ee “Don't buy Firestone” say signs carried by striking rubber workers and their families in Akron, Ohio. 60,000 U.S. rubber workers are now in the tenth week of their strike, sparked by the deal they received in 1973, when, as a result of Nixon's Phase II! wage controls, they were forced to settle for a six per cent increase. Anti-French attack seen in air strike Cont'd from pg. 1 strike is directed against bilingualism, that it is directed against French Canada. That is _ why it is supported by all the racists and chauvinists, by all the anti-labor and anti-democratic elements in Canada. It is ob- jectively directed. against the growing unity of English and French Canadian workers and - working people. That is why it is being supported by the monopoly press. “If one wanted any additional _ evidence of this, all one has to do is see the one-page ad which ap- peared in the Toronto Globe and Mail last week, signed by the so- called ‘Voice of Canada Leage, a group of private Canadian citizens from all provinces.’ What else than racist and chauvinist can one call it? “Tt is more than unfortunate that the New Democratic Party and Mr. Broadbent in particular, has accepted the position that what is involved in the air dispute is the question of safety, and line up with the Tories and objectively, with the racists and chauvinists. This un- tenable position arises from the denial by the NDP of the ‘national element’ in French Canada, compounded by the opportunist position that more is to be gained supporting safety than bilmgualism. This is not a very principled position to take~ and harms the cause of working class and democratic unity. “With every passing day one can see how well coordinated and planned is the campaign on so- called safety. It now comes out that the press campaign of ‘near misses’ in the air was prepared over 10 months ago as part of the campaign to put an end to bilingualism. “Workers should also ask — who is behind this campaign? The answer lies in who will, or hopes, to benefit by it. Obviously, despite Mr. Broadbent's shortsighted approach to the issues surrounding © the air strike, the NDP is not likely to benefit. The Tories hope to. . “While Mr. Clark pretends not to be -opposed to bilingualism, his main attack has been on bilingualism. It is part and parcel __ of right-wing Tory preparations for the coming federal elections and their effort to shift politics to the right.. In this connection, it would be interesting to find out how many of the ‘group of private Canadian citizens’ are members or financial supporters of the Conservative Party. “Developments in Ireland and in Lebanon should serve as a warning of where bigotry, racism, chauvinism — on the background of economic, social and national inequality — can lead,’’ warned Kashtan. A few days prior to his statement, the Canadian Com- munist Party issued a statement on the air strike which said: “Bilingualism is not a negotiable item to be bargained over or thrown aside. Bilingualism is an essential part of the recognition of the French Canadian nation, its language ‘and culture. It must become an organic part of a new made-in-Canada constitution based on equal voluntary part- - nership of the two nations. “Bilingualism has now been made an issue of air safety. Canadians are being presented with the argument — bilingualism or air safety. This is a false placing _of the question. Canada must have policies which guarantee bilingualism as well as safety in flight. Both are possible. Both are necessary. Any other approach would be disastrous and lead to grave consequences for the future of the country. “This approach is not only essential to a sound solution to the air strike. It is no less essential for coming to grips with the crisis of Confederation which is at the root of the crisis. There is no bypassing the fundamental fact of two nations which is reflected in language and culture. “The air strike has placed in the forefront the necessity of a new made-in-Canada constitution based on the equal voluntary partnership of the two nations, and on the firm foundation of economic and social policies to overcome ' inequalities. “The trade union movement, which so far has been silent in face of the air strike, must throw its weight in the direction of a solution which corresponds with the need _for strengthening the unity of the English and French Canadian working class. Any other course would disrupt the growing unity of English and French workers and unions, evidenced at Canadian Labor Congress conventions, and. weaken its class independence. y The commissioners named under the terms’ of the settlement between the federal government, pilots and controllers, are Mr. Justice Judge D._V. Heald; Mr. Justice W. R. Sinclair and Mr. Justice Julien Caer: _ PACIFIC TRIBUNE—JULY 2, icten ees 8 Greenpeace’s Hunter rebuffed ‘Charges don’t hold up: Greenpeace Foundation president Bob Hunter who has accused Soviet fishing vessels of “strip-mining Pacific waters’’ received a sharp rebuff this week, not only from the United Fisher- men and Allied Workers which had been a target of Hunter’s attack, but also from the Canadian and U.S. fisheries officials whose figures belie the Greenpeace charges. Hunter, a former Vancouver Sun columnist, accused foreign fishing fleets, particularly those from the Soviet Union, of ‘‘making one last grab to strip, rip, rape and rob everything they can off the con- tinental shelf before the new limitations come into effect.” In an interview’from San Francisco Sunday, he said that he had seen 31 foreign trawlers off the coast of.which 25 were Soviet. Hunter called for ports to be closed to foreign fleets, adding that ‘the only reason that Soviet trawlers were able to operate off the coast was because. the Canadian government and the United Fishermen and Allied Workers ‘which is run by a communist who is joules Gras have allowed ships into port to refuel and resupply. He also called for fishermen to “‘get rid of their communist leader.” “Bob Hunter will totally discredit the Greenpeace Foun- dation if he keeps talking like the head of the John Birch Society and if he does not check for facts,” UFAWU president, Homer Stevens responded in a statement Monday. . Stevens pointed out that, ac- cording to the reports published by the federal department of fisheries, not one Soviet vessel is presently operating off Canadian coast. ‘None were here this year and none fished off our Pacific Coast last year,” he em- phasized. Hunter’s charges also ran into some hard facts presented by the U.S. Coast Guard which revealed that the number of Soviet vessels was down from last year. Moreover, what Soviet vessels are operating off the U.S. coast'are doing so under a bilateral agreement — a fact studiously ignored by Hunter. “There is no mention of an agreement between the U.S. and’ the USSR which allows the Soviet fleet a catch of not more than 150,000 tons of hake,” said Stevens. “The Americans have the right to board the Soviet trawlers to check the catches and ensure observance ' of the regulations.”’ Stevens added that if the schools of hake move northward, the Soviet fleet will probably follow and operate off the Canadian coast. “But hake have not been a target of either Canadian or American BILL 77 Cont'd from pg. 1 the Construction Labor Relations Association, a body made up of 800 of the major contractors in the province, is preparing to lock out more than 40,000 construction workers. As the Tribune went to press Tuesday night, all indications were that the CLR would bring about an enforced shutdown of more than $2 billion construction at 4 p.m. Wednesday. Behind the con- struction lockout is the CLRA’s refusal to consider any settlement which does not accept the federal wage guidelines. The building trades unions, along with the vast majority of. Canadian trade unionists, have «rejected the proposal. ~ ‘ the commercial fishing fleets because we have not had a market,’ he said... The UFAWU president cited another agreement between this country and the USSR which provides. that the Soviet Union will abide by.the 200-mile limit and will harvest fish, under licence, only if there are. stocks ‘surplus to Canadian needs. The port privileges afforded the Soviet fleet are themselves subject to still another agreement by which the Soviet vessels have agreed to stay off the major fishing” banks off the southwest corner of. Vancouver Island. “That treaty was worked out in 1970 and has been renewed an- nually. Port privileges can be cancelled any time the Soviets fail to live up to their end of the agreement, ” he said. ‘ Tronically, the first nation to. suffer should Canadian port. privileges be denied to foreign. fishing fleets would not be the Soviet Union whose vessels can often bring supplies from the home port, but the U.S.) A further irony is the fact that the UFAWU, which has now become a central target of Hun- ter’s ‘charges, supported the Greenpeace Foundation in its - campaign against nuclear testing in the Pacific and campaigned for extended Canadian control over natural resources long before the Foundation was even established. ‘Our union has fought for an all- inclusive Pacific fisheries treaty. We have fought for prohibition of . high seas salmon fishing by Japan, the only nation which now operates in such a fashion. We have f for a square deal on salm terceptions with the U.S.,”’ St emphasized. He noted that he himself } pressed for Canada’s unilaté declaration of the 200-mile prior to the Law of the Sea ference in 1974. “‘If the gover! had acted then, our fi resources on both coasts have been more adequ protected against all fo vessels,” he stated. Stevens stressed that UFAWU would have welc support from Bob Hunter on resource issues but added, “ heard nothing from him and he is trying the same kind of hunting tactics as the infa Senator McCarthy. ‘Down in Ronald Reagan’ s yard it may be easy for Bob Hi to air his anti-Russian Db Stevens commented, refer Hunter’s interview from Francisco... “But: the facts bear out his wild ve se he Canada,”’ Although it enjoyed consi public support and sym during its campaigns to nuclear testing and later, wi foundered recently and ha creasingly sought to appe continuing cold war attitudes hope of enlisting support. The latest demand, voice Hunter, for a closure of pol foreign vessels echoed a SI demand, pressed by the dation last August, that The 105 striking workers. at the Skyway Luggage Company’s Vancouver plant received a shot in the arm Sunday when over 250 members of the community and labor movement met in an open air rally in Grandview Park to pledge their support for their 11-week-old strike. The workers, members of Local 1 of the Upholsterers International Union — slated to merge with the Teamsters — have been on strike since April 5 in an effort to win decent wage levels from the U.S.- based company. The average wage in the plant which employs mainly immigrant women workers, is $2.85 an hour. Local business agent Penny Goronuk told the rally that there have been ‘‘no holds barred’’ by the company in trying to break the strike. She referred to the use of police, the courts and company intimidation on the picket line. “The question is very simple. We will not go back to work until we negotiate a settlement which is acceptable to us. We can no longer tolerate companies making millions in profits and still refusing to pay the workers who make those profits for them a decent wage.”’ Skyway’s profit for 1975 was $10.7 million. Goronuk said that the Skyway ‘strike is a perfect example of the problems which immigrant workers face. ‘‘When immigrant workers come to a place like Skyway they are exploited to the hilt. Then, the company tells them that if they don’t like it they can leave, but where else are ey. to go. ” In addition to Goronuk, a sinner of striking workers addressed the rally, largely composed of ships be denied port privileg residents of the immediate munity surrounding the Sk plant. Speaking in the ma Italian, the strikers related sweatshop working condit the Skyway plant, and expres determination to remain on picket lines until the strike is In addition to the suppo the labor movement, a num? community leaders, inclu spokesmen from Vancou Italian community pledged support for the ongoing St George Legebokoff, vice-chal of the. Grandview-Woo? Community Resource Board, that the CRB is very concé about the implications of the present a number of very problems to the community, sense of deepening poverty, the resultant dangers to obta! a decent standard of living. “The Grandview-Woodl CRB supports them wi heartedly in their attempt t0 decent wages and workin ditions in that plant.”’ 4 A rather unexpected partici? at Sunday’s rally was Gio’ Germano, the Italian consU western Canada who said he W the rally as an informal obsé Germano said that a majority of the striking worke Skyway are still Italian ¢ and he had a responsibility t0 guard their legal ments wher possible. He said thathe hachnot take? action as yet but would like informed of the situation so asked he would be able something for them throug? proper channels.”