in its own in-house news organ of an opinion by columnist Larry Burchall with which the union hierarchy strongly disagrees. Rather than killing Mr.

Burchall's column, the BIU chose to allow its publication inside The Workers' Voice while using the front page to disagree with the writer's opinions.

Remember, this is the BIU's own house organ which has allowed Mr. Burchall this freedom of expression to slam the BIU.

The Royal Gazette, which is free and open, constantly provides the space for people to disagree with its editorials and to express unpopular, even outrageous, opinions and that is the way it should be. But it was something of a surprise to find that a captive publication designed to promote the BIU would grant freedom of expression to an opinion which flagellates the BIU.

Mr. Burchall used his column to attack the BIU for using a non-union contractor to build its new Dundonald Street gas station and convenience market. It seems to us that the principle involved in Mr. Burchall's attack was totally correct. It is ludicrous that a union with a construction division would use a construction company which is non-union.

Mr. Burchall said, correctly we believe, "In my view the principle which has been violated is, or should have been, absolutely inviolable.'' He added, "Building the Bermuda Industrial Union gas station with non-union labour is completely, absolutely, unforgiveably wrong.'' What you see here, of course, is a union which has made a money-making deal with a major oil company, Esso, to revamp its gas station. The union has a thoroughly capitalist desire to make money so it hooks up with Esso, and little in this world is more capitalist than Esso, and is told by Esso which is probably anti-union, that it cannot find a unionised contractor and non-union firms would have to be used or the lucrative project would be abandoned.

So what happened? The BIU abandoned its principles and its construction members and took the capitalist cash. Instead of saying to Esso, well, if the work cannot be done by our members, then we cannot undertake the project, the BIU caved in and agreed to use non-unionised workers.

What we would like to know is just how many of the BIU's members are unemployed right now and would like to have the BIU-Esso Station jobs.

Mr. Burchall did use a thoroughly unpleasant comparison involving the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People and the Ku Klux Klan when there were plenty of other very effective comparisons he could have used.

However, Mr. Burchall was correct.

The BIU hierarchy, the people who must have made the decision to give up their principles for cash, replied to Mr. Burchall with a smoke screen about how hard the BIU has fought for Bermuda's workers and how much support it has provided. No one disagrees with that.

However, the truth right now is that the BIU has decided to get into a business deal with Esso and to take the capitalist cash at the expense of organised labour. That cannot be either a correct or a sensible move for a labour union.