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Compromise Deal over Labour's Role in NDP

Shift to one-member-one-vote, and union fees dropped.

Sam Cooper 25 Nov 2005TheTyee.ca

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The promise by NDP leader Carole James to limit union power within the party, made well before last spring's election, has been the focus of intense debate and negotiation among party insiders.

After months of wrangling, the resulting compromise over union affiliation will be unveiled and voted on at the NDP convention this weekend.

The resolution won't reflect the first approach recommended by an internal committee made up of union and individual party members empowered to review the BC NDP's structural ties to labour.

In a move purportedly to modernize the party and increase its electoral appeal, the majority of that committee's members, including the chair Ian Aikenhead, former MLA Moe Sihota, and four others, recommended limiting province wide unions to just two delegates at conventions, severely diminishing the clout of union representation in the party.

But the changes were unacceptable to the committee's three union members, including United Steelworkers of America district 3 director Steve Hunt.

The three asked party members to reject the report, and then brokered a new proposal based on the federal NDP model, to be voted on at the convention.

One member, one vote

Party delegates will vote on the new affiliation deal, which will drop weighted votes currently given to union affiliates, in favour of one member one vote rules based on the federal NDP model.

"If we're going to argue for democracy outside the party, we need to do it inside as well," NDP leader Carol James told the Vancouver Sun. "I think this provides us with an opportunity to reach out to all British Columbians."

In the current model unions pay fees to the party, 20 cents per affiliated individual member per month, in order to field delegates at conventions, but the new model proposed will eliminate those fees.

The unions will still be able to field similar numbers of delegates as in the current model. This year for example, union affiliate members are expected to number around 60 out of 1000.

What has changed is that the number of delegates an affiliated union can send to the party convention used to be based on the number of its workers the union would pay to affiliate. Now that will be determined based on the total number of NDP members within that union.

Unlike the federal NDP model the changes are based on, union affiliates must now also declare themselves as either constituents or union delegates before delegates are chosen for the convention. Otherwise, say those who backed the change, the perception would have existed that union delegates would have had more alternative ways to participate in the voting process than constituent delegates.

"What the affiliation recommendation does is it ensures that whether you are a member of a labour organization or you are a member of one of the constituencies is that you have an equal opportunity to be a delegate at our convention," James said.

However, the new proposal falls short of the recommendations made by the affiliation committee report, which essentially sought to give more power to individual party members and less to union affiliates.

'Fosters a perception'

In the majority report members said the status quo needed to change because,

"The current model provides (union) affiliates with Convention delegate entitlements based upon the number of union members in the affiliated organization, rather than linking entitlement to the number of NDP members, and fosters a perception that affiliates hold a disproportionate influence over Convention votes."

In place of the traditional union affiliations, they recommended, "the provision of a mechanism for Provincial Organizations to join the Party (for no fee) with a more limited opportunity to have their voice heard at Provincial Conventions."

And stated:

However, any BC organization (including unions) whose membership, whether individual or affiliated, is province wide or potentially province wide would be eligible to be defined as a "Provincial Organization". If they meet the criteria, they can apply to join the BCNDP for no fee and be entitled to two delegates at convention and entitled to send resolutions to convention and council.

And:

We recommend that the above provisions would replace the current provisions in the BC NDP Constitution concerning the rights of representation and participation at both the Provincial and the Constituency levels of affiliated organizations.

BC NDP leader Carol James told reporters she had read the report and said, "I support change. And I think there's change there. And I think the discussion needs to go to provincial council so that they can have a go at it and see what discussion takes place."

The unions' view

But the union members urged the provincial council to reject the majority recommendations and come back with a new proposal based on consensus to vote on.

In a reply to the majority report, Hunt wrote:

"The impact of the recommendations will be a body blow to the alliance between the labour movement and the New Democratic party...other recommendations appear intended to cushion that the blow… but this tweaking does not disguise the fundamental break with labour that is the result of ending direct local union affiliations.

"As committed New Democrats and trade unionists we hereby appeal to BC New Democrats to reject the step you are being asked to take."

Defeat averted?

According the Hunt, the majority report proposals would have been defeated at the convention and the incident would have thrown a negative light on the party's leadership, but the new proposal will pass because it addresses the perception of double votes, and will strengthen NDP membership among rank and file union members.

"It (the new model) says we don't get delegates to the convention based on our numbers and (fees) paid per capita," Hunt said. "We have to sign up members of the party from union members."

"It doesn't hurt the party, it encourages us (unions) to be active and get out and sign up workers," Hunt added.

Although he questioned the validity of Hunt's response to the majority report, Aikenhead said he accepts the proposal being put forth this weekend.

"I was there to chair it (the committee) as a lawyer and they came up with something different, and I'm fine with that," Aikenhead said.

Sam Cooper is a reporter for The Tyee.  [Tyee]

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