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* _ it is little wonder that organized labor‘s ranks keep dwindling, bit by bit, gywbyyar.incflnda 3 Unions keep shooting themselves in the foot. They think they‘re acting @ machoâ€"like but the truth is that their tactics are often so foolish, so selfâ€" 3 interested and so poorly thought out that unions are actually losing memâ€" 8bcrsdaybydzy.lt‘snonurdwsecwhy. & Take the most recent union threats. Labor bosses in Ontario have vowed & to shut down an Ontario city before Christmas because they‘re angry at the ;Comcmnvcgovemmmmdd\cmmit'smhngtomtcossmdw repeal Bill 40, which was the NDP‘s idea of bringing peace to the picket line by disallowing management at a strikeâ€"bound plant to hire replacement workers. ‘ What‘s really galling is that the union bossâ€" \ es are prepared to break the law. Such a strike will be unlawful. Collective agreements signed by the province‘s unions make walkâ€" outs and other proposed protest actions illeâ€" gal. But never worry. Union leaders have not exactly been ones to follow the letter of the law unless it is a law that is to their benefit Whats so silly about this whole exercise is that if the unions had used their heads during the election campaign, they might have been able to preâ€" vent the Conservative government from being elected. They had a very simple tool at their disposal: the ballot box. They should have voted for the NDP But they didn‘t. Labor leaders were still angry at Bob Rae and Company because they had the nerve to pass the Social Contract, It was a law they didn‘t like. They felt deserted. They thought Mr. Rae had turned on them And for that, they were determined to do him and his party in. So they didâ€" n‘t vote for the NDP or simply stayed at home. Talk about a stupid decision If the union bosses had thought about it, they would have seen that Mr. Rae had no choice but to cut public sector wages. The deficit was running far too high and the bondholders in New York and elsewhere had told the government that they wouldn‘t extend any more loans unless Mr. Rae made some drastic cuts. And so he did. With reluctance. Instead of praising his move and recognizing it as being the only move the government could make, the unions denounced it. In doing so, they left their brains and their knowledge of finance at home. A simple Economics 101 course at any university would have instructed them that this had to be done: And an understanding of politics would have shown them that the alternatives proposed by either the Conservatives or the Liberals in Ontario were worse for their interests. A simple reading of the Tory platform would have made that clear. But they obviously didn‘t read and they certainly didn‘t think. They went ahead, like irate little children in a sandbox and got mad. Real mad. They tried to sink their last best hope, Mr. Rae. Talk about biting the hand that feeds you. All of this is so silly that you have to sit back and wonder just what goes through the minds of these labor leaders as they collect their relatively large salaries, which they receive â€" unlike their adherents â€" whether theres a strike or not. But not to despair. There is still hope. Judging by recent opinâ€" ion polls, most union members don‘t support the strike effort. They‘ll only go along with it because they have to. But it shows that ordinary working Canadians who belong to unions have more brains than their leaders. Stupid decision OPINION Fax Waterloo Town Square 75 King St. South, Suite 201 N2J 1P2 The idea of a oneâ€"day walkout is silly to start with because it will accomplish absolutely nothing. Sure, it will create some chaos for a day or so. But so what? Will it stop the government from enacting the legisâ€" lation to kill Bill 40? Not on your life. Will it force the government to abandon its costâ€" cutting program? Dream on. Will it gain public sympathy for the labor movement? Quite the opposite. It will make the public dislike the unions even more. Pete Cudhea (Sports Editor) To hear the leftâ€"wingers and sundry other malcontents tell it, every developer is a moneyâ€"minting ogre. That goes, more or less, for builders, too. l The stereotype has them lolling in a plush Flonda villa counting their illâ€"gotten gains. Every dollar, you understand, was made from the sweat of the poor working man who hapâ€" pened