ne cata oie se Ag

Narrow CASAW vote
for 37.8% Alcan pact

Workers at the Aluminum Company of Canada’s Kitimat.
smelter voted by a narrow margin Tuesday to accept the latest con-
tract offer hammered out by the company and CASAW’s
negotiating team the day before. The previous three-year contract
expired Oct. 24.

CASAW Local 1 president Ray Pegley told the Tribune Wednes-
day that the vote for acceptance was slim because, although the
workers were happy with the money part of the contract — a 37.8
percent increase over 30 months — they were not happy with the
benefits.

“We didn’t get double time for overtime, a half paid lunch hour,
a.union shop, or a clothing allowance for the special safety clothes
that workers have to wear in the pot rooms,” Pegley said.

The vote Tuesday was 53 percent, with 1,362 voting from the
1,850-member local.

Money benefits include a $150 signing bonus for each CASAW
member, a cost-of-living and actual wage increases averaging 15.16
percent in the first year, 12.03 percent in the second year, and 7.25
percent in the last six months.

The cost-of-living clause will adjust wages up to one cent an hour
for every .03 percent jump in the cost-of-living index, to kick in after
the index has climbed seven percent.

CASAW workers will now have their shift premiums increased
90 cents an hour for Sundays, an additional “‘floating”’ holiday, and
a “bonus” vacation week on certain anniversary dates.

- Other benefits include a 100 percent company paid dental plan,
up from 70 percent, and prescription lenses for those workers who
need them.

The union came close to a strike last week over the length of the
contract as CASA W sought a two-year contract which would expire
at the same time as the contract for workers in the Alcan smelter at
Arvida, Quebec.

The compromise 30-month contract precludes common contract
expiry dates, at least in the near future.

Imperial Optical firms
target of labor boycott

The B.C. Federation of Labor will be asked to circulate a list of
“Do not patronize’ optical outlets to back the Association of Com-
mercial and Technical Employees Local 1717 which has been on
strike against the Imperial Optical conglomerate since Oct. 9.

Dick Larsen, representative for the Canadian Labor Congress
which has been co-ordinating the ACTE strike, said that the local in
Vancouver has been organized for seven years but was only this year
in a position to advance a strong demand for increased wages and
parity for men and women.

The local recently signed a “‘benchmark’’ contract with Western
Optical which operates the Optical Department of London Drugs,
partially breaking the stranglehold which Imperial Optical has on
the optical industry and the production of eyeglasses across the
country. :

Imperial was the subject of a justice department investigation
which concluded in 1978 and found the company enjoying a virtual
monopoly of the optical industry.

ACTH is demanding the same contract now in force at Western,

including a joint training program which would allow women entry
into the higher paying skilled jobs involved in eyeglass production.
Wages are currently $6.60 an hour for men and $5.59 for women.

Imperial has also sought to break the strike by sending optical
orders from its various retail outlets to the Imperial lab in Toronto
and to a non-union lab in Edmonton.

On Tuesday, the Vancouver Labor Council voted to send a list of
all Imperial-controlled outlets to affiliates urging them to boycott.
Among the firms in the Lower Mainland area are: Imperial Optical,
locations in Vancouver, North Vancouver, Burnaby and Surrey;
Hudson Optical; Hale Optical, locations in Vancouver and Burna-
by; Safety Supply Company, Vancouver; Prescription Optical,
various locations; and London Optical (not to be confused with the
London Drugs Optical Department).

Y UNDERSTAND
I WANT MoRE
: MONEY TO

FINANCE THE

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—NOV. 7, 1980—Page 12

Public control of B.C. Tel —
best for consumers, TWU

The Telecommunications
Workers Union, once more in a bit-
ter contract dispute with the B.C.
Telephone Company, is circulating
a petition calling for the company
to be ‘‘placed in the hands of a
crown corporation.”

The petition has received wide
support in the trade union move-
ment and should be endorsed by
every labor council and signed by
every trade union member.

While the petition does not spell
out which government it is directed
to, I understand that the completed
petition forms are to be presented
to the provincial government. In
view of the fact that the telephone
service is publicly owned on a pro-
vincial basis in Alberta, Saskatche-
= and Manitoba, that seems log-
ical.

The struggle for a new collective
agreement by the TWU and the
launching of the petition coincide
with the current application of the
company for a 12.5 percent rate in-
crease.

Maurice Rush, provincial leader
of the Communist Party, made this

telling point in a recent press re- :

lease:

“Tn its decision rejecting B.C.
Tel’s application for an interim rate
increase, the Canadian Radio-
Television and Telecommunica-
tions Commission, on May 23,
1980, declared ‘the Commission
does not consider that the 1980 per-
formance demonstrates serious de-
terioration in its financial condition
that would justify approval of the
proposed interim increase.’

“The Communist Party main-
tains that the financial position of
B.C. Tel has not substantially
changed between May and Octo-
ber, 1980. To justify granting B.C.

Tel the rate increase it is seeking, .

the CRTC would have to prove
that the reason it rejected an in-
terim rate boost in May does not
apply now, five months later.”
The latest annual financial re-
port shows that the company has
available some $216,870,000 from
its 1979 earnings to finance new
projects, and that the $50 million a
year it is seeking through higher
rates is not justified.
The company’s net earnings
after taxes, interest and preferred

’ dividends, increased by 53.5 per-

cent in 1979, to $51,849,000. Be-
tween 1975 and 1979, the invest-
ment by B.C. Tel in each phone in-
creased by 25 percent, while ordin-
ary share earnings per phone went
up by 59.2 percent.

