6 e PACIFIC TRIBUNE, SEPTEMBER 11, 1985 CAA RT TTT TTT TT CCT LABOR Convention puts Canadian UAW on militant course By MIKE PHILLIPS TORONTO — Canadian autoworkers opened the founding convention of the country’s newest all- Canadian union to the strains of ‘‘Solidarity Forever’’ and arousing speech by UAW-Canada leader Bob White promising a continuation of the union’s militant bargain- ing stance and a heightened political role for the new organization. Under a banner bearing the new union logo and slo-- gans proclaiming ‘‘a new union united for peace, jobs and justice’’, White traced the steps which led to the historic decision to form an independent ““UAW-Canada,”’ pointing out the UAW wasn’t the first international union to take this action and that it wouldn’t be the last. He cited the United Electrical workers, (UE) as the first example followed by others including the Chemical Workers, Communications Workers, Paperworkers, and most recently the IUE, which merged with CWC. Throughout the union’s history in Canada, White said, there have been constant demands by the membership for recognition of their national rights and for Canadian self-determination. He recalled the early battles in the union beginning with the fight waged for the right to name Region 7 office the Canadian UAW District headquarters, as well as the impact the fight for Canadian autonomy within the UAW and other unions, had on bringing forth the Canadian Labor Congress’ Canadian autonomy guidelines for international unions during the late 60s. “It’s also interesting to reflect that many times those debates were-much sharper and divided within Canada about what the role of Canadians should be within the international union than between the Canadian and U.S. leadership, because not necessarily did the Canadian leadership want to accept the responsibilities of some of | __. those changes would produce,”” he said. Confrontation on Concessions The breaking point in the relationship with the inter- . national developed throughout the union’s confrontation with the giant auto corporations over their demands for concessions from the workers and the Canadian membership’s refusal to accept the international’s pro- concessions policy during the late 70s and early 80s. It climaxed during the recent General Motors negotia- tions where the Canadian leadership found itself not only fighting the corporation to achieve its bargaining pro- gram, but also, as White pointed out to the 300 delegates present, having to “‘wrestle’’ with the international lead- ers over a contract settlement that had to be politically acceptable to Solidarity House in Detroit. The scars of that battle were evident at the convention with the refusal of UAW president Owen Bieber to at- tend and address the Canadian workers. Bieber told the Canadian leadership that he was too busy to attend but did send “‘greetings and best wishes”’ to the gathering in a telegram that was read to the delegates. In it Bieber noted the greetings were ‘‘tempered with a sense of sadness”’ but he pledged the American union would remain ‘‘a firm friend and ally of Canadian work- ne ee Although we disagree with your decision to sepa- rate, we of course respect it.”” _ Also, it doesn’t look as if the Canadian UAW is going to get the $36-million promised by Detroit as its share of the separation of assets until the international conven- tion next May in Anaheim, California. White told re- _ porters and the convention that the union’s finances are solid, however, as the $36-million.is being kept in a separate account and even after all of the union’s ex- penses are deducted the fund is still generating 2 a surplus which to date has reached $40-million. : First Major Test _ Turning to the union’s future, White focussed on the UAW-Canada’s collective bargaining agenda which places the achievement of parity with Ford and GM workers by the workers at Chrysler as the union’s top priority and its first major test as an independent Cana- dian union. He also put GM officials on notice regarding the Saturn agreement between the U.S.-UAW leadership and GM. He told the delegates that the pact takes GM workers out of the master agreement and puts them in Separate enterprises. ‘‘There’s a lot of talk about worker in-put on the job, but nobody has raised the question about workers having the right to ratify a collective agreement within their own organization,’’ White said. “I want to say to the corporations in Canada, that we're not opposed to change ... but we have absolutely no intention of breaking up our collective agreements, of setting up separate enterprises, and starting down the road to enterprise unionism in Canada.” White also lost little time in filling out the new union’s heightened political profile as he called on the federal Tory government “‘to tell the South African regime that their policies of apartheid are totally unacceptable and that we invite a boycott and sanctions against South Africa.” He went on to condemn the Tories’ drive toward Free Trade with the U.S. warning that such a pact would undermine Canadian independence, destroy thousands of jobs and lead to the destruction of our network of social services and benefits. New Constitution The job of the three-day UAW Canada convention will be to adopt a new consitution which among other fea- tures will: e create a new 12-person.executive consisting of the three full-time