LABOR

Expo non-union threat mounts

Building Trades workers went back to
work on the Expo site Thursday but the
president of the Carpenters Union declared
that they were “‘working under protest” and
would maintain a policy of non-co-operation
with Expo as long as J.C. Kerkhoff and
Sons was on the site.

“Expo is demanding that our long stand-
ing rights be taken away by legislation,” Bill
Zander, president of the Provincial Council
of Carpenters told the Tribune. “And
they’re threatening to cancel union contracts.

“We're taking the position of non-
co-operation with Expo,” he said.

The unions taking part in rotating walk-
outs on the Expo site — launched June 25
to protest the $4.5 million contract awarded
to J.C. Kerkhoff and Sons and the refusal of

. the Expo board of directors to endorse the
tentative agreement covering wages on the
site — were back at work July 5.as part of a
tentative agreement worked out between
the Building Trades and Construction
Labor Relations Association.

That agreement includes a provision that
the Trades and CLRA will approach Expo
to attempt again to come to an agreement
covering minimum wages and conditions
that would apply to non-union contractors,
including Kerkhoff.

But virtually.no one put any hope on
those negotiations. In fact, Expo, presuma-
bly at the government’s bidding, has
scuttled them before they begin.

In his nine-page statement last week in
which he threatened to cancel Cana Con-
struction’s contract if the company’s
workers were not back on the site within
five days, Expo president Michael Bartlett
reiterated that the Expo board found it
“unacceptable” that any agreement apply
to Kerkhoff, since the non-union builder
signed the contract before the agrecsnent
was negotiated.

Even the provincial government’s “fair
wage” provision — which pegs non-union
rates at $3.50 an hour below union scale
without benefits — “will not be applied ret-
roactively to the Kerkkoff contract,” Bar-
tlett stated. The board’s stand has echoed
Premier Bennett’s long standing position
— that an agreement is only possible if it
allows Kerkhoff to work on the site without
conditions.

“What is there to negotiate?” Zander
asked.

“We've already had negotiations with
Expo — there was an agreement worked
out and the deputy labor minister was pres-
ent. He was asked if it had been worked out
with the government and assurances were
given that it had.

“But sombody lied,” Zander said, echo-
ing the charge made last week by Building
Trades Council president Roy Gautier after
Expo spurned the deal.

Zander emphasized that the government
had “never intended that there would be an
agreement.”

The same meeting of Expo directors
which rejected the tentative agreement —
which would have set all non-union wages,
including those for Kerkhoff employees at
union scale, less benefits — also called on.
the provincial government to proclaim Sec-
tion 73.1 of the amended Labor Code and
designate Expo as “tan economic develop-
ment project.”

That section reads: “‘Where the Lieuten-

BILL ZANDER...”
an agreement.”

ant Governor in Council (cabinet) considers
any construction work or related activity to
be of special economic importance, he may,
by order, declare that it is of special eco-
nomic importance and may, in the same:or

government never wa nted

any subsequent order, declare that parts of -

the work or activity he specified each consti-
tutes a separate economic development pro-
ject for period he specified and, where any
work or activity is declared to constitute an
economic development project, the right of.
a trade union or employees pursuant to
Section 83(3) to do or omit to do anything
shall be determined by the (Labor Rela-
tions) board with reference only to things
done on or pursuant to that economic
development project and no regard shall be
had to anything done on or pursuant to any
other economic development project or to
anything done pursuant to any other work
or activity.”

The cabinet has so far taken no action on
the request form Expo to proclaim the sec-
tion, presumably preferreing to wait for
Expo to manage the crisis.

Even Expo president Michael Bartlett
acknowledged that although “implementa-
tion of the legislation would be helpful. . .we
realize that productivity cannot be
legislated...”

It was in that context that Expo issued the
threat to Cana Construction to get its
workers back on the job or lose the
contract.

Bartlett added in the press conference
following his statement that if union com-
panies’ contracts are cancelled “‘.. then we
can build Expo non-union...and we are
prepared to do that.”

Bartlett also stated that the threat would
not be removed simply by an immediate
return to work but would hold if any further
job action were taken by the Building
Trades.

“This is no bluff. The minute we’re faced
with slowdowns or further work stoppages,
then that contract’s over,” he stated last
week.

He added that various non-union con-
tractors were being interviewed for work on
the Expo site.

Several non-union contractors were
reportedly called into a meeting with Expo
officials June 27 at which time they were

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8 e PACIFIC TRIBUNE, JULY 11, 1984

_ urged to bid on upcoming Expo contracts.
Key figures in the non-union sector are

also working i in parallel x with Expo to organ- .

ize non-union contractors and make sure
they are prepared.

Bill Kerkhoff, president of J.C. Kerkhoff
Construction and the secretary of the right-
to-work Independent Canadian Business
Association, said in an interview that he had

set up a committee of six non-union con- _

tractors over the past three weeks to organ-
ize the non-union sector. Among the six

_were Kerkhoff himself, Ed Rempel of Rem-

pel Concrete and Larry Fisher of Lark
Enterprises, all members of the ICBA.

