CASTLEGAR NEWS, Thursday, November 9, 1978 Unions’ Credibility Undermined by Media e ott L. V. (LES) CAMPBELL, 1912-1977 : Publisher trom Aug. 7, 1947 to Feb. 15, 1973 QURT CAMPBELL, Publisher » RAYON GUEDES, Editor * TIM MESSENGER, Advert. Mgr. LOIS HUGHES, Mng, Edilor * RENE BRODMAN, Foreman * LLEW KEREIFF, Ollice Mgr, veers Castlegar Hews is a momber of tne Audi! Gutsau of Clrulations, ine Canadien Cemmunlty 42 55x aha a member ot Woe r (Arratrong-Oogg Representatives Lud), 207. Hantngh St. Vancouver, 6 C VEE NB, . the Newspapers Association. tim. nd Hs nationally. represented by ADAEPS lepnone-(604) ‘All Cotrespondence should be addretsed to. The Edlier, Centtegar News, 300 HW AHS. Letters for Hed with the corn the correct name must be submilied The inlarests of brevity, good taste, etc te * SBigte let the press the peopte’s rights maintain, and ¢ C 0 M M EN T Thursday Morning. November 9, 1978 Crossing the Line As In any labor dispute, the Canadian Union of Public Employees’ picket Iiries at Selkirk College and In four West Kootenay school districts Invite extreme points of view. a - Side-taking In such a situation Is unavoldable. You cannot cross the line without supporting management and you ¢énnat honor the line without supporting the -unfore You are, as the saying goes, elther part of the solution or part of the problem. It Is probably because of the stark significance of the CUPE picket IIne that the problems It has caused are so defindd. in contrast to labor disput: private sector, this public sector lockout has not been confined to a simple disagreement between two adult groups. Although the current dispute has not ‘posed the same threat to life and llmb as : would a policemen's or firemen’s strike, It (It would be unfalr not to acknowledge the pressures faced during this astrike- lockout by CUPE members, who also pay school taxes. In addition to the prospect of p and the ofother members of thelr communities, many are in the unfortunate position of having to deny halt own children the best possible educa- a n. But it Is obvious that CUPE’s vote to strike, which Ideally would be taken as a last resort to force Speedy settlement, has with the West resulted In a deadloc Kootenay Educational Employers’ Assccla- tion, Also obvious Is the tendency of both parties to reinforce their nlatd positions by laming the plight of the dispute’s victims on each other. : have yet to develop a labor By GEORGE MATTHEWS (From a column in the Coast News, published weekly in Gibsons.) international conspiracy, both conscious ahd unconscious, de- voted to, attacking the credi- bility of labor unions has been speculated upon in this column in the past. The success of such in a campaign is becoming increasingly evident as public reaction to the growing number of strikes has become more and more negative. Negative reaction to strikes is reasonable when such strikes create inconveniences to the public and the strikers exhibit no sense of respon- sibility to either consumers or employers, . IN ALMOST EVERY case this summer, however, the striking workers have been placed in such an untenable position by employers who too often have attempted to with- labor contracts that collective action became necessary. Wages, interestingly enough, chave-rarely been a substantial issue in recent labor disputes. The current anti-labor cam- paign has been instigated in the board rooms of a number of THAT THERE IS AN draw benefits won by previous i -Anti-Labor Campaign Becoming z ” “Anal Trying to buy us off with huge salaries and great working conditions, huh?’’ effectively eliminate the strike asa viable instrument in labor's eternal struggle for the equit- able distribution of wealth; We climate in which there is abuse of neither the power to iock out nor the right to strike. And while it Is Important that public employees’ hard-won right to bargain collectively not be It Is clear public education must - able private industries, service in a mutual, voluntary agreement with the g Ices especially education—exist largely through mandatory payment of taxes. And implied In that compulsory taxa- cifon Is the right of the taxpayer—and, In this case, his or her offspring—to the services it The unavoidable question Is whether lic employees are disrupting a service or which provide not be held for ransom. One means of avoiding further shut- downs of this kind Is legislation automatical- ly forcing both the employees and thelr employers Into binding arbitration. Also worth serious study is the replacement of strike and lockout powers with more or i which will have such a drastic effect op area schools. ‘he service disrupted by the strike- lockout Is crucial to the futures of thousands of students In the West Kootenays. It seams Inevitable that we will be forced to choose between those students’ rights and the rights of the CUPE locals. (From an editorial in the Grand Forks Gazette.) . British Columbia Is the first province