Barron, Tickson
challenge Ney

NANAIMO — Labor backed
candidates in Nanaimo are
Presenting a stiff challenge to
the rule of mayor Frank Ney
and the city’s real estate
establishment in the current

/—— PROVINCIAL NOTES

regime in Nanaimo ©

and owner of Nanaimo In-
vestment Company, is the
single largest landowner in the
district. A majority of aldermen

on city council are directly or

indirectly linked to his real
estate empire.

Barron’s main campaign
plank would see a reduction of
municipal expenditures on land
held by real estate promoters.

a, ‘municipalities was written by

municipal election campaign.

Retired pilot Pat Barron is
challenging Ney for the
Mayoralty position with a
pledge to clean out real estate
control of city hall. Barron has

€n endorsed by the Nanaimo
and District Labor Council,
along with incumbent alderman
Nelson Allen, a teacher running
in Ward four, and.Jack Little, a
B.C. Hydro worker, who was
elected by acclamation in Ward
2. Fisherman Walter Tickson
has the council’s support in his
bid for school board.

Little’s election was secured
when IWA delegate Joe Lychak
stepped down ina show of unity
to ensure a solid left wing vote
against the incumbent, Alex
Virostoko. Sensing defeat,
Virostko pulled out of the race
just prior to the close of
nominations and instead filed
nomination for the mayor’s job.
Observers note that Virostko’s
move was with the blessing of
Ney and is intended to split
votes away from Barron and
ensure the mayor’s re-election.

The developers, and not the
city, should pay for the ex-
tension of services necessary

WALTER TICKSON . . . UFAWU
member running with Pat Bar-
ron and Nelson Allen to end real
estate control of Nanaimo city
council. :

“Ney, a real estate magnate

for real estate -promotion, he
argues. .

Barron’s campaign com-
mittee points out that with a
population of 40,000 people,
Nanaimo has one of the largest
civic budgets on Vancouver
Island, about $67 million in 1978-
1979, and a further $120 million
in capital expenditures are
planned over the next five

’ years. The vast majority of the

extra money being spent in
Nanaimo goes to providing
services to the land holdings of
real estate developers.

Running for school board,
United Fishermen and Allied
Workers’ Union executive
board member Walter Tickson
is also secretary of Barron’s
campaign committee. Tickson’s
platform calls for the removal

. of school taxes from homes, and

for reversing a previous Board
decision to support provincial
funding for independent
schools.

Tickson has also attacked the
Board for its decision in en-
dorsing the hiring of a US.
citizen as president of
Malaspina College, Nanaimo’s
community college. The
presidency of the College should
be filled by a Canadian, Tickson
said, rejecting the premise that
education is international.

“education must reflect our
national peculiarities and
needs, or else we won't last as *
an independent country,”’ he
said.

Tribal council
to co-ordinate
land claim struggle

PRINCE GEORGE — About
100 delegates from 18 tribal
groups and various Native
political organization met here
last weekend and agreed to
establish an aboriginal council
to co-ordinate land claims
negotiations with the provincial
and federal governments.

The council will be made up of
representatives from the - 21
tribal groups in B.C. and from
three of the major Native
organizations, the United
Native Nations, the Alliance of
Indian Bands and the Native
Brotherhood of B.C. The Union
of B.C. Indian Chiefs, however,
is reportedly not participating
in the new council.

Also in Prince George, the
Prince George and District
Labor Council last week en-
dorsed the candidacies of
aldermanic candidate Earl
Mattanley and school board’
candidate Frank Logan for the
November 18 municipal elec-
tion. Logan is president of an
NDP constituency association
and a_telecommunications
worker. ~

Alberni labor
council president

seeks election

PORT ALBERNI — The Port
Alberni Labor Council has

a

thrown its support behind labor
council president Walter Behn
and secretary Terry Thompson
in their bid for aldermanic seats
on Port Alberni municipal
council. Thompson is running
for a first time, but Behn sat on
council 1975-1977 before being
edged out in a close vote. Both
were endorsed by the labor
council at its regular meeting of
October 10.

The main issues in Port.
Alberni are centered on
taxation and the gross un-
der assessment of the giant
MacMillan Bloedel industries
which dominate the district.

The giant forest company owns
two sawmills, a plywood plant,
a pulp mill and operates three

logging camps, Sproat,
Cameron and Franklin
divisions, all within Port
Alberni.

In addition to the under-
assessment of MacMillan
Bloedel’s property, the com-
pany is not taxed for its
machinery values. Under the
B.G; Assessment Act,
machinery. is assessed for
school tax purposes, but it is
exempt for municipal general
revenues purposes. An issue in
all B.C. municipalities, it is
particularly important in
Alberni because of the massive
values in heavy machinery
owned by MacMillan Bloedel.

Employers Council linked to GVRD scheme

That has long been an objective
of the Employers’ Council and
Lanskail was for years a key figure
in it, Stair said. “The Employers’
Council is not a disinterested party
in this,” he said, ‘“They see it as an
important step towards holding
down public sector wages and
benefits.”’

