[BC_Labour_E-NEWS] September 23, 2004

[bc_labour_enews at bcfed.net]

BC LABOUR NEWS NETWORK
Electronic News from the B.C. Federation of Labour
September 23, 2004
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CONTENTS
1> BC's economy continues to lag behind rest of Canada
2> Look deeper to see the real sources of BC Liberal surplus 
3> Unions fight BC Ferries' decision to build ferries offshore
4> THE TYEE - One BC community's struggle to keep its school open
5> Women paying price of legal services cutbacks - CCPA
6> Union challenges new ICBC CEO Paul Taylor to reveal whether mandate
includes privatization of public auto insurance
7> Farmworkers pay price for New Era policies
8> CURRENT DISPUTES - September 23, 2004
 
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PUBLICATIONS - Eye on the Economy - September, 2004
 
Download from the publications section of our website:
 
< http://www.bcfed.com/Where+We+Stand/Publications/index.htm >
 
+++|+++
 
EVENT LISTINGS - Visit website for details:
 
< http://www.bcfed.com/Coming+Events/index.htm >
 
AGM Nanaimo
09/27/2004
Documentary "The Corporation"
10/06/2004
Apprenticeship & Skill Training Conference
10/13/2004
B.C. Federation of Labour 48th Convention
11/29/2004
 
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1> BC's economy continues to lag behind rest of Canada
 
B.C. Federation of Labour President Jim Sinclair says the quarterly
budget released by the BC Liberals on September 14 shows students and
patients are still in trouble, despite improving circumstances in the
natural resource sector. 
 
"New dollars from the federal government are just being matched by equal
cuts from the provincial government," pointed out Sinclair.  "$148
million in new federal health transfers slated for this year is offset
by a $148 million reduction in provincial health care spending."
 
"While Premier Campbell is demanding more health care dollars from the
federal government, his record demonstrates that he actually diverts the
money to other areas," said Sinclair.
 
"British Columbians expect every penny of federal health funding to be
spent in addition to the current health funding in BC, not be clawed
back to pay for Campbell's tax cuts." 
 
Students are no better off than patients according to the BC Liberal
government's first quarterly report for 2004-2005.  Post-secondary fees
will see an additional $95 million going to government coffers as a
result of increased tuition fees.  "Students are struggling to pay for
record tuition increases and BC's Finance Minister is bragging about the
new revenue his government is taking from students." 
 
"This just shows how this government is out of touch with the needs of
working families and students trying to get a decent education,"
Sinclair added. 
 
ICBC is forecast to deliver an additional $166 million in revenue.
However, the Liberals recently fired former ICBC CEO Nick Geer, whose
successful leadership generated these results. 
 
Higher commodity prices, including record lumber and oil prices, as well
as increased housing sales driven by low interest rates, have increased
government revenue forecasts.  Despite the privatization of Crown
Corporations like BC Rail and BC Ferries, taxpayer debt as a percentage
of GDP is 19.9 percent higher than when the BC Liberals took office.
Since then, BC's debt has grown by almost $4 billion. 
 
+++|+++
 
2> Look deeper to see the real sources of BC Liberal surplus
 
Finance Minister Gary Collins is claiming that BC is undergoing a "broad
based" economic recovery.  As is frequently the case, the hard data does
not support his claims. 
 
Three-quarters of the job growth in the past 12 months is in
construction.  Without construction, the BC economy gained only 8,700
jobs in the past year. 
 
When August 2004 is compared to August 2003, employment is down by 9,800
in education, down by 17,500 in trade, down by 6,000 in the resource
industries, and down by 5,400 in manufacturing.  Construction, driven by
low interest rates, is booming, but other sectors have been negative or
flat over the past year.  Small communities outside of the Lower
Mainland know that broad based economic growth is a myth.
 
So what has contributed to the rosy financial picture painted in the
province's First Quarterly Report which forecasts a surplus by yearend
of almost $1.2 billion?  The tax cuts have come nowhere close to paying
for themselves.  Personal income tax revenue is still $896 million less
than it was in 2000-2001.  Revenue from MSP premiums is up since the New
Era began because of the 50 percent increase imposed in 2002.  That
regressive tax now raises $1.4 billion.
 
