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fiscal matters.”’ All this was hardly a program
to inspire enthusiasm among hard-pressed
working people, senior citizens, teachers,
hospital workers, and the provinces’ more than
200,000 jobless. :

Another key question in assessing the results
May 5 is: what happened to the mass labor
movement in B.C.? The working class move-
ment was singled out by the Socreds as the main
target for their attack. Under the NDP’s in-
fluence the mass trade union movement
adopted a low profile both before and during
the election campaign. Although it provided the
NDP with sizeable financial contributions and
many election workers, the trade union move-
ment as such took no direct part in the elections
in defending labor’s interests. Independent
political action by the unions practically disap-
peared with only the teachers and hospital
workers, who were under direct attack, taking
political action. But even their efforts didn’t get
far because of lack of support from the rest of
the labor movement.

The lack of political action by labor in defen-
ding its interests and rights was directly due to
the NDP strategy of keeping labor at arms
length and discouraging the trade unions from
taking any action in the interests of their
membership for fear of frightening off middle
voters and giving the Socreds an election issue.
This strategy served to neutralize the largest
organized mass movement in the province.
Many union leaders are now questioning that
policy and are recognizing it as having been a
mistake. But the damage was done.

On election night Yvonne Cocke, who is con-
sidered one of the most astute NDP analysts,
told the Vancouver Sun that she had ‘“‘felt a nig-
gling worry that people we felt should be our
natural supporters, like some of the people who
have been hit pretty hard, groups such as the
teachers, labor, all of those groups were not
solid like they should be.”’ This bears out the
report that a telephone bank set up by the B.C.
Federation of Labor to phone trade union
members found one week before the election
that of those canvassed, 50 percent had not
made up their minds how to vote and of those
who had, the results ran 3 to 1 in favor of the
NDP. In other words, one quarter of those can-
vassed said they would not vote NDP.

The main lesson of the 1981 Kamloops by-
election defeat and of the May 5 provincial elec-
tion setback is that retreat before the right wing
and big business offensive, and refusal to fight
against right wing policies in the hope that this
will attract middle class voters, is the path of
defeat.

There are signs that some in the NDP are
beginning to draw that conclusion from the
May 5 defeat. But unfortunately this cannot be
said for the main sections of the NDP leader-
ship who dominate the party. Unless a strong

. broad unity urgent to counter right wing offensive.

Jeft emerges which will challenge the right wing

NDP leadership and demand new policies, they
may well continue with their right wing strategy
that can only spell defeat for labor and pro-
gressive forces in B.C. The basic orientation of
these right wing leaders is to adopt polkicies
which will make capitalism work rather than
seek more fundamental change such as propos-
ed by the Catholic bishops who are the left of
the present NDP leadership in their criticism of
the capitalist system.

he major contribution of the Communist

Party election campaign was that it

brought before voters an alternative pro-
gram to take B.C. out of the crisis. It emphasiz-
ed the need for new economic policies to expand
the economy rather than the reactionary
restraint program.

It put forward a program to protect the
unemployed, halt layoffs and create jobs.
Along with that it projected a ten year plan for
turning B.C.’s economy from raw material to
manufacturing and processing which included
nationalization of the major multinational
resource companies. The Communist program
took a strong stand in defence of trade unions
rights and protection of civil liberties.

This program received wide support at all-
candidate meetings in the four ridings in which
the Communist Party ran candidates. While
concentrating its main fire at the Socreds and
calling a defeat of the Socreds and election of an
NDP government, the Communist Party also
placed its criticism of the NDP and its failure
to put forward strong alternative policies to that
of the Socreds. In the highly polarized political
situation the Communist vote did not increase
but the effect of the Communist campaign can-
not be measured in the vote but in the impact it
had on the thinking of voters, especially the
working class. Undoubtedly the program it ad-
vanced will continue to receive support among
working class and progressive people in the
months ahead.