officers (president, secretary-treasurer, and Quebec director), and nine elected from local union leaderships; e establish a Public Review Board which will be a sort of last court of appeal for the settlement of internal union disputes, such as those which currently go before the Labor Relations Board. The public panel will be headed by civil liberties lawyer Alan Borovoy, and other prom- inent citizens and will be independent of the union’s leadership bodies. e It will also allow for the union to merge with other organizations by a majority vote of the new executive. The three full-time officers and three other executive members will be elected at the convention while the remaining six positions will be filled from elections by the Quebec and Canadian councils. Distinguished Guests Jeff Rose, president of the 304,000-member Canadian Union of Public Employees was among many dis- tinguished trade union leaders who attended the con- vention. Conspicuously absent from the gathering were the top Canadian leaders of such internationals as the TRIBUNE PHOTO — JOHN MACLENNAN \ CUPE president Jeff Rose receives the conventio thanks from UAW-Canada’s Bob White. Steelworkers, Clothing and Textile, and Machinis unions who opposed the Canadian autoworkers’ dec sion. Present, however were the leaders of Canadian unio’ such as the CBRT, Paperworkers, CUPE and others, a well as Canadian Labor Congress President Dennis McDermott who was to address the convention Sept. 5a and OFL leaders Cliff Pilkey, Wally Majesky and T ronto labor council president Mike Lyons. Rose called for a revival of the spirit in the Canadi union movement that built unions like the UAW and t other CIO organizations. ‘“The society we want to creal is not possible without strong unions,”’ he told the del gates. “Strong unions and united action are essential this vision.” He congratulated the UAW on its historic decisiona thanked the delegates for being asked to share this hon with them. ‘*We’re part of a great movement that has thrived of adversity and has always found new reservoirs of rank and file commitment,”’ he said. ‘‘We aren’t going to give in to the survival of the fittest type of society the Conse: vatives and the businessmen are yearning to impose 0 ” us. Co-op strike ends, issues unresolved | Special to the Tribune REGINA — A bitter 17-day strike by Saskatchewan’s dairy workers ended Sept. 4 with the unions involved holding the line on most issues. But their new contract expires next spring, set- ting the stage for another struggle. Five hundred and _ thirty-six members of three unions — Retail/Wholesale, United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) and the Teamsters — struck for the second time in two years, on Aug. 19, in the face of management efforts to hold down wages and undermine job se- curity. In April 1984 the provin- cial government ordered the workers back to theirjobs, but the legislation was overturned by the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal. The effort to win a contract guaranteeing job security con- tinued, leading up to the walkout at Dairy Producers Co-op plants around the province. Without their legislative ace in the hole the Co-op bosses re- . sorted to a new tactic — encouraging dairy farmers, parti- cularly those in financial dif- ficulty, to join management in operating the plants. Several farmers were charged in the early days of the strike for offences re- lated to carrying firearms and driving into strikers on picket- lines, leading to several scuffles. In the end management agreed to key union demands including a wage increase of about six per cent over the two-year contract, and no change in job provisions. But three workers are to be. suspended for three weeks each. The lengthy period taken to win agreement means the contract has only half a year remaining and the same issues will no doubt be on the bargaining table again soon. - E Grain workers reject work sharing THUNDER BAY — Grain inspectors, weighers and support staff employed by the Canadian Grain Com- mission(CGC), unanimously rejected a work-sharing program Aug. 29 which proposed to cut their working hours in half. Meanwhile, the inspectors, who with the other 220 workers are members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada, predict a 40 per cent increase in the volume of grain moving through the Lakehead to eastern sea ports. The workers were the first in the federal public service to enter into a work sharing agreement which saw senior workers putting in a four day week, while j junior people worked only two. This year, CGC wants to cut the senior workers down to a three day week and instead of again slating the work through the Lakehead will certainly be greater than sharing during the slack 12-week freeze up period a the end of December, the commission wants to introdu' it during the busiest period of the year, beginning Sept. continue it for 26 weeks and possibly extend it fol another 12. Fred Coates, president of PSAC’s Agricultural co ponent warned Canadian grain farmers they could face crisis if the issue isn’t resolved. While the government trying to justify the work cuts with a drop in grain flow: the union points out that this year’s movement of g year’s volume. “Tt appears the government is being penny wise ane pound foolish in attempting to needlessly cut staff t0 0 satisfy its senior mandarins’’, Coates said, Aug. 30.