= samaanaabaaaiibenand oe a SS nS ee LABOR a2. 36 oe Q 8 Wishing you s 2 3 peace and : o 3 prosperity o = we 19S/ = & see Unemployed Workers’ a § Centre, Nanaimo, B.C. & ss 753-1313 & fesesesesesetescteseiecesetocece. Labor action spurred IWA pact © Stepped-up job action by woodworkers and a B.C. Federation of Labor plan for escalating strike action to include compan- ies related to the forest giants — coupled with the resounding rejection of the Hodg- son Commission report — combined to win a new two-year contract for members of the International Woodworkers on the coast and the southern Interior. Although the agreement still only puts off resolution of the key issue of contracting-out to a royal commission which is to report March 1, 1988 — with the issue expected to emerge again in 1988 bargaining — the settlement was consi- dered a victory against the companies’ unre- LIFE WITH DIGNITY PEACE, JOBS 4 FOR ALL Campbell River Committee of the Unemployed President HENRY NEDERGARD Port Alberni and District Labor Council extends our greetings to all our affiliates and the working people of B.C. What we desire for ourselves, we wish for all. In solidarity Secretary JOHN VEZINA Sov UUeneenaeReEUUU ANNUAL AAUAAEAUSUAUUSUEOENOUUEAUAUEDEOAOOEOEOAEOSOEAEOOEOEOOOOEOL EAU EEE 6 e PACIFIC TRIBUNE, DECEMBER 17, 1986 - § ’s Breetin eason s Breefings | to our friends in the labor and progressive movements United Fishermen and Allied Workers’ Union LOCAL 4, LADNER SHUAANUENAUUAAUAGQUAUALEOOOUGGOUUEUDEOUUUUEUULNAUOEELOUEAOUEOUEREOOEEOOOOOEEOAEOOOEEOAERAA EGO EMO OEOD ENO EUA ECA EEU EEE EO MERRY CHRISTMAS to our members and friends Retail Clerks Union 1). F.C.W. Local 1518 SHUUNEVUUEETUOEUUUEEOOUEEDOUOEEEEEEUUEEEOEEEOOEEOOEEDOEROEUOEEDOOEEOEOET lenting demand for the unfettered right to contract-out [WA members’ jobs. A letter of understanding signed with the agreement freezes contracting-out until 1988. IWA members in the two regions. voted by an overall 82 per cent last week to accept the new pact. The agreement provides for a two-year agreement which expires June 15, 1988 on the coast and June 30, 1988 in the southern Interior. It includes a 40-cent wage hike at the beginning of the second year and pen- sion increaess giving full pension for retire- mentat age 60 anda sliding scale of benefits finally yielding 82 per cent pension for retirement at 55. The pension provisions mirror those in the pulp unions settlement reached earlier this year. The pact provides for the appointment of a royal commission to study the contracting- out issue and bring back non-binding recommendations by March 1, 1988, at which point the letter of understanding freezing contracting-out expires. It also provides for the appointment of an umpire to arbitrate any disputes arising from contracting-out before that date. Pro- vincial mediator Vince Ready has since been appointed to that position. The proposal to freeze contracting-out is not contained as a clause in the agreement but is instead appended as a letter of under- standing. It states: “the industry agrees that the introduction of a contractor or sub- contractor into an operation will not result in the loss of full-time positions held by regular employees in the operation except when justified by special circumstances. The language effectively provides that if an IWA member is laid off, his or her job will remain with the [WA. Similarly, if an IWA member retires or leaves the job, his or her position will be taken by an [WA member. It has raised some concern in locals which have logging operations, however, since the language does not prevent the forest com- panies from bringing more contractors into an area and increasing the annual cut. Since they would be in addition to, and not in place of regular [WA crews, the increased contracting-out would be allowed under the letter’s provisions. One dispute has already reportedly arisen in the Ucluelet area as the result of the introduction of an additional contractor. Despite the lingering problems, the con- tract has been seen throughout the trade union movement as a significant achieve- ment that was reached in the face of the five-month campaign by the employers to force the IWA to buckle and accept their demands for “flexilibity.” IWA members began selective strike action July 22, closing down operations owned by the major multinationals while allowing those companies which had agreed to the union’s language against contracting- out to keep operating. Initially, the union’s leadership had maintained that it would fight the strike battle itself, but in the end, it was the united action by the trade union movement that was decisive, as was financial support pro- | vided by many unions. = Events moved most quickly during the week of the B.C. Federation of Labor con- vention Dec. 1-5 which also coincided with the union’s vote againt the discredited report prepared by the three-member — commission of inquiry chaired by B.C. | Transit chairman Stu Hodgson. yy IWA members repudiated by a vote of 89 — per cent the recommendations of the report which offered no protection against contracting-out and gave employers the | right to introduce Saturday work at straight time and 12-hour days. The overwhelming rejection of the | report, coupled with the action plan to sup- — : port the [WA drawn up by the convention on the final day, were credited with forcing — Forest Industrial Relations to “make some very significant moves,” as FIR president Keith Bennett later called them. The toughly-worded proposal for action by affiliates to support the [WA was first put to union caucuses in a closed session of the convention Dec. 5 and was subse- quently endorsed unanimously by dele- gates. It called for continued financial assist- | ance to the IWA and pledged that before | any affiliates would be asked to join any | action, all [WA operations would be behind =| picket lines. In fact, much of that escalation EB had already taken place as [WA members on Vancouver Island, New Westminster and the Interior began shutting down oper- ations after. voting on the Hodgson report. Once the IWA operations were down, | however, the plan called for affiliates to | “carry the WA dispute to all the companies | which have interlocking boards of directors. “This means that as of a date to be set by _ the officers, in consultation with the affil- iates, any company in British Columbia which has on its board of directors a person who also sits on a major forest company board of directors will be targetted for pick- eting and other activity. Such activity will be carried out in accordance with federation policy and will be done in an escalating manner,” the program stated. It also emphasized: “The officers are determined that we will not allow the Labor Relations Board or the courts to deter us from the course of action necessary to bring an end to this dispute.” Before the plan had to be acted upon, however — on the afternoon of the 5th — the IWA announced it had nego- tiated a proposal for the membership t0 consider. Newly-elected B.C. Fed president Ken Georgetti told a whistling, cheering conven tion: “Brothers and sisters, I have been 7 contact with the JWA and it’s my pleasure to inform you that the [WA and FIR have reached a tentative agreement. “The IWA would like to inform you that _ it is an honorable end to the dispute,” hé said. . “They would also like to convey theil thanks to this convention for the support and for the will that was shown by this federation this week,” he said. “And they wanted me to inform this convention that — without our help and support, they would not have got to where they are today.” ee ee ee Georgetti told reporters later that the labor movement “showed we're solid a? united and we stick together. Because we stuck together, we played a major role in bringing about an equitable end to this dis- pute.” ‘ ;