Unions representing thou- sands of workers cross the prov- ince have been involved in con- tract negotiations over the past few weeks, with up to 1,000 residents of Terrace affected by the results. by Charlynn Toews About 400 Terrace residents are members of the Interna- tional Woodworkers’ Associa- tion, who are currently in negotiatons with Forest In- dustrial Relations employers. One of the main issues, con- tracting out, has been resolved according to IWA’s Darrell Wong. Both the provisions of a 1986 letter of agreement between the union and the companies, which ended a four-and-a-half month strike, and continuing committee talks have dealt satisfactorily with contracting out. Flexibility of scheduling re- mains a problem, with the in- dustry wanting total flexibility in scheduling, and the union asking for guaranteed work years for its members. ‘‘For example, the language regarding the pension plan states a worker needs 1,500 hours a year to have a full year for pension purposes. A shorter shift would damage the worker's pension,’’? Wong said. The union put together a flex- ibility of scheduling proposal last week, and were expecting a response Friday at {10 a.m. However, industry negotiators asked for more time, and on Monday, Wong was expecting a response sometime during the day. ‘‘We'’re optimistic we'll have an offer very soon, hopefully by the end of this week,” he said. If they can resolve the issue of flex- ibility, Wong is confident the rest of the contract talks, dealing with health and welfare issues like dental, medical and disabili- ty plans, should go smoothly. Wages are still being discuss- ed, with the [WA likely ready to settle for increments similar to pulp and paperworkers, which were tentatively set at an 85 cent an hour increase and five anda half per cent raises in each of three years. ALCAN talks break down Monday Strike action may be possible as early as Thursday, if mediator Darwin Benson follows through with his verbal agreement to for- mally book out of contract talks between Alcan and the Cana- dian Association of Smelters and Allied Workers. ‘It’s a ma- jor breakdown in talks,’’ Ross Slezak of CASAW told the TJer- race Review. He said the union formally asked the mediator to book out, after Monday morn- ing talks showed the company had not changed its position on retroactivity. The union wants any agreement reached to be retroactive to July 23 at mid- night, A union meeting with its executive and steering commit- tee was scheduled for late Mon- day afternoon, to get recom- mendations for action should the union find itself in a legal strike position. That can only happen 48 hours after the writ- ten statement of the mediator in- dicates he has booked out, which Slezak believed could be Tuesday or Wednesday. A mediator was requested by Terrace Review — Wednesday, July 27, 1988 27 Labor negotiations intensify throughout Northwest Alcan, and arrived Saturday, the day the CASAW contract ex- pired. At the smelter at Kitimat and the power station at Kemano, 98 percent of workers with the Canadian Association of Smelter and Allied Workers had voted in favor of a strike mandate. The main issue under dispute according to a union spokesperson, has yet to be dis- cussed, including monetary issues. Both the union and Alcan are aware of their responsibility to the economic health of the region, where an Alcan strike could put about 1,600 area residents on the picket line. ‘‘The union wants to avoid a strike at all costs because of its serious effects, but we’re not go- ing to sacrifice our rights,” Slezak said. The last time CASAW was in a legal strike position was 18 years ago. As of Monday morning, they were still talking about the issue of retroactivity, according to - Alcan’s Allan Hewitson. The union gave strike notice to the Industrial Relations Council Thursday, which put them in a legal strike position as of 2 p.m. Monday. However, talks with mediator Darwin Benson were held at 10 a.m. Monday with the union, and later in the day with the company. No legal strike ac- tion is possible while the mediator is on the case, or for 48 hours after he books out. Fishermen settle over weekend A strike of several thousand United Fishermen and Allied Workers hit Prince Rupert Thursday at 11 a.m., with sal- mon prices offered by the Fish- eries Council of B.C. as the main issue of contention. ° The last strike by the UFAW two years ago lasted for four days. This year’s strike lasted two days, with an agreement reached Saturday. Rob Morley, the ex- ecutive director of the fish pro- ducers’ bargaining association, said the shore and plant workers accepted a 65 cent an hour across-the-board wage hike, with 5 cents of that going into a pension fund. | be the free world. case, or 1.4¢ per bottle. yourself what's fair. Name BRACKET. We don’t suppose that anyone feels “welcome” at the thought of entering the 52% tax bracket. But the truth is, every time you open a beer, that’s how much of it is going to Federal and Provincial taxes. In fact, 52% is the national average. Since the recent provincial tax hike here in British Columbia, we're actually paying more than 56%, which is one of the highest rates anywhere in To get specific, of the $10.80* Canadians pay for 12 bottles of domestic beer, $5.62 goes to Federal and Provincial taxes, $2.31 is spent on production, $1.08 on labour, 86¢ on sales and distribution and 76¢ goes to packaging and recycling. The brewer makes 17¢ profit on the We think beer taxes are already too high and should be kept from climbing higher. And we wanted you to know the facts, so that next time anyone suggests raising taxes on beer, you can ask *Prices may vary by brand and region. IF YOU THINK THE TAX ON BEER IS UNFAIR, LET US KNOW. We'd like to hear your opinion. If you believe 52% tax on beer is already too high, and you'd like to see something done about keep- ing it from climbing higher please fill in this form and send it to us. C] Yes, I think the tax Address on beer is too high. City Ci Yes, I'd like more Prov. Postal Code Mail this form to: The Brewers of Canada PO. Box 82518, Burnaby British Columbia V5C 929 information about beer and taxation. | | | | | | | | | |