Union ri

One hundred and thirty BCTV

hnicians will take the fight
against the erosion of their union
Tights to the wire as they prepare
for an almost certain strike/lock-
Out by BCTV management.

According to Gordon Hunter, ~

Staff representative for the Na-
tional Association of Broadcast
Employees and Technicians
(NABET) Local 84, the issue of the
union’s jurisdictional rights has
eclipsed the wage dispute.

NABET and the company were — : .

Only three percentage points apart
On a two year wage increase when
Negotiations broke down May 31,

lut they are miles apart on the ,

Union’s jurisdictional rights in
Operating technical equipment for

AN TV programming. :
._ BCTVisreally CHANTV, but
It likes to think of itself as part of a
larger system called BOEV 3
Hunter said. The B.C. Broad-
Casting Television System, which
Owns CHAN TV, also owns

CHEK TV in Victoria, as well as =

having an interest in a number of
Other small TV stations.

__ _Thecompany wants to be ableto
Interchange equipment and _per-
Sonnel freely between CHEK TV
and CHAN TV, despite the fact it
means walking all over the jurisdic-

_ tional provisions in two separate
_ Collective agreements, especially

|
4
{
i

|

_ the CHAN TV employees agree-

Ment, Hunter noted.

oa:
PFO Swat ee ace See
OR tot

Mr. J.G. Patenaude
Secretary General
CRTC

Ottawa, Ont.
K1A ON2

of Interconnect.

__ Proposed

es
wi
mo *
we

Re: Public Notice Telecom #1981-8
From what I've heard. | don’t think | like the idea

I'd like a chance to get all the facts before
Making up my mind about an issue So vital to my
future, and the future of my province. no

| strongly urge you to hold public hearings in
British Coilumbia on this question: those of us
Who will pay the price for Interconnect in this
Province do have a right to know what's being

In the past, if BCTV wanted to

‘do a program in Victoria, a crew

from CHAN TV would take the
mobile unit over and do it,
augmented by CHEK TV people.
Over the years, the company has
reduced the number of CHAN TV
people, ‘‘and all the amicability has
left the arrangement.’*

“During negotiations the com- ~

rental charge.

fs telephone system

NABET PICKETS AT CBC

aS Jo ok

pany offered us a compromise,”’
Hunter said. ‘The CHAN TV
technicians were to constitute 25
percent of the travelling crews; we
turned it down because it was too
small a percentage.”’

As well as demanding absolute
jurisdictional rights to manning the
mobile unit on out-of-province
programming, the union has

A NEW IDEA
FOR CHARGING YOU
MORE, WHILE GIVING
YOU LESS

Companies that want to sell telephones are trying to dissect our
telephone system. They are pushing something called interconnect,
which will result in service cutbacks and higher residential rates.

Right now you get repair work done free of charge. If Interconnect goes
ahead you will pay for all repair work, and you will pay a higher monthly

If the Interconnectors get what they want. it will mean an end to
universal telephone service at a* reasonable price. Before they can
proceed the CRTC would have to approve a change in the regulations
that govern our telephone system. ,

The CRTC has scheduled hearings in November to determine the future
of our telephone system. Unfortunately the hearings are set for Ottawa.

if you would like a chance to tell them that in person. demand that they
hold a public hearing in B.C. before they make any changes in our

But do it today. Interconnect already has its foot in the door
Cut out the following coupon and mail to the CRTC

DISCONNECT INTERCONNECT ~

SIGNATURE

PRINT NAME

ADDRESS |

CITY < |

PROVINCE/POSTAL CODE j
= = — ee eee ee as easily be produced in our own
ol :

ghts on line at BCTV, CBC

demanded jurisdiction over
operating CHAN TV equipment
when it is hired by private produc-
tion companies.

“Conversely, if BCTV CHAN
TV rented additional equipment,
we would have jurisdiction over
running it as well.’’

