THE WESTERN CANADIAN LUMBER WORKER DECEMBER, 1977 —The training of organizers in organizing techniques and labor law; —The training of Local Union members to assist or- ganizers in organizing cam- paigns; : ; Public relations program to assist organizing activities; —Cooperation with other sections of the labor movement in joint ventures; —Maintenance of membership roles in Local Unions con- fronted with Right-To-Work laws; —Financing the cost of the wages and expenses for full- time, part-time and project or- ganizers. The program, which will be coordinated by the Interna- tional Officers and the Depart- ment of Organization with the full input and cooperation of Regional Council No. 5, will run for an initial four-year term and will be reviewed by the International Executive Board and future conventions. Regular reports will be made to all participating Regional Councils and Local Unions. Regions and Locals wishing to participate are urged to call special meetings as: soon as possible to determine the ex- tent of financial participation they wish to pledge. They are also urged to advise the Inter- national Union as early in the new year (1978) as possible the extent of their financial parti- cipation so that programs and -budgeting can be formulated. The newly-created. women’s bureau of the Canadian Labour Congress has its first assistant _ director. She is Mary Eady, former director of the women’s bureau of the Manitoba labour depart- ment and no stranger to the trade union movement. In fact, she sees the union movement as one of the most important forums through which to advance women’s rights. “There’s a certain amount’ you can do through education and legislation,” she says. “But in many cases, women’s rights have to be nailed down through collective bar- gaining.” That will be one of the many areas in which Eady will work as the new head of the CLC women’s bureau. One of her top priorities on stepping into the job will be preparing for the national con- ference of women trade union- ists slated for January. “T want to find out in detail what’s going on, consult with people and find out what we can do,” she says. To do that, Eady says she will find out what provincial labour federations, CLC-affil- jated unions and Jabour coun- cils are currently doing in the field of women’s rights. She sees ‘‘a major role for the trade union movement” in advancing the cause of women in general and she hopes women trade unionists will work on the many issues of community concern. One of the most important the union movement can do is to look at the situation of ized workers, she -* most of whom are women a can be limited =. lack of contracts. i creation of the women’s she developed services and programs fo assist women in the labour force, particularly in the field of equality of oppor- tunity. She has instructed at many labour education seminars and conferences, and served as an advisor to the Canadian dele- gation to the 1975 International Labour Conference in Geneva on the question of equal oppor- tunity and equality for women workers. She was treasurer of the fed- eral New Democratic Party from 1969-72, and editor of the “Manitoba New Democrat” in 1971-72. “She is a former member of the Canadian Packinghouse Workers’ Union and edited the “Canadian Packinghouse Worker” from Toronto. Paul Weiler, chairman of the British Columbia Labour Rela- tins Board has decided not to seek renewal of his five-year contract with the government of the province. He will leave his position as chairman of the board next summer, in order to accept the Mackenzie King chair of Canadian studies for one year at Harvard University in the United States. Weiler rejected suggestions that his decision not to return is prompted by dissatisfaction with the labour policies of the current Social Credit govern- ment, He had been appointed by the previous New Demo- eratic Party administration. “Y’m leaving because I’ve got something that’s really great to doto... It will bea great decompression chamber from the turbulent world of in- dustrial relations in British Columbia,’’ he said. “T really feel tired right now, after coming out here at 33 ears of age, and I'm quite re- y that I wll now be able to leave,’’ Weiler said. BAD YEAR A confidential manpower de- partment document released by NDP leader Ed Broadbent shows government forecasters were predicting “record un- employment rates,” a low level of job creation and a downturn in the economic picture as early as last February. The document, prepared for a planning and research branch of the federal man- power department in February, says the national unemployment rate is ex- pected to rise from an average 7.3 percent annually in 1976-77 to 7.4 percent in 1977-78 and 7.6 percent in 1978-79. At the same time, the docu- ment says, job creation is ex- pected to stand at about 2.2 percent (209,000 new jobs) in 1977-78 and only 1.8 percent (177,000 new jobs) in 1978-79. The cost of unemployment insurance benefits is expected to rise to more than $4 billion in the next year as the result of increasing unemployment, the document says. NO COLLEGE NEXT YEAR The board of governors