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Positive results at teachers'c

By BETTY GRIFFIN —

“Surely there is an element of
escapist-survival in avoiding global
reality: 17 million children below
the age of five dying annually; over
30 million people who are blind; 34
countries where more than 80 per-
cent of the population is illiterate,”’
B.C. Teachers Federation general
secretary Bob Buzza told the an-
nual general meeting of the federa-
tion which wound up its three-day
meeting Wednesday.

*‘How can one justify the spen-
ding of $450 billion a year on arms
or condone a society...that could -
set up 40,000 village pharmacies for
the cost of a single jet fighter but
doesn’t?’’ he asked.

Buzza’s comments were part of a
wide-ranging address to the con-
vention in which he touched on
economic issues, noting that it was
“tough to tackle inflation with the
U.S. as landlord and neighbour,”
as well as “‘educational problems
closetohome. —

_ ” *We know that nearly as many

students (25,000) drop out of our
schools as graduate (29,600) and
that, according to the standing
committee on school dropouts,
over 50 percent of the unemployed

in B.C. last July were in the 16to 24
age group,” he said. “‘If even half
this number were employed, we’d
save over $200 million annually in
unemployment and welfare
payments.”’

Buzza also commented on the
recent provincial conference on
learning disabilities, the first ever
held in the province. Attended by
1,300 parents and others, it em-

phasized the problems created by”

the lack of funding and facilities,
problems compounded by the
earlier decision of the Social Credit
government to take physically and
mentally handicapped children out
of special institutions and put them
into regular classrooms.

“Unlike too few other  pro- -

vinces, B.C. does not have man-
dated requirements for the right to
an education regardless of a han-

dicap; procedures for early.

diagnosis of learning disabilities are
poor; insufficient. funds are
available...education faculties
have no decent system of training
teachers to recognize learning
disabilities of various types and so
forth,” he said.

Buzza’s remarks were
underscored by Al Blakey, presi-

dent of the BCTF who has just
completed his first year in office
during which time he was able to
see first hand many of the
deteriorating conditions in B.C.
schools. His concluding statement
was one heard most often in school
staff rooms:

‘“‘We must change the kind of
power relationships where those
who have the responsibility to do
most of the work in the classroom
have the least power with which to
do it, and those furthest from the
classroom with the least experience

with children are in the position to_

make the decisions. *

“Tt is the objective we need to set
for ourselves in the ’80s,’’ he said.

Much of this year’s annual
general meeting was taken up with
how teachers can change. those
relationships and change working
and learning conditions.
- One resolution, which urged
that teachers not be excluded from
the provincial labor code was nar-
rowly. defeated although the vote
did not-mean, as was suggested in
several press reports, that teachers
voted against the right to strike.

The BCTF has been on record
since the 1973 annual general
meeting as favoring the right to

[—

Continued from page 1
health and safety of farm-
workers, governing such issues as
accessible toilets and the
establishment of a minimum time
period before farmworkers
should re-enter sprayed fields.

Chouhan’s election as CFU’s

ficer to date, came as a reaffirma-
tion of his organizing work. He,
along with three other elected
union officers, Jowala Singh
Grewal, vice-president; Charan
Gill, secretary; and Sarwan Boal,
treasurer, hope to sign up around
6,000 of the 11,000 farmworkers
in BIC. in the first year — mostly
in the Fraser Valley area — and in

farmworkers across Canada.
“‘We will be going door to door
asking for membership, and we
will also be talking to farmers to
convince them to sign contracts,”
Chouhan said.
The first contract »etween

first president and only paid of-’

the future, the thousands of.

‘Our fight will be a long one’
says determined CFU leader

farmworkers and their employer
is expected to be signed in two
weeks. :

Chouhan stressed to the con-
vention that ‘‘this is the time to
stay united, because without uni-
ty we can’t win the battles we
know loom ahead.”

He cited the intensification ofa
propaganda campaign by
farmers and contractors to
discourage farmworkers from
joining the union.

“Our fight will be along one
and we should not expect miracles
overnight.””

Significantly, the guest speaker
at their celebration dinner on
April 26 will be Cesar Chavez, the
president of the United Farm
Workers and long-time warrior in
the ie to win rights for
California’s farmworkers.

Chouhan also warned of the
confusing propaganda hurled
from the ultra left, specifically the
Maoist Communist Party of

~

Canada (Marxist-Leninist) which
launched the so-called Farm
Workers Defence Committee and
denounced the CFU as ‘‘a holy
alliance of opportunists.”’

_“They were around for years
— why did they never try to
organize farmworkers?’’
Chouhan asked. ‘‘They are just’
trying to confuse the workers.”

Present at Sunday night’s con-
vention. was Canadian Labor
Congress representative Bill
Smally, who announced the
CLC’s intention to provide
$40,000 to the new union to help it
with its organizing job ahead. The
B.C. Government Employees
Union has already donated
$10,000 to go towards hiring a
full-time organizer to assist the
union’s organizing efforts. this
spring. :

Chouhan will be placing a pro-
posal to the membership some
time in the future about CFU’s
affiliation to the CLC.

ACMR demands
freeze on rates

By BRUCE YORKE

On March 19 a new organiza-
tion was formed in B.C. It is called
the Association to Control
Morgage Rates (ACMR), and it
followed a public meeting called by
myself to organize opposition to
crippling mortgage interest rates.

