UNITY STILL KEY B.C. FED MEETS Unions face new tasks after election By OBSERVER A full year has passed since the 1971 convention of the Brit- ish Columbia Federation of Labor, a year of sharp class battles and _ history-making changes. Bill 88, designed to weaken the bargaining power of the Build- ing Trades unions and shackle the trade union movement as a whole, was withdrawn by the Socred government. The retreat came minutes after the closing, _ of a special convention of the Labor Federation. The government was haunted by the spectre of a common front, a front uniting the building trades and the indus- trial u..ions who were aroused over Bill 88, the Teachers who were campaigning vigorously against Bill 3, the Public Em- ployees of the province who had joined the Teachers and many _ other groups who were hostile to the provincial government. Then came the Greater Van- couver Civic Employees strike and the refusal of the unions to appear before the Mediation Commission, and the lockout of the Building Trades. When the 6-Pact unions in the Building Trades also refused to appear before the Commission and scorned an order to return to work under Bill 33, the Socred government used. the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to stage massive raids on trade union offices, in order to gather evidence for prosecutions. The police raids solved nothing and the Building Trades unions, like the Civic Employees, then settled for more than the Mediation proposed. Then, on August 30, came a stunning political upset, with the New Democratic Party win- ning 38 seats in a 55-seat provin- cial legislature. 'The coming together of many streams of protest, which the Socreds tried to avoid by withdrawing Bill 88, found its point of focus on that election day. SOCRED DEFEAT The labor movement mobilized politically as never before to defeat the provincial government. The results make it obvious. that the essential ingredient that made the difference for the NDP was the working class, and the trade union movement in particular. It is one of the ironies of history that the very Social Democratic leadership which in two pre- vious elections disassociated itself from the sharp class battles of the working class, and which in this last election tried to avoid a forthright position on the similar issues, was the main beneficiary of the trade union struggles. At the 1971 Fed convention there was a closed session to deal with relations between the Federation dnd the New Demo- cratic Party. In response to an appeal that should have brought in close to $100,000 for political work (in the main to assist the NDP), only $5,000 had been turned in. Ray Haynes, Secre- tary-Treasurer of the Fed, had stepped down as a candidate for Vancouver-Burrard, amid open speculation of pressure from the top leadership of the NDP. His proposal for ten trade union candidates was obviously not very popular with the party leadership. There was bitter hostility between some NDP members of the legislature and top leaders of organized labor. Public state- ments by NDP ' legislators critical of the trade unions because of their militant action for higher wages, a shorter work week and against Bill 33, were hard to take. The steady drift to the right on the part of the NDP, nationally and provincially, was running into increasing opposition from the working class. The Pacific Tribune, in an edi- torial comment following the 1971 convention, put it this way: “‘There is a growing realiza- tion that while the NDP is an im- portant part of the anti-mono- poly coalition that must be built in order to defeat the parties of ° big business, it cannot claim to be the coalition in itself. Wide sections of the population, such as teachers, youth, farmers, tenants, pensioners, women, homeowners and tens of thous- ands of workers are in action against the economic and poli- tical policies of big business without being committed to the NDP.”’ ‘“‘What is needed is united action around the vital issues of the people, in order to lay the basis for political unity to defeat the Socreds in Victoria and to elect a solid bloc of candidates from British Columbia in the next federal election. The situa- tion calls for unity between the trade union movement, the NDP, the Communist Party and the mass movements of the people.”’ UNITY ESSENTIAL The situation in British Colum- bia today makes this kind of unity more necessary than ever before. Monopoly capital still controls the commanding heights of the economy and is far from dead, or being powerless. They will make their peace (tem- porary or otherwise) with a Social Democratic government if it can be bent or moulded to _ serve their long-range interests. They will fight a Social Demo- cratic government which moves in the direction of anti- monopoly reforms that challenge, or seem to challenge, the fundamental interests of the monopolies. In_ short, the struggle for social change is not over. It has just begun. Organized labor must take a positive attitude towards the NDP government in Victoria, commending it for such meas- ures as the abolition of the Mediation Commission, raising the basic income of pen- sioners and removing the restrictions placed on Teachers’ contract negotiations enacted by the Socreds. It must also react positively to indications that the government will move to obtain more revenue from those who exploit our natural re- sources, to develop secondary industries and to remove the burden of school taxation from home owners. It must be very specific in making its views known to government in respect to the kind of Labor Relations Act that is needed to replace the anti- labor legislation on the books today, such as the Trade Unions PACIFIC TRIBUNE—FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 1972—PAGE 12 . RAY HAYNES, B.C: Federation of Labor secretary-treasurer is shown. outlining labor's task to oust the Socred government at last