SANDRINGHAM HOSPITAL in Victoria was the scene of a mass picket
line as unionists from as far away as Vancouver and Nanaimo joined
the strikers last Saturday. Photo shows some of the pickets.

Sandringham pickets
demand bargaining

Twenty-eight people, most of
them women, have, been on
strike at Sandringham private
hospital in Victoria for nine
months — (nine months during
which they have picketed the
hospital in rain and cold,)
seeking decent wages and union
security.

Two actions which grew out of
the strike took place on Saturday
when unionists from as far away
as Nanaimo and Vancouver
joined the women on the picket
line, and at Kamloops where
CUPE members distributed
leaflets outside the church of the
Hon. Phil Gaglardi, who was
inside preaching the gospel.

The leaflet said ‘“‘We ask that
your minister, Phil Gaglardi,
should do something more than
pray for their welfare,’’
referring to the striking
Sandringham workers.

“Let it not be said of your
Pastor, who is also a Minister in
the provincial government,
that ‘he passed by on the other
side’. (Luke 10-31).

“Let him use-his office to
bring the parties to the
bargaining table!”’ :

Sandringham hospital belongs
to Vancouver business men and

is operated by National Nursing
Homes. Last summer three
other private hospitals in the
area signed union contracts with
their employees; only
Sandringham held out. Claiming
it cannot afford higher wages,
this outfit is planning on con-
structing a $5 million retirement
centre in Oak Bay...

The mass picketing in Victoria
on Saturday met with spiteful
reporting in the Island city
dailies, but union men who took
part say there is much sympathy
and support for the women in the
CUPE union.

Last week another protracted
strike in which mainly women
were involved was brought to
victory of sorts. C.H. Hosken
(subsidiary of Western Whole-
sale Drugs) employees went on
strike a year ago last April, and
this week, though Hoskens is
allegedly closing down, the
striking employees have been
put on the seniority list of
Western, and the strike breakers
ordered discharged. The women
are members of the Retail,
Wholesale, and Department
Store Union, which during a brief
walkout last week won an 80
cents an hour wage increase.

LABOR SCENE:

F 4500 salmon fishermel

strike for fair prices

Hundreds of picket boats
patrolled B.C. coastal waters
this week as 4,500 salmon net
fishermen went on strike Satur-
day, June 26 as last minute
efforts towards a settlement
failed to produce a satisfactory
offer.

A statement by the United
Fishermen and Allied Workers
Union said the companies tabled
an offer Friday night which was
unacceptable and the union
countered with an offer on Sat-
urday which recommended a
reduction in the fishermen’s
demands. The Fisheries Associa-
tion declined to make any
counter offer.

The UFAWU and Native
Brotherhood said in a
statement: ‘‘Our Committee
had no choice but to assume that
our members wanted a better
deal than was offered offi-
cially.’’ Fishermen _ had
previously voted 84 percent for
Strike.

The UFAWU-statement said:
“‘We are taking the official offer
back to our members for a vote
with a unanimous recom-
mendation for rejection. That
offer is so small it is hardly
worthy of a ballot, but in a demo-
cratic union the membership
calls the shot. We expect a
strong vote to reject the offer
and to remain on strike until a
much better offer can be nego-
tiated.”’

Discussion are being held by
the union with the Prince Rupert
Fishermen’s Co-op Association
regarding the position of Co-op
salmon fishermen during the
strike.

* * *

Island woodworkers took
militant action last week against
MacMillan Bloedel and to
protest action by IWA union
heads who made agreements
without. membership —rati-
fication.

At Port Alberni 340 workers
walked off the job at the plywood
division of MacMillan Bloedel.
They were protesting operating
procedures — the workload on
the green chain, and night shift
workers went out after the
suspension of three of their
fellow-workers on the afternoon
shift.

John Squire, IWA secretary at
Port Alberni, said the dispute
was mainly .over unfair
workloads. Theré was a similar
walkout at the mill the week
before, and the men returned
only because they believed the
company had agreed to return to
normal work patterns. When the
company reverted to the
disputed work system, the men
walked out again.

The company had promised it
would meet with the crew on
proposed methods that would not
develop onerous workloads.

The company spokesman
admitted they were ‘‘experi-
menting’’ with new procedures—
(doubtless to see how much they
could get away with. )

More than 300 fallers, buckers
and scalers let the Local I.W.A.
union executives know how they
felt about conditions when they

. walked off their jobs at Franklin

River, Eve River, Kelsey Bay,
and in the Queen Charlottes last
Wednesday.

The workers said the IWA
heads had failed in promises to
have representatives of the
fallers sit in on certain nego-
tiations, and the failure to have
some of the Nemetz recom-
mendations implemented as
was agreed in the last contract.

