IN KELOWNA: THE WESTERN CANADIAN LUMBER WORKER FRONTIER PLANT WORKERS VOTE TO BECOME IWA MEMBERS In a representation vote con- ducted by the Labour Relations Board of B.C., the 200 workers of Frontier "Manufacturing Ltd., a recreational vehicle manufacturing ‘plant in Kelowna, voted to join IWA Local 1-423, Kelowna. The initial application for certification was filed early in March followed by a repre- sentation vote held on April 24th, Five employees appearing to cast their ballots during voting hours from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 Noon, were refused entry to company property by a Security Guard and dog posted at the main entrance. This was the only day Security was ob- served at any entrance to com- pany property. The five were permitted to vote that after- noon and the following morn- ing in the Kelowna office of the Department of Labour. The company challenged these five votes resulting in the ballot box being sealed pending the Board’s decision. On the morning and prior to the vote, employees were . handed an envelope by their respective foremen and lead- hands with firm instructions to read its contents before pro- ceeding to vote. The contents were a comparison between IWA trailer plant rates in Alta., Carpenter rates in the LABOUR PROGRAM AT CAPILANO COLLEGE The Labour Studies Program (LSP) of Capilano College is offering courses dedicated to help meet the special needs of B.C. workers. Copies of the brochure are available from the LSP at Capilano College, 2055 Purcell Way, North Vancouver, B.C. ViJ 3H5. The courses offered are as follows: Economics for Trade Unions; The B.C. Labour Code: The | Canada Labour Code; Issues in Occupational Health and | Safety: Workers Compensation Claims and Appeals: Intro- | duction to Unemployment Insurance Procedures: History of the Labour Movement in Canada: Civil Rights Problems | in the Workplace: Procedure. Public Speaking: Parliamentary | The Labour Studies Programme is also for the first time introducing a Women’s Programme consisting of courses | ’ specifically for and about working women. WORKER FIGHTING FORCED RETIREMENT A board appointed by the New Brunswick government will hear a challenge in Saint John, N.B., from a man who alleges he is being dis- criminated against by being forced to retire at age 65. Charles Little filed the com- plaint after Saint John Ship- building and Drydock Co. Ltd. refused to allow him to con- tinue working after he reached age 65. TERI WISHLOW SHAWNE HIGASHI ” BURSARY WINNERS Winners of the two five hundred dollar bursaries of Local 1-423 IWA, Kelowna, are Teri Wishlow whose father works at Pope and Talbot Ltd., Grand Forks Division, and Shawne Higashi whose father works at Pope and Talbot Ltd., Midway Division. Terri will be attending the University of B.C. to become a Dental Hygenist while Shawne is going to the University of Waterloo to become an Opto- metrist. immediate area and their own which were highest. Unfair labour charges were filed by the Local Union with a request for automatic cer- tification because of manage- ments clear violation of the Code and their actions on the day of the vote. The Board conducted a two day hearing near the end of June in Kelowna which was concluded in Vancouver in a further two day hearing early in July. A decision was not rendered until September 5th when the Board ordered the ballot box opened and counted. This was some seven months later. NEW UIC PLAN ATTACKED _ The IWA convention bitterly attacked the federal govern- ment’s proposal to deprive seasonal employees and others of Unemployment Insurance. The delegates stated that these workers and other Canadians are unemployed because the senior levels of government lacked the courage! and imagination to adopt a _ full-employment programme. The convention instructed the Regional officers to press the government to abandon attacks on vital public pro- grammes like UIC and instead pursue a policy of full employ- ment. The Canadian Labour Congress and the B.C. Federa- tion of Labour are also ex- pressing concern over the pro- posed cutbacks. Both these organizations have indicated that they intend to make the issue a matter of major im- portance in the months ahead unless the government drops the proposal. DELEGATES OPPOSE CUTBACKS The Regional Council has been instructed by convention action to oppose with every means at its disposal, federal or provincial government cut- backs of Medicare or other health services. A composite resolution from the Legislative Committee to the convention pointed out that there is a vicious campaign underway by right-wing governments and doctors, to get rid of Medicare and other social health services. The resolution stated that programmes like Medicare and Hospital Insurance took decades of struggle to have implemented and all Canadians should fight to ensure that these social ser- vices are not eroded. IWA INTERNATIONAL (st Vice-President Fernie Vialla (centre) is shown with his two Assistant Directors of Organization, Frank Stich, left, and Joe Rivers, who works in the Southern United States. NEW PROGRAM RETIRING WORK An ever-expanding popula- tion of older employees in the work force now causes em- ployers to identify -pre-retire- ment education as a critical training need in business and industry. A key issue in human resources development, retire- ment planning for older workers is seen in a context larger than one-to-one coun- selling. Through use of seminar and group discussions the worker nearing retirement BOYCOTT — CARBIDE o3 = | | UNION The United Steelworkers of America is organizing its first. nationwide boycott in the re- cent history of that union. Gerard Docquier, USWA Na- tional Director for Canada, re- cently announced that the union is organizing a country wide boycott of Union Carbide products. The boycott is in support of 350 members of Steelworkers Local 5987 who have been on strike since November 1978 at Union Carbide’s Beauharnois, Quebec plant. The main issues in the strike are safety and job protection. In the last five years Union Carbide has reduced its work- force by one-third through con- tracting-out much of its production. One of the largest corpora- tions in the world, Union Car- bide had sales worth about $8 billion in 1978. It’s also the 21st largest manufacturing firm based in the United States. Local 5987 members are also ‘protesting the company’s reduction of the number of em- ployees required on each of its huge furnaces — one exploded killing five workers. Docquier called on the public and every local union to sup- port the boycott. Union Carbide manufactures Eveready Batteries, Glad Bags and wrapping materials, and Prestone anti-freeze. gains a realistic and positive perspective for the later years. The training workshop on November 8 and 9 will, through demonstration and practice sessions, highlight group education techniques ad- vocated by training leaders of pre-retirement programs, and discuss a range of issues in- volved in the design and pre- sentation of such programs. Other activities in the works- hop will assist participants in evaluating their own program situations and planning needs. Those who will wish to attend include: representatives of companies with existing pro- grams, employee relations and benefits counsellors, trainers, union personnel, company psy- chologists, occupational health workers, consultants, and other wishing to learn about the multi-group discussion model in pre-retirement education. Dr. James H. Lynch, the pro- gramme instructor has contri- buted widely to training and resource activities in the field of pre-retirement education. Program and __ training materials prepared by Dr. Lynch have been published at both UBC and the University of Oregon. He is a specialistin the design and demonstration of pre-retirement education pro- grams, and in the training of program leaders. For further information, please call Gail Riddell, Program Director, Programs in Aging and Retirement Education, Centre for Con- tinuing Education, UBC 228- 2181, local 271. BANK SCORED The Bank of Canada’s decision to raise interest rates for the third time this year was attacked by NDP finance critic Bob Rae fe aggravating an look. Rae warned that the will pay a high price for government’s efforts to keep interest rates higher than thos of the United States. already bleak winter job bie ]