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FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 1969

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BRIDGEWOOD CASE

Tribune

VOL. 30, NO. 36

10¢

Bill 33 imposed
on oil workers

After months of turning a deaf ear to all suggestions

that the government step in to help bring about a
settlement in the B.C. strike situation, the election
returns were scarcely 24 hours in when Bill 33 and its
machinery was brought into play against labor.

The Socred government has
lowered the boom on the oil
workers with a threat of
compulsory arbitration should

‘the oil workers persist in their

struggle for a decent contract
with the six big oil monopolies.

The announcement by Ed
Lawson, president of the
Teamster’s Joint Council that
his union would regard the
products of all the struck
companies “hot” was apparently
interpreted by. the election
rejuvinated Socred government
as leading to a ‘‘general strike”,
thereby providing a ready
excuse for its post-election
action of using Bill 33 against the
oil workers strike.

In the light of more recent
events many trade unionists
have expressed a_ strong
suspicion that the Lawson
announcement of declaring all
six oil company products ‘‘hot”’
was designed specifically to
provide the government with the
opportunity — which it strongly
resisted before the election, to
use Bill 33 in the oil dispute.

Rankin hails victory for labor

impotadian labor won an
ublic a victory when the
hited et Board of the
decided ane Workers (UAW)
Could not at James Bridgewood
elected: be removed from an
ecaus Position in his union just
munist, he had been a Com-
fe Ea Baiiidate in last year’s
anry R. ection,” said Alderman
Ald ankin this week.
Submis Rankin made a
Avie Sion to the UAW Public
pound recently opposing
a lon of union officials
he Bridgewood and in
iant of the rights of Cana-
‘rade unionists.
th "idgewood, an

agai

active

ber of Local 707 of the UAW

in Oakville, Ontario, was
dismissed as chairman of the
union’s Civil Rights Committee
under a section of the inter-
national union’s constitution
which bars Communists from
holding an elective or appointed
position in the union.

Bridgewood’s appeal to the
union’s international executive
board was denied. Next he
appealed to the Public Review
Board, the union's highest
appeal board. Ald. Rankin

presented his submission before _

this board which brought down
its ruling August 27. In a public
statement this week Rankin
said:

“We based our appeal on the
fact that this undemocratic
provision of a made-in-the-USA
constitution of an international
union has no legal validity in
Canada because it deprived Cana-

dian trade unionists of rights

_ guaranteed to them under the

Canadian Bill of Rights. The
basic issue as we saw it was the
right of Canadian members of
international unions to run their
own affairs.

“Bridgewood deserves to be
congratulated for the principled
position he took. By his stand he
won the support of progressive
trade unionists across the
country. His victory is a victory
for all Canadians who belong to

unions. Real
partership and international
solidarity between American
and Canadian trade unionisfs can
only be achieved on the basis of
equality, on a recognition by
international unions that
Canada is a nation with its own
laws, customs and_ political
freedoms, and that * Canadian
members. of international
unions must have the right to
make their own decisions.

“*Bridgewood’s victory sets a
precedent and will encourage
Canadian members of all inter-
national unions to achieve these
civil and trade union rights
which are already theirs under
Canadian law.”

international

While this week’s session of
the Vancouver and District
Labor Council, still exhibiting
the effects of a bad election
hangover. discussed the
necessity of a rejuvinated

struggle against Bill 33 and

reported union affiliate dona-
tions to that cause, delegate
Jack Phillips, (CUPE) observed
in his contribution to VLC discus-
sion that, ‘‘We have said over
and over again, that B.C. has the
worst labor legislation in
Canada. To say so once more
would be meaningless — the
question is, what are we going
to do about it?”’

‘A few weeks ago it appeared
to many that a new day was
coming — that we would have a
government in B.C. that would
usher in a new day for labor. The
sad fact is that the Socreds are
back stronger than ever —
largely as a result of an
unscrupulous campaign lavishly
financed by big business — the
same big business for whom Bill
33 was introduced to serve.”

Delegate Phillips posed a vital
question for his union colleagues.

“Tf we are going to defuse Bill
33, then we must have more
centralized co-ordination in
economic struggles and we must
improve our tactics and our
timing. To a great extent we
have a__ horse-and-buggy
structure in the trade union
movement — in the age of the
jet. the computer and automated
production.

“We must change if we are to
survive. which means that .. .
our thinking must be adjusted to
the new realities: and that also
means in relation to anti-labor

legislation and the big social -

issues of the day. In the main. we
were content to be a silent
partner of the NDP. often to the
embarassment of NDP candi
dates.

“Thus one of the realities of |

this last election was that labor
See BILL 33, pg. 11

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