LUck

Doles PIGS, Photo shows the wife
Meanwhit Pigs. Paid only 2% cents a pound, the grower d
; @, apples in Vancouver were selling at supermarkets

of an apple grower at Crawston, int i
ecided it was cheaper to feed them to the pigs.

for between 28 and 49 cents a pound.

he southern B.C. interior, feeding

WA reaffirms demand

for substantial g

Ina, BYSAM VINT
House ered hall in Woodworkers
trom 7 7 Saturday, job stewards
reports ¢ local 1-217 met to hear
latest rect their officers on the
of negotiations and to
SUbstanti  union’s demands for
Recentiy "28° gains in 1974.
MSearc, »,.2PPointed regional
OUtling director Doug Smyth
Msition the industry’s profit
“mpanion Pointed out that the
the a are fully able to meet
Movide gehnands of the IWA and
benefits Nerous improvements in

V
Wa chage uletins prepared by the
Were . Negotiating committee
lhistratin “ulated in the meeting
the forest” the profits enjoyed by
® Union Mdustry and outlining
Q oa Stand for wage gains
: Stof-living adjustment.
Itig fake emphasized that
Raing 6 pace the industry which
Your rovi Ost economically from
landands ae to. upgrade living
nor thes the woodworkers who
wed th © Profits possible” and
Okey 7.28 a result of inflation,
rchas, ave suffered a loss in
June, yg/Power from June, 1972

pe conte Only 36.5

cents has been recouped in the
wage increase granted June, 1973,
an increase that. was intended, as
the bulletin stressed, to provide an
improvement in the woodworkers’
standard of living, not to keep him
on a treadmill.”

Local president Syd Thompson
also reported on the recent
negotiations with the companies
who, after an initial refusal to put
an offer on the table, turned out in
force last Thursday to submit their
proposals.

The offer, which was later
rejected, stipulated a wage In
crease of 35 cents an hour across
the board — on union demands of a
dollar an hour — in a one-year
agreement. The one-year term was
virtually the only concession’ to
union demands but was the first
time in some 20 years that the
companies did not counter with a
demand for a longer contract. ©

Of considerable importance In
union proposals was the demand
for a comprehensive dental plan
providing 100% coverage of basic
dentistry, and 90% coverage for
crowns, bridges, dentures — and
orthodontic work — fully paid by
the employer. The company offer

Pewee

ESCALATOR

og i Jee ae Jae +

HAVE No FEAR—

See ate @ 0

GOST OF LIVING

NEGOTIATE. HERE

Are
‘

d)

ake

ains

provided only 80% coverage for
basic dentistry, and 50% for
crowns, bridges, dentures and
orthodontic work and stipulated
that the premium cost would be
shared 70% by the employer and
30% by the employee.

As well, the company offer for a
lifetime maximum on orthodontic
work provided only for $500 as
compared to the union demand for
$1,000.

The company change on
vacations provided for four weeks
at 8-1/2% of wages after 12 years of
service and five weeks at 10-1/2%
of wages after 22 or more years of
service.

Central to the union’s bargaining
position, as well, were demands for
a cost-of-living adjustment
enabling workers to offset the
worst effects of spiralling inflation,
a shorter work week and double
time for overtime. Forest In-
dustrial Relations, bargaining for
the companies, made no con-
cessions on any of these demands.

A significant development in the
course of negotiations was a
meeting held last week in the IWA
hall with the negotiating com-
mittee and Pat O’Neal of the
United Pulp and Paperworkers
and Fred Mullins from the Pulp,

-Paper and Woodworkers of
Canada, held to discuss the .

tradesmen’s__ issue. Further
meetings among the three unions
are scheduled.

In the pulp sector of the-:industry,
continuing dissatisfaction among
workers prompted the companies
to move the date for wage
revisions, originally set for Sep-
tember, up three months to June.

Rank and file members have
welcomed the closer working
cooperation as a step toward
united action and have pointed out
that since both pulp workers and
woodworkers are employed by the

‘same huge corporations, common

sense dictates a united approach.

