Ford workers protest
overtime with wildcat

The Ford Oakville Truck Plant
was shut down by a wildcat
strike last week over the issue
of company scheduling of over-
time. The plant is working fifty-
six hours a week, four tens and
two eights. The men are demand-

ing application of the Ontario.

regulations limiting the work
week to 48 hours, except in
emergency.

The walk-out which involved
800 men, was triggered by the
Suspension of an employee for
refusing to work overtime. The
Suspension was lifted after the
walkout and the plant is now
back in production.

During the dispute the follow-
ing press release was issued by
Mike Heas, secretary of the
Publicity Committee of Local
707 U.A.W. It gives some idea of
the in-plant conditions at the
Ford Motor Company:

After a prolonged period of
provocation by the Ford Motor
Company, and particularly by its
labor relations staff, the Ontario
Truck Plant at Oakville’ has
walked out.

The incident which finally be-
came the focal point of the men’s
frustration and rage was the
Suspension of an employee’ who
attempted to exercise his rights
under the existing Labor Rela-
tions Act of Ontario, which
states a man has the right to re-
fuse to work beyond 48 hours
per week. It was this same issue
which caused walkouts on _pre-
vious occasions. The company
has also issued discipline to
several hundred of its employees
recently who tried to exercise
their rights under the Act.

The Management of the Truck
Plant at Oakville has been forc-
ing the men to work 10 hours a
day, 6 days a week, consistently
for the past three years. The
tension which has built up at
this time, both within the plant
and in the home life of the men,

has reached a crisis stage. The

company, instead of attempting
to alleviate the situation has set
about to make working in the
plant a nightmare experience.
The working conditions in the
Truck Plant, and the attitude of
the company towards solving the
problems they created, have
steadily regressed over the past
year, to the point where there is
no longer any meaningful dialo-
gue between the company and
the Union Committee. Men are
suspended and otherwise discip-
lined for the most trivial of,
reasons. Three members of the
company staff have recently
been the object of charges
brought by the Ontario Human
Rights Commission for practis-
ing racial discrimination. In
spite of seven signed statements
by witnesses, the company has
refused even to acknowledge the
incidents ever took place. Men
with many years seniority have
been suspended because they

“What are they complaining about? .. .

day in our lives!”

took one day off, and others have
been refused relief from the as-
sembly line to go to the First
Aid station.

But the various problems
which have made life a hell for
the workers in the Truck Plant
either have their origin in, or
have been aggravated by, the ex-
cessive overtime hours which
the men have been forced to
work against their will, and
against what they know to be
their rights under the Labor Re-
lations Act of Ontario,

There will be,no lasting peace,
but rather continual conflict and
confrontation, as long as the
company refuses to acknowledge
that its workers are human be-
ings, with feelings, families and
self-respect; and as long as the
Government of Ontario con-
tinues to pussy-foot with the
rights of our members by refus-
ing to inform the Ford Motor
Company that their actions are
both illegal and unethical.

We haven’t worked a

ises in

By far the most revealing
journal in Amerita is turned out
by the U.S. Department of Com-
merce. It is titled SURVEY OF
CURRENT BUSINESS. Periodic-
ally it reviews the position of
U.S. investment abroad. As such
it chronicles the expansion of
the American Empire. The Octo-
ber 1968 number summarizes the
record for 1967.

In most respects the 1967 per-
formance reinforces earlier
trends. The value of U.S. direct
investment (U.S. business opera-
tions) abroad rose from $55 bil-
lion in 1966 to $59 billion in
1967. The 1967 total is nearly
double the amount at the begin-
ning of the decade and five times
the 1950 value. By any standards
the size of American investment
abroad was small before 1950.
Since that time it has been ris-
ing very rapidly. In the 1960s it
has become critically important
to the performance of the Amer-
ican economy—expenditures for
plant and equipment for U.S.
subsidiaries abroad now account
for 15-20 percent of parallel dom-
estic expenditures.

American investment in Can-
ada always has a special place
in the SURVEY’S report, for it
comprises almost one-third of
U.S. investment abroad. The re-
sults for 1967 should be of spe-
cial interest to Canadians.

The value of U.S.-owned bus-
iness in Canada rose by $1 bil-
lion from $17 billion in 1966 to
$18 billion in 1967. As has been
true for some years, most U.S.
investment in Canada did not
come from the U.S.A. at all. It
was financed by subsidiary pro-
fits earned inside Canada as well
as from borrowing on the Cana-
dian money market. That is,
most U.S. net investment is fin-
anced from savings generated
inside the Canadian economy ra-
ther than from the U.S. econ-
omy. In 1967, less than two-
fifths of the increase in net in-
vestment was derived from the

U.S. investment

Canada —

a
U.S.A. ($392 million out bay
total of $1,070 million.) vss i
higher proportion of :
vestment is financed se fro
dian savings—73 per recit
retained earnings an d P het ;
tion and 12 percent ge pe
Canadian sources. Only “Tin |
cent of U.S. gross inves ¢
Canada actually comes !* oo
U.S.A. ;

While parent companies eg
supplying subsidiaries Ww eceivll
million in 1967 they Toy ik »
from them a total of f 43 mi
lion in dividends and $ 2 fees
lion in royalties, licens
management fees, et 4

