Labour Teachers urging unity in campaign to fight proposed referendums Continued from page 1 ...have expressed their opposition. The _ B.C. Parent-Teacher Home and School Federation, the B.C. Coalition for the Dis- abled, trade unions have joined the list.” The resolution pledged the federation to co-ordinate the fight with other affected groups, support member teachers associa- tions’ in local co-ordinated actions, and “to prepare co-ordinated bargaining and politi- cal action strategies in opposition to refer- endums and the current funding levels of the provincial government.” Some delegates urged speedy implemen- tation of the resolution, Noted one: “‘If we find ourselves fighting this after the legisla- tion is in place, we'll be fighting it as they are in Langley now.” ; The reference to Langley district, where teachers had been respecting picket lines of striking members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees —a_ settlement was reached in the strike last week — was pre- mised on the board’s refusal to offer a meaningful wage and benefits package to its non-teaching staff. The block funding proposal also curbs natural needs for students, the BCTF presi- dent noted. “We have, and we should have, a student-need driven system.... courage is shown by local trustees who submit and defend needs budgets.” Teachers face another threat through provincial government consideration of implementing province wide bargaining — in effect, proposing a master plan for wages and benefits that are currently worked out between local teacher associa- tions and school boards. “We serve notice at this AGM that we will not accept any unilateral alteration of our bargaining rights,” Novakowski de- clared to applause. Teachers faced a full agenda in dealing with troubles arising from its relations with the government-imposed College of: Teach- ers, the impending curriculum and structu- ral changes to public school education in the government’s Year 2000 plan, and demands for an overhaul of working conditions con- tained ina report from the BCTF task force on teaching conditions and professional practices. While not opposing Year 2000 per se, teachers noted the overhaul of the grade system would require new training for teachers and greater emphasis on individual attention to students. “Teachers believe that class size, along with class composition, is the most critical component of the degree to which educa- tion reform will be achieved in B.C.,” stated a discussion document. Novakowski in his speech cautioned that, TRIBUNE : & i i G | Published weekly at 2681 East Hastings Street i i Vancouver, B.C. VSK 1Z5. Phone 251-1186 5 OP Mating arias cet niet Gk hol oak was we P..., sess £ : Welder Sak. Se ee ; ee enn Postal ode seo oS ee ee H § ‘amenciosing 1yr.$200) 2yrs.$350 3yrs. $5000 Foreigniyr.$320 g i Bill me later Donation$........ g 12 e Pacific Tribune, March 26, 1990 KEN NOVAKOWSKI ... taxpayer revolt. an artificial “the (education) minister has already heard that there is simply no consensus on the intermediate and graduation proposals; no evidence of success; no professional clarity on the concept; no indication that they should proceed. “Implementation, therefore, should be postponed until research and piloting indi- cate that the changes are worth making.” Class sizes were a factor in recommenda- tions arising from the report of the task force on teaching conditions and_profes- sional practices. Teachers adopted a statement on policy that called for, among other things, the inclusion of First Nations (Native) history and labour education in the provincial cur- riculum. One hard recommendation, expected to be adopted by the federation, listed a table of preferable class sizes that included a max- imum 15 students for Kindergarten, 20 for primary and intermediate grades, and no more than 25 for secondary schools. Affiliation with a labour central has become a key issue since the federation became a trade union following the imple- mentation of Bill 20. Delegates adopted, with an amendment, a priority under which the BCTF task force on affiliation and other federation facets would facilitate discussion to produce a recommendation at the 199] annual convention. Such a recommendation would either be for or against conducting a ballot of all 30,000 members on affiliation. In elections for president, Novakowski easily won a second term, garnering 375 votes to 281 for his challenger, Richard Hoover. Pulp workers facing. new chemical hazard By GARY SWANN There is widespread public concern about the impact on health of pollution from pulp and paper mills. Dioxins, furans and other organo-chlorine dis- charges have lead to shellfish fishing clo- sures in Howe Sound and other B.C. waters. They have also led to demands from the Pulp Pollution Campaign coali- tion for elimination of organo-chlorines from pulp mills effluents. Another less publicized aspect of pulp mill pollution is its impact on the work environment and on workers’ health. It’s - a problem that the two pulp unions, the Pulp, Paper*’and