LAYOFFS, EXCESSIVE OVERTIME, POOR QUALITY

Chrysler speeds profit drive

By YVES LOZON

WINDSOR —A Chrysler
interdepartmental memorandum,
made public in a special edition
of Local 444 News, has dis-
closed the “astringency com-

mitments”: policy Chrysler pur-
~ sues in its intensified quest for
profit.

Addressed by the plant comp-
troller to the plant manager the
memo reminds the latter of pre-
viously agreed-on manpower-
cutting targets for the five
months starting last December.
While this letter is addressed
to the Truck Plant Manager, it
is believed that the same pro-
gram is in effect at all plants,
and that each plant manager
gets a similar letter.

Department by department
estimates are tallied in the
memo for a total of a targeted
70 workers to be “reduced” in
the five months. |

The same correspondence re-
minded the plant manager that
overtime had been committed
for every second Saturday
through March for “repairs in

o9

Truck Conditioning”.

The Steel Company of Canada
has agreed to add $6-per week
to wages retroactive to April 1,
1973, while terms of its present
contract calls for such an in-
crease next Aug. 1. At that time
the company will pay another
$6-a-week cost-of-living allow-
ance: The interim wage increase
followed a series of. meetings
between company and officials
of Local 1005 of the United
Steelworkers Union. The current
contract expires on July 1, 1975.
The increase will be paid to
14,000 production workers in
Ontario and Quebec. According
to Stelco president Peter Gor-
don the increase may be extend-
ed to cover another 8,000 Stelco
employees across Canada, _in-
cluding salaried workers. The
increase is to offset, in part at
least, the rapid decline -in buying
power of workers’ wages as a
result of rampant inflation.

Growing Dissatisfaction

For a number of months dis-
satisfaction has been growing
among the workers, while the
company has announced a num-
ber of price increases. A year
ago Stelco and other major pro-
ducers raised prices on a number
of steel products by an average
of 3.2%. Another round of steel
price increases were announced
in November and December. On
January 1 of this year Stelco
increased the base price of steel
plate by $12 a ton or 6.8%. Steel
plate accounts for about 11% of
Stelce’s annual sales. Another
Stelco increase, averaging 7.8%
became effective March 11. Al-
goma Steel increased its prices
on March 10.

Dominion Foundries and Steel
Ltd. of Hamilton raised its price
for hot-rolled carbon steel sheet
and strip by about $13 a ton, or
8%, also on March 11 this year.
It’s last price increase on hot-
rolled products was 6% in mid-

~ 4023:

Chain Reaction

Rolled steel products are used
in a broad range of industries:

. PACIFIC TRIBUNE—FRIDAY, APRIL 19, 1974—PAGE 8

ee

BY BRUCE MAGNUSON

During times of lay-off the
union has always taken the
position that it will not permit
excess overtime work that can
be performed during the regu-
lar work week.

“In one case we had a man
working seven days a week in
the engine. plant and his son
being laid off from the same
plant,” charged Chas. Brooks,

Local President, as he com-
mented on the Chrysler memo- >
randum.

Paul Forder, Truck plant

Chairman for Local 444, has
recently been the object of an
indefinite suspension by Chrys-
let management precisely over
the burning question of over-
time when an .estimated 3,000
workers from the automotive
and related fields are looking
for work in Windsor.

Paul Forder told the Canadian
Tribune that the decision to fire
him, taken across the border,
was made known by manage-
ment only after a Union-agreed
week-end of overtime had per-
mitted Chrysler to repair 400
trucks before the end of the

.financial quarter,

The high number of repairs
necessary on new _ vehicles
seems to be caused by the com-
pany’s squeezing out more and

‘more workers out of the pro-

duction line. Here is what Paul
Forder had to say in his latest

- Local 444 News column:

“Chrysler may take ‘Extra
Care in Engineering’, as they
advertise, but they sure as hell
don’t seem to care about quality
2s In-plant management is
perpetuating the (inspection)
program of ‘if it’s a little item,
look the other way’ .. . Charges
of poor quality which we have
brought to J. McGivneys’ office
in recent months were given the
brush off. We've appealed re-
peatedly to management to put
ample people on the lines so
we could build a good quality
job, but obviously they prefer
the disgraceful sloppy units we
are now producing.”

It is now known that of the
$200-million Chrysler cleared
last year, $49-million was made
by the Chrysler Canada opera-

tions.

Weksnsa telco bows to

‘The $6-per week increase won by Stelco employees is to help off-

_ union pressure

set the rapid decline in purchasing power du to rampant inflation.

automotive and aircraft, agricul-
tural machinery, construction,
containers, machinery and tools,
rail cars and shipbuilding, pipes
and tubes and appliances, and
in the primary resource indus-
tries. It is obvious, therefore,
that prices and not wages are
the primary cause of inflation.

Jimmy Coffer, president of the
12,000-member union local at
Stelco has confirmed growing
militancy among his members.
He admitted that by standing
firm against any interim wage
increase the company would be
faced with “touchy times” in
1975, the year the contract comes
up for renewal.

Obvicusly, Stelco saw the tac-
tical advantage of a more flex-
ible approach at this time. The
workers, too, are aware of the
situation. One worker is quoted
as saying: “This money we are
getting is probably instead of a
strike next year.”

May Set Precedent ~

The management’s admission
that wages have not kept pace
with inflation is a_ significant
“breakthrough,” as OFL presi-

dent David Archer put it, while _

Donald McDonald of the Cana-
dian Labor Congress expressed
the view that the Stelco move
may set a precedent for major
‘corporations in Canada.

