ABOR NEWS IN BRIEF

fextile workers strike
ut city bag plant

Some 30 textile workers —

lostly women — at Bonar
nd Bemis Ltd., city bag
lanufacturers, have entered

Wir second week of a strike
wr @ wage increase, with no
gn of a settlement in sight.
The workers walked out
then they failed to win a pay
ike from a _ conciliation
Card, according to H. L.
Stubby” ‘Hanson, Pulp, Sul-
hite and Paper Mill Work-
rs’ representative.

‘The board turned down a
iX-cent request on the
rounds that there has been
0 rise in living costs since
he last contract was signed
Wo years ago, and because
he industry is in a “depress-
d_ state.”

_ Union officials vehemently
feny that the company is
tffering any financial pains
ind say it can well afford to
Zant a wage boost.

* * x

- Employees at Kitimat
melter voted this week to
lecide whether they will be
€presented by United. Steel-
workers or the incumbent
Mlied Aluminum Workers
council,

RS x x

Bcity lifeguards have voted
q accept a 10-cent hourly
pee Increase, bringing their
asic rate up to $1.39 per hour.
i obrecment covering the 48
€guards at the city’s beach-
*S and larger community

bools was hammered out by
<Presentatives of Vancouver
a Employees Union , Out-
4 Secreere and the Board of
arks a i i

es and Public Recreation.

_HUB HUMOR

"Here Fido—et's go boy.”

pALUES GALORE at the
Bla ANNUAL SUMMER

ARANCE SALE. Example:
zabardine, Flannel, or Wor-
: Slacks. Reg, value $12.95.
only $9.50 pr., 2 prs for

Use our FREE CREDIT plan)

THE"HUp
4s ener Basiines:

J. Friend Day, chairman of
the conciliation board set up
fo hear the dispute, had
strongly urged both parties
to meet privately and work
out a settlement. The“ dime-

.an-hour increase resulted.

* * *

Dan Radford is retiring
from his job as president of
B.C. Federation of Labor,
which will merge with B.C.
Trade Union Congress in Oct.

Leading candidate for pre-

sident in the merged group is
TUC president Jim Barton, of
Plumbers Local 170.

* * *

Meetings between 20 uni-
cns and B.C. shipyards in
Vanvouver and Victoria resum-
ed this week, with discussion
on the union’s demands for
a 35-cent hourly wage in-
crease the key issue.

The joint union bargaining
committee is headed by Sam
Jenkins, president of Marine
Workers and Boilermakers.

Trail Mine-Mill wins
vested pension fight

Until a few months ago, workers at Consolidated Min-
ing and Smelting Company who had given service for 20
years could be discharged, laid off or quit for reasons of
health and find their years of service totally lost for pur-
poses of a pension. To get a pension, a worker had to be
on the payroll when he reached the stipulated age of re-
tirement (apart from disability cases).

Now all this is .changed
because of a long campaign
by Mine-Mill which finally
forced the company to grant:
vesting rights. Through a
system of leave of absence for
acceptable reasons (plant re-
ductions, sickness, etc.) a
worker after 20 years is given
vested right to a pension.

This solid union gain re-
ceived little mention in the
daily press when Mine-Mill
and Consolidated signed a
1956 contract, but to older
workers in the industry it
ranked as one of the union’s
mest important victories in
years.

In a letter to Local 480
president Al King the com-
pany acknowledged vesting
in these words:

“This will confirm that it
is Cominco policy to grant
leave of absence to an older
employee of long service who
is obliged to discontinue his
active employment for a rea-

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FROM
EARL SYKES

56 E. Hastings St., PA. 3855
Vancouver, B.C.

EEE

RECTOR CIGAR
Only Union Made Cigar in
Vancouver
Hand Rolled Finest in Dutch
and Havana Tobacco
SOLD AT HOTELS

or
214 Union St., Van.

SPECIAL REDUCED PRICES
For Pacific Tribune Readers

aie i

gon beyond his control.

“The granting. of leave is
not confined to any specific
age or service requirements

kut subject to the leave being
for an acceptable reason, an
clder employee whose age
and: service reaches a total of
80 or more is automatically
granted this privilege and any
clder employee whose service
is of the order of 20 years is
also generally given favorable
consideration.

“‘Teave does not extend be-

ond the employee’s 65th birth-
day, and in any case leave is

not granted if the reason for
discontinuance of employ-
ment is discharge for cause or
voluntary severing of employ-
ment.”

This is not complete vest-
ing but it goes a long step in
the right direction,.and Mine-
Mill workers receive greater
pension protection than at
any time in the past.

SATURDAY

AUGUST 11
AFTER THE SOCCER
GAME COME TO A
HOUSE SOCIAL AT

DORIS BRATKO’S

DANCING &

REFRESHMENTS

3847 E. HASTINGS

PATRONIZE

A
CARNEL'S
COFFEE SHOP

410 Main St.
Operated By
GEORGE & WINNIFRED

GIBBONS

* Workers at the Ferranti Electic plant in Toronto, members
of United Electrical Workers’ Local 525, have been
on. strike for three months. They are asking 10 cents an hour
wage increase. Here leaders of United Auto Workers’ De Havil-
land local are shown supporting them on the picket line.

Freight line crew
strikes in Naniamo

NANAIMO, B.C.

The entire crew and super-

visor at Pridy~ Brothers

Freightways struck, and were

lecked out here last Friday

after months of fruitless ne-
gotiations on wages.

Bakery workers
counter campaign

NANAIMO, B.C.

Members of Bakery and
Confectionary Workers Local
46@ and Bakery Salesmen,
Local 189 were out in force on
the streets here last Saturday
{to issue information cards
against the use of non-union-
made bread and bakery pro-
ducts.

Placards informed citizens
that Home Bakery, suppliers
of Hom’ade Bread being de-
livered from door to door in
and about Nanaimo, has been
on organized labor’s “We do
not patronize” list for many
years.

Union business agent Mel
Kemmis of Vancouver assist-
ed the local union members
in their demonstration.

Home Bakery conducted a
big selling campaign in the
Nanaimo area recently and
gave away free bread in a
door-to-door campaign to in-
troduce their product.

August 3, 1956 —

Drivers said they had final-
ly forced the company to
sign a ,contract on June 6
but since that time it’ had
failed to comply with terms
of the agreement. The com-
pany had been paying str-
aight time and low wages to
the crew right along, and
some drivers claim they have
from $200 to $600 due in back
wages since. June 6.

When the men struck, the
company immediately flew
in a planeload of scab drivers
from Vancouver and is under
partial operation. Other
transfer firms such as Island
Freight and. Arrow Transfer
are refusing to handle Pridy
Bros. freight.

The drivers say that much
oz the equipment is unsafe
for the road and they are
now in consultation with the
Teamsters Union to plan their
next steps.

NOW OPEN
Ukrainskea Knyha

Licensed by Intourist of
U.S.S.R.. to expedite per-
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Union: (Russia, Ukraine,
Byelo-Russia, Lithuania, Es-
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652 KINGSWAY
(at Fraser)

Phone — EX. 3118

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