LABOR increase in their next contract. sharing on them. Flyer Industries. Walk-out still on as company won’t budge WINNIPEG — There is still no indication that the owners of Canadian Rogers Western Ltd. will budge from their demand that 47 striking employees continue to take a wage freeze. The workers, members of the Canadian Association of Indus- trial, Mechanical and Allied Workers (CAIMAW), walked out May 13 for an end to the one-year freeze and a four per cent pay They are also opposing a company plan to impose profit- Union members are angry about a letter from management, inviting each worker to return and suggesting that those who didn’t should remove their personal effects from the plant. “It doesn’t come right out and threaten anyone’s job, but we feel it’s an implied threat,’’ says local CAIMAW President Pat McEvoy. “‘It’s done in a very subtle way.” Canadian Rogers is a custom metal fabricating company which produces parts for customers like Winnipeg bus manufacturer Striking workers walking the picket line in front of Canadian Ro- gers Western are joined by Tribune supporter Steve September (second from right) to help ‘greet’ the scabs. Union gains partial victory By KIMBALL CARIOU REGINA — A _ month-long strike over asbestos contamina- tion by 385 members of Canadian Paperworkers Union Local 1120 at the Prince Albert Pulp Com- pany (PAPCO) has been ended by a court order. However, local president Peter Deppeler says the company “didn’t get the kind of injunction it wanted’’, and the workers ap- pear to have won at least a partial victory in an important health and safety struggle. The strike began May 1, when workers shut down the mill in support of an employee sus- pended for refusing to remove as- bestos waste under unsafe condi- tions. Claiming that the walkout was an “‘illegal’’ effort to coerce the company, PAPCO refused to meet the union’s call to establish a joint committee to work out safe procedures for dealing with asbestos. Instead, PAPCO first tried to wait out its employees, saying it had a 45,000 tonne stockpile of pulp, enough for 2-3 months of average sales. Later, PAPCO applied to provincial courts for an injunction to send the strikers back immediately and to force the union to pay damages. The court order, however, ruled that the workers should re- turn to the job ‘‘as soon as reasonable’, following an in- spection by a provincial govern- ment hygienist and Occupational Health officials, together with representatives of the employees. The hygienist is to stay on until after start-up to monitor asbestos levels. PAPCO and the union are to establish an asbestos review committee to resolve the con- tamination issue. = History of Contamination The court made no ruling on the company’s claim for damages, nor on the union’s counter-suit saying that the workers had been forced to leave due to unsafe working conditions. Nor was a decision made regarding sus- pensions of three employees over the walkout. A Court of Queen’s Bench hearing is to be held soon to investigate the case and make a decision. Built in 1967, the provincially- owned mill has a long history of asbestos contamination. As far back as January, 1977, an officer of the province’s Occupational Health & Safety Division ordered the company to repair damaged asbestos insulation, to prevent re- lease of fibres into the air. Since that time, the company’s management has often been criti- cised by workers for disregarding health and safety of the work- force. They point out that in the last year, one worker was blinded and another put into a coma, among other permanent injuries suffered at the mill. The latest dispute arose early in THUNDER BAY — Workers at the Port Arthur Shipyards, (Portship), engaged in a job ac- tion May 28 to enforce contract provisions forbidding foremen from doing bargaining unit work. Morris Shamanka a fitter’s foreman, had been doing work done by bargaining unit fitters. Most of the shipyard workers are members of United Steel- workers Local 5055, with some of the trades represented by other unions. There had been talk that a foreman had been doing bargaining unit work. It was at the end of the first coffee break, and some of the workers were starting to close their lunch pails. A steward stood up and walked to the centre of the room. ‘‘Ok everybody, listen for a minute!”’ Conversation stopped and everyone listened. ‘‘Shamanka has been doing layout again’’, the steward said. ‘‘Now we have an agreement with this com- pany, and they have to live up to it **We’re going up to talk to them and we’re going to get this straightened out once and for all!’ A chorus of approval sound- ed from around the room. Some suggested waiting in the lunch room until a settlement was reached. The steward answered, saying: ‘‘No, we want to give them a chance. We’re going to talk to them, everybody hang tight.’’ Sit-in gets foreman demoted The workers filed out of the room and returned to their jobs. All day talks continued. The next day, word spread there was going to be a wobble. Toward the end of the first break in the welders’ lunch room a steward walked to the front of the room. He didn’t have to ask for silence, everyone was listening. ‘*The rest of the yard’s com- ing over, so everyone sit tight.’’ he said. Moments later, the rest of the yard — fitters, riggers, main- tenance workers, pipe fitters, scaffolding crew, electricians, everyone — came in, grins on their faces and murmurs of ap- proval from those already sea- ted. The union executive stood toward the front of the crowded room. All was quiet as a steward stepped forward. ‘‘Alright, we met with them yesterday and today, Shamanka is back at it again! ‘*What are we going to do?’’ A roar of disapproval sound- ed. Shouts of ‘‘Wobble! Sit Down! Strike!”’ rang out. Aftera few moments the room quieted down. “Alright’’, said the steward, *‘let me get this straight — are you telling us you want us to go up there and talk to them, and you’re going to stay here until we get it settled?’’ A roar of approval sounded, mixed with shouts of: ‘Fire him!” The union committee left to 6 e PACIFIC TRIBUNE, JUNE 12, 1985 Workers ‘wobble’ and hold ground talk with management, and the workers settled down to wait in the lunchroom or outside in the spring sun. Toward noon, the committee came back and re- ported that the company of- fered to provide the foreman with an assistant to see that he didn’t perform any bargaining unit work. The proposal was met with derision and shouts of anger. The steward called for si- lence. ‘‘Let me see if I under- stand what you’re saying. Are you telling us that their offer isn’t good enough, and you want him fired or demoted?’’ Shouts of approval were fol- lowed by a discussion on what should be done with Shamanka. It was decided to press for a demotion, and that everyone would go home until a settle- ment was reached. That even- ing, radio stations carried an announcement that a settlement had been reached and the ship- yard workers were called to re- turn to work for their regular shifts. Word spread quickly that Shamanka had been demoted, and the following day, during the first coffee break, the settlement was read out. Shamanka was demoted to assistant foreman and given a four-day suspension, section foremen were called in and in- structed to stay away from bargaining unit work. The skirmish was over, the union had stood its ground. Days later, the company retaliated by issuing warnings to the workers. The struggle continues. Militancy beats Tan Jay WINNIPEG — Workers at Tan Jay International, members of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union, voted May 29 to accept a new three-year contract, giving them wage increases totalling about 10 per cent. They will lump-sum payments of $350-$400 in the first year and increases of 3/2 per cent and three per cent in the next two years. An ILGWU spokesperson reported that the agreement also gives union representatives access to the workers on the shop floor. The contract offer came just hours before Tan Jay workers at two plants were to begin a Strike. In the face of open warfare against the union by Tan Jay President Peter Nygard, the ILGWU and community supporters waged a milit- ant campaign which finally forced the company to come to a settle- ment. Some of the 450 workers had been without a contract for more thana year. February when the steam and re- covery area was contaminated by a supervisor pulling a large sec- tion of insulation off a boiler while checking for a leak. Union representatives say the company violated the Occupational Health and Safety Act repeatedly during the incident and cleanup after- ward. Regulations Broken PAPCO was forced by Occupa- tional Health officers to begin cleanup operations, but fre- quently changed. its mind about the method to be used. After hir- ing acontractor to clean up witha truck-mounted vacuum, PAPCO claimed the method was too ex- pensive, and dismissed the con- tractor with the job only one- quarter done. Eventually, the company bought two shop vac- uums and assigned four workers to finish the cleanup during a lay- off in April. ~ Again, the union says, regula- tions concerning protective cloth- ing, masks, and equipment were | broken. Nor was the method ef- fective, as the vacuums kept breaking down, and tests showed continuing “‘moderate”’ levels of air contamination. The issue came to a _ head shortly after the mill resumed | operation in late April, when a pile of insulation was discovered _ on the floor in the boiler area. During the ensuing cleanup, the union says several regulations in the Act were again violated. Un- trained workers were given the job, again without proper in- struction, respiratory equipment, coveralls and headgear. Contrary to the Act, the asbestos was not placed in marked, impervious containers, nor was the area sea- led off to limit contamination. Tories Criticised After the material had been placed in porous plastic bags, an employee was told to remove the © bags, but he refused unless he was given proper instruction and pro- tection. Told to go home, he left — and the rest of the night shift went with him, reflecting the workers’ growing anger over the company’s unwillingness to settle the issue. During the following days, it became clear that the workers were not willing to go back until the asbestos issue was solved. On May 7, they voted down their union executive’s proposal to re- turn to work. The union launched a major | \ campaign to win support, includ- ing publishing an ad in the Prince Albert Herald detailing the well- known health hazards of even minimal asbestos contamination. Widespread sympathy for the strikers was shown by a resolu- tion of the city council May 13, calling on Tory Labor Minister Lorne McLaren to instruct the Occupational Health and Safety Division to investigate. But McLaren refused to in- volve himself, effectively siding with management. While the Minister of Labour refused to use his powers to order a clean-up of the mill, Prince Al- bert MLA Paul Meagher, a Tory, © took an active part in the dispute, pressuring the union members to return to work before their safety could be assured. McLaren and Meagher have been sharply criti- cised by the province’s labour movement for their anti-worker role in the situation.