Come January there will be a great schism in the labour movement.

NUPGE has decided to withdraw from the family and leave the House of Labour. This action will wreak havoc with labour councils and federations of labour at a time when we should be focusing our energy on who the real problem is: International capital and the puppet governments.

Thousands of workers have lost their jobs and have had the pensions reduced. There is a public sector wage freeze in Ontario and cutbacks and concessions in every province.

NUPGE members need the labour movement as much as we need them.

CEP also has issues with the Congress and raiding — but we won’t quit the labour movement or harm our central labour bodies.

In CEP, affiliation to the CLC is in our constitution and a decision to quit would have to be made by our membership after a full debate at convention. These are decisions affecting hundreds of thousands of members and should not be taken by small groups of leaders. The labour movement belongs to all trade union members.

It is time for sober second thought. NUPGE can only accomplish change within the labour movement. I, for one, am prepared to find a way to open the door to have them stay in the House of Labour.

Internal fights just make Harper smile.