Private sector
unions’ signals
played key role

The signals from a meeting last week of private sector
union leaders — representing more than 175,000 workers —
played a critical role in setting the stage for the agreement
that was reached late Sunday night.

Eighteen union leaders representing most B.C. Federa-
tion of Labor private sector affiliates as well as the Building
Trades emerged from an hour-long meeting in Burnaby
Thursday to warn the Bennett government that if it did not
take “‘prompt and constructive action’”’ to resolve the public
sector dispute and demonstrate flexibility in discussing its
contentious legislation that ‘‘escalation of the strike into the
private sector will be inevitable.’’

The unionists also reiterated the warnings that had been -
issued earlier by Operation Solidarity that any punitive ac-
tion taken by the government against public sector unions
would result in “‘swift and massive support.”’

It was the first time that the private sector unions have met
as a group since Operation Solidarity was established. And
although the meeting was brief, the message was clear: the
private sector unions were behind Operation Solidarity’s
program of escalating strikes and would deliver if called
upon to do so.

““We sure as hell are dedicated to make sure that a
satisfactory resolution to our problems comes out of this
government,’’ spokesman IWA president Jack Munro told
reporters.

“The private sector is prepared when called upon to do
our part,” he said.

B.C. and Yukon Building Trades Council president Roy
Gautier echoed that position, declaring: ‘‘We are prepared,
we have a coordinating committee of the Building Trades
and we will come into line as we are called by Solidarity.”

But there was another message as well: the meeting also
indicated concern among the union leaders about the effects
of the strike and held the door open to a possible truce if the
government was prepared to negotiate certain issues.

The statement adopted by the meeting noted that
unionists were “‘gravely disturbed by the government reluc-
tance to respond in a constructive manner to achieve a
resolution to this growing conflict.

“In forestry, mining, construction and every other in-
dustry our members have suffered and continue to suffer
unprecedented levels of unemployment . . .’’ it said. ‘The
economic recovery necessary to create employment in
British Columbia is absolutely dependent on government
negotiating a satisfactory resolution of the public sector
dispute and also restoring harmony in communities through
adopting a flexible position with respect to its social legisla-
tion.””

The meeting clearly triggered a reaction from Bennett
who acknowledged later that day that action by private sec-
tor unions would indeed have a substantial impact on the
province’s economy.

Together with the demonstration of unity and militance
on the picket line by education unions, the meeting was
credited with moving the government to set up the secret
meeting between deputy premier Norman Spector and
representatives of Operation Solidarity at which Solidarity’s
five-point proposal for settlement of the escalating strikes
was discussed.

Although the proposal was not specifically mentioned at
Thursday’s press conference, Munro did hint that a pro-
posal had in fact been drawn up. Asked if education funding
was one of the conditions for a settlement, he replied: ‘“‘That
is part of our proposal, yes.”’

Both Munro and Canadian Paperworkers’ vice-president
Art Gruntman emphasized that a resolution of the issue of
seniority and terminations was particularly critical but not
the only issue.

Resolution of that issue ‘“‘would go a long, long way
towards resolving the dispute and the strike — but we have
not forgotten that there are such things as human rights and
renters’ rights,’’ Gruntman said.

“We have not forgotten that and while we may not be.
able to achieve iron clad things on everything, certainly the
government should at least give us an indication that it is
prepared to re-examine the horrible social legislation that it
is attempting to pass,” he said.

JOBLESS TO MEET

The Vancouver and District Labor Council’s
unemployed action committee kicks off its second an-
nual conference at the UFAWU Hall, 130 E. Cordova,
at 6 p.m. Friday.

The conference, which features keynote speakers Art
Kube and Dr. Charles Paris, runs Friday evening and
all day Saturday. Registration is $10 for union-
sponsored delegates, and free to jobless workers.

IWA president Jack Munro (r), CPU vice-president Art Gruntman, TWU president Bill Clarke, ILWU president Don

Garcia and CLC regional director Len Ruel were among private sector union leaders at. Thursday's meeting.

Gov't-Solidarity agreement
based on nine-point program

Continued from page 1

mission would apparently remain
dismantled in the meantime;

@ Ministerial consultation on social
programs for the 1984 budget year in
which alternative budget proposals
would be considered;

@ Reinstitution of the Community
Incentive Program for GAIN recipients
to be considered for 1984;

@ An advisory commission to be
established on the labor code amend-
ments with labor nominating one of
three members;

@ Money saved by school boards
during the strike to be ‘‘reasonably
returned’’ to the education budet;

@ Previously cancelled Workers’

Compensation Board hearings into

safety regulations to be continued in
January.

