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LABOR

Statement issued April 7 by the Cent-
tral Executive Committee of the Com-
| -Inunist Party of Canada.

| The U.S.-controlled building trades
| Unions issued a proclamation on March

} 26 over the signature of James McCam-

bly executive secretary of the AFL-CIO

_ Building and Construction Trades De-

partment. In that proclamation they de-

Icare their intention to establish a new

Canadian: trade union centre. In plain

simple terms this means to split the

| Canadian trade union movement into
two parts and usher in a period of raiding

_ and competition between labor.

This takes place at a time when the
Need for unity in the ranks of the trade
unions and entire labor movement is cru-
| Cial, when monopoly is intensifying its

| attacks on all fronts against the living and
Social standards of working people.

_ Contrary to efforts in the building
trades proclamation to place the respon-
sibility for the impending split on the

| Canadian Labor Congress, the responsi-

bility rests squarely on the shoulders of
the Washington-controlled Building

_ Trades roadmen who run the Canadian
eine Trades set-up like some private

club.

In Saskatchewan the Saskatchewan
Federation of Labor first proposed to
_ keep the building trades in the SFL and
Icoal labor councils. The CLC then
_ threatened to lift the SFL charter if they
did so. Following this a lengthy meeting
took place between the SFL executive
and Shirley Carr, vice-president of the
CLC. At this meeting the SFL called on
the CLC to back away from its present

the CLC where the matter could be de-
cided by the membership. The CLC
countered with a threat to lift the charter
if the SFL refused to comply with the
order to exclude the buidling trades
unions from its federation and labor
councils. The meeting was a stand-off.

Dividing Labor

The CLC has indicated that industrial
locals which are chartered by the
building-trades unions will not be al-
lowed to affiliate to the new building
trades set-up proposed by the CLC. It is
through such affiliation that construction
locals would be able to find affiliation to
the CLC, provincial labor federations
and local labor councils. The only way
non-construction locals of the building
trades unions would be able to enter the
CLC however, is by breaking with their
present unions and affiliating directly to
the CLC as CLC-chartered locals, or
affiliating to another member union ofthe
CLC. ;

This is no small matter as some of the
building trades have a large industrial
component. The International Brother-
hood of Electrical Workers, for example,
finds almost half its Canadian member-
ship in this category.

In response to this edict of the CLG,
the Carpenters Union in British Colum-
bia, a strong and long-time advocate of
full Canadian autonomy for the building
trades, has informed’ the CLC that its
provincial Federation of Carpenters will
move into the CLC as a body, industrial
component and all, or stay out as a body.

- It appears that the CLC is pursuing a
legitimate aim in a somewhat dangerous,

‘Building Trades solution needs flexibility

and what could turn out to be counter
productive manner.

One can understand the impatience
and anger of the CLC leadership at the
arrogance and intransigence of the build-
ing trades leadership. However that must
not allow for a situation where a wedge is
driven into the unity of Canadian labor at

-such a crucial moment.

Autonomy and Unity

The Communist Party has fought for
the autonomy of the Canadian labor
movement, with a record second to none
in that movement. It has, however, al-
ways coupled the struggle for autonomy
with the struggle for unity, fighting off
those forces from the right, which denied
the need for autonomy; and the forces

from some confused elements of the left, .

the right and the entire ultra-left, who
chose the pursuit of autonomy through
splitting and division.

We stay with this time-tested and es-
sential principle in this current struggle
and urge patience and flexibility in the
place of haste and confrontation.

One cannot ignore the possibility of
some industrial unions under right-wing
leadership, utilizing the present difficult
period for raiding the industrial jurisdic-
tions of the building trades in the fac-
tories, first of all where such industrial
unions hold contracts, and building
trades unions have jurisdiction for in-
plant construction. -

But an equal threat is the raiding of
plants which are not totally organized by
building trades unions. This would be
calamitous for the entire labor move-
ment.

In our opinion the CLC would better
serve its interests and therefore those of
the entire labor movement by approach-
ing the present situation in the following
manner.

Five Constructive Steps

First: Step up the campaign being
waged by the CLC calling on all building
trades local unions to demand of their
leadership that they pay up their back per
capita and come back into the house of
labor. No splits, no second centres.

- Second: Allow all building trades loc-
als to remain affiliated to provincial fed-
erations and local labor councils, who
wish to do so.

Third: Allow industrial components of
the building trades as well as construc-
tion locals to affiliate to the CLC’s new
building trades set-up.

Fourth: Leave the final resolution of
the matter over until the CLC conven-
tion in 1982, and pursue further negotia-
tions with the building trades in the in-
terim. The position of the CLC can be
continually strengthened in these negoti-
ations by the growing support won for its
positions by all trade unions.

