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LABOR NOTES

Union protests
anti-labor ald.

North Vancouver city employees voted to withdraw
their union’s funds from a local credit union as a protest
against the ‘‘union-bashing”’ tactics and statements of a ci-
ty alderman who works there, according to union presi-
dent Harry Greene.

Greene told the Vancouver and District Labor Council
meeting Tuesday that the action ‘‘was not prompted by the
‘officers’’” but came ‘‘spontaneously from the
membership”’ angered over alderman Bill Sorenson’s ad-
vocacy and vote for the contracting out of garbage collec-
tion.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees, Local 389
subsequently withdrew $250,000 in union funds from the
North Shore Community Credit Union, which prompted
mayor Jack Louks to accuse the union of ‘‘blackmail’’
and Sorenson to announce his resignation from council ef-
fective July 5.

_ Sorenson, a highly-paid operations manager for the
credit unions’ five branches had shown his anti-labor bias
on two occasions. In a letter to the credit union manager
Feb. 5, Greene noted that Sorenson had advocated ‘“‘the
contracting out of municipal service (garbage collection),
which not only brought about the loss of jobs for our
members but will also result in higher costs and taxes, as
well as inferior service to the community.”

Sorenson had also demanded ‘‘in a motion to city
council that municipal employees forego any wage in-
crease (in spite of the fact that the rate of inflation is still at
_ 9.8 percent), and that there be a rollback of increments
provided for in an agreement previously negotiated and
agreed to by the municipality,’’ Greene charged.

“Our members have considered credit unions to be
organizations oriented towards the needs of working peo-
ple in the community. Mr. Sorenson’s political posture
and actions in council are in direct contradiction to this
concept,’’ Greene stated in his letter.

The manager of the North Shore Credit Unionina reply
agreed with that assessment of the role of credit unions,
Greene noted. _

About 170 Local 389 members voted to withdraw the
union’s account at the Jan. 30 monthly meeting, but the
issue only made waves in the media when Sorenson an-
nounced his resignation Monday.

Petitionignored

Despite 19,000 signatures on a union petition and nearly
_ five hours of compelling arguments showing the pitfalls of
contracting-out, Richmond city council Monday recorded
the same 5-4 vote to give its garbage collection contract toa
private company, Haulaway Disposal Ltd.
And according to CUPE Local 369 representative John
Stewart, the aldermen who voted with the majority (which
included mayor Gil Blair) had made up their minds even
before they came to the meeting.
“They parked their cars, not in the city hall parking lot,
but in the RCMP lot,”’ he noted, an action which indicated
that they feared adverse reaction as a result of the decision
they were going to make later at the meeting.
It was presumably for the same reason, said Stewart that
security guards with dogs were posted outside the city
works yard while the meeting was still in progress. The
trucks inside are to be sold to Haulaway.
The company had also bid extremely low to get the con-
tract, agreeing to a price of $29 per household — far below
the price it charges the councils in the . neighboring
municipalities of Delta and Surrey. In Delta, the price is
$42 and in Surrey, $46.
_ “People in those municipalities should be asking:
“Why are they charging so much more?’ ”’ Steward said.

_ charge less for the first two or three years and then jack the
price up, knowing that municipalities may hesitate in buy-
ing new trucks to get back into garbage collection again.

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PACIFIC TRIBUNE—MARCH 4, 1983—Page 12

a

VDLC backs Quebec teachers

Delegates to the Vancouver and
District Labor Council unanimously
endorsed three resolutions backing
striking teachers in Quebec, calling on
the B.C. Federation of Labor ‘“‘to
come out in support of Quebec
teachers in their fight against Bill 111”
and instructing council officers to
Organize a public meeting in Van-
couver to hear a representative of the

~ Quebec Teachers’ Central (CEQ).

The third resolution called on the
public sector committee of the VDLC
to produce bulletins ting the
struggle in Quebec and publicizing the
public meeting.

The B.C. Teachers’ Federation,
which has.already thrown its support
behind the CEQ in its fight against the
Levesque government’s repressive
legislation, is to organize the meeting
in conjunction with the labor council.

Council secretary Paddy Neale
outlined the concern of the council
which had prompted the resolutions,
noting that ‘‘thousands of teachers
have now been charged in Quebec.

“There is a great possibility of jail
terms and a certainty of fines,’ he said.

He also emphasized that Quebec

Federation of Labor president Louis
Laberge has stated that if there is no
reconcilation, between the govern-
ment and teachers there may be a
general strike led by the Common
Front.

“Things have changed and the
danger has grown in Quebec,”’ Neale
stated. “‘And the B.C. Fed should
come out and speak on it much more
strongly.”

CUPE delegate Peter Wilson also
emphasized the urgency of support,
noting that labor federations in both
Quebec and Alberta had come out in
support of the Quebec teachers. ‘‘It’s
time that the B.C. Fed showed that it
really is what it claims: the most
militant labor federation in Canada.

Several delegates levelled criticism
at Canadian Labor Congress presi-
dent Dennis McDermott for his reluc-
tance to give full support to the
Quebec teachers and for his criticism
of Postal Workers Jean-Claude Par-
rot whom McDermott accused of
“grandstanding”’ for pledging major
financial assistance to the CEQ.