of the Labour College of Canada has set up a special committee re- presenting its three founding members — the CLC and McGill and Montreal universities — to study the role of the college in the changing Canadian educational scene, according to a report sub- mitted to the CLC executive council by CLC education di- rector Larry Wagg. In order to complete the study and enable the college to react to the committee’s re- port, there will be no resi- dential session in 1978. The administrative office of the College will be moved to Ottawa to increase efficiency and better service trade union- ists, it was announced. NORWAY LOOKS AT BANKS Norway’s social-democratic government has moved to begin public control of the country’s major banks. Beginning Jan. 1, representatives to take de- cision-making powers from boards of directors and share- holders. The boards include three worker representatives, four shareholder representatives and eight selected by the national parliament or re- gional government, depending on whether the bank is national or regional in its operations. The state will buy shares of disenfranchised Gaede at market value. the | amended Commercial Bank | Act allows publicly-appointed i CANADIAN LABOUR Congress President and ILO Chairman Joe Morris was honoured at the recent International Convention with presents from Local 1-80, Duncan, his old Local Union,and from the Region and International. Group left, Regional President Jack Munro; Joe Morris; International President Keith Johnson; Local 1-80 President Roger Stanyer. RANKIN SCORES “CHEAP” GOVERNMENT By ALD. HARRY RANKIN How cheap and chiselling can a government get? For the Social Credit govern- ment there do not appear to be any limits. That’s when it comes to the poor, of course, people who have no economic or political muscle to defend themselves. The latest example of cheap chiselling concerns the people who live in low-income housing, managed by the B.C. Housing Management Com- mission. There’s some 2,700 of them in the city and over 8,000 in the province. They are old age pensioners, students, people on welfare and so on — all low income people. Their rent is subsidized and is usually limited to 25% of their income. In the past this has included cablevision, heat, light and laundry facilities. That’s now about to be en- ded. Cablevision, which the gov- ernment paid for at a bulk rate of from $1.10 to $2.25 per month in this area, has now been cut off. The government, that is Hugh Curtis, the minister of municipal affairs, simply informed Vancouver Cable- vision that the contract has been cancelled. From now on any person living in BCMHC apartments will have to pay the going rate — $5.75 a month. Vancouver Cablevision has waived the . installation fee which amounts to about $25.00, but $5.75 out of a cheque that is often under $200.00 a month can only be paid at the expense of some other necessary item — such as food or warm clothes, for instance. Paying for cablevision for low income people in BCHMC rooms didn’t cost the govern- ment all that much. For 2,700 suites at about $24.00 a year it only came to about $65,000. But the government isn’t stopping there. Apparently steps are already being taken to make each person pay his or her own light bill, over and above the rent; the free washing machines are to be taken out and replaced by coin launderies, and even heating may be charged for. These are actually hidden rent increases. The government has already refused subsidized rent for elderly citizens in a new senior citizens apartment just built in North Vancouver. Undoubt- edly this is the first of many. These actions will only save the government a few dollars, but they will hit low income people hard, very hard. When you remember that this government has already accumulated a surplus of $110 million by chiselling on welfare payments to people in need, and is now planning to spend $180 million to build a bridge to Annacis Island (to serve the industries located there) and to build a new $250 million high- way from Hope to Merrit (again to serve business inter- ests) you can see how cheap and chiselling this government really is. The policy is and remains — cut back every cent, no matter what the result is in hardship and suffering, to the poor, and then give generously — in the millions — to the corporations. TAT TS EERE ELE SS ES . John Brewin, president of the British Columbia NDP, says Finance minister Evan Wolfe’s plan to cut government spending by $50 million over the next six months is “economic lunacy.”’ The province faces a “‘cata- strophic economic future” un- less the government takes some new directions, and Wolfe’s plan to cut spending i in the face of the worst recession since the 1930’s would even | SOCRED “SPENDING CUTS” | _ CONDEMNED BY BREWIN 3 ab Se make Herbert Hoover blush. Brewin said the government made a bad move last year by increasing taxes, cutting Spending and freezing new hiring. Brewin then challenged his own party to come up with new economic policies for the pro- vince. ‘‘The NDP is Ghali to come up with new policies for B.C.’s future — a new socialism for the 1980's,” he said.