CANADA-CHINA FRIENDSHIP AND

SOLIDARITY

Long and Deep

BCFL/VDLC Delegation Orientation, June 3, 2014

Who is this man?

Dr. Norman Bethune

School children memorize “In Memory of Norman Bethune”

by Chairman Mao

Missionaries and Teachers

Who are these people?

David and Isabel Crook Isabel was the daughter of Canadian

missionaries.

Isabel Crook today in Beijing

Revolution in a Chinese Village: Ten Mile Inn, well known in Chinese translation

And recently with then-Premier Wen Jiabao

Another well-known Canadian missionary

James Endicott

His granddaughter, Lorraine, edits “Our Times”

Who is this woman?

Madeleine ParentQuebec Union Leader

Who went to China with this man

Who wrote this book about his1960 visit to China

Which Vancouver unionists went to China in 1967 and met Chairman Mao?

Jack Scott and John Wood

Canada was one of the first western countries to

diplomatically recognize China

In what year?

Canada recognized China in

1970

Mitchell SharpMinister of External Affairs

Sharp remarked 25 years later: "Seldom is Canada in a position to give international leadership. This time we did so."

Nixon didn’t visit China until…

1972

Nixon with Premier Zhou Enlai

Trudeau returned to China in 1973 as Prime Minister after

recognizing China diplomatically in 1970

U.S. didn’t recognize China until 1979

Thirty years after the founding of the People’s Republic of China

We are still very popular in China

How should unions in Canada respond?

By communicating with the ACFTU, engaging in exchanges and dialogue

By being frank about how unions work in Canada in a capitalist society: how we organize workers; how we represent workers on the shop floor; how we bargain contracts; and how we strike to win our demands from employers

Beijing MFTU BEIJING, Sept. 1, 2010 (Xinhuanet) -- Amid rising concerns over trade

unions' role in better protecting workers' rights and interests, the Beijing municipal trade union's move to liberate grassroots trade union chairs from their economic dependence on employers marks an important step forward.

The capital's trade union will establish a special fund to pay grassroots [workplace] trade union leaders. That will hopefully make grassroots trade unions more independent in their negotiations with employers, when workers' rights and interests are violated.

Before the 1980s, State-owned enterprises offered welfare packages to take care of almost everything in workers' daily lives. Trade unions then were actually the ones providing welfare services. Now, different forms of private businesses have become an important part of the country's economy. Employers can ignore or even violate the rights and interests of workers when their major concern is to pursue maximum profits. There are instances of employers firing trade union leaders who pressured them over workers' rights and interests. Trade union leaders can even side with employers instead.

As such, the Beijing union is working for the direct election of union leaders or have such leaders sent by higher-level unions. This will help ensure that they will be paid not by employers, but by unions. The leaders will then have less to fear of in helping the workers. Despite all possible resistance, this plan is to be put into practice.

Harvard’s Elaine Bernard,Kent Wong, UCLA:

“China has undergone tremendous change in the past few decades…In this context of change, would not more worker-to-worker and union-to-union exchange be positive? Through more dialogue with Chinese workers and unions, the …labour movement could promote mutually beneficial labour solidarity, move beyond the cold war and unilateralism, and refocus attention on the domestic and global corporations and associated institutions that are, in fact, the main threat to workers throughout the world.”

Friendship continuesVDLC visited BMFTU, 2006

BMFTU visited VDLC in 2007

And we took them to a picket line

Shandong PFTU has visited several times (this is 2009)

And now it’s our turn