~~ union
_ Sharp issues arise not merely on

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(The following article was written
by a rank - and - file longshoreman,
who is also a member of the Com-

_ Munist Party. Before moving to the

lower Mainland he worked on the

_ Prince Rupert waterfront and was

President of the local Labor Council.)

’ By ROD DORAN

The 1969 negotiations with the
B.C. Maritime Employers Asso-

ciation are perhaps the most

Critical in the history of the
in Canada. Unusually

account of the exceptionally
Vigorous wage drive of the whole
labor movement, but also
because of technological
Changes taking place in the

industry.

The stevedoring industry has
Temained until recently at a low
level of mechanization and the
arduous work of loading and
Unloading cargoes was done
Mostly by hand. Over the years
the union has established strict

_ Tules to protect it’s members
_ from excessive exploitation and.
_ Over-work.

_ Today, ‘all of this is changing
Tapidly. Motorized equipment,

_ bulk loading facilities, packaged

lumber and containerized cargo
have made their appearance,
transforming the nature of the
Work and greatly reducing the
labor requirement. It is a fact of
life that operations which at one

_ time demanded the labor of

thirteen or fourteen men can
Now be handled without undue

..€xertion by half that number or

cS

less
Traditionally, the

longshoremen have clung to
their working rules as a means
of protecting their work
Opportunity and as a bargaining
Weapon. But it has for some time
been recognized that obsolete
Tules must go and the most that
Could be achieved is to trade
them for worthwhile benefits.
The troubles which have plagued
the negotiations ‘arose from the
extraordinary difficulty of
Teaching agreement on changes

affecting long standing
traditions and practices.
Three referendum votes

Tejecting terms of settlement
Tecommended unanimously by
two successive executive boards
Strongly suggest a breakdown
between the leadership and

- Membership of the I.L.W.U. in

Canada.

’ pension

The terms of settlement
negotiated during the 1969 strike
included the following:

1. Provision for reduction in
gangs sizes in recognition of the
lighter work loads and greater
modernization.

2. Greater flexibility in the use
of labor. This means mainly the
right of the employer. to shift
men about more freely.

3. Opening of the port seven
days a week. This does not mean
that members could be
compelled to work on Sundays,
but that they would be permitted
to do so, at double time.

4. An agreement giving the
union jurisdiction over all
container handling, but
permitting the employers to
make full use of container
ization.

5. Computerized despatch.
This means that the efficiency
and impartiality of an electronic
computer, programmed
according to rules jointly worked
out by union and management,
would facilitate use of the
available work force.

In return, the longshoremen
were to receive a number of new
protections and benefits:

. A wage increase of 45 cents
the first year and 40 cents the
second year in a 27 month
agreement.

. A daily guarantee of eight
hours work when dispatched
(formerly the daily guarantee
was four hours. )

. Pensions to be ‘increased
from. $4.55, to $9.40 a. month per

~o year of:service to a maximum of

$235, exclusive of the Canada
pension. The new rate to apply to
those already on pension, no
matter when they retired. Retire-

ment to be permitted at age 62

with no reduction in benefit:
supplements for
members retiring before the

(a

PEACE LEADER
SPEAKS HERE

‘Mrs. Madeline Duckles, a
leading peace worker from Cali-
fornia, who recently accom-
panied a delegation from
“Women Strike for Peace’ to

North Vietnam, will speak at the .

Unitarian Church at 49th and Oak
Sts., Thursday, Feb. 26 at 8 p.m.

SUN. MAR. 1
Morgan.
SUN. MAR. 15
SUN. APR. 5
SUN. APR. 19
SUN. MAY 3 —

SUN. MAY 17

MARXIST CLASSROOM

“THE STRUGGLE FOR SOCIALISM IN CANADA”

Every 2nd Sunday - The Boardroom, 138 E. Cordova St. - 10 a.m. -
12 a:m.

“Socialism: and The N.D.P.””... Nigel

“Inflation, Taxation, Wage Controls -
The Big Hoax’. .

“Canada,
Independence”. . . Carl Rush.

“The Role of the working Class” . . .
Harold Pritchett.

“Trade Union Policies For The ‘70's’
. . . Jack Phillips.