A Port Alberni woodworker
said the actions of the fallers
seem to reflect general oppo-
sition, or lack of faith in the local
and regional officials of the
IWA. He denied the men were
calling for the ouster of top union
leadership, but some loggers
expressed dissatisfaction with
regional president Jack Moore,
and the presidents of Island
locals who deal mainly with the

loggers and their problems.
* KK

The Bakery Workers Union
signed a contract with several
companies this week which gives
the experienced workers
approximately 23 percent wage
increase. At the same time
companies are installing new
equipment which will see as
many as a dozen bakers laid off
their jobs.

Freeway must be stopped!

We don’t want a freeway
through our area!

That was the consensus of
some 200 East End citizens and
their spokesmen at a meeting in
the Grandview Community
Centre Tuesday night.

Three aldermen, Rankin of
COPE, Hardwick of TEAM, and
NPA’s Halford Wilson
represented city council,
although all aldermen and
Mayor Campbell had been
invited to attend.

The East End’s Woodland-
Grandview Area Council,
SPOTA, Cedar Cottage
Ratepayers Assoc., Renfrew
Heights Community Assoc., and
the Cassiar Ratepayers ‘Assoc.,
sponsored the meeting which
was marked by militant opposi-
tion to vague and contradictory

PACIFIC TRIBUNE, FRIDAY, JULY 2, 1971—PAGE 12

statements from Alderman
Wilson. From the moment he
began to speak he was accorded
skeptical attention, and during
the question period one citizen
after another attempted to get
from him a concrete com-
mitment against the Georgia
Viaduct-401 freeway, without
success.

“‘The general consensus of
opinion is that freeways are an
undesirable environmental
pollutant and an excessive tax
burden that is totally unaccep-
table considering the meagre
benefits, (if any) to the tax-
payer,”’ stated Gordon McLaren,
of the Renfrew Heights
Community Association.

This was echoed by spokes-
men Karl Zuker, Joe Warnock,
Bill Daye and Jonathan Law for

the other organizations repre
sented.

McLaren concluded ‘‘We have
one request and that is that free-
ways, freeway accesses and
studies thereof be no longer a
subject for discussion and that
council proceed with rapid
transit programs.”’

The sponsoring groups
distributed a leaflet which gave
facts and figures, and a map,
which showed the utter folly of
proceeding further with free-
ways, particularly the linkup
proposed between the viaduct
and 401.

Alderman Wilson made one
pious promise after another: we
must have a ‘“‘balanced transit
system”; ‘“‘transit has number
one priority,” etc, etc.

One after another citizens
asked him, ‘‘But what are you
going to do about stopping the
freeway through our area?”’
Alderman Rankin gave the
answer: It will be stopped only
by pressure from the people of
Vancouver.

Alderman Hardwick said
August 9th will see the report of
the consultants on freeways
brought down at city council
meeting. He urged citizens to
attend.

The meeting unanimously
endorsed a resolution to city
council and to the Vancouver
Regional District which
expressed strong opposition to
the introduction of a freeway
through the East End, and urged
an immediate start on planning
for rapid transit.

Weston, who owns and conttts
a large slice of the retal a
wholesale food business 11
said they intend to pass the
increase on to the const
Last year Weston’s net a
from food operations 4?
Eddy Match company Wa
million and the company ?
sentatives complained tha

profits were down a

PULP MILLS

Cont'd from pg: 1

The statement by ©
charges that even many PP
inadequate pollution 6%!
measures on pulp Mm!
slashed and that the repott
to ‘‘whisper’’ about some s®
problems.

Circumstances surrolu!
release of the report
technical panel prepare
government has stirred”
miniature ‘Pentagon Pa?
affair. This week Res?
Minister Ray Williston cri hi
local newspapers for publi
portions of the report W b
not yet been released ??
government.

Meanwhile, statements
by Williston and spokesm™
the forest industry indica
effective anti - a
measures on pulp mills Be
whittled down to the mi
they can get away with.

HYDRO

Cont'd from pg: !
This cheap power has © ;
Washington to get power
incredibly low rate of ‘
per kilowatt hour. On the
this cheap power generale out 2
B.C. water, rates are db 5 0
percent lower while wierd
hydro workers are consi™” —
higher than in B.C. get
‘There is also another si
the sad story of B. "5g th
mismanagement. at isl
the rate structure is 5?
that the major users °
power— the giant corpo
get exceptionally 10

evr

Jee
tions

a rate

=

ers:
compared to domesti€ ue (Lu

the power generated vial of
percent goes to resident <1

who pay the highest ig hese

Canada. The public P? eM
high rates to subsidiZ€ |)

rates paid by commen abo!

industrial users who pow
69 percent of
produced in B.C. nett?

Surely Hydro has sical
moral or economic just rd
for attempting to put d as

for its mistakes ar cote

management onto the qt
electrical workers ang
families. The public SMV ric!
the demands of te eam
workers to brings
conditions into ln aa
workers doing similar work yb

At the same time 4
should hold B.C. Hydro cs
Socred government 4 eet
table for their misma” vf
of the

is not too late todemam og s
Bennett government a h U
cussions now W) ine#,
authorities to make UP | res!
million B.C. is short 3 Ri
of the disastrous Colum™”
deal.

the af ihe q

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