U.S. labor rallies
to aid of PATCO

Mass labor support for the strik- mand for national action on behalf
ing air traffic controllers continues _ of the controllers.
to gather across the U.S. in de- Reagan’s anti-labor offensive,
fiance of the attempt by the Reagan of which the assault on the con-
administration to smash the con- trollers is the most dramatic and
trollers’ union, the Professional dangerous action, has compelled
Air Traffic Controls Organization the entrenched AFL-CIO leader-
(PATCO), and to install scab con- shiptotakeup the challenge — par-
trollers throughout the system. ticularly as it is under pressure from
November has been targeted for unionists across the U.S. who have
major actions on behalf of theem- warned that the very existence of
battled controllers withdemonstra- the labor movement is at stake
tions planned for several major air- unless there is a militant response.
ports and further support expected Two state federations of labor
as the 16 million-member AFL- — Virginia and Idaho — have call-
CIO meets in convention in New ed for anational work stoppage on
York Nov. 16. behalf of the air controllers.
Already, the Oakland-based Kirkland has stated his reservations
Northern Alameda Central Labor about the effectiveness of a short-
Council, which takes in some term stoppage and the problems it
150,000 unionists, has declared might pose for workers without
that the AFL-CIO in northern contract protection, but there is ex-
California will mount amass picket pected to be renewed pressure for
at San Fraancisco airport Nov. 25 some form of concerted action
in support of PATCO. such as that proposed by the Nor-
The California labor body has thern Alameda Council.
also called on AFL-CIO president — The New Haven Central Labor
Lane Kirkland to establish a na- * Council has also called for a na-

tional day of protest at which all tional strike in su
rotest pport of PATCO.
142 national unions in the U.S. a "Other unionists throughout the

well as state federations and labor

: U.S. have declared support for the
Sega, es ould Pera ge ange controllers with demonstrations,
the strike and the reinstatement of 2 pee spicier see bmagn: So

all 12,000 fired controllers. : .
RES : A special AFL—CIO aid fund
Similar demands for national  ¢5; the families of striking PATCO

- labor action are expected to come members has now grown to more

before the AFL—CIO convention than half a million dollars.
when it opens in two weeks in New :
York. Even some members of the Air

But even before that opening, Line Pilots Association (ALPA),

“the convention has already in- Whose leadership has supported the

dicated the growing confrontation Reagan attack on the controllers,
between the Reagan administra- have declared opposition to their
tion andthe U.S. labor central. The union’s stand. Pilots for Eastern
AFL—CIO executive council an- Airlines — the company for which
nounced last week that it wouldnot ALPA president J. J. O’Donnell
invite Reagan to address the con- formerly worked — have adopted
vention. The invitation to U.S. @ resolution to recall O’Donnell
president has long been a tradition. unless he resigns.

Earlier, Delta Airlines pilots call-
on O’Donnell to cease making
statements that it was safer to fly

Earlier, the executive council =
members had taken time out from
their meeting to join the PATCO :
picket line at Chicago’s O’ Hare air- after the strike than before.
port, the busiest in the country. The In fact, a recent report issued by
picket line support was in repudia- the U.S, independent government
tion of one council member, agency, the National Transporta-
Air Line Pilots Association presi- tion Safety Board, has noted that
dent J. J. O’Donnell, who has the skies are becoming ever more
refused to support PATCO andin dangerous as the strike continues.
en Sy oe It warned that the work load of

AFL—CIO president Kirkland scab controllers, many of whom
also denounced asa “‘vendetta’’ the work a 50-hour week, “has reach-
decision last month by the U.S. ed the saturation'point.

Court of Appeals to uphold the
Oct. 23 decertification of PATCO even more acute if the U.S. Air
by the Federal Labor Relations Force insists on recalling 500 air
Authority. controllers it claims are needed ‘‘to

PATCO. lawyers have stated guarantee national defence.’’
that they will appeal the decertifica- The crisis has forced major
tion further, arguing that it violates airlines to curtail flights by seven to
the constitution by denying due eight percent with flight cancella-
process. But the appeals court rul- tions mounting every week. Private
ing adds urgency to the growingde- flights have been drastically cut.

 IRiBUNE

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Vancouver, B.C. V5L 3X9. Phone 251-1186

Read the paper that fights for labor

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a A CR A
PACIFIC TRIBUNE—NOV. 6, 1981—Page 12

IWA DELEGATES ... call for unity talks among wood unions still a minority opinion.

_IWA still flying own flag
over ‘one union in wood’

The prospect of unity among
forest industry unions leading to
the formation of a single union in
wood took a battering at the [WA
regional convention meeting in
Vancouver this week.

For the present the IWA seems
intent on achieving its stated end
of one union in wood by raiding
the Pulp and Paper Workers of
Canada (PPWC) and by forcing
a merger with the Canadian
Paperworkers Union (CPU), but
under the IWA’s banner.

