Gainers strikers Bill Adams, from the company’s Richmond plant, and Chris Barker, Edmonton, accept cheque from IWA Local 1-217 vice-president Don Jantzen during rally for Gainers workers Aug. 20. Vancouver Labor Council secretary Frank Kennedy is at left. Gainers strike support gathers across country crowd of 400 packed into Vancouver’s Swedish Hall. “Pocklington is out to bust the union and the issue for the people of Alberta is to save the trade union move- ment there.” Werlin said that the union and the federa- tion were taking the issue across the country “because we want to point out that what we’re seeing is something that if it is not stopped in Alberta, will spread. In fact, it’s already spreading. “Tt’s the cutting edge of a plan by the Tories and the multinational corporations to roll the trade union movement back across this country. “We've got to stop them,” he said to applause. Werlin noted that over 1,000 people have been arrested for picketing, some of them seven and eight times, but added that picke- | ae Effective picketing and trade union solidarity across the country have made the boycott of Gainers and Swift’s products é “probably the most effective boycott the ’ labor movement has ever had,” according to United Food and Commercial Workers executive assistant director Vern Derraugh. 4 But Peter Pocklington hasn’t relented in , his campaign to break the union and the job now Is to make the boycott complete and to make sure that Gainers can’t sell its pro- ducts anywhere, said UFCW B.C. indus- trial council president Dave Cherrille. Cherrille said the union is continuing to picket non-union warehouse firms and meat outlets where Gainers products are still being handled in an effort to close the province completely to sales of Gainers | Fi ees products. | fa All of the major chains, including Safe- way, Overwaitea, SuperValu, and IGA _ ters can’t withstand all that the riot squads have stopped handling the products. The —_and courts can throw at them over the long ; ee union has also won several rulingsfromthe run. is Labor Relations Board determining several He called on unionists to “make the boy- | be j warehouse companies to be allies of Gain- _cott complete,” to make sure that no one Fi the ers. 5 : buys anything from the Gainers plant. But despite the pressure, and despite “And please respond as generously as losses of $100,000 a day by his own admis- _you can to the national appeal for financial sion, Pocklington has not moved any closer assistance,” he urged. to a settlement — and that should tell us Several unions and union councils as well that “this is no ordinary strike,” Alberta _as the teachers federation presented cheques sans Kesnineiinnaamienaman 4 Federation of Labor president Dave during the Aug. 20 rally. tig : Werlin told a support rally in Vancouver Werlin also noted that the AFL has set he Aug. 20. up a special fund to assist strikers in sending ie ce The rally, called by the B.C. Federation faa mn of Labor and the Vancouver and District ae Labor Council, was to kick off national che tour by Gainers strikers from Edmonton to take the historic strike and the urgency of support right across the country. “This isn’t just another strike — it’s a’ strike to save the union,” Werlin told the children back to school since Alberta imposes user fees of some $200 per student on all those in Grades 7 and higher. Edmonton striker Chris Barker thanked unionists for the support shown the Gainers workers, emphasizing that the morale of those on the picket line “has gone way up as a result of the solidarity campaign.” TRIBUNE ) : ‘UuDIS! as astings Streei | ; Vancouver, B.C. VEK 125. Phone 251-1186 i e Nemes es ee ee : Ope AT Se eae ee eames ie Bere ee, j Be ne | PostalCode - 56st ess i jy lamenciosing 1yr.$160) 2yrs.$28C 6mo.$100 Foreigniyr.$250 § i Bill me later = Donation$........ i ( READ THE PAPER THAT FIGHTS FOR LABOR 12 e PACIFIC TRIBUNE, SEPTEMBER 3, 1986 Members of the International Wood- workers were to begin leafletting of neighborhoods and shopping malls throughout the province this week in a campaign intended to explain to the pub- lic why the union is standing its ground on the key issue contracting-out. The brochure, set to come off the press this week, is part of a campaign to coun- ter the higher-power barrage from the employers who have inserted costly full- page newspaper ads accusing the union of “terrorism” and have sent letters to individual union members attacking the union’s determined stand against con- tracting-out of union jobs. The union’s publicity blitz was being organized as the IWA and the employ- ers’ group, Forest Industrial Relations (FIR), were to sit down in separate