SS Castlegar News. October 16, 1985 " October 16,1985 » Cl Hijacking: d By LARRY BLACK NEW YORK (CP) — One man’s. avenger is another man’s terrorist —.be he a%jPalestinian hijacker, French secret service agent, Shiite- bomber or Israeli air force strategist: Or so many—in the United States were beginning to believe until'their own air force nabbed a ‘plane carrying four “seajackers” last week. Now the United States — humbled in Iran, Beirut, El commentators were criticizing President Ronald Reagan's endorsement —*Later retracted -— of Israel's aerial bombing of Palestinian bases in Tunisia. The administration itself felt it wiser to abstain on a UN Security Council vote condemning the operation, which Israel defended as r i for the bing of a yacht in Cyprus on the Jewish Yom Kippur holiday. The raid may have been perfectly. justified, Daily | News. columnist Lars-Erik Nelson argued, but that doesn't alter the fact Israel — in U.S. eyes — is permitted tw-play by different rules. “There is a law. on the books that requires that Ivador and here by_its i i against... terrorism — is rejoicing at having, for once, pulled off an Israeli-style counter-coup against a group which held its citizens hostage. The euphoria was apparent on the late-night TV news bulletins as.word of the operation reached home Thursday evening. On Friday tabloids cheered “We Bag the Bums” and “We Showed Them,” and even the staid New York Times headlined “U.S. Reacts: ‘About Time.’ “After Years of Rage, A-Signal to Terrorists,” one of The Times's lead articles began. But only a few days before, a wide range of A pons. spld abroad must-be used by the purchasing country only for legitimate self-defence,” Nelson pointed out, noting this as another apparent case of “except for Israel.” In reality, “the Israelis have been able to use American weapons more or less: as they please.” Many Americans ‘were also quick to point out the “contradiction in. their government's attacks on the | * “state-sponsored terrorism” of Libya, Iran, North-Korea, Vietnam and Nicaragua, and its silence at ‘France's scuttling of Greenpeace’s Rainbow Warrior in New Zealand. The defence of France offered by former UN ambassador Jeanne Kirkpatrick - the French are different in that they “¢learly did not attack civilians and bystanders and maim, torture or-kill” — didn't appear to_ wash with many in the United States. “T'd like to see her, outline this view. to Mrs. Pereira” — the widow of the G her killed by terrorism or defence? The other note of caution amid the congratulations is the grim fact Israel, for all its success in avenging terrorism, still faces an escalating number of terrorist attacks, now from Shiite enemies in Lebanon as well from the Palestinians it has displaced, Capturing terrorists and bringing them to justice, or, the French bomb —. columnist Alexander Cockburn suggested last week on the commentary page of The Wall Street Journal. While the United States. —and many other countries whose citizens have been targets of political violence — rejoice, some observers are already warning the euphoria may not last long. Reagan, they note, has sought extradition’ of the Palestinians from Italy, and has suggested jail terms would not be sufficient if they are found guilty. of the hijacking and the murder of Leon Klinghoffer. Putting the Palestinians on trial and perhaps executing them — regardless of how much the Arab world disagreed with the hijackers’. actions — would likely mean no U.S. citizen would be safe from reprisal anywhere in the world, one veteran journalist suggested unt against their countgymen, : appears to do, little todeter others from similar acts, critics argue, as long as groups of people feel aggrieved and believe attempts at moderate negotiation prove fruitless. “If there is to be no. safe zone for Israelis, then apparently there ‘shall be no safe zone for enemies of Israel. From Munich, to Cyprus, to Tunis, where next?” Dan. Martin, a Michigan newspaper publisher wrote recently. “That philosophy will perpetuate the cycle of death. It is also expanding the circle of death,” Martin says acts of revenge — or self-defence, depending on one’s view — “will occur to less and less applause. 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But little had-been written of the militant union until Mike Solski, a labor leader who has lived and worked all his life in the Sudbury area of northern Ontario, decided to-write a book. a = 7 The book, Mine Mill, is the history of the International Union of Mine Mill and Smelter Workers in Canada since 1895. It was released last April. Solski was in the West Kootenay this week to promote the book, which’ was co-written with John Smaller, a labor newspaper editor before he retired. Mine Mill is an account of the highlights of the International Union of Mine Mill and Smelter Workers in Canada and its legendary predecessor, the Western | Federation of Miners. — The book is about the conditions of hard rock mine and smelter workers, their struggles, their politics and their sense of community. A description of the book states that records ‘show men who dig far underground for a living have been among be most militant of workers. i in a US. nantes s was the object of widespread attack from that industry, the government, the church and fearful political and labor groups,” says the book. “After