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Grape's ‘phoney strike’ chal

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—SEE PAGE 7

Tribune

FRIDAY, AUGUST 17, 1973

TSE 50

Vol. 34, No. 33 mists

15°

AT SEAGRAM’S DISTILLERY

Members of Local 69, Dis-
tillery, Rectifying Wine and
Allied Workers ended their five-
and-a-half monthstrikeatSea-
gram’s New Westminster plant
Monday night with a settlement
that was wonin spite of the com-
pany’sstubbornoppositiontoa
separate agreement for the
local and in spite of the inter-
national office of the union which
refused to support the strike.

Included in the settlement
which was accepted by a vote of
113 to 41 was a lump sum
payment toeach striker of $350
paid by the company.

The agreement was ham-
mered out late Sunday nightina
marathon. bargaining session
at which B.C. Federation of
Labor. secretary Ray Haynes
and trade union conultant Emil
Bjarnason were present on be-
half of the union in addition to
the negotiating committee

headed up by Keith Sheedy, presi-

dent of Local 69.

The settlement provides for
$1.20 across the board increase
over approximately two years,
retroactive to February lona
present base rate of $3.81. A70
cent increase is effective upon
return to work as well as in-
creases of 45 cents and 5 cents
effective May 1, 1974 and

December 1, 1974 respectively.
In addition, the company will
pay $10 per month per member
into a union fund for the provi-
sion of a dental plan. The agree-
ment expires May 31, 1975.

The contract has been hailed
by the trade union movement in
British Columbia as a major vic-

tory for the tiny local of 180:

members as it affirmed their
right to sign a _ separate
agreement with Seagram’s
rather than accept unwillingly
an earlier agreement negotiated

by the international office with.

other Seagram’s locals in the
country.

The contract with the other
locals is of three years duration
and provides for a $1.16 increase
in steps of 48 cents, 33 cents and
35 cents effective on the anni-
versary dates of the contract
with possible cost of living
bonuses not to exceed 10 cents
per year.

Crucial to the victory was the
tremendous support given to
the strikers by the whole labor
movement in B.C. under the
leadership of the B.C. Federa-
tion of Labor. Speaking at the
meeting where the agreement
was voted on, Keith Sheedy
emphasized that ‘‘this strike
was a two-sided effort— first of

} Local 69 strike
ends in victory

all, it was the effort of the men
and women on the picket lines
and secondly, we had the
support of the whole labor move-
ment.”

Throughout the strike, the
Seagram’s workers remained
solid in their determination to
win an agreement despite sev-

KEITH SHEEDY

eral strikebreaking attempts by
the company and complete lack
of support from the inter-
national president Mort
Brandenberg.

‘‘Mort Brandenberg tried so
hard to put the screws to us,”’
Sheedy commented wryly,

seeLABORpg.8

OF SHOPPERS DRUG MART

Federation calls for continued

In a statement that grimly
underscored the repressive
nature of the provincial anti-
labor legislation, still on the
statute books, the B.C. Federa-
tion of Labor announced its inten-
tion Tuesday night tomaintain
its ‘‘hot’’? declaration on all
Shoppers Drug Martsand their
products. The action was taken
in defiance of a court injunction
brought down last week aimed at
preventing the Federation from
assisting the Retail Clerks union
in winning a first contract in
ten Shoppers’ stores.

The statement, issued by the
Executive Council read as
follows:

“‘Shopper’s Drug Mart stores,
a Toronto-based nation-wide
drugstore chain is completely
violating the spirit and letter of
B.C.’s labor laws and depriving
employees of the legalright toa
collective agreement.

“This chain dragged the Retail
Clerks Union to the Supreme
Court of Canada in a two-year
fight for certification and lost.
Now Shoppers has resorted to
using the B.C. courts to make the

five-month-long strike ineffec-
tive. Shoppers refuses to bar-
gain with the union on basic con-
tract clauses of union security

and wages.

“The Executive Council of the
Federation cannot allow such
flagrant abuse of the legal
rights of citizens of British Col-
umbia to continue unchal-
lenged. Therefore the Execu-
tive Council declares the ‘‘hot’’
declaration of June 18, 1973
remains in full force and effect.
All Shopper’s Drug Marts and all
products emanating from or in-

boycott

tended for Shoppers Drug Mart
are hot.

“We urge the public to refuse
to patronize any Shopper’s Drug
Mart store and we urge trade
unionists to refuse to handle any
products emanating from or des-
tined for Shopper’s Drug Mart.”’

Earlier, in a little-publicized
statement released late last
week, Tom Gooderham, region-
al representative of the Cana-
dian Labor Congress, gave Con-
gress support toacontinuation
of the Federation’s boycott
against Shopper’s Drug Mart.

|\eeceerne