FRIDAY, MARCH 5, 1971

United action needed
to defend democracy

By MAURICE RUSH
The Socred government has declared open war
against the democratic rights of B.C.’s working people

and their trade unions.

Using the threat of force under Bill 33, Premier
W.A.C. Bennett and the Socreds have taken over the job
from the Employers Council to destroy free collective
bargaining and take away labor’s right to strike.

That’s the real significance of
the events surrounding the
Teamsters dispute.

Following only a few weeks
after the government used the
threat of compulsory
arbitration under Bill 33 to force
the transit workers back to
work, it steamrolled a resolu-
tion through the Legislature —
with Liberal support — to deny
the Teamsters collective
bargaining and the right to
strike.

The resolution pushed through
the House last week sets a pre-
cedent under which the govern-
ment can ban any and all strikes.
It widens the government’s
definition of ‘“‘public interest”
and virtually outlaws’ any
stoppage of work since even the
smallest strike affects the
economy in some way —
otherwise it would not be effec-
tive.

When the government put

through Bill 33 it was on the
request of the big employers to
back up their drive to smash the
attempts of unions to win better
contracts and wage increases.
Because of labor unity, the
employers failed in their
attempts last summer and in the
early weeks of 1971 to bring the
unions to their knees.

Now Premier Bennett and his
government have decided to use

the full power of the state to do
what the employers were unable
to do: take away labor’s rights
and smash the unions. The target
of this attack is not only democ-
racy but also the living standard
of B.C.’s working people. ;

The government has further
indicated its intention to press
forward the drive against the
unions with a Bill brought down
by Education Minister Donald
Brothers.

This Bill introduced Monday
would remove the requirement
that all teachers in B.C. be
members of the B.C. Teachers
Federation. The Bill
immediately brought a charge
from the 23,000-member BCTF
that the move was a declaration
of war on the teachers. (See
Nigel Morgan column, pg. 3.)

Big business and its govern-
ment in Victoria have thrown
down the gauntlet and labor and
democratic-minded citizens
must either take up the fight to
restore democracy and the long-
established rights of labor or
face decimation.

The B.C. Federation of Labor
was absolutely right when it said
in an official statement this

- week that ‘“‘there should be no

rejoicing in British Columbia
today.”’ It said: ‘‘The guillotine

See ANTI-LABOR, pg. 12

CONN ‘ha?
ne was ‘had

Agauian i

——

1 on Columbia Treat

—See pg. 2