The May convention of the Ca- nadian Labor Congress, Canada’s. major trade union centre, has been correctly evaluated as a step for- ward for organized labor. This is exemplified by a number of fac- tors, but the one that stands out is the overwhelming support shown for the Canadian Union of Postal Workers. For president Dennis McDermott, this represented a complete reversal. Subsequent to the convention, CUPW was able, for the first time since 1965, to ne- gotiate. an acceptable collective agreement without being compell- edto go on strike, and with McDer- mott joining Jean-Claude Parrot at the negotiating table. The issue of the postal workers, more than any other, brought about a welcome turn in the direc- tion followed by the CLC, aturn in the direction of more militant ac- tion and solidarity on the economic front. In evaluating this change in di- rection, we should not forget that for more than a year prior to the convention, local unions, labor councils, provincial federations of labor and national and provincial conventions of individual unions were expressing strong support for CUPW. Also, they were, by direct statement or inference, highly criti- cal of Dennis McDermott’s public criticism of CUPW and its presi- dent. It was this groundswell, more than anything else, that brought about the turn at the CLC conven- tion: Similarly, it should be remem- bered that the best policy decisions of the CLC convention will mean very little unless they are taken up at the grass roots level, and unless they are used as guidelines for in- volving the membership in strug- gle. In making this projection, we should remember that the unions affiliated to the CLC have a very wide degree of autonomy in respect to carrying out the decisions of the CLC convention. Dennis McDermott said this in his presidential address: LABOR COMMENT BY JACK PHILLIPS “If we are to be seen as main- taining our independence interna- tionally, then that means that we are to assert ourselves at home. That means, first of all, taking steps to secure the ownership and utilization of our resources, estab- lishing secondary industries to pro- cess them, the creation of Cana- dian-controlled research and de- velopment and other measures. In addition to contributing to our own economic development and well- being, this will effectively demon- strate to.our friends and allies around the world that we are not a satellite of our powerful, friendly neighbor to the south.” In the report of the economic policy committee, there is the fol- lowing in respect to unemployment in Canada: “‘This convention urges the fed- eral government to establish full employment as the nation’s num- ber one economic and social prior- ity. “*That the Canadian Labor Con- gress deploy the resources neces- sary to pressure the federal govern-. ment to adopt its full employment proposals, including immediate job-creating measures in sectors such as housing, urban transporta- tion and energy conservation. “That the Canadian Labor Con- gress continue to develop coalitions of the unemployed, social agencies and other groups to maximize po- litical pressure on the federal gov- ernment to implement a full em- ployment strategy.” At this point, we should ask a very specific question: What do these policy decisions mean to the International Woodworkers of America which has thousands of members laid off? The May, 1980 issue of The Chipper, official publication of New Westminster Local 1-357 of the FWA, carried a front page ar- ticle on layoffs by Gerry Stoney, local president. The heading read: Layoffs Hit Ten Thousand Mem- bers — Getting Worse. The article informed its readers that more than 1,500 IWA mem- bers of the local are currently on layoff, and went on to explain that “each and every week we are ad- vised of further curtailments, shut- downs, and reduced work week proposals.” According to Stoney, ‘‘the real cause of the layoffs is the decision by both U.S. and Canadian gov- ernment to allow the mortgage in- terest rates to climb to their highest level since World War Two.” And what does Stoney hold out as a perspective for the member- ship: “All indicators from govern- ment, industry, and our own union economists are that the probable time for recovery from this slump is early in 1981. Even if president Carter, foilowed by prime minister Trudeau, decided to ease the mort- gage money interest rates charged in the near future, it would be five to six months before the impact would be felt at the mill level.”’ Landmark ruling puts halt — to runaway plant closures The United Electrical Radio and Machine workers union (UE) has won a landmark decision from the Ontario Labor Relations Board ruling that a company cannot close out its operations and lay off em- ployees in order to relocate in an- other area with the clear intent of conducting a union-free operation and avoiding its contractual and trade union responsibilities. The decision was handed down April 29 and was almost immedi- ately appealed by the company in question, Westinghouse Canada Ltd. The OLRB decision came more than a year after filing of charges by UE alleging that Westinghouse had bargained in bad faith and had engaged in unfair labor practices when it announced the closing of a Hamilton plant and its relocation in three other Ontario centres. The company has been ordered to offer employees who elect to re- locate at the new plants the same pay levels they had in Hamilton, until the pay levels at the new plants rise to the Hamilton level; reim- burse workers for travel, moving and other relocation expenses; pro- vide the union with a full list of em- ployees’ names and.addresses and union access to all employee bulle- tin boards for a period of one year; allow the union to convene up to three one-hour meetings of work- ers on each shift; and to pay the un- ion all reasonable costs incurred in organizing the workers in each of the three new plants. - Union officials hailed the deci- -sion as ‘‘a vital breakthrough that limits a company’s right to free it- self of union responsibilities, espec- ially the terms and conditions of an existing collective agreement, by closing down and dismissing its employees.” UFAWU lobby presses The officers of the United Fishermen and Allied Workers Union met with the Social Credit. and NDP caucuses Wednesday to press for special legislation for bargaining rights for fishermen. The union presented a detailed, 45-page brief prepared by lawyer Ian Donald, outlining the legal pro- blems faced by the union because of the absence of formal bargain- ing rights, and appealing to the pee a to accept the necessity of special legislation to grant rights to fishermen. Socred labor minister Jack Heinrich has told the union to app- ly for certifications with the Labor