LABOUR

———

CAW scores pension victory at Chrysler

By KERRY McCUAIG —

TORONTO — Canadian Chrysler
workers will likely be back on the job
Sept. 21 after winning, “‘one of the best
contracts ever negotiated in the auto in-
dustry,”’ their union president told_ the
media, Sept. 17.

Flanked by an obviously jubiliant bar-
gaining team, Canadian Auto Workers
Union president Bob White unveiled the
three-year agreement which includes an
average annual S per cent wage increase,
including cost of living protection; better
income security for workers affected by
plant shutdowns; improved legal, health
and child care plans and ‘‘vastly im-
proved’’ pensions for both current and
future retirees; including indexation.

Pension indexing represents a major
breakthrough which has placed the issue
on “‘the collective bargaining and politi-
cal agenda,”’ the union leader said.

The agreement, which extends for six
years for pensions only, raises the basic
rate 27 per cent, from the current $22 a
month times years of service to $36 by
1993. In addition, payments will be tied
to the Consumer Price Index to provide
inflation protection up to .a monthly
maximum of $2,950.

Past retirees, and surviving spouses,
will receive an immediate increase of $90
a month in their pensions, and although
the union was unable to tie future in-
creases to the inflation rate it was able to
win automatic annual increases equiva-
lent to a 5 per cent rate.

Chrysler's 10,000 workers had been
prepared for a long, hard strike when
they walked off the job Sept. 14, but sur-
prisingly, only two days later White an-

Labour briefs

nounced the company had made enough
progress to make a settlement possible.

Throughout negotiations, the union
rode the moral high ground on the issue.
White continually reminded the media of
Chrysler chair Lee Iacocca’s.$20-million
annual wage bill, the 19.7 per cent in-
crease in salaries given to the corpora-
tion’s executives last year.

Pensions, which are targetted at the
union’s. bargaining conference last
spring, are also seen as a major plank for

job protection. Although all 64,000

Canadian Auto Workers members are
now working, the industry is quickly ap-

proaching over-capacity. This coupled

with technological change and_in-

Ontario’s new equal pay law should
not divert the women’s movement
from its goal of equal pay for work of
equal value, a conference examining
the legislation was told.

“With the new law in place we must

_ not lose sight of our own strategies and
agenda,’ said labour activist Janis
Sara. “‘This legislation is not revolu-
tionary; it does not challenge the mar-
ket system; it does not redistribute
wealth from the rich to the poor.”

Sara, who as Human Rights Director
for the Ontario Federation of Labour,
was labour’s representative during pub-
lic hearings into the bill, warned that

eto monitoring of the legislation

creased imports from Korea and Japan
threatens thousands of jobs.

During negotiations, the CAW head
had said if older workers were able to
“retire with dignity, this will help secure
the jobs of younger workers.”’ the union
will now be able to use the settlement as a
precedent in-bargaining with Ford and
General Motors. This is the first time the
union has bargained simultaneously with
the ‘Big 3’.

The pension victory establishes
another ‘‘first’’ for the CAW since it
broke away from the U.S.-based United
Auto Workers in 1984.

The agreement was a long step back

f Equal pay law no quick solution

would be essential in ensuring its effec-
tiveness.

“The first cases to go before the Tri-
bunal should be carefully selected and
receive sufficient support from the en-
tire labour movement,”’ she said. *‘This
will set the basis for a fast, pro-woman,
pro-worker system.”’

Noting that the legislation affords lit-
tle protection to non-unionized workers
Sara urged the labour movement to find
the means to assist them. The confer-
ence, sponsored by Organized Working
Women and the Women’s Committee
of the Metro Labour Council, fami-
liarized participants with the legislation
and examined loopholes which

for Chrysler whose chief negotiator Bill
Fisher had balked at setting ‘‘a precedent
for the industry.’’ The company’s initt
offer, involved takeaways in pensions
and health care benefits and what White
described as a ‘‘minimal wage increase.
In addition the company was looking at
changes in contract language to weaken
job security and allow it more flexibility
in introducing technological change.

Although all the details had yet to be
finalized, the CAW head said ‘‘no com
cessions had been accepted on any 15
sues...

Ratification meetings will be held ove!
the weekend in Windsor, Ajax and Eto-
bicoke. ]

employers could use to circumvent the
bill and divide workers.

An example was sited of a lockout at
Ontario Hydro over a two-tiered wage
policy because management wants a
comparable low wage male group.

Labour bodies were urged to act as
clearing houses to document abuses’
and to monitor progress of the bill

Prior to the Sept. 10 election, the
Liberals had promised to proclaim the
act by this fall. Names to fill the power-
ful commissioner and tribunal position
have yet to be announced, although
Premier Peterson did say during the
campaign that he had a leading
businessman in mind for the job.

