Still holding the fort United strike into 8th month LONGUEUIL — Critical, -but not desperate, described -the UAW’s strike at United Aircraft Co. of Canada Ltd., as it ap- proached the start of its eighth month (Aug. 7). With all pickets removed from the plant gates May 28 by a injunction, an estimated 577 hourly rated employees had re- turned to work by late July. Close to 2,200 were still “hold- ing the fort.” International Representative Robert Dean reports that Local 510 leaders are confident the strike will be won. They report that no more than a dozen en- gines have been produced since the strike began and these were all well along towards comple- tion before the plant went down Jan. 7. “The position of the company has got to be desperate,” com- mented Dean. “They’re a weal- thy company all right but the pressure on them for deliveries must be enormous. They can af- ford to lose the money, but they can’t stand up to the pressure for deliveries indefinitely.” Among those pressuring is the Shah of Iran who wants helicopters to patrol his oil pipelines. With an energy crisis, that translates into a_ great It begins to look as if the pro- vocative posture of the Toronto Transit Commission was a care- fully worked-out plot to turn the public against the union. But if this indeed was the case, it has failed miserably. A_ self-styled “hero” of that mythical “public” - which allegedly stands prepared to lynch strikers for causing in- convenience, succeeded only in mobilizing two men, one woman ~ and an 11-year-old boy for what was billed to be a storming of the Royal York fortress where the negotiators meet. Never- theless, some 25 reporters, pho- tographers and TV cameramen were on hand for the spectacle to be. When the real public fail- ed to show up, they had to be Satisfied in filming each other. It would probably be hard to find, any place on this continent, with relations between labor and management worse than in the Operations of the TTC. The only possible place would be Mont- real, which is also in trouble with its transit workers. Never Would Be Missed Workers are treated like chat- tel slaves without rights. If they have an accident, as can easily happen in this traffic-city, they are often suspended without pay until the case is investig- ated. Their demands for pay in- -ereases to keep in line with ris- ing living costs, and no more, are looked upon as exorbitant and unreasonable by a TTC and Metro. management that not so long ago raised their own pay by no less than 100%. Yet, as,one correspondent to the editor of the Globe and Mail wrote re- cently, both TTC chairman Karl Mallette afid Metro chairman ‘Paul Godfrey could disappear and no one would miss them. The members of the TTC must accept. the full blame for the BY BRUCE MAGNUSON PACIFIC TRIBUNE—FRIDAY, AUGUST 30, 1974—PAGE 4 problem for the U.S. The head- quarters for United Aircraft Co., -is in East Hartford, Conn. Only the Longueuil plant produces the engines the Shah needs. It is East Hartford manage- ment which has decreed that Local 510 UAW shall not win its demand for the Rand Formula dues check-off. = But that same East Hartford brass has been increasing the frequency and intensity of its “feelers” towards the UAW in recent weeks. Each time its emissaries are rebuffed its next approach is a little less subtle. In mid-June, for example, “Cookie” Morse, UA vice-pres- ident of industrial relations, came to Montreal for an off-the- record meeting with Dean and 510 bargainers. That sortie failed when Que- bec Labor Minister Jean Cour- noyer blatted about to the press. But on June 28 and again on July 2, T. E. Stephenson, pres- ident of United Aircraft Can- ada, was “off-the-record” with Dean and Louis Laberge, pres- ident of the Quebec Federation of Labor. While trying the diplomatic route on one hand, the company was goirig to bribery route with the other. It offered $125 “set- _compliance tlement” pay upon return to work, another $125 after three - weeks’ work, and interest-free - loans to anyone returning. “Our boys are hurting for money, no doubt about it,” ad- mitted Dean, “‘but they are hold- ing up real well. They know the company is hurting worse than they are.” : The International Union UAW, which has poured $2-million in- to the strike, was limited by its strike fund rules from going be- yond its regular benefits. In with the recent UAW convention, however, the International Executive Board is giving consideration to an up- ward revision in strike benefits to reflect both inflation and the length of strikes. There was some slacking in Canadian UAW local ‘union fin- ancial support, due to model change layoffs and vacations, but this was expected to give way soon to a new surge of money for Local 510 strikers. “Our guys. have a big invest- ment in this strike and in the union security issue,” remarked Dean. “Tough as it is, they’d rather hang on now, no matter what it takes, than have to go through it all again another time.” —Solidarity Canada LABOR SCENE TIC strike provoked by lying ‘bosses present transit strike..Chairman, Karl Mallette should be fired for suggesting that the union ‘muck- ed about’ and refused to nego- tiate. It was the Transit Com- mission which dragged its feet, and is still doing it. The TTC pattern of negotia- tions is a prime example of the stalling that has become a pat- tern in public services negotia- tions. With the old contract ex- piring on June 30, the union submitted its list of demands to the TTC on April 23. From May 5 to June 21, the TTC manage- ment went through the motion of holding 10 meetings with union negotiators without making any proposals whatsoever, only stal- ling. Then the union asked for conciliation on July 10, and from then until July 