LABOR This is an impossible situation and must soon be resolved or we may be heading for more trouble. The union’s position is that “the collective agreement must conform to the memorandum of agreement and no new un-nego- tiated items can be inserted after the fact without mutual agree- Following the three month strike last spring of municipal em- ployees (a strike which in my opi- nion was deliberately forced on them by the unreal demands for contract conessions made by the labor relations committee of the Greater Vancouver Regional Dis- trict (LRC-GVRD) the unions in- volved signed a new collective agreement. Right? Wrong! The unions involved and the LRC-GVRD signed only a memorandum of agreement. And since that time one of the un- ions involved, the Vancouver Municipal and Regional Employ- ees Union (which represents the inside staff at city hall), has been negotiating with the LRC-GVRD over the interpretation of that memorandum of agreement. They have not been able to re- solve their differences and so no collective agreement has yet been signed. Harry Rankin ment.” They do not want to have forced on them now employer de- mands that were not resolved at the bargaining table. _ The union also points out that it has agreed to many clarifica- tions of the meaning of the mem- orandum of agreement. As to the differences that exist, it proposes that these be left out of the agree- ment at this time and be resolved later. Its main concern is that a collective agreement be signed, as required by the collective bargain- ing process. What’s the cause of the im- passe that has been reached? It seems to me that the main prob- lem is the intransigence of the LRC-GVRD. It is run by a labor- bashing and arrogant bureauc- racy whose main concern seems to be to engage in confrontation. ‘There’s no doubt.in my mind at confrontation rather than reason- able compromise, it is taking its cue from the Employers Council of B.C. which is determined that wages and conditions in the pub- CIVIC STRIKER . . . the strike’s lic sector be kept far below those long over but the GVRD still in the private sector. This gives isn't signing the agreement. the private employers an added all that in following a policy of ° ‘Arrogant’ GVRD committee stalls over 1981 union pact lever in dealing with their own un- ionized employees. The LRC-GVRD is now de- manding that municipal councils agree to give it still more power to conduct negotiations just as it pleases. For example, it now wants the right to decide how it will spend its budget (which LN comes out of the pockets of tax- payers) free of all control not only from municipal councils, but from the GVRD itself. Not only that, it is demanding that munici- pal councils agree to be locked in to the LRC-GVRD for two years without the right to withdraw. (Until now a municipal council could withdraw on giving one year’s notice which in my opinion is already too long.) It looks to me as if the LRC- GVRD wants a little kingdom all its own with the power to do as it wants regardless of the effects its actions will have on the services supplied to citizens who pay the bills. As far as the present differ- ences between the LRC-GVRD and the VMREU are concerned, I think that the LRC-GVRD should sign the agreement includ- ing those matters which have been agreed on, and then leave the un- resolved questions for future ne- gotiations. That seems to meto be the only sensible course. The stall- ing and unreal demands being made by the LRC-GVRD on our municipal employees should be ended. Coalition plans education week to protest cuts The provincial coalition formed to protest cuts to education services under the government’s restraint program announced plans for “Education Week”’ — designed to show the public the effect of gov- ernment cuts — at a rally in the PNE Gardens Apr. 29. What those activities will be is largely up to the individual school district, and cooperation with local. school boards is essential for the idea to work, said rally organizers representing the Vancouver Metro area branch of the recently formed Defend Educational Services Co- alition. But a sheet listing suggest- ions for the action, slated to run May 17-21, was handed out to the approximately 250 mainly educa- tion workers and students attend- ing. , Speakers for the six member or- ganizations, representing 142,000 members of teacher and support staff unions and student organiza- - tions, outlined the effects of the de- clining quality of education that would result from ‘‘Socred under- funding”’ of B.C.’s public schools, colleges and universities. Union speakers David Cadman, president of the Vancouver Muni- cipal and Regional Employees Un- ion and Colleen Bertrand of the Canadian Union of Public Em- ployees laid the blame for educa- tion cuts on mega-projects such as B.C. Place and the Northeast Coal development. Canadian Federation of Stu- dents (Pacific Region) chairman Sophia Hanafi said the latest cuts were a continuation of five years of underfunding post-secondary edu- cation. Students face a continuing “nightmare’’ of yearly tuition hikes, library cutbacks, decreased peace vote 5 ¢ has been a legislative representative for Local 701 of the United Transportation Union for several years and a trainman for CN Rail for even longer, but for Paul Lawrence, railways are more than just a livelihood — they have also provided the way to international contact. Two years ago, as readers may recall, werana story of Paul’s extens- ive tour of Soviet railways when he went as the only Canadian repre- sentative on a delegation set up by the New York-based Labor Re- search Association. That tour has now become an annual event, one of several organized by the LRA for various groups of workers. And now the organization is setting up a different kind of tour for rail workers, this time in France — and once again, Paul has been part of setting the whole thing up. Together with two other rail unionists from the U.S., he spent sev- eral days in France in March, meeting with officials of the CGT-affili- ated Federation Nationale des Cheminots to set up the tour which is