' However a significant minority

of delegates, based primarily in
the Port Alberni Local 85 and the
Courtenay-Campbell River Local
363 voiced their opposition to the
rigid approach of the IWA
leadership and called for negotia-
tions to achieve unity, ‘‘without
preconditions.”

The first resolution on the issue
presented to the convention Nov.
3 was the standard resolution

which has appeared at most [WA -

conventions, calling for ‘‘one
union in wood, and that union be
the IWA.”’

-Rudy Vandenbrink, president
of the Courtenay local, im-
mediately rose and moved refer-
ral of the resolution back to the
resolutions committee with in-
structions to substitute a resolu-
tion from his local calling on the
regional officers to ‘‘take_ the
necessary steps with other forest
industry unions to merge into one
industrial union of forest pro-

ducts and allied workers, without
preconceived ideas concerning
structure.”’
_ “To tie the hands of our of-
ficers with conditions would be
stupid,” said Vandenbrink. ‘‘if
we are for one union in wood,
then it should be negotiated
without conditions.”’ ;
Victoria local delegate Ernie
Knott caught the attention of

-delegates with a supporting |

speech, stressing that the Cana-
dian Paperworkers Union has
already opted out of an interna-
tional union by referendum, and
certainly the PPWC would not be
willing to rejoin an international
union.

Knott cited the widely
distributed open letter by [WA in-
ternational president Keith
Johnson calling for the opening
of discussions towards one union
in wood. ‘‘With the increasing
monopolization of the industry,
and increasing unity of
employers, a fragmented trade
union movement is in an increas-
ingly weak position,’ he said.

Both Vandenbrink and Knott
were received warmly by
delegates, but then New
Westminster local president
Gerry Stoney took the floor to
state loudly, ‘‘If it isn’t TWA,
then I’m not interested in one
union in wood.”’

Stoney was followed by Van-
couver president Doug Evans
who launched a bitter attack on

both pulp unions for their actions
during the summer industry
strike. ‘‘We need one union in

wood andit better bethisunion,”” | —

he added.

Delegates from Prince George
and Kamloops locals then joined
in the attack, reflecting frustra-
tion with continuing raids on their
operations by the PPWC and

openly advocating raids against

the PPWC to solve the problem.
Campbell River delegate Nick
Chernoff attempted to restore a
tone of unity, pointing out that
“the raiding and the fighting is
what we want to stop.
‘Are we serious about one

union in wood? Unless we meet

on equal terms one union is im-
possible, and all the bloody table
thumping won’t help.”

But the loudly thumping tables
from the Vancouver and New
Westminster locals had set the
tone and changed the mood. The
motion for referral to substitute
the Courtenay resolution failed
by about three to one... :

However, a resolution from
Stoney’s New Westminster local
which said the IWA had had
enough of PPWC raids, and
resolved that the IWA “‘utilize all
of the available resources of IWA
Regional Council No. | to em-
bark on a comprehensive raiding
campaign against the PPWC
operations during the coming
winter,’” was defeated in a vote
Wednesday. :

That situation could become ~

Unions organizing for Nov. 21

Several. major unions have
begun organizing campaigns to
get their members to the Cana-

dian Labor Congress demonstra- -

tion in Ottawa Nov. 21 — now
just two weeks away.
In Ontario and Quebec where

most of the demonstrators will —

come from, three unions have
pledged a large turnout of
membership. The United Auto
Workers Union has stated that it
will bring 5,000 of its members,
the Energy and Chemical
Workers have said they will turn
out one-tenth of the membership
and the United Electrical
Workers Union has set a target of
1,000 members.

Nearly 20 national organiza-
tions, as well as various provin-

cially based organizations have

joined the CLC-initiated Coali-
tion on Interest Rates which has
called the huge rally set to begin at

1 p.m. Nov. 21 on Parliament

Hill.

In this province, the B.C.
Government Employees’ Union
has arranged for a train which will
leave Vancouver some days
before the demonstration and will
pick up passengers all across the
country to take them to the
demonstration,  —_—. :

The regional office of the CLC
has chartered a special 117-seat
flight which will leave Vancouver
Nov. 20 and return Nov. 21.
Some 15 seats are reportedly still
available at a cost of $347. —-

A number of unions including
the Carpenters, the Canadian
Union of Public Employees and

the International Woodworkers
have already booked blocks of
15-20 seats to take them to Ot-
tawa.

The IWA will be sending

members who are particularly af-

fected by the disastrous ‘interest | —
rate policies of the federal govern- |

ment, which have not only
drastically reduced housing starts
and depressed the lumber
markets, but also have forced
workers to renew mortgages at
vastly inflated rates. —

IWA Local 1-217 president
Doug Evans cited the case of one
local member who. faces the
renegotiation of his current 14
percent mortgage — at a time
when he is on indefinite layoff
from a plywood mill.

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