—Sean Griffin photo Despite profit figures more than commensurate with its monopoly domination in the sugar industry in western Canada, B.C. Sugar Refinery last week locked out its workers. Pickets went up Friday. Bill 84 top priority — for Federation parley By JACK PHILLIPS ‘Len Guy, secretary of the B.C. Federation of Labor, has sent out a second notice in connection with the special Federation convention to be held on June 13. The second eall notifies all af- filiates that there will be a special closed conference to report on the proposed amendments to. the Labor Code (Bill 84) immediately following adjournment of the Special convention Friday, June 13. The convention hall has been reserved for Saturday, June 14, with the idea that it may be necessary to continue the con- ference on that day. Some officers of the Federation are reportedly hopeful that the provincial government - will not introduce the amendments for -second and third readings in the current session of the Legislature Other sources maintain that the amendments are not likely to die on the order paper unless the Federation conference takes’ a strong position in opposition to Bill 84 as a package. : As reported in the Tribune June 6, the special convention was called to deal with the Federation’s policies on picket lines, strike coordination and related matters. The Federation guidelines on these matters, as decided in convention in 1965, can be summarized as - follows: e The union proposing to take HOUSING Cont'd from pg. 1 year. Main items in the land assemblage program were the . » 2,600 acres for the Burke Mountain project in Coquitlam, 1,136 acres in the Capital Region District, and 750 acres in North Vancouver. With the removal of federal tax shelters, it continued, private investment in rental commodation dried up. “This,” Morgan said, ‘‘is precisely their problem. As long as the government continues to rely on private capital to provide housing we will have a crisis. A half hearted program for public housing will allow the housing crisis to become even more acute.”’ PACIFIC TRIBUNE—JUNE 13, 1975—Page 12 ac-* ; _ will extend over one week from strike action is requested to notify the Federation office at least five days in advance. The officers of the Federation may then determine the scope and jurisdiction of the strike, that is, whether the local labor council or the Federation’s coordinating committee should be responsible for strike coordination. e Once the determination is made, it is required that the labor council concerned, or _ the Federation, will have some voice in determining the course the strike will follow as to strategy, procedure and publicity. @ Financial assistance from the Federation to be available after the third week of strike, except where extraordinary cir- cumstances make it necessary to provide help sooner. The purpose of the these rules is to provide the opportunity for the Federation to assist the affiliate in a dispute in obtaining a settlement . and also to enable the Federation to call together the unions that will be affected by the strike in order to ensure maximum cooperation. It would appear that some af- filiates have been ignoring these rules and creating picket line situations involving: other Federation affiliates without prior consultation. If this were not so; there would be little or no purpose for a special convention at this time. As each affiliate of Federation is an autonomous body in respect to negotiations, strikes and picket lines, the Federation guidelines cannot work without voluntary cooperation. Lack of cooperation undermines the ef- fectiveness of the Federation as a coordinating body, weakens labor solidarity and causes harmful divisions. Some prominent trade union leaders are of the opinion that the rules must either be enforced or rescinded. In the current setting, with the offensive of monopoly capital against the living stan- - dards of the people and the rising strike movement, the Federation officers require a clear mandate in respect to their coordinating role. In the opinion of this writer, however, the Federation should reverse the order of priority in the special convention. With all due respect to the need for strike coordination, the priority item at this time should be Bill 84. Coor- dination within the Federation is an internal, ongoing problem. Bill 84 is a government measure against the interests of the trade union movement. It calls for an immediate and united protest by organized labor. . Strike votes set in UFAWU talks Strike balloting for UFAWU shoreworkers and tendermen is’ expected later this month as fishing companies remain far away from realistic offers in