LABOR COMMENT
When the three-day annual
‘onvention of the Canadian

Mon of Public Employees
i‘ -C. Division) wound up June

, the policies adopted by the
onvention—the expression of
| 16,000 members organized into

locals and five councils —
added up to a progressive and
Meaningful package.

President Harry Greene —
ater reelected by acclamation
~ Set the tone in his presidential
address.
ayeterring to the turbulent
ae of 1972 which preceded
| ‘je defeat of the Social Credit
4 0vernment, Greene said: ‘‘Itis
ut as important today as it
i a year ago to advance the
esses of our CUPE member-

'Pand those of the labor move-
4 nae as a whole. And just as

y Was the key to advancing
OSe interests a year ago, so
at, too, is the key to advancing
Ose interests today.”

ile welcoming the defeat of
ie: Socreds and the positive

Bslation enacted by the NDP,
a went on to criticize the
Bee ment for its recal-
Pienc® in the field of labor legis-

n

th

aaa My opinion, the NDP,
i Bae the most recent session

7 € Legislature should have
Pealed the Trade Unions Act
ican repressive sections of
ha Relations Act. They
ae d also have dismissed the
cae members of the Labor
tions Board and the Board
‘Industrial Relations and
‘Se aced them with persons
parnsive to the needs of the
ig people and in tune with

Npp*ted philosophy of the

unig tel this is done, the trade

‘ing movement and all work-
Pe cPle will continue to be

A Ned by Social Credit legis-
beg ped Social Credit appoint-
fea the Labor Relations

Sive ro Considering the deci-

ine) Ole of the labor movement

€cting the NDP, nothing, I

A S8est, could be more unfair.

er session of the Legis-

With Cannot be allowed to pass
labo Ut a major overhaul of

Tlegislation.”
tho eo also added his voice to
bs Tade unionists calling for
tra reign and independent

‘ Union movement. ‘‘We

Wa Becist in every possible

are ex OSe trade unionists who

for C Pressing a genuine desire

(eeatq an independence,”
ee while resisting withall

Teg Reeht those who would

Qhq f° Barrow nationalism

advan ag-waving simply to

fies). their own interests.
aNd go taining of independence
inc meaty by trade unions
tio 4 Is vital to the preserva-
dian o Unity within the Cana-

t peade union movement and
Telatign cnsthening of fraternal
tian a Nships between Cana-

American unions.”

. theder. resolution adopted by
Son, “Sates to the convention
indepen the call for a sovereign
Unig, “dent and united trade
Sizgg OVement and empha-
Such , ..© Principles on which

i. 3 Program should be based.
the dian workers should have

€ right, the resolution

ature

stated, to elect their own officers
and employ their ownstaff; set,
collect and dispose of their own
union dues, including full
control of Canadian pension and
strike funds; negotiate and con-
clude their own collective agree-
ments with the right to decide
on strike action; engage in poli-
tical action as Canadian citi-
zens and tradeunionists; nego-
tiate mergers with other unions
Canada.

A resolution is to be submitted
to the national CUPE con-
vention in November urging the
Canadian Labor Congress to
press for the implementation of
such a program.

CUPE national president
Stanley Little denounced the big
business campaign for wage
controls and voiced some of his
own opinions on foreign domina-
tion of Canada and the labor
movement.

‘“‘The Canadian economy is
dominated by outsiders who use
Canadian workers and re-
sources in the worst colonial
fashion. These outsiders don’t
care about the interests of Cana-
dian workers and I suggest that
this theory about corporate
citizens being good citizens is so
much baloney, particularly
when they are never here. We
are convinced that trade unions
in Canada must have the auton-
omy to reflect the aspirations of
their Canadian membership.”

On provincial labor legislation,
the delegates unanimously
adopted aresolution calling on
the NDP government to bring in
a new Trade Unions Act
guaranteeing working people
the right to ‘‘belong toa trade
union of their choice, to picket
during organizing campaigns,
to contribute to the political
party of their choice and to
strike free from lawsuits
launched by employers.” It also
urged the attorney-general to
put an end to the use of court
injunctions in labor disputes. A
further resolution called for the
dismissal of the present Labor
Relations Board.

Delegates also opposed wage
controls and called for a federal
prices review board with ‘‘full
authority to control prices and
to roll back prices which are
unnecessarily high, particu-
larly insuch essential goods as
food, clothing, housing, medi-
cal and dental supplies, farm ma-
chinery and _ petroleum
products.”