Lanskail is now a West Van-
couver alderman and a member of
the GVRD’s task force on labor
relations, chaired by Richmond
mayor Gil Blair. But Stair said that
he has relable information that the
report recommending 4a

A Greater VAncouver Regional
District task force report aimed at
securing an accreditated em-
ployer’s council of GVRD

former Forest Industrial Relations
director Don Lanskail, CUPE
regional director Len Stair told the
Tribune Wednesday.

The task force report, vigorously
opposed by CUPE members, would
see municipal councils give up
autonomy to bargain with
municipal employees to an ac-
creditated employers council
under the auspices of the GVRD.

Gur circulation drive
needs your help - now

The Tribune’s fall circulation drive is almost half finished,
and although we are pleased to report that already 67 new
subscribers have been signed up, we are also concerned that
there are less new subs, and less renewals in than at the same
Point in the drive last year.

You remember that last year we pulled in 187 new subs and
about 600 renewals over the 10 week drive. This year we in-
tend to better; but to date we have only 67 new subs and 221
renewals. That is 14 less new subs and 74 less renewals than
last year at this time.

We’re convinced that we can easily sell the 200 new subs we
want by December 22. And we know that almost all of our
Subscribers whose subs come due in this period will renew.
But it won’t happen by itself. Please, give us a few moments
of your time this week and help make our circulation drive a
success.

creditation that was adopted by the
task force was authored by Lan-
skail and GVRD director of labor
relations, Graham Leslie.

‘“The important question to ask
is what is it that Lanskail and
Leslie are after,” Stair said, ‘“We
have had joint bargaining for
years, and it has worked fine.”

“What they want to do is to
remove the autonomy of individual
councils to ratify agreements and
put this power into the hands of a
centralized employers’ bargaining
group. They would then be in a
position to lock out the municipal
work force without going back to
council for ratification. That is
what he really wants.”

The task force report will go
before nine municipal councils in
the GVRD for approval before the
end of November. Burnaby council
unanimously rejected the scheme
last Monday, noting the harmful
impact on labor relations that an

accreditated employers’ group
produced in the Okanagan.

The GVRD report holds out what
Stair called ‘‘a carrot on a stick”’
with a proposition that any council
could withdraw from _ the
bargaining group after two rounds
of bargaining. ‘“‘You have to read
between the lines on this,” Stair

' warned, “The point is that the

council could withdraw subject to
Labor Relations Board approval.
And the policy of the Labor
Relations Board is not to let in-
dividual employers opt out of the
group on the basis that a com-
munity of interest has been
established.”

It is still uncertain whether a
majority of councils will accept the
task force report, Stair said, but
CUPE is taking no chances. A
union delegation will argue against
the move before each of the
municipal councils, he said, and at

‘the same time take the issue to the

public.

Nurses feel weight of Bill 92

About 2,500 registered and
psychiatric nurses in B.C. are
feeling the weight of the provincial
government’s essential service
legislation.

' With an aggressive bargaining
position by the Government
Employees Relations Bureau
demanding cutbacks in long
standing union conditions and
benefits, the nurses were forced to
send unresolved issues to binding
arbitration under terms of the
Essential Services Disputes Act.

‘We're fingered,” Psychiatric
Nurses’ Association spokesman
Bill Ross told the Tribune Tuesday,
“Technically we have the right to
strike, but that right has been
blunted and it hardly exists.”” The
nurses are classified as an
essential service in the legislation.

The last contract was signed 18
months ago after the nurses voted
95 percent for strike action, but in
the interim the Essential Services
Act has intervened on the govern-
ment’s behalf, Ross said.

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COMING EVENTS

NOV. 4 — Celebrate the October
Revolution, Novemberf4 at 6:30
p.m., Sunnyside Hall, 154 St. and
18 Ave., Surrey. Admission $6.
a South Fraser . Region,

NOV. 5 — Don’t miss the Concert-
Meeting on the occasion of the
anniversary of the Russian
Revolution with guest speaker
William Kashtan, Sunday, Nov. 5
at 2 p.m., Templeton
Auditorium, 727 Templeton, Van.
Concert program: Spare
Change, Tom Hawken and
George Hewison. Child care
provided.

Following the meeting a light
supper social will be held bet-
ween 4:30 and 7 p.m. at the
Ukrainian Hall, 805 E. Pender.
Hot meal and refreshments.
Supper $4 per plate, $2.50
children under 12. Everyone
invited. Both events spons. by
the Greater Vancouver Regional
Cttee., CPC.

NOV. 11 — DO YOU KNOW
KAPPLER? — a documentary
film about the resurgence of
fascism in West Germany,
Saturday, Nov. 11 at 535 E.
Broadway — 8 p.m., $2.50 DO
YOU REMEMBER? (Please
note address E. Broadway).

NOV. 13 — “‘The New Cuba” slide
presentation by author, lecturer
Philip Russell, Britannia Centre,
Room L2. Coffee, collection.
Ausp. Canadian Cuban Friend-
ship Association.

BUSINESS PERSONALS

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YOUNG, very capable Chilean
man, supporting family,
desperately needs any kind of
work. Speaks little, but un-
derstands English well. Please call
Vicent 321-3529.

PACIFIC TRIBUNE--November 3, 1978—Page 11

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