These facts serve to emphasize
the correctness of the demand to
place the B.C. Tel (owned and con-
trolled by General Telephone and
Electronics of Stanford, Connecti-
cut) under public ownership. The
B.C. Federation of Labor and a
large number of unions have called
for the public ownership of this
monopoly. So have the Commun-
ist Party and the New Democratic
Party, although the NDP has not
made this a priority item in terms of
what it proposes to do if it forms
the provincial government again.

If the Federation of Labor,

: along with the NDP, the Commun-

ist Party and all interested citizens’
groups could unite now around a
vigorous campaign in support for
the TWU petition, such an action
could expedite the placing of this
monopoly under public ownership
and control.

While the Telecommunications —
Workers Union is not opposing the -

granting of an increase in rates to
the company, its president, Bill

Clark, made the following points
when I spoke to him recently:

@ While the union has no ob-
jection in principle to rate increases
(for a privately-owned or publicly-
owned corporation) we want to be
assured that there will be no repeat
of 1977. In granting an increase in
that year, the Canadian Radio-
television and Telecommunica-
tions Commission was sharply crit-

_ ical of B.C. Tel for its poor service.

Unfortunately, there is no indica-
tion to prove that quality of service

has become a priority for the com-
pany. “It is our goal,’’ Clark told

me, ‘‘to make quality of service a ~

priority.”

@ It is the contention of the un-
ion that the CRTC should establish
quality of service indicators to in-
dicate where the bulk of any money
accruing from a rate increase
would be spent.

@ The union is opposed to the

company receiving large increases ~

in rates if that money will be used to
introduce massive technological
changes that will result in the large-
scale loss of jobs for its members.

These concerns on the part of the

union were reflected in an article
which appeared in the June, 1980
issue of Labor News, published by

- the B.C. Federation of Labor. The

article pointed out that with the
$500 million the company received
through rate increases in 1977, ap-
proximately 800 jobs were elimin-
ated.

To quote Labor News: ‘‘Thisisa
social question which must be dealt
with, and it is directly related to
B.C. Tel’s application (1980) for a
rate increase. The money generated
from that increase will find its way
into technological change and will
have a social impact on the com-
munities where the companies el-
iminate jobs. The TWU estimates
that within the next two years, ap-
proximately 1,000 people who

_work as telephone operators in

B.C. will no longer have jobs as op-
erators. Certainly if the CRTC is in
place to protect the public interest,
then the elimination of 1,000 jobs,
in only one section of the
company’s operation, has to be
considered as part of the public in-
terest.”

The arrogance of B.C. Tel is il-
lustrated by its rejection of the con-
ciliation report brought down by
conciliation commissioner Ed.
Peck, former vice-chairman of the
provincial labor relations board
and the employers’ nominee to that
tribunal. According to TWU presi-
dent Bill Clark, the difference be-
tween the overall cost of the em-

RiBUNE

ployer’s final offer and the total
cost of the Peck report is only
million. Against this, the com-
pany is scheduled to spend $650
million for new electronic equip-
ment in 1980 and 1981.

The 2,000 members of the TWU
who attended the union rally m
Vancouver Oct. 29 made it very
clear, on numerous occasions, that
they were solidly behind their union
leadership in this struggle.

President Jim Kinnaird of the
B.C. Federation of Labor was
loudly cheered when he assured the —
telephone workers of the full sup-
port of the Federation and its affil-
jates. He described B.C. Tel as the
worst employer in B.C. and sal
they should be run out of the prov-
ince. “I am convinced,” he. said, —
“that the citizens of B.C. will be be-
hind you and you can bet we will be
walking the picket line with you.

Joy Langan and Mike Kramef —
from the Federation executive and
George Hewison, secretary-treas-
urer of the United Fishermen and
Allied Workers Union, also ad-
dressed the meeting to pledge sup-
port and were warmly received.
However, the temper of the meet-
ing was best shown in the three out-
standing ovations given to union
president Bill Clark, indicating the
wide support for the policies he has
advanced.

In response to a question from —
the floor, Clark expressed sym-

‘pathy with those members who

want to become directly involvedin
the struggle by extending the strike
beyond the 530 members in the
Lower Mainland who do commer-
cial installations, including repall”
work and cable splicing. However;
he explained that in the opinion of
the union officers, the limited strike
is the best strategy in the current sit-
uation. It appeared to me that his
explanation satisfied those present. .

I was struck by the high percent
age of young people at the union
rally, with as many women as men.
When I made inquiries, I was told:
that the average age of the union —
membership is 34. This should help
to explain why there is such a keen
feeling about technological —
change. Firstly, because if it is un
controlled the younger workers
be the first to suffer in terms of lay-
offs. Secondly, because every job
that disappears means one less
opening for a young worker com-
ing into the labor market. é

The labor movement should do
everything possible to help the
TWU in its fight to compel the
company to accept the Peck report —
asa basis for anew collectiveagree-
ment. Also, the labor movement
should go all out to place B.C. Tel

under public ownership. In the

long pull, both the general public
and the telephone workers will get a
better deal under public ownership.

SEAS

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