“This isn’t just a fight against wage
controls — it’s a fight against

John Radosevic. A

_ “The CLChad better start supporting 2
the Quebec teachers.”’

unemployment, against repressive
labor legislation and for all working |
people,” Postal Workers ee
Marion Pollock declared. |
“We should be demanding that”
McDermott lead the CLC,” she said,
adding that if he fails to give leader-
ship ‘‘there may soon be no CLC.
“Tf we allow the Levesque govern
ment to cut wages by 20 percent — anc
that’s what it is doing — then we are |
letting a foot in the door for evety
employer across Canada to get cones
sions,”’ warned re s delegate

“And it is not just ites but the ‘
whole range of civil liberties that “7
threatened,”’ he said, pointing 1”
Quebec’s strikebreaking Bill 111 aig
among the ‘‘most repressive pieces ¢ Oe
labor legislation in North America.”

Linking the CEQ sitike to the cic
decision in May to “stand firm” 2
against concessions, he deman

He also called on unionists to
publicize the Quebec strike and the —
public meeting ‘‘in every union ang”

9? ats j
every local.

He warned that the typical pattern is for the company to .

Continued from page 1

launch the campaign to force the com-

pany to reopen the mill.

In an interview following the
meeting, Local 1-80 president Roger
Stanyer said that the local would be
“taking the fight to whatever level of
government is required to get a commit-

ment from MacMillan Bloedel to give —

these guys a future.”’

Union recording secretary Dan
Clements said that the local had met
earlier with M-B to declare its intention
not to waive the 60-day closure notice.

“I’m sure that if we waived the
notice, MacMillan Bloedel would have
given us our severance pay cheques
tomorrow and closed the door im-
mediately,’’ he added.

“But we’re not accepting the closure
— we want our jobs back,”’ he said.

Clements and Stanyer met Tuesday
with Cowichan Malahat NDP MLA
Barbara Wallace and Nanaimo MLA
Dave Stupich as well as local mayors in-
cluding Duncan mayor Doug Barker,
North Cowichan mayor Graham
Bruce, Ladysmith mayor Frank
Jamieson and regional board chairman
Jerry Giles to map out a campaign.

“‘We-agreed to speak with one voice
on the issue,’’ Clements told the

' Tribune following the meeting.”’

“We want that operation re-opened
now and a guarantee of future employ-
ment either through modernization of
the plant or construction of anew one.”’

The meeting sent a telegram to M-B
chairman Calvert Knudsen demanding

IWA Local 1-80 recording secretary Dan Clements talks to union members following membership meeting Monday:

Noranda ‘reneged on promis

a meeting within a week on the plant’s

future.
If the corporation is not prepared to

reopen the plant, Clements said, the

committee will press the provincial
government to put the ultimatum to
M-B: re-open the mill or lose the tree
farm licences.

Wallace had earlier called on premier
Bennett to issue the ultimatum to M-B,
citing the agreement made by Noranda
Mines at the time of its takeover of M-B
that it would proceed with all existing
capital expansion projects — including
the one slated for Chemainus.

“T demand that the government issue
an ultimatum because Noranda gave a
firm promise to the minister of forests
that MacMillan Bloedel’s moderniza-
tion program would continue after their
takeover,’’ she said Feb. 23 in a state-
ment following the closure announce-
ment.

“This promise was in fact a pre-
condition for government approval of

the sale two years ago.’
In a letter to the NDP caucus last
June deputy forests niinister T. M.

Apsey confirmed that Noranda has
given written assurance to forests
minister Tom Waterland that ‘‘M-B’s
capital expenditure program (would)
not be detrimentally influenced: by

Noranda.”’

The Chemainus mill was slated for a

$78 million modernization program at
the time of the sale of M-B to Noranda.

But following its takeover, Noranda
“reneged on the program at Che-

mainus, at Harmac and at Pow
River, ” Clements said.

~ Under Noranda’s control, M-B h
acted ‘‘in an absolutely irresponsiD
fashion without regard to the interes
of its employees or the community !
Chemainus,’’ Wallace declared.

In astatement this week, Commu?
Party leader Maurice Rush also target
M-B for its ‘‘complete lack of concé!
for the 600 workers and their famili¢

__ **What is happening i is that M-Bisi!
creasingly exporting its capital to cow
tries where it can make bigger pro:

’ and is failing to modernize and develt
many of its B.C. forest operations,”
said.

If the company is not prepared to!

_ open the plant immediately and ensu
future work, Rush demanded, then #
provincial government should cant
the tree farm licences and form a crov
corporation to take over the Chemaitl
operation.

“This crown corporation, whi
should have representation from woo
workers, should set out to moderni
the mill and turn it towards manufa
turing of new forest products — —
make Chemainus a centre of a wot
processing and manufacturing indust
on Vancouver Island,”’ he said.

He emphasized that the Soct
government ‘‘showed no hesitation’’
establishing a crown corporation to b'
out the Whistler Land Developme
Company. ‘‘The public should demat
it show the same concern for woo
workers at Chemainus,”’ he said.

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