It is no secret that the Solidarity
Coalition expected more from the
agreement to end the strike. It is far
short of the teachers’ announced
demands, and in fact contains little of
substance. The rank and file of the labor
movement and most Coalition groups
were clearly prepared to fight on for
more than a process.

There has also been criticism about
Solidarity’s own process which left the
coalition on the sideline watching social
and political issues being negotiated.
The Tenants Rights Coalition, for ex-
ample, has already rejected consulta-
tion on ‘‘mediation’’ between landlords
and tenants as an acceptable com-
promise. They want the Rentalsman’s
office retained and rent controls re-
established.

Implicit in the assurance that Bennett
gave to Munro is that the government is
prepared to respond to ‘‘consultation’’.
It was a point that Larry Kuehn of the_
BCTF picked up on Monday morning
as government workers and teachers
were going back to work when he said
that Munro’s credibility was on the line
during the consultations with the
government to come.

In fact, the credibility of Operation .

Solidarity within the Solidarity Coali-
tion is now on the line. ‘‘Consultation’’
did not defeat Bill 2 and Bill 3 and there
is no reason to believe now that a con-
sultative process will produce more if it
isn’t backed up by the same unity and
commitment to mass action that has

CLIFF ANDSTEIN...

BCGEU
signs ‘no concessions’ agreement.

characterized the fightback over the
past four months.

The abiding principle that has kept
the Solidarity Coaltion together is that
there will be no private deals and that no
group would be left to battle the Socreds
by themselves. As the coalition enters
the negotiations with the Socreds that
have been opened up by the agreement,
it will have to be with one voice and with
the assurance that the full weight of
Operation Solidarity is behind it. And
that will have to be demonstrated visibly
to the Socreds by a continuing program
of activity around the demands of the
coaltion.

According to B.C. Federation of
Labor secretary Mike Kramer the pro-
gress of consultation will be reviewed in
about two weeks at the B.C. Fed con-
vention where delegates from all Opera-
tion Solidarity unions will be present. If
there is no indication of any solid con-
cessions from the Socreds on the key
social issues, that convention will pro-
vide the opportunity for the coalition
and the labor movement to set out a
renewed strategy to escalate pressure.

With the strike ending short of what
many activists were hoping could be
achieved on the eve of an escalation that
would have brought tens of thousands
more workers into the fight — there is a
natural negativism that has already
found expression in some parts of the

-unable to see in the developing situation

ahead for class conscious leadership.

coalition. That negativism can’t be
allowed to cloud the achievements that
have been scored, or the need to deepen
the bonds between the coalition and the
trade union movement.

- More than 80,000 workers last week
struck on behalf of human and
democratic rights of all British Colum-
bians. The agreement to end the strike in
no way diminishes the significance of
their action, or of the leadership role
labor will have to continue to play on
behalf of the coalition.

However the short-lived strike did
reveal weaknesses in Operation |
Solidarity’s battle plan which indicated
that its leadership was not prepared for
the social conflict that would have been
required to actually win on social and
economic policy. While the threat of
charges were responded to by threats of
escalating industrial action and even a
general strike, there was no actual plan
to deal with the rash of court actions
and injunctions against teachers. And
when the government and media
resorted to anti-union hysteria, the
massive public relations campaign
needed by Operation Solidarity was no
where in sight. Most important, massive
public demonstrations were needed to
focus the outstanding public support
that was there for the strikers, but these
actions were never even considered.

The dramatic conflict of the past
weeks have been a vivid portrayal of
class conflict at its highest level. It is un-
fortunate that the leadership of the
labor movement at this juncture were |

the opportuntiy not just to return B.C.
to before July 7 when the budget was
brought down, but to bring about the
political defeat of the government an!
to change fundamentally the political
direction of the province. But that
lesson will not be lost on thousands of
trade unionists who will be looking

prepared to address the fundamental
issues, not least that of government.
History can never be turned back an!

B.C. is far from where it was on July 7-
The Socred program has been advance
ed, but so too has the labor movement
and the Solidarity Coalition which 12

four months has become the spirit 01 |
B.C. The issue of government, avoid
for the moment, will soon be back OF |

the agenda.

PACIFIC TRIBUNE— NOVEMBER 16, 1983—Page 12

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