Fr cael f —Sean Griffin photo UFAWU PRESIDENT HOMER STEVENS and general executive board member Bruce Stevens dress the first of several shipments of salmon destined for the striking Steelworkers in Trail. Expected to total some 10,000 pounds, some of the fish will be donated, some of it sold at cost. Watching the operation carefully — he later took up the knife himself — is Steelworkers representative Al King. What appears to be an intensive effort to establish a basis for non- union contracting in the major construction industry in this province is slowly taking shape on the corner of Georgia and Cambie in Vancouver, destined finally to be on in the chain of Sandman Hotels. The building itself, which will ultimately climb to 14 storeys, has hardly begun, but already there are indications that the contractor is after far more than merely a cut- rate job at non-union wages. Right- to-work associations have managed — with the assistance of governments — to. gain con- siderable ground in the U.S. and the ominous possibility exists that attempts will be made to establish a foothold here. Largely as a result of the anti- labor legislation enacted by the Social Credit government which frustrated the efforts of building trades unions to organize, virtually all construction of single family dwellings is now done by non-union contractors. In addition, ~many frame apartments and_ con- dominiums are now being com- . pleted with non-union labor, the result again of employer laws and employer courts but also the result of the successful efforts of well- financed developers. to recruit — _ often at considerable trouble and expense — non-union crews. But not for many, many years has a hotel or other major con- struction job gone up in “this province by the hands of non-union labor. The present Sandman job is only possible because a lot of: people seem to be working very closely together — evidently with a common aim. : First there are the Gagliardis — former Socred highways minister Phil and son Bob —: who_ have contracted the project. And their involvement in itself, is par- ticularly disquieting considering the notorious record of the Social Credit in 20 years of dealing with the trade union movement. But there are other problems as well. One of the largest contractors which has been successful in erecting frame apartments and condominiums with non-union labor is Landmark Developments Corporation Limited. And while the connections between the two might seem to be inconsequential _they are disturbing nonetheless. PACIFIC TRIBUNE—FRIDAY, AUGUST 9,1974—PAGE 8 -an American All the plumbing on the Sandman site is being done by a tradesman who also does much of the work for Landmark Developments. The power shovel being used has also been seen on Landmark sites. It is reportedly owned by Vancouver Excavations Ltd. — another non- union outfit. Ironically, the main purpose in achieving non-union construction — to provide cheap labor — has, to a minor extent, been self-defeating. Twice the shovel had to be shut down for costly repairs, because the man operating it was unqualified. Most of the men on the site are, in fact, unqualified. Significantly, the one carpenter on the job is an American. And the red men — responsible for concrete rein- forcement — were recruited from ‘Kamloops — Gagliardi’s old election base and the place where, several months ago he erected an apartment which, although begun with union labor, was finally completed with non-union workers. The connections are even more intricate. All the concrete is being supplied by Rempel Concrete, another non-union firm based in | Langley. It in turn brings all its bulk concrete in from the state of ° Washington. Trade unionists allege that the company was probably advised of an alternate supply by right-to-work association after the supply here was cut off following action’ by — trade unionists. The right-to-work movement — rightfully dubbed the ‘‘right-to- scab” movement — by organized workers — _ has _ reached threatening proportions in the U.S. Several states, at the prodding of powerful anti-union employers, have’ enacted right-to-work legislation and an elaborate ap- paratus has been set up to provide - contractors with non-union labor. Contractors go to various right-to- work associations and outline their labor needs for a given project. Workers are then brought in, often from other states, and particularly from areas where the so-called principle of the right to work has assumed a religious character. Thus far, the attempts here to move toward the right to work have not been overly successful. Even on the Sandman site, various building trades unions have signed up men and sent them out to other, union jobs. At least