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Speaking from the platform were Harry Greenwood, president of thé Hamilton and District Labor Council, Joanne Santucci, a laid off Stele? worker, Tony McNulty, labor council vice-president, Hamilto? aldermen Brian Hinckley and Don Gray, and Ontario Federation 0 Labor president Cliff Pilkey. The demonstration was followed by a public forum to evaluate rally and discuss future action. The panel included Pilkey, Ralp! Curmie, co-ordinator for the United Electrical workers (UE), Bill Scat lan of the United Steelworkers and council president Harry Greet” wood who chaired the meeting. . Many stories right out of ‘‘dire straights’’ came to the floor. Peop” spoke of evictions, food shortages and even of one man whose unem ployment insurance benefits had run out and now didn’t have money to buy formula to feed his baby. Steelworker Mike Skinner, an activist at the Steel Car Co., told thé forum that if the hundreds of his fellow Steel Car workers who’ ve bee! laid off for more than six months don’t soon get some kind of reliefs, ‘‘there won’t be any more demonstrations, there’ll be a riot.”’ A United Auto Workers representative for the hundreds of laid off workers at Allan Industries, here, smashed into the companies _ “concessions” policies saying that ‘‘it puts the workers on the auctio® ’ block ... Who is going to work for the lowest wage?’’ Describing the export of Allan Industry jobs abroad, the UAW rep said the jobs had been moved three times with a $2 an hour wage cut at each move. He reported that the jobs are now in California and rated at $4.75 an hour. ‘‘But who’s to say someone won't come along tomorroW ready to work for $2 an hour less?’’, he asked. Every speaker at the forum hammered the government for allowing the layoffs and for shrinking the Canadian peoples’ ability to consum® the products they produce themselves. It was generally felt that thé only beneficiaries of the governments’ policies were the ledgerbooks - of the monopolies, and that the time had come to put the burden for thé economic crisis on these powerful corporations and off the working — people. Many speakers proposed the 32-hour work week at 40 hours pay aS# key demand to tackle the unemployment situation, along with lowe! interest rates and other demands. : The meeting was unanimous in its support for the actions taken by the Canadian Labor Congress and the OFL in following the massivé _ demonstration in Ottawa, Nov. 21. It was generally felt that demons’ rations of this type must get larger, more vocal, more frequent and be directed to building more pressure to move big business and thei! partners in government into making concessions favoring the working — people of Canada. Kerry Wilson is a member of Local 1005 USWA. 3 Be ED n Labor Briefs and to set weird working hours. TRANSIT WORKERS STRIKE CONTINUES EDMONTON — Striking transit workers voted 89% against a city contract, offer, March 14, that still insists on giving management the right to hire part time workers The 1,300 workers, members of the Amalgamated Transit Union walked off the job Feb. 15 shutting down the city’s bus and light rail system. The union sees the introduction of part time workers as a dangerous precedent for Canada as a whole since no other transit authority in the country uses part time drivers. WORKERS STRIKE OVER UFFI ST. JOHN'S, Nfid. — About 60 members of the Canada Employment and Immi- gration Union, an affiliate of the Public Service Alliance of Canada walked off the job March 12 refusing to work in the offices objecting to gas fumes from the urea - fermaldahyde foam insulation (UFFI) in the walls. The workers agreed to return to work the following Monday to wait for test results of formaldahyde gas levels in the office. A previous test of the gas levels by Health and Welfare Canada was rejected by the union as inconclusive. i