Woodworkers Union (PPWC) and the Canadian Paper- workers Union (CPU) have been work- ing on since the late 1970s. Clinical ecology, a relatively new branch of medicine, deals with the impact on health of natural and synthetic compounds. Clinical ecologists point out that many diseases are environmentally induced. According to the U.S. Presi- dent’s Council on Environmental Qual- ity, “70 to 90 per cent of all cancers are caused by environmental influences and are hence theoretically preventable.” Constant exposure to low levels of many complex chemicals, especially those alien Labour Forum to life forms, such as the organo- chlorines like dioxin, creates a stress on the body’s immune systems. Long term or acute exposure to trace chemicals can push workers over the res- istance threshold and a wide variety of behavioral and physical health problems can result. The diseases can often be linked to pollution in the workplace. Clinical ecology applied to the pulp and paper industry has revealed some disturbing facts. A 1988 report in the British Journal of Industrial Medicine, entitled “A proportionate mortality ratio analysis of pulp and paper mill workers in New Hampshire,” drew the conclu- sion, based on an analysis of deaths among pulp and paper mill workers, that there was an increase in cancers of the digestive tract and lymphopoietic tissues. The New Hampshire paper also cited six additional studies from North Amer- ica and Scandinavia which found similar increases in cancers. Statistics from the B.C. Cancer Control Agency also indi- cate higher levels of cancer among pulp mill workers in British Columbia. The inescapable conclusion is that one or more of the chemical exposures expe- rienced by pulp and paper mill workers _ poses a significant carcinogenic risk. These scientific studies are confirming what the PPWC and CPU have deter- mined from their own health studies. Pulp and paper mill workers are exposed to a wide variety of trace chemi- cals. During the pulping and bleaching process, chemical exposures may include hydrogen sulphate, sulphur dioxide, chlorine, chlorine dioxide, mercaptans, lime, caustics and various organic sul- phides. Exposures may also include alcohols, aliphatic acids, dioxins, tannins and terpenes. In any of those chemicals, there can be a number of potential health effects and several are known or suspected carcinog- ins. Pesticide or herbicide exposure may also result from previously treated wood or fronyslimicides used during pulping. Numerous studies have indicated that agricultural workers exposed to herbi- cides and pesticides have increased levels of cancer. Formaldehyde, wood dust and tale — allcommon in the pulp mill environment — have also been linked with increased cancers. The use of chlorine during the bleach- ing process results in the formation of mutagenic and carcinogenic chemicals, such as dioxin. Dioxin-like compounds cause a whole spectrum of effects includ- ing cancer, birth defects, reduced immunity, reproductive failure, liver damage and more. They are some of the most toxic and potent cancer-causing agents ever evaluated. The presence of significant quantities of these compounds in the environment is a relatively new phenomenon, detected only in the last three or four decades. Dioxin-like compounds are foreign to — biological systems and because of their short history, biological systems are not genetically adapted to metabolize and excrete them. They are persistent in organisms and bio-accumulate over time to harmful levels. The production of dioxin-like chemi- cals and their dissemination in the envir- onment and in the work environment should be stopped. The PPWC and the CPU by their active participation in the Pulp Pollution Campaign coalition are working towards that objective. At its national convention earlier this month, the PPWC passed a motion cal- ling on the federal government to implement a program leading to the early total elimination or organo- chlorines from pulp and paper mill efflu- ents. That would effectively mean.a halt to chlorine and chlorine dioxide bleaching of pulp, as is currently practised in Sweden. Similar resolutions are expected to be passed at the CPU national conven- tion in September. The problem could be larger than just organo-chlorines. There is a need for more definitive studies about the pulp mill work environment. High risk pro- cesses and dangerous air borne chemi- cals in the workplace need to be identified and removed. There is enough evidence to indicate the seriousness of this problem. Surely the Workers Com- pensation Board, the Department of Labour or Health and Welfare Canada should undertake to fund the needed investigations. In the meantime, additional engineer- ing controls and ventilation should be in place to limit unnecessary workplace exposures. Finally, there should be industry-financed, frequent medical sur- veillance designed to detect early stages of gastro-intestinal and lymphopoietic cancers. Gary Swann is chair of the environmen- tal committee of the B.C. Communist Party.