The immediate task before labor and pro-
gressive peopleis to build broad unity in defence
of living standards, for jobs, in defence of social
services and labor’s rights and for new
economic policies. Such a united fightback can
force the Socred government to retreat from its
present plans to step up the offensive against
labor and the people. Such unity of left and pro-
gressive forces, including wide sections of the

‘’ .NDP is the key to progress in B.C.

TRIBUNE PHOTO—SEAN GRIFFIN

Maurice Rush is B.C. provincial leader of
the Communist Party.

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‘Fight back now’
CP meet urges
labor movement

The Communist Party’s B.C.
provincial committee has propos-
ed an escalating strategy by the
trade union movement and peo-
ple’s organizations to meet the
threat of anti-labor legislation
and the drive for concessions
against public sector and in-
dustrial unions.

A report to the party’s extend-

ed provincial committee meeting
June 4 delivered by labor com-
mittee chair Fred Wilson stated
that the “‘no struggle”’ policy of
the NDP caucus and the leader-
ship of the B.C. Federation of
Labor over the past two years met
with decisive defeat in the provin-
cial election.
_ The strategy tied the interests,
of the labor movement to a
“political solution’? that could
only be accomplished with the
election of an NDP government.
“The election came and went,
and the labor movement is worse
off than. before,’’ the report
charged.

The labor movement now
faces legislation which would ban
strikes in the public sector, alter
the arbitration process in favor of
employers, restrict picketing,
eliminate affiliation clauses, pro-
vide for easier decertifications,
and perhaps challenge the closed
shop, the report said. In addition,
it warned, non-union contractors
are boldly expanding their share
of the construction industry and
the forest industry appears poised
to begin a push to bring non-
union contractors into the woods.

The unemployment crisis and
the threat of anti-labor legislation
have prepared the ground for a
drive for concessions against
public sector, and industrial
unions which will put the CLC
no-concessions policy to the test
in B.C. this summer and fall.

To meet the challenge an
“escalating strategy’’.is needed
that takes into account the need
for bold, militant action as well as
the impact of unemployment and
two years of a no struggle policy

| on workers, the report said.

The CP strategy contains five

| points:

e Asa first stage, rallies and

| meetings around B.C. organized
+ by central labor bodies ‘‘to
| mobilize the rank and file and
| clear the issues”’ are needed to en-
| sure that workers understand the

threat to their rights and living
standards.

@ Asecond key component of
a fightback strategy needed is the
building of a ‘‘political opposi-
tion’’ to the economic policies of
the Socred government and an-
ticipated anti-labor legislation.
The NDP caucus has not spoke
out forthrightly against restraint
and wage controls, but such a
vocal political opposition can be
organized from individual
MLA’s and MPs, progressive
aldermen and mayors, church
and community leaders. Such an
opposition will be important
should the labor movement be
forced to defy anti-labor legisla-
tion, the report suggested.

e@ A third component propos-
ed in the CP strategy is‘a massive
political campaign against anti-
labor or right to work legislation,
aimed at forcing the withdrawal
of any legislation introduced into
the legislature.

@ The escalating strategy
culminates with a proposal for
‘co-ordinated economic action’”’
by unions or the B.C. Federation
of Labor on a provincial scale to
support a struggle against conces-
sions or to defeat anti-labor
legislation.

@ The fifth point in the CP
strategy calls for ‘‘new in-
itiatives’’ to achieve labor unity,
including a common front of
CLC, Building Trades, CCU and
independent unions and a no-
raiding pact.

Recognizing the central role of
the unemployment crisis in the at-
tack on the labor movement, the
CP report also called for a
‘parallel campaign to organize
and mobilize the unemployed.”’

The action centre movement
around B.C. provides the basis
for organization of the
unemployed with a program of
advocacy and political action,
“organically and fraternally link-
ed to the labor movement,” it
stated.

The unemployed have
developed a political program
and organized a series of
demonstrations over recent mon-
ths, and that experience has laid
the basis for extending the
organization of the unemployed
in the coming period, the report
added.

MY FRIEND !S PAYING.

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—JUNE 10, 1983—Page 7

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