SUSPENSIONS SPARK WALKOUT POINT LEPRAU, N.B. — The suspension of 21 pipefitters at the nuclear power plant under con- struction here prompted a shut- down last week as 1,500 workers decided to respect the picket line set up by the United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters. UNION RIGHTS DENIED FOODWORKERS PICTON — Despite the fact they work eight-hour shifts, work on an assembly line, and punch time clocks, workers at Wel- lington Mushroom Farm near this eastern Ontario community, were denied the right to join a union by the Tory government, May 22. Thought 70% of the workforce at the farm owned by the multi- national food giant, Campbell Soup Co., signed up to join the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, the Ontario Labor Relations Board denied them certification claiming the workers didn’t qualify because agricultural workers aren’t in- cluded in the legislation. The de- cision denies the workers, most of whom are women earning less than $4.00 an hour the right to negotiate a contract. SFLURGES YCOTT REGINA — Saskatchewan unionists were called upon, 30, by the 65,000-member Saskatchewan Federation of Labor to boycott Arcade Motors and its services in Prince Albert for refusing to negotiate with Local 57, ' Canadian Brotherhood of Rail, Transport and General Workers. The CBRT took strike action May 21 demanding a new contract to replace the one which ended Dec. 31, 1979. The last company offer, made in April was rejected 100% as inadequate by the union. OPP STILL SCAB HERDING MILTON — Striking truckers at Nelson Crushed Stone and Dufferin Aggregate are getting ag chance to know the Ontario Pro- 2 mo AAC SERVICE SULIANEE ™ vincial Police — the same way as ®| strikers at Fleck and Boise Cas- 3}. cade. The 20 picketers, in the |} \ strike which began in April have 5}-~ had to contend with 30-40 OPP officers escorting company trucks through the picket lines. The 2 striking truckers who have to rely ~ 100% on the quarry for their $65,000 buying trucks to make a living. The company refuses to negotiate and the truckers are being denied the right to earn a living. STEEL UNION INSISTS ON REFUSAL RIGHT | TORONTO — Gerard Doc- quier, United Steelworkers’ Cana- dian director, said June 2, the union will insist that all miners have the right to collectively refuse unsafe work. Miners make up 50,000 of Steelworkers’ 190,000 over their working conditions’’, he said. ‘‘Their lives depend on it.’’ LUA : Public service workers rally in Toronto to back up contract demands. Ne: livelihood have invested up to ‘Treasury Board refused to accept any of the union’s offers. ~~ PUBLIC SERVICE § ALLIANCE gotiations broke off, June 2, when the Ottawa stalls PSAC talks OTTAWA — Negotiations broke off June 2 on behalf of the 52,000 members of the Clerical and Regulatory (CR) group be- cause of the ‘“‘totally unrealistic approach’’ taken by Treasury Board, Aillen Manion, vice- president of the Public Service Al- liance of Canada (PSAC) said. Negotiations were held bet- ween treasury board and the Al- liance with the assistance of a mediator May 29-30. After Treasury Board offered a wage increase of 7% plus 7% ina two-year agreement, it refused to continue negotiations until the Al- liance withdrew the majority of its Proposals, including major de- mands for reduced hours and a cost of living allowance. ‘‘That proposal is a far cry from what we want and from what we need, Manion said. It ignores im- portant outstanding issues such as weekend premium, shift pre- mium, severance pay and meal al- lowances, which could easily have been resolved had the treas- ury board made the effort. ‘‘A wage offer without acost of. living allowance. is totally unac- ceptable in a period when infla- tion is almost 10% and the aver- age clerk is making only $12,815,”" she pointed out. The Alliance countered treas- ury board’s offer with an increase of 11% plus COLA in the first year and 9% plus COLA in the second year. ‘‘Alliance members are the only employees in the post office who do not have a COLA,”’ Mar- ion noted. **Wages, COLA, and hours of work are the outstanding issues. Treasury Board has refused to accept the Alliance proposal of a 35-hour work week even though clerks in the federal government work more.hours than clerks in the private sector. Federal gov- ermmment clerks work a 37!/2 hour work week.”’ Manitoba health workers rally for wage hike, job security Special to the Tribune WINNIPEG — More than 2,000 health care workers and supporters marched on the Man- itoba Legislature, June 4, de- manding the Tory government in- tervene to get talks between the management of some 30 hospitals and 3,200 striking hospital work- ers going again. Negotiations between the -Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), and Man- itoba Health Organizations Inc., broke off, May 31, when the union rejected the hospitals’ last offer, calling it ‘‘insulting’’. Since then, despite CUPE’s re- quests to re-open negotiations management has refused to talk. The demonstrators outsidé the legislature confronted Health Minister Bud Sherman and blasted him for his recent remarks that Manitobans would have to get used to being ‘‘overworked and underpaid.” The message CUPE brought to the Tory health minister was that they were prepared to fight for the kind decent wages that are essen- tial or provide a quality health 2 Care system in the province. CUPE speakers ridiculed the Over 2,000 Manitoba health care workers marched on the provincial ~ Tory “‘restraint’’ program saying legislature demanding the government intervene in getting talks started that the tight-fisted policy of Pre- ‘ again between CUPE and the Manitoba Health Organizations. mier Sterling Lyon’s government was not only hurting workers financially but was also forcing intolerable working conditions on them. The enthusiastic demon- stration on the legislature steps illustrated the health care work- ers’ readiness to continue pres- sing the government to loosen the purse strings on health care spending. Health Minister Sherman has been insisting that he won’t in- crease the provincial health budget so that hospitals now faced with service cutbacks be- cause of minimal funding in- creases can meet the justified de- mands of CUPE. The protestors also hammered hospital management for refusing to bargain in good faith with CUPE. The workers opened their talks with their employers asking for a one-year pact with a wage hike of about 18%. Winnipeg’s Health Science Centre was offer- ing about 22% in a two-year agreement. Negotiations between Local 1550 CUPE and the Health Sci- ence Centre, the city’s largest health care complex are crucial to a contract settlement. Manitoba Health Organizations Inc., repre- senting all other facilities in- volved in the contract talks has indicated it will accept whatever agreement is reached at the Health Science Centre. While CUPE has modified its bargaining position, the employers’ offers have been out- rageously inadequate. CUPE spokespersons point out that even if their current de- mands are met, they will still lag behind health care workers in other provinces and behind workers in other jobs in Manito- ba. Manitoba’s health care work- ers are the ninth lowest paid pro- vincial health care workers in the country. If their demands are met they would be raised up to fifth lowest paid. Meanwhile support is growing for the CUPE strikers. Nurses, ambulance drivers, other union members, members of the legis- lative assembly, members of par- liament, and numerous progres- sive organizations have joined CUPE members on the picket line. The CUPE strikers include x-ray technologists, clerical staff and laundry, cleaning and kitchen staff in the hoSpitals. Other strike issues include the demand for in- creased job security and an end to contracting out of union work. PACIFIC TRIBUNE—JUNE 13, 1980—Page 5