‘Organize jobless’

urge delegates

to B.C. Fed meet

By SEAN GRIFFIN

Despite a sombre opening
mood, the 27th annual convention
of the B.C. Federation of Labor
echoed some of the organization’s
traditional militance Tuesday as
delegates wound up a debate on
unemployment with repeated calls
for action to organize the
unemployed and ‘‘make them visi-
ag

For nearly three hours of debate,
delegates lined up at the conven-
tion’s six floor mikes to make the
point again and again: the organiz-
ed trade union movement has the
obligation to lead in the organiza-
tion of the unemployed. If it does
not, they warned, the unemployed
may be organized against the trade
union movement.

The debate, which took up much
of the afternoon session Tuesday,
marked a significant change from
the sombre setting in which the
convention had opened Monday
with an address by federation presi-
dent Jim Kinnaird and the report of
the executive council.

“I warned last year that the labor
movement would face a hostile
climate,’’ Kinnaird told the 840
delegates, but it has come with even
greater intensity than we could
have foreseen. :

“Corporations are trying to
blackmail Canadian workers into
accepting sub standard wages and
cuts in their benefits,’’ he said.

And in both the federal and pro-
vincial governments they have
“‘willing accomplices,’’ he em-
phasized, pointing to the Socreds’
Compensation Stabilization Pro-
gram and the federal government
“6 and 5”’ wage control program.

s‘*Labor is suffering from the at-
tack by government and corpora-
tions — and we must fight off that
attack,’’ he declared.

Kinnaird emphasized the need
for “tunity and solidarity”’ and the
need to bring non-affiliates ‘“back
into the house of labor.’’ He drew
applause when he told the conven-
tion, ‘‘I hope this will be the last
year that the Building Trades and
the Hospital Employees Union will
be outside this federation.”

(The Building Trades have been
off the convention floor since 1981
when they were suspended from
the CLC and the HEU, a one-time
founding member of the federa-
tion, has been outside since 1970
when it broke away from the Cana-
dian Union of Public Employees.
Both groups have sought re-
affiliation and were accorded
special seating status at this year’s
convention.)

The federation president warned :

that ‘‘it would be a difficult year”
in which the labor movement
would have ‘‘to struggle to
survive.”

He called on the convention to
work particularly towards “‘chang-
ing governments” adding that the
first chance to change the govern-
ment in Victoria would come
before the next convention.

The 31-page report of the ex-
ecutive council report echoed the
note struck by Kinnaird as it warn-
ed: ‘‘A climate of intimidation has
been created. Continual media and
political attacks on workers and the
trade union movement have sap-

ped the strength of our member-
ship. Record unemployment has
devasted communities and left
those of the workforce very
passive, thankful even to have a
job. That climate will get even
worse during the next year and we
must prepare to battle to survive.”’

The report did point to two ma-
jor initiatives by the federation, the
special commission on public sec-
tor cutbacks and the unemployed
action centres, some 12 of which
have now been opened across the
province to assist the unemployed.

But throughout many of those
31 pages, the report stressed
political action as the solution.

“The economic depression and
its accompanying high unemploy-
ment have been caused by reac-
tionary governments,’’ it said.
“‘The governing politicians elected
to Ottawa and to Victoria are no
friends of the working person,
rather they are the captives of the
corporate community.

“Tt is only through changing
those politicians that we can rid
ourselves of the intimidating
economic and _ political nee

‘Although the report fama
unopposed, it sparked a lengthy
debate as delegates targeted its em-
phasis only on action at the ballot
box and what one delegate called a
“sense of futility.”

“The report suggests that there is
only a choice between a general
strike or an election,”’ Interna-
tional Woodworkers delegate Nick
Chernoff told the delegates.

“‘But I sure hope this convention
can find some action in between
— some action that will give work-
ing people some leadership.”

United Fishermen’s delegate
George Hewison also emphasized
the need for leadership, warning
delegates that they had to make
“*some historic decisions.

“*Are we going to accept that the
labor movement will be rolled back
by the employers? Are we going to
accept the fact of 300,000
unemployed? Are we going to
mark time waiting for elections at
the federal and provincial levels?”’
he demanded.

“‘Or are we going to work at this
convention to draw up a program
that will enable this labor move-
ment to push governments and
employers back?”’

Hewison said that past events
had demonstrated that where labor
gave leadership, it brought signifi-
cant results. He cited the case of the
Apr. 24 march for peace in which
the Vancouver and District Labor
Council played a significant
organizing role as well as the Van-
couver civic election in which, he
said, there is ‘‘a real possibility of a
progressive majority being
elected” as a result of the labor
council’s work.

“‘Sure, times are tough,”’ he told
delegates. ‘‘But we need a clear
signal from this convention to the

_ Employers’ Council that the labor

movement is united, that it has a
fighting program and is eee
to carry it out.’

Postal Workers’ delegate Evert
Hoogers echoed Hewison’s call for
a labor program, citing the lack of
direction in the report.

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—NOVEMBER 19, 1982—Page 12

B.C. FED CONVENTION. .

‘*There’s no question about the
need for political action — and we
have to do our part in turfing this
anti-people government out,’’ he
said,

“But I need a program that I can
take back to my members and say:
this is the plan of the B.C. Federa-
tion of Labor to fight back.”

