Qn The Sreect!

_ TOP. Workers sitting in at Willows poultry processing plant in
~ Clearbrook make their position clear as sign on
_ BOTTOM. Whiling away the long hours, sitdowners play checkers and
_ Monopoly — a fitting game, considering the arbitrary shutdown by
the monopoly corporation Canada Packers. (See story).
: =Sean Griffin photo

the wall indicates. °

By FRED WILSON

“We will not give up our jobs”
was the determined stand of
workers at Willow’s Farms poultry
plant in Clearbrook, B.C. last
week. Faced with a ruthless and
arbitrary decision by Canada
Packers Ltd., to close the plant
down, the 112 men and women who
work at Willow’s have decided that
they are not leaving.

Since the plant closure last
Friday morning, the workers,
members of the Canadian Food
and Allied Workers’ Union,
together with their union
representatives, have staged a sit-
in at the plant. Four shifts daily of
between twenty to thirty workers
are being manned in an effort to
force resumption of operations.
~ Canada Packérs have responded
by shutting off all power and heat
to the occupied area of the plant
and by barring TV, radio and press
men from the premises.

However on Tuesday of this
week, the Tribune together with
CBC-TV did gain entry to the plant
to speak to the workers inside.

‘CFAWU business agent Jim
Wells said that the Willow’s Farms
workers have the full backing of
the B.C. Federation of Labor who
last week joined with CFAWU in
calling on the provincial govern-
‘ment to take over the plant and put
it back in operation as a subsidiary
of government owned Panco
Poultry.

The Federation statement
pointed out that the collective
agreement at Willow’s is identical
to those at Panco and Scott
Poultry, the other major firms in
the industry, which showed that
“the Willow’s operation can ob-

VOL. 37, No. 5

viously continue to operate on an
economically sound basis.”

In spite of some weak statements
by Canada Packers about ‘‘general
unprofitability”, the profitability
of Willow’s Farms has never really
been in doubt. As it turns out, what
Canada Packers is more con-
cerned about is the terms of a
collective agreement reached with
CFAWU at Willow’s which, if
implemented, will set a precedent
for the 5,500 other Canada Packers
poultry workers across Canada.

In typical penny pinching
fashion, the features of the
agreement that Canada Packers
objects to are an increase in the
rest period from 10 to 15 minutes,
and the institution of a dental plan
that would cost the company only
half. of »41/2c -per~ hour..-Other
improvements in the Willow’s
agreement over Canada Packers
national agreement, which are less
contentious, are a COLA clause
and increased vacation time.

As these items are standard in
food processing industry contracts,
they were assented to by the
company in negotiations. The
agreement was signed on
December 6 and was to take effect
on February 1. But rather than
implement the terms of the con-
tract, Canada Packers arbitrarily
decided to-shut down.

Another company motive in the
closure is a direct attempt to in-
timidate other Canada Packers
employees in the Lower Mainland

-who are currently in negotiations,

notably those at York Farms
processing plant in Sardis.
CFAWU business agent Ross
Bremner is handling negotiations
at York Farms. ‘“‘Their (Canada

man in Alberni, won the post of
chairman over Mayor McLean of
that city by a vote of better than
two to one. McKnight was can-
didate of the Alberni Citizens’ First
Committee which is a broad anti-
monopoly alliance supported by
Local 1—85 of the IWA in which he
has been an active and leading
member for twenty-five years; the
Alberni and District Labor Council
of the C.L.C.; the NDP, and the
Alberni Club of the Communist

Party.

A major political victory was
Scored last Wednesday when

derman George McKnight was
Clected chairman of the Alberni-
Clayquot Regional District, which
‘Covers in addition to the City of

Ort Alberni and the surrounding
Valley, the main municipal centres
9n the West coast of Vancouver

land.

McKnight, who has topped the
Polls for several years for alder-

Van. East hearing
date set for Feb. 3

A supreme court hearing into
alleged election irregularities in

ancouver East federal riding has
been set for Feb. 3, 1975. If suc-
Cessful, the court action could
result in a by-election being called
_ the riding. The hearing is ex-
Pected to last about five days.

He is the first labor and
progressive candidate elected to
head a Regional District in this
province. B.C. is now divided into
28 Regional Districts, which are
increasingly taking over local
‘government, planning, housing,
hospitals and administrative
responsibilities at the local level.

McKnight, well-known for his
long fight to lighten the-tax burden
on homes by introduction of new

ALD. GEORGE McKNIGHT

victory

assessment and taxation methods
that will make MacMillan-Bloedel
and other monopoly interests pay
their rightful share of municipal
taxes, outlined three priorities in

_ his inaugural address:

1) Work to have Regional
Districts granted the same power
as municipalities to zone without
the necessity of going through

Cabinet;

.2) To have Regional Districts
recognized by Federal and
Provincial governments as having
legal- authority to control
development within the area of
their jurisdiction;

3) To explore ways and means of
providing sewage services to the
whole district and examining the
possibilities of restructuring civic,
municipal and village boundaries
to improve services and efficiency.

Tribune

15°

S*

words in
negotiations,’ Bremner said,
‘‘we’re not threatening, but
remember Willow’s.’’ ‘‘We’re
going to see this whole movie
again,” added Jim Wells, ‘‘but if it
does occur again it is B.C.
‘Federation of Labor policy to
declare all Canada Packers
products hot.”

The Federations’s backing of the
Willow’s Farms workers was re-
emphasized on Monday as
Federation president George
Johnston addressed the annual
convention of the United Fisher-
men and Allied Workers Union.
“The plant closed -for the sole
purpose of intimidating workers in
other Canada Packers plants,”
Johnston said, ‘“‘If Canada Packers
wants out then it should get right
out of the packing industry in the
province.”

Inside the plant, the sitdowners
have their spirits high, warmed by
propane heaters and kept busy
with cribbage and dart tour-
naments. d

“They are angry and bitter,”
says Jim Wells, ‘‘they can’t see
any rationale in the company’s
position when others in the same
industry and in the same union get
the benefits that they want.”

“The company was making
money as far as I am concerned,”
commented Peter, a younger
worker. He said a government
take-over could be a ‘“‘good deal’’.
‘“Lookat Panco’s,’’ he noted, ‘“‘they
do alright.”’

Karen, an older worker, seemed
to express the feelings of most, “‘I
hope the government will step in,”
she said, ‘‘why should we go on UIC

See WORKERS, pg. 12

first

»”

Packers)

More police no
Pe eee
“The firing of
Stanley Knight
Or Bg. a

UFAWU parley
meets in city
= Pg. 12

Labor blasts
radio station

— Pg. 12