The Finance Minister's September Report estimates total revenue as being
$1.173 billion higher than when the budget was presented in February.
The biggest single item making up that change, contributing $375
million, is higher forestry revenue due to record high prices and higher
harvests.  High natural gas prices have also helped the government's
bottom line by contributing $203 million more than anticipated in
February. 
 
The third biggest item is the property transfer tax; it adds $168
million more than expected.  When the government targets a program for
cuts, it says that it is "not sustainable".  Budget surpluses that
depend on low interest rates and high resource prices are not
sustainable.  Such surpluses have absolutely nothing to do with anything
for which the government can claim responsibility.
 
The government is responsible for inflicting pain on tens of thousands
of British Columbians through its attack on the social safety net.
Since 2001, the Ministries of Human Resources, Attorney General, and
Children and Family Development have been cut by $870 million.  Look at
the downtown streets in Victoria, Vancouver or Kelowna to get an idea of
what happens to people when the supports are yanked out.  
 
You won't see anything about program cuts in the Finance Minister's
Report.  Cuts made this year were announced last year.  Every effort is
made to ignore them with just 8 months to go before the election.
 
The Ministry of Children and Family Development was cut a further $70
million this year; the Ministry of Human Resources was cut $117 million
this year; 14 other ministries were cut a total of $803 million this
year.
 
The government's surplus was paid for through service cuts, regressive
tax hikes and high commodity prices.  If the entire surplus was used to
correct the damage done over the past three years, it would make only a
small step, but it would at least be a step in the right direction.
 
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3>  Unions fight BC Ferries' decision to build ferries offshore
 
B.C. Federation of Labour President Jim Sinclair was in Victoria
September 17, along with Shipyard General Workers' Federation President
George MacPherson and BC Ferry and Marine Workers' Union President
Jackie Miller.
 
The unions organized a rally at the head office of the BC Ferries
Services Corporation, where the Board of Directors held a meeting to
select a shipyard to build new ferries for the province.
 
BC Ferries has come under heavy criticism for its decision to exclude
local shipyards from the final bidding process.  At the meeting, the
directors chose Flensburg, a German shipbuilder, to build the ferries
offshore.  The cost of the contract is $325 million, but taxpayers are
on the hook for a total budget of $542 million to cover additional
project management costs, financing, taxes and a possible federal duty.
 
"This decision is a disaster for the industry," said Sinclair.  "It just
doesn't make any financial sense to send this work offshore."
 
MacPherson says the decision to build offshore takes 2,000 jobs directly
out of the BC economy.
 
Carole James, Leader of the BC NDP, and Jack Layton, Leader of the
Federal NDP, were also in attendance to lend support to shipyard
workers.
 
BC shipyards currently employ about 1,500 workers in Vancouver, North
Vancouver, Victoria, Port Alberni and Nanaimo.
 
UPDATE:  Union organizers are asking everyone opposed to this decision
to turn out for the BC Ferries Annual General Meeting to speak out
against the decision to build overseas. 
 
What: BC Ferries AGM,  Nanaimo
When: 4:00 p.m., September 27
Where: Ports Theatre, Nanaimo - 127 Front Street
 
+++|+++
 
4>  The Tyee - read excerpts from BC's feisty on-line newspaper and sign
up
 
Rural Schools don't die easily - TYEE article by Scott Deveau
 
BC towns and villages are struggling to save their community anchors.
Forest Grove Elementary is one.
 
Read the full article:
 
< http://www.thetyee.ca/News/current/RuralSchoolsDontDie.htm >
 
Sign up for e-mail updates on Tyee articles:
 
< http://www.thetyee.ca/About+Us/subscribe.htm >
 
+++|+++
 
5>  Women paying price of legal services cutbacks
 
As a result of legal aid cuts, women are losing custody of their
children, giving up valid legal rights to support, and being subjected
to litigation harassment according to a new report.  It finds that women
are paying a greater price for BC's deep cuts to legal services because
it is primarily family and poverty law legal aid that have been
affected. Women's need for legal services is overwhelming in these
areas, not in criminal law (where almost no cuts were made).
 