Plans are being implemented
throughout the operations under
the jurisdiction of the IWA to
conduct a strike vote to back up
union demands. A referendum on
increasing strike assessment 1S
also being conducted.

COMMUNIST PARTY

Stevens to contest
Burnaby-Richmond

Well-known trade union leader
Homer Stevens was the unanimous
choice of a nominating meeting
held in Richmond last Sunday to
contest the riding of Burnaby-
Richmond for the Communist
Party of Canada in the current
federal election.

In accepting the nomination,
Stevens pledged to wage a major
campaign to roll back prices and
told the meeting that ‘‘the working
people of Canada are being robbed
blind by the big corporations.
Living standards are declining
every day as profits skyrocket.

“The Conservatives have no
answer except to slap wage con-
trols on the workers and to try to
force the organized workers to
accept an even smaller share of the
wealthy they produce. The
Liberals have done nothing except
to produce a toothless Prices
Review Board. The NDP has
blasted the ripoff but does not
advocate a clear program which
would reduce prices and profits.

“The only party committed to an
effective program to reduce prices
and profits is the -Communist
Party,’’ Stevens emphasized. ‘We
will do our best to unite the labor
movement, farmers, professional
and technical workers, the
unemployed, senior citizens and
the youth of Canada in the electoral
battle between now and July 8. We
are convinced we can provide the
leadership which will defeat the
efforts of the political spokesmen
for the multinational corporations
to play the old game of divide and
rule.

‘Conservatives and Liberals are
blaming labor, farmers and
fishermen, along with mythical
“international shortages’’ for

spiralling living costs and taxes.

This is in line with the phoney
smokescreen spread by the cor-
porate elite which has always
supplied those two parties with the
money for their electioneering.

“This attack is not fooling any
thinking Canadians. The wives and
families of fishermen can’t afford
to buy the fish their husbands and
sons risk their lives to catch. Sons
and daughters of farmers are not
only forced off the farms, but also
find themselves unable to afford
the meat, vegetables and fruit at
the prices listed in the super-
markets. Miners, loggers and
shipyard workers realize the same
principle applies to the products of
our resource industries as it does
for manufacturing and tran-
sportation.

“In this election .people want
direct answers. People want ac-
tion, net more hot air from vote-
seeking candidates. There is a
challenge before every party. The
Communist Party has a_ long
history of meeting such challenges
in the organization of trade unions,
cooperatives, civil rights and
fraternal organizations all across
our country.”

“We are part and parcel of the
great Canadian people’s

Wala o S'5 2 2 2 8 8 2 2 2 2 8 2 2 ae 2 2 ©

movements which swept Canada in
the hungry thirties, in the war
against fascism and in the post-
war peace movements. We are
going into this election campaign
to elect Communists to parliament.
We will work throughout this

election and after to unite all
Canadians who are seeking a real
alternative to the organized chaos
and suffering imposed on the
Canadian people by’ the
profiteers.”’

HOMER STEVENS

Bob Towle appeals
for drive support

Veteran PT worker Bob Towle,
although seriously ill in past
months, is after $1,000 in this
year’s press drive.

Bob who is now 82 years old, is
appealing to the many friends and
supporters that he has won over
the years to help him make his
target.

He is asking that donations be
sent to: Bob Towle, 4334 Halley
Ave., Burnaby 1, B.C., or to the PT
office in his name.

“My inspection shows your landlord is
guilty of 43 violations of fire and
safety codes...you'll’have to move”
se « —— crn

i oad

TRIBUTE DINNER
for BROTHER JACK PHILLIPS

Friday, June 21st - 7:30 p.m.

Dogwood Dining Room

Exhibition Park
Tickets $6.00 per person.

Come and help us wish this notable Trade Unionist well, in his

retirement.
Tkts. avail. CUPE Van. Civic Emp. Union
Local 1004
400 - 33 E. Broadway

eee EO OSS

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—FRIDAY, MAY 31 1974—PAGE 3