Relations Board under the ‘‘depen- dent contractors clause” in the labor code, enacted by the former NDP government. But the union has cis out that a similar clause in the federal labor code has been ruled invalid by a Supreme Court decision, and that applications for certifications in B.C. under that clause will in- evitably be challenged by the Fisheries Association and engage the union in a long and costly pro- cess of litigation. ‘At this stage the first and most important hurdle for the union to overcome is the apparent view by the minister of labor that the labor code adequately confers the protec- tion sought,”’ and that there is no reason for amending the code until © PACIFIC TRIBUNE—JUNE 6, 1980—Page 12 for rights” applications for certification ex- perience difficulties, the UFAWU brief said. What is needed is ‘‘special legislation” which ‘‘recognizes all of the idiosyncrasies of the in- dustry,’’ it urged. Legislation gran- - ting bargaining rights to fishermen in Newfoundland would serve as a model for special legislation here, it _ Last week union president Jack Nichol hailed the resolution adopted at the May 17 NDP pro- vincial convention calling for special legislation as a ‘major breakthrough’’. The NDP caucus had also taken the position that the union should attempt to secure bargaining rights under the depen- dent contractors clause. ‘‘Hopefully,”’ Stoney conclud- ed, ‘‘by the time we head into nego- tiations in 1981 the forest industry will be well on its way to climbing out of the slump it is now in.” Other locals of the [WA, in Van- couver, on Vancouver Island and in the Interior, are also suffering from heavy layoffs. What Stoney’s advice amounts to is this: Let us hope that the situation will improve © in the U.S., which has been our ma- jor customer for some years; and let us hope that mortgage rates will go down in Canada, so that more homes will be built. Thereis no reflection here of any understanding and acceptance of the new economic and social pol- icies advanced and adopted by the CLC convention. Neither is there any understanding of the depth of the recession in the U.S., with massive layoffs in auto, steel, rub- ber and many other industries. If this trend continues, lower mort- gage rates in the U.S. will not mean very much to many thousands of workers without jobs, because they won’t be able to afford to go into the housing market. The same issue of The Chipper reported editorially on the housing program adopted by the Vancou- ver and District Labor Council. That program calls on the federal and provincial governments to: e@ Allocate funds for 5,000 ad- ditional non-profit and coopera- tive housing units in the Vancouver area; @ Make rental aid available to low income households; @ Begin a program of land ac- quisition for non-profit and coop- erative housing; @ Amend the Residential Re- habilitation Assistance Program to increase grants and extend eligibil- ity; e@ Expand rent controls to cover all rental accommodation; e Impose a moratorium on in- terest rate increases-on all existing mortgages; @ Make money available for | home mortgages at interest rates acceptable and affordable to work- people. I would like to suggest to Stoney, who is also provincial president of the NDP, that this program would be ideal for developing the kind of coalitions the CLC convention call- ed for, involving the unemployed, churches, social agencies and other groups. Stoney should also give some thought to the following quota- tions from the document, ‘“‘The Battle of the Eighties,”” adopted by the CLC convention: e A key element of industrial strategy must be a policy of increas- ed processing of our resource prod- ucts through to the finished prod-. _uct stage. Canada has been blessed with an abundance of resources, but it has not been blessed with pol- iticians with the political will to maximize Canadian benefits from _ with a low job content and import- ‘ventures on major projects, use these resources. We have tradition- ally exported natural resources ed goods with a high job content. We have been exporting jobs. must be reversed by using a varity of measures — the tax yen our leverage on surplus exports or < energy products, and public invest- ment. Canada must gather in the income and jobs potential av: in its resource endowment. @ Adjustment Policy: Inim menting an industrial strategy, there will inevitably be disloca~ tions. Weak industries in interna tional competition will give way strong industries. Within indus ries, there will be a need to ration alize small units into larger ones. Within firms, there will bea need! restructure methods of productio Dislocations must not take plat without a system for guarante that they are consistent with a0 tional industrial strategy. Befo major layoffs or plant closures occur companies must justify decisions before a public trib This means a complete opening | the books. There must be at least one year advance notice. Compél sation by companies must be pall for retraining, relocation, s ance pay and compensation to community. The collective gaining system must be strengthe ed and no layoffs occur until agreement is reached with the ion. The council of Forest Industri (representing the employers) cently predicted that the number unemployed forestry workers | : B.C. could soon reach more tal — 12,000. In making that statements > COFI drew attention to the fact ™ that 70 percent of the B.C. lumber ~ market is in the U.S. While this heavy dependence 0 0 the U.S. market cannot be cha in the short term, it must be ta’ in the long term. In that connection, I would ré ommend to Stoney that he cons! these words from McDermol presidential address: “If we are to be seen as taining our independence inte assert ourselves at home. - <4 means, first of all, taking steps ™ secure the ownership and u tion of our resources, establi secondary industries to pro them, the creation of Canadial controlled research and. develo ment, and other measures.’ If the leadership of the IWA. B.C. fails to offer the kind of icies necessary to meet the crisis, then, it will be-only a ma of time before the members P duce new leaders who are able to® so. In the meantime, as demo strated by the turn at the rece? CLC convention, it is the responsi bility of active union members ° fight for new policies at every lev! of the union. * Published weekly at Suite 101 — 1416 Commercial Drive, — Vancouver, B.C. V5L 3X9. Phone 251-1186 ‘Read the paper that fights for labor sg aaa a ge rad © 3 © Bole, Bake 6 OO Pe Om. epee eae C8 se 8 © 0fel 66 ene: 8iig 66 0ve) bit. one e: BAY Address ....... pare ats City2or tOWN=. = Postal Gode«..3- Pa pee Sa | am enclosing: 1 year $10 () 2 years $18 (1) 6 months $6 [_ Old() New) Foreign1year$12{() ~ Donation $ . Be ea ee ee a