"The impact of legal services cuts on women has been devastating," says
Alison Brewin, author of Legal Aid Denied: Women and the Cuts to Legal
Services in BC, released today by the Canadian Centre for Policy
Alternatives and the West Coast Women's Legal Education and Action Fund
(West Coast LEAF).  Brewin is Program Director for West Coast LEAF.
"Women are being put in totally unacceptable situations," she says.
"Without legal aid they must spend endless days navigating a complex
legal system - researching and preparing legal documents, appearing
without a lawyer for highly charged divorce and custody cases, and
agreeing to settlements that are not in their own or their children's
interests."
 
In 2002, the provincial government announced a 40 percent cut to the
Legal Services Society's (LSS) budget over three years.  Full-time staff
were slashed from 460 to 155 and the province replaced 42 offices and 14
area directors with seven offices and 22 local agents.  The majority of
the 40 percent cut occurred in family law legal aid, and through the
complete elimination of provincial funding for poverty law (for example,
for welfare and Employment Insurance matters) and immigration law.
Women are twice as likely to access family law legal aid, whereas men
are five times more likely to access criminal legal aid.
 
The number of funded referrals to private lawyers for family law matters
decreased by 58 percent between 2000-2001 and 2003-2004; referrals for
criminal cases decreased by just 2 percent.  The province has restricted
access to family law legal aid to situations where someone is fearful
for their own safety or that of their children.  The amount of
representation available has also decreased dramatically - even when aid
is granted, it is limited to a maximum of 8 hours and is provided only
to assist with obtaining a restraining order or change in custody
agreement to protect the recipient's and/or her children's safety. 
 
Noelle Heppell can attest to the impact of the government's changes.
Following the cuts she was denied access to legal aid to deal with
ongoing child maintenance issues and was forced to represent herself in
court.  "I don't know very much about the court system," Heppell said.
"I lost almost half of the child maintenance because I did not have
adequate legal representation.  The system does not work for women.  You
try to get help but you can't get it anywhere."  West Coast LEAF is
collecting sworn testimony from women across the province describing
their situations following the cuts.
 
"The province's actions are shameful," says Brewin.  "The government is
taking in significantly more money for legal aid than it is spending."
The province collects a 7.5 percent tax on legal services that is
supposed to go directly to legal aid.  It is difficult to determine
exactly how much is being collected, but some estimates put the amount
over $90 million.  The federal government also contributes $9 million
for criminal legal aid, yet current provincial government spending is
only $55 million.
 
"The government has an obligation - under the Canadian Charter of Rights
and Freedoms, as well as international human rights agreements - to take
into account the impact of policy changes on women and ensure their
equality rights are respected," says Brewin.  "It is failing miserably."
 
Legal Aid Denied: Women and the Cuts to Legal Services in BC is
available at  < http://www.policyalternatives.ca > 
 
The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives is a non-partisan research
institute examining social and economic issues facing British Columbians
and Canadians.
 
West Coast LEAF was founded in 1985 to advance the equality of women in
Canada using the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and other human rights
law.
 
+++|+++
 
6>  Union challenges new ICBC CEO Paul Taylor to reveal whether mandate
includes privatization of public auto insurance
 
The union representing ICBC workers is challenging new CEO Paul Taylor
to dispel widespread rumours he has been hired by the BC Liberal
government to privatize and split up ICBC.
 
Jerri New, President of the Canadian Office and Professional Employees'
Union [COPE] Local 378, said that since the firing of ICBC CEO Nick Geer
for supporting public auto insurance as cheaper and better than private
insurance union members have become deeply concerned about reports that
Taylor would be hired to privatize and split up ICBC.
 
"We hope that there is no truth to rumours that Paul Taylor's assignment
is to privatize ICBC.  We encourage Mr. Taylor to have an open mind and
examine how public auto insurance has been able to offer BC drivers low
stable rates and better service than the private insurance industry,"
New said.
 
