[BC_Labour_E-NEWS] March 24

[bc_labour_enews at bcfed.net]

BC LABOUR NEWS NETWORK
Electronic News from the B.C. Federation of Labour
March 24, 2004
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CONTENTS

1> B.C. Federation of Labour releases open letter to Premier calling for a
halt to sale of BC Rail
2> New West Council gives unanimous support to Kiwanis contracted-out care
aides
3> Provincial Capital Commission to close Victoria's Crystal Garden
4> Federal budget ignores BC's working families
5> Burnaby Council denounces Liberal cuts to programs and services for
vulnerable people
6> Meadow Gardens Golf Course locks out Service Employees International
Union 244
7> CUPE Flight Attendants win pay equity case

PUBLICATIONS

1> Eye on the Economy - March, 2004 - published by the B.C. Federation of
Labour
Please download this publication from our website at:
<
http://www.bcfed.com/NR/rdonlyres/euegwpcycvrepuu6ek2m2flnq25uj5gpcgwhptza4r
tbgevginajbv3turvppqcmapweuytviwrp555yh3womelzdyb/EOTEmarch04.pdf >

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B.C. Federation of Labour releases open letter to premier calling for a halt
to sale of BC Rail

1> Following revelations that the sale of BC Rail is connected to an RCMP
criminal investigation, elected municipal leaders, businesses and labour
groups have issued a call to BC Premier Gordon Campbell to halt the sale of
BC Rail.

The letter states that the criminal investigation and broken promise 'betray
the trust of the people of British Columbia'. The letter was signed by
labour and political leaders, businesses and more than a dozen Mayors and
Councillors from North Vancouver to Fort St. James.

"The latest revelation that the sale of BC Rail is connected to criminal
investigation by the RCMP has increased the momentum towards scrapping this
deal," said B.C. Federation of Labour President Jim Sinclair. "There has
been a broad coalition of people and groups opposed to the sale of BC Rail
from the beginning and we want the Premier to finally listen to the people
who depend on this railway."

Opposition to the sale of the railway has been growing steadily as it became
clear the government did not intend to honour their election promise. 

* More than 13 City Councils and Regional Districts passed resolutions
calling on the provincial government to stop the sale of BC Rail.

* Two separate polls in Prince George that showed over 75 percent of the
public is opposed to the sale of BC Rail.

* Over 32,000 citizens living along the rail line signed a petition opposing
the sale of the Crown Corporation. 

* Former Premier Bill Vander Zalm joined business leaders, labour groups and
over 1,000 concerned citizens at a Rally to stop the sale of BC Rail in
Prince George.

* Two full-page newspaper ads opposing the sale of BC Rail were signed by
over 200 businesses in Squamish and Prince George. 

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New West Council gives unanimous support to Kiwanis contracted-out care
aides

2>	CARE AIDES from Kiwanis Care Centre in New Westminster - solidly
supported by labour and community activists - received unanimous support
from the City's Mayor and Council March 22 after their impassioned plea for
help to stop the contracting out of seniors' care at KCC. 

After hearing presentations about the devastating impact contracting-out has
on residents and workers alike, New Westminster City Council unanimously
passed a motion to write to the Kiwanis administrator asking for an
explanation of the decision to contract out. 

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Provincial Capital Commission to close Victoria's Crystal Garden

3> 	March 24-VICTORIA-The BC Government and Service Employees' Union
(BCGEU) called on Community Aboriginal and Women's Services Minister, Murray
Coell, to intervene with the Board of the Provincial Capital Commission
(PCC) and halt their reckless plan to shut down the Crystal Gardens. 

"The decision of the PCC to issue notices to staff today is premature and
should be reversed," said BCGEU President George Heyman. "Only a few weeks
ago, the PCC issued a public call for proposals for the Gardens, and now
without even waiting to consider these submissions, they are moving to lay
off the dedicated staff who maintain the horticultural displays and care for
the many endangered species who call the Gardens their home."

The result of these notices will mean that staff of the Gardens will be laid
off in June, two months earlier than the PCC Board has said the facility
would close. 

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Federal budget ignores BC's working families

4> 	After nine years of Paul Martin budgets, B.C. Federation of Labour
President Jim Sinclair says BC's working families are getting nothing new in
Budget 2004.

Sinclair pointed out that while the government is focussing on debt
repayment, and phasing out the federal corporate tax, it's allowing student
and family debt to grow.

"Once again Paul Martin has chosen corporate tax give-aways over support for
working families," said Sinclair.  