Several other resolutions
stressed the need for govern-
ment action to eliminate the
sales and gasoline tax, to ini-
tiate a provincial program of
low-cost housing construction,
to create jobs through the expan-
sion of secondary and manu-
facturing industry

While endorsing the efforts of
the national CUPE officers to
gain CLC recognition of CUPE
jurisdiction of all provincial
government employees (except
thosein B.C.) now organizedin
independent associations, the
convention refused to give the
national office a _ blanket
endorsement on any action.

The issue is a contentious one
in CUPE’s relations with the
CLC and hasitsrootsina letter
of understanding given CUPE

UPE convention marked
by progressive policies

by the Congress at the time of
CUPE’s affiliation. Atthat time
CUPE was to have the right to
represent all provincial govern-
ment employees except those in
B.C. But the CLC is allegedly con-
templating changing its posi-
tionand is considering affiliat-
ing directly the independent
associations which now repre-
sent such provincial govern-
ment employees. CUPE objects
to the change and the national
officers have been pressing the
issue vigorously.

Delegates to the B.C. con-
vention unanimously adopted a
resolution, designed to avoid
precipitate action, calling for a
full debate on the question at the
November national conven-
tion.

Allin all, the convention was
marked by progressive policies

and unity of purpose. This was,

borne out by the reelection of

Harry Greene as provincial
president and Dave Werlin of

the Vancouver Outside Civic
Workers (Local 1004) as first
vice-president. Werlin was the
convention’s choice for regional
vice-president for British Colum-
bia on the national executive
board. In line with established
custom, Werlin’s name will be

placed for nomination at the na-

tional convention in November.

HARRY GREENE, provincial president of the Canadian Union of Public
Employees, B.C. Division, who was re-elected by acclamation, called on
the NDP government to enact new labor legislation and urged steps
towards an independent and sovereign Canadian trade union

movement.

PT SUMMER SCHEDULE

Starting next week, and
continuing through July and
August, the PT will appear in8
pages. This reduced size is in
keeping with previous years to
enable our staff to have their
summer holidays.

Starting the first week in Sep-
tember, the PT will reappear in

its regular 12 page format.

- The eight page summer
editions will be made up of four
B.C. pages and four pages from
the Canadian Tribune, which be-
tween them will be indispen-
sable reading during the summer
months tokeepinformed of the
major local, national and world
developments.

Members fear imposed settlement

in Western Canada Steel strike

‘‘One man has died during our
strike. Let us have one minute’s
silence— for how many of us are
going to live to enjoy our retire-
ment?”

That statement made at last
Sunday’s meeting of the strik-
ers at Western Canada Steel
summed up the feelings of the
men in the company’s melt
shop, the men who have too long
endured the seven-day con-
tinuous shift and for whom the
strike was initially launched.

The strike began to simmer
again Sunday as the men voted
onacontract offer that, in the
view of rank and filemembers,
‘does little or nothing to shorten
our hours.’ When the strike was
launched March 14, it was to
back up the demand for the
Hansen schedule which would
establish a 33.6 hour week
ending the bone-jarring seven-
day schedule.

Sunday’s vote, however
showed that only eight men more
were in favor of rejecting the
contract offer, acceptance of
which was recommended by the
negotiating committee. And the
resentment has begun to grow.

The negotiating committee
told the members that the offer
is the company’s ‘‘final offer”
and if the men reject it, they will
be out of work indefinitely. And,
in what seems an attempt torail-
road the settlement through, the
officers called a further meet-
ing for Thursday and sent tele-
grams out to every member of
the local with a few excep-
tions.

Some of the workers claim not

to havereceivedthetelegrams
that have supposedly beensent
out and feel that their opposition
to the contract settlement has
caused the officers to leave them
off the list.

On the question of hours, the
company offer presents little
gain. for the men on the job. It
stipulates some hiring of stu-
dents to ease the work load as
wellas‘‘voluntary overtime.”
The students are to work Satur-
days and Sundays. And the com-
pany was so anxious to get the
dispute settled, they were
asking men to return to work
Sunday night, immediately
after voting on the company
offer.

Many of the rank and file fear
that if they capitulate on the
demand for a new work sched-
ule, the seven day continuous

shift could be instituted else-
where in the company’s three
divisions. At present only the
melt shop operates con-
tinuously.

The rumor of plant shutdown
is also circulating among the
men, and though the rumor is
unsubstantiated, it looms large
in the drive for quick settle-
ment. Western Canada Steelis
owned by Consolidated Mining
and Smelting Company and a
shutdown is unlikely as the Cal-
gary operation is unable to
supply steel for both B.C. and the
Prairies.

And the men who want to
uphold the demand for shorter
hours point out that if the ‘‘com-
pany was so anxious to get us
back to work, we can win our
demands.”’

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PACIFIC TRIBUNE—FRIDAY, JUNE 29, 1973—PAGE 11