TORONTO — Ontario labor is answering the
brutal onslought by big business and its partners in
80vernment for wage controls and economic con-
Cessions with an action campaign against controls,
Concessions and cutbacks, that includes a call for a
8eneral strike.

As he opened the 25th Ontario Federation of

Labor convention, Nov. 22, president Cliff Pilkey
_ asked the more than 1,500 delegates to the four day
Meeting to endorse ‘‘a fightback program against
both controls and concessions (that) involves the
Mobilization of every member of this federation in
the most ambitious program ever launched by the
OFL and its affiliates.”’

_ Pilkey told the convention that labor, in project-
thg an alternative economic program to the bank-
 Tupt policies of provincial and federal govern-
nents, is ‘‘fighting a battle for the hearts and minds
Of the Canadian public, and of our members who
Comprise the great majority of that public ... an
Weological struggle between labor and its per-
Ception of society and the corporate-government
_ Perception of society.”
|  Stressing that the labor movement was united as
|} Never before, the OFL leader warned labor’s
| €nemies they can’t wage war on the public sector
through wage controls and expect to have peace in
private sector. ‘‘We have no choice but to
fight’’, Pilkey told the convention, ‘‘the alternative
May well mean the end of a viable and progressive
trade union movement.”
: The federation’s action program includes:
,| © the creation of a Controls and Concessions
ce to develop and implement the fight-
k;
-| © local committees co-ordinated by the labor
| Councils to lobby and organize local demonstra-
4

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_ tions in support of a provincial and Canada-wide
| Program:
"| ® on-going liaison and expansion of co-operation
| With groups outside the labor movement who will
s| ‘Upport labor’s goals;

| ® initiatives by the federation and labor councils to
_ Organize the jobless into ‘‘one active political lobby

_ tion, media and education campaigns.
In addition to a direct commitment to a fightback
Campaign against the Tories’ public sector wage
- Controls, Bill 179, including call for a province-

es

A 3 Orce’’;

| ® and an action program combining demonstra-
ot ti

f

LABOR

OFL offers alternative
economic program for Ont.

wide general strike, the overall fightback plan was
comprehensive.

It includes demonstrations at Queen’s Park, ral-
lies and protest marches wherever the Tories and
Liberals are meeting or holding political functions,
lobbying of elected reps at all three levels of
government and selected work stoppages, sit-ins
and a day of protest throughout the province.

The top trade union leadership dominated the
debate in support of the action plan, and the con-
trols and concessions policy statement. Sean
O’Flynn, president of the Ontario Public Service
Employees Union, (OPSEU), said the wage con-
trols directed against his members are in fact a
threat to the entire labor movement.

It not only guts the public sector workers’ right
to strike and bargain collectively’, the OPSEU
leader said, ‘‘but it makes unions themselves use-
less. We have to break the kernel of apathy, that is
like a shell around our members in both the public
and private sectors’, O’Flynn told the convention.

He also stressed that the message has to be
brought through to unions in the private sector
‘that while the rhetoric of solidarity is great, prac-
tice is better.”

United Auto Workers director for Canada, Bob
White who, because of the valiant fight against
concessions being waged by Chrysler workers,
won a standing ovation from the convention,
warned Ontario premier William Davis the legis-
lation of wage controls against the public sector
would cost his government dearly.

He pledged the UAW’s best efforts in mobilizing
support for public sector unions among workers in
the private sector. “‘If it means showing out sup-
port through demonstrations and strikes so be it”’,
White said. ‘‘We have to make it clear among
industrial workers that our message to Davis is
clear: you can’t attack one section of the labor
movement and have comfortable relations with the
rest of us. It just doesn’t work that way.

“If it takes demonstrations, massive actions by
the labor movement to defeat these wage controls,
we'll be there’’.

Kealy Cummings, secretary treasurer of the
Canadian Union of Public Employees, pledged the
full financial resources of his union in the fight and
urged labor ‘‘to look at ourselves as the radical
element in our society and the radical opposition in
this society.”’

