-Socred bill ‘interferes with bargaining! Hailing new labour legislation as a “Sun- shine Bill,” B.C.’s Social Credit government tushed the Public Sector Collective Bargain- ing Disclosure Act through the last sessions of the provincial legislature before summer adjournment. The bill, which introduces direct inter- ference in the bargaining process, was unan- imously condemned by the trade union movement as a direct attack on free collec- tive bargaining. On the premise that public sector wage settlements have been a threat to the stability of the provincial economy, the legislation - sets up a bureaucracy to “ensure that the larger public interest and taxpayers’ ability to pay are recognized.” The trade union movement in B.C. charged that the bill amounts to thinly veiled wage controls. All public sector negotiations will now be subjected to a “Registrar” (appointed by the cabinet). Within two days of commenc- ing bargaining each side must submit: ¢ A summary of all matters that each of them consider to be in dispute. + Their respective positions on each of those matters. : ¢ Any documents that each has sub- mitted or will be sub- mitting in support of their respective posi- tions. Before strike or lock-out action can begin, both sides will have to file a summ- ary of all matters that § ALLEVATO have been settled, those which have not been resolved and their respective positions on the outstanding issues. The Registrar will then call a “disclosure meeting” open to the media, where the par- ties can present their positions. This meeting will occur when the Registrar considers it | “practicable,” and neither party may take any action until the meeting has occurred. If one side does not cooperate in filing the needed documents, the other can apply to the B.C. Supreme Court, which can order a penalty of up to $50,000 for violations. Calling the bill a bid to cripple the neg- Otiations process, Carmela Allevato, sec- retary-business manager of the Hospital Employees’ Union, said: “The Socreds are Unions charge lockout _ as picket lines go up Continued from page 1 labourmovementas a bogus union that signs sweetheart deals with contractors. The unions brought more than 30 ex- amples of unfair labour practices by Klein, charging the company attempted to coerce workers into joining Canadian Iron and Steelworkers, discriminated against those who signed with the Building Trades unions, and attempted to frustrate the trades unions’ organizing efforts. “The very nature of the relationship (by Klein) with Canadian Iron and Steel- workers, we consider an unfair labour prac- tice,” Johnston, the Carpenters’ legal and defence co-ordinator, said. The IRC granted the Carpenters and Labourers automatic certification — only the second time such has been done since Bill 19 was enacted in 1987, he noted. “I would say that shows just how bad the infractions of the company were,” Johnston commented. The problems experienced in organizing the job site are directly attributable to the actions of the provincial government, the Carpenters charge. Johnston pointed to a conference in which Western premiers struck a kind of “free trade” deal allowing construction firms to bid for projects in each others’ provinces. And the Socreds have forbidden local school boards to establish fair wage policies in considering bids, or to insist that local workers be hired, he said. Since the certification was granted, the Name: Address: 8 + Pacific Tribune, August 20, 1990 FETUS INE Published weekly at 2681 East Hastings Street Vancouver, B.C. V5K 1Z5. Phone: 251-1186 . sieges | Postal Coden< | am enclosing: 1 year: $20 C1 2 years: $35 (23 years $50 Foreign 1 year $32 O) unions have had little success in getting down to serious negotiations with Klein, Johnston related. The company tabled an offer of “Alberta type wages” which the union naturally rejected, he said. Company representatives failed to show for a negotiating session that was to have been held last Tuesday, citing an incident Aug. 9 in which a member of the Carpenters Union was stabbed three times after an al- tercation with Canadian Iron and Steel- workers representative Tom Campbell. They claimed Campbell was beaten after- wards by several people, which the union denies. So far no charges have been laid, Johnston said. Klein Construction denies there is a lock- out in effect, and has applied to the IRC for an order declaring the picket illegal. “Whatever they want to call it, we call it a lockout, and the pickets are up,” Johnston said. He said he has “reason for optimism” that negotiations will resume. In an earlier statement Johnston said that Socred anti-union policies have meant cost- ly delays in public construction projects. “This happens time and again. Terraceview Extended Care was projected to take six months — it took 12; the Skytrain bridge across the Fraser was to be opened in Sep- tember 1988 — it opened in February of 1990,” he