ILAIBOUR

By MIKE PHILLIPS

TORONTO — The Canadian mem-
bers of the fledgling printing and pub-
lishing media workers sector of the
700,000 member Communications
Workers of America have learned that
the fight for Canadian autonomy is
going to be an uphill battle.

By aslim, one vote margin, delegates
to the second Canadian Conference of
Icoals formerly affiliated to the Inter-
national Typographical Union, decided
April 4 to reject a proposal from the
conference executive that would set the
basis for the Canadian membership’s
ties to the Washington-based inter-
national.

The conference was asked to endorse
a plan where the Canadian members
would elect their own director with the
authority to speak on the union’s behalf
in this country, and direct Canadian
staff with a budget allocated by the
international. It also called for an elect-
ed Canadian conference to hash out the
union’s policies on domestic affairs, as
well as provisions on domestic affairs,
to CLC conventions to be elected by
the Canadian membership.

The vote, by the 35 delegates
representing some 22 local unions, fol-
lowed an intense debate which
reflected the contradictions between
the majority of Canadian ITU members
who seek to control their own affairs
within the framework of the pro-
gressive new international, and a
minority still under the influence of
craft-oriented ITU staff who remain

in the conservative tradi-

Invariably the delegates representing
the large Toronto, Quebec and Van-
couver locals, representing the bulk of
the ITU membership, in the main spoke
forcefully for the executive recom-
mendation.

Delegates interviewed after the vote
felt the outcome would have gone the
other way if there had been a roll call

vote with each delegate voting the |

strength of their local membership.
Supporters of the executive proposal
linked it with the irrversible trend to
autonomy within the Canadian trade
union movement. They argued the need

for Canadians to have their own elected.

leadership.

Jean Pierre Gallant, president of the
Quebec local said the issue wasn’t as
the resolution’s opponents maintained,
a question of changing the CWA struc-

anadian autonomy an issue in CWA

ture, but of Canadians being demo-
cratically represented by someone of
their own choosing and having a say in
the running of the international union.

‘In Quebec we have a voice in the
trade union movement because I’m
elected by the whole membership. Dick
Weatherdon may be doing a fine job as
Canadian Director ... but he doesn’t
represent us. In fact I don’t even know
him’’, Gallant said.

But it was TTU member Emil Ro-
senthal who went directly to the heart
of the matter, as the discussion bogged
down over technical points and he rose
on a point of personal privilege as a 50
year member of the union.

‘‘We have to make a decision. Are
we for or against our own identity as
Canadians’’, he told the delegates.
‘Until now we have had no such rec-

His friends, comrades and
trade union brothers and sisters
were profoundly saddened by the
sudden passing of Emil Rosen-
thal, April 6. His vigor,
humanitarianism, and wisdom
will be sorely missed by all who
knew him and worked at his side.
A memorial meeting will be held
Tuesday, April 14, 7:30 p.m. at 24
Cecil St. A fuller appreciation of
Emil’s important contribution to
the trade union and communist
movements will appear in next
week’s issue.

An activist and friend

Emil Rosenthal

“and Organization Directory Larry

ognition in our history as an inter-
national union. If we don’t fight for it,
we wont’ get it.”

Both CWA president Morton Barr,

Cohen addressed the conference along
with the former ITU leaders, now head-
ing the union’s new printing sector,
Fred Pomeroy of the Communications

Workers of Canada, and CLC
representative Wes Norheim.

The delegates were impressed with
Cohen’s emphasis on the militant
contribution the Canadian membership
is expected to play “‘in raising the
American membership’s expecta-
tions’’. But they were less than satisfied
by Barr’s proposal to put the Canadians
in two separate CWA districts.

He did suggest that a Canadian Dis-
trict could be established as early as the

1990 convention which will be held in J

Toronto. But he tied the proposal to
expansion of the-Canadian membership

to at least 16,000. |

As the close vote on the Canadian

structure proposal showed, the senti- }

ment for Canadian autonomy remains a
substantial force right across Canada.
Recognized and supported by a sensi-
tive international CWA leadership the
union can move ahead significantly in
building a strong militant organization —
in Canada.

The outcome of the Canadian con-
ference doesn’t alter the historic oppor- ~

tunity for CWA members on both sides — |

of the border to set a new standard for
international relations — a standard

founded of mutual respect and com-

plete autonomy of the workers in both — }

‘} tions of business unionism.

countries. ’
J

Stopping the trucks at the Yonge street plant.