New said Taylor, who until recently was Deputy Minister of Finance in
the BC Liberal government, played a key role in creating Partnerships
BC, the government's agency that promotes public private partnerships.
Taylor has previously been the Chief Executive Officer of the BC
Automobile Dealers' Association, which has been a major donor to the BC
Liberal Party, contributing $54,967 in 2003 alone.
 
"Taylor was also one of the key architects of Alberta Premier Ralph
Klein's conservative fiscal program in the 1990s," she said, "as well as
serving as Chief Economist for the National Automobile Dealers'
Association and a Vice-President with TransAlta."
 
New said ICBC workers are concerned that the BC Liberal government will
split ICBC into separate basic and optional insurance companies as the
first step towards privatizing the more profitable optional side of the
business.  
 
The BC Liberals' election platform promised to "increase competition"
for auto insurance but the appointment of former Jim Pattison executive
Nick Geer as CEO seemed to have stopped the privatization efforts until
Geer was fired in May 2004, New noted.
 
New said she also hopes the appointment of Taylor will mean a return to
negotiating a new collective agreement for ICBC workers, whose contract
expired in October 2003.  The union believes not having a permanent CEO
since May has made it impossible for ICBC to negotiate a new contract,
New said.  She said that with ICBC posting a huge $166 million profit in
the first six months of 2004 the company can easily drop its concession
demands and reach an agreement with ICBC workers.
 
For background on ICBC and public auto insurance, go to <
http://www.saveicbc.com >
 
+++|+++
 
7 > Farmworkers pay price for New Era policies
New B.C. Federation of Labour Report on Farmworkers Reveals Weakened
Standards and Little Enforcement
 
Ongoing trouble in the agriculture sector won't be over soon according
to a new report released today by the B.C. Federation of Labour.  The
report, written by former Employment Standards Branch Program Advisor
Graeme Moore, details ongoing worker abuse in the agricultural sector
and points to New Era changes in Employment Standards as the chief
culprit.
 
"Abuses that have long been part of doing business in the fields are
increasing under Liberal policy," said report author Graeme Moore.  "The
living and working conditions that this mainly Indo-Canadian workforce
endures are comparable to those in the Third World."
 
The 49-page report outlines the watering down of standards and
enforcement that turn back the clock more than a decade on some of the
worst exploited workers in the province.  The report says:
* The special investigation team made up of federal and provincial
inspectors has been shutdown and enforcement dramatically reduced.
* Where limited enforcement was done (57 fields) Employment Standards
Officers found major violations of regulations, including labour
contractors operating without a license.
* Sanitation and hygiene conditions on many work sites are extremely low
and warrant immediate action to protect workers and consumers.
* Children are working in the fields without any government oversight or
protections necessary to ensure their safety.
* Fines against employers have dropped dramatically.
"The entire New Era agenda for working people has been about driving
down wages, working conditions and worker protections and nowhere is
this more blatant than in the fields of British Columbia," said B.C.
Federation of Labour President Jim Sinclair.  "Any government with a
shred of integrity will take this report and immediately implement the
recommendations to clean up the problems."
 
"Working and living conditions in the fields would be unrecognizable to
the average person in British Columbia," said Canadian Farmworkers Union
representative Charan Gill.  "Workers have no access to sanitation and
no right to minimum wages, overtime, statutory holidays or vacation pay.
Whole families, and many older Indo-Canadians, live this way just to get
by."
 
Moore's in-depth analysis on the treatment of Fraser Valley
hand-harvesters traces attempts by the Employment Standards Branch to
curb Employment Standards infractions by producers and farm labour
contractors.  The findings of the report point to the need to step up
enforcement to ensure the industry provides basic guarantees like
payment of wages, hours of work, vacation and overtime. 
 
Moore says an environment of intimidation, threats and coercion keeps
local workers from complaining or accessing their rights under the
Employment Standards Act.
 
The Federation has forwarded the report to the Minister of Labour,
Graham Bruce, with a request for a meeting immediately so that changes
can be made.
 
