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pendence.

The Seventeenth Constitutional Convention of the United
Steelworkers of America took place in Atlantic City from
September 23 to 28, 1974. A special issue of the US.
working-class newspaper Daily World was distributed to
Convention delegates, including a magazine section which
carried an article by a Canadian from the viewpoint of
Canadian Steelworkers’ need for union autonomy and inde-

Since the conclusion of this Convention gives further
proof of the urgent need for an autonomous steelworkers'
union in Canada, as part of an independent, sovereign and
united trade union movement, we republish here an abridged
version of the article mentioned above.

By A. MINER

With about 180,000 members,
the Steelworkers are the largest
union in Canada.

With some 60,000 workers in
the non-ferrous and ferrous min-
ing sector of the economy and
with some 50,000 members en-
_ gaged in basic.steel production
the union. carries tremendous
economic and political clout. But
it can be properly said that the
full potential of this power has
not been fully realized.

Structurally, the Union..oper-
ates as two Districts, both. self-
contained in Canada with a su-
perimposed national office oper-
ating under an elected National
Director.’ District 5, is mainly
composed of Quebec with about
45,000- members, and an. addi-
tional 10,000 members in the
four maritime provinces. Head-
ing this District is Director Jean
Gerin-Lajoie.

District 6, under the director-
ship of Lynn Williams, serving
his first term, takes in the rest
of Canada from the Quebec-On-
tario boundary on the east, to
the west coast of Vancouver Isl-

and and north to include the Yu-’

kon and Northweast Territories.
Both geographically and in num-
bers, it is the largest district in
the International Union.
No Powers Defined

Constitutionally, these two
districts operate on the same
basis as all other districts in the
International with the Directors
directly responsible to the Inter-
national officers and the Inter-
national Executive Board. Con-
stitutional authority for these
directors includes all matters of
organization, bargaining, admin-
istration etc. just as for the U.S.-
based directors.

Most interesting in this struc-
tural set-up, the Constitution de-

fines no powers or authority for °

the National Director whatso-
ever, beyond the right to be
elected. But historically, because
of the Canadian identity and the
obvious political requirement of
some form of publicly recogniz-
ed Canadian image, dating back

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—FRIDAY, OCTOBER 11, 1974

to the inception of the Union in
the late 1930’s, the office of the
National Director in Canada has
wielded varying degrees of pub-
lic influence and in a general
sense is recognized as the titular

‘head of the Union in Canada.

Unworkable Structure

There is little doubt that over
the years, this odd structural set-
up has given rise to conflicts and
problems as between the two
Canadian District directors and
the National Director on both
administrative and policy mat-
ters. To put the matter briefly,
for the Canadian District Direc-
tors, lines of authority run north
and south out of Pittsburgh and
the International officers and
Executive Board whereas the Na-
tional Director, without consti-
tutional authority, has had to
deal essentially ‘with the many
problems that arise east, west
and centre within the national
boundaries of Canada.

This is an’ unworkable struc-
ture if the Canadian Steelwork-
ers are to play the essential
and leading role that should go
with the size, economic and po-
litical weight of the union in
Canada. There is a pressing need
to effect a more workable struc-
ture based on the establishment
of a complete constitutional au-
thority for the union in Canada
to real with its own problems.
Such reforms should accord the
National Directorship and the
Canadian leadership thé consti-
tutional authority and all that
goes with it to actually lead the
Union in this country, Such re-
forms are an absolute minimum
for the future. ‘

Arch Reactionary

This is no argument for a
“narrow” nationalist point of
view. It is 4n argument to get
rid of what appears to have
been over many years a patro-
nizing “yes, little boy” attitude
towards Canada’s leading union,
on the part of the U.S. officers

of the United Steelworkers of —

America. It is an argument to
strengthen the work of the
Steelworkers in Canada.

—Page 6

Strong reasons and arguments
have emerged for the total and
organic separation of all unions
in Canada from the U.S. based
internationals. Foremost is the
Canadian workers’ need to free
themselves in every respect from
the. insidious war provoking
anti-detente stance of the arch
reactionary George Meany and
his fellow trogologidites at the
head of the AFL-CIO.

The growing tide of nationalist
feeling in Canadians largely bas-
ed on the growing realization
among Canadian citizens that
the far-flung and predatory aims
of U.S. imperialism, whether in
Vietnam, Chile, the Mid-East or
elsewhere, are not in the best
interests of Canada. Further,
there is a growing realization

. that while there is reason for the

sharpest criticism of the Cana-
dian government, (and this pri-
marily because for many years
Canadians have known _ that
every time Washington coughed,
our government. did the spit-
ting), the deepening economic
crisis of the western world is the
result of U.S. imperialist at-
tempts to expand its power and
influence whether by military or
economic means.

