Ethics alisen THE governing NDP despots recently enact- ed emergency back-to- work legislation, forc- ing school support workers to end a week- long strike that kept the province’s 375,000 schoo! kids on an extended spring break. _ “Free collective bargain- ing is dead,” thundered the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), who orchestrated the strike. Having refused to cross the picket lines for their young charges, the shapers of the future generation's mores, the BC Teachers Federation, castigated the government for the undemo- cratic blow it dealt to the process of barter at the point _of a barrel, otherwise known as collective bargaining. Why the unions evince such surprise that a socialist . government would overnde the right of workers to with- hold their labour, is a mys- “tery, for when it comes to Es liberty, socialism and fascism are in philosophical tandem. ”. *- Still, the unions’ outrage is understandable. The striking support workers should be free to be greedy and bereft of princi- ples to their heart’s content. Should they wish to with- draw their labour as a bar- gaining chip, government has no business instructing them -malibox Ashamed by pub decision comment as it would an indentured slave to return to their posts. What the strikers should not be licensed to do is to prevent the BC Public School Employers Association, the weak counter-union repre- senting the trustees and schoo! boards, and, with any luck, the children and par- ents, from conducting busi- ness as usual. CUPE?’s wish list inciden- tally entails demands for job security, a seniority clause, cessation of layoffs, and even a “me too” clause so that, in the event that one local gets a bonbon that the other doesn’t, the rites of Rumpelstilskin can prevail. Most ignoble, CUPE is determined that voluntee:s be prohibited without its express consent. With one fell swoop the union can expunge from schools the values volunteerism repre- sents, yet retain the broad support of society. Despite their all-round economic futility, I would have no truck with unions were they voluntary, non- coercive associations that luoked out for the needs of workers without Urampling the rights of other noa- aggressive partics. The Labour Relations Code esting s this moral base line. Bullying begins with the worker. According to the BC Labour Relations Code a worker who wishes to opt out or collective colonial- ization must seck permission from the board, which in turn will consider the request if ir is based on religious grounds. Freedom of association, a sometime Charter right, seemingly holds no sway with labour law. As penalty, the einployer or employee must then remit the equivalent of union dues to a charity. Where, oh where, are civil liberties groups when property ccnfis- cation and forced association are concerned? Take the real underdog in a strike, the so- called scab, whose label reveals more about those who affix it than about its recipient. ff a job is nothing bet an embodiment of an agreement between two consenting par- ties, as economist Professor Walter Block explains, then it cannot be owned. By striking, the workers renounce this agreement. Why then do the kings and queens of organized Jabour remain convinced they retain ownership of their jobs, and Dear Editor: I never thought the day would come when I am‘ ashamed to tell people I live in West ‘Vancouver and have lived here for 31 years. The municipality and its council have become the laughing ‘stock of the Lower Mainland attempt fails, April 5 News). I did not send a letter in ndarave neighbourhood . ize to John iechold for not doing so as I really did hope common sense wouid prevail. But, alas, I am ne of the “silent majority.” I also apologize to the good people of North Vancouver’ and “Vancouver for the abuse they have taken in this matter, How insulting these do-gooders are. The class system is alive and well and living in fest Vancouver! Don’t, come to live in the. municipality less you. are prepared to forgu progress of kind of people say they like the idea in princi- ple and are not averse to having a pint in a pleasant place, object to being intimidated at their place of business by the “Friends of Dundarave” and then vote against the pub! What a pathetic bunch of spineless wimps they are. And how scary that the likes of the “Friends of Dundarave” are allowed to make policy on behalf of the rest of us “drunks and louts” who would enjoy a social evening with friends in a pub in a lovely village-like atmos- here. Picase, get a cca! life. If you think you ave problems go downtown, east of Hastings, and sce what real problems are. Do you ever read the papers? You should all count your blessings and allow an honest businessman to make a living. What's next Mr. Mayor, council members and “friends” ~- curfew after 9 p.m. in case we wake the poor old things up, and a special pass- port to enter West Vancouver? any kind and be dictated to by the likes of the mayor and councillors who are terrified to put their money where their mouths are. What Angela J. Beer West. Vancouver Drive Select 2.0 litre twin-cam engine e @-speaker AM/FM stereo cassette hour roadside assistan ~_ city: $0.6 L/sn0 tam (27 epg) © rugged We eae moe Narth Van Suzuki | 983-2088 | ladder-box frame © power steering ° tilt steering highway: 6.5 1/100 fun (33 sspg) ides of picket that the poorest workers among us should be prohibit ed from competing for these jobs? Ina 1991 paper in the Journal of Secial, Volitical and Economic studies, Professor Block reminds the coercive unionists, tat, unless they subs caste system, it is ludicrous to that there are “two groups of people, those who own the jobs ... and all other people who must refrain from bidding for them.” The main work of the strike is that all-famiiar sullen, watchdog-cum-bed- lam-corridor shuttle, alung, the employer's property. The labour code practical- Friday. April 14, 2000 ~ North Shore News ~ 7 ly adnnits that the object of the picket is to physically pre- vent people who would like to deat with the struck employer from so docag. The rejoinder that the icket is intended as a means ‘ing out information does not pass muster. Delightfully, Professor Block asks us to imagine the local MeDonald’s sending hundreds of its agents to sur- round Burger King for the ostensible purpose of infor- mation giving. Transpose this menacing and threatening spectre to any “commercial or personal arena,” and the picket’s harassment value becomes crystal clear. Employers, for ee ile x All services. oot Ea | Ol, Lube & Filter fy werea” 21 pt. Safety check, 15 minutes - FAST! includes up to 5 litres of 1Ow30 Quakerstate 1362 Marine Drive 930-9715 Expires April 19/2000 EXorsa @@arr-6:00prn, Sun. 9:00am-5:00pm L7 PTL. Vitamia C + Rosehips 90 tabs; two for $5.49 Sulfate 180's S25."han for $8.99 Sodium free/S06mg “8 ‘All cate aa We {85 FREE local delivery Gdourters Extls Tighe 90 caps; two for $8.99 St Joke's Wart -39 300mg; 66's: two for $11.59 Galles la Ee ha ere ee ivra Health & Nutritic Customer parking in rear p.1365 Marine Drive, Ambleside, West Van 925-6703 e | ‘competitors current ac prices! ea orer S20) © OFFER VALID UNTIL API neo i their part, are disabused of their right to protect their property and caterprise by labour code fiat. Yhere certification obtains in B.C., a struck employer must prepare to sustain his livelihood in the face of a prohibition on Rir- ing replacements. Neither can he seck legal redress for “petty trespass ... or interference with contrac tual relations ... or trade, a ing out of strikes or picket- ing.” All of which lays bare the moral compass of 2 society in which this institution occu- pies such an exalted position. —gnome@nttcanada.net Dark-eyed Junco Immortalized by Anne Murry and other prairie dwellers this nwost cominon winter resident is a ground forager, seeking weed and grass seeds of millet frova your feeder, Usually found in chattering flocks of a dozen or so they ave easily identified by their black hood, pink bili and white tail feathers which flash as they hop. _ UL Besdh. Unllmite 1190 Marine Driv (at Pemberton) 983-2121