“If they don’t win the struggle here, it’s just going to get worse across the country. I think we’ve just seen the tip of the iceberg…”
The right-wing assault
On July 7 1983, British Columbia’s newly re-elected Social Credit (Socred) government brought forward an unprecedented “restraint” budget (aka austerity) and 26 pieces of legislation to radically transform the province.
Legislation massively rolled back workers’ rights, cut public services and the social safety net, and reduced government oversight and regulation of industry. Premier Bill Bennett and the Socreds had turned British Columbia into an experiment for new right-wing policies pumped out by new “think tanks” like the Fraser Institute and seen in Thatcher’s Britain and Reagan’s America. These were ideas that would become the norm in the 1990s across the country.
Escalation
The frontal assault by the Socreds sparked off a massive grassroots mobilization between July and November of 1983. Massive protests were held, anywhere from 50,000 to 80,000 strong in some cases.
While the Socreds steamrolled the legislature and made parliamentary democracy a disgrace in the eyes of many, the movement was heading towards a province-wide general strike. The BCGEU, facing massive layoffs as part of the government attacks, walked out on a 40,000-strong legal strike on November 1, followed by an illegal walkout of 50,000 teachers and educators. Hospital employees were due to strike November 14, and a general strike scheduled for November 18.
Sell-out
Fearing further escalation involving private sector unions, International Woodworkers of America president Jack Munro emerged from Premier Bill Bennett’s home announcing the “Kelowna Accord” which completely sold out the movement in exchange for promises to review the austerity budget and legislation. Senior union leaders dutifully shut down the strike, accepting Munro’s deal with Bennett.
The following BCGEU video is produced in 1984 captures the ferocity and dynamism of the movement, but fudges how the strike movement came to an end. For this story, we recommend Bryan Palmer’s little book “Solidarity: The Rise and Fall of an Opposition in British Columbia.”
This video helped me as an active participant remember how tumultuous and exciting 1983 was in B.C. The R & F introduction to the video states it “captures the ferocity and dynamism” of the events but “fudges how the strike movement came to an end”. “Fudges” is ,in fact, a pretty generous description of the events surrounding the meeting of Jack Munro in Bennett’s Kelowna kitchen and the “Kelowna Accord” that was reached. It would please me greatly if a bit more honesty was forthcoming from the Labour movement in describing the disappointing conclusion of the strikes and the Solidarity Coalition. An accurate history that admits to our weaknesses and errors is vitally important if we are going to avoid them in other crises. I’m living in Ontario these days, where Trump II has just taken power. Labour will be an important part of any resistance movement and casting a critical eye on how we performed in B.C. in the 80’s can only help us meet the challenges we face now..