J Ze a OEE TP \27 “Take that down immediately Christmas is over.’” City teachers win fight for negotiated contract the teachers’ insistance that they | Even on this topic proceedings By VANCOUVER TEACHER Vancouver Elementary Teach- ers will not work to rule. Christmas pageants, sports programs and other extra- curricular activities including valuable additional instructional time continues. uninterrupted. The Vancouver School Board has conceded to the teachers’ demands for a_ negotiated ‘contract covering working con- ditions. The demands and the concession were the culmina- tion of years of frustrated negotiations and the reaction to an inflexible attitude by the Board. Moreover, the ultimatum was an expression of LABOR SCENE: Bill 33 ‘not negotiable’ says Peterson to BCFL A telegram forwarded Monday of this week by the B.C. Federation of Labor ‘ (BCFL) executive to Labor Minister Leslie Peterson, requesting an audience with the minister to “talk things over’’ relative to Bill 33, was uncerimoniously brushed aside. ' _ Sweetly, the Minister, who also serves in the capacity of attorney-general, stated that “‘I am always happy to receive their views, but in this case legislation ‘ (Bill 33) is not a subject for negotiation .. .”’, and that was that. The BCFL had announced its RANKIN : ‘Cont'd from pg. 2 Now all of a sudden we have this ‘fire sale to enable the CPR to get a $15 million piece of choice land _for $3 million. If this land can be rezoned for the CPR, why can’t it be rezoned right now and let the city sell it to the highest bidder? Then the $12 million profit would go into the city coffers instead of the pockets of the CPR. With this $12 million we could reduce the mill rate by 13 mills. readiness to support this “Mediation Commission (Bill 33) legislation providing the government will eliminate those clauses which provide for compulsory arbitration in the settlement of labor-management disputes. This despite all past BCFL declarations at its recent convention and in executive statements to “‘fight Bill 33’ in its entirety. There is a widespread feeling among rank-and-file labor throughout the province, and especially since the tragic events of the last VLC session which stemmed from the recent Socred appointments of two prominent ‘‘labor’’ officials to the Mediation Commission, that the BCFL leadership are desperately anxious to have Bill 33 made ‘respectable’ before other ‘“‘labor’’ appointments (now pending) are announced by the Socred government. It is noteworthy that the current édition of ‘‘The Labor Statesman’’, official organ of the BCFL, makes no reference whatsoever to the recent appointments of VLC president Ed Sims and Amalgamated SEASON’S GREETINGS & BEST WISHES To Our Members & Friends Come & Enjoy A GALA NEW YEAR'S EVE BANQUET - 7 P.M. DANCING 9 p.m. - 1 a.m. FEDERATION OF RUSSIAN CANADIANS 600 CAMPBELL AVE. Ph. 254-3430 (ASHTAN vANCcOoUvER UKR Transit Union business agent Charles Stewart to the Mediation Commission. That form of labor sell-out was obviously not ‘‘news’’ -to the Statesman, but a front-page red- baiting cock-and-bull story about a Communist ‘‘hierarchy’’ holding a meeting ‘‘in the plush room of the new luxurious Blue Horizon Hotel’’, allegedly to influence the course of the recent BCFL convention — was “news’’; all the more exciting since the story was a pure fabrication by the same kind of “Jabor’’ lead’ + who crave a fat salary job on Bill administrative machinery — while they make a fine pretense at “‘fighting’’ Bill 33. No wonder Minister Peterson can scornfully declare to such “fighters”, there’s nothing to talk over. * * * The longest strike ever conducted by civic employees in B.C. ended Saturday, Nov. 30, when representatives of eight CUPE locals in the Okanagan Mainline area signed a memorandum of agreement providing for a wage increase of 7% retroactive to January 1, 1968 and a further increase of 8% based on the 1968 rate to become effective January 1, 1969. The strike began in Vernon September 24, spreading to Kelowna October 24 and to Kamloops October 31. The Penticton Civic Employees voted 87.7% in favor of strike ina government supervised strike vote which was held Thursday, Nov. 28, just two days before the settlement— The dispute arose in the course of attempts by the CUPE locals in the Okanagan Mainline region to negotiate on a regional basis with thirteen municipalities in the area. SPEAKS IN 33 | i § x K § f g tween Xmas i | i be accorded their rightful place in