Pen

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< ce Yorke at last weekend’s convention of the B.C. Tenant's Organi-
“Hen convention where-he was reelected president.

Tenants organizing

for fall campaign

: Meeting in convention Sun-
ay, the B.C. Tenants Or-

8anization called for further:

Pressure on the provincial

_ 80Vernment in a continuing cam-

Paign for protective legislation
or tenants, =

Several tenant associations in-

Ing organizations from —

Campbell River and Victoria
in ee at the meeting represent-

i
1B Some 2,500 tenants across the
TOvince.

ae Program called for legisla-
Making it mandatory for

ci Ncipalities to set up muni-
Colle rent review boards;
eae bargaining for
ts in any apartment where
Majroity of the resident
legigts,, Want it and above all,
Rive | 108 forcing landlords to

Just cause for eviction.

ancouver tenants’ delegate
Reeq arneau - emphasized the
°Vieti for “just cause for
Ut th on” provisions, pointing
«.,, ‘at without that protection,
Other rights become

vi :
Ttually imoperative.”’

‘the , convention also called on

Make oVincial government to
Massive amounts of
onstp available for the
Und Uction of public housing
Cibalities control of the muni-
8 Botting on tenant action in
aMuny. Frank Izzard noted that
®Stabliqha: ent board had been
the aa which has assumed
landiy hority to demand from
Cause Ne that they give just
ee: The board
Dv ished under the
3 facial Rent Control Act and,
Powers » has considerable
accom to deal with rental
A Modation.
the © Conflict exists between
Contr visions of the Rent
isa Act, passed in 1955.and
Act. B the Landlord and Tenant
Yorke 2:9: president Bruce
Cipalit; Stressed that muni-
With ae can establish boards
Rent road powers under the
log 1 oNtrol Act-and called on
Dregs ¢ €nant associations to
or such boards.

Money

‘the R €same time, Yorke said,
80vern, -O. urges the provincial .
"Ment. to amend the-

Landlord and Tenant Act to
make it possible for any muni-
cipality to enact regulations
that go beyond, but not short of,
the provisions of the Landlord
and Tenant Act.

Campbell River council isalso
considering a bylaw guarantee-
ing just cause for eviction which
has been vociferously attacked
by the landlords. The bylaw was
proposed by the local tenants
association and in a recent
editorial, the Campbell River
Courier accused thelandlords of
“*trying to maintain the status
quo”’ and pointed out that the
bylaw ‘‘would introduce a
measure of justice long lacking
in landlord-tenant relations.”’

Several local associations
reported on retalitory actions by
landlords, including one owner
in Burnaby who is continuing to
collectsecurity deposits despite
an earlier conviction for illegal
collection. As well, landlords
are circulating a petition asking
for further tax concessions to
apartment owners and an end to
further protective legislation
for tenants.

‘‘The fact that they are circu-
lating a petition is a recognition
of our influence,’’ Bruce Yorke
said, ‘‘we’ve got to answer it
with even more pressure.”

The.B.C.T.O. plans a mass
lobby to Victoria early in the
fall session of the Legislature to
press for implementation of
tenant demands. The convention
also called for the extension of
tenant organization and the
formation of associations in
New Westminster, Port Moody,
Richmond and Port Coquitlam.

FOREST PROFITS

Cont'd. from pg. 1

making these fabulous profits
by exploiting Crown forest lands
which are supposed to belong to
the public.

The profit scandal in the forest
industry points up once again the
need for an effective Prices
Review. Board with power to
curb.the profiteers.and roll-back
prices.

Labor expands Seagram
boycott across Canada

Keith Sheedy is only a young
man in his early twenties. But
already, as president of Local 69
of the Distillery Workers, heis
leading afight thathas become
the focus of attention for the
whole trade union movement in
B.C. and, in fact, all across
Canada. :

Local 69 represents the
workers at the New West-
minster plant of the House of Sea-
gram,acompanythathas been
distilling liquors in Canada for
generations and whose assets
have grown with every year of
its existence.