“We want to make sure that there are
enough non-union contractors to do the
work,” he said.

He claimed that non-union contractors
weren’t all interested in Expo work pre-
viously, but “now they’re riled up and ey
to go to work.”

A meeting called by the committee July 7
drew some 200 non-union contractors. Sig-
nificantly, prior to the meeting they toured
the Expo office and examined the scale
model of the site, although Expo chairman
Jim Pattison claimed Expo had nothing to
do with setting up the tour.

Although 200 attended the meeting, most
would only be~small sub-contractors. In
fact, only nine non-union firms met pre-
qualification requirements laid out earlier
this year by Expo.

Despite that, Bartlett repeated his state-
ment that Expo would go non-union while
Kerkhoff backed him up with his claim, “‘if
all the contracts on the Expo project were
spread around the province, they would all
be done non-union.”

Bartlett’s statement was condemend by
B.C. Federation of Labor president Art
Kube who declared July 6: “There is no way
that the trade union movement will sit pas-
sively by and watch the largest project to be
built in many years, a project involving mil-
lions of tax dollars, to be built as a non-
union project.

“Bartlett should iden tad that any
attempt to build Expo non-union will be
met with vigorous opposition from the
trade union movement,” he said.

He added that the opposition “will be
such that Expo will not be completed.” -

Before the Building Trades returned to
work last week, two union construction
companies; Cana and Dillingham, had been
involved in informal hearings with the
Labor Relations Board over the job action
and were pressing the board to proceed with
formal hearings.

The Trades went back on the job before
any hearings were set up, however.

But even with the return to work, the
issue is far from being resolved.

Zander said that the Building Trades
would be discussing future action in upcom-
ing meetings. They would also be meeting
with the B.C. Federation of Labor and
would be pressing the NDP caucus to take
up the issue, he said. -

Unemployed Building Trades members
are also continuing their campaign against
the Expo _ board’s action and against
Kerkhoff.

They set up information pickets went up
outside the Expo site July 5, and other
actions are planned over the next several
days.

The Teamsters Union Local 213 has also

declared that it will cut off deliveries of |

supplies to the Kerkhoff site at Expo in
protest over the scuttling of the tenative
agreement.

The cutoff of supplies began Monday as
Local 213 drivers refused to deliver concrete
to the Kerkhoff site. .

- others are purchased and slated to g°

_ should be installed during the life of the

catch, and the catch brought in by

wrangle |
snags fish
agreement

Rejection votes of higher than 90 pet
cent mean B.C.’s organized fish
workers will — pending a last minute
change of heart by the fish com
panies — be on strike by Wednesday.

Business agent Bill Procopation of
the United Fishermen and Allied |
Workers Union said the union’s |
shoreworkers voted more than 81 pet |
cent to reject the two-year contract |
proposal from the fish companies, who }
are intent on automating their plants |
and throwing dozens of shoreworkers
out of work.

UFAWU fishermen voted 79.1 pe
cent to reject the companies’ prop
while tendermen voted “around 60 pet
cent” for rejection, Procopation said.

On Sunday, the 1,100 members of
the Native’ Brotherhood of B.C.
rejected the companies’ offer by 94.6
per cent.

“We didn’t mind the principle of a
two-year contract. We welcome the |
stability that could bring to the indus-
try,” the UFAWU’s Procopation told
the Tribune.

’“But we told the companies it's:
what’s in the contract that we object to. |
There’s got to be some protection for | |
our members — otherwise, it’s back (7 |
one-year contracts.”

The union and the brotherhood
rejected a proposal for increases in
sockeye salmon prices from the current
$1 per pound to $1.03 and $1.05 in the |
next two years, respectively. Prices for
pinks were proposed to increase from
26 cents to 27 and 30 cents.

For shoreworkers, the companies’
position called for an hourly wage hike”
to $12, from $11.30, and hikes in tend-
ermen’s daily rate of six per cent ovet
two years.

But the biggest snag “tis not so much”
money, but our members jobs secul-—
ity,” Procopation stressed.

The technological changes threat
represented by new automatic fish
washing machines “could get rid of half
of our people over the next two years,
unless there’s some safeguards. Basi-
cally, we wan’t to have some say in the
implementation of new technology,”
he said.

For example, a line of 28 workers
could be reduced by some 22 members”
with the new machines, one of which 1s |
already in place on the fresh fish line in
B.C. Packers’ Vancouver plant. TwO

on line at plants in Prince Rupert.
“Our position is, no more machines

agreement,” said Procopation.

The UFAWU has tabled proposals
for retraining programs, changes in
pension benefits, and other compensa-
tion, and that’s chiefly where talks havé
broken down, said Procopation.

“We've informed the company
negotiators of our members’ decision.
Their response was the usual: ‘We’
talk it over with our principals and get
back to you,’ ” he related.

Failing last minute talks, the strike
will officially commence at 1] a.m.
Wednesday. That’s the time most
fishermen should have sold their catch
to the fish plants, Procopation said.

Shoreworkers will stay until that

deep-sea draggers, is processed — likely
by Friday morning. ;

SS