LABOR Employers push appeal of Paccar continued from page 1 B.C. Fed president Ken Georgetti, in a speech to the Vancouver and District Labor Council March 17, argued that the Business Council had moderated its demands for changes to labor legislation as a result of the co-operative approach put forward by the federation officers. He was speaking in sup- port of the joint B.C. Fed-Business Council initiative announced last month, the Pacific Institute of Industrial Policy. But the Supreme Court appeal, coupled with the demands for retrogressive changes to labor legislation sought by the employers — Forest Industrial Relations, in fact, asked Labor Minister Lyall Hanson to enact the Paccar decision in labor law — point to a continuing pressure by the employers for more restrictions on organ- ized labor. It is also becoming apparent that they see the current initiatives for co- operation only as a means of obtaining new concessions. Crowther said that he shared the doubts of many trade unionists about the Pacific Institute initiative, adding, “The labor movement is better off if it sticks to its tradition! policies. “How can you talk about fostering good labor relations when the employers want to be able to unilaterally change the terms and conditions of employment?” he asked. When the decision first came down, it provoked chaos, Crowther emphasized. A number of employers, including White Spot and Construction Labor Relations, attemp- ted to use the new regime to terminate exist- ing union agreements and force union members to accept concessions. “And that’s what we're still hearing from employers — concessions, conces- sions, concessions,” he said. The Paccar appeal ° is the second instance ofan important labor taken to appeal bya corporate employer in recent weeks. : Pacific Press, the Southam-owned com- pany which publishes the Vancouver Sun and Province, appeared in B.C. Supreme Court earlier this month to press its appeal of a 1985 LRB decision which upheld the right of Pacific Press workers to refuse to handle advertising copy from Famous. Players Ltd. when the theatre chain’s employees were on strike. Pacific Press, together with the Business Council, had challenged the original LRB decision before a full board appeal, arguing that the “hot goods” clause in Pacific Press union agreements — which gives union members the right to refuse to handle pro- ducts or advertising copy from strikebound companies — was in contravention of the Labor Code because of 1984 code amend- ments which altered the definition of a strike. However, the board agreed with the orig- inal panel’s decision upholding the right of workers to invoke their contract clause, prompting Pacific Press to pursue the appeal to B.C. Supreme Court. Ironically, although the Business Council asked to be included in the Supreme Court appeal as an interested party, it subsequently withdrew the request, according to Newspaper Guild administrative officer Roy Tubbs. Lawyers for both sides submitted final arguments to Justice John Bouck March 23 and a decision is expected within two months. CROWTHER 12 e PACIFIC TRIBUNE, APRIL 1, 1987 A long-awaited decision to proceed with construction of a shopping centre complex at First and Renfrew in Vancouver touched off community opposition last month when the developer gave the construction contract to anti-union contractor J.C. Kerkhoff and Sons Construction. Since that time, information pickets have appeared regularly at the site and local residents have organized a public meeting to protest the lack of fair wage provisons on the project and the decision by the major tenant in the development, Canada Safeway Ltd., to break with its usual practice of building with union contractors. The meeting is set for April 8 at 8 p.m. in the Hastings Community Centre, 3096 E. Hastings St. The residents’ committee is also urging others in the community to phone Canada Safeway regional manager Don Bell at 687-4833 urging that if the company wants the goodwill of the community, it will reach an agreement with a union contractor to complete the project. Cut lawyers at LRB, Fed urges}. Declaring that the current board has become a “second-rate court rather than a problem-solving industrial relations forum,” the B.C. Federation of Labor this week called for a fundamental change in the operations of the B.C. Labor Relations Board. — B.C. Fed president Ken Georgetti told a press conference March 31 that many fed- eration affiliates were “extremely frus- trated” with the way the board was operating. ' He urged a new approach which would include changes to informal board hearings that would reduce or eliminate the need for lawyers; a substantial increase in the number of vice-chairs and LRB staff to speed up processing of cases; expedited handling of certification applications, unfair labor practices and Section 37 cases; and - consultation with the B.C. Federation of Labor in the appointment of labor repre- sentatives. The recommendations for changes are contained in a detailed brief which was pre- pared by federation staff following an extensive inquiry which included public hearings among various unions as well as meetings with board staff and numerous labor lawyers. The brief warns that there is a “‘crisis of credibility at the Labor Relations Board” which, it says, “is no longer seen as an effective means for dispute resolution by the labor movement but rather as another tool in the arsenal of weapons available to man- agement.” The basic problem, Georgetti told repor- ters, stems from the “lack of commitment” on the part of the government to use the board as a “problem-solving forum.” Instead, it has become a “second-rate court ... mainly concerned with adjudication.” In addition, the balance of the board “‘is clearly in favor of employers and their lawy- ers,” he said, citing in particular the discre- pancies in the timing of decisions that occur, depending on whether the application is from an employer or a union. “Tf an employer brings a cease and desist application, it usually takes a couple of hours for the board to hear the case. When we bring forward a Section 37 application ora certification application, we can sit and wait up to a year,” he said. (Section 37 deals with common ownership of two or more companies and frequently involves con- struction companies which have set up a non-union arm to circumvent union agree- ments. In those case, unions apply under Section 37 to have the two companies declared to be under common ownership for purposes of bargaining.) At the centre of much of the pro- employer bias of the LRB are the successive changes to the Labor Code brought in by previous Social Credit governments — . particularly the restrictions on picketing and the changes to certification and decerti- fication procedures. But both Georgetti and the brief itself downplayed the role of the Labor Code. Georgetti noted that the federation “has a problem with both the board and the code” but added that even if the code “was as good as we could possibly hope,” it wouldn’t work if the board “doesn’t have a commitment to administer it in a problem- solving, rather than an adjudicative way.” The muted criticism of labor legislation is part of what Georgetti termed the new approach of the federation in “‘putting for- ward reasonable solutions ... rather than criticizing in a rhetorical fashion.” The brief also emphasized that point in an introduction: “This document is an attempt to continue the dialogue which we began in January, 1987, about ways to meet the industrial relations challenges that) _ confront us all. The present govern-> ment made a commitment to the people of British Columbia to end confrontation and} to move to solve the real problems facing our province. If the government indicates} _ that it intends to live up to the commitment) ~ in real and meaningful ways that benefit thé working people of this province who, aftet all, are the general public, we will not hes | tate to move quickly to do whatever wé can.” The federation’s submission, which was presented to Labor Minister Lyall Hanso® last week, makes 24 detailed recommenda tions for changes to the board’s operations: Among those changes, it calls for: : @ A certification vote to be held withi# three days, with the requirement for a heat ing eliminated except in certain cases; @ Speedy processing of Section 37 and 53 applications as well as unfair labor practicé cases; @ An increase in the number of vic& chairs to at least 15 and general increases 1? LRB staff; © The institution of new rules that would see lawyers eliminated from informal heat ings and provide procedures for giving eve dence and writing decisions to make bot more accessible. to lay people; ’ @ Consultation with the B.C. Fed ! selecting labor vice-chairs and selection ® labor panel membéers from lists provided bY the federation; © Upgrading of LRB facilities and rel” cation of offices to provide greater access: S : TRIBUNE i I g H i Published weekly at 2681 East Hastings Street J : Vancouver, B.C. V5K 1Z5. Phone 251-1186 g Name. -- 245-25 ee a Se ee Sos SS ' OS ERS 4:3 te bernie H F lam enclosing 1 yr. $160] 2yrs.$2801 6mo. $100 | : Introductory offer, 3mo. $31 Foreign 1 yr. $250 Bill me later 0 j READ THE PAPER THAT FIGHTS FOR LABOR