RONTO — Workers and union at Canadian General tric’s Lamp Works want a public inquiry into what’s ausing the cancer epidemic in lant’s coiling division where, , at least five women have and 25 tumors have been tified from a workforce num- g about 50. ta press conference, Nov. 10, United Electrical Workers, which represents the more 00 Lamp Plant workers, cal- r the Ontario Government to ten its occupational health Safety laws to prevent the re- nce of CGE’s a year and a of stalling in answering the Workers’ concerns about the safe- ty of their work environment. _Ynion spokespersons were highly critical of Jack Richman, a, ting so long to present a writ- fen report to UE Local 537, of his Vestigation into the workers’ ‘omplaints. In January, 1981, “Oiling division workers, having me alarmed over the ab- Normally high rate of breast and Other tumors diagnosed in women M that area of the plant, urged Ae joint union-management th and safety committee to | &t CGE to investigate what | Might be causing the cancers.. UE research director Jim Turk Noted minutes of the health and ucty committee. meetings .to Prove that Richman waited a year and a half before presenting UE Local 537 with a written report of his Study into the matter. _ Though Richman’s study, the Lamp Works plant doctor for: PHOTO — MIKE PHILLIPS =| = c E LABOR ___ FIVE WOMEN DEAD, 25 HAVE TUMORS UE charges cancer coverup Lamp workers want a thorough study and Ontario safety laws tightened to prevent further corporate evasion, says UE spokesman Jim Turk. With him are (I to r): Wayne Ericson, UE business agent; Cathy Treacy, Local 537 president; Turk; Bill, Woodbeck; Dick Barry, UE president. which Turk described as ‘‘slop- py” found ‘‘no known cancer producing agents”’ in the coiling division, the Lamp Works’ doctor had to admit that the incidence of breast cancer in that area of the plant is 10 times the normal rate while the incidence of cervical cancer is 34 times what would be considered normal. Local 537 members were angry over the fact that while they only received a copy of Richman’s study Oct. 27, following a local briefing with the New Democratic Party’s occupational health and safety Task Force, the doctor admitted in a press statement just prior to the UE press conference that his study was completed as early as Nov. 1, 1981. When. asked. if the union thought the year and a half delay was attributable to Richman’s ef- forts to cover up a bad study or CGE’s reluctance to face adverse publicity Turk replied, “‘both.” Richman’s study was described as ‘‘garbage’’ by Turk, a former university professor who said: “‘If I were teaching a first year statis- tics course and this was presented to me for my evaluation, I'd have given it an F’’. Turk pointed out that Richman’s study only identifies 15 women in the coiling division with tumors while the workers in the plant have identified 25. The workers also declare that there have been five cancer deaths while the company doctor only accepts two. UE welcomed the fact that an independent study of the plant will be conducted by MacMaster University occupational health and safety specialists to finally at- tempt to get to the bottom of the crisis. Unfortunately, as Turk pointed out, the women in the plant have to continue working under the cancer threat while a real study is being conducted. Chrysler strikers need full support of Canadian labor Joint statement of the Central and Ontario execu- tives of the Communist Party of Canada — November 10, 1982. The strike of 9,600 Chrysler workers is now at the centre of Canadian labor's struggle against concessions and wage cut- ting. The entire labor movement should throw its full support behind the strike. Workers at Ford have already voted to pay ten dollars per month per member in support and will increase this to twenty dollars a month in the event of a prolonged strike. Chrysler workers in the U.S. and Canada have already given up over a billion dollars in concessions to this U.S.- based multinational. The Canadian workers are demanding an end to Chrysler's wage-cutting policies and that it move to- wards parity with Ford and GM. These are perfectly legitimate demands and deserve the full support of organized labor. The statement of Chrysler president Lee lacocca that he will not negotiate a settlement in Canada before they settle with American workers shows an arrogance towards Canadian workers which cannot be tolerated. It must be made quite clear to Iacocca that his corporation must be forced to bargain in good faith with the UAW Chrysler negotiating team as required by Canadian law. The Chrysler workers’ decision to “use the tactics of the 1940s’’ to stop Chrysler from moving production or parts to the U.S. is an expression of the militant determination of the workers to win a decent contract. Chrysler should be warned by the provincial government that any attempt to shift Cana- dian production to the U.S. will be met by the take-over of the company and its placement under public ownership. The strike at Chrysler is a fight to win a Canadian contract based on Canadian autoworkers’ needs and economic condi- tions. The Chrysler corporation has been the recipient of hundreds of millions of dollars in government handouts. Its reply has been to flaunt Canadian law by refusing to bargain with Cana- dian Chrysler workers or to shift from its concessionary de- mands. The government must order Chrysler to comply with Canadian law and to return to the bargaining table with an offer