Stay with
CLC, says
Kinnaird

; Continued from page 1
} by the Building Trades and
i others to go into this or that
i body or stay with the CLC,” he |
| ‘But I have no problem in
| determining my position: I’m |
| for staying in the CLC and I’m |
} urging others to do likewise.” |
} Kinnaird sketched in the}
| background of events which led |
} uptothecurrent crisis, outlining |
i the three issues which the}
} Building Trades have cited in}
| the dispute: the issue of affilia- |
} tion to the Quebec Federation of |
} Labor of the Independent Elec- }
} tical Workers; job jurisdiction }
| disputes with industrial unions;
} and, of major contention, the |
issue of constitutional changes
tin voting procedures in CLC
conventions and delegate
representation.

But he noted that as the CLC
executive council and CLC
committees sought, over a
period of several months, to
resolve the issue with the
trades, ‘‘the-goalposts were be-
ing changed.

“First it was Quebec, then it
was jurisdiction, then Quebec
again and then the issue of con-
stitutional changes.

‘“‘But when the smoke
clears,’’ he emphasized, ‘“‘the
issue of Quebec and the issue of }
jurisdiction will have drifted

} away.’

He told delegates that the |
“fundamental difference’ bet-
ween the Building Trades and
the CLC was over the role the
two sides see for a labor central
in Canada.

Over the years, the Sas
labor movement in the CLC

| “thas moved forward to a more
open, more.democratic rank-
and-file convention,” he said.

‘‘But that has been resisted by
the Building Trades.”

| He noted that the Building
Trades unions have always
» shown ‘‘a great reluctance’’ to
establish a Canadian structure
for their own members and even
when, under great pressure,
they set up such a structure “‘it is
still tightly controlled from
Washington.
“As for a Canadian labor
} central the Building Trades
wants a Congress of affiliates,’’
Kinnaird said, ‘tone which is
run from the top down.”’

In contrast, the CLC is a
Congress of local unions, with
policies determined by the union
membership, he said.

‘My position is to maintain
that kind of labor congress, and
I urge all unionists to stay in the
CLO

Published weekly at Suite 101 —

TRIBUNE PHOTO—SEAN GRIFFIN

«Nes

dent Jim Kinnaird ae interfering” role of Employers’ Council at press

Flanked by (I to r) CUPE representatives Don Cott and Mike Kramer and
VMREU representative George Kowbel, B.C. Federation of Labor presi-

The recent breakdown in con-
tract negotiations between the
unions representing the striking
Greater Vancouver civic employees
and the negotiators for the Greater
Vancouver Regional District pro-
mpted a quick response from the
Vancouver Province.

Coming out squarely on the side
of the municipal councils, the
editorial declared: ‘‘CUPE’s de-
mand is, in fact, revolutionary.
Equal pay for equal work is a
justifiable objective and indeed has
been widely accepted in labor con-
tracts. But the demand that inside
clerical workers, mostly women, in
the municipalities should receive
the same base pay as outside
workers goes well beyond the equal
pay-equal work principle. It goes
far beyond the equal pay for com-
parable work argument which has
made little progress because of the
difficulty of establishing com-
parability. The CUPE demand
would mean that differences in
work functions and responsibilities
would count for nothing in setting
wages.”

The Province conveniently ig-
nored that the Canadian Union of
Public_Employees and the Van-
couver Municipal and Regional
Employees’ Union have proposed
that the equalization process
should take place over a period of
three years. The clerk-typist 2 rate
would reach the base rate for an un-
skilled laborer in this time span and
other adjustments would be made
as required in order to conform to
the basic principle of equal pay for
work of equal value.

In my last Labor Comment, I
noted the criterion for equal pay
for work of equal value as laid
down by the Canadian Human
Rights Act. The Act provides that

1416 Commercial Drive,

Vancouver, B.C. V5L 3X9. Phone 251-1186

Read the paper that fights for labor

City or town
Postal Code

Se

ee

ee ee ee te

Ps wn he Bs a tee eee

Se ee ee ee

1 am enclosing:
1 year $120 2 years $220 +6 months $7 0
OidO New $Foreign 1 year $15 0
Billi me later FD Donation$..........

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—APRIL 10, 1981—Page 12

the value of work will be based on
the composite of the ‘‘skill, effort
and responsibility required in the
performance of the work and the
conditions under which the work is
performed.”’

If the GVRD would agree to lift
the base clerical rate to the base

labor rate (as a number of school '

boards have) and to phase in a
sound structure for equal pay for

conference called by civic unions Monday.

basis of a one-year agreement, in-
cluding a bigger adjustment for
trades classifications and ad-
justments for certain clerical
groups.

