LABOR —

The provincial government appears bent
on forcing its own terms on Expo 86 con-
struction either through legislation or
through the de facto presence of non-union
contractors on the site.

That intent became clearer last weekend
following a meeting of the cabinet at which
Premier Bennett rejected once again a pro-
posed agreement between the Building
Trades and Expo 86 — but added that he
would not intervene as long as work was
continuing on the site.

But that work now includes construction
by five non-union’ contractors, who were
given contracts two weeks ago following the
release of previously frozen construction
projects and whose employees are being
paid less than union-scale wages.

The deliberately provocative action in let-
ting the contracts to non-union firms even
as an agreement between the Building
Trades and Expo was being discussed, con->
firmed union suspicions that Bennett was
waiting to see if the Building Trades would
invoke their non-affiliation clauses — in
which case he would hammer the trade
union movement with legislation outlawing
strikes on the site.

On the other hand, if the Trades take no
action, it would mean de facto acceptance
that the site is open to non-union
contractors — an objective that Bennett
has sought all along. And the number of
non-union firms could be expected to grow
quickly,

_ Building Trades Council president Roy
Gautier charged Sunday that Premier Ben-
nett was deliberately blocking any agree-
ment between the Trades and Expo, as
evidenced by the premier’s rejection of the
last proposal for settlement presented to his

Office by Expo mangement.

_ Gautier, together with other Building
Trades leaders and officers of the B.C. Fed,
met for over an hour with cabinet Sunday.

Bennett admitted later that his office had
rejected the Expo plan claiming that the
Expo negotiators had “gone beyond their
mandate.”

_ The latest refusal only confirmed ‘what
many trade unionists have suspected all
along — that the so-called crisis over Expo
has been manufactured to provide a pretext
for legislative intervention.

. Gautier suggested to reporters following
the meeting Sunday that Bennett ‘may be
using the whole Expo issue as a basis for

.

GREETINGS ON MAY DAY
TO ALL WORKERS

ERKEKK KHAKI KIRKE RIKI IIIA IIASA IASI AAAI ASSASSIN

CAMPBELL RIVER, COURTENAY
& DISTRICT LABOR COUNCIL

raising the broader agenda on labor
legislation.”

That same point was emphasized by sev-
eral speakers at a mass rally last Wednesday
called by the Provincial Council of
Carpenters.

More than 800 unionists, Building
Trades workers and others, packed the Ital-
ian Cultural Centre where they gave thund-
erous applause to council president Bill

Zander’s call “to unite the whole trade.

union movement behind . Solidarity II to
fight back.”
Zander told the rally that the Building
Trades had “done everything possible to
reach an agreement on Expo 86 construc-
tion, including giving up its non-affiliation

clauses won over years of bargaining andits _

right to strike. The Trades had insisted only
that non-union workers be paid union rates.

“But we were told today that the premier
had rejected everything in the agreement,”
he said.

He added that non-union workers had
that day been brought on to the site, calling
the move “nothing but an act of provoca-
tion against the Building Trades.

“All of this isn’t just an accident — it is
being staged by the Employers’ Council
with the Fraser Institute to smash the trade
union movement,” he said.

Zander told the meeting: “It’s time to
unite and build Solidarity II and bring the
people in the community along with us.

“If there had been legislation like this
proposed last fall, there would have been a
general strike,” he noted. ‘““We’ve got to

_ build up to that again.”

North Island NDP MLA Colin Gabel-
mann echoed Zander’s charge that. the
Socreds were out to “destroy the trade
union movement. —

“That may sound outrageous,” he said,
“but I have heard it from Socred members
myself; they have an agenda to break the

trade union movement.”

He cited the 26 bills introduced by the
government last July, adding that Labor
Code amendments were also planned at the
time. :

“They were held up by Solidarity and the
NDP opposition,” he said, “but now the.
government.is proceeding to re-introduce,
in essentially the same form, the same
legislation.”

Worse than that, Gabelmann warned, is
the legislation against the pulp workers

MAY DAY GREETINGS ~

from the
United Fishermen &
Allied Workers Union
: Local 7

4 e PACIFIC TRIBUNE, MAY 2, 1984

Bennett forcing showdown on

Bp,

TRIBUNE PHOTOS — SEAN GRIFFIN

which is unprecedented in the private sector
and the legislation proposed for Expo 86.

“What this government plans for Expo.
86 is not much different from Slave labor,”
he charged.

“It must be fought with everything we
have on the political side and everything we
have on the labor and political side,” he
said. ees :

And, ina departure from the stand taken
by the NDP last year, he told the rally: “If
ever there was a time for the Solidarity Coa-
lition and Operation Solidarity to put itself
into the position it was in last summer, now

‘is the time.” :

_ B.C. Federation of Labor president Art
Kube also called on workers to ‘close
ranks.

- “If the government continues on its
course, there will be confrontation,” he
warned, adding that it “may be a conflict
that we do not want.

~ “But how far can we back up before we
go over the edge?” he asked.

Kube told the meeting: “Now is the time
to close ranks and indeed build Solidarity
it?

Vancouver alderman Harry Rankin
drew a wide response from the rally when‘he
echoed the call for Solidarity IT but emphas-
ized “It’s got to be built on a solid
foundation.

“We've got to agree that the movement is
going to include all working people, that

. NDP-MLA Colin Gabelmann: a resoundin

adopted by the meeting which:

MAY DAY GREETINGS

peace, education and jobs

FOR A LIFE WITH A FUTURE

YOUNG COMMUNIST LEAGUE
#102, 2747 E. Hastings Street

Expo

Carpenters president Bill Zander (above):

a |
demand from the platform for organizatie®
of Solidarity Il. 4

they’re all going in the same direction ee
and that they’ll keep going,” he said.
Jown4a

KET 5 5 Ke
In a reference to last year oft

accord that ended the public strike sh
the objectives that could ‘have te
achieved, Rankin emphasized: “This 0

Solidarity has got to define its objecti¥®

and the generals have to decide if they”
going with them and then go. Re
; s4 the

“They can’t decide to retreat when th
movement is advancing,” he said.

He warned that Bennett “isn’t going
change his ways — unless he’s forced to ;
the will of the people.

ee
“That means we must force the issue 4
do it together,” he declared.

Three resolutions were unanimous!
@ Called on the B.C. Federation z
Labor and Operation Solidarity “to r one
tute an active program of fightback whit
will unite the Building Trades and other
unions in a campaign to include, if nece,
sary, a general strike, to fight all the Soc
anti-labor legislation;

© Pledged support to the continued work
of the Solidarity Coalition in the fight fof
social, political and economic justice for #
British Columbians and called on the Coa
tion to link the fight over anti-labor la¥®
with the Socred attack on social measures

© Urged the Solidarity Coalition togethet
with Operation Solidarity to develop os
fightback program; d

© Commended the NDP for its fight
against the Socred attack on trade unio
and democratic rights and called on ND!
MLAs “to oppose in every way possible thé
further elimination of worker rights
through legislation.”

to youth in struggle for

B.C. Provincial Council

Vancouver, B.C. V5K 1Z8

i