Changes in structure
open unity possibilities

The Canadian Labor Congress
Convention spent only five of its
28 hours of deliberations on the
much-heralded. Report of the
Commission on Constitution and
Structure. But an examination of
the document and the proceed-
ings of the Convention show
that contained in the 41 pages
of the “Blue Book”, as it was
dubbed by Committee chairman,
Joe Morris, is the theme around
which the convention swirled.

Mute evidence that the many
sided structural problems dog-
ging the unions were less than
resolved by the convention is
evident in the decision to in-
struct the incoming executive to
set same time the consensus was
that the CLC had bit off all jit
could chew at this time. And it
was a fair mouthful.

They stripped out the anti-
communist clauses which were

inserted during the cold-war, and:

used as a pretext to oust the
left-led unions from the Con-
gress,

They re-tailored the affiliation
clauses to fit the reintroduction
of suspended unions through
mergers with existing affiliates.
At the same time they plugged a
gap in the old _ constitution
through which the Outside Civic
Workers of Vancouver came
back into the Congress via the
Canadian Union of Public Em-
ployees. The new clause denies
Congress representation to any
such group brought back except
by permission of the Executive.

After a ding-dong debate, the
delegates squeaked through a
constitutional change which “re-
quiers” unions affiliated to the
Congress, to join local labor-
councils and provincial federa-
tions. The old constitution me-
rely urged such participation. To
get the change through Con-
gress, Officials were required to
promise the convention that
they viewed the word “requires”
as a direction rather than com-
pulsion. .

Also included in the structure
report was a brand new “Code
of Ethics”, which sets forth Con-
gress attitudes on the behavior
of its affiliates. The burden of the
Code is to set forth the demo-
cratic frame of reference for
Canadian labor and to put in the
hands of the national centre a
weapon with which to curb
those unions which’ ride rough
shod over their. membership.

Almost unnoticed in the dis-
cussion, but of rather far-reach-
ing Significance, was a charge in
the Article of the constitution
dealing with Trade Departments.
This is the section which spells

out the relationship of the Con- ~

gress with the powerful craft
-unions whose centre of. Opera-
tions is in Washington. The old

constitution spoke of such de-.

partments being “established
when deemed desirable or neces-
sary”. The new constitution says
“Trade deparments may be
CHARTERED and established as
deemed appropriate or feasible.

There is much significance to

this change of Wording. -Cana-’:
dian building «trades workers ©
Page’6—PACIFIC TRIBUNE— MAY 17, 1968. -

have been fighting for years for
the resolution of jurisdictional
disputes in Canada. Under pre-
sent conditions they are beyond
the competence of the Canadian
structure and this change in the
constitution is seen as service of
notice on the AFL-CIO and U.S.
craft union affiliates that this is
to be changed. This is doubly
important because it is common
knowledge in trade-union circles
that the Commission on Struc-
ture was greatly hindered in its
conclusions by pressure from
the craft unions and the interna-
tional road-men who control
that setup from the top.

The executive structure of the
Congress was broadened, in-
creasing the number of general
Vice Presidencies from four to
six, and the number of the Vice
Presidents from 13 to 20. They
also increased the President’s
Salary to $25,000 from $20,000;
the Secretary Treasurer to $22,-
500 from $17,500, and the two
full time Executive Vice Presi-
dents from $16,000 to $21,000.
This was deemed sufficient to
keep the wolf away from the
door.

The convention amended the |

constitution to provide for a
compulsory retirement age of 63
for Congress officials.

They also broadened their in-
terpretation of discrimination to

include sex and age where it
previously had been restricted to
race, color or creed.

The document did not come to
grips with the two-nation state
problem. This was not an over-
sight but a reflection of the back-
ward stance of official labor in
Canada on this question. It did
little more than paper over the
differences on this matter and
most delegates went home with
thé assurance tracker away in
the corner of their minds that
this matter will come back again
and again to haunt them until a
more meaningful solution is
found. :

Nor did the report, which in-
cluded a fairly good statement
on the role of International
unions in Canada, fully accept
the imperative need for full
Canadian autonomy ffor all
unions if Canadian labor is to be
fully master in its own house.

But what the document did do
was to sweep away some of the
barriers which stand in the way
at getting at these and many
other big problems facing Cana-
dian labor.

It opened further posssibilities
for uniting the unions in this
country, organizing the unorgan-
ized and facing monopoly with.a
powerful voice which could turn
the tide of affairs in both French
and English speaking Canada.

Lively debate on
economic policy

Two themes dominated the
discussion on economic policy at

’ the -Canadian Labor Congress

convention: technological
change and U.S. ownership and
control of the Canadian eco-
nomy. :

In relation to the former, the
Congress’ policy statement says
that they believe that “a suc-
cessful manpower policy is our
nation’s most important vehicle
for facilitating adjustment to
change so essential in this: tech-
nological age.”

“Nevertheless,” they add,
“manpower policies and prog-
rams, however good, are prim-
arily designed to facilitate the
adjustment of workers who have

CALL FOR AMNESTY
A resolution was adopted
“unanimously in the final ses-
sion of the Canadian Labor
Congress convention in-
structing the officers to work
amnesty for the two
leaders of the Fishermen.
and Allied Workers’ Union,
Steve Stavens? and Homer
Stevens, who are still in jail.
in British Columbia. They
Were sentenced to one-year

jail terms for contempt as a
: It of injur wn

been displaced.”
They called for the implemen-
tation of the Freedman Report

and for the endorsation of the -

declaration on manpower ad-
justments issued by the Eéono-
mic Council of Canada. This lat-
ter declaration calls for govern-
ment policies to achieve full em-
ployment, manpower planning,
attrition as an important method
of avoiding the burden of unem-
ployment, expanded training and
retraining facilities.