meet- ings Sept. 2 with Premier Bill Vander Zalm to discuss the strike. But whatever Vander Zalm may have in mind, there can be no resolution short of an agreement that protects union jobs _ from being contracted-out, vowed regional IWA president Jack Munro. “The union is maintaining the same position. ..” he told reporters, at a news conference last week. “We are talking about job security for the people who produce the wealth for this province.” Munro reiterated that position before the meeting with Vander Zalm Tuesday, emphasizing that there is no place to compromise on the issue. ‘“There’s nothing to saw off down the middle. Either we win and our members get job security or we lose and the employer can do whatever the hell he wants,” he said. The frequency of the FIR ads — they have appeared several times a week — and the inflammatory language have put a jagged edge on a dispute that was clearly intended by the employers from the beginning to cut deeply into union jobs and union security. The opening of the strike coincided with the publication of six-month profit figures for the forest industry which showed a dramatic increase over the same period in 1985. The trend-setter, MacMillan Bloedel, recorded profits of $78.3 million for the first six months of 1986 compared to $10.3 million for the same period in 1985. But for the [WA, that profitability has come at a price of thousands of union jobs lost to plant closure and moderniza- tion and, more recently, to an increased trend in contracting-out. IWA representative Clay Perry noted that the forest industry’s newspaper claims that contracting would only involve IWA contractors was a change from its opening position when it talked about going non-union. But the claims only mask the companies’ intentions, he said. “There’s a whole variety of. ways they'll get around it, including shifting people around,” he said. He cited the case of a 60-year old woman who had been a cook until the cook shack was contracted-out. She was re-assigned to a job as a cartographer but when she wasn’t able to do that, she was told she’d have to go to work on the boom. campaign to hace members’ stand IWA ‘Local 1-217 president Evans; speaking to unionists at last month, cited the case of the log the Kootenays whose work has © been contracted-out completely. “There were 500 loggers in the 10¢ 1982,” he said. “But every one 0 , was forced to buy equipment an work as a contractor. Now 90 perce oN them are broke.” Over the last four years, some : IWA jobs have been lost to cont’ he said. ~ Perry emphasized that it was the a jobs, boom workers, loggers and t men that are now being targeted ed byl employers for contracting. “They = ones they’re after,” he said. oe The union has continued its ta¢ selective strikes, putting some opera” behind picket lines while maint others. The IWA had also succeeded in ing the employers’ front, signing S¢P* agreements with Doman Industries and Whonnock Industries Ltd. bas acceptance of the union’s job s¢ i language. But the Labor Relatiol Board blocked the agreements, : that the union could not sign individl! contracts with companies whose ™ gaining representative is FIR. A third agreement, with Rave Lumber Ltd. in Campbell Rivet, expected to go to the LRB this week 107 ruling. The company, with some: if workers, agreed in principle that it wor not contract out [WA jobs. a Three other companies in the In — where employers are —— y Interior Forest Labor Relations Ass?” tion (IFLRA) — were also to begin Pe duction again on the basis that © would accept union contracting-ou guage even though they cannot sig?” mal agreements to that effect. 3 {pv The employers association i | Northern Interior (CONIFER) { already signed an agreement wi IWA, limiting contracting-out with some exceptions to be negotiated. The acceptance by several comp4 including two majors, Domat Whonnock, has indicated the eag@ of many in the industry to maintai® duction during a boom period W according to industry analyst expected to last another 18 months But it also suggests that the emp! underestimated the determination union membership to resist furthet sion of their jobs and union security that some companies are less willing the multinationals which dominaté to continue the attack on union rep! tation in the industry in the face determination. “Make no mistake, labor is attack all across this country — contracting-out is part of it,” Evans unionists last month. “But we’ve made up our minds we’re not going to allow the employs contract out our jobs,” he said. ““We’re solid on the picket line and members understand the issues.” Unions members in operations working are contributing to members on strike.