Internationalist Trend
There is no desire by Cana-

dians to “go it alone” in some

kind of Canadian “isolationism.”
On the contrary as a world trad-
ing nation, Canada’s economic
future depends upon the develop-
ment of friendship, peace, trade
and commermce throughout the
world,

It is worthy of note that the
Canadian Steelworkers have giv-
en expression to this interna-
tionist trend by hosting delega-
tions of trade unionists from for-
eign countries, including the So-

_ viet Union, and have sent dele-

gations abroad, as well as parti-
cipating in various international
trade union bodies, such as the
(ICFTU International Confedera-
tion of Free Trade Unions, con-
tinuing after the withdrawal of
AFL-CIO’s Meany from that
body, the (ILO) International
Labor Organization, and the In-
ternational Metalworkers Feder-
ation (IMF) ,etc.

The Canadian Steelworkers
were responsible a couple of
years ago for the organization of
what was billed as a World Nick-
el Conference in Lausanne, Swit-
zerland . . . although the nickel
workers from the socialist coun-
tries are excluded.

It was galling that at the
Stockholm meeting of the IMF,
International Secretary- Treasur-
er Burke, insisted on voting the

‘Canadian strength of the Union

Steel

2

: =

for a candidate for General Sec-
retary of that body who was op-
posed by the Canadians.

This episode raises another
fundamental question of the
Canadian Steelworkers’ relations
with the. central body of Cana-
dian Labor, the Canadian Labor
Congress, in which it has always
played a very strong role. At its
last convention, the CLC in re-
sponse to the growing outcry
for independence and autonomy
within the Canadian labor move-
ment adopted as a guideline for
all affiliates, the rule that Cana-
dian sections of International
unions must conduct their rela-

tions in foreign and internation- |

al affairs on a completely auto-
nomous basis.

In effect this means that Cana-
dian leaders
unions in Canada must have the
authority to represent and vote
the Canadian viewpoint on all
matters whether in the ICFTU
(where incidentaly, National Di-
rector Mahoney sits as a vice-
president), the ILO, the IMF etc.
Failure to live up to this rule
actually puts the Steelworkers
in Canada out of compliance
with the Canadian Labor Con-
gress guidelines for autonomy
set out by the recent conven-
Hon. ; .

Sharp Conflict

Continued insistence by Presi-
dent Abel, and Secretary-Treas-
urer Burke of the International
to not only represent, but to
vote, the Canadian affiliation
with international bodies (as at
the Stockholm meeting mention-
ed above) cannot but lead to
sharp conflict between the Cana-
dian Steelworkers and the cen-
tral body of Canadian labor.

It is worthy of note that the
United Auto Workers in Canada
have established their right to
fully represent the Canadian
membership and point of view
on these bodies. The difference,
however, may be that the UAW,
as a non-affiliate of the AFL-CIO,
cannot be brought to heel by the
viciously anti-detente and reac-
tionary Meany forces in that
body as apparently has been the
case with Abel. -

At another level the question
of whether or not the McCarthy-

ite “anti-Communist” clause of °

the Steelworkers’ constitution
has legel application in the Unit-
ed States seems open to doubt.
But the fact is that it has never
at any time had any legal appli-
cation in Canada; Far from being
a “dormant” clause in the con-
Stitution, last year it was invok-

ed against a Canadian Steelwork-.

er, John Severinsky in Port Col-
borne.

This has now béen corrected

workers
‘in the fight
for autonomy

of International ©

: ent.
by Severinsky’s reinstate

But the anti-Communist eg t ‘
still remains following t
lantic City Convention. a
. Powerless to Act poli!
The Annual Canadian © jg jj,
Conference of the Unions gt |
May in Vancouver, by euatiOl f
majority decried this $7 aa
but was powerless to t ee
action to correct the obVIOM™
generally accepted wronk en,
was because this Con fot 5
which has met annually nadia
years, setting out d pro
Steeworkers’ policy ‘onal!
gram, is not a constitull
empowered meeting.
hones area of sharp 4
ence between the ©
Steelworkers and ri: po
the Internationa :
Board relate to the adoptio®
the no-strike, voluntary ‘Abel
tion policy position by, aust |
Company in the recent ms he.
wide steel negotiations ~
USA. in
In various statements n, NE
official organ of the umlO’ iq) ¢
tional Director Mahoney and
plied his opposition to it “abil
pointed tothe ;
“ENA”

A

of the

by the existence of 1
legal jurisdictions 1m

ca) Act each province 4&4
arately with collective bf
ing in most industries, ‘ional
ony those that are n@ : tation | t
scope, such as transP a
communications etc. (it
Meet Canadian N'

Key to the continued 5
ment and success of t® (4 it
workers in Canada is 2°" jeal
establish at the very leas’ y io
cut constitutional author cat
the union and its leader "of th
ada to conduct the affalt — oods
union to meet Canadia? by wie
completely untrammellt™ ve 8
outdated constitution t tno! i g
the central and final se ets) |
for the Canadian Steelwo' ade” :
the hands of U.S. labor and a
This must be all inclusivé of wae
clude complete contro ad 4 !
dues money paid in CaM ios \\
The true road to interns ne 8
ism, including the obye tie q
of the closest and bee y wiht
fraternity and solidat? , if ¢
U.S. workers, cannot 1 10s
not be effected by unl why
in another country. In ¢ ard ee
a

\

i

H

of the old slogan put for™ on! |
the late President Benson" cot |
the old Trades and es 1940
gress of Canada in ye:
“co-operation ever,

ti
jn?
never.”