CLC calls
Westfair boycott

WINNIPEG — The courage
of striking grocery workers is
paying off at the bargaining ta-
ble, says Bernard Christophe,
of the Manitoba Food and
Commercial Workers.

**At one point, it could have
been the company’s intention
to break the union,”’ said the
head of Local 832. ‘‘They
realize now that they simply
cannot do it; as a result some
progress is being made.”’

Over 1,600 employees of
Westfair Foods, part of the
Weston’s empire, have been
on strike since June 4, at
Supervalu, Economart and
Shopeasy stores in Winnipeg,
Brandon, Dauphin and
Thompson.

Christophe paid tribute to
the courage of his mainly
young membership, most of

in a union, let alone on strike.
The MFCW is seeking guaran-
teed hours for part-time work-
ers in this contract.

He also credited the Man-
itoba Federation of Labour for
its support and the Canadian
Labour Congress for its deci-
sion to bring in Wes Norhein to
co-ordinate the recently -de-
clared boycott against the
company. Norhein headed the
successful country-wide boy-

-cott against Gainers in
Edmonton.
The MFL sponsored a mass

picket Sept. 10, outside a

whom have never before been-

Winnipeg Supervalue store
and Christophe is hoping such
actions, combined with the
boycott will bring needed pres-
sure on Westfair at the bargain-
ing table.

The company continues to
use the courts to limit picket
lines and solidarity actions. At
one point, it dragged the MFL
into court in an unsuccessful
bid to block the mass picket.

The company has laid do-
zens of charges against West-
fair workers, most involving
contempt of court charges for
exceeding imposed picket
limits. Five customers have

been charged with assaulting

strikes.

The union estimates that
Westfair has spent hundreds of
thousands of dollars on legal
fees and lost $50-million in
sales since the strike began.

No drug
epidemic
Workers trying to keep
compulsory drug testing out of
the workplace have been given
a boost by a recently released
study which found that drug

and alcohol use has remained
stable over the past 10 years.

The study, conducted by the
Addiction Research Founda-
tion, counters claims, leveled
by the Prime Minister, that
there is an “‘epidemic”’ of drug

_ abuse in the country.

The researchers found that
those on low income, the job-
less, the’ elderly and house-
wives were most likely to use
perscription narcotics. Tran-
quillizers headed the list of
most commonly used drugs,
followed by sleeping pills and

MR. KAYNEEN, YOUR RELATED work
ExPERIENCE 1S NIL, NODAL 6-5. THe.
ApTITYDE es T, Be ONS PHEe. Ss TREN TH
Be yeuR URINALYSIS, You'Re

Nx

et Rep

stimulants.

Cocaine use was rare and li-
mited mainly to Metro Toron-
to. Six per cent of people re-
ported trying it.

Boycott call

against Co-ops

REGINA — The Saskatch-
ewan Federation of Labour
has backed a call by the Retail,
Wholesale and Department
Store Union to boycott 17
co-ops in the province,
whether or not their workers
are represented by RWDSU.

“The struggle of Co-op
employees to gain job security
and fair treatment is one that
involves all workers,’ said
federation president Nadine
Hunt.

“The adoption of regressive
industrial relations policies
that exploit employees have

_ caused a serious breach in rela-

tions between labour and the

retail co-ops,’ Hunt said.
The industrial relations

policies of the retail co-ops are

‘co-ordinated by Federated

Co-operative Ltd. Its anti-
worker policies are evidenced
by lengthy and bitter strikes.
The most recent example is the
26-month-old strike at Pine-
land in Nipawin where the
management has set out to
undermine workers’ job se-
curity by eliminating full time
jobs in favour of lower paid
part-time positions with no se-
niority or benefit protection.
Repeated attempts to work out

_ and decent manner. Until they

a reasonable settlement: with
Pineland management have
failed.

‘““As a major employer in
Saskatchewan, Co-ops should
treat their employees in a fair

do we call on our 66,000 mem-
bers and the general public to
shop elsewhere,’ the labour
head said.

13-week Camco
strike ends

HAMILTON — Camco
workers ended their 13-week
strike here under company
threats of an imminent shut-
down. The 1,400 employees
voted 80 per cent to accept an
offer which provides 38 cents
in the first year, 28 cents in the -
second, and a rolled-in cost-
of-living allowance of 10 cents
an hour which goes into effect
in January 1988. In addition
there is a $750 lump sum pay-
ment.

There were also improve-
ments in medical and dental
coverage.

“The workers started out
wanting to improve contract
language for job security and
this was accomplished,’’ said
national president Dick Barry,
stressing that the settlement
was an improvement over the
company’s final offer of May
25 when the workers voted 70
per cent to strike.

6 e PACIFIC TRIBUNE, SEPTEMBER 23, 1987