On the door of the plant at 101
Braid Street in New West-
minster, there are two brass
plaques listing two subsidiary
companies — B.C. Distillery
Company Ltd. and Thomas
Adams Distillers Ltd. But that
is only half the picture; the
House of Seagram markets
dozens of products under various
names. And just two weeks ago,
Distillers Corporation-Sea-
gram’s announced a 10.6%
increase in profits for the
current year now totalling $35
million, as well as announcing
further expansion and the acqui-
sition of additional companies.

Yet still Seagram’s refuses to
pay even the wage rates of its
competitors. Local 69 members
are asking for wage parity with
the workers in the Hiram Walker
plantin Walkerville, Ontario—
$4.76 per hour. At present they
earn $3.81 per hour.

Inaddition they have asked for:
an improved pension plan,
increased vacation benefits and
dental plan. And their demands

— for benefits already being
enjoyed by thousands of
workers in B.C.— have earned
them not only the stubborn oppo-
sition of the company— but the
international union officers as
well.

Some weeks ago, Local 69
voted on a contract offer and
rejected it by an overwhelming

majority. The international
president, Brandenberg, stated
that Sheedy didn’t know his own
members andorderedasecond
vote. It too was rejected— by an
even greater majority.

The international ordered still
another vote and, at that point,
the B.C. Federation of Labor
stepped in, to support the right
of the members of Local 69 to
sign their own collective
agreement. The Federation
offered Local 69 the opportunity
of sending the members’

eS

unmarked ballots to the Federa-
tion offices as a protest against
the unwarranted interference
of the international office in

Local 69’s affairs. Out of some.

180 ballots, 151 came to the
Federation office— unmarked.

But the international office
adamantly refuses to pay strike
benefits to the workers at the
plant. Brandenberg, infact, in
anattempttodefeatthestrike,
reportedly told the Seagram’s
management ‘‘not to offer any
more than the Seagram’s plants
in Manitoba, Ontario and
Quebec settled for.”’

Nevertheless, the struggle
goes on. The B.C. Federation of
Labor, a month ago, called fora
boycott of all Seagram’s
products and convened a
meeting of affiliates to the
Federation where thousands of
dollars were raised in support of
the striking workers.

Federation secretary Ray
Haynes stated that ‘‘in the weeks
ahead Seagram’s will either
stop the attempts to smash the
union or their products will be
rejected by thousands of British
Columbians for years tocome.”’
On May 1, Haynes announced
plans to extend the boycott
through the Canadian Labor
Congress into a nation-wide boy-
cott. :

The Federation is alsoarrang-
ing interest-free loans from
affiliated unions. The B.C. Fed-
eration of Labor has declared the
following products ‘“‘hot’’.

Rye: Seagram’s Five Star;
Seagram’s V.0.; Seagram’s
Crown Royal; Seagram’s 83;
Seagram’s Gold Bond. Adam’s
Antique, Private Stock, Gold
Stripe and Four Rose; B.C.
Double Distilled and B.C.
Special Old; Canadian Lord
Calvert, Canada House, Calvert
Grand Prix; Hudson’s Bay
F.0.B. and Hudson’s Bay Fine
Old.

Rum: Captain Morgan Deluxe,
Black Label; Gold Label and
White Label; Myer’s Demerara,
White and Tropicana; Woods Old
Navy and White Sail Rum.

Gin: Seagram’s Extra Dry,
King Arthur and Gord6.\’s
London Dry Gin; Calvert Very
Dry; Burnett’s White Satin and
Lemon Collins; Adam’s Silver
Fizz and Monogram Gin;
Vickers London Dry and Hudson
Bay Gin.

Scotch: Seagram’s 100 Pipers
and Passport Scotch.

Vodka: Gordon’s, Nikolai

and Bolshoi Vodka; PrincelIgor .

‘and Hudson’s Bay Vodka.
Liqueurs: Leroux liqueurs.

the B.C. Federation of Labor:

-Theaboveproducts ‘are only some of those produced by Seagram’‘s: All of them have been declared hot by

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