Fifth: Issue a clear and unequivocal
statement that no raiding of any building
trades unions wilk be tolerated by the
CLC:

This kind of stance, together with a
stepped up campaign by the CLC for
Canadian autonomy for the building
trades unions, and maintainance of the
present democratic structure of the CLC
against attempts by the right wing to
undermine its rank and file character, can
win a victory for autonomy, unity and

democracy.

Dos

- and call a special convention of

=,

The massive losses suffered by the New Dem-
ocratic Party in'the recent Ontario elections and the
total failure of the Ontario Federation of Labor’s
parallel campaign contain some very important les-
sons for the labor movemert to learn.

But first, a few words about democracy. Capitalist
democracy that is. The recent Ontario elections, we
are to believe, was an exercise in democaracy. The

People used their “‘god given” right to vote while the
Political parties of big business used their control over

the province.

The political party in power chose a time for the
election deliberately designed to ensure the smallest
Possible tummout of voters — for which they were
congratulated as brilliant strategists.

Using Madison Avenue advertising techniques it
Pointed a finger at those who exposed its miserable
record in office of growing unemployment, plant clo-
sures, cutbacks in social services, and pictured them
as gripers.

With an insidious use of private polls, carefully
designed by social scientisis, they assessed the pub-
lic frame of mind and designed a strategy to circum-
vent their record in office, keep the public interest in
the election at the lowest possible level; make it as
difficult as possible for the opposition to get its sup-
Porters to the polls, while ensuring the best possible
Mobilization of its own backers.

Brilliant? — yes. Democratic? —no.
What is democratic about a campaign which is

designed to hide the real issues from the people, to
keep voters at home, and to keep interest in the
election at the lowest possible level? - :

The result of the winter Ontario election is that
fewer than 60% of voters went to the polls, and the
Tory government received less than half the votes of
those who bothered. It governs this province with
the support of 25% of the eligible voters.

Some testimony to democracy.

Why does the media studiously neglect to com-
Ment on this matter?

the media to obscure and distort the real issues before ~

arallel campaign needs defining

Because, to expose this charade is to expose the
whole rationale of capitalist politics. The role of
capitalist politics is to conceal from the people the
real aim of capitalism. Exploitation of the working
people by whatever means necessary.

The system could not exist without a political
superstructure which gives the appearance of stand-

ing between the working people and their exploiters,
of protecting them from the excesses of big
monopolies who, the people have leamed in every
day life, have no regard for their problems.

The art of capitalist politics is to appear to serve
this function while fully serving the needs and in-
terests of these monopolies. As ‘one bourgeois
party becomes exposed as a result of its inability to
serve monopoly and satisfy the people’s needs at the
same time, the other is clothed as an alternative.

This is called democracy.

Part of the struggle for social change is the long
tough battle of working people to see through this
charade and to replace bourgeois politics with
genuine democratic politics and with working-class
politics. Elections and electoral activity are an im-
portant part of this prcess, but by no means the
whole.

Which brings us to the other side of the Ontario
election. The poor showing of the New Democratic

- Party and its loss of 280,000 votes and 12 seats.

This was a gain for bourgeois politics and a loss for
the working class and democratic movement. The
NDP will undoubtedly be spending long and agoniz-
ing hours examing this defeat and answering why, as
they begin the search for a new leader to replace
Michael Cassidy.

For the trade union movement the matter stands in

‘mation. What happened to the parallel campaign?

a somewhat different position. Its parallel campaign
really failed to materialize. The main losses of the
NDP took place in industrial ridings. Some of the
best supporters of organized labor went down to
defeat. The Ontario’ Federation of Labor, together
with the NDP, failed to mobilize the main sections of
the working class in support of the NDP. This is the
unmistakable truth of the election.

While the NDP may make its own estimation of
the reasons for its defeat it is clearly the task of the
Ontario trade union movement to make its own esti-

Why did it really not get off the ground?

If the Ontario Federation of Labor fails to take this
matter up separately from the estimations of the
NDP, it will both fail to get at the reasons for the
failure of the campaign, and fail likewise to make the
contribution it is required to make to tum the situa-
tion around.

The losses by the NDP and the inability of the
OFL to mobilize its membership, lie in the failure of
the NDP to emerge, not just in the election, but in the
entire period of the last legislature, as a credible
atlernative for the people. The NDP played
bourgeois politics and the people, it would seem
decided that if they were going to elect a bourgeois
party they might as well stick to the tried and proven
ones.

The OFL has its own program decided on by
convention. Its parallel campaign surely should have
dealt with this program, much more advanced than
that of the NDP, and called for the election of the
NDP as a party which came closer to supporting that
program than either the Tories and Liberals. Other-
wise it is duping the membership to speak of a paral-
lell campaign when what is really meant is utilizing
the machinery of the OFL for NDP election cam-.

paigning.

There is an important difference here and if the
election serves no other purpose than to cause the
OFL to spell out this difference clearly for itself and
the NDP, it will have had some positive effect.

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—APRIL 17, 1981—Page 7