Directions Newsletter Vol. II Nos. 7-8
|
Particularly in this day and age of turbulent partisan politics, it is an impossible task to keep everyone satisfied all the time, and the leader of the party is an easy target for those in the habit of taking potshots. Through her years as leader of the New Democrats, Alexa McDonough has set a standard for political leadership that has seldom been matched and will be difficult to surpass. Her departure now, announced while UFCW Canada members met at a national convention in Vancouver, comes not as a surprise, but, as she described it, a logical step in the revitilization of labour’s party. UFCW Canada never wavered in its support for her leadership, her personal integrity, and her tireless dedication to the issues that most concern working Canadians. And we were always gratified that she never took that support for granted. We could always count on her to give public voice to our concerns, especially on issues of national importance such as unemployment, health care, international trade, the Atlantic fisheries, immigration, fair taxation, and the rights of agricultural workers. She has been unwavering in her support of working people, visiting, for example, UFCW Canada members on the picket lines of the Alberta Safeway strike in 1997, seen above. We will greatly miss her leadership but very much hope she will continue to contribute, as she has indicated, to Canada’s social and economic progress in new ways for many years to come.
In solidarity, Prince Rupert members win new agreement
The new contract gives members substantial wage increases over what was in the company’s original final offer, a retroactive signing bonus, improvements in daily seniority, and job security language should the employer relocate the store. In addition, health and welfare benefits are now 100% employer-paid, and members whose jobs will be displaced by the closure of the in-store bakery will get to move to other parts of the store with no loss of seniority. “The results in Prince Rupert should show other Extra Foods members – and UFCW Canada members in general – what can be accomplished if they stick together and take the fight to the employer,” says Local 1518 president Brooke Sundin. Sundin also thanked the community and the Prince Rupert Labour Council for their constant support for the striking Local 1518 members. “I don’t think we would have been able to get as good an agreement as we did without the support from the people of Prince Rupert and especially the labour community,” he says. Shown above, members Leslie Zanella, Leah Leask, Katrina Buller, Colin Huddlestone, Rob McKay, and family members acknowledge community support in the form of donated food hampers. More: Tom Fawkes, Andy Neufeld, UFCW Canada Local 1518, www.ufcw1518.com UFCW Canada Local 509 in Charlesbourg, Qué. is the latest local to develop an online presence. The new site, at www.tuac509.ca, gives members of the local and the public news about the union, workplace training available to members, and information on leukemia fundraising campaigns. More: Pierre Bolduc, UFCW Canada Local 509 J. Albert Richardson remembered A former union representative for what is now UFCW Canada Local 1288P died at Bellefond, N.B. on April 2. J. Albert Richardson was a staff representative with the Canadian Food and Allied Workers union (CFAW), as the Canadian union of the Amalgamated Meatcutters and Butcher Workmen of North America was then known. Brother Richardson also served as leader of the New Brunswick NDP from 1970 to 1976, and as secretary-treasurer of the New Brunswick Federation of Labour from 1981 to 1986. More: Richard DeSaulniers, UFCW Canada Local 1288P The United Brewery Warehouse Workers provincial board (or UBWW) of UFCW Canada – representing 6,400 members in Ontario Brewers Retail stores and distribution centres – reached a new collective agreement at the end of March. Improvements include signing bonuses of $1,000-2,000 and wage increases ranging from 2-3% in each of three years, depending on classification. Pension, vision, and major medical care benefit improvements are also included, along with a top-up of maternity leave benefits to 90% for 17 weeks. Union negotiators also brought an end to outsourcing of work in warehouses which should result in the creation of new jobs, and also gained union recognition for warehouse clerks in the Whitby and Brampton warehouses. Meanwhile, about 70 UFCW Canada Local 832 members who work at the Brewers’ Distributors warehouse in Winnipeg ratified a new three-year agreement on May 31. Full-time workers receive a wage increase of 7.5% over the life of the contract, while seasonal workers get the wage increase plus an immediate $1.00-per-hour increase. Other improvements include new afternoon and night shift premiums of 20¢ and 30¢ per hour respectively, an increase in sick days from four to six, and the employer will now contribute to the local’s Education and Training Trust Fund. More: