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_. Militant

TORONTO — The anger and
fightback mood sweeping through the
Canadian working class, particularly
among young workers, merged with the
militant traditions of progressive trade
unionism, April 15-18, at the 38th bien-
nial convention of the United Electrical
workers, (UE).

The economic fightback, opposition to
contract concessions, support for peace
and disarmament, international working
class solidarity, independent labor polit-
ical action, the fight for a real made-in-
Canada constitution and a wide spec-
trum of issues and questions packed the
convention’s busy agenda.

It was a convention that saw a larger
than usual number of young delegates.
Many were attending their first UE
convention, but the high caliber of their

- contributions to the discussions on pol-

icy and resolutions, and the fact that
from the delegate body the union was
able to organize translation from English
into Spanish and French, and vice versa
reflected the versatility and depth of
emerging talent possessed by the union.

A hard-hitting, comprehensive of-
ficers’ report, presented to the conven-
tion by UE president Dick Barry set the
tone for the four day meeting. The Cana-
dian government's economic policies, he
said, are sponsored by the large corpora-
tions and supported by the U.S. govern-
ment and the agencies it dominates. By
fighting inflation on the backs of the
workers, and unemployed, Barry said,
the government is trying to- weaken
workers’ collective bargaining rights and

transfering more of Canada’s wealth to _

the private sector, through social expen-
diture cutbacks. :

“Wage freezes, contract concessions, .

aring, speed up and outright
Easting are the order of the day’’,
said and he called on the delegates

to use the 38th convention to step up the
fightback and strengthen the internal

“unity of the UE for the tough struggles

which lie ahead. He urged the delegates
to help fellow UE members and workers
throughout the country to “reject the
myth that somehow our economic dif-

ficulties are beyond our ability to solve.”’

The 10-point economic program
adopted by the convention, ‘‘the Cana-

~ dian Economy and Jobs’’, set out what

Barry called for in the officers’ report —
a self-reliant model of economic
development. Among its demands it calls
on the federal government to nationalize
all resource industries, key corporations
in the critical manufacturing sectors, and
all banks and financial institutions; force
the Bank of Canada to substantially
lower interest rates; legislate exchange
controls on capital being drained from
the country; launch a massive govern-
ment-controlled and financed housing
program to create jobs and provide
reasonably-priced living accommoda-
tion; legislate price controls; strengthen
the Foreign Investment Review Act,
(FIRA); and introduce laws severely
restricting the right of corporations to
arbitrarily close plants.

~ Backing this program, which the union
will be taking to labor councils, provin-
cial federations and the forthcoming

Canadian ‘Labor Congress convention

for support, were resolutions rejecting
contract concessions, all forms of
collaboration’ with the bosses and
governments such as so-called ‘*Quality
of Working Life’’ programs (QWL),
worksharing schemes and all forms of
tripartism.

UE reaffirmed the position it has
consistently advanced at the CLC and
provincial federation conventions, that
any changes in the organization of work
or improvements in working conditions
should only result from collective bar-
gaining and not through manage-inspired
committees geared only to boosting
productivity at any cost.

10-POINT PROGRAM FOR JOBS

The delegates unanimously adopted
an-eight-point program calling on the
federal government to pursue an inde-
pendent foreign policy of peaceful rela-
tions with all countries and also demand-
ing: a dramatic cut in the arms budget
with the resources redirected towards
job-intensive, socially useful projects;
withdrawal from NATO and NORAD;
the declaration of Canada as a nuclear-
weapons free zone and for other coun-
tries to do the same; the prohibition of all
Cruise missile tests on Canadian soil;
that Canada play 4 leading role in next
June’s United Nations disarmament
conference; and, that Ottawa press
Washington to ban the deployment and
use of the Cruise and Pershing 11 missiles
and the neutron bomb, and ratify Salt 11.

The UE peace program also calls on
the Canadian government to expand
trade links with the socialist countries
and promote scientific, cultural, sport
and trade union exchanges.

In this connection, the UE convention
called on the CLC to ‘‘play an active role
in the struggle for peace and disarma-
ment and to increase the exchange of
fraternal delegates with trade unions in
socialist lands and participate in future
world conferences for disarmament and
peace.”’

While the CLC, in convention has
adopted the position of more _ inter-
national trade union exchanges, the con-
gress executive has decided on its own to
suspend them, with labor in the socialist
world.

The UE also called on all of its locals
to circulate the ‘‘Peace is Everybody's
Business”’ petition issued by the Cana-
dian Peace Congress, and for the CLC to
endorse and circulate it at the Winnipeg
convention slated for next month.

