December 2003

TV NEWS CONDUCTS SHOP STEWARD TRAINING

     The TV news recently covered two labour/management disputes in BC. The Ferry workers dispute which poignantly demonstrated the principles of solidarity and of civil disobedience in a modern liberal democracy and the IWA dispute illustrates how to deal with PACCAR.

     While binding arbitration is not the favoured outcome of collective bargaining it is a device that has been chosen by the Ferrry workers Union in the face of the overwhelming combination of employer and government power. Ferry worker President, Jackie Miller, said the employer had refused to listen at the bargainging table. TWU members should take note of her comments because that is precisely the tactic that TELUS has taken in its dealings with the TWU.

     The Ferry Workers brilliantly illustrated precision and solidarity as they escallated their actions, brought the issue to the brink and then conducted an orderly disengagement.

     The tactics used by the Ferry Workers are commonly used by environmental protestors and first nations protestors who know the rules of engagement well. Trade unions, a more conservative bunch up until recently, have rarely used civil disobedience to this extent. The TV news explained the process more graphically then any shop steward course could do. It works something like this. An order from a quasi-judicial body like the labour board cannot be enforced by the police unless it is registered in the court and becomes a court order. The initial order must be taken to the site of the alleged infraction and clearly articulated to those involved. Then if there is no adherence to the order the employer must go to the courts and get an order to enforce. The court order is generally brought to the site and read out (this is what they called reading the riot act in the old days)and if it is not obeyed then the police arrest the individuals involved. After that point the protestors will be brought before a judge and their fates determined. Ring leaders generally receive harsher sanctions than mere participants and the union may receive heavy penalties depending on circumstances involved.

     In the other ring of this circus the Coastal IWA is battling with an attempt by the employer to unilaterally impose a collective agreement. This is sometimes referred to as a PACCAR after a 1989 dispute between CAIMAW and an employer named PACCAR. The labour board ruled that, after the expiration of a collective agreement and the completion of the conciliation provisions of the labour code when the parties achieve the legal ability to strike or lockout, the employer can unilaterally change the terms and conditions of employment. There was a ton of subsequent litigation including a Supreme Court of Canada ruling that upheld an appelant court that quashed the original board decision which gave the union movement a feeling that the issue was dead. However, it looks like it has reared its ugly head again. There was much speculation last year that it was TELUS' intention to attempt a similar maneuver as it tried to rush the TWU through the conciliation process.

     The only real defence against a PACCAR like tactic on the part of the employer is a strike. The TWU is effectively in the same position they were a year ago. The conciliation process is about to run out, then a brief cooling off period and then there will be a showdown. It could take many forms, one of which could be an attempt by the employer to act unilaterally, in which case the union will have to engage in strike action. There may be recourse through the courts or at the labour board but, as we have seen to often, this is a lengthy and time consuming process that may or may not achieve the desired results. The IWA has the right response.

     By the way it was nice to see the smiling face of our Prince George brother Peter Massy on the TV news at the Tsawwassen terminal.

Roy Olsen
Voice but no vote!
Local 9 Prince George BC