John Montgomery, UFCW Canada UBWW; Don Keith, Grant Warren, UFCW Canada Local 832, www.ufcw832.com A new three-year collective agreement has been ratified by the 360 members of UFCW Canada Local 459 working at Omstead Foods in Wheatley, Ont. Workers at the plant will see their wages increase by 50¢ in the first year, 60¢ in the second, and 55¢ in the third. Other highlights include improved vision care coverage, an increase of pension contributions by the employer of 16¢ per hour over the life of the agreement, and an increase in life insurance from $16,000 to $18,000 in the second year, and then to $19,000 in the third. More: Perry Sabatelli, UFCW Canada Local 459 Major win for Loblaws part-timers UFCW Canada Local 1000A has won a major victory for part-time workers who work at Loblaws stores and take parental leaves-of-absence. In 2001, the employer had been denying benefits to part-time workers who had been on maternity leave the year before and had not worked the 650 hours it deemed necessary to qualify for family coverage of optical, dental, and prescription drug benefits. Local 1000A grieved the matter, citing contract language stating that maternity and paternity provisions for Loblaws employees are governed by the Ontario Employment Standards Act. The act says pregnancy or parental leave is considered employment service. Prior to proceeding to arbitration, the company settled with the local. The union got the company to agree that workers on pregnancy, maternity, or paternity leave will be deemed to have been at work and will receive the benefits coverage to which they are entitled. More: Dan Gilbert, UFCW Canada Local 1000A, www.ufcw1000a.ca More than 1,600 members of UFCW Canada Local 175 who work at PharmaPlus drug stores throughout Ontario ratified a new collective agreement in March. Members will receive across-the-board wage increases of 30¢ per hour in the first year of the agreement, 25¢ in the second, and 30¢ in the third. Pension benefits will also be increased by 11¢ per hour over the course of the agreement, along with improvements to optical and other benefit plans. Other highlights are improved bereavement leave, and the company will now pay for all training courses for certified pharmacy technicians, in addition to training for cosmeticians. More: Cheryl Mumford, UFCW Canada Local 175, www.ufcw175.com
Delegates and supporters, including Canadian Labour Congress president Ken Georgetti, denounced Safeway for its continual demand for wage rollbacks and concessions while enjoying record sales and profits. Safeway has taken a hard line in negotiations across western Canada recently, and announced the permanent closure of three stores on strike since last October in Thunder Bay, Ont., throwing 400 workers out of their jobs. “Our members in Thunder Bay will not be forgotten,” UFCW Canada director Michael Fraser told the crowd. “We are going to take this fight from Thunder Bay to Alberta and B.C., and across the U.S. to Safeway’s California headquarters if necessary.” UFCW Canada Local 175 members at those stores in May had voted No to a Ministry of Labour-conducted vote on the company’s latest “final” offer. After the vote, the company asked the ministry to conduct another vote on the same offer. Kevin Whitaker, chair of the Ontario Labour Relations Board (OLRB) offered to attempt to mediate a settlement, but Safeway disagreed. After being informed there would be a full hearing before the OLRB to determine if another vote was warranted, Safeway announced the store closures. Delegates to the UFCW Canadian Council convention responded to Safeway’s ultimatum by pledging $50,000 to assist the workers in Thunder Bay. Local 175 is in the process of setting up an adjusment committee and action centre to assist the members affected by the closures to access training and new employment. In Manitoba, Safeway workers avoided strike action by agreeing to go to binding arbitration with the company late last fall. That award – covering about 3,300 members in the province – was due in 60 days under provincial regulations, but delays moved its release until March of this year, and then lack of clarity in some areas of the award meant that further meetings between the UFCW Canada Local 832 and the employer would be required before any release of the award and implementation could take place. More: Diane Kalen, UFCW Canada; Cheryl Mumford, UFCW Canada Local 175, www.ufcw175.com; Don Keith, Grant Warren, UFCW Canada Local 832, www.ufcw832.com A new three-year agreement was ratified by UFCW Canada Local 175 members at Better Beef meat packers in Guelph, Ont. in March. The majority of plant workers receive a wage increase of $2.25 over the agreement, while a separate wage schedule is in effect for maintenance and student workers. There are also significant improvements to the dental and vision care plans. All employees with two or more years of service, including those hired after April 18, 1999, are now eligible to particpate in the pension plan. Workers hired after April 18, 1999 also receive employer contributions into the insurance and dental plans rising from 50% to 100% in June 2004. In addition, the employer will contribute $1,000 in each year of the contract to the UFCW Canada Local 175 Education and Training Fund. More: Cheryl Mumford, UFCW Canada Local 175, www.ufcw175.com Strike at Manitoba nurses’ union