Nor is this situation DO" 76
tween 1960 and 1967 Hi
economy has received oradia®
billion more from its OMe ‘be
subsidiaries than it has (of
uted to them in the
direct outlays from pareM™ “nd
panies. If royalties, lice™
management fees were ‘i r
the excess would be in t aly th?
of $2 billion. This is hat of
usual picture that is pai? ratell
a Canada that is desPé ge
short of savings, receiving capi
transfers of American TS i
tal. 2 \ 150 re’

The 1967 statistics 4 end
veal another important t€ init
namely the rapidly ican |
proportion of new ATE cated
vestment that is being 4
to Canada. Canada receive cist
20 percent of new U.S: j
investment in 1967. |
received 27 percent; ! Euror?
percent. It is western cil
that is now the largest Te * nat
of U.S.. investment. Nov ish
Canada has become esta” oy

as America’s largest few’!
plant economy, fewer 4? be in
American dollars need 0 © oy
vested here to support h amet
tinuous expansion of thé © ied
ican corporation. It 1S n
increasingly and almost
by Canadian dollars.

th
—The Commonwel

LABOR SCENE

By Bruce Magnuson

Wages, overtime key issues

—

Greatest breakthrough on the
wage front this year was un-
doubtedly the new one-year con-
tract which 900 British Columbia
plumbers signed with the Mecha-
nical Industrial Relations Asso-
ciation after a five-week strike.
The Association represents 60
plumbing firms.

The wage increase in the one-
year contract amounted to $1.48,
bringing the hourly rate up from
$4.18 to $5.66. When fringes are
added; the increase comes to
$1.8344 per hour.

The International Longshore-
men’s and  Warehousemen’s
Union is presently in negotiation
with the British Columbia Mari-
time Employers Association.
While neither side has officially
revealed details of new contract
proposals, drastic changes in
port facilities and the handling
of cargo point to new and unpre-
cedented problems being tackled
in a new way.

It is known that in return for
continuous round-the-clock -ope-

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—JUNE 13, 1969—Page 4

rations the dockers will seek
guaranteed work.

Presently the dockers work
ships up to 14 hours a day, six
days a week. In bulk cargo han-
dling, a three-shift system is
worked.

Round -the- clock operations
would mean 24 hour operations,
seven days per week.

The new and forward-looking
program adopted by. the union
last February calls for elimina-
tion of compulsory overtime,
shift differentials for wages, and
a built-in weekly work guaran-
tee, with two consecutive days
off each week, as an integral
part of the round-the-clock ope-
ration.

The union is also seeking new
contract provisions for the han-
dling of containers and operation
of a container crane.

Major issues in the negotia-
tions will undoubtedly be wages
and the work guarantee.

The current contract expires
on July 3lst.

Success for the ILWU will

mean that a new system will
have been established in con-
tinuous operations to meet the
needs of our new and fast mov-
ing computer age. At the same
time these changes will not take
place at the expense of the work-
ers involved. On the contrary,
the improved system of higher
productivity potential must bring
benefits to the workers who
make it possible in the first
place.

The greatest boon to the work-
ers will be the removal of over-
time work without reduction in
take-home pay, which, to the
contrary, has to rise to higher
levels. A new system of remu-
neration for work done will ac-
company the proposed changes
in work patterns.

Present incentives, based on
time studies with bonuses and
differential rates of all kinds, set
one worker invariably against
another worker. Basic principles
and solidarity to achieve a com-
mon aim and purpose are as
often as not lost in competitive
struggle between workers them-

selves. More money wages paid
to some workers on a temporary
basis, makes it possible for em-
ployers to reduce labor costs and
increase profits.

The Ford Motor Company of
Canada knows how to take ad-
vantage of overtime work to pro-
duce more at less labor costs.
This is shown clearly in its oper-
ations at Talbotville, Ontario.

Presently Ford produces some
4,000 Mavericks per week at this
plant. To squeeze another 800
cars Or more per week out of the
same workers, Ford is schedul-
ing no less than 16 hours over-
time per week. The day shift
works four ten-hour shifts and
two eight-hour shifts, including
Saturdays, for a total of 56 hours
each week. The night shift
works 50 hours in five straight
ten-hour shifts. :

Because of the strong demand
for Mavericks, Ford seeks to
take the maximum advantage of
the well known liberal interpre-
tation of Ontario labor laws.
(The only other Ford plant pro-
ducing Mavericks is at Kansas

City, Missouri. Both plants .
work overtime.) in ef
The current agreement juce®
fect between the auto Pro” ie
and the United Autom ig
Workers Union, leaves the ot 1
panies with unilateral po™’
schedule overtime work. | En

According to the Ontario sy ?
ployment Standards Act, 9° io.
ed after the contracts were is
tiated by the union, overt’ roy
not supposed to be a matter i
unilateral decision by th “pe
ployer. Overtime has '€ ine
jointly agreed upon betweer
tWo parties to the agreem® that

The main problem }§ 95
while some workers work one
sive hours, others have 0 «ind:
as unemployment is incre@? of
This includes a large num 2 of
auto workers laid off for 0? his
another reason. As long ei) r
“feast and famine” work P ot |
is allowed to continue, ]@? ¢
share of our national iM? yo.
will remain relatively muc pile
hind what it should be, We
monopoly profits will cont!”
to soar. ; ;