said. Johnston said it was time to “end the myth that low bid is the best bid.” trying to divert atten- tion away from their own scandals. This bill will turn contract negotiations into a three-ring circus.” “IT am quite upset about it, because it’s a , piece of legislation “= % that makes no sense,” SHIELDS said Ken Novakow- ski, president of the B.C. Teachers Feder- ation. “It is the government groping for an issue and I think they should stay out of the collective bargaining process.” A large percentage of teachers’ locals in the province are currently in contract neg- Otiations. The Ferry Workers negotiations ‘1991. The legislation potentially targets snammenne are scheduled to begin in September. Com tracts for Canadian Union of Public Emr ployees civic workers locals in the Lower Mainland expire in December, while the Hospital Employees’ Union contract expires March 31, 1991. The B.C. Government Em ployees; Union contract expires July |, 175,000 public sector employees. “It’s a very stupid piece of legislation. It generates the requirement for the parties 10 be very positional, to lock into posturing,” charged B.C. Government Employees Union president, John Shields. “Tt seems the government is trying to deliberately complicate a process that has | been working well,” said Ken Georgettl, | _ president of the B.C. Federation of Labour. ¥ The strike by 16,000 Steelworkers who walked out in Ontario and Quebec recently, soon to be joined by workers in Alberta, needs to be put in perspective. Their union, the United Steelworkers of America (USWA) is looking for a catch-up agreement, after years of con- tracts that have barely kept pace with inflation. : But after years of increased produc- tivity, rationalization, and record profits, the steel companies are hiding behind lost profits in the first six months of 1990 Steel strike could be a hallmark battle John MacLennan The local voted down the agreement and eventually won. It was an heroic battle that mobilized the Sudbury com- munity and the rest of the Canadian trade _ union movement. This is the challenge that Gerard now faces: how to give this strike country- | wide prominence, allowing the labour and people’s movements to rally behind his members. This possibility is not en- hanced by the fact thatthe union involved is an international that has in the past mainly gone it alone. At the same time and are pleading poverty at the bargain- ing table. All the companies have big stockpiles confrontation that could have implica- tions for the rest of Canada’s workers. One can’t help but get the feeling that the steel companies wanted this strike. Just days before its deadline, the Steel Com- pany of Canada — Stelco — tabled a final offer the union said would cut in half what was won in its 1987 agreement. In these same negotiations the com- pany screwed the USWA around for 75 days, deciding if it would allow all nine local unions to sit at the same bargaining table. This left early union proposals still on the table when the negotiations broke off — proposals that the big media es- timated at about $20 an hour. This is the first major collective bar- gaining test of the union’s District 6 pres- ident, Leo Gerard, since he took over four years ago. Gerard has to find a way of uniting all the locals involved, in the face of a strong tradition of big locals going it alone. This distrust of head office arises from incidents like the infamous telephone call from Atlantic City made by former District 6 President Stew Cooke in 1978 to aradio station in Sudbury urging mem- - bers of 6500 to accept a concessionary agreement from Inco. LABOUR IN ACTION of steel, and have set the stage for a major the trade union movement and the pro- Canada forces will be in considerably greater difficulty if the Steelworkers lose this strike. This battle has all the hallmarks of the British and U.S. miners’s strikes. It could be another Battle for 66 Street, the Alber- ta Gainers showdown. All the demands of the steel companies fit right into the plans of federal Finance Minister Michael Wilson, and Bank of Canada governor John Crow. One important step was already taken at the Canadian Auto Workers political action and bargaining convention in June when a mutual strike pledge pact was made among the CAW, the postal and paper workers unions, and the USWA. Nowis the time to put that support pledge into action as well as develop new ones that should see established strike support committees in locals, unions and labour councils across this country. The Communist Party and the left must play an important role in this strug- gle. We can’t let negative experiences of the past stand in the way. Nor can there be any second guessing the union’s lead- ership by the left or other forces about the day-to-day running of the strike. This strike can be won, and, I would like to emphasize, must be won. A big part of Canada’s future is riding on it.