eee eee ||| || ee || ABOR alifree trade campaign in gear CLC moves into action Orr By MIKE PHILLIPS forts at all levels to organize AWA — The Canadian Labor Congress is working through the forums and rallies and possibly a ther to put its two-year fishthack-ecampal ainst free trade, dere- country-wide forum, to be year fig! paign ag 2 followed by an intensive lobbying untry. campaign at all three levels of iS vice-president Nancy Riche said last week that she had just’ government as well as a mass ‘rom the Atlantic provinces where plans were launched by the media campaign and demonstra- “incial labor federations for participation from the region in the tions aimed at bringing the public ae ment the workers’ agenda mandated by the last congress at large into action. c : At. each level of the labor iit Atlantic campaign willbe already have begun developing movement from ane to yaa '0 the others across the their own campaign in line with councils, provincia! fe ant jar, Riche said, ‘tincluding the CLC effort. and the congress leadership have fn Boos for local staff A full-time, country-wide co- i been assigned a role in the 8, public forums simi- ordinator has been appointed by campaign. — : Ne One organized by the the congress to direct the cam- _ CLC president Shirley Carr set nin, Federation of Labor, paign and each of the four full- this process in motion last month , “ating with an Atlantic con-. time CLC officers is responsible in a letter to every labor council volving the labor for its development. throughout the country urging Nt from all the provinces | Though plans aren’t com-' themtomake the fight against free Sion.” pletely finalized, the officers, staff trade, deregulation and privatiza- eae the action plan on the and ranking officers of the af- tion the central focus of all Labor hs t, like the efforts across filiates will have met throughout Day events. et bin Will involve the usual the summer to discuss and polish Plans are unfolding in most 4 8 efforts directed at muni- the strategy. provincial federations. In Provincial and federal poli- _In line with the fightback prog- Quebec, a conference on dere- crud in line with the deci- ram adopted by the CLC conven- _ gulation and privatization is plan- the CLC convention, the tion — ‘‘Our Canada or Theirs? ‘ned for the fall. The Manitoba oh ll be on developing Workers Confront the Corporate federation is planning a con- ose aerels to build the + Blueprint’’ — free trade, ar ference on Labor Day. sible unity in support lation and privatization wi : = Workers’ agenda. linked as the essential elements in ke Maes? e pert ae tins committee forsuch the Tories’ economic policy dat ce whats shappening Ln tic-wide coalition has which labor and its allies must ee Ree arte on: the hines | 12 place, she said, and challenge and supplant with an = ona ee ab eae Muay, Cut that a Coalition for alternative economic program for se Hg = oe aan a - bing,” Slteady exists in New- jobs and Canadian independence. °° T© eg ae sh eee mn. Where itemerged from At this point, the two year eee 2 ene pees Unity solidarity with the last campaign is expected to be © ucted last spring. Re workers strike. developed in four stages begin- _ In Saskatchewan the federation f ded that the anti-free ning with an internal education plans to make a submission to the ight in Newfoundland will and information campaign. This provincial Tory government’s , -8¢ly on the paper and will include making the campaign _ task force on free trade,. while in ney Ustries which are jeo- — the focal point of provincial labor —B.C., details of the federation’s ht’ s by the federal govern- federationconventions, as wellas plans haven’t been announced. " Upontinentalist initiative. card and letter campaigns and The full CLC campaign will be ‘Wee, ted Food and Com- allies. officially launched from a meeting BePince’s fisheries workers centrated coalition-building ef- Sept. 16 in Montreal. | Air Canada workers _ Seek ‘workplace dignity’ XONTo — Both the union basis by the computers the work- competitive with the private sec- Mt pe Canada were talking ers use.” tor air transport industry. 2 O8tess in 1986 as the out- | The union wants guarantees CALEA had to wage a three- A ie Contract talks for 3,100 that information acquired this week-long strike against the com- une erks which began July 23. . way won’t be used on workers pany’s concessionary demands. Eni g pes clear, following the employment records or for disci- White reaffirmed the CAW’s tess, g,8 10m both sides that _plinary purposes. stand against deregulation in line : Or the Canadian Auto On the economic issues, he ith the policies of the Canadian Union means substantial pointed out that Air Canada | ho, Congress on the issue. F Veme : : d Nts in wages, benefits, workers have some catching up to : : sat 7% i. W Bes, , i : : 4 Experience with deregulation in ‘ a AW. president Bob do in their wages since their last oa: S., he noted, showed that it le he dignity in the work increase had not kept wages ab- only helped to strengthen the hile Air Canada sees the reast of inflation. The current ownership concentration of the “Ultie Sharing”’ the economic starting rate in the two year pact jargest carriers over the industry, ona . Confronting the crown that expired Sept. 21 is about and in the process worsened con- lat as a result of airline $6.37 an hour, leading toa maXI- Gitions for the workers. hi, 0 and sagging profits. mum hourly wage of $13.77. Rk femme acionibhe con: toy dntteed from the open- White added that he expected ments: bys. Ain Canada. spokes: Of contract talks to tell the company to introduce the person Jacques Bourgeault that er tani