From bc_labour_enews at bcfed.net Tue Aug 23 16:45:40 2005 From: bc_labour_enews at bcfed.net (bc_labour_enews at bcfed.net) Date: Tue, 23 Aug 2005 16:45:40 -0700 Subject: [BC_Labour_E-NEWS] August 23, 2005 Message-ID: <1EFB83EC494285438D10B2CCC120637618FE0A@bcfednt.bcfed.local> E-NEWS ISSUE #41 - August 23, 2005 In this issue: 1.> CBC workers fight back against CBC plan to create two-tiered hiring process 2.> Telus gears up censorship machine 3.> Federation and TWU notch up the pressure on Telus ++++|++++ CBC WORKERS FIGHT BACK AGAINST CBC PLAN TO CREATE TWO-TIERED HIRING PROCESS Friday, August 19, 2005 In a public relations campaign leading up to the decision to lock-out its workers, the CBC repeatedly maintained they have been looking for 'minor' improvements to help them remain competitive in a changing industry. The CBC wants the right to hire contract workers - a move they say will provide needed flexibility. But members of the Canadian Media Guild (CMG) say no one believes the CBC would take such a major step over plans for minor changes in the way the Corporation does business. CBC hosts, producers, camera-operators, sales and administrative staff, reporters, editors and other members of the Canadian Media Guild were locked-out across Canada on August 14. Since then, the CBC has been filling empty news slots with BBC coverage - a move that has angered many union supporters both in Canada and Britain and two British unions have called for an urgent meeting with BBC management to discuss the matter. No formal talks are currently underway between the CBC and the CMG, but chief negotiators for both sides remain on stand-by. WHAT YOU CAN DO TO SUPPORT LOCKED-OUT CBC WORKERS Issued by the Vancouver & District Labour Council 1) Visit the Canadian Media Guild (CMG) website to stay informed of the union's position in the dispute and the latest developments. Here is the link to their English web site: < http://www.cmg.ca/cbcbranchnegsupdatesn.asp > 2) Pass a resolution in your local organization supporting Canadian Media Guild workers locked out by CBC management. Endorse permanent jobs for CBC employees not temporary "contract" employmentt as sought by CBC management and forward a copy to the CMG. < mailto:guild at interlog.com > 3) Write a letter to your MP supporting striking CMG workers and demanding that CBC management lift this lockout and restore quality CBC programming on the public airwaves. Make sure to be clear that you are a CBC listener/viewer and don't provide an inadvertent excuse for the federal gov't or CBC management to make any further cuts to the CBC. A sample letter can be found on the CMG website. < http://www.cmg.ca/cbcbranchnegsupdatesn.asp > 4) Come to the VDLC Support Picket for locked out Telus workers and CBC workers on Thursday, August 25. 5:30 - 6:00 pm Support picket at Telus building. Seymour and Georgia St. 6:00 - 6:30 Support picket at CBC building at Georgia and Hamilton. 5) CBC staff have started a lockout station being broadcast on a number of community radio stations. Even better, CBC UNPLUGGED is now available all day every day courtesy of Radio LabourStart. Your favourite Radio 1, Radio 2, TV and Newsworld folks can be heard online, all the time. Some of the highlights include Bill Richardson explaining why he's "pissed off" by the current labour dispute, a thoughtful commentary by national radio reporter Curt Petrovich, and musical acts include Joe Keithley of DOA. Also: Ian Hanomansing on the loss of a supper-hour newscast, and Tetsuru Shigamatsu on just about everything. Go to: < http://radio.labourstart.org/ > for instructions on how to listen. We even provide a link to internet radio software if you need it. Support the CMG members on the line AND get your CBC fix! Derek Blackadder LabourStart Canada < http://www.LabourStart.org > 905-373-1897 Skype me as: dblackadder +++|+++ TELUS GEARS UP CENSORSHIP MACHINE Friday, August 19, 2005 "These guys have got to be kidding," said Telecommunications Workers Union president Bruce Bell, responding to news that Telus is demanding that the TWU's radio ads be taken off the air. "Telus used to be in the communications business, but now they seem to be gearing up their role as censors." "First they knocked down the Voices for Change website on the grounds that they were protecting scabs whose photos hhad been posted there. Within days it became clear that was a ruse when Telus paraded them around the Telus Plaza in Calgary and then tried to use them to force a confrontation with our people. Then they invited TV cameras into the workplace to show them scabbing our work," he explained. "So much for 'protecting their identities'." "Then Telus used its corporate pull to convince some radio stations not to run our ads," he continued. "When that didn't achieve what they were after, they upped the ante and threatened us with legal action if we didn't pull our radio ads off the air." "We have strong legal precedent protecting what we're doing," Bell emphasized. "In a 2001 decision in the case of BC Automobile Association v. Office and Professional Employees International Union, the court made it clear that trademark law does not restrict consumer magazines from criticizing products or unions from caricaturing trademarks of the firms they are striking." "Clearly, Telus has money to burn on nonsense like this," Bell declared. "But unfortunately for them, we live in a country where the corporate will is not yet law." +++|+++ FEDERATION AND TWU NOTCH UP THE PRESSURE ON TELUS Friday, August 19, 2005 More than four weeks after members of the Telecommunications Workers' Union (TWU) were locked out by Telus Corporation, the B.C. Federation of Labour and TWU have launched radio ads asking the public to cancel call features and support workers fighting for better customer service and a fair contract. Speaking to reporters on August 15, BCFL President Jim Sinclair said Telus customers who are tired of long delays and poor quality of service because of job cuts can now take direct action to send Telus a message. "This advertising campaign will build on our work with union members in BC to send Telus a message by cancelling their custom phone features," said Sinclair. "These ads take aim at Telus' Achilles heel - lousy customer service". Telus is using management personnel from inside and outside BC to continue operations. "Telus imposed a new agreement on its workers, effectively locking them out," said Sinclair. "Imposing agreements and relying on scabs won't break unions in BC, it'll only hurt service levels even more. Telus management doesn't get it, but we know Telus customers do." Peter Massey, Vice-President of TWU, says Telus has refused the federal Labour Minister's offer of a special mediator. Telus made profits of $242 million last quarter and in 2003-2004, hiked Executive salaries by between 54 and 300 percent. The Federation and TWU are coordinating a Labour Day rally across from the Telus building (Corner of Kingsway & Boundary) on September 5 at 12:00 noon. For more information, call the B.C. Federation of Labour: 604-430-1421. ======================= Subscription Information To subscribe to E-News to the electronic newsletter of the B.C. Federation of Labour. TO UNSUBSCRIBE or suspend your subscription while on vacation or change your password, please visit: < http://bcfed.net/mailman/listinfo/bc_labour_enews > TO SUBSCRIBE: Go to: < http://www.bcfed.com > Scroll to the news section to find the e-newsletter, then choose "Subscribe to E-news". TO CONTACT THE FEDERATION, send an email to < mailto:bcfed at bcfed.com > COPE 15