“Why A Marxist - Leninist Party’. . .
Maurice Rush.

Anyone wishing to participate in ONE, or MORE of
this series of public lectures, is required to register.
by PHONING 684-1451 (9 a.m. - 5 p.m.).

. Emil Bjarnason.

Nationalism and

Lessons of the waterfront strike|

“Do you want a wage increase or would
you rather be a patriotic American?”

Canada Pension Plan reaches
it’s maximum in 1976.

. Lump sum_ retirement
benefit (over and above pension)
of $13,000 for 25 years service

‘(formerly $7,200, at $100 per

month). Also members with less

‘than 25 years service would get

pro-rated benefits. This benefit
would also be available at age 62.

. Improvements in welfare
benefits including life insurance
increased from $7,000 to $15,000;
weekly sick benefit up from $63

to $77; improved welfare
coverage for widows of
longshoremen. 0 ee

" , Long term disability benefit -

$400 a month from disability at
any age until age 65.

FALSE ISSUES

One may argue about whether
the package of benefits was of
equal value with the benefit to
the employers from smaller

gang sizes and relaxed rules.

Indeed, it would be surprising if
the employers did not make a
handsome profit on the deal.
This is to be expected. One may
also legitimately argue that the
package should have included
some form of guarantee of
employment.

In fact the proposal was
greeted by a hullabaloo of false
issues raised by an irresponsible

clique of Maoists, Trots and

right wing elements.

It was alleged, for example,
that the union had agreed to an
eleven hour day, the so called
“extended shift’’. In reality the
previous rule that dock and
coastwise hours could be
extended without limit at time
and one half was to be replaced
by a clause providing for a
maximum of four hours, only
when replacements. were not
available; with a three hour
guarantee at double time.

‘Although a copy of the full.

terms of settlement was given to

‘every member, together with

lengthy explanations in member-
ship meetings, discussion before
the vote and since has made it
clear. that at the time of the
voting during the strike, a very
large number of members were
under false impressions about
the terms, assiduously promoted
by opposition elements. After
the second rejection of the
contract, the union executive
(Canadian Area _ Officers)

-Fred Wright

into negotiations with 90 days to
conclude a new agreement.

The new committee was a
chastened committee which at
the end of 90 days, returned to
the membership with a. new
proposal. They had tried hard,
but with little success.

THIRD REJECTI ON

The new proposals included as

its main feature a work
guarantee of 910 hours every 26
weeks under stringent conditions
— this was a very worthwhile
gain, but it was bought at the
cost of accepting terms inferior
to the previous offer in several
respects:
_ 1. The wage offer, although 30
cents higher in total, was spread
over an additional nine months,
and hence over any period was
actually lower than the previous
one.

2. The pension offer was
inferior in that the new
contribution rate of 53 cents per

_ each

hour would commence six
months later.

3. The retroactive pay was.ona
straight time basis only and
withheld from non-welfare
casuals who would have received
it under the previous offer.

4. The relaxation of rules was
somewhat greater than under
the previous offer.

The third vote, rejecting the
contract by 51% compared with
70% and 58% in the two previous
votes reflects two facts: First,
the much heavier affirmative
vote indicated a_ greater

awareness of the benefits that

had been negotiated. On the
other hand, the three year
contract, and the monetary
losses mentioned probably made
the slim rejection inevitable.

A few conclusions may be
drawn from this experience.

First it must be said that the
leadership of our union did not
adequately inform the member-
ship and involve them in the
resolution of the issues.

Our younger members have
not had the benefit of adequate
union education. In the unique
structure of the union, which is
dictated by the nature of the
industry, it is unavoidable that
prospective union
longshoreman must spend at
least four years on a casual
board. They come into the union
membership with a legacy of
resentment against the (union)
establishment over the
preferred treatment of union
members, and frequently under
the influence of opportunists of
the far left and _ right,
unscrupulously exploiting their
greivances.

With an average age of 33 in
the Vancouver locak, it is
perhaps not too surprising that a
large percentage resented the
heavy emphasis on retirement
benefits and belittled the wage
increase, eight hour guarantee

See WATERFRONT, pg. 12

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