aie = : i; hah at 4 Ki j = Ten A N Rede’ IA | Lt FRIDAY, MAY 7, 1971 Tribun em. 50 curr Tets aa Vol. 32, No. 18 10c TENANTS FIGHT EVICTION THREAT S Hit P last RENT BOOST. More than 50 tenants shown above picketed the downtown offices of Wall & Ss Seat SY to protest the unfair rent boost and to demand negotiations. —Photos by Jack Phillips Canron workers strike, v0 are ., TUcial Shiny; labor Ss Peseta up ue and vas: Strike at Canron. Leo ‘ ona employees in the ta trieg Totherhood of ay.) Ker i St S union Canrg Tike Vote have Co is ; ; Mle part Of a gigantic bogt*eal, Whi headquarters in ae Contains on its pars some of the N the Canadian an hey produce at of their 25 sub- - Plastic pipe el and plastic Canron is HJ. 9 a director of peer Engin- nie Perial Bank, ‘on Foundries, 'ce-chairman of Canron is M.W. McKenzie, who sits on the board of Cana- dian Imperial Bank, RCA Ltd., and Multifood Corp. J.G. Kirk- patrick, another director, has a finger in Domtar, Volvo Canada, and several other big enter prises. This company which has offered Marine Workers and Boilermakers union workers the municifent amount of 13 percent wage increase spread over two years, is also master of wholly owned subsidiaries such as a railway maintenance equlp- ment plant in South Carolina: manufacturing iron plant in Australia: hydraulic equipment at Mount Carmel. plastic products in Ontario, and others in South America, Italy. and Chicago, Ill. Their total assets were listed in 1969 as being $117. 658 million dollars, an increase consl- Hydro in crucial talks derably above their 1968 assets of $88,582 million. They are. able to buy up new plants and equipment with little trouble but have told the Vancouver Canron employees they must “hold the line’ on wages. Originally the union asked for $1.00 an hour increase in a one- year contract, but before taking strike action offered a compromise two-year contract of .38 cents in the first year and 37 cents in the second year for mechanics; .30 cents in each year for helpers. . ” The men have been without a contract since March 31. Clark Gilmour was appointed mediator, but following his departure from the unsuccess- ful negotiations, the workers took strike action on Sunday. — While wages are the main See CANRON, pg. 12 ' The Vancouver Tenan appeal for public support ts Council has sent out an for the tenants of Wall & Redekop who have been served with eviction notices by the huge real estate company. The tenants have been on strike for weeks, withholding their rent to protest a 9.4 percent increase. They are demanding the right to negotiate with their landlord. This crucial fight by the Wall & Redekop tenants will have far reaching results on all tenants. The issue is whether landlords will have a free hand in boosting rents as high as the traffic will bear, or whether tenants will have the democratic right to negotiate their rents and cond- tions. Last Friday Wall & Redekop served eviction notices on sixty tenants to vacate their premises by May 31. At the end of that time, if they do not vacate, court action is expected to follow to get an order for possession and to summon the tenants to appear in court. At a meeting of Wall & Redekop tenants Sunday night they decided to continue to withold their rents and to con- tinue to press the public -boycott of Wall & Redekop apartment blocks. Reports indicate that the boycott called for by the tenants is having a widespread effect, and that the company is suffering over 10 percent vacancies. The _ boycott campaign is being supported by the Vancouver Labor Council. Condemning the eviction action of Wall.& Redekop, the Vancouver Tenants Council said this week: ‘‘This action is typical of their arrogant atti- tude towards their tenants which has been evident since the begin- ning of this dispute. “The tenants had merely asked for the courtesy of an explanation of exceptionally high rent increases. Wall & Redekop, in effect, have said all along: ‘Your apartment may be your home, but it is our source of income, and if you can’t pay what we want to charge, you can get out.” The Tenants Council said the company has successfully harassed and pressured a number of striking tenants into paying the rent, but their public image has been so damaged by their high-handed behaviour that the vacancy rate in Wall and Redekop apartments is running higher than the norm. Today’s action will only work against them by confirming the wide- spread public feeling that they are undesirable landlords. The statement said that the eviction action indicates how much the combination of the rent strike and spreading boycott is hurting Wall & Redekop. The Vancouver Tenants Council has decided to help Wall & Redekop tenants fight the eviction notices through the courts if neccessary, and is making a public appeal for financial help as well as support for the boycott. A major break through in the rent strike came last week when 42 tenants of the Wedgwood Place Apartments at 1076 W. 14th Ave. (26 of whom had withheld their April rents) were notified by the owners that Wall & Redekop, who acted as their agent, had been fired. The owners rescinded the 9.4 percent hike over one year and instead offered a 5 percent increase over two years. F 6 : : | : L® This attractive young lady was one of the pickets at the office of Wall & Redekop last Saturday.