half a century of struggle for recognition, the hysterical attacks of exponents of cold war MeCarthyism ithe wockof. d Mine-Mill to.cl of the -y Mine Mill union. The book is well Thusteeted with ST aerapta: interviews and records. Mine Mill is the story of why the union was the- object of such a ferocious attack and how it was finally ver d by an i which the authors -contend could not claim equal levels of achievement. The book has five chapters.The first deals with The Western Federation of Miners: Origins in the U.S. Chapter Two is titled: Organization in Western Canada, Chapter Three: Organization in Northeastern Canada; Chapter Four, Kirkland Lake; Chapter Five: Sudbury Local 598. West Kootenay residents may find the segments dealing with the Trail-Rossland area particularly worth reading. — . The book tells about the Rossland Strike of 1901, a major strike that shook all of Rossland area's mines, and Trail-Rossland activity of 1916-1917, as well as the Greenwood Miners’ Strike from 1909-1910. g These segments also include photographs, such as a photo of a group of miners at the Le Roi Mine in Rossland, the Rossland Miners Hall and a photo featuring George — Casey, secretary of Rossland Local 38 in its heyday: The first WF local in Canada was established in Rossland. Trail-Rossland activity: 1916-1917, describes the struggles and conditions of workers at Consolidated Mining and Smelting and how by 1916 the majority of workers voted to become Local 105 of the International Union of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers. _33 individually-wrapped ‘suckers. Asst. flavours. 87 je and easy! 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Now, ea.: Drain Mat Dish Pan 488 }) 376 314 et Wolo Prices Effectiv e (While Quantities Last) ’til Oct. 19, 1985. WANETA PLAZA Hwy. 3, Trail __books.” Not until 1967, with most of Mine Mill's membership absorbed into the United Steelworkers of America, did , the attack cease, says the book. Mine Mill Local 598 in Falconbridge, Ont. outside Sudbury, is the sole surviving ‘The highest. wage levels in. Canada.were. re_enjoyed ib; ‘Trail for the better-part-of-the-post pe to government statistics. Solski said in an interview he began writing the book around 1980, although some of the research started" 2. 1977. — SHAFT HOUSE But it wasn't until 1980 that the writers received a Canada Council grant, ‘The book was completed in rin' “For a labor book, it’s very, successful.” he. said. * | He said the book is popular with the academic community and he is trying to make sure that all school libraries and local libraries have copies. Solski said he decided to write the book because __there is only_sketchy information throughout Canada about the life, hards' smeltermen. ~ “I felt that the few things that are said about the organization, that-they founded to protect themselves and struggles of miners and . Shaft house of the LeRoi Mine circa 1 -and-their- families; there was a story there tobe told- Nobody seemed to have taken the time to do it. “I decided it should be done and that’s why I went after the Canada Council for a grant to help research,” he said. “After I thatT to come with me and help out.” Solski recalls ‘that in the early days the mines union not only looked after the welfare of the workers and da former fought for better working conditions, but also-looked— after the widows, the families of the miners and_ the children ‘nobody else cared for. “Conditions were very. very rough,” he said, “adding — a lot of the-struggles of the miners in thi around food-and decent lodging. “Men were isolated in the mining camps under pretty primitive conditions,” he said. The issues are different today. But Solski warned that if the unions aren't careful, they may lose a lot, although they may not return to the hardships of the 1s. Solski is on a western tour selling his book. ‘Solski was employed by ‘Inco from 1935-1978 as a laborer, tradesman, foreman, co-ordinator and supervisor of central assets and surplus in Ontario. ie 1940s_centred. oe senses MIKE SOLSKI’ . - union history He was active in union affairs for 27 years in various _ positions, from shop steward to-president nt of an 18,000 member local union. He was also secretary of—the ‘Canadian Mine Mill union council and Eastern Canadian director of the International Mine Mill and Smelting Workers. Solski-was also mayor of Coniston for 10 years and mayor of Nickel Centre, an enlarged town under regional government, for six years. _ He has written one other book, The Coniston Story, about the history of the local community, published in 1983. Smaller was editor of the community- and union- sponsored newspaper in Kirkland Lake during the historic.gold miners’ strike in 1941-42, and was a public relations director of Mine Mill union until 1958. jocundier boss has private jet OTTAWA (CP) — Senator Ed Lawson, the much-| fravelled chief of the Canadian Conference of expelled the Teamsters about the same time. In the fr world of i i Teamster { the ulti: i status symbol — a rmulti-million-dollar private jet.. Thesleek, twin-engined Hawker-Siddeley HS125-700 - puts the one-time truck driver, believed to be the highest paid union leader in Canada with known Senate and Teamster income of $228,801 for 1984, in the company of cabinet’ ministers, corporate bigwigs and internatidnal celebrities. : The