Nurses belonging to the Manitoba Nurses Union had just won a 30-month contract with a 20% raise in wages, but their offer to workers they employed was substantially lower – just 5.5% over a three-year term. After unanimously rejecting the employer’s final offer, members picketed the employer’s convention – held, ironically, at a UFCW Canada-represented Winnipeg hotel, the Fairmont. The employer cut its convention from a planned three days to a single day in response. In addition to the wage disparity issue, UFCW Canada members are upset over dignity issues in the workplace. Before the strike began, the employer set up a camera in the staff lunchroom – a camera that can be monitored from any management computer so that staff can be watched while they are on their lunch and rest breaks. While busy installing cameras and insulting their workers in other ways, the union executive clearly had no serious intent to try and reach a settlement and avert a strike. The company that provides the group insurance benefits package for the workers was contacted by Nurses Union management a number of days before the strike began and told to cut off employee benefits effective April 21, the day the workers had said a strike could begin. Negotiations were still taking place at that point in time. “If the Nurses Union was serious about reaching an agreement,” UFCW Canada Local 832 president Bernard Christophe says, “it wouldn’t have taken that step.” An unfair labour practice charge has been filed with the Manitoba Labour Board as a result. More: Don Keith, Grant Warren, UFCW Canada Local 832, www.ufcw832.com The 2,500 members of UFCW Canada Local 401 who work at the eight Real Canadian Superstore and Liquorstore locations in Edmonton ratified a new collective agreement in late April, following which the remaining 3,500 members at seven other locations across Alberta ratified in early May. Workers in some classifications will receive double what they had originally been offered by the employer, Westfair Foods, a division of Loblaws. There were no rollbacks or concessions as had earlier been demanded by the company. Local 401 president Doug O’Halloran says, “We’re particularly proud of the dignity and respect clause that we were able to negotiate into the contract. It sets up a system that will clearly discourage management from mistreating workers. It’s the best clause of its kind in the industry in all of North America.” He also says the two-week strike by Superstore workers in Saskatchewan, members of UFCW Canada Local 1400, earlier in March had a lot to do with a successful result in Alberta. Edmonton workers had already given their negotiating committee a 90% strike mandate, and the local mounted a strong public-awareness campaign in the weeks leading up to the deadline. More: Doug O’Halloran, Tom Hesse, UFCW Canada Local 401, www.demandrespect.ca ‘Excellent contract’ for Valumart The 64 members of UFCW Canada Local 175 who work at Valumart Huron in London, Ont. have ratified a new three-year collective agreement. Both full- and part-time members receive a $200 lump-sum payment on January 1, 2003, plus increases of 2% per year in each year of the agreement. In addition, employer contributions to the Canadian Commercial Workers Industry Pension Plan (CCWIPP) rise by 5¢ in each year. The contract provides security for full-time jobs, guaranteeing no full-time workers will be laid off. Part-time workers will benefit from “push” scheduling, which assures 24 hours of work per week, based on seniority. Other improvements include the addition of anti-discrimination language and improvements to severance in the event of closure, now 1.5 weeks of pay per year of service. “This is an excellent contract,” says Teresa Magee, a regional director for the local. “It represents a vast improvement over the company’s original concessionary demands.” More: Cheryl Mumford, UFCW Canada Local 175, www.ufcw175.com Things go better with Coke and Pepsi UFCW Canada Local 832 members at both the Coca-Cola and Pepsi Cola plants in Winnipeg have reached new agreements. Coke’s 150 workers were first to sign, in early May, winning a 2.5% wage increase in each year of the agreement, a doubling to $240 per year for the mechanics’ tool allowance, and a new service technicians’ tool allowance starting at $75 per year and growing to $125 over the life of the agreement. Other highlights include increased employer contributions to the pension and life insurance plans, and the employer will begin contributing to the local’s education and training trust fund. There