“Act now on KKK,’ rally tells Kaplan

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More than 100 members and supporters of the Coalition Against Racism marched in the pouring rain outside the Coachhouse Inn in North Vancouver Sunday where federal solicitor-general Robert Kaplan was scheduled to address a Liberal Party luncheon. Coalition chairperson Delecia Crump and several demonstrators later met with Kaplan to demand that the federal government press the prosecution of the Ku Klux Klan and other racist organizations under the provisions of Section 281(2) of the Criminal Code. Kaplan insisted, however, that the onus was on provincial governments to allow prosecution under the relevant section. The Coalition and scores of other groups have many times pressed provin- cial attorney-general Allan Williams — so far unsuccessfully — to permit prosecution to proceed.

Employer claim that wages are

ahead of prices proven false

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TRIBUNE PHOTO—SEAN GRIFFIN

Striking municipal workers at- tempted to reopen discussions with Vancouver city council Tuesday, and city council responded by lock- ing its doors to the public for the first time in over 25 years.

About® 300 strikers, mostly members of the Vancouver Muni- cipal and Regional Employees Un-

‘ion, turned out Tuesday at noon to

support 38 senior city employees who were to appear before council to appeal for a resumption in nego- tiations after being broken off for the third time on Monday.

But when the unionists arrived they found city hall’s doors locked and a contingent of uniformed and plainclothed policemen on hand to “guard” the building. VMREU spokesman David Cadman report- ed that the police warned the strik- ers to stay clear of the entrances to city hall.

Inside city hall, the lights were turned out on the third floor where

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DENNIS McDERMOTT ..» Suspension set for Apr. 30.

the council chambers are located and as media and aldermen arrived for the 2 p.m. meeting they were told that it had been cancelled.

Eventually an uneasy mayor Mike Harcourt emerged from his office to explain what was going on. The doors were locked and the meeting cancelled he said, because of police ‘‘intelligence informa- tion’’ that the strikers were going to occupy the building and that would endanger priceless city archives, maps and microfilms.

As Harcourt spoke the 38 senior staffers, most of whom had more than 10 years of service with the ci- ty, neatly dressed and without picket signs or placards, waited quietly onthe front steps of city hall in amazement.

A statement from the VMREU denied any intention of occupying the buildings. ‘“We are saddened that city hall is terrified of its em-

See GVRD page 2

Fed walkout shelved as TWU wins pact

B.C. Federation of Labor president Jim Kinnaird an- nounced Monday that the Fed- eration had ‘‘postponed indefi- nitely’’ its regional strike in the Kootenays as a result of the B.C. Tel settlement but warned that its action should not be in- terpreted as ‘‘backing down from the employers.”’

.“In an attempt to indicate to the employers of this province that organized labor does not want to continue to operate in the present industrial relations climate unless the employers force us to, we have postponed the Kootenays protest.

‘Should there be any indica- tion from the employers that they want to continue negotiat- ing in an arena of mistrust and confrontation, we can reinsti-

tute our protests immediately,”’ he added.

He said that B.C. Tel, by its actions, had ‘thrown the prov- ince into industrial relations chaos,’’ noting that the 15-month-old dispute ‘‘will go into the books as one of the most vicious in history.

Asked about the stand of the Employers Council, he warned that it had not changed despite the settlement.

. “But we madeit clear that the Federation would play a role in these disputes,”’ he said.

The effective shutdown in the Nanaimo area March 6 and the impending walkout by some 10,000 workers in the Koote- nays — which would have af- fected the important Cominco

See TWU page 3

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