Boycott Macleans

TORONTO — Maclean Hunter Ltd.’s sprawling publishing
plant on Yonge Street, north of the 401 is the place to be in the
wee hours of Monday morning as organized labor rallies around
the Southern Ontario Newspaper Guild in its effort to block or
delay shipment of the latest issue of Maclean's magazine out
across the country.

About 50 strikers and supporters launched the first mass pic-
ket, April 6, to support the 87 workers fighting for wages to bring
them in line with colleagues in the rest of the commercial print
media and for a minimum 40-hour work week.

The union is digging in for a long strike with talks having
broken down and the richly profitable company’s deployment of
an anti-union negotiator hired from Canada Post Corporation.

A Canada-wide boycott of the magazine has been launched by
the Newspaper Guild and union members are urged not to co-
operate with the management scabs who have taken up the
striking newsgatherers’ jobs.

- talking to Canadians ...

6 e CANADIAN TRIBUNE, APRIL 13, 1987

CLC campaign launched

TORONTO — Canadian labor
is set to escalate its campaign
against Free Trade, CLC presi-
dent Shirley Carr said, April 3 at
the conclusion of the congress’
executive council meeting here.

The Canadian Labor Congress
president told reporters of plans
to ‘“‘considerably’’ step up the
anti-free trade campaign with an
extensive mobilization of human
and financial resources and a
massive media drive leading up to
the June first ministers’ con-
ference in Ottawa.

While Carr said that the con-
gress hadn’t exclusively ruled out
demonstrations, the emphasis of
the campaign would be to mobil-
ize provincially to press the pre-
miers to come out against Free
Trade at the June 25 meeting with
Prime Minister Mulroney.

Speculation in Ottawa has it
that Mulroney will present an out-
line of a possible Free Trade
agreement to the provinces at this
meeting.

“It’s going to be Canadians
we're
also going to be working with our
coalition of people and we're
going to have our senior citizens
talking to people across the coun-
try too — all the groups that are in
the coalition — we’re going to
have everybody talking to com-
munities of concern’, she said.

Though labor won’t have any-
thing like the $12.5-million at the
government’s disposal to pro-

mote Canada’s sell out to the U.S.
transnationals, Carr said the labor
congress budget’ for the fight
against Free Trade will be sub-

‘ stantial enough to finance radio

and newspaper ads right across
the country.

‘‘We have people and that’s
something the Prime Minister of
Canada hasn’t got’’, Carr said.
With the Tories’ disastrous show-
ing in public opinion polls, the
anti-free trade fight could evolve
into an election issue, something
the CLC president said the con-
gress would be discussing.

“The problem is jobs in this
country . .. the problem is the fu-
ture of this nation, that’s what
we’re concerned about right now,
and we’re going to go to the peo-
ple with it as we have in the last
few months. Only we’re going to
step up our campaign and get into
the small communities’, she
stated.

Carr said the results of the
CLC’s three-pronged campaign
against Free Trade, deregulation
and privatization are being re-
flected in the opinion polls which
place Prime Minister Mulroney
and his government at an all time
low.

No mandate

‘Canadians are learning now
what this Prime Minister is up
to’’, the Congress president said,
‘‘particularly the fact that he has
no mandate to do what he’s do-
ing.”

Though no specific details wer
announced, the campaign is eX
pected to include petitioning, fol)
‘ums and provincial lobbies along
side the media effort. Added
impetus will be given to the cam
paign in September when the final
details of whatever Canada-U.S
agreement is reached, would like
ly be presented to the Americal!
Congress. 3

By the end of April, the feder@
tion will have concluded the last
of the 15 regional forums throug!
which labor is reaching out @
other forces, in tune with thé
CLC’s call for coalition buildin’
throughout the country to defeal
the neo-conservative agenda.

As the congress leadershiP
gathered here, April 3, it seeme™
that the movement’s unity in thé
face of the Tories and the transn@”
tionals would be severely strain
by the dispute between the Can®
dian Auto Workers and thé
United Food and Commercial
Workers over Newfoundland
fishermen and their autonomy 4
pirations.

The matter was kept from thé
council’s agenda because t
ranking officers had only mai
dated the leadership to discus
Free Trade. With the agreemet!
of all parties the dispute was ©
ferred to CLC ombudsman Sen®
tor Carl Goldenburg for his co™
sideration and to report back
the executive. 7