half the work forces on the site changes from week to week with many leaving as a result of poor conditions and dubious safety standards. And if the Landmark projects are any indication, construction will be a long, protracted process. But the threat remains. As long as there are employers like the Gagliardis whose bias against labor one need only look at the record of the Social Credit government to see, as long as there are yet restrictions against the right-of labor to organize and picket, that threat will always remain. PASS THE P.T. ON TO YOUR FRIEND -MAN OFFERING INFORMATION on advantages of trade union TRAIL — Events moved briefly into Supreme Court on a.Cominco injunction application last week as the long hot strike for higher wages and pensions entered its fifth week. The cqmpany had sought an injunction to prevent picketing outside the gates alleging that a company lawyer was denied entry by pickets. The subsequent hearing July 31 was postponed indefinitely with the proviso that the company could seek injunction on ‘24 hours notice if any further incidents occurred. The stalemate in court was rep- resentative of the strike itself — already the longest in Cominco’s history — with the men digging in for longer days ahead, determined to win a substantial settlement. From a position in 1952 of having: the highest per capita income in Canada, Trail has slipped to somewhere around 86th, Steelworkers Local 480 president Marv McLean pointed out. The company has yet to move since the union presented a set of counter proposals through mediator Ken Albertini July 18 and the. debate on negotiations has shifted from the bargaining table into the newspapers — predominantly the Trail Times. Among the union’s counter proposals were demands for a $200 cash payment to each worker on settlement and additional wage increases of 15 to 20 cents per hour. In a letter sent to all general roll employees, the company argued that its original offer was ‘firm and generous”’ and that the union had responded by escalating demands. - But in refusing to accede to the demand for a $200 cash payment on settlement the company was reneging on an earlier proposal by which it agreed to backdate wages to May 1 if the men would accept the offer. 8 Since the men worked the two months between May 1 and the contract expiry date, the $200 payment simply covered the company’s earlier offer of retro- activity. The increased wage demands, the union pointed out, merely reflected the increases in membership stands outside Sandman Hotel site in Vancouver where employer efforts to Tecruit and maintain non-union work force have indicated the possibility of attempts to establish the “right-to-work” principle here. (See story this Page.) the cost of living sil negotiations began. : Still at the heart of thes” the pension issue. steadfastly refuses to co? union’s demand for “30 Y! out’’ and has issued th threat that it will not evel long, bitter strike. But the strikers are 1 firm. Carefully outlining: in a series of newspPé vertisements, Local 4” virtually every case eV! righteous reply from the® indicating that Cominc® concerned about its pro Significantly, the compe this week reported tha for the first six months 0 almost triple those for period in 1973, rising million to a record $50 Food distribution 1 families, organized mah? ago by the Local continues to function SM& the United Fishermen @ Workers Union is conlif work on shipments of a some donated, some sold éf which likely will go # 10,000 pounds. , a The strike may yet be# but as one striker aSke™ | to a Trail newspapel wrong to ask Cominc? staggering profits, for ey around settlement, 5° has never come close workers in past years: in Chile has recelt enquiries about the es at the Hortensia Alle iv meeting held in John School on December “ Rankin, president © mittee said this statement. Although _ the canal Democracy in Chile vO sponsoring organiza Co with the British ine Federation of Labor 4 couver Labor Coun. of Vancouver NDP, ee i any of the financla nected with the r oted collection was cond et. ! Chile Solidarity Com™ date, we have 10 ~ fr ol proper accountinb = meeting. ‘i Some 1,200 people 4 were led to belieV proceeds would ie Hortensia Allende all To the best of our known $2,000 from that BaF 6 possession of the Committee, despite ey urging that the mo? Mrs. Allende. an We regret that this a : arisen, and we bore remedied soon. How j of what has transP#™ 4 make it clear etee Solidarity Commy pla sponsor of our rally September 11 of th F sep All proceeds from ° a 11 ‘meeting Ww me, Democratico in ROP toy co-ordinating C&M“ 4- Unity in exile. statement will et : supporters shor™s ¢ meeting, as We public mee Technical Schoo 1974, Rankin said: