Protest hits| CN cutback’ More than 160 unionists turned out last Thursday at the Canadian Na- tional station to join the Canadian Brotherhood of Railway, Transport _and General Workers in protesting the proposed cutbacks by CN ex- press which would result in the loss of some 1,200 jobs. Among the speakers were CBRT regional repre- sentative Bill Apps (right); Bill Clark, president of the Telecommunica- tions Workers; representatives of CBRT locals in Vancouver, joops and Victoria; and Keith Gra- ham from the B.C. Federation of La- . bor. NDP leader Ed Broadbent also spoke to the rally, blasting the fed- eral government for “handing out $400 million to Imperial Oil while cut- ting back on an essential public ser- vice.” Kam- Kennedy new head of VDLC Frank Kennedy, secretary- treasurer of the International | Longshoremen’s and Ware- 'housemen’s Union, was ac- claimed as the new president of the Vancouver and District Labor Council, succeeding In- ternational Woodworkers delegate Syd Thompson who stepped out of the elections this year after serving 12 terms. Thompson, an officer of the 60,000-member labor council for the past 21 years, had been president since 1969. There were several other changes in the council executive during this year’s elections although the only contest saw Ironworkers delegate Des Szakal win 96-25 over Laborers’ delegate Bill Hudson for the po- sition of chairman of the public relations committee. The new executive members are: Ist vice-president, Doug Evans, IWA; 2nd vice- president, Colin Snell, Carpenters; 3rd: vice-president, Opal Skilling, Office and Technical Employees; secretary-treasurer, Paddy Neale, Hotel Restaurant and Bartenders; chair, organization committee, George Hewison, UFAWU; legislation commit- tee, Tom Kelly, CUPE; public relations, Des Szakal; grievance committee, Dolly Storey, TWU; education committee, Walter Jacobs, Marineworkers and Boilermakers Industrial Union; metropolitan advisory committee, Dave Martindale, Bakery Workers; credentials committee, Phyllis Webb, Postal Workers. In other council business, delegates voted unanimously to condemn the action of the pro- vincial cabinet in releasing 8,240 acres of land from the agricultural land reserve. One of the parcels of land released, 340 acres owned by Social Credit supporter George Spetifore, increased in value by amassive $50 million as result of the release. “1 don’t think there has ever been a more blatant example of political patronage,’’ countil secretary Paddy Neale told the meeting. PACIFIC TRIBUNE—JAN. 23,.1981—Page 12... .. As these lines were being written, some 160 Port Coquitlam civic em- ployees, membrs of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), were on strike, in support of a wage demand to give them par- ity with the rates enjoyed by the In- ternational Woodworkers of Am- erica. Another 10,000 municipal em- ployees in the Greater Vancouver Regional District, including clerical employees, outside workers and firemen are also seeking substantial wage increases in their new collect- ive agreements. Close to 5,000 members of CUPE in North Vancouver, Delta, Richmond, New Westminster and Burnaby are demanding parity with the IWA in a one-year con- tract. According to CUPE spokes- men, their union would consider a two-year agreement if there was a cost of living adjustment clause (COLA) in the package for the sec- . ond year. Most of these locals have successfully conducted strike votes and unless more progress is made soon in negotiations, more muni- cipal workers may feel compelled to strike. The independent Van- couver Municipal and Regional Employees Union, which repre-_ sents the clerical employees of the City of Vancouver, is cooperating closely with the CUPE locals. Graham Leslie, chief negotiator for the Greater Vancouver Re- gional District’s labor relations de- partment, is, according to my sources, pushing a demand that could provoke a strike. He is insist- ing that the fringe benefit package for CUPE and the VRMEU in the Lower Mainland area be standard- ized, according to a formula he has presented. The provocation arises from the fact that his formula, if adopted, would mean a lowering of standards for large numbers of mu- nicipal employees. In effect, it would be a wage cut under another name. The base labor rate in the CUPE contracts in this area is now $8 per hour. The lowest sawmill rate listed in the current IWA agreement is listed at $9.96 per hour, as of June 15, 1980. This means that CUPE laborers would require an increase of 24.5 percent to catch up. Tradesmen working under the CUPE contract now have a rate of $10.52 an hour, as compared with the IWA rate of $12.83 an hour (as listed in the IWA agreement), which is a gap of almost 22 percent. One might ask why CUPE has selected the IWA rates as a basis of comparison. The answer you would most likely get is that the for- ee est industry is the most important industrial sector in the economy of the province, in terms of direct and indirect employment. It also em- ploys the largest number of union- ized workers. : It must also be understood that the major IWA collective agree- ments, covering some 40,000 workers, expire in June of this year, along with the major agreements ‘Comment Jack Phillips held by two unions in the pulp and paper industry, with 12,000 mem- bers. This means that even if CUPE members went on strike in Greater Vancouver soon and won parity with the IWA, they would find themselves behind the IWA after that union completed its 1981 negotiations. That’s why CUPE’s wage demand has been set high enough to cover this situation, CUPE and the IWA are not the only unions going into contract ne- gotiations this year. All in all, col- lective agreements-covering 214,- 500 workers expire this year, com- pared with only 163,000 in 1980. Some of the other large groups going into negotiations are: Laborers, Teamsters, and Oper- ating Engineers, employed by the B.C. Roadbuilders Association with 9,000 members; Meat Cutters, Bakers and Retail Clerks in the chain food stores — with 4,500 members; Hotel Workers with 12,- 500. members; Steelworkers at Co- minco with 4,800 members; Fisher- men and Allied Workers — 4,500 members; Longshoremen with 4,- 000 members and Hospital Em- ployees with some 18,000 mem- bers. With the Laborers’, Teamsters’ and Operating Engineers’ agree- ments expiring in February, the agreements in the food industry in March, the hotel agreements in April, the Cominco and fisheries agreements in April and the wood pulp and paper agreements in June, those agreements could be the pacesetters. Still to be settled is the dispute between the B.C. Telephone Com- pany and the Telecommunications Workers Union, with 11,000 work- ers involved. The agreement ex- pired in December, 1979 and the partial strike launched by the union last October still goes on. Media- tion talks broke off last week. This dispute is a good example of how the big employers in B.C. are de-. termined to hold the line on wage increases at a point close to or be- low the rate of inflation. Arecent, quarterly report by the Conference Board of Canada pre- dicted that wages will fall behind the rate of inflation for the fourth year in a row. The board predicted that wages would increase by anav- erage of 10.5 percent in 1981, while inflation would rise by 11.7 per- cent, on a cross-Canada basis. William Hamilton, president of the Employers’ Council of B.C. on the other hand, is publicly com- plaining that the current, average rate of annual wage increase in B.C. of 11.6 percent is too high. The Employers’ Council holds weekly meetings with the major employers in the province. At these meetings, information on the pro- gress of current negotiations is dis- cussed and informal guidelines are set. The Greater Vancouver Re- gional District’s Labor Relations Department is represented at the meetings. If past experience is a yardstick to measure the situation, Graham Leslie and his colleagues will get every encouragement to hold tough in order to settle at the lowest possible figure. Big business has been complaining for a long time that settlements in the public service are too high — in their opin- ion. All the facts prove this is not so — and that public employees are still fighting to catch up to private industry. Every concerned trade unionist must ask why is it that the B.C. Federation of Labor is not holding weekly strategy meetings of all the unions going into negotiations this year, in order to compare notes and to work out an overall approach. For example, if there was a gen- eral strike of CUPE workers in the Lower Mainland area (and this is a possibility) then the provincial cab- inet might invoke the Essential Ser- vices Disputes act and order the workers back to work. If that poss- ibility were discussed now by the Federation officers, along with CUPE representatives and repre- sentatives of other unions, it could be dealt with in terms of an ov strategy to make the maximum economic gains for all unions going into negotiations this year. What should also be discussed is how to help the Telecommunication work- ers get a fair settlement. If this strike is lost, it will be a defeat for the entire trade union movement. I would hate to see a situation ’ where the Lower Mainland muni- cipal employees pulled all their members out on Strike, were order- ed back to work and accepted that order. That would be followed by mediation conducted by some high level, ad hoc appointee, or possibly by some form of compulsory arbi- tration. Of course, there would be those who would then shout to the high heavens that the only answer is to grin and bear it, and elect an NDP government next time around. In the meantime, the municipal em- ployees would lose millions of dollars in wage increases they were entitled to, and the restraint would TRIBUNE PHOTO —SEAN GRIFFIN spill over into other contract nego- ~ tiations during the year. It should also be remembered that while the defeat of the big business, Socred government should be the goal of every active trade union member, the election of an NDP government headed by Barrett would be no guarantee in itself against strikers being ordered back to work. When the Barrett government enacted Bill 146 in 1975, it ordered 60,000 workers in four, unrelated in- dustries back to work. In the last analysis, the trade un- ion movement must depend upon its own unity and militant action in order to advance the economic in- terests of its membership. Also, it must maintain its independence in relation to both the current provin- cial government and any govern- ment which is likely to succeed it. 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