In response to the federal government's learning bond, which will allow
future students to access close to $3,000 beginning in 2022, Sinclair noted
that students and their families have seen tuition costs double and can't
afford to wait until 2022. He also criticized the government for not
providing real tuition relief, instead offering access to deeper debt.
"Healthcare is no different, said Sinclair."  Instead of a national drug
strategy as outlined in the Romanow report, the federal government is only
beginning to reinvest the billions Paul Martin has cut from health care in
the last decade. 
"Working families don't want private health care options, they can't afford
them," stated Sinclair.
While farmers hurting from the mad cow crisis received a billion dollars,
Sinclair noted there was no aid for workers in the meat packing industry.
Sinclair stressed that workers also need to be considered, as several
poultry farms in BC have recently been investigated for outbreaks of the
avian bird flu.
Sinclair also noted there was no aid dollars in the budget for forest
workers and their communities who continue to be affected by the
government's failure to resolve the Softwood Lumber dispute.
Sinclair also pointed out that Paul Martin continues to lowball surplus
estimates at the expense of any long-term investment in Canada's social
programs.  "This budget ignores child care needs, has no room for affordable
housing, and talks of cities but chooses not to invest in them."
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Burnaby Council denounces Liberal cuts to programs and services for
vulnerable people

5> Burnaby City Council unanimously passed a resolution March 23 denouncing
cuts to programs and services for vulnerable people and calling on the
Campbell Liberals to halt plans to cut another $70 million in funding on top
of the $100 million the government has already cut to date.

The resolution also calls on the government to restore funding for community
social services to pre-2001 levels. 

Cherrill Colley, a Burnaby community social services worker, described for
Council the devastating impact the funding cuts have had on the community's
most vulnerable residents, including women, children, and people with
disabilities. 

"Group homes that have been in existence for years and have provided a
stable environment for the individuals that dearly need such stability are
being split up to save dollars," Colley told Council. "Staffing levels are
being decreased, which increases the risks to both residents and staff. All
of this seriously sets back the work being done at these homes assisting
developmentally disabled members of the community to become more
self-sufficient and lead their lives with dignity and respect. 

Women's centres will lose 100 percent of provincial funding as of April 1
and will face the prospect of either cutting their programs to the minimum
or closing their doors altogether. 

"There is a reduction in funding for suicide prevention, crisis centres and
24-hour hotlines for people in distress, all with serious ramifications to
the health and well-being of our citizens. Programs supporting new immigrant
families to our city have been reduced, leaving many with nowhere to turn in
times of confusion and anxiety," Colley said. 

Burnaby joins a growing list of Councils that have passed the resolution. To
date, 27 Councils have supported the resolution that is being presented by
workers as part of the Union Bargaining Association's campaign to protect
services for BC's most vulnerable citizens.

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Meadow Gardens Golf Course locks out Service Employees International Union
244

6> PITT MEADOWS, BC - Outside maintenance workers have been locked out by
Meadow Gardens Golf Course (MGGC) in Pitt Meadows.

The workers, members of SEIU Local 244, tend the greens, fairways, sand
traps and provide all other course maintenance.

"The employer didn't even give negotiations a chance," says Local 244
negotiator Roger Fitzpatrick. "SEIU has made numerous attempts to get the
employer back to the bargaining table, but MGGC has not responded to any of
them and has just proceeded to lock us out."

Only five brief bargaining sessions have been held to date.

"MGGC calls itself the 'premier' golf facility in Vancouver," says Mike
McDonald, President of Local 244. Wouldn't a 'premier' golf facility treat
its employees with dignity and respect? All we want is a fair contract."

Even though the unit is locked out, it plans to do everything possible to
get MGGC back to the table.

Maintenance employees unanimously rejected the employer's final offer on
March 12. It included many concessions that would weaken job security
language, make it much more difficult to qualify for health and welfare
benefits, create a new two-tiered wage grid and force employees to hand-over
2.4 bargaining unit positions.

For more information, contact: Lynn Simmons SEIU National Communications
Coordinator, 416-931-4217 (cell); Roger Fitzpatrick, Local 244,
604-802-2991.

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CUPE Flight Attendants win pay equity case

7>	The Canadian Union of Public Employees' ground-breaking pay equity
victory is long-overdue justice for flight attendants at Air Canada that
will benefit women workers across the country, said CUPE Air Canada
Component president Pamela Sachs today.

Sachs was reacting to the Federal Court of Appeal's decision that CUPE
flight attendants at Air Canada should receive pay equity with male workers
performing other jobs within the company.

"Air Canada had argued that the flight attendants, who are mainly women,
don't work in the same 'establishment' as defined in the legislation, as
pilots and mechanics who are mainly men. The court has ruled that they do,"
said Sachs.

"This is a ground-breaking decision for Canadian women. The narrow
interpretation of 'establishment' as outlined in section 11 of the Pay
Equity Act has been thrown out," Sachs said. "The Court of Appeal's decision
redefines 'establishment' to include workers within the same company and
therefore opens the door to long-overdue justice for women workers who are
underpaid compared to their male counterparts working for the same employer.

Our victory will certainly have positive implications for women in other
industries."

"CUPE has been working hard in every sector to raise women's wages and
achieve fairness and equity for women," said CUPE National President Paul
Moist. "We're concerned about how long it has taken us to get to this point
with Air Canada but we hope that the employer will stop stalling and make a
commitment to pay equity now."

"CUPE fought long and hard, our members stood firm despite all the arguments
and delays made by the company. We are very proud of the significant
landmark flight attendants have reached for women workers today and we
expect Air Canada to comply with this ruling and to stop fighting fair
treatment of its flight attendants," Sachs said.

The court handed down its ruling late Thursday, March 18. The union first
filed a complaint to the pay equity tribunal in 1987.

For more information: Alejandra Bravo, (416) 798-3399 ext. 270 (office),
(416) 305-8095 (cell.)

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