Patterson: Probably the most impor-
tant lesson I’ve learned is that people
who are leaders have to put a lot of con-
fidence in the rank-and-file. You've got
to put a lot of confidence in your
membership because if you don’t think
they’re with you, you can’t negotiate as
tough as you should.

The strike also taught me that the labor
movement, to really be a movement has
to be run not only from the top down, but
from the bottom up. What impressed me
from the beginning of the strike was the
fact that we could send rank and file
people all over this country and they
could talk about this stike in everyday
working men and women’s language and
people knew exactly what they were say-
ing. That’s the only way we managed to
get the story of this strike told properly.

I'd like to pay a special tribute to
the wives. They certainly took the brunt
of the whole thing. The husbands were
on the picket lines and away making col-
lections and stuff like that.

The wives wrestled with the bill collec-
tors and they took charge of trying to live
in 1979 on $33 a week, when people be-
fore the strike were spending $70 to 75
bucks a week.

If it hadn’t been for the women ...

Well, let me put it this way. A lot of
strikes weren't won on the picket lines
alone, but at home. And those wives put
out a lot more than their personal feelings
in this strike: They backed their hus-
bands like they never backed them be-
fore, and they're going to be written
about for a long time as the heroines of
this strike. ©

Tribune: And what about Sudbury,
what lessons do you think the commun-
ity learned?

Patterson: First of ail the community
learned that the people who pay the
freight in this town are the people who
carry the lunch pail. Despite the fact
there are only 11,000 of them, the people
who work at Inco’in the Sudbury basin
spend every cent they make in Sudbury
and the region.

‘Sudbury realized that if they
can't control their own destiny,
then they're really not in
control ...’

weeennazuensesngnueevaanszucertanneanaensraqesinasceeusnetenesicentinitt

They looked after these businessmen
in town for a long time. They paid the
inflated prices for goods and have also.
paid the high prices for rent. When the
landlords were gouging, the workers at
Inco paid the price. They certainly didn't
back down from that.

Besides, Inco workers are so honest.
They just come across every week and
pay their bills. They could be up to their
necks in debt, but every week somebody
gets more money. And that’s a compli-
ment to the members of this local union.

The local businessmen also knew that
Inco was, and continues to be a bunch of
bastards. They knew that Inco doesn't
really care about this community, they
don’t have anything at stake. But when
the workers leave town, everybody feels
it.

Tribune: Do you think the strike had
an impact on people's thinking in Sud-
bury on the question of nationalization?

Patterson: Sure, no doubt about it. No
two ways in my mind that this commun-
ity has finally realized that if they can’t
control their own destiny, then they're
not really in cortrol. It certainly makes
sense that if we would have stockpiled
nickel during the layoffs, we would be
selling it right now for more than three
bucks a pound. And who would have
received the benefit of that money? It
sure wouldn't have been Inco, it would
PACIFIC TRIBUNE—JUNE 29, 1979— Page 6

Grass roots leadership beat Incd

It was the leadership springing up from the grass roots of Steelworkers Local 6500

Inco Metals Ltd.

_ which helped 11,700 striking miners and smelter workers win their epic struggle with

Dave Patterson, an expression of that leadership, as president of Local 6500, con-
cludes this two-part interview with Tribune labor reporter Mike Phillips reflecting on the
decisive role of the rank and file workers at Inco and across the country in guaranteeing

the strike’s success.

He also offers his thoughts on developments around the strike and the challenges that
lie ahead for Canadian workers. He begins by outlining what he thinks were the lessons
the local union, the community, and Dave Patterson, all learned from eight-and-one-
half months of struggle with one of the world’s biggest multi-nationals.

have been the Canadian government and
the Canadian people.

Tribune: Do you think you would have
gone through an eight and a half month
strike, if the nickel industry negotiations
would have been co-ordinated among all
the Inco locals?

Patterson: If we would have collec-
tively said to these corporations: ‘‘Look,
we're not mining any more nickel in this
country and these are the reasons why’’.
if we would have collectively told Inco

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that on such and such a day if Sudbury is
not settled, we’re all going out, chances
are we wouldn’t have been on strike for
eight and a half months.

i'm almost positive about it, because.

the company knew we were the biggest
base operation. If they could just supply
their main consumers with that Thomp-
son nickel and the stockpile they were
sitting pretty.

It doesn’t make any sense. We work
for the same company, pay into the same
pension plan, yet we negotiate for dif-
ferent things. I can certainly respect the
position of Thompson guys regarding
various local issues, but there's no need
for a guy in Thompson going out on pen-
sion with the 1975 Sudbury pension plan,
when in Sudbury we've won 30 and out.

There’s no reason why nickel workers
across North America can’t have the
same conditions and benefits. Burnock
Kentucky shouldn't have gone on strike
for five and a half months, one year
ahead of us. We should have gone on
strike together.

Tribune: Can you say something about
the nickel workers’ conference, prop-
osed by the newly-elected Thompson
Inco local executive, shortly before the
strike ended?

Patterson: There's going to be a nickel
conference coming up, and that’s when
the icing is going to be put on the cake
once and for all.

It’s not up to Local 6500 to say: ‘* Well
this is what we should be doing.”’ It’s up
to the other locals who have been watch-
ing us to say: *“O.K. These guys took on
the same. corporation we work for for
eight and a half months and won. We
should all do the same thing, we support
6500.

‘We're coming to their date. Next set

of negotiations we're negotiating for
their (contract expiry) date.’’ Even if

they negotiate a one-year agreement in .

