OTTAWA — After more than
a month behind bars, Canadian
Union of Postal Workers
(CUPW) president Jean-Claude
Parrot shows no signs that his
spirits are sagging or that his op-
timism about the future is in any
way diminished. In fact, just the
opposite is the case. -

In a letter to his fellow CUPW

members dated Feb. 27, the

postal workers’ leader thanked all
of the many trade union members
in addition to CUPW members
who have been writing to him
from across Canada. ‘‘It certainly
is encouraging,’ Parrot wrote,
“*to receive so many strong mes-
sages of support, especially at a
time when solidarity among

_postal workers is essential.”’

He wrote that the volume of
mail has been too great for the
prison authorities to keep up with
and it has become impossible for
the postal union leader to answer
each letter individually.

Parrot entered Ottawa-
Carleton Detention Centre Jan.
29, after the Supreme Court of
Canada rejected the CUPW
leader’s appeal of a three-month

Tripartism is collaboration be-
tween the leaders between the
leaders of trade unions, bosses
and capitalist governments, to in-
crease monopoly profits at work-
ers’ expense. The purpose and
aim of organized class colla-
poration between spokesmen for
organized labor, big business and
governments of big business, is to
step up the exploitation of labor
by holding wages down and in-
creasing monopoly profits at
workers expense. Obviously
nothing could be more contrary to

‘the interests of union members

and of all working people.
es kh

Tripartism became a fairly
prominent term in the Canadian
trade union movement in the
middle 1970s. But in 1975 Cana-
dian workers were not in a mood
to accept wage controls on a. vol-
untary basis, so it was finally
forced on them by the Trudeau
government in October of 1975.

The struggle over the wage
control issue exploded into a
mass demonstration in March of
1976, and eventually in a
‘‘National Day of Protest’’ on Oc-
tober 14 of the same year, when
over one million Canadian work-
ers took part in demonstrations
across Canada while hundreds of
thousands stayed away from their
jobs.

However, at the Quebec
Convention of the Canadian
Labor Congress in May 1976,
both a Labor Manifesto and a
Program of Action were adopted.
The first document sought a solu-
tion in social democratic parlia-
mentary terms without a mass
struggle, while the latter called for
a general strike to force a show-
down on the wage control issue.

Consequently, while the action
program had to be implemented in
the way described above, the
class collaborationist policy of
tri-partism took over as soon as
the demonstration was over, thus

‘Fighting for our rights’

jail term for defending his union’s
right to negotiate and to strike. He
was jailed for supposedly defying
Bill C-8, the strike-breaking law
rammed through parliament by
the Liberal government and the
Tory opposition to crush the Oc-
tober 1978 postal strike.

The CUPW president was in
fact found guilty by the au-
thorities even before his trial took
place. As a condition for being
released from custody following

the strike, to await his trial, Parrot -

-avas forced to make a public
statement under the terms of sec-
tion 3.1 of Bill C-8 authorizing the
strikers to return to work.

This was precisely what Parrot
was charged with under the crim-
inal code for not having done, and
what he eventually was tried and
convicted on. In effect, the
CUPW president was forced to
admit his guilt before the charges
were even heard in court. So
much for being considered inno-
cent until guilt is proven.

In his Feb. 27 letter to CUPW
members, Parrot welcomed the
news of the Canadian Labor Con-
gress campaign to support strik-

Pies

2

ing Bell Canada workers, mem-
bers of the Communications
Workers of Canada.

** ... I hope that CUPW will
play an important role in organiz-
ing support for our brothers and
sisters in their struggle against
Bell Canada,”’ Parrot wrote.

The CUPW president revealed ~

that he has been authorized to re-
ceive special visits from the union
and documents related to con-
ciliation. ‘‘We even had a two-
day meeting at the Detention
Centre, although I must say that I
would prefer to work in National
Office,”’ the letter said.

Effective leadership is

needed, not collaboration

effectively postponing any mass
action and allowing wage controls

to run their course.
OK *

¥*ee

Our state monopoly capitalist
system is out to weaken the
fightback of the working class,
particularly on the wages front.

_Its aim is to weaken the workers
and their unions. That much is
self-evident to any keen observer
of the labor scene in our country,

and abroad as well. —

A salient feature of the crisis of
the system has been and is the
attempt to involve the trade union
movement in tripartite, class
collaborationist schemes. In
other words, state monopoly
capitalism seeks to subordinate
the mass trade union movement
to the interests of rationalizing
production, profit-making and the
multi-nationals.

Class collaboration by top of-
ficials of the trade unions repre-
sents a serious obstacle to an ef-
fective fightback by the working
class and its democratic allies
against the policies of monopoly,
a policy designed to load the cost
of its crisis onto the backs of the
working class and all working

people. te

Despite this however, the
strike movement is growing as
workers seek wage settlements
that will not only keep abreast of
rising inflation but also to give
them a greater share of the na-
tional income and of the wealth
they produce.

