FBI agents, in a con- tinuation of their policy of ex- terminating the Native people of America. “My conviction under what you eall the. system of democratic justice is not a victory for you; itis a victory for me, because it only makes .my people stand and fight harder until the yoke of oppression is removed from our shoulders, and you, America, from our lands.” Poor Bear also confided that the FBI intimidated her into making false testimony with references to Anna May Aquash — an indirect threat that she could fall to the same fate as Aquash if she did not co-operate. The Aquash case still is unresolved, although reportedly under “investigation” by the FBI. Aquash was an AIM member from Nova Scotia staying at Pine Ridge reservation, site of Wounded Knee, when she was found murdered. The FBI reported the cause of death to be “‘exposure,”’ but the Aquash family later had the body exhumed and found that she had been shot through the head by.a .38-calibre pistol. Canadian minister of ex- ternal affairs Allen MacEachen asked for an investigation into the death of Aquash but little has resulted. “The FBI is investigating itself,”’ VLC secretary Paddy Neale said as he explained the motion demanding an independent inquiry into the murder. The VLC went on record as condemning the ‘‘cover up” of information and asked that an independent inquiry submit its findings to a grand jury hearing. PACIFIC TRIBUNE—MAY 20, 1977—Page 12 — B.C. Fed parley reflects mounting jobless crisis The B.C. Federation of Labor held a special conference on unemployment on May 13, at- tended by some 100 representa- tives from labor councils and trade unions. The very fact that a con- ference was held is the result of. two factors. Firstly, there is a serious unemployment problem in B.C. Secondly, the Federation responded in a positive fashion to the many requests for such a conference by a number of af- filiates. On the day before the con- ference, Canada Manpower an- nounced the number of unem- ployed in B.C. had risen from 106,000 in March to 109,000 in April. That is the official figure, but knowledgeable people estimate that 120,000 would be closer to a real figure. Official figures do not include those who have become dis- couraged and are not actively seeking work, part-time workers” who would like to have full-time employment and large numbers of students and graduates seeking work. Canada Manpower also reported - that the’ official total for all unemployed in Canada in April was 914,000. It was against this sombre background that the conference was held. , : The Victoria, Campbell River, Port Alberni, Nanaimo, Kamloops, Vancouver, New Westminster and Peace River Labor Councils reported on the situation.in their respective areas. While Vancouver and New West- minster reported that it was very difficult to assess the precise situation in the Lower Mainland, they estimated that 60 per cent of the unemployed in B.C. are to be found in this area. ~ Spokesmen for the Carpenters’ Union reported their locals suf- fering from an unemployment rate of 1430 per cent. In Kamloops, 30 per cent of all building trades workers are without jobs. Speakers from Victoria reported a very bad situation in shipyards there. Larry Ryan, secretary of the Victoria Labor Council, reported that two shipyard unions had put up a sign to the effect that no more applications for jobs could be accepted. A third union, he said, was accepting all applications, in order to build up a file of unem- ployed workers and was keeping in touch with them by letter. He suggested that all unions’ with hirng halls should follow the example of the third union. Speakers from ~ shipyard unions strongly pressed for the idea that Canada should build and maintain a merchant marine. Port Alberni Labor Council reported an unemployment rate of 12 per cent and warned that technological changes being in- troduced by the MacMillan-Bloedel Company will further reduce the work force. ‘Speakers from the Smithers- Kitimat-Terrace area told the conference they were from ‘a depressed area.” Kamloops reported 165 new applications a week for unemploy- ment insurance. Courtenay reported 10-14 per cent unemployment, with logging cut back to 65 per cent until July 1 when the situation will be reviewed by the employers. A number who attended later told me there were too many leaders at the conference bemoaning what they described as the apathy of the workers. For the . the Victoria _ example, one speaker complained that only 100 unemployed car- penters turned out to the recent New. Westminster demonstration, out of a total of 1,200 registered as unemployed. According to . this speaker, all were sent letters’ and 700 were phoned. Other speakers blamed the apathy on the fact that many unemployed workers are still hopeful they willsoon return to work. Others referred to the “cushion’’ of a second person in the family being employed, unemploy- ment insurance benefits and social welfare payments. LABOR COMMENT BY JACK PHILLIPS However, other speakers evaluated the Carpenters’ demon- stration in a more positive light and pointed to the wide media coverage it received. Several speakers pressed for national co-ordination by the leadership of the Canadian Labor Congress, building up to a demonstration like that of October 14, 1976 against wage controls. Federation President George Johnston in his reply told the meeting that prime minister Trudeau has said that unemploy- ment will be with us for quite a while. He called upon the labor movement to meet Trudeau’s expectations by strengthening itself organizationally. He said that similar conferences were taking place across the country and that thetop leadership of the CLC would not be found wanting in the de- velopment of an action program. While he gave no details, he reported that a recent meeting of the executive council of the CLC (of which he is a member) agreed on a number of plans to deal with _ the problems of unemployment. It is significant that no spokesman for the International Woodworkers of America (B.C.’s largest union) participated in the discussion as a representative of that union. This, despite the fact that a number of speakers referred to the ongoing program of technological change which has already reduced the size of the work force and is expected to cause even more drastic reductions. It should be recalled that the majority of the IWA and BCGEU delegates to the November Con- vention of the Federation were in opposition to the leadership. The conference “closed on a positive note by adopting the following program: 1) Establishment of a Special Federation Unemployment Committee with the following terms of reference: e Monitoring, in co-operation with affiliates, the ongoing unemployment situation and in- forming the officers, executive council and affiliates; e Making recommendations to the officers regarding appropriate programs of action such as a lobby of MLA’s and B.C. MP’s and municipalities ; @ Developing contacts with un-- employed workers in the com- munity. outside the ~ labor movement and providing organizational assistance; e Examining and making recommendations with respect to possible bargaining protection against job loss’ through technological change or plant closures. 2) Preparation and distribution of a position paper on unemploy- ment and labor’s program to . provide full employment. 3) Concerted efforts:to arrange, through affiliates, the widest possible distribution of the Federa- tion’s current pamphlet on unem- ployment and wage controls. 4) Consider organizing public forums, in conjunction with community groups, to discuss un- employment, its causes and ways of solving the problem. 5) Recommendation to all trade unionists attending the forth- coming NDP convention to take every opportunity to focus at- tention at the convention on the unemployment crisis. A number of trade union officials were named to the special com- mittee and a full-time Federation . staff member was named as co- ordinator. The Vancouver Sun of May 16 reported that delegates to the fifth annual meeting of the National Union of Students, meeting in Charlottetown, urged student councils across the country ‘“‘to contact local labor organizations to plan united actions protesting the federal government s failure to act ~ decisively on the unemployment issue.”’ This decision is in complete harmony with the program adopted by the Federation con- ferenceand should lead to common ~ action between organized labor and students in B.C., and elsewhere. With each passing month, it becomes more obvious that mass unemployment is not a temporary affair. The left in the trade union movement has a special role to play in this period. They should patiently explain the nature of the crisis of capitalism and who is responsible for it. They should at the same time advance immediate, ~ realizable programs around which working people and other sections — of the community can be won for ~ united action. _ The trade union movement, the~ New Democratic Party’ and the Communist Party have a special responsibility. They need to work together for common programs to create jobs and to unite the people in action around such programs. That is how to fight back: against ‘unemployment. That is the way to reduce the power of the monopolies and the multinationals to create unemployment. That-is the way to open the door to deep-going sécial changes that will eliminate unemployment for all time.