School bus drivers seek first contract With the street sign forming an appropriate backdrop, members of the Canadian Brotherhood of - dispatchers and laborers from the over three years, but key strike issues are employer demands for exclusion of mechanics, contract and the refusal to agree to an adequate medical plan. Public sector held critical | to labor movement in ’83 By FRED WILSON These are difficult times for public sector workers. members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees what they think of the six-and-five wage con- trol program and they will stare back in disbelief that the question Les could be so out of date. Six and five was last summer; the standard of- fer from employers in 1983 is zero. About 15,000 municipal workers in the Greater Vancouver Regional District went back to the bargaining table two weeks ago, two years after the commencement of the bitter three-month strike of 1981. Just how much the economic climate has changed in the interval 3 ANALYSIS ——___ANRALTSIS is shown by the reversal of tactics at the bargaining table. In 1981 10 CUPE locals and the Vancouver Municipal and Regional Employees Union (VMREVU) were demanding move- ment on the central issue’ of equalization of base rates, an im- portant step towards the achieve- ment of equal pay for work of equal value, but were stonewalled by the intransigent position of the GVRD labor relations committee and its bargaining department headed by Graham Leslie. The unions also had to contend with the interference from the Employers Council of B.C. which openly call- ed onthe GVRD not to bend on the equal pay issue. Sensing that the GVRD was not Prepared to move in negotiations, the unions demanded the right to bargain directly with municipal councils, which were considered to be less inclined to force a lengthy strike rather than seta precident for equal pay. The GVRD rejected any notion of separate negotiations, Ge? the paper weekly — IBUNE Published weekly at Suite 101 — 1416 Commercial Drive, Vancouver, B.C. V5L 3X9. Phone 251-1186. claiming that the union would whipsaw one municipal employer against another. When the CUPE-VMREU joint negotiating committee arriv- ed at the table this month they were more than a little surprised to hear lie announce that the GVRD would only bargain with individual local unions and would not recognize the joint negotiating committee. The GVRD wanted to begin bargaining with CUPE members in Burnaby, where the council has already tentatively budgeted for a zero wage increase, and then bargain with other locals. Graham Leslie now thinks that he can whipsaw the unions. Suggest toa public sector worker the often repeated myth that reduc- ed income is the trade-off for job security at a time of mass unemployment, and the stare of disbelief may turn to an angry glare. The provincial government has already declared that it intends to reduce its work force by 25 percent Over two years — some 10,000 jobs. Taking their cue from Ben- nett, two Lower Mainland municipalities have in recent weeks voted to contract out municipal garbage collection. This week Richmond council voted to put its collection services to private tender, resulting in the loss of 32 jobs, and two weeks ago North Vancouver city handed over its gar- bage collection to Smithrite, forc- ing the layoff of eight workers. The decision in North Van- couver demonstrated the character of the problem. CUPE Local 389 was finished before it began negotiations with the city in an ef- fort to save the jobs. Faced with demands from the city that costs be reduced, the union agree to two- man, instead of a three-man gar- bage collection crew. Then, under further employer pressure, the union “‘reluctantly agreed’? to ac- cept a collection bonus system even though it meant speed-up. When the contracting out pro- posal went to council, the city engineer reported that “‘witha fully Read the paper that fights for labor — cooperative union’’ the city could bid on the job at $325,000, very close to Smithrite’s bid of $312,000. However because the union was “reluctant,’’ the engineer recommended going to Smithrite. In short, the union accepted every employer demand and still was shafted. In retrospect, it is clear that the city was determined from the beginning to privatize the gar- bage service on the basis of Owner- operated trucks and increased pro- ductivity. It is the same theory that Bennett and the Socreds want to apply to provincial Services. Ultimately the consumer will pay more for inferior services. Local 389 is now expecting a bid to contract out the garbage collec- tion in North Vancouver district, where it will likely face a scenario similar to that which occurred in the city. The issue, clearly, is much larger than the economics of a particular municipai service. The move towards contracting out and Ben- nett’s plan to privatize provincial services are part of an overall attack on the public sector. Some CUPEmembers are open- ly critical of CUPE’s B.C. Division which has been preoccupied with protecting its perceived jurisdiction against the Hospital Employees Union instead of working towards a coalition of public sector unions to begin a co-ordinated fight back. The