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A ETE Ts ET EE

FEDERATION PRESIDENT SAYS:

As members of the provincial
legislature continued the clause by
clause debate on the contentious
labor code, affiliates to the B.C.
Federation of Labor began their
week long convention Monday to
affirm the unity of organized labor
in the province.

It was a demonstration of grow-
ing strength, as well, with the
Federation row representing some
210,000 workers, up considerably
from last year’s 175,000.

Among the 547 delegates at the
convention were representatives of
the United Fishermen and Allied
Workers Union, seated in the
meeting for the first time in 20:
years. The B.C. Government
Employees Union, recently af-
filiated, also swelled the
Federation’s ranks.

Federation president George
Johnston welcomed the new af-
filiates and paid particular tribute
to the UFA WU. He told delegates
how, in years before as vice-
president of the Vancouver Labor
Council, he had to ask the UFAWU
to leave the meeting after reading a
cold war message from the old
Trades and Labor Congress.

In his opening address, Johnston
noted the editorial clamor directed
at labor bla ming it for spiralling in-
flation and the subsequent
demands for wage and price con-.
trols. At the same time he cited
news items in the same
newspapers showing the un-
precedented profits that major cor-
porations are enjoying.

“What about wages?” he said ‘“‘It
is safe to say that the real purchas-
ing power of average wage and
Salary earysers, both organized and
unorganized, has been steadily
declining >”

In noting the mounting offensive
against the standard of living of
workers, Johnston set the tone for
the convention in pointing out the
direction ¢hat labor should take in.
the year ghead.

“Talking about the future,” he
said, “the report of the executive
council raises a number of
problems which face us in the year
ahead. Tese problems, with the
issues | fgave raised, require that
the Fedegation continue stronger
and more united than ever. We
must make very sure that we do
not fall ito the trap of expecting
the government to solve our
problems tor us.

“The pegislation which I have
referred ¢0 and which we will soon
be consiqering in more detail make
it very. opvious that we cannot ex-
pect people who are not actively in-
volved iys the labor movement to
understand well enough to solve
them.

“In any case, the whole history
of the labor movement has shown
that we ynust always rely primarily
on our own strength, our own unity
and our own decisions to deter-
mine oug future. We will continue
to look to governments for
legislative changes; we will con-
tinue to welcome support and
assistaysce from any genuine
friends of labor; at the same time,
we will build and strengthen our
Federatgon and our labor move-
ment ag the most important instru-
ment ty win a better life for the
citizens of British Columbia.”

Soon after the presidential ad-
dress and the report of the ex-
executive officers, the Federation
secretary took the floor on a point
of privilege — to announce his

resignation as secretary, a post he
has held for eight years.

In declaring his resignation,
Haynes told the suddenly-silent
convention that he did not want to
be “another George Meany — to
hang on until dragged kicking and
screaming out of office.”

“T make my decision,” he stated,
“secure in the knowledge that the
B.C. Federation of Labor has made
real progress in the last several
years . . . we’ve made this Federa-
tion about the strongest and
therefore the most violently’ at-
tacked central labor body
anywhere. We're attacked by many
different people and groups who
have in common their un-
willingness to see working people
obtain a fair share of the results of
their labors — attacked because
we're too effective.”

Haynes has apparently purchas-
ed a small resort on Quadra Island
which he intends to manage. The
successor -- to be named by the
members of the executive council
and drawn from its ranks — was
not announced at the time of
Haynes’ resignation but the table
officers named Federation second
vice-president Len Guy as their
choice.

Although Haynes’ resignation
was used by many editorialists as a
means to press for a more
moderate and compromising direc-
tion for the Federation, the note
was not echoed by the delegates in
attendance.

Debate, which began Monday on
the executive report and later, as
delegates began to work through
some 200 resolutions was a
measure of the militancy and unity
that found expression in the 1971
convention and was carried on in
this year’s convention.

A number of resolutions calling
for accelerated port development
in Vancouver and the establish-
ment of a Canadian merchant
marine were presented for debate
early Tuesday, all of them receiv-
ing unanimous endorsement by the
affiliated unions.

Several delegates scored the
federal government policies of
allowing natural resources to be
shipped out of the country in
foreign ships and backward federal
policies that have resulted in con-
siderable freight destined for this
country being shipped through the
port of Seattle.

A resolution presented by the
Machinists Union calling for the
“decentralization and fragmenta-
tion of national and international
conglomerates” occasioned con-
siderable debate as delegates rose
to support the anti-monopoly prin-
ciple of the resolution but called
for more decisive policies to bring
the corporations under democratic
control.

Dave Werlin, CUPE 1004, noted
the need for nationalization of the
corporations cited in the resolution
and pointed out that such measures
were nothing new or radical but, in
fact, were contained in the
program of the NDP.

“We're exporting our natural
resources and importing un-
employment,” Werlin said, referr-
ing to the foreign domination of
the country. ‘“‘Let’s nationalize
some of these corporations, begin-
ning with B.C. Telephone.”

The resolution was ultimately
referred back to committee after
several delegates had echoed the
demand for nationalization.

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 1973—PAGE 12

‘Labor must rely on own united strength’

Delegates lined up at the mike to speak in the lively debate at the B.C. Fed convention.

HOMER STEVENS, first to speak indebate. BCFL
president Johnston said it.was fitting the UFAWU
leader be the first speaker on return to the CLC

after 20 years.

Scores of other resolutions in-
cluding a number submitted by
various union locals condemning
the military takeover in Chile and
the federal government’s recogni-
tion of the fascist regime, were
slated for debate but had not been
presented at Tribune press time.

Canadian Labor Congress ex-
ecutive vice-president Joe Morris,
in addressing the convention Mon-
day, also condemned the fascist
junta in Chile and the “obscene
haste’ with which the federal
government offered recognition.
“Our government put economic
considerations first in recognizing
the regime,”’ he charged.

Federal NPD leader David
Lewis addressed the convention
Monday after some initial debate
on the Federation’s approach to
the provincial labor code and, after
commenting that he was
“somewhat distressed’ with the
tone of the debate, went on to
praise the Barrett government for
its achievements in the field of
social security.

He added that he was not going
to discuss the labor code, leaving
that to labor minister King who
was scheduled to speak later in the
week-long convention.

JOE MORRIS, CLC vice-preside
parley the NDP government's lq
good enough.” He associated th
ber CLC with B.C. labor's stand

nt, told th .
borcode wal BCFL

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Appeal to delegates

at BCFL convention

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