Over 200 homeowners turned
out, elected a 15 member executive,
secured over 100 memberships at
$2.00, adopted a program of action
and established an office at 2245
Commercial Drive with a phone
number 251-2147.

The immediate action program
deals with the problems of 30,000
B.C. homeowners facing mortgage
renegotiations this year.

The ACMR is concentrating the
greatest possible pressure on the
federal government, demanding it |

onvention

bargain for learning and working
conditions including the right to
strike — whether that right is in-
cluded under the Public Schools
Act: or the Labor Code. In fact,
teachers walked out in 1971 in a
dispute over pensions.

Another resolution, which called -
for amendments to the Public
Schools Act to give teachers full
bargaining rights including the
right to strike, and urged the BCTF
to organize a campaign to win
those amendments, was referred to
the spring representative assembly.

The representative assemblies

“are held twice yearly and can deter-

mine policy although they are
smaller than the AGM.

Other resolutions endorsed
ranged from a commitment to con-
tribute $1 per member ($30,000) to
assist the literacy campaign in-
itiated by the Nicaraguan educa-

tion. ministry, to overwhelming

support the demand that day care
in the province be brought under
the Public Schools Act.

Election results also affirmed it
was generally a positive convention
as the progressive candidates were
elected on the first ballot. They ,
were: president: Al Blakey; first
vice-president: Larry Kuehn; se-
cond vice-president: Al Cornes;
members-at-large: Joan Robb,
Steve Norman, Marion Runcieand
Maureen MacDonald.

Betty Griffin is a Burnaby
teacher and a delegate to last
week’s B.C. Teachers’ Federation
Conyention.

pass legislation which would freeze _

all mortgages up for renegotiation
this year at their existing individual
rates for at least an 18 month
period.

The federal minister responsible
for the Central Mortgage and
Housing Corporation, Paul:

Cosgrove has calculated that, “A 2A

person with a 10 percent mortgage
up for renewal this year, could easi-
ly wind up with a 14% percent
mortgage for the next 5 years. Ona
$50,000 mortgage amortized over

25 years that would mean an in-

crease in monthly payments to
$700.15 from $447.25, an increase
of $252.90 monthly.”

Unlike some other remedies be-

ing suggested, the ACMR demand — |

does not involve a subsidy from the
federal treasury. Instead it means
that homeowners would cease to sO
eenerously subsidize the profits of
the big banks, mortgage and loan

companies and the life insurance ~ )

corporations.

At the public meeting which ~ |

founded ACMR I circulated an in-
formation sheet which showed that
the after-taxes profits for the three
months ending Jan. 31, 1980 for
the big five chartered banks reach-
ed the huge sum of $277,714,000.

I also quoted from the Financial
Post of March 8 whereit is revealed
that the after-taxes profits for all
industrial corporations, 1979 com-

pared to 1978, saw an overall in- . /

crease of 40 percent!

“In strong support of our main
demand, one homeowners told the
founding meeting:

“The government could dictate
to working people what their wages
would be when we were under con-
trols in 1975 — why can’t they dic-
tate to the banks what the interest
rates will be?”’

A very good question! The
answer lies in the fact that the

“4

liberal government is beholden to. —

the big corporations and will only
move to protect the interests of the
average homeowner if sufficient
pressure is brought to bear on them
by the combined actions of af-

fected homeowners, renters, small
businessmen and working people

generally.

and guest columnist for alderman
Harry Rankin. Rankin’s column
will return next week. *

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—APRIL 37, 1980--Page 2

electors.

required.

earliest convenience.

RESIDENT ELECTORS

AND 2.
OWNER ELECTORS
31st, 1980.

accurate as possible.

CITY OF VANCOUVER —
REGISTER OF ELECTORS
VOTERS’ LIST CANVASS

During the period commencing Monday, March 17th, 1980, and including Monday,
June 30th, 1980, a canvass will be made of dwellings throughout the City of Vancouver
Enumerators will call at each residence ONCE ONLY taking the names of eligible

If no contact can be made, a ‘‘pink’’ business reply card will be left for completion
and mailing to the City of Vancouver Voters’ List, 2512 Yukon St., Vancouver, B.C.
PLEASE RETURN YOUR COMPLETED CARD WITHOUT DELAY. No postage is

If you are in doubt that an enumerator visited you, or you do not feel that you re-
ceived the ‘‘pink’; card, please phone the Voters: List office, (873-7680 or 7681, 7682.
7683, 7684) to enquire if the enumerators have visited your area.

Persons missed during the enumeration may register, in person, at the Voters’ List
office, 2512 Yukon St., Vancouver, B.C., up to and including Thursday, August 2lst,
1980, during office hours (8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.). You are urged to register at your

Qualifications of Electors are as follows:
1. Must be resident in the City of Vancouver CONTINUOUSLY from January
Ist, 1980 to and including June 15th, 1980.

Must be Canadian Citizens or other British Subjects, 19 years of age or over ;
ON ELECTION DAY (Wednesday, November 19th, 1980).

1. Must be the registered owner of property in the City of Vancouver by July
AND 2. Must be Canadian Citizens or other British Subjects, 19 years of age or over

ON ELECTION DAY (Wednesday, November !9th, 1980).
Your full co-operation wil! assist the Voters’ List office in compiling a list that is as

CITY HALL, VANCOUVER, B.C. March 15, 1980.

R. Henry, CITY CLERK

Bruce Yorke is president of the —
. Committee of Progressive Electors