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LABOR

A first-ever conference of trade union-
ists and Native Indian groups is expected
to be held some time this fall, the result of
initiatives taken last month by the B.C.
Federation of Labor and Native leaders.

stein said Monday that the federation
officers had agreed last week to establish a
working committee, made up of himself
and federation president Art Kube, as well
as Fishermen’s
Union president
Jack Nichol and
IWA vice-president
Clay Perry, which
would make prep-
arations first for
_a broadly-based
meeting of union-
ists and Indian
leaders and later, a
much larger con-
ference set for some
time in mid-fall.

Both the pre-
paratory meeting
and the conference
would include non- | }
affiliates as well as § ?
those unions affil- {
iated to the federa-
tion, he said. :

The initiative in ' ‘
bringing together
representatives of OBO gs Le
the labor movement and Indian leaders
has been seen as particularly urgent
because of potential conflict over fisheries
rights and logging in areas currently under
Indian land claims, such as Lyell Island in
the Queen Charlottes.

The proposal for the conference, first
put forward in a resolution on land claims
endorsed by the federation’s 1985 conven-
tion, was endorsed by a meeting June 21
between federation officers and Native
leaders, headed by George Watts and Joe
Mathias, which was held to discuss the

B.C. Fed secretary-treasurer Cliff And--

Labor, Natives meet set

issue of land claims.
Kube called that session ‘ta productive
first meeting,” adding that it was part of

- “an ongoing process of consultation and

co-operation between organized labor and
the province’s Native people.”

Andstein said that the meetings and the
conference would be aimed at “identifying
what we have in common and then finding
those areas where we have differences and
trying to resolve them.

“We want to be seen publicly as work-
ing together and to make it clear to the
government and corporations that they
will not be successful in their attempts to
divide us,” he said.

Watts, the co-chair of the Nuu-Chah-
Nulth Tribal Council, and a long-time
advocate of co-operation with the labor
movement, said in an earlier interview
with the Tribune, “‘a lot of problems can
quickly be alleviated if Native leaders and
labor leaders would get together and try
and find a position that is acceptable to
both sides.” ;

Although Native land claims have been
an issue for more than a decade, pressure
to exploit resources from corporations
such as MacMillan Bloedel and Western
Forest Products has thrust the issue in to
the political foreground.

The current crisis has been aggravated
by the federal government’s slowness in
negotiating land claims and by the provin-
cial Social Credit government’s refusal
even to recognize the existence of aborigi-
nal title. As a result, many of the issues
have become entangled in the courts with-
out any hope of resolution.

That is the case with the Indian fishing
bylaws of the Gitskan Wet’suwet’en Tri-
bal Council, which were first endorsed by
the federal government without consulta-
tion with other fishing groups and then
later hoisted by Fisheries Minister Tom
Siddon. =

received only token recognition and in the
case of the B.C. government, no recogni-
tion at all.”

Canadian Labor Congress president Shir-
ley Carr called on the federal government
to accept the recommendations of the
government-appointed Task Force to
Review Comprehensive Claims Policy.
The task force has called on the govern-
ment to initiate negotiation of claims in
areas in which the federal government has
jurisdiction. ~

a full role in the management of their lands

and resources. ..and they must receive an,
equitable share of resource revenues,”

Carr said. “It is essential that their right to

assume responsibilty for their social, eco-

nomic and cultural development be rec-

ognized.”

policy had resulted in “an impasse in nego-
tiations which denies Canada’s aboriginal
peoples their rights. . .”” She called on Mul-
roney to “‘set a new direction in the history
of relations between Canada and our abo-
riginal people.”

The initial endorsement of the bylaws,
which would allow an Indian commercial
fishery on the upper Skeena, created a
much-publicized conflict between the tri-
bal council and non-Native fishing organiz-
ations — a conflict that could only be
resolved through negotiation of a com-
prehensive land claim settlement in the
area. And it is to find labor-Indian co-
operation towards that objective of claims
settlement that will likely be a central issue
of the fall conference. ~

Federation president Art Kube said ina
statement following the June 21 meeting:
“The labor movement has recognized for
a long time that the province’s aboriginal
people have a right to demand and receive
from all levels of govenrment, respect of
their land claims. ;

“But to date,” he added, “they have

In a related development last month,

“Canada’s aboriginal people must play

Carr said that the govenrment’s current

=

B.C. Fed backs BCGEU action

Continued from page 1

leader — and premier — will be chosen.

Noting that Social Credit leadership can-

didates have “‘called for an end to confron-

tation,” Shields added: ‘‘We have decided

to wait until a new leader is selected and
negotiate with a government which hope-

fully is committed to bargaining without
confrontation.” ;

The picket lines that had been put up on
some provincial government offices as part
of the BCGEU escalating strike strategy
were taken down following Shields’
announcement.