Thompson, Port Colborne and zeroed in
on the same date — that’s a power Inco
can’t reckon with.

Tribune: You greeted the call for a
nickel conference saying it was about
time there was some leadership from the
bottom because there hadn’t been any
from the top. What did you mean?

Patterson: What I meant was that I
think the district directors certainly had
the authority to call an emergency nickel

conference a long time ago, when the

negotiations first began. What happened
in Thompson was a very key point in the
strike.

If workers in Sudbury had seen
Thompson workers saying: ‘‘if you’re
not settled by the time our contract ex-
pires, then we're going out with you.”’ It
certainly would have been a morale
booster.

But, it certainly hurt a lot of members
of our local union when they heard that.
Thompson had signed, especially with
the media rubbing it in that at least, the
Thompson workers had settled, were
working and getting paid, while Sudbury
was out.

Tribune: What do you think is the
significance of the post-contract, local
union elections which have taken place
in other Steelworkers locals at Algoma
Steel, Stelco, and Thompson, which saw
all the incumbent local executives de-
feated?

Patterson: I guess the varie and-file
was pretty upset about the contract and
negotiations, and I think the membership

of those various locals made their deci-

sion. I respect that.

Tribune: Do you see the elections as a
reflection of the membership’s
disappointment in the failure to realize

the potential they felt was there for better ~

settlements in those industries?

Patterson: I think the membership in
all unions across the country are on the
move like never before. People are really
getting tough. They're saying: ‘‘We’ve
been under wage controls for three
years. We’ re getting fed up. There are no
controls on corporate profits and it’s
about time we started cashing in our
chips. We’re going to either be union.
people or we're not. And, if we’re not
going to get the direction we need from
the top, we're going to give it from the
bottom, ourselves.”’

That’s pretty healthy, as far as I’m
concerned, and I certainly agree with it.
When a local president or a district direc-
tor gets that type of indication from his
members, he can certainly speak with a
lot more authority at the bargaining ta-
ble. I know, it paid dividends at our set of
negotiations.

Tribune: What do you see as passible
objectives in the next set of talks three
years from now?

Patterson: It’s still quite a way off, but
we re certainly going to need to go after.
improvements in the plans we’ ve already
established.

I can see vacations being an issue and

an increase in vacation pay. Also we're ©

going to have to get compensation not
only for sintering plant workers, but for
all the other PROBIeRE Aen in this indus-
try.

We've got to start petting people out of

-back saying: ‘‘Well now! If we go 0%)

on at the post office.

this industry sooner. People are going 0
say: ‘Oh my God, now we’re talking)
about 25 years and out.’’ But under
circumstances, if we can prove that guys)
are dying faster and faster each week if!)
one particular part of this industry We)
should be able to get them out. a
Another thing we have to talk about 1”
the 32-hour work week. I don’t think)
we'll get it all in one shot. I think wha!)
you’ ve got to do collectively is first of: a
make sure that your-industry is working
40 hours a week. Then you go to 39,0 |
38, etc. at
Tribune: Paralleling your fight was tit
struggle of the 23,000-member Canadial
Union of Postal Workers. The cL 2
leadership came under widespread criti
cism for failing to fully back CUPW))
what kind of role could the labor move)
ment have played in your opinion in helf ‘f
ing the postal workers win their struggle!
Patterson: I think that Dennis McDer
mott was wrong. I don't think he shoult”
have started that debate with Jeal)
Claude Parrot or CUPW, because at the)
same time he was berrating CUPW, alo!)
of public. service workers were sitting

strike, and we get into the same jack pol,
and he doesn’t agree with us, is he soils ;
to do the same thing to us?”’ :

In this labor movement you don’! (
necessarily all walk’to the same tune,
at the same pace, but it’s important thal
we understand and support one anothel: |
I think it should have taken a lot mofé
understanding from the people at the toP}
of the CLC to understand what was going}

—it’sa victory . '
rm uy

Tribune: Is there a lesson in the In},
strike for today’s labor movement? — {g
Patterson: Yes, and it’s a lesson that §}
been learned _by a number of people, & |

learned it, the Inco strikers learned it, sf
growing bigger and stronger and you'l \
see it coming on stronger all the tim@))
People are going to say: “If we stick
together, we can’t lose —it’s a victory
Even the fact you stuck together is #
victory.

» When Inco tried to take on the unio!
when the post office tried to take 0M!
CUPW, it made the unions stronge!. J
suspect that when Joe Clark’s term |

going to be a lot closer together. 4
Tribune: Since you mentioned JO
Clark, what do you think the election off *
Tory government means in the if)
mediate period for Canadian workers?
Patterson: It means we're in for som
tough times. It means that you can d@
pend on the most reactionary pieces ° |
legislation in the history of this countt)
coming out in the very near future.
Maybe this will teach. us a less0 (
People have to realize if you don't s r
!
l

voting working class, don’t ever ex
the ruling class to represent you. 1
cause they never have, and they nev’ —
will. ;
There are two classes who could ! t
this country. There is the working clas
and there’s big business. The only trot
ble with the working class is that ©? :
lectively they’ ve never said: I don’t wa" |
my boss to represent me anymore. |
I see our friend Darcy McKeough gels ;
a nice appointment to Noranda Mines:
don’t see too many, miners or pos”
workers getting appointed to head any’ ‘

_ thing. Usually we get burned out befo!

our time anyway, because they grind US
It takes a hell of a lot more intelligenc
be sympathetic and be able to wor’: fot
people and represent their demands.