in line with the union's perfectly legitimate demands. The strikers are united behind their union leaders and brac- ing for a militant all-out struggle. Organized labor and the communities across Canada must give them 100% support. In our guest column this week, William Pomeroy gives 8n incisive account of labor in action on many fronts. The Original is very slightly abridged — W.S. By WILLIAM POMEROY LONDON — The latter days of October have seen the ginning of a trend that all western capitalist govern- William Stewart Labor in action - Jobless actions hit capitalist world workers and coalminers stormed and occupied the house of parliament in Canberra to protest against the loss of refused to leave until the conservative prime minister, Malcolm Fraser, met with a delegation of their leaders. Australia Militant their jobs. They fought police and security guards and — Ments have feared for some time. Movements of protest against unemployment have emerged in a number of ‘Countries and have quickly acquired a militant mass Character. ___In the Federal Republic of Germany, the most or- -Sanized and largest development of this kind made its appearance, with the announcement on October 22 by he trade union federation of the start of two weeks of Mass demonstrations against unemployment. The pro- tests are coupled with denunciations of policies of the New right-wing government of Chancellor Helmut Kohl, worsen the conditions of both unemployed and €mployed workers, like cuts in welfare spending and Bher value-added (purchase) taxes, while giving con- Ssionary ‘‘incentives”’ to businessmen. 1 September, unemployment in the FRG reached 820,000. For several months there have been predic- “ons it would hit the two million level by the end of the ar. Now Chancellor Kohl is admitting that it can go as ~ 80 as 2,400,000 this winter. ; With a national election due next March, snowballing Ployment demonstrations could undermine | the Sent Christian Democrat-Free Democrat coalition 8Vernment. The Social Democrats have so far been Sving low-key encouragement to their members to sup- the trade union demonstrations, but the growing Green Party of ecologists and pacifists have publicly their followers to join them. ry! ‘Neo-Nazis Unemployment, and the protest against it, are not only rise to a renewed struggle against fascism. Neo-Nazi groups have been busy trying to enflame resentments of the jobless, as was done by Hitler's Nazis in the 1930s. A movement against unemployment has been forming in Britain for the past year or more. It has taken the shape of marches by the unemployed, especially by youth, across country in many parts of England, Scotland and Wales. In the last week of October, a People’s March for Jobs and Peace began in Liverpool and Manchester. On October 26, a delegation of 1,000 from the Scottish trade unions arrived inLondon, together with civic and church leaders, to make protests to Prime Minister Mar- garet Thatcher against the heavy loss of jobs from the closure of steel plants, which is a consequence of the adverse deal on steel forced on west European pro- ducers and exporters by Reagan. There was furious anger among the delegates when Mrs. Thatcher refused to meet them at her official resi- dence at 10 Downing Street. Said the head office, ‘‘if she won't turn about, then the Iron Lady will have to be smelted.”’ It is expected that Britain's unemployed, now standing at 3,295,128, officially, will rise to four million by the time of the next election and will be a major political factor affecting the outcome. The worried attention given by President Reagan to the issue of unemployment in the November con- gressional election shows the critical importance it now has for Western governments. A foreshadowing of what this can lead to was provided in Australia on October 26. Over 800 unemployed steel- Australia has an official unemployment rate of 7.4% which the government expects to reach 9% by early next year. According to the opposition Labor Party the real figure now is over 10%. The militant demonstration in Canberra has aroused speculation that the Fraser government will be driven to try for an early election before the jobless numbers swell and produce more up- setting scenes than the invasion of parliament. Outbursts, equally unsettling to governments, are quite likely in a number of countries in Western Europe, which has some grim prospects forecast for it. In Sep- tember, unemployment in the 10-nation European Eco- nomic Community went up to 10.1%, the highest since the depression years of the 1930s. This represented 11.2 million jobless workers. The percentage figures, which excluded the un- ‘employed from the most recent tenth EEC member, Greece, were averaged from the following September percentages: Belgium 14.8%, Ireland 13.1, Britain 13, Netherlands 10.8, Italy 10.5, Denmark 9, France 8.9, the FRG 6.9, and Luxembourg 1.3. Unemployed demonstrations have occurred in recent months in Belgium and Netherlands. In France, in the last week of October, it was reported that the un- employment insurance scheme known as Unedic was under heavy financial strain and was being pushed into deficit because of the ever higher pay-outs caused by high-rising unemployment. The European Commission forecast on October 17, that another million jobless would be added to the un- employment lists next year, sending. totals above 12 million. Raining this sort of political dimension, but are giving PACIFIC TRIBUNE—NOVEMBER 19, 1982—Page 9