When Albertini returned, he
placed the following proposition
before the unions:

The employer is prepared to
make a proposal through the
negotiating committee to the

Labor Comment

work of equal value over a period
of three years, the main barrier in
the way of a settlement would be
removed.

Instead of supporting this
reasonable proposal, the Province
called upon the provincial govern-
ment to bring in legislation to end
the strike:

“Obviously it’s an issue beyond

the capacity of the two sides in the
civic: dispute. The government
therefore should launch its own in-
itiative with further mediation.
And if mediation fails it should
consider the ultimate alternative
—legislation to end the strike and to
impose an arbitrated settlement.”’
If we examine the process that
led to the breakdown in negotia-
tions last week, an interesting pic-
ture emerges. The two negotiating
committees were in the same hotel
from Tuesday morning through to
Saturday evening, but they were in
different rooms. They never met
face to face to negotiate. Instead,
they communicated through
government mediator Ken Alber-
tini, except for one day when union
representatives met with local civic
officials separately to discuss what
are called local issues, namely

- issues confined to one employer.

From what I have been told, a good
number of local issues and a
number of secondary issues apply-
ing to all local unions appeared to
be settled.

Then, at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, the
mediator told the union side he
would go to the GVRD room and
raise the question of equal pay for
work of equal value. By this time,
the employers’ side had already in-
dicated it was prepared to make a
slight move upward in wages on the

Jack Phillips

membership. The proposal would
include the following points:

e A two-year term,

e Improved general wage in-
crease;)

e Adjustments to lower level
clerical classifications and others
(over and above the general wage
increase;

e Withdrawal of the health and
welfare package (which the unions
vowed never to accept).

According to GVRD spokesman
Graham Leslie, the proposal would
be pre-ratified by the GVRD labor
relations committee and would on-
ly require ratification by individual
locals and their. employers.
Ratification by any local and its
employer would mean a new col-
lective agreement and an end to the
work stoppage in that municipali-
ty. Asa prior condition to receiving
the offer the co-ordinated
negotiating committee of the
unions must agree to hold
simultaneous membership
meetings and put the offer to a vote
by secret ballot.

When the co-ordinated
negotiating committee refused to
be party to any agreement to put a
package offer to the union
membership without itself know-
ing all the details, and before it
could discuss and debate it in a
negotiating session with the
employers’ representatives, the
talks broke off. Then, the GVRD
negotiators held a press conference
and tried to put across the idea that
the union side had broken off
negotiations by rejecting a specific
offer.

I have no doubt that the propos-

_ ed package settlement was ready in

writing to present to the unions,

provided the unions’ represen
tatives first agreed to put it to 4
membership vote before they knew -
the details. The unfairness of this
ploy is obvious when you realize
that Graham Leslie, the GVRD
spokesman, would not make such
an offer without prior agreement
from his negotiating committee aS_
to the precise contents of the
package.

The tactics of the GVRD
negotiators were cunning, indeed.
First, they hoped to cause a split on |
the union side, with some local
unions accepting the package and
others rejecting it. Second, they
planned, in the event of a rejection |
bythe unions’ negotiators, to carry
on a campaign through the media
to cause dissension in the ranks,
leading to demands by some-
strikers for a vote. Third, they
estimated - at least in my opinion=
that if the strike dragged on long”
enough the provincial government
would step in and take them off the
hook.

Obviously, if this strike is soil
to be won on a basis acceptable to
the workers, the civic employees
must have the all-out support of thé
labor movement, and the B.C.
Federation of Labor in particular.

What fornis that support should
take is up to the labor movement t0
determine. However, I would suey
gest that every municipal counc
involved should be visited by large
and representative delegations
from organized labor - along with
delegations from other organiza-_
tions which favor a just settlement
through negotiations.

This kind of pressure and in-
dependent political action - in-
cluding hard-hitting ads in the press
designed to win wide public sup
port for the strikers - is what the.
situation calls for. The strikers have
to deal with municipal politicians |
who are sensitive to public opinion.

The Employers’ Council of
B.C., has been putting heavy
pressure on the municipal councils ¢
to hold the settlement down to 4
level satisfactory to corporaté
business. The labor movement
its friends must bring counter-
pressure to bear in a bold, public
fashion. That is the extra weight
which is required if this strike is to
be won. If this strike results in 4
defeat for the civic employees, it
could have a negative effect on the
many sets of negotiations that will
follow in other industries.

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