the crown corporation intended Can, to make the workers carry the load for the airline’s financial los- ses and for the crisis in the indus- at aside from seeking government’s deregulation poli- increase in wages for cies into the talks as a rationale for Customer sales and Air Canada’s bargaining goals. os. the CAW wants The issue was at the Seer h ./Slons, improvements in the last round of talks with Air ee = safety conditions, Canada when the workers were Heian ee Re the Tories 4S on the use of part- members of the Canadian Air gu. : °tkers at the expense of Line Employees Association The workers would have to f the wPloyees, and protec- (CALEA), before the latter share the impact of these iy "© Workers against elec- merged with the auto workers last ““difficulties with the cor- of hitoring and surveil- July. poration, he said, but was less lane work. At that time Air Canada pres- specific about addressing the Cg, tter he said constitutes, sed for concessions on job sec- union’s concerns over electronic tha P!ete invasion of privacy urity and wages claiming that an- surveillance, and the rapid °rk is measured onaday ticipated deregulation would re- encroachment of part-time work- Practically an hourly quire the airline to become more ers on full-time positions. ef Labor in action GEORGE HEWISON Orkers, representing This will be followed by con- of the staff and ranking officers- Lavigne decision threat to labor Ontario Supreme Court Justice John White’s July 7 judgement in the Merv Lavigne case has set off alarm bells throughout the entire trade union movement. And well it should, for the suit brought by Lavigne and the subsequent ruling by the court both indicate a carefully crafted attack on all trade union rights. Lavigne successfully argued that the Ontario government, by signing a collective agreement with the Ontario Public Service Employees Union calling for a dues check off, from which the union may ultimately use funds for various purposes, violated his right of “‘freedom not to associate.” It isn’t accidental, that with labor moving to the centre of popular struggles; refusing to buckle to concessions; and getting involved in the fight against free trade and with the peace move- ment, that big business would seek every means to tame, har- ness, cripple or destroy the trade unions. Lavigne, a teacher at the Haileybury School of Mines, a col- lége which derives its legal bargaining status from the Ontario Colleges Collective Bargaining Act, works under a contract negotiated by OPSEU. Specifically cited by Lavigne were monies paid to the New Democratic Party, money for peace action and information, sponsoring fees for a Toronto conference on ‘Poverty and Unemployment’, support for the British coal miners, and funds for the ‘Pro-choice’ campaign, not to mention per capita fees that went to labor councils, provincial federations, and the Canadian Labor Congress, which contributed to like causes. Curbing hard won rights Justice White ruled that Lavigne’s freedom of association was violated by his compulsion by government-union contract to have dues checked off to an organization he did not wish to be associated with. : ; Disturbing for trade unionists is the systematic and ongoing curbing of legal and hard won trade union rights. Careful, at first, to single out public sector employees, albeit one half of the Canadian labor movement, the judge’s arguments can easily be shifted to incorporate the private sector worker. Starting with the Rand Formula, Lavigne and others can easily apply the same logic to strikes and even the very existence of trade unions. If the rights of labor aren’t specifically enshrined in the federal charter of rights, the basic philosophy of capitalism handed down from John Stuart Mill and Adam Smith, and borrowed by the Fraser Institute, the NCC, and in this case, quoted by Justice White, prevails. The very existence of trade unions are inimicable to capitalism and the ‘unfettered freedom of the individual’, (to scab, etc.) This is the legal straitjacket restricting the working class in the U.S. In fact, Justice White devotes nearly one third of his judgement to quoting U.S. jurisprudence in defending his ruling against OPSEU. Obviously the NCC and big-business are anticipating the grow- ing integration of the Canadian and U.S. economies and the need to create a Reaganite climate for labor relations in Canada, which in turn means having the trade union movement fighting with both hands tied behind its back. Labor Bill of Rights Needed But increasingly across Canada, workers are seeing behind the face of the state as an instrument of power which is not reutral in the class struggle, and this applies especially to the cc:ats. This was graphically illustrated in Alberta at Gainers earlier this year and in the Newfoundland public sector strike and now with Lavigne. : Clearly the fate of the trade union movement can’t be left in the hands of judges, appointed by representatives of big business. Appeal processes will no doubt be.launched by the trade unions, : but these need to be coupled with a massive campaign to mobilize Canadian workers for a Labor Bill of Rights enshrined in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Such a massive campaign would have a two-fold effect. First, it would give a measure of legal protection to the fundamental right to organize, to strike and to engage in collective economic, social and political action. j Secondly, it would guarantee that the big-business state ap- paratus, including the courts, backs off in the current wholesale assault on the trade unions or be prepared to face the conse- quences. : PACIFIC TRIBUNE, JULY 30, 1986 e 5