Harry-Greene, delegate from the
Canadian Union of Public
Employees warned that if the labor
movement didn’t ‘‘fight on every
front,’’ the apathy referred to in the
report ‘‘would work to our disad-
vantage if an election is called.”’ .

Airline. Flight Attendants’
delegate Peter Stier said that the ex-
ecutive council should set two
priorities: the fight against
unemployment and -the fight
against controls.

‘‘We haveto takeaction on them
now,’’ he declared.

It was that same call for action
that echoed in the PNE Agrodome
Tuesday as delegates debated the
report of the unemployment and
technological change committee.

The committee’s report focussed
on the initiative of the federation in
setting up unemployed action cen-
tres and also made specific recom-
mendations calling for the na-

tionalization of the banks, an im- *

mediate increase in interest rates,
and the establishment of a full
employment industrial strategy.
An addendum to the report
demanded that the provincial
government undertake the con-
struction of 40,000 units of affor-
dable housing annually and begin
immediately a public works pro-
gram.

But it was to press the federation
in taking the lead in organizing the
unemployed that delegates took to
the microphones.

UFAWU delegate Kim Zander
told the convention that she was
‘one of the unemployed statistics
— but I can’t get UIC and I can’t
get welfare.”’

She termed the fight against.

unemployment ‘‘an incredibly im-
portant issue because it is the key to
what gains we’ll make as a trade
union movement or even if we will
make gains.’’

But missing from the report, she
said, was a program to organize the
unemployed.

“It’s not just a question of giving
assistance — but organizing the
unemployed into a fight back,”’ she
said. ‘‘We have to go out and
organize them with a gusto we
haven’t seen for a long time.

“If we don’t,’’ she warned,
“then the unemployed will say to
hell with us and they’ll be organized
against us.”’

IWA delegate Terry Smith said

that the labor movement ‘‘has to
take the lead against unemploy-
ment.”’

He also challenged comments
made during the debate on the ex-
ecutive report by fellow [WA

‘member Garth Brown that ‘‘rallies

don’t accomplish anything.

‘*That’s not true,’’ he said to ap-
plause. ‘Two days before the Ot-
tawa demonstration against in-
terest rates organized by the CLC,
interest rates took the biggest drop
that they had in months.

‘“What was wrong was that we
weren’t there again the next Satur-
day and the Saturday after that un-
til the rates came down,”’ he said,
to applause.

Citing current jobless levels on
Vancouver Island of over 16 per-
cent, Nanaimo Labor Council
delegate Walter Tickson told
delegates: ‘‘They say that
unemployment is world-wide, that
we’re all in the same boat together.

“Well, I don’t accept that. I
wasn’t at the rudder when the ship
went aground — it was the captains
of industry and their lieutenants in
government,”’ he said.

Tickson emphasized that action
by unemployed in Nanaimo in
picketing the Bank of Nova Scotia
had forestalled three foreclosures
and urged the labor movement to
take leadership in organizing other
actions.

He also reminded delegates that
unemployment was not ‘‘world
wide. You don’t find the socialist
countries suffering from
unemployment,”’ he said.

But it was Public Service
Alliance delegate Christine
Beynon, herself a UIC employee,
that drew the greatest response
from delegates.

“T work for the UIC,”’ she said,
‘and the hardest part is to tell
someone,’ ‘your claim has run
out,’ andif it’s aman witha family,
to see him break down in tears
because he doesn’t know how the
hell he’s going to feed his family.”

She said that security guards

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» Published weekly at Suite 101 — 1416 Commercial Drive,
Vancouver, B.C. VSL 3X9. Phone 251-1186.

Real he. papa Set fights: for lobe

Address:
City or town
Postal Code

‘

H

. calls for action to organize unemployed.

were being posted in UIC offic’
because of commission fears t
the unemployed might vent t
anger on employees.

“We. need to take that anger

direct it — against the governmell

which is responsible,’’ she said (0
applause. i

‘““We need to organize ue
unemployed and make them vis!
ble.”

Delegates also reaffirmed the
need for federation leadership if
organizing the unemployed as the)
referred one resolution back to thé
unemployed committee ig]
amendment.

The committee had prepared
composite resolution but a ‘
deleted from it any reference
organizational and financia
assistance to unemployed commit
tees.

But after lengthy debate, thé
convention voted overwhelmi
to refer the resolution back to the .
committee with instructions to itt
clude ‘“‘organizational and fina?
cial support to these ad
committees.’ i

_—

Tech change ©
meeting set

Work hazards and related |}
subjects will be the theme ®
p.m., Monday, Noy. 29, in 4
lecture and discussion sessio®@ ||
sponsored by the B.C. Chaptel ])
of the Congress of Canadial
women, in the old Coffee ShoP”
of the Britannia Community”
Centre, 1661 Napier St., Val"
couver. 4

Hospital Employees Uniol
researcher Jean Greatbach Wh)
speak on‘‘technological change —
and Elspeth McVeigh will
on ‘occupational health and
safety.” The BCGEU fil
“Good Monday Morning”
be shown.

! am enclosing:
Tyr. $14 0 2 yrs. $25 OC 6 mo. $8 0
Old 0 New) Foreign 1 year $15 ()
Bill me later CO Donation$..........
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