In addition to supporting liberation ,
Struggles throughout the world, the -

convention, in a_ special resolution
supporting third world liberation move-
ments, reaffirmed UE’s support for the
people, and struggles of Guatemala, El
Salvador, Nicaragua, Chile, Uruguay
and Brazil, and urged the CLC to adopt a
policy of support for these countries.

The UE’s traditional advocacy of

independent political section, by the

labor movement through mass cam-
paigning, electoral support for parties
and forces advancing working class
aims, and vigorous, extra parliamentary
pressure on governments for change was
reaffirmed by the convention.

-The convention re-emphasized its
recognition of Canada’s ~binational
character and the right of the Quebec
people to national self-determination up
to and including the right to cecede. The
resolution called for ‘‘the unity of the
working class of both nations under a
made-in-Canada constitution that will
end constitutional crisis and further divi-
sion of the country, inequality of
Quebecers, discrimination against wom-
en, degradation of Native peoples and
that will provide a new deal for all minor-
ity people and the entrenchment of a
charter of rights for labor.”’

Guests to the 38th convention in-
cluded Sean O’Flynn, president of the
Ontario Public Service Employees
Union who called for unity between pri-
vate and public sector workers in the
fight to stop big business and the
governments from saddling the burden of
the recession on the workers’ backs.
Spadina New Democrat MP, Dan Heap,
praised the union for its militant tradi-

tions and policies and blasted the Tru-

deau government's economic policies as
a means of turning the economy over to
the transnational corporations. Metro
labor council president Wally Majesty,
James Kane, the UE’s president in the
U.S. and Antonio Gershensen of the Nu-
clear Workers Union of Mexico also ad-
dressed the convention.

mood mar

UE convention

Osvaldo Nunez, Quebec vice-president of the United Electrical Workers addresses the
38th convention.

PSAC meet challenges
‘business as usual’ style

By MIKE PHILLIPS

TORONTO — The makings of a milit-
ant trade union lie within the ranks of the
180,000-member Public Service Alliance
of Canada, (PSAC). Last week’s tri-
ennial convention showed that the fight-
back, that is alive among Canadian
workers in the face of this unprecedented
economic crisis, is just as vital among
Canada’s public service workers.

The problem PSAC delegates faced,
however, was the contradiction between
the traditional structure composed of 17

component unions, roughly patterned on ~

the departmental structure of the federal
government and the growing demand
from the unions grass roots for greater
participation in the decision making pro-
cesses, and for structural reform that will
better organize and unite the PSAC to
achieve collective bargaining goals, and
expand the members social, political and
trade union rights.

Positive advances were made in col-
lective bargaining policy with the adop-
tion of the strike weapon and rejection of
arbitration as the best method of achiev-
ing contract demands, support for coali-
tion bargaining and committment to the
formation of common fronts, or a com-
mon front, of all occupational groups in
the PSAC by 1984.

The clerks’ strike, almost two years
ago, threw up problems of the effective-

_ ness of the union’s structure and opened

up questions of the members’ role in the
PSAC that the convention couldn't ig-
nore. A reform caucus, largely made up
of delegates from the Area Councils
which emerged as significant organ-
izational centres during the strike, set the
tone of the convention and influenced to
a large extent, the terms on which the
issues were debated.

Leadership candidates were being

juged on their attitude towards, and par-
ticipation in the clerks’ strike with the
activists holding a definite edge.

‘The future belongs to those who
struggle’’, was the title chosen by the
reform caucus for the program that the
union’s “‘old guard”’ had to continually
respond to during the week-long meet-
ing. -

While they fell short of victory on is-
sues such as direct local representation
to the triennial convention, (delegates
are elected at component conventions), -
central funding for Area Councils and a
full voice for the council delegates at the
conventions, the reform program’s im-
pact was felt on the collective bargaining
policies adopted.

Other issues debated at the convention
included political rights for public ser-
vice workers, (including a resolution of
support for PSAC member Neil Fraser
who was fired for publicly criticising
metrication), and technological change.
Broader issues such as the need for
peace and disarmament, a general re-
sponse to the assault on workers living
standards and rights, international work-
ing class solidarity or even the national
question in Canada were mostly ignored,
reflecting the grip that ‘‘business union-
ism’ still possesses on the PSAC leader-
ship.

However, the inroads have been made
on this “‘business as usual”’ style. The
clerks strike was an important first step,
and the reform program has deepened
the process of positive change. The con-
vention moved closer to becoming a
militant instrument for the workers in-
terests, and PSAC activists will have to
continue spurring this movement for-
ward over the coming period of in-
tensified struggle.

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—APRIL 30, 1982—Page 13

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