Chrysler threatens to use scabs

Will defy unjust
laws says labor

TORONTO — A crude threat
to Canadian Chrysler workers by
their U.S. bosses to substitute
Work done in Canada to U.S.

its, met an angry response
ftom the UAW leadership mired
contract talks with the corpora-
tion here last week.

UAW Canadian director, Bob
White warned Chrylser Nov. 24

there would be no settlement of
the contract between the corpora-

tion and its striking Canadian
Workers without the return of all
Jobs moved out of the country by
Chrysler. The corporation’s
Vice-president Thomas Miner
Said last week plans were under
Way by the corporation to sub-
Stitute work done by Canadians
With parts produced elsewhere
‘ in non-union shops.
Tm saying very clearly if the
pany’s action would mean

Com,
| there would be less work in Cana-

da, we would not leave the bar-
table until we were sure

that work is put back in Canadian

ts,”” White said.
. He also said that auto workers
‘0 Canada and the U.S. would be
hing for any movement of

Parts smuggled ss the border.

The UAW international presi-
dent last week pledged the 43,600
U.S. Chrysler workers would not
scab on the Canadian strikers by
either working on, or assembling,
parts that are embargoed because
of the Canadian strike.

OFL president Cliff Pilkey told
the Tribune at the Federation’s
25th Convention, the labor
movement in Ontario would
“support the UAW’s fight to en-
sure that parts made in Canada
don’t leave this country, and we’ll
be making the Federation’s posi-
tion known to the UAW leader-
ship in the U.S. that parts made in
Canada ought not to be used in the
U.S. while Canadian workers are
on strike.”

Speaking for the Ontario

UAW in U.S. promises boycott

Committee of the Communist
Party, Gordon Massie said
Chrylser’s threat showed a
flagrant lack of responsibility to
Canadian workers and bared the
myth of ‘‘good corporate citizen-
ship’’ the U.S. corporation tries
to promote for itself.

“‘Any attempt to move pro-
ducts out of Canada should be
met by the Canadian Government
with the nationalization of
Chrysler’’, Massie said. ‘*The
workers are saying they'll fight

~ any movement of Canadian work

VSS~.4-8U-ne

and parts out of the country and
we would support that whole-
heartedly.”

Both the Windsor Chrysler
leadership and the -local labor
council said they would physi-
cally stop any effort by the cor-
poration to move parts and
equipment out of Canada.

Little progress was seen in |

talks between Chrysler and the
UAW in Toronto. White indi-
cated that while minor advances
were being made on local issues
and language, the parties were
“miles apart on wages.”’

irvIiGlON —

TORONTO —- OPSEU president Sean O’F lynn declared last
week he would encourage his 60,000 members to break On-
tario’s reactionary public sector wage control bill when it be-
comes law.

Speaking to more than 2,000 angry workers at Queen’s Park
during the lunch break, Nov. 23 at the Ontario Federation of
Labor convention, O’Flynn said the Ontario Public Service
Employees Union would do everything in its power along with
the rest of the labor movement to defeat both the Tories and
provincial Liberals at the next election.

‘*And, if Bill 179 becomes law,’’ O’F lynn declared, ‘‘we will
do everything in our power to encourage our members to break
that law.”’

OFL president Cliff Pilkey, calling the bill ‘a cynical political
ploy’’, said that the protest was a clear message to the provincial
government and the Liberals that the labor movement will bend
every effort to have Bill 179 removed.

He told reporters following the rally that ‘the federation will
give full support to any action taken by our public sector affiliate
in fighting this legislation.’’

Steelworkers’ Ontario director Dave Patterson called the
Tory wage controls a declaration of war against the labor
movement, which the labor movement was going to wage with
Queen’s Park to the end. ‘‘We’re telling Davis by our presence
here today that they’d better get the message clear; we'll be
back, we’re going to organize the unemployed and we're going
ee ee ee

Along with the convention delegates, there were injured 4
workers in the crowd who have been demonstrating twice a week i
for an increase in pension benefits before Christmas.

Their presence and the participation in the rally by the rep-
resentatives of the Ontario Teachers Federation, and Kealy
Cummings of the Canadian Union of Public Employees showed
the breadth of the fightback against the Tory law.

piercaacstooiate

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—DECEMBER 3, 1982—Page 5

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