is also a new severance provision for members who could be affected by changes that result in a permanent layoff. The severance package includes two weeks’ pay per year of service (to a maximum of one year’s pay), plus $1,500 for relocation or re-education and eight weeks extension of benefits. At the city’s Pepsi plant, meanwhile, a last-minute management offer was enough to keep 155 Local 832 members there off the picket line. Members will receive wage increases from 7.5-12% over the three-year agreement. The varied increases will help eliminate the wage gap between people doing the same work at the Coke and Pepsi plants. Other gains in the agreement include an added paid floating holiday, and improved contract language to keep management from doing bargaining unit work. More: Don Keith, Grant Warren, UFCW Canada Local 832, www.ufcw832.com Lewisfoods workers win contract UFCW Canada Local 175 members at Lewisfoods in a Tiverton, Ont. nuclear plant cafeteria, recently ratifed a new collective agreement. The contract includes across-the-board wage increases, benefit improvements, and better language. Highlights of the new agreement include very strong language in the areas of recall rights, job postings, and leaves of absence. Employer contributions to benefits such as the dental, optical, and life insurance plans have all increased. The shift premium has increased to $1.00 per hour. Wages for all members will increase by 66¢ per hour over three years. There is also an additional Long Service Premium of 70¢ per hour for members who have been with the employer for at least 12 consecutive years. “This agreement achieves substantial improvements that recognize the service and dedication of our members,” says UFCW Canada Local 175 staff representative Rick Wauhkonen. “Particularly in the areas of compensation and benefits, our members will enjoy improvements that help them plan for a secure future.” More: Cheryl Mumford, UFCW Canada Local 175, www.ufcw175.com About 450 members of UFCW Canada Local 1400 at Saskatoon Co-op stores ratified a new agreement on June 1. Most members will receive a wage increase of 12.5% over the life of the agreement, and 45¢ per hour retroactive to last December. They also won pay equity for female-dominated food store classifications, and food and produce clerks receive a one-time $1,000 payment to offset wage adjustments. Improvements were also made to parental leave, to 52 weeks for primary care givers and 37 weeks for others, and severance provisions have been extended to a maximum 26 weeks in the event of permanent layoff. More: Greg Eyre, UFCW Canada Local 1400, www.ufcw1400.ca UFCW Canada Staff Snapshot: Winston Gordon Brother Gordon became a member of UFCW Canada at what is now the EBTC The Bay warehouse in Toronto, formerly Simpsons, where he rose to the rank of president. Winston joined the national staff of UFCW Canada in 1998, and has been active in numerous organizing campaigns while assisting various locals with membership servicing as well.
For almost two decades, Billy Bragg has taken up the role of many social activist songwriter role models before him, such as Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie. In fact, it was Seeger himself who encouraged the British performer to pen new words to The Internationale and other songs on his 1990 album of the same name (also includes the touching tribute I Dreamed I Saw Phil Ochs Last Night).
Today, Billy Bragg and The Blokes are once again on a world tour, having made stops in Toronto and Vancouver earlier this spring. Plans are to come back to North America for dates later in the year. Meanwhile, you can find more information about Billy Bragg, along with lyrics to all his music – including his recent hit NPWA (No Power Without Accountability), at his well-designed web site.
Got a favourite labour-oriented web site you would like to share? |
The leadership of any political party can be a pretty thankless job.
After seven months on the picket line and the rejection of the company’s “final” offer, 30 members of UFCW Canada Local 1518 who work at Extra Foods in Prince Rupert, B.C. ratified a new collective agreement on May 29. 
On June 5, the 300 delegates attending the UFCW Canadian Council convention in Vancouver held an impromptu march and rally outside the Canada Safeway supermarket on nearby Robson Street. 
Just after nurses in Manitoba won a new collective agreement, 12 members of UFCW Canada Local 832 employed by their union were forced to go on strike. 
In 1996, Billy was invited by Woody Guthrie’s daughter, Nora, to visit the Guthrie Archive in New York where she showed him thousands of unpublished lyrics her father had written. The songs had never been recorded, as the original tunes, carried in Woody’s head, had been lost when he died. It was Nora’s hope that Billy would take on the task of writing new ones, which became the acclaimed Mermaid Avenue album, recorded in Dublin with U.S. alt-country rockers Wilco.