years convention. This year, with an NDP government in office, labor faces new opportunities for advance which will require even greater unity than that which helped bring down the anti-labor Socred government. Act, the Labor Relations Act and the Mediation Services Act (as amended to remove the Mediation Commission from the scene as a first step). All anti-labor legislation must be removed from the books and replaced by a fundamental docu- ment guaranteeing the right to organize, the right to strike and picket, the right to make political contributions from union dues and the elimination of the use of court injunctions as an employers’ weapon in labor disputes. Penalties against:em- ployers who discriminate against workers seeking to form a union, and employers who commit other gross violations of labor legislation must be steeply increased. The Labor Relations Board, a creature of the old Socred government, must be replaced by a new board that will be less favorable to the employers and more inclined to give organized - labor a fair deal. Such a board must give written decisions to all parties concerned and spell out its reasons for making a ruling. It must also guarantee a hearing, on request, for all interested parties in any proceedings. LABOR’S DEMANDS In short, the trade union move- ment cannot afford to betray its mission by . sitting com- placently and leaving all the problems to ‘‘our govern- ment.” It must give commenda- tion and support where called for, while reserving the right to criticize because of short- comings arising out of omis- sions, commissions or eva sions. If the last convention of the Federation (1971) stood out for “any one reason, it was because of the anti-monopoly character and tone of the proceedings and debate. . vigorous That convention called for the following policies, among others: e Opposition to economic union with the U.S.A. ‘‘We will not sell our souls for an increase in trade with the U.S.” e Heavier taxation on those monopolies who exploit the natural resources of the province. e Planned ment. economic develop e Aggressive seeking of new trade with all European and Asiatic countries. e Real bargaining over our natural resources, in order to achieve a wide range of second- ary industries. e Full protection of small and independent farmers’ by anti-dumping mea sures, e No support for any policy of freezing wages. e Full employment as a national policy. e An end to the war in Indo China. : The Federation should, at this year’s convention, further elaborate its anti-monopoly pro- gram and take steps to press the NDP government for endorse- ment. Such endorsement should be by legislation at the provin- cial level where it falls within Victoria’s competence, and by pressure on the federal govern: - ment where it falls within the competence of Ottawa. If it could be said year after year that the Socreds ignored such re- presentations by the Federa- tion, surely this is a case for close consultation now between the Federation and the NDP government. The trade union movement has a new opportunity to become the rallying point-for all the antl- monopoly forces. The strength- ening of the anti-monopoly ~ forces in B.C. and their cohesion, along with a vigorous anti- — monopoly program by the NDP government, will open the door to far-reaching social change ~ and close the door against a return to power of the old-line parties. The related questions of full Canadian autonomy for all branches of American unions 10 Canada and a united trade union movement embracing — all trade unions are more timely than ever. The ignominious -defeat of the United Steel ino Workers’ Union by an dependent Canadian union at Kitimat, and the possibility of a second defeat by another inde~ pendent Canadian Union in Trail are too close to be ignored. We cannot be happy at the prospect of the bitter warfare this opens up, with raids and counter-raids, divisions and counter-divisions, because such disruption will help no one but the employers. The answer lies in more aggressive, class struggle policies, as opposed to. policies of class collaboration, more attention to grievances and more participation by the rank and file, more democracy and a stepped up fight within the Canadian Labor Congress for full autonomy for Canadian sec- tions of American unions. The situation also demands. an end to discriminatory policies which prevent unions like the United Fishermen and Allied Workers and the United Electrical Workers from joining the Canadian Labor Congress. The left in the trade union movement has played a vital role in the many class battles of — the past 20 years, in the develop- ment of policies and the drive to - united action which inevitably led to the defeat of the Socreds. The left today must recognize the new possibilities of the current situation, and accept its new responsibilities. This is no ~ time to sit back and relax; the fight is just beginning. $100,000 raised by world youth 4 An editorial in World Youth magazine, submitted by Chris Shelton, secretary of the Vancouver Committee of the Vietnam Children’s Hospital fund, reports that democratic youth throughout the world have submitted more than $100,000 to the bank account for the hospital. The editorial said ‘‘This is a very considerable amount if we bear in mind the short time that has elapsed since the campaign was launched. The prospects for the success of the project are very good and the younger generation has demonstrated its growing soli- darity with Vietnam.” Among those raising funds for the hospital are young people in Spain, Portugal, Greece, Brazil, Argentina and other dictatorial regimes, which demonstrates the understanding of the connection between their fight and the fight of the Indochinese people for freedom and independence, the editorial said. Here in Vancouver, the committee raising funds for the hospital ‘reports that more than $2,800 has been realized!