aircraft sets an extravagant and curious Precedent within the Canadian trade union movement. with 90,000 rank eighth asses Garailian unions. Not even the Canadian Labor Congress, the country’s central labor body with two million members, has toyed with the idea of buying its “own jet. ~ More unusual still is the fact that Lawson is to , Lawson's jet is just one more plane in a fleet that has become known over the years as “The Teamster Air Force.” -"Teamster—general—president--Jackie Presser— of Washington has a jet of his own and so do the directors of the four regional U.S. Teamster conferences. After more than a decade as a senior executive Lawson now can © boast equal status with his Teamster peers. Yet, as is the case with his job as Canadian director —an appointed position he retains at the pleasure of the international president — the jet is not something Canadian Teamsters have been given much chance to debate. The existence of the plane, estimated by three U.S.-paid salary, private air charter companies to be worth approximately $5 million, appears to be little known among rank-and-file permitted by the Canadian Ts make apparently unlimited personal as well as business use of the plane.) This is a perk so lavish in potential that it is rare even in the most elite of corporate structures. Radcliffe Latimer was forced by his boardroom peers to resign earlier this year as president of TransCanada PipeLines Ltd. in an expense account row focussing on his use of company planes. ae Other labor leaders in Canada; including labor congress’ president Dennis McDermott, travel by commercial airline, usually flying economy class. > union Checks reveal Lawson has had an interest in the plane for nearly two years and it has been registered to Lawson came into the picture Dec. 7, 1983, when the registry was switched to Lawson and two Vancouver Pezamerica Corp. and International Corona Resources Ltd. Murray Pezim, a stock promoter who has made and lost several fortunes-in a-roller-coaster business career, headed both companies at the time. Reached at An office in Scottsdale, Ariz., Pezim-said he and the Teamster leader bought the plane and shared it for about a year. When his need for the plane diminished, Pezim said, Lawson bought him out., The senator has been. listed as the sole owner at Transport Canada since Ja: Teamster returns filed with the U.S. Department for 1984 contain entries covering Lawson's hotels and r charges. eet There is also an entry of $4,417.53 for portation, but no reference to a plane appears in the list of benefits credited to Lawson... Private air charter operators iervienne by The him_alone — not the Teamsters:— since Jan. 3, 1985. - Canadian Press say it is ii with .~ ~The spacious white plane, identified by the registry precision the annual cost of Pe eiatning and flying an markings “GPPS” at the base of its tailfin, was built in England by Hawker-Siddeley in 1978. is in the,air, major repairs, parts, hangar rental, licences, landing ‘fees and insurance. The manager said insurance alone could run to $100,000 a year for such’a plane. > If-the jet flew enough to meet” business. aircraft association standards, the operating costs alone, at $2,000 an hour, would exceed $1 million a year. Part of the cost—-—} could be recouped if the plane were leased out when not in use by the union. CLOSES BOOKS Although Canadian Teamster books are not open to the public, an insight into union finances is provided by the Canadian Teamster constitution. ~ As of Oct. 1, 1984, the constitution specified that “the revenue of the conference shal} be derived” from a $1.05 monthly tax on individual: members, plus -monthly subsidies of 60 cents per member from the international union. Based on a membership of 90,000, this arrangement would produce annual revenues totalling $1,782,200. Teamsters also pay monthly dues that are usually HS125-700 because it varies greatly with usage. But the bill for such a jet could easily be several +It also puts him within non-stop range of the times the $228,801 Lawson is known to have earned in American sunbelt states of Florida, Arizona, Nevada and Segate and-Teamster salaries for 1984, spokesmen for California ‘where T: meet for conferences and to play golf. ' Trans| Canada > The teamsters were ejected from the labor 25 years.ago for raiding meeere from the CLC unions. bought by Pacific Pet |. of Calgary in 1978 and sold the following year to Petro-Canada Ltd., the federal government oil company. records show he plane was $200,000 a y Lu three firms said. One company inanager sa id he would demand a fee of to supply a flight crew and carry out minor, routine “cosmetic” maintenance for an HS125-700. Costs over and above the figure would include - operating costs of roughly $2,000 an hour while the plane d at twice the amount of an hour's wage as established in local Teamster contracts. How this money is divided between the Canadian conference and the international union is unclear. A dissident. Detroit-based Teamster faction, known as the Teamsters for a Democratic Union, has called into question the lifestyle of Teamster executives. Ken Paff, head of the 8,000-member group, argues that “it’s worse than‘ unusual — it’s ludicrous” for Lawson to have his own jet. > We've lost track of it,” Paff said in an interview. “At one point they had seven.”