The rising strike movement
shows that the working class re-
jects proposals that would integ-
rate it into the system of state
monopoly capitalism. Despite all

the efforts of the state and the -

media to brainwash the working
people, the reality of capitalism
and its exploitative nature

undermines these efforts and:

leads to an inevitable strengthen-
ing of anti-capitalist sentiments in

the working class. Far from
Capitulating, the working class
will fight ever more vigorously for
its Own distinct interests.

But to do this the organized
working people must have leaders
dedicated to the defence of the
workers’ interests and not to the

Selfish aims and objectives of their
Class enemies who feed on the

exploitation of labor.

The operation of that system of
super-exploitation is to be seen
today in every industry. and busi-
ness in the country. The most
noteworthy is the rationalization
of industry ‘at the taxpayers’ ex-
pense, who are working people in
the main. Look at the auto and
paper industry today in Ontario,
where millions are spent — not to
create-jobs — but at the expense
of jobs and of the public purse.

* * *

It is high time for organized
labor to expose the system we live
under and to undertake a fight to
bring about some radical changes.
If multi-national. corporations
cannot live without welfare at the
public expense, it would seem to
be time for a public takeover of
industry and resources and to op-
erate our resource and manu-
facturing enterprises as
nationalized enterprises under
public ownership and democratic
control.

An immediate requirement of
those who lead or aspire to
leadership in the trade union
movement would appear to be
withdrawal from all tripartite and
bipartite committees, task forces
and similar class collaborationist
schemes, desig&ed to perpetuate
and extend the exploitation of
working people by the corporate
elite, and tum the attention to
ways and means to promote the
interests of those whom the lead-
ers are elected to serve, their own
membership, the working class as

a whole, and all working people.

— jailed leader

Parrot said he is using the jail
term as an opportunity to get a bit
of rest, though given his own pre-
ference he would rather be
somewhere under the sun.” ...
This was obviously not the inten-
tion of the judge who sentenced
me,”’ Parrot wrote. ** You canrest
assured that I am keeping up a
good morale and will be ready to
continue to fight for our just cause
when I come out.”’ .

What the militant union leader
said he misses the most is his fam-
ily, who throughout the entire
experience have given Parrot
complete understanding and full
support. ‘‘We have no regrets,”

the CUPW leader said, ‘‘since we
know we are fighting for our rights
— the rights of postal workers.”

Regarding the current set of
contract talks the union is taking
part in, Parrot expressed the hope
that the newly-elected Liberal
government will appoint an
experienced person as chairman
of the federal Conciliation Board.

Letters to Parrot can be sent to:
“Brother Jean-Claude Parrot,
C/O Ottawa-Carlton Detention
Centre,
2244 Innes Road,
Ottawa, Ontario

Sudbury labor concerned

By MIRIAM AMSEL

SUDBURY — Sudbury and
District Labor Council, February
27, decided to initiate action to
bring a greater degree of democ-
racy to the regional government
system. Specifically, Labor.
Council is concerned that the pos-

_ ition of regional chairman, now

vacant due to the election of Doug
Frith to Parliament Hill, be
elected by the people of the region

and not by Regional Council.

Regional Council itself is di-
vided on the issue. A recent
newspaper poll showed 10 coun-
cillors in favor of continuing the
tradition of voting by council,
nine favoring a vote by the electo-
rate, and one undecided.

The issue was raised at Labor’

Council by Canadian Union of
Public Employees delegate Justin
Legault who said: “It is our
responsibility as trade unionists in
this community to undertake such
actions.’’ Legault suggested that

a petition campaign be initiated to

demand a referendum on the bal-

lot this fall. “‘Let the people de-

cide who will elect the regional

‘chairman,”’ he said.

Elmer McVey, Labor Council
president, agreed with the con-
sensus at the meeting and will
look into the legislation involved
to find out whether a referendum
is possible. If not, other tactics
could be used. ’

McVey pointed out that once ~

this objective .was reached, it
would be up to the labor move-

over regional gov't system

ment to field a candidate for that
position.

On other issues, Labor Council
heard a report from Lou Murphy,
chief negotiator for some 870
striking high school teachers
(OSSTF). The teachers have
been in negotiations for 13
months and have been without a
contract for six months. The
strike is entering its fourth week.

The Sudbury Board of Educa-
tion is attempting to strip the con-
tract of some important*clauses
and is adamantly refusing to allow
inclusion of clauses concerning
teacher input on curriculum, job
security, COLA, and a simple re-
quest that teachers being discip-
lined be given a reason for the
board’s action.

Labor Council voted unanim-
ously to support the teachers
whose morale, Murphy noted, is
very high, and who are deter-
mined to stay out as long as possi-
ble to win their just demands.

cle
Sock pal

on company time...”

- “1 don’t recall management giving you permission to grow a baby

_ PACIFIC TRIBUNE—MARCH 14, 1980—Page 5