“We would stress,” the. CLC
statement continues, “the vital
role that should be played by
collective bargaining in adjust-
ing to technological change.
Consequently, we urge that the
negotiation of adequate protec-
tive clauses aimed at dealing
with the problems associated
with the adjustment to techno-
logical change, become a prim-
ary goal in all future negotia-
tions.”

Sharp criticism came from the
delegates at any suggestion that
attrition answers the needs of
workers. One delegate from the
Brotherhood of Locomotive En-
gineers and Firemen pointed out
that, as a result of the attrition
agreement with the railways,
they received only a seven per-
cent increase from the CPR and
eight percent from the CNR last

year when the other workers on
the. railways received 24 percent.
From’ ‘here’ delegates * turned

A group of Canadian Labor C

“e

ongress delegates wound up the

convention by joining United Automobile Workers of Local 439, who
are on strike against Massey Ferguson, in a solidarity picket line.
Pictured (fourth from the left) is Reverend Donald Heap, an Anglican
minister-worker who was a delegate to the convention and is running

in the Federal election for the NDP

Ferguson is located.

to what seemed to be uppermost
in their concern — the effects of
U.S. ‘ownership and control of
Canadian industry.

Delegate White, from UAW
Local 200 in Windsor, said that
the Canadian workers are tak-
ing the biggest skinning in the
history of mankind on the ques-
tion of productivity. He pointed
out that the U.S. owners are un-
loading obsolete machinery and
equipment in their Canadian
plants and continue to use old
methods and materials here.

Murray Cotterill of the Steel-
workers union told how Massey
Ferguson has kept all the high

labor content jobs in Canada _

and stuck the workers with in-
efficient tools. “Yet,” he said,
“when the company decided to
expand, it went to the place

where they pay the highest’

wages.” He said that capital is
invested in places where wages
are high, and that there will be
no solution to such questions as
regional disparity in Canada
without the fight for wages.
From Oshawa, autoworker de-

legate, Bill Rutherford, spoke
also about Massey Ferguson and

‘the fact that the government

seems to be ready to allow the
eompany to move out of Canada.
“We need nationalization,” he
said. He spoke of the jobs al-
ready lost by Canadian workers
as a result of the company’s ra-
tionalization plans in the auto
parts filed. One example he
gave was the bumper plant in
Oshawa which produces 5,000
bumpers a day; now there is a
plant built in Lavonia in the
U.S., which is fully automated
and will produce 50,000 a day.
Out of this, according to Ruther-
ford, there will be 700 jobs lost.

Another aspect of economic
policy that came in for sharp
comment was the need for the
implementation of the Carter

Commission Report on Taxation. .

Harvey Murphy, delegate of the
USWA, spoke of the rich min-
ing areas of Canada’s north.
“The mines,” he said, “are tax
free. The ores are shipped out.
In Pine Point there was $34 mil-
lion of ore. The government
built a railway and a power
plant free of charge. Now the
company says it will shut down
if the Carter Report is adopted.”

He went on to say that, while

‘the: mines have a three: year tax-) :
‘free period, there is no. such pro-. -

LN Ss ass

in Spadina riding where Massey

vision for the smelters and s0
the ore is shipped to the U.S. of
to Japan for processing.. “The
government,” he said, “is sitting
back afraid to speak out in the
interest of the country because
of the threats of the corpora:
tions. I hope to see this a big
issue in the elections.”

Nan MacDonald, of the Ha-
milton Labor Council, added het
voice on the need for the imple
mentation of the Freedman Tre-
port. “We must tell the employ-
ers that automation and natural

'Tesources do not belong to mam-

agement alone.”

The Congress statement had
called for laws to ensure. that
foreign firms obey Canadian
laws and adhere to Canadian
economy policy, and for a trad-
ing agency to ensure trade wi
any country desirous of. trading

‘with Canada.

Other economic policy agreed
to through the adoption of the
policy statement was for a fight
against the government’s al”
nounced plans for wage “guide
lines”.

“First of all,” the statement
says, “the present lack of ade
quate data on productivity
Canada presumably implies that
any such policy of “wage guide
lines” relies for its statistical
foundation upon figures that are
at best seriously suspect and 4
worst non-existent. Such patent
formulas will not cure economic

ills nor should they be used 45

yardsticks for collective a!
gaining. }

’ “Secondly, if labor accepted
that wage rates should never ad-
varice faster than productivity:
this would mean that labors
share of a rising national it”
come should never increase . - ‘
We see no reason why labor
should accept such a rigid pro"
position.”

In addition to the adoption of
the statement on economic po
icy, in which full employment
was set forth as top priority, thé
convention adopted statement§
on the implementation of thé
Carter Report and on medicare:

The weakness in the debaté
was the failure to go beyo#
some of the immediate needs #
the economic life of the countrY
to a fundamental analysis of ju
what is needed to restructure
the economy so. that it really

serves the interest of the: work: aa

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