B.C. Federation of Labor, pressured by the BCGEU also re- jected the idea of a public sector coalition at its last annual conven- tion. But the need for a co-ordinated response from public sector unions to the attack on incomes and job security will only grow more urgent. -Privatization has to be made as unacceptable in B.C. as right-to-work legislation has become, that is, a politically untenable option because the whole labor movement would react immediately, angrily and forceful- ly. The ability of the B.C. Federa- tion of Labor and the public sector unions to fight back in 1983 will be the dominant factor in shaping the fortunes of the whole labor move- ment this year. From Dec. 31, 1982 to Nov. 30, 1983, some 300,000 workers will enter negotiations. The largest group by far, 43.3 per- cent of the total, will be public sec- tor workers. It includes 15,000 Lower Mainland municipal workers, 32,000 teachers and school board employees, 2,700 nurses, 3,000 transit workers, 7,500 B.C. Hydro workers, 2,700 Ferry workers, 2,200 ICBC workers.and 35,000 B.C. government employees. These public sector workers are both the weakness and the strength of organized labor this year. Much will depend on the leadership and strategy that develops. TO — SEAN GRIFFIN jo} x a TRIBUNE Continued from page 1 answer,”’ explained Linda in an interview. She had written “yes”? to the question, ‘‘are you ready, willing and able to work?” When she was told there would be a six to eight week waiting period she applied for welfare and received $87.50, to cover the last half of December. By Dec. 29 she had received no money from the commission, but upon checking was told her claim was ‘“‘OK’’. That day she also received a further $175 from MHR, plus a $200 rent voucher granted after she secured the necessary eviction notice from her landlord. Her rent is $250 a month. But by Jan. 14 she had still not received any cheques from UI — “TI was actually living on friends’ money, if you can imagine that”’ — so following the action centre’s advice, she went to the commis- sion in person. It was then that she found out about the incor- rectly completed cards. “So I filled out new cards, in person, and then they told me about the (required) doctor’s form. I told them I’d already given them one, but they said, form’. Itookittomy doctor, who had never heard of this form, but he filled it out anyway. “T finally got my first cheque yesterday (Jan. 20) — so ap- parently they processed my claim based on the original cards,” she said. - The cut-off point for Linda’s claim is Dec. 25, despite her doc- tor’s testimony that she is medically unable to work until the end of January. She is appealing the decision: ‘“‘I think it’s pathetic.”’ “People are told they don’t qualify for UI, but they do,” said Zander. 3 ““We have people coming in now that were rejected almost one “year ago — people who were cut off without any reason. They are usually frustrated by the office hassle, or some cases, they’re scared to make waves.”’ A. far more severe case is the suicide call. The centre usually refers these to a crisis centre, but they received one ‘‘that we couldn’t reroute.’’ It was from a young woman, a Medical benefits withheld 2 months ‘No, he has to fill out this special ree hairdresser by profession, wh0 | “had been living on potatoes for the past two weeks,”’ said Zandet- The 25-year-old was receiving the usual GAINrate of $375 monthly. | After $300 was deducted for rent, and $60 for bills, she was left with $15 for food, clothing and transportation. : “She wasn’t eating right, bu her doctor told her she was depressed because of the bad }| weather, and gave her nerve pills. } A welfare worker advised her to find a man to support her,’ Zander reported. | rr hene “She figured it was no longer ; worth it for the human race tO | keep her alive.” A call to the MHR office from } the centre secured the woman a | $50 per month “crisis grant”’ and “now she has meat in her meals, for-the first time in a long time,” | said Zander. ‘ The woman has indicated she will come to the centre and volunteer her services, said Zander. “‘She feels better now, enough so that she’s willing to fight for other things.” The action centre is quickly becoming ‘‘swamped’’ with work, said Zander. Behind her, the volunteer staff of four answered phones and filled in forms in amakeshift office on the stage of the auditorium in the Fishermen’s Hall. Volunteers have already gone through a one-day seminar which provided a crash course in handl- ing the intricacies of the welfare and UI bureaucracies. But the centre would liketo expanditsac- | tivities to include public meetings, leaflet distribution, writing briefs to city council, lobbying, film showings and seminars. The list g0€s on, but to do all these things, the centre needs more volunteers, Zander stressed. During this week and next, volunteers will be busy leafleting UI centre, welfare offices, breadlines and campuses to get the area’s jobless out to the Feb. 7 demonstration. At the UIC office: downtown, demonstrators will present officials with demands for benefits to cover the full period of unemployment, an end to layoffs of UI workers, and no further delays in claims process- ing.