to purchase their overpriced, shoddy products. Next Harris can tax garage sal _ That rn'ay be the stereotype, but reality is wildly different. A friend and | were talking about it the other night on the way to a meeting. Hes all but retired from the building trades and as a knowâ€" 0NCE itâ€"all journalist, I‘ve kept close tabs on the builders too I “ Gosh, nearly everybody did in the postâ€"war era when the community was the fastest growâ€" ing in Canada and housing was marching into the fields on every side. The builders and developers were the highâ€"rollers who never seemed to lose. But the other night my friend and I started ticking off the most prominent of them and we concluded that a relative few kept their riches Most of the others stayed in the business too long, pushing for an everâ€"mounting pile. A few blew their fortunes in a totally differâ€" . @@@®®@@Me ent business. At least one fell prey to a femme fatale. But let‘s not gossip. And I should say a word about the quality that‘s a tadition with Kâ€"W builders. The only substandard project that 1 recall was the work of a Toranto builder and he didn‘t last very long here To be fair about it, a house can be a pleasure if you have a home handyman‘s book. Then, whenever something goes wrong, you get out the book, find a handyman who‘s home and call him. Oktoberfest Leftover: Germany prohibits any additives to beer. German beer, by law, may contain only water, hops, malt and yeast. The restriction dates back to a law passed in 1517 by the German King Maximilian 1. By the way, beer drinkers get more cavities than milk drinkers. But they go to the dentist in a better frame of mind. Thumb Tax: Mike Harris needs new forms of revenue. So enmmmnsmvntanre Jerry Fischer Circulation Manager: | Waterloo Chronicle is pnbllsle every Mb’ Rick Campbell Paul Winkler The Waterloo Chronicle is published by The Fairway G a division of Southam Inc. a 753 King St. S., Suite 201, Wlwm: M ln 886â€" Doofemmmall N3C 3X4 â€"*GST * The views of our columnists are their own and do not necessarily the views of the newspaper. ue ONCE OVER LIGHTHY reme naotr enaermenemesenrtcn xm ntavinnevemace C Eo oeamlonennee e meennoer,, does Ottawa‘s Paul Martin. May 1 respectfully suggest a solte tion: collect the provincial sales tax and the GST levies at yad and garden sales. 4 1 haven‘t been out in driveways and garages with a calcule tor, but I‘d guess that at least $1 million is turned over every weekend. A How do you tax it? Well, I‘m a concept man and thats detail. I‘ll leave it to the minions to figure out. Maybe some & You can blame flatâ€"out greed for the bi Jt underground economy in countless trades. Tak the TV repairman who asks for cash. Or «k j you to make the cheque out to him personall not to his company. £ You‘re stealing from yourself and other W payers if you go along with him. Granted, t tax rates are inclined to make you cynical. Fact is, taxes art $ bad a fellow has to be unemployed to make a living. Dubious Import; We Canadians are tolerant and thus put up with impositions that come with immigrant cult The more fanatic in the multicultural industry would have) accept as sacred every jot and tittle of whatever culture cof along. Og? What about Eke in Africa? They send their children on their own at 2 1/2 years. Most of us would call t cxucmlyinrsh,aionno[dfllddmc.mmwo“’ admirers of Asian culture, but some‘ rural Chinese prac female infanticide. Do you want to import that? These are extreme examples? Yes, but they make a pO lmmmnswbmmhuehewwamdut ture as it is. They are coming heré to be a part of our cou not to remake it. # ¢ . The Fairway Group _ â€" * Subscription rates . ., 240 Holiday Inn Dr., Unit Fâ€" $45 yearly in Canada. . . Cambridge, On. _ â€"*. ©‘§9@‘yearly outside Canada: IWW: of permit would be the ticket. Anyhow always, we should push the message that the collection is for the benefit of the consum Har! Har! & As an avid reader of roadside signs, I‘ve of wondered on who pays taxes, if arty, on what anything. The fellow who sells cordwood, example. Do all of them pay taxes on alli cordwood they sell? It must be tough to cut governments in as a partner. . councils approval of fun for the rehabilitati CEWe haven‘t doncfl thing for the lake for years so you cant § we‘ve spent a lot money on it, of the w romevenrett getmieem t (Story page Silver