Another thorny issue has been
the presence of non-union, super-
visory technical directors in the un-
ion’s collective agreement. ‘“We
feel that they should either be part
of our bargaining unit, or act as
strictly supervisory staff and re-
frain from operating technical
equipment which falls under our
jurisdiction.”’

- The problem is that technical di-
rectors cross union picket lines,
Hunter explained. ‘Right now,
these individuals are being forced
to train people to do our jobs in the
event of a strike or lockout.”

That eventuality was all but seal-
ed with the revelation Tuesday of
an internal company memo offer-
ing all non-union employees —
which number a little over half the
entire staff — ‘‘generous compen-
sation,’’ free cafeteria service and
transportation if they helped keep
the station on the air by crossing a
picket line and performing tech-
nicians’ jobs.

The attempt to shrink, or elimin-
ate, the bargaining unit has been a
common thread in the NABET dis-
pute with BCTV and the strike by
NABET members at CBC.

Albert Burnelle, NABET west-
ern regional director told the
Tribune Tuesday that although the
particulars of the jurisdictional is-
sues in the two disputes were not
the same, the general thrust of the
employers was similar.

“They arereally seeking for usto
abandon our jurisdictional rights,
and thereby render NABET mean-
ingless.”’

On strike since May 26, CBC
NABET members Local 83 have
declared that contracting out and
jurisdictional issues were the key is-
sues, “‘and we’re back to square
one with wages,’’ Burnelle said.
“We don’t even want to look at
wages until these other things are
resolved,’’ he added:

“Currently, NABET’s jurisdic-
tion is laid out in a very complex ar-
ticle giving us the right to do all pro-
gramming for the corporation’s or-
iginations.

_ ‘“CBCwantsusto abandon that,
while they obtain the right to get in-
to co-production with non-union
companies and procurement of
outside programs which could just

. . . facing union-busting attempts by broadcasting corporation.

CBC studios with our own per- .
sonnel.”’

According to Burnelle, the cor-
poration’s offer to the union of jur-
isdiction over all in-house produc-
tion, with a pledge by the corpora-
tion to maintain the same level of
in-house programming, was
soundly rejected by the member-
ship.
“In-house programming is so re-
strictive,”’ he said. ‘“We would only
be able to do things like the news
and public affairs while CFL foot-
ball and NHL hockey would be
contracted out.”’

Over the past 18 months of CBC
activity, taxpayers have been pay-
ing a double bill. On the one hand,
they have maintained extensive
CBC facilities that have remained
largely idle, as have the technicians,
while paying for the procuring of
programming from outside CBC.

“Now CBC wants to start The
Journal, but they want to contract
out mainly,”’ he said.

The Journal is CBC television’s
planned public affairs program
which will follow the national news
daily when the news is moved to a
10 p.m. time slot this September.

After 14 months of negotiations
it became clear that the CBC nego-
tiators just weren’t concerned
about the union’s objections to
contracting out, said Burnelle. ‘Al
Johnson in Ottawa (CBC presi-
dent) even said outright thattheun- .
ion shouldn’t have jurisdictional

~ rights,”’ he said.

NABET, part of the Council of

- Broadcast Unions, has been meet-
‘ing with the B.C. Federation of

Labor to develop a more effective

‘strike strategy and strengthen

picket lines.

Other CBC. employees repre-
sented by CUPE and the Canadian
Wire Service Guild are. bound by
contract to cross the NABET
picket line, and most of CUPE’s
300 members have crossed, in spite
of an appeal from the B.C. Federa-
tion of Labor to respect the line.

‘Federation executive director
Jim Kinnair pledged the full supp-
ort of the central labor body to any
CBC workers who refused to cross
the NABET line.

A majority of CWSG members
have not crossed the picket line, but
this week each received a threaten-
ing letter from CBC management
ordering them to return to work or
risk disciplinary action. CSWG
spokesman Larry Rose said the
CBC is poisoning labor relations in
the corporation and warned that
any disciplinary action would leave
deep scars.

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—JUNE 12, 1981—Page 3