24, four conciliation meetings were held. It was only on July 17, a full week after conciliation proce- dures commenced and a full 17 days after the old contract ex- pired, that the TTC made its first counter-offer to the union. Still Stalling At the end of July the TTC asked for a provincial mediator and J. D. Speranzini was ap- pointed, and met with the Union and TTC officials on August 1. Then came the civic holiday weekend, and no negotiations were held. TTC chairman, Karl Mallette claimed the TTC were prepared to carry on negotia- tions during the weekend but that the union had refused. Leonard Moynehan called Mal- lette a liar and.stated empha- tically that no meetings had been planned for that weekend. The talks August 6, but without any move- ment by the TIC toward settle- ment. After four days of this buck-passing the union decided to strike. — commenced again ~ = The TTC chairman has claim- ed that the lengthy delay before making a counter-offer to the union was nothing unusual. He claimed the TTC had always proceeded this way in previous negotiations. But he was un- certain whether the commission usually made its offer more than two weeks after the expiration of the contract. Irresponsible talk about overcoming hurdles such as the Canadian National Exhibition, Labor Day and the return of children to school ear- ly September, would indicate that the TTC is still stalling and the latest word is the negotia- tions have broken off again. Labor Action Overdue In the meantime city and borough administrations are sitting tight and saying nothing. Likewise the provincial poli- ticians. It appears as if everyone is waiting for Premier Davis to call the Legislature and order the TTC employees back te work while imposing compulsory ar- bitration. — It would seem the time has come, and is perhaps overdue, when the organized labor move- ment in Metropolitan Toronto needs to rise up as one voice and demand an end to the stal- ling by the TTC, and the com- mencement of bargaining in good faith with a serious effort to reach a settlement acceptable to the workers involved. Noth- ing less than that is demanded at this time by the exigencies of a situation in which continued Sitting on the sideline watching and waiting for something to happen can only bring about a- set-back of serious consequen- ces for all labor in this province. Why not follow the example of the teachers and march on City Hall as a first step this time? MASSIVE STRIKES. BY GM WORKERS DETROIT — About 40,000 General Motors workers in the United States and at Oshawa, Ont., were’ idle last week as strikes at assembly plants and a key supplier continued to crip- ple the giant auto-maker. Some 4,800 workers at the Chevrolet Truck plant in Flint, Mich.; 1,500 at the Flamingham, Mass. car assembly plant and “several thousand” other GM werkers at truck lines in Balti- more; Janesville, Wis.; Lake- wood, Ga., and Oshawa are af- fected by the Smith strike, the GM spokesman said. In addition, Chrysler Corp. said 3,800 workers at its truck plant in Fenton, Mo., have been laid off because of the Smith strike, Meanwhile, about 7,800 work- ers at GM’s Lordstown, Ohio, facilities and 5,700 at its St. Louis assembly plant remain on strike over local issues. ‘RAIL WORKERS STAGE WILDCAT VANCOUVER — About 100 express truck drivers and ware- housemen who did not report for Monday’s (Aug. 19) dayshift here were back on the job the next day. The workers were protesting the erosion of their wages by the rise in the cost of living and lack of progress in negotiations in. Montreal. Richard Henham, vice-presi- dent of the Canadian Brother- hood of Railway, Transport and General Workers said the action was not sanctioned by the union. CUPE REFUSES TO PAY PHONE INCREASES OTTAWA — The Canadian Union of Public Employees has urged its 110,000 members in Ontario and Quebec to refuse to pay the 10-cent-a-month rate increase recently granted Bell Canada. CUPE _ secretary - treasurer Grace Hartman said in a news release that the union will with- hold the 5.70% increase on busi- ness rates that also were ap- proved by the Canadian tran-_ sport commission. MILAN quested to help break ‘He said he does not & walk) based workers’ orga it supports the a¢ — Journalists and printers who recently $Y papers of Milan demonstrated for a larger voice ! policies of Italy's monopoly-controlled papers. Amore put forward by the workers was no appointment ° rial editors or mangers without consultation with the edito which have worker representation. joyed a profit ‘increase in the second quarter 0 same three months “ti and “there can be no ju tion for granting the ™¢ ” a further boost in rates. MEDIATOR CALLED IN AT ALCAN KINGSTON, Ont. — 4 incial mediator has ! week stalemate at the bound Alcan Canada FY Ltd. plant here, according company spokesman. Roy Collins said the and two striking unions before the mediator née early settlement to the ft that began July 22. il The strike, affectinE iy employees at the plan’ ctl largest aluminum nts ing plant in cape is bee al ried out by the veh} Local 343, United steele 7 of America, and the 35 Asso lodge 54 International ei ae tion of Machinists 4” 4 space Engineers. : The stiles was called i four months of 1¢8° nt over a new two-year broke down. — WFTU SUPPORTS AMA WORKERS IN PANT PRAGUE — The 1500 d member World ret : Trade Unions last ” oypl a statement ia ‘ sing full soli Daft workers and people of in their struggle wit bi Brands Company, 4 af na firm. The WFTU that the company has banana harvesting ; ie ing in Panama rp1U evade taxes. The 000 that more than 15, jost banana workers have that jobs as a result and nfiict damage has been Panama’s economy: of izatl if of progressive governmen i tions of the U.S. firm.