Until August, at least, the only visible

-

8 e PACIFIC TRIBUNE, JULY 9, 1986

ee

ee ee?

sign of the BCGEU bargaining, begun eight
months ago, will be the union’s workplace
signs bearing the message “‘Working for a

fair settlement.”’ Union members, in a mes-

sage on the union’s telephone hot line, were
encouraged to continue wearing the mini-
placards and to report any instance of man-
agement harassment to union stewards and
BCGEU offices.

The BCGEU decision to suspend bar-
gaining was endorsed by the B.C. Federa-
tion of Labor following a bargaining
co-ordination meeting of union representa-
tives.

In a statement issued following the meet-
ing, federation secretary-treasurer Cliff
Andstein charged that Premier Bennett was
trying to create a climate of confrontation
“even though he has only a few weeks left in
office.

“Negotiations commenced over eight
months ago with the union making every

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EAD THE PAPER THAT FIGHTS FOR LABOR |

effort to negotiate a fair settlement and yet,
since January, the government has attemp-

' ted to gain a political advantage in negotia-

tions as part of an election strategy,” he
said.

Andstein noted that if the union had
decided to remain on strike it would have
been legislated back to work within days
and then faced the choice of acquiescing or
defying the legislation. “Clearly this is the
type of confrontation Bennett was attempt-
ing to provoke in order to call an election
during his dying days in office.”

He echoed Shields in suggesting that fol-
lowing the leadership convention, “there
will be a new premier for the union to nego-
tiate with, possibly one concerned with the
welfare of his or her employees and the

citizens of the province and not just a tough.

guy image.”

Whatever the course of bargaining, the
federation “and its affiliates will provide the
BCGEU with whatever support it needs to
achieve a fair and reasonable settlement,”
Andstein said.

That support may be critical after July 30
since there is little indication that the Social
Credit restraint policies will be significantly
altered even under a new premier and a new
leader could also use Expo as the pretext for
provoking the same kind of confrontation
that the union sought to avoid with Bennett.

Several candidates for the Socred leader-
ship gave full endorsement to Bennett’s
action and only one suggested that the
union’s right to strike should be respected.

i

border” and not attempt to mov®

B.C. trade unionists were reminded
once again this week how eX P#
injunctions can be used for strike |
breaking when Vancouver longshor™
men were forced to handle hot lum
from the U.S. under the threat’
heavy fines and jail terms.

A load of lumber from We@
haeuser’s strikebound mill in Spae
field, Oregon was held up fot fou
days at Vancouver’s Centennial a
but members of the Internatiom™
Longshoremen’s and Warehousem™
Union were compelled to handle!
Tuesday after an ex parte injuncl?
barred the union from obeying B: é
Federation of Labor hot declaratl?
Members of several unions, inclue™
the International Woodworkers, ha
been on strike since last month 4
Weyerhaeuser mills in Washing™
and Oregon.

“We held out as long as we 007,
but you can only bleed so long, *~
ILWU Canadian Area president
Garcia.

IWA members, including pr esident
Jack Munro, put up pickets 02
dock when the lumber arrived
Friday. Dock management had re
unionists permission to picket
the lumber, forcing them to put 4
picket lines at the pier entrance an
effectively shutting down Casco [ef
minals Ltd. container dock.

The pickets were forced dow? b f
court order issued Friday by Supi™
Court Justice George Murray but®
B.C. Federation of Labor moved
Saturday with a B.C. hot declared
against all lumber from strikeboUy
Weyerhaeuser mills in the U.S. BX
Fed secretary-treasurer Cliff Ands®
said the hot edict “should have ™
same effect as the pickets.” —

But three shipping companies 4 :
the B.C. Maritime Employers ASS*
ation were successful late Sul
night in getting an ex parte injuncl
barring any picketing of the dock@
prohibiting members of the IL
from carrying out the hot declat4
and refusing to work on the hot
Arbitrator William Dunbar had
lier ruled, under a ILWU conte”
clause provided for “instant arO¥
tion,” that refusal to handle the p
ducts constituted an illegal strike:

The order was issued late Sua?”
by B.C. Supreme Court Justice LY
McKenzie against the Canadian
and Local 500 of the ILWU, the B:
Federation of Labor as well as “JO7,
Doe and persons unknown.” Ang
stein was served with the injunctio™”

1 a.m. Monday morning.

The B.C. Fed secretary said
court action “reinforces the vieW ent
when it comes to an argul
between property rights and work
rights, judges will act in favor of peor”
erty rights.

“It puts the Canadian courts 08
same side as the strikebreaking © |
panies who are using scabs ag".
U.S. and Canadian workers,” hes*—

Garcia said that the union WO
make a decision on any new § hey
ments of lumber “if and when t=
come.” He called on the lumber
to “keep its hot lumber across a

through Canadian ports. —