i UTI f | Overwhelming support for Taylor slate in Stelco vote Special to the Tribune HAMILTON — The landslide victory by Cec Taylor in his run for the presidency of Local 1005 United Steelworkers at Stelco was heralded in the labor community here as a significant victory for progressive leadership in the battles facing the Canadian labor movement. It was also seen as a vote of confidence in the leadership which took on the Steel Company of Canada in an epic fight producing one of the best steel contracts in North America. The same kind of near-unanimous backing for Taylor and the Local 1005 negotiating committee which was evident in the ‘giant strike rally that brought close to 1,000 steelworkers out in total support of the union’s militant bargaining position was reflected in Tay- lor’s personal vote and the fact that his running mates captured five of 11 executive committee pos- itions and three of the six leadership posts on the local grievance committee. Taylor knocked off his closest rival, John Len- nie by a wide margin of 4,368 to 1,833. Lennie, a veteran of the local’s *‘old guard’’, was seen as the choice of the top, mght-wing leadership of the international union. Taylor has been a long-time advocate of full autonomy for the Canadian section of the union and has built a solid reputation, enhanced by the victorious Stelco strike, as a firm opponent to the kind of class collaborationist policies advanced by the leadership of the international, based in Pitts- burgh. He has also placed a high priority on organizing SIGNIFICANT CONVENTION FOR PSAC TORONTO — The 6th national convention of the -170,000-membe Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), opening Jan. 19 promises t be one of the most significant in the union’s history, union officials say because of the harsh economic climate confronting federal governmer workers. More than 1,000 people including 437 delegates, guests and ot servers are meeting here till April 23 to hammer out policies t strengthen the union in its fight for better conditions and wages for it members. One of the major issues to be dealt with by the 1982 con vention, officials say, is the consolidation of the union’s collectiv bargaining strength. Of major importance will be resolutions calling for common-fror | bargaining — including coalition bargaining (negotiating for two 0 more employee groups at the same time), and master contracts. Other priority resolutions, PSAC president Andy Stewart said prio to the convention, favor the development of long range bargainin plans and greater participation by union members in the collectiv bargaining process. CUPE FACES STRIKE-BREAKING LAW | _ FREDERICTON, N.B. —.Spokesmen for New Brunswick’s nor teaching school staff strikers reacted bitterly to the announcemer April 13 that the provincial government is going to legislate them bac! to work. The strike, by members of the Canadian Union of Publi Employees has been going for about three weeks. One striker specu lated that the strike leadership would consider going to jail rather thai obeying the anti-union legislation. In addition to the back-to-wor order the legislation provides for binding arbitration if a settlement t the contract dispute can’t be negotiated during a set period stipulate: by the law. Union members, however, see this as the governmen clearly forcing them to accept whatever it wants because managemen negotiators aren’t under any more pressure to negotiate. re-elected head of Steel Local 1005 with top vote. CEC TAYLOR ... The right wing were able to only take two posi- tions on the executive, vice-president and one the Trustee positions. Incumbent financial secretary Norma Berti, running as an independent came in with 3,340 votes the third largest vote cast, follow- ing Taylor and Local 1005 veteran Harry Green- wood, who was elected Guide with 3,498 votes. The remaining three positions were won by members of the Unity slate, a grouping which had the unorganized, particularly the workers at Dofasco. During and immediately following the strike, Taylor promised that one of his top priorities upon re-election would be tackling the organization of Dofasco into the union. Dunng the strike, Dofasco workers were among those who regularly donated the largest amounts of - money to the Local 1005 strike fund. ‘In addition to this, Taylor has advocated the shorter work week with no reduction of pay as a broken with Taylor prior to the elections, but whose differences with Taylor appear to be more tactical than fundamental. The healthy vote registered for Bob Mann in his bid for recording secretary on the Taylor slate also reflected the membership’s rejection of the opposi- tion’s bid to shift the election’s focus away from the issues of real concern to the workers. In a statement welcoming the positive results the elections hold for the workers, the Hamilton Steel UNIONIST TORTURED IN APARTHEID JAIL JOHANNESBURG — Evidence was heard April 13 in the cour inquest into the death of white trade union leader Neil Aggett tha showed he had accused police of torturing him with electric shocks |: hours before he was found hanging in his jail cell. Aggett, 28, Transyaa secretary of the Food and Canning Workers Union is alleged by th racist, South African police to have ‘’committed suicide’’ Feb. 5 in hi cell in this city’s central police headquarters. He is the first whit persor killed in the apartheid prisons and the 46th to have died while i! police hands since 1963. All were held without charge under the whit minority government’s fascist security laws. Aggett was held in detention for 70 days. Maurice Smithers, one 0 the 13 people detained with Aggett last November for trying to organ ize black workers into trade unions signed an affidavit charging tha security police forced Aggett to run on the spot, naked, while police hi him with a rolled