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INTERNATIONAL REPRESENTIVES AID MOVE

Alcan strikes at construction workers’ gains

By ALFRED C. CAMPBELL

A conspiracy is afoot among
athe big construction com-
panies in the province to
whittle down union gains,
and it is beiffg assisted by
international representatives
of powerful building trades
unions

The move is toward aban-
doning all subsistence allow-
ances, such as board and
room, travel time and fares
to construction jobs outside
of Varicouver. The companies
want to return to the days
when construction workers
and loggers paid their own
fares to jobs and packed their
own blankets.

The main power behind this
move is the Aluminum Com-
pany of Canada, whose sub-
contractors under the direc-
tion of Saguenay-Kitimat and-
its personnel director, R. L.
Auger, have banded them-
selves together in what is
known as the Kitimat Build-
ing and Construction Indus-
tries Exchange.

By a “peculiar coincidence
R. L. Auger is also the chair-
man of the Exchange negoti-
ating committee.

The Exchange, under Auger’s
leadership, recently turned
down the unanimous recom-
mendation of a conciliation
board which awarded a wage
increase of 27 cents an hour,

plus another five cents on
January 1, 1958, to Local 1081
of the Carpenters’ union.

The contractors also ob-
jected to a recommendation
for two 10-minute rest periods
a day—in other words, a “cof-
fee break” which every work-
er knows is an incentive to
increased production rather
than the opposite.

More than 550 carpenters
at Kitimat are affected.

The contractors’ answer to
the conciliation board is to
ask the government to con-
duet a “lockout vote” of 12
firms which are members of
the Kitimat Building and
Construction Industries Ex-
change.

This means closing down
the job and trying to force
the carpenters (a number of
whom undoubtedly live in
company houses)) into sub-
mission.

Main aim of the Aluminum

Company of Canada, through .

its) subsidiary Saguenay-Kiti-
mat and the sub-contractors
(who must fall into line or
lose their contracts) is to
defeat any threat by the
unions to the company’s rigid
control and authority over
‘its property and personnel.
In this it is being assisted
by international representa-
tives who have shown more
than a little eagerness in set-

DOUG HEPBURN — WORLD'S STRONGEST MAN

ting up new locals in: Kitimat
which automatically deprive
the members of such locals of
board and room and other
conditions which have been
fought for on the job.

Loss of these conditions
means less income for the
construction tradesmen work-
ing for Saguenay-Kitimat and
also places a greater concen-
tration of power and coercion
in the hands of Alcan.

Workers. in the _ building
trades can hardly regard it
as an accident that one week
the Kitimat Building and Con-
struction Industries Exchange
issued a statement in the
Kitimat paper that no more
subsistence allowance would
be paid and the next week
attempts were made to instal
a local of the- Plumbers and
Pipefitters.

The precendent for this had
already been set by the Car-
penters union.

When the company was
foiled by a. meeting in Kiti-
mat of members of Plumbers
and Pipefitters Local 170,
Saguenay - Kitimat folded up
the dummy company of West-
ern Plumbing and immedi-
ately laid off a large number
of pipefitters with no ex-
planation.

Whenever a powerful com-
pany like Alcan. which al-

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“INCLUDING THE WORLD'S STRONGEST
MAN AND B.C. LABOR’S FAIREST MISS,
IS COMING TO THE ANNUAL

LABOR
PICNIC

~ CONFEDERATION- PARK
SUNDAY, AUGUST 11

From One O'clock ’til ?

ready has refused the just de-
mands of its permanent plant
workers in Arvida and Kiti-
mat, advocates the setting up
of trade union locals, it’s time
for construction workers to
become suspicious of the mo-
tives. It is also time to scru-
tinize closely the actions of
international representatives
who agree over the opposition
of pipefitters on the job to
set up such a local.

In most, if not all of the
building trades unions, inter-
national representatives- are
appointed by the international.
Their’ appointment is later
confirmed at a convention
packed largely by U.S. dele-
gates. The Canadian locals
have no control over their
actions.

The time is long overdue
when craft unions in this
country should have auton-
omy, with _ representatives
elected by the Canadian rank-
andgfile and subject to re-
call.

Should the Aluminum Com-
pany of Canada with the aid
of its “labor lieutenants” suc-
ceed in abolishing these gains,
other construction companies
will follow suit.

The workers fought for and
won these conditions. They
will now have to fight tof
keep them,

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. Doug Hepburn Exhibition 2:30 p.m.

“CROWNING OF POPULAR GIRL
PRIZE FOR OLDEST TRADE UNIONIST

PRIZE FOR LARGEST FAMILY PRESENT.

Raat Ra ee i i

. August 2, 1957 — PACIFIC TRIBUNE—PAGE 3