Stelco president Peter Gordon
said the cost of the pay increase

is “not a significant factor” in

.

comparison to cost increases in
coal, ore, scrap and energy. Rob-
ert Heneault, Stelco vice-presi-
dent of personnel said the four-
month interim wage increase
will cost about $1.5-million and
the cost-of-living benefit to come
Aug. 1, another $4.2-million, a
tetal of $5.7-million. |

However, Stelco refused to re-
move the 4¢ per hour ceiling
in’ the cost-of-living escalator
clause contained in the unions
current three-year agreement,
which the union had asked for.
This is a warning of tough bar-
gaining to.come in face of grow-
ing inflation.

Union president Jimmy Coffer
has stated that he will not sign
another three-year contract if the
cap on the cost-of-living allow-
ance is not removed. The union’s
original demand for the current
increase was to make it retro-
active to Jan. 1 this year.

Mr. Coffer is a member of the
Hamilton Labor Committee fight-
ing for a roll back of price in-
creases. The committee put out
a pamphlet naming companies,
including Stelco as contributing
to inflation.

WATCH THAT, EH!

A CBC speaker, commenting
on the recent First Ministers’
conference on oil in Ottawa,
said that “any simpleton could
have foreseen the: outcome.
Some newsmen did,” he added.

ye

RAILWAYS UNHAPPY
WITH ACCIDENT
CRITICISM

OTTAWA—Canadian National
and CP’ Rail, Unhappy with re-
cent criticism of railway safety
by the Canadian Transport Com-
mission, predict disastrous ef-
fects on rail transport and the
Cznadian economy if safety
measures recommended by the
CTC are imposed on them.

The 1973 CTC annual report
showed that 296 derailments and
53 collisions between trains had
taken place in Canada last year.
Four persons were killed and 252
injured in such accidents. Fur-
thermora there were 395 casual-
ty accidents at highway-railway
cressings, involving 124 deaths

and injury to 569 persons, the.

report stated.

NEW MINIMUM WAGE
FOR CONSTRUCTION
WORKERS

WINNIPEG — Labor Minister

A. R. (Russ) Paulley has an-
nounced increases in the mini-
mum- wages for construction
workers in Winnipeg and on
major projects elsewhere in the
province.
_ In most cases, the new wage
rates will be introduced in two
stages with the first stage taking
effect May 1 and the second Oct.
1.

WAIT-AND-SEE
ON UAW PENSIONS

WINDSOR — United Auto
Workers’ officials in Windsor
have adopted a wait-and-see at-
titude in the current dispute in-
volving several thousand UAW
pensioners in Canada, the three
major auto manufacturers and
tha Ontario Pension Commis-
sion,

The dispute arises out of vary-
ing interpretations of the Ontario
Pension Benefit Act which says
a worker who leaves a job for
rezsons other than retirement
and is at least 45 years of age
with 10 successive years of ser-
vice, must be paid pension bene-
fits equal to retired workers.

The union said General Mo-
ters of Canada Ltd., Ford Motor
Co. of Canada Ltd. and Chrysler
Caneda Ltd. have also referred
payment of increased benefits to
workers who retired prior to a
pension agreement negotiated
last. year and to those who were
entitled to $30-and-out”  in-
creases April 1.

GAS CO. TRYING TO
FRUSTRATE UNION
LONDON, ONT. — Two union
officers accused Union Gas Lim-
ited Thursday of adopting a “ra-
dical game plan” to deliberately
frustrate a quick settlement to

met individually with of
[Ii

employees and

“sult

“In the usual context ©
relations, the proposals f
presented are not ea
ing,” said Ken Rogers,
tional representative °
ternational Chemical
Union (ICWU)- iat

The charges came alt
tario labor ministty

in London and called i
mediation efforts for a
nite period.
ae
STEELWORKERS
STRIKE JOHN IN 900
TORONTO Et offic?

ers walked out last W
Inglis Ltd. plant, wi
accusing the compaf.
to erode hard-won
previous contracts.
John Fitzpatrick,
for the United Stee
America, said the ‘
first strike at the
1959 when 2. 12-wé
was marked by scl
lice and the arrest of

ON GREAT LAKES .,
TORONTO — Si
farers’ Internation
members have :
in favor of accepane
contract and hav oat
structed to report 4°
an SIU official said. neal
John Royce of Me

ecutive vice-presidem
union, said the void ut 2
not been completed aim
to date are over We n i
favor of settler send’!
tiated by the SI’ aye
with the Canadian a :
iers Association. id
“The settlement eat
increases in wages year Be
year and 12% nex ork 9
reduction in the %6 f
40 hours
computing over

MORE AUTO LA
IN MICHIGAN

ge
DETROIT_—The hON” ie
and

of the auto com! ge
Detroit Free Pre? 5
News, with an eY") ¢
reduce the 1,700
of unsold, 197 a pe
ning eight Cc? ook
“auto industry outl va
ens.” Springtime ee 10
posed to see a tU uA
cars. 5 of
But the inside pate
papers report a
planning layoffs ited 12%
and Ford a so-c4 14)
layoff of another are 10%,
temporary layoffs ays i
two weeks, but 4 ers
in fewer WO
recalled.

Coffee mugs mark publication of the Victoria E
Paper produced by striking members of the NewspoP
three other striking and locked-out unions in Victo ¢