up newspaper. Smithers has since been served ¢ two-year banning order making it a crime for him to attend meetings 0 to be quoted in print. Despite the 70-day detention, and the evidence presented by Smithers, police lawyers argued that there was no necessary connec: tion between this and Aggett’s death. Workers around the world however, see through this ‘‘Nazi’’-style cover up because there have been too many South African patriots, including a growing number 0! trade union leaders who are claimed to have committed suicide i means of curbing the growing unemployment crisis in the Canadian economy. He has added his voice also to those leaders within the labor movement calling for a reduction of armaments on a world scale, as a necessary step toward peace. Taylor and his slate triumphed over the under- lying slander campaign conducted against them during the elections. It was a campaign replete with innuendo and red-baiting, but it was a tactic which the members of Local 1005 rejected completely, giving Taylor and his supporters their majority on the executive and Taylor the largest single vote cast in the whole election. Positive outcome in 6500 vote Club of the Communist Party said the election, in concert with the fight back against concessions and give-aways to the auto corporations by the Cana- dian section of the United Auto Workers, ‘‘is testimony to the fact that the Canadian labor movement is alive and in good shape. ‘It shows that workers are not ready to lie down and play dead’’, the steelworkers’ club said. ‘‘It also shows that in the face of government-big-busi- ness attempts to place the burden of growing in- flation, unemployment and recession on the backs of the working class, the workers are digging in their heels and fighting back’’. By RICHARD ORLANDINI SUDBURY — With a 73% turnout to vote, members of Local 6500 United Steelworkers of America (Inco), last week elected a new executive that in- creased the number of progres- sives in office. The election of five members who were active in the campaign to elect Dave Patterson as District Six Director of the Steelworkers’ union represented a continuation of a mood among the membership of Canada’s largest mining and smelting local, for more progres- sive policies. a majority, the possibility exists for a voting majority with the inclusion of two members of the executive who ran as indepen- dents in the elections. Ron ~Macdonald, who sup- ported former District Six Direc- tor Stew Cooke in last year’s dis- trict leadership elections, was re-elected president of Local 6500. Macdonald became presi- dent the first time when he moved up from the vice-presidency to replace Patterson after his defeat of Cooke. Macdonald was challenged in the current local elections by Jim Giroux, a well known activist in the local. However, Giroux’s challenge wasn’t strong enough to overcome Macdonald’s election ploy of telling the Local 6500 membership that his (Mac- donald’s) election was necessary to continue the bargaining process. The local president is a non- voting member of the bargaining committee and negotiations are now on for the new contract. Among those elected were Ron Macdonald, president; Keith Lovely, recording secretary; Norris Valiquette, vice- president; financial secretary Andy Evaline, treasurer Jim Hic- key, and Guards J.P. Gervais and Bruce McKeigan. Pretoria’s jails. WORKERS OCCUPY GE SCHENECTADY, N.Y. — Thousands of General Electric workers here, decided to follow up their Easter weekend with a three-day occupation of the plant. On April 12 the workers sealed off all entrances and exits to the plant protesting the company’s policy of farming ou! work to other GE plants and sub contractors. No one was allowed into the plant, or out of it. PILKEY HAMMERS FEDS’ POLICIES TORONTO — Cliff Pilkey, president of the 800,000-member On tario Federation of Labor said the report that 398,000 Ontario workers were unemployed in March showed that the federal government ’S economic policies are pushing the province’ s manufacturing industries While the five do not represent beyond recovery. “Thousands more foot soldiers have been slaughtered in Ottawa ’S war On inflation”’, Pilkey said, adding that the official unemployment estimate presented by Statistics Canada fell short of what is probably the real figure —close to half a million when the ‘‘hidden”’ unemploy: are taken into account. Pilkey warmed that the 25,000 jobless increase over the previous month was just the tip of the iceberg. *‘ The same governor of the B of Canada who tells Canadians to tighten their belts is strangling thé €conomy”’ , he said. “Factories are closing, never to re-open’’, the OFL leader warned. *‘Gerald Bouey and Allan MacEachen seem bent on destroying in fiv€ years what we have built up in 50. If ordinary Canadians don’t b together to stop this madness, the only people left with jobs will be the Liberal Cabinet!” TORON TO — Ina statement April 14 on the eve of the union’s 38th biennial convention, the 20,000-member United Electrical workers union (UE), in a telegram to Prime Minister Trudeau called for the withdrawal of all military forces from the Falkland Islands and sur- rounding waters, and for the area to be designated a non-military zone under United Nations supervision pending a settlement. The UE executive board told Trudeau, the union ‘‘expresses alarm at the escalating danger to peace in the western hemisphere arising from the Falkland Islands situation,”’ and the union called on Argentina and Bnitain to submit their dispute to the International Court of Justice. The UE also noted critically that the Trudeau government had taken a Falklands says U = series of actions in the war crisis surrounding the international affair without reference to Canada’s parliament. PACIFIC TRIBUNE—APRIL 23, 1982—Page 8 Pull all military out of aN Ae ae ee