current industry negotiations. The shore section of the industry will take its strike vote June 25 while the vote among tendermen June 18 to 25. UFAWU secretary Jack Nichol told the Tribune that negotiators were ‘‘a long ways’ apart and added that company offers — five per cent for tendermen and eight to 10 per cent for shoreworkers — were “an affront” in an era of 20 to 30 per cent wage increases. “They’re not even equal to the federal government guidelines for wage restraints,’ he commented. After almost total silence in the first three months after bargaining began, the Fisheries Association did table an elaborate document two weeks ago outlining what were alleged to be changes to the Master Agreement. One of the demands ‘advanced by the company involved placing new or probationary employees ‘‘on a trial basis’ in perpetuity. “Full responsibility for any confrontation that ensues rests squarely with the member com- panies of the Fisheries Association,”’ Nichol declared. the Sugar monopoly} forces lockout | Members of the Retail Wholesale and Department Store Union are locked out at two locations in the Lower Mainland. The latest lockout is at,the B.C. Sugar Refinery in Vancouver where 260 employees were forced on to the picket line last Friday following a 95% strike vote and a 92% rejection of the sugar monopoly’s last offer. RWDSU picket captain Darrell Craig told the Tribune this week that the union was demanding a “substantial increase’ in wages _ that would bring the rates into line with other union contracts. They are asking parity with employees at McDonald’s Consolidated, wholesale arm of Safeway. Negotiations broke off last week after being stalemated since commencing in February. No further talks are planned. The B.C. Sugar Refinery dominates the industry in both B.C. and Alberta and can afford to be highhanded about the lockout after turning a 66% profit margin for the last six months. Craig related the high profit rate to the round of price increases at the beginning of the year. Working conditions are also at ‘issue in the sugar refinery dispute. Craig says the company has “a 19th century outlook on the treatment of its employees.” . Other members of the RWDSU at Seagram’s (B.C. Distillery Ltd.) having suffered that same outlook through more than two years of labor unrest have also been locked out. Local union president Keith Sheedy charged that the lockout indicated that: Seagram’s would shut down its operations in B.C. to avoid working within the law. The 160 workers at the distillery were shut out May 31 upon ex- piration of the _ collective agreement. With the lockout the company advised 75 employees that they would be cut from the payroll. Pickets at the New Westminster ' | ene ~- -Relations Board, requesting thet! plant have become an almosl| ” regular occurrence because of the company’s callous approach o employees. ‘‘This company, Sheedy commented in a releas’) last week, ‘‘after thumbing its nos¢| at legal orders by the B.C. Labo! to maintain their full operatiol) has now gone a step further allt) locked out the employees at B.C. Distillery. “They apparently have no desif®) fo negotiate a new collectiv’) agreement for the whole operatioly and the Montreal head office mw} have decided to discontinl operations ‘in B.C. “Since failure to resolve UWP} dispute will mean the loss of the: entire B.C. market, plus othel related markets, it is clear that thé Seagram empire will go to | credible lengths to avoid operatilh| within the laws of the province al) in a manner consistent with no! mal labor management relatio® 1nB G2? / Sheedy ‘said that Seagram} | would be “no great loss” as othe!) distilleries would fill the gap. “We will, of course, be asking {0! the support of the B.C. Federatid? of Labor, the Canadian Labdl} Congress and affiliated unions; the statement ended. CZECHOSLOVAK AID SPURS BABY BOOM PRAGUE Last yea Czechoslovakia appeared amollb countries with the highest bit! rate in Europe. In Prague ! particular the situation wé described as a ‘population & plosion. In 1974, 18,000 childré! were born in Prague, 8.8 perce! more than-the record year of 1973: This situation is due mainly. the important measures whic! have been introduced by # government, such as assistance young married couples in the fo of state loans and assistance mothers. ==S5 con _— >. asd k ahs: Vey} uth rail eqes SY 2 FS crest 4359! \ THE PACIFIC TRIBUNE IS B.C.'S ONLY WEEKLY @ LABOR PAPER @& STAY INFORMED ON EVENTS IN THE LABOR MOVEMENT! - SUBSCRIBE TODAY! Clip and Mail to No. 3 Mez., 193 E. Hastings, Van. 4 Enclosed: ..... $6-1 yr. :....$3.50-6 mos. | Name... 225... cae go aS Sots sib este Chess Adis 2 eB = rr iio| ooo