+++|+++
 
8> CURRENT DISPUTES
 
STRIKES AND LOCKOUTS
Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) - VS - Treasury Board Table 2
(National)
Major Issues: Wages, Job Security, Concessions 
Commenced: September 20, 2004 
 
**** 
Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) - VS - Canada Revenue Agency
(Nationwide) 
Major Issues: Wages, Job Security, Term Employees 
Commenced: September 8, 2004
 
****
 
Canadian Union of Public Employuees (CUPE) Local 1004 - VS - Easy Park
(Vancouver)
Major Issues: Wages, Benefits
Commenced: August 20, 2004
 
****
 
Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) - VS - Parks Canada
(Nationwide) 
Major Issues: Wages, Whistleblowing Protection, Job Security 
Commenced: August 13, 2004 
 
**** 
 
Communications, Energy & Paperworkers Union of Canada (CEP), Local 1129
-VS - Norampac (a joint-venture between Cascades Inc & Domtar Inc)
(Vancouver)
Major Issues: Seniority, Benefits, Contracting-Out
Commenced: April 11, 2004 
 
**** 
 
United Steelworkers of America (USWA), Local 2952 - VS - Modern Auto
Plating Limited (Vancouver)
Major Issues: Working Conditions, Wages, Benefits
Commenced: January 24, 2002 
 
****
 
Construction and Specialized Workers' Union, Local 1611 - VS - Wescon
Enterprises Ltd. (Armstrong)
Major Issues: Seniority, Benefits, Concessions
Commenced: July 25, 2001 
 
****
 
National Automotive, Aerospace, Transportation and General Workers Union
of Canada (CAW), Local 3000 - VS - Royal Diamond Casino (Vancouver)
Major Issues: Concessions, Benefits, Contracting-Out
Commenced: Locked-out July 15, 2001
 
(A tentative agreement has been reached but the end of the lockout and
recall to work is conditional on re-zoning approval.) 
 
****
 
Communications, Energy & Paperworkers Union of Canada, Local 2000 - VS -
Castlegar Sun (Castlegar)
Major Issues: Wages
Commenced: November 4, 1999 
 
**** 
 
Starbucks Unstrike 
National Automobile, Aerospace, Transportation and General Workers Union
of Canada (CAW), Local 3000 - VS - Starbucks
Major Issues: Job Security, Concessions, Seniority
Commenced: May 13, 2002 
CAW members are continuing to work while disregarding Starbuck's dress
code and are leafleting customers at their own and non-union locations
to spread the word about their dispute.  CAW is asking for your help to
Send Starbucks A Message.  For more information about the CAW STARBUCKS
UNSTRIKE FOR JUSTICE AND DIGNITY check out the CAW Canada website at
www.caw.ca and Send Starbucks A Message using the Starbucks "hot button"
or via "Campaigns and Issues".
 
Please patronize the following unionized Vancouver and one Westbank
Starbucks locations: 
2531 E Hastings St, East of Nanaimo 
3451 Kingsway, West of Joyce at Tyne
1702 Robson St, East of Denman 
1095 Howe St, at Helmecken
811 Hornby St, across Vancouver Courts 
1641 David St, East of Denman
Royal Centre Mall, Dunsmuir Entrance 
1395 Main St, at the Skytrain
1752 Commercial Dr, at 2nd Ave 
3492 Cambie St, at 19th Ave
1015 Denman St, at Nelson 
22-3645 Gossett Rd, at Westbank Centre
 
****
 
SETTLED
UNITE HERE! Local 40 - VS - Cara Operations Ltd. (Richmond) 
 
****
Teamsters, Local 213 - VS - Kelowna Redi Mix, OK Redi Mix, Norgaard Redi
Mix (Kelowna, Penticton)
 
HOT EDICTS
Construction and Specialized Workers' Union, Local 1611 - VS - Wescon
Enterprises Ltd. (Armstrong) 
**** 
 
BOYCOTTS
Non-Union Postal Outlets - CLC/BCFL - CUPW 
Philips Electronic Products, Quebec - CLC - USWA 7812 
Essex Kent Mushroom, Essex Continental Dist. Inc. or Unionville Farms,
Kingsville, Ontario - CLC/BCFL - UFCW National
 
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cope 15