the education developrnent of this city. A course of action was developed at a Vancouver Elementary Teachers’ Associa- tion (VESTA) general meeting, © Monday, December 2, attended by over 900 members. The feel- ings expressed were extreme dissatisfaction coupled with a desire for immediate deter- mined action. The first action was a motion of censure of the Board which was to be conveyed in the form of a letter. It was suggested that the censure be delivered by a delegation to the Board meeting. As further criticisms were aired, a demand for change _arose. Almost unanimously teachers agreed that if written assurance was not given by the Board that it would negotiate a contract on working conditions and fringe benefits, then, commencing December 11 teachers would work to rule. It was noted that should the Board refuse to_relinquish its singular distinction of being the only school board in B.C. without a contract with its teachers, then this Board would be responsible for the ensuing work to rule. The Board had during salary negotiations participated to the minimal extent prescribed in the Public Schools Act refusing to discuss anything except salary. RR BE ISIE SS SSE GRR: Still Time For Xmas Greetings g You can still get your per- i sonal greeting message for the Holiday Season in next week's issue of the PT. There will be no issue be- § and New X Years, so this is your last ¥ chance. Phone the PT — MU 4- 1451, or bring your greeting © to Mez. 3-193 E. Hastings St. by noon Monday, De- cember 16. _ . ¥ WORE LSE ERISA LIRR OR IOP, WATER Cont'd. from pg. 1 with the U.S. The late Gen. A.G.L. McNaughton, before his death, charged that what is scarce in the U.S. is clean water, that the U.S. had polluted its water supplies and now wants Canada’s fresh water supply. He urged rejection of the Parsons Plan and said that the U‘S. should set about cleaning up its own water supply. The Communist Party in Canada has waged a strong cam- paign for the last few years opposing diversion of Canadian water to the U.S. It has urged that Canadian water resources be used on an east-west basis to safeguard this vital natural resource and to use it for the benefit of Canadian develop ment. could only barely be termed nego tiations — an example of work to rule. Invoking a plea to go through channels, the Board took the letter under advisement and refused to discuss it. Conse quently a delegation of over left resolutely. A special meeting was summarily convened of December 5 where ample evidence was given of the legalistic meanderings of the Board. Much distracted 3 clouded the issue until question was called on a-motion by trustee MacFarlan and a somewhat changed trustee Powell. The motion calling for negotiations leading to 4 contract was passed 5-1 with one abstention and one absentee: The ease with which the motion suddenly passed belied the struggle which conceived such 4 victory. (It should also be noted that a trustee stated that such 4 motion was already in the Boar minutes, yet no effort to enact it had been detected. ) ‘ Teachers in Vancouver have hopefully been reinforced in age old principle recently stated 17 the Mackenzie Commissio® Report on Education: ment, the key to better education’”’ — for in their efforts to safeguard their commitment to the children in society, they. were prepared to sacrifice some immediate objectives. ee The motion may be viewed superficially as a victory for VESTA members. More accurately, the action of VESTA is a victory for education. Veteran honored “Fifty years the hard way — but honorable” probably best describes an event which took place on November 26, 19° when the officers and members of Pioneer Division 101-134 Ama gamated Transit Union pre sented veteran member Petet C. Munro with a gold embossed union card, verifying him as 4 “Fifty Year Member” in com tinuous good standing. On top of that fifty years, tres? from his native Scotland, Pete! Munro did a stint of cowpunching in Montana, plus a bit of unio? organizing in the mines, mills and sawmills in Washingtot, then came to Vancouver in 1911 and as a civic worker, pioneereé the first Teamster Union (AFL) local in this city. In 1917 “Pete started working for the 0d BCER (the ‘‘B.C. Collectric”’ as Old Bill Bennett define it). ie The job began a union car of over 50-years and to which the “Fifty Year Member’’ card % the Amalgamated Transit Unio™ which Peter Munro helped 1 build, is a fitting tribute. FRI. DEC. 13, 8P.M. AINIAN HALL 805 EAST PENDER ST.