~ LABOUR Ont. brewery workers Slam free trade talks By KERRY McCUAIG . TORONTO — In the most de- “sive action taken to date by the ur movement, 2,000 Ontario Tewery workers staged a one day ‘Sttike Sept. 9 to protest plans for a free trade agreement with the Uni- ted States. “Two out of every three brewery Workers in the province will be out of a job if a free trade agreement Omes a reality,” warned Dun- ‘an cameron of the Brewery, Malt and Soft Drink Workers. _The union set up pickets around abatt’s, Molson’s and Carling O'Keefe plants in Metro Toronto, the Labatt’s plant in Waterloo and ndon, and the Molson’s plant in trie. The workers who gave upa y’s pay and face possible repri- from their employers gathered at Queen’s Park for a boisterous Tally on the eve of the province’s Provincial elections. _ The demonstration was an Impressive show of unity for brew- Re workers who are divided into Our different unions, following a Itter session of splits and breaka- Ways during the 1970s. We are doing this to make it Clear to the provincial government, € federal government and the Public that free trade will crip- Ple — and could ultimately kill — the brewing industry in Ontario aa Canada asa whole,” Cameron ‘Breweries would certainly be One of the “loser” industries in a free trade deal. A bid by the Brew- “t's Association of Canada to have Je sector exempted from negotia- “ons was turned down by the fed- Stal government. On the line for the unions are’ 20,000 jobs in an industry which Row employs 90,000 workers. The Orth American beer market is {, with the U.S. holding an Unused capacity three times the ®ntire Canadian market. Miller has 4 plant sitting idle in Ohio that ®ould supply the entire Canadian Market by itself. “The American breweries would be quick to take advantage of a free Tade agreement to increase their Production and dump massive Quantities of beer in Canada — and they could do it with out hav- 'Ng to invest a nickel in new plants one tuipment,” Cameron pointed . A$1-billion aggressive advertis- be Campaign has already won U.S. Tands 15-20 per cent of the Cana- N market. If the American Pence Part of the crowd of 2,000 brewery workers who demonstrated at Queen's Park Sept. 9. giants can ship beer into Canada with out restriction, it is doubtful that Miller and Coors would allow Canadian companies to continue producing their products under contract. The Breweries themselves feel the U.S. will grab 30 to 40 per cent of the entire Canadian market very quickly. During the course of the election campaign Liberal Premier Peter- son added protection of the indus- try to the six conditions necessary to support a pact. ‘But despite Consumer Minister Monte Kwinter’s assurances that . “the Premier had made protection of (the brewery) industry a provin- cial and national priority,” he was unable to allay the fears of the crowd that the “right deal” Peter- son seeks, could still leave job security and working conditions in the industry up for grabs. Ontario Federation of Labour President Gord Wilson warned demonstrators that “a vote for the Liberals is a calculated risk” ‘because the Premier remains “wishy washy” on free trade. In a brief appearance New - Democratic leader Bob Rae assured the assembled his party had “decided which side we’re on” in the free trade debate and urged them “to vote as if their jobs, depend on it. Because they do.” Cameron said the strike and demonstration were deliberately scheduled for the day before the election, to emphasize the role the Ontario government must play if a free trade agreement is to be stopped. “Today’s activities do not mark the end of our campaign. Whoever forms the Ontario government after tomorrow’s election will con- tinue to hear from us until we can be sure our jobs, and our industry, will be protected.” ee THINK Post OFFICE LINES ARE SLOW > : 5 Aiea ; EN YouLL REALLY LOVE -CONVENIENCE “MINI: Post OFFICES? v LAS. 82 TRIBUNE PHOTO — KERRY McCUAIG Labour in action _ monopoly bosses that they were in a little deeper than a simple GEORGE HEWISON The Phoenix rises in Alberta According to the ancients, the phoenix was a most unique bird. After coming to a blazing end, it rose from its own ashes more magnificent than ever. Alberta’s building trades unions are a re-run of the legend. They had all but been destroyed, to be re-born in the latest spontaneous uprising of tradespersons. During Cowtown’s boom, the province’s construction trade unions had been led down the path of disunity and concessions by slick government and employer promises, which turned into a brutal assault when the bottom in the economy dropped out. Very few collective agreements remained, although hollow certificates of bargaining were still in place for most of the unions. In short, little of the construction work in Alberta was of the union variety. Wages Piummeted Carpenters say their wages plummeted from an average $18.50 an hour to $11.00. Working conditions took a similar nose-dive. Hardest hit by the demise of unionism was human dignity and the right to grieve those glaring injustices which inevitably arise on the job. The arrogance of the construction bosses, CANA, PCL, ELLIS-DON, et cetera, knew no limits when trade unionism was replaced by the Merit Shop, a system of payments to workers based supposedly on performance. The Merit Shop is a synonym for ‘‘non-union’’. A concept that is part and parcel of the attempt to de-unionize Canada. It is brother to the attack on postal workers by the federal govern- ment. The Merit Shop is connected to the Merv Lavigne case. It is part of the drive in every province to amend labour laws to clip unions. It is tied in with the Supreme Court decision of April 9 that undermines the right to strike. »» The-Merit Shop is secretly desired by the entire employer class in Canada. This is why the walk-out started in Calgary is so significant. - That unorganized workers walk off the job in unison to protest unfair treatment is not surprising in itself. This has been going on since capitalism was a pup. - That the workers, who had turned their backs on unions and the unions who had likewise turned their backs on the workers found each other through the maze of contradictions is the real story. The workers realized the moment they had walked off; the moment the threats started coming down on them from their wobble. They needed somebody in their corner. This would be a do or die struggle, the kind which either ends up in a union, or in abject defeat for the workers. Unions Respond The construction unions of Alberta with only cash, and a t olbox full of hard-learned lessons, were determined not to miss h.eir second chance. The carpenter’s union, for example, im- mediately opened up its strike fund and put the strikers, irrespec- tive of their trade, on full strike pay. An important moment has arrived. The construction unions of Alberta have turned their back on collaboration with, and concessions to Premier Getty and the construction companies, and have embarked on the path of united struggle. They are being joined by building trades workers from all across the country, who have similarly learned from the sad experience of Alberta. They in turn need to be supported by all of Canadian labour. The struggle for trade unionism in Alberta’s construction in- dustry has within it the possibility to re-unite. the House of Labour, not on the basis of tri-partism, of class collaboration, which led to the unfortunate split a few years back, but on the basis of a united fightback against the attack on all labour. The lessons of Alberta, are obvious. Unionism is not inherited genetically. It must be won, and re-won constantly by every generation. The unions of Canada do not have to wait to go through the tragedy of Alberta in order to relearn the fundamentals of unionism. Welcome back the construction unionists of the Dandelion province. : The Phoenix has risen! PACIFIC TRIBUNE, SEPTEMBER 16, 1987 e 7