slated to take place in September, 1983. For those who will eventually take part, it will provide not only arare holiday opportunity — part of the tour will include some days on the Mediterranean — but an insight into the achievements of French trade unionists. The tour itself will be set up by the CGT and Tourisme et Travail, a worker-run holiday organizing agency which was originally founded by the French resistance in 1944, (Coincidentally, the agency has also organized the first tour to Canada of French trade unionists who will be visiting Quebec this summer.) During the French tour, Canadian unionists will also have an oppor- tunity to see what their French counterparts have achieved under the Socialist government of Francois Mitterand whose minister of trans- portation is a Communist, Charles Fiterman. Over the last 40 years, Paul says, the number of French railway workers has been drastically reduced from 500,000 employees in 1938 to 245 ,000 in 1982 and one of Mitterand’s policies was a commitment to upgrade the French rail- ways. In consultation with the CGT, the Mitterand government has begun that upgrading, with the result that 4,200 new jobs have been added on the railways. In addition, the government is committed to complete the rail network for the swift and prestigious TGV train. The train runs from Paris to Lyons and Geneva and is slated to Open new routes to Marseille, Grenoble and Lausanne, Switzerland in future years. What makes the train unique is not where it goes, however, but how SSS, PEOPLE AND ISSUES fast it gets there. It travels.at the incredible speed of 260 kph (163 mph for those who haven’t converted). * ok Ww € just looked over the April Economic Review put out by Employ- ment and Immigration Canada for distribution to the depart- ment’s district and regional offices. As it was last month, the outlook is opens: ““The good news, according to the consensus of most economic ob- servers, is that the recession has hit bottom. The bad news is that we are likely to remain at rock bottom for some time to come.” By way of advice, the report Suggests, ‘‘one would be well advised not to hold one’s breath until a significant turnaround and recovery are noted.’’ ; The government needn’t worry: for many of the unemployed who are victims of its economic policies, the only thing they can still afford to do is breathe. * $ * NO sooner had May Day co-ordinator Marilyn Lanz finished up a hectic three weeks organizing Saturday’s May Day march and rally, than she had to grab her jogging shoes and join 2,400 other run- ners for the Vancouver Internation number of others, she wasn’t just running the 42 km (26 miles) for the sport; every kilometre she put in had a dollar value attached to it, with the money going to Namibian refugees, victims of South African ag- gression. The “‘Run for Refugees,’’ held in conjunction with the marathon, with the money raised slated for Namibian or Salvadoran refugees, was organized by Oxfam. _ And Marilyn made the distance although the gruelling run, coming Just after the May Day event, was a bit taxing and she had to be treated briefly by medical attendants for exhaustion. Another runner, Kathy Schultz, whom readers may remember from a Tribune interview last year following her tour to Nicaragua, also went the full distance with her efforts raising slightly more than $1,000 for aid to Salvadoran refugees. grim. But like the Liberal goverriment which authored it, the report is appallingly glib in the way it states that forecast. Here is how the report al Marathon Sunday. But like a * * * * PACIFIC TRIBUNE—MAY 7, 1982—Page 2 / student aid and cuts in student J programs, she said. Special guest speaker Kay Sigut jonsson urged those in attendant not to be discouraged by the | turnout at therally, part of D “education day’’ activities. Fore ample, a slow-starting protest b) Ontario secondary school fe in the mid-seventies blossomedi a demonstration of 30,000 at provincial legislature, she said. The deputy executive secretat) of the Federation of Wome Teachers’ Associations of On said spending and wage controls not control inflation. The rally also heard addresses from B.C. Teachers Federatiot! president Larry Kuehn, Associa tion of University and College Em ployees representative Lid Strand, and Jack Finnbogasson of College: Institute Educators Association. Rally organizers, which included representatives of Vancouver and Burnaby unions and school admin istrators, suggested districts in- crease contact between parents and teachers during education week as a means of gathering public sup- port for anti-cutbacks actions. The organization has also been running a televised message urging public protest against the restraints. Labor for | The councils of 10 municipalities within the New Westminster-Sur- rey district will be urged to include disarmament referendums on theif civic ballots as a result of a unani- mous vote at the New Westminster and District Labor Council meet- ing Apr. 28. Delegates followed an executive recommendation and agreed to send letters to all municipal coun- cils in the region urging they join 32 other Canadian centres holding peace referendums during their next elections. The vote also recommended the wording be the same as that to be placed before Vancouver voters this fall, which will read: ‘Do you support the goal of general disarm- ament and mandate your govern- ment to negotiate and implement with other governments the balanc- ed steps that would lead to the earli- est possible achievement of thi goal?”’ The council will seek support for the referendum from each alder- man in all civic centres within its jurisdiction, which includes Burna- by, New Westminster, Coquitlam, Surrey, Delta, Maple Ridge, Lang- ley, Chilliwack, Mission and White Rock. UFAWU delegate Bert Ogden urged the labor council to send delegations to meetings of each municipal council urging support for the referendum proposal. Further, broad committees drawing on all sections of the com- munity should be established to — conduct publicity campaigns and promote a “‘yes’’ vote for world disarmament, he said. |