CUPW members not silenced by back-to-work legislation a — Even though they were forced back to work by strikebreaking legislation, postal workers have not been silenced and are con- tinuing their campaign to stop Canada Post’s five-year privatization plan, Jean- Claude Parrot, president of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers told more than 900 delegates to the B.C. Federation of Labour convention in Vancouver Dec. 4. “We may be back to work but the strug- gle is not over... Ican assure you that right across the country we have people who are Saying more than ever, we have to stand together, we have to fight back, we have to support the program of action and we have to stop the privatization plan of the post office,” he declared. Parrot, who was given sustained standing Ovations by delegates both before and after his address, spoke on the final day of the convention, warning unionists that they were “confronted by the worst threat that we have ever had to face. “Free trade, privatization, de-regulation and the attack on workers’ rights are all integrated — they are all part of the same corporate strategy,” he said. At the same time, he emphasized, the CUPW strike, the strike by letter carriers and the IWA strike last year “show that workers are prepared to unite and to strug- gle against the corporate agenda which the extreme right wing in our society is trying to impose on us.” He told delegates that trade unionists across the country “were shocked” when they heard of the privatization program launched by the Social Credit government. But if it is the extreme, he added, it is openly indicative of the trend right across the coun- try. “Public services and public sector jobs are being privatized at an unprecedented rate,” he said. “The same people bringing us free trade because they want us to compete with the Americans are also bringing us privatiza- tion because they want Canadian workers to compete against themselves. What we are seeing is nothing short of the restructuring of our economy.” Stopping the privatization steamroller requires that the labour movement not only demonstrate clearly its opposition — but also present a distinct alternative, Parrot emphasized. “We must be capable of articulating an economic alternative,” he said. “We must have a clear vision of an economy which is more self-reliant instead of more depend- ent; an economy geared to the creation of jobs and services instead of accumulation of profit; an economy where manufacturing is decentralized in order to provide jobs in all regions of the country; and a society where the economic health is measured by its abil- ity to eradicate poverty instead of its ability to create paper profits in the stock exchanges.” In addition, the trade union movement has an responsibility, not only to press for the preservation of public services “but to fight for expanded and improved public services. ; “Preserving the status quo is no alterna- tive after right wing governments have reduced the level of services toa minimum,” he said. oe Parrot told the convention that CUPW set out from the beginning of its dispute with Canada Post to highlight the issue of public service and to present a vision of what a responsive, worker-oriented postal service could be. It was because of the effectiveness of that campaign and the support given the union on the picket line that the federal govern- ment introduced the most restrictive back- to-work legislation ever imposed on a union, he said. And since that time, Canada Post has sought to implement its privatiza- tion plans behind closed doors without pub- licity. But with the program of action adopted by the union following the strike, CUPW hopes to counter the Tory government- Canada Post plan. Immediately, the union has hired 12 full- time co-ordinators fora year to help CUPW locals in putting forward the campaign fora better postal service. The union is also pressing for the passage of anti-scab legislation across the country. And, said Parrot, the CUPW executive real- ized that the union could not restrict itself to the post office campaign, and must “be part of trade union movement’s fightback cam- paign against all governments’ anti-worker policies, whether they are free trade, de- regulation, privatization or attacks on workers’ rights.” But to be effective in overcoming the corporate strategy, the labour movement has to show that it represents a better future for Canadians, he emphasized. ’ “Trade unionists have to regain the initiative — to fight for something rather than against something, to put our own vision on the agenda of the kind of society we want,” the CUP W leader told delegates to applause. “The trade union movement, together with the women’s movement, the peace movement, the Native movement and the poor, has a responsibility to develop our dream, our Canadian dream — of a Can- ada with more public services, a Canada more independent, a dream of a country where jobs and security will take precedence over profits and property.” Convention delegates later gave unanim- ous backing to a resolution opposing the privatization of postal services and calling on the federal government and Canada Post to cancel plans to franchise postal wicket services. JQ UHNU1UU0UEUNEETUONEEEEOEEEEUAREEOOEEEEREUUUOGEEEUUOOEOEOGOEEEEOOOEEEUOOOEEETUUOOEEEUOOEEEGOOOEGE.UONONEEEOUUOOseenenvUuaoeesEeELHULE Season's Greetings to our friends in the labour and progressive movements ul United Fishermen and Allied Workers’ Union LOCAL 4, LADNER JEAN-CLAUDE PARROT ... labour should put forward ‘alternative vision for Canada.’ Season’s Greetings « from United Brotherhood of Carpenters Local 452 PEACE ON THE EARTH IN 1988. Vancouver and District Labour Council wishes all our friends a Merry Christmas and New Year in peace. | President Doug Evans Secretary-Treasurer Frank Kennedy President Doug Sigurdson Season’s Greetings and peace to all in the labour movement International Longshoremen’s and Warehousemen’s Union Ship and Dock Foremen, Local 514 1st Vice-President Bob Pickering Secretary-Treasurer Andy Andersen PACIFIC TRIBUNE, DECEMBER 16, 1987 e 7