Eee

UNIONIZED

Canada’s Number One
Suburban Newspaper

THE VOICE OF NORTH AND W

the North Shore

Neighborhood House voted 81 per cent in favor
of strike action March 1, but officials of the
House say they have yet to receive official con-
firmation that the vote actually took place.

In a press release issued
March 1, the Service, Office
and Retail Workers Union
of Canada (SORWUC),
Local One, said the vote was
held ‘‘in an atrempt to get
the contract settled and to
put pressure on management
to cease their anti-union ac-
tivity.’ Workers have been
without a contract since
December 31, 1983.

The release says there are

VANCOUVER

WEST
municipal council will
take another Iook at a

proposal for a 9,000-
litre propane storage
tank, but industry ex-
perts say concerns of
West Vancouver resi-
dents are unfounded.

The 9,000-litre tank (not
90,000-litre tank as earlier
reported) is proposed for
Petro Canada’s 2196 Marine
Drive station.

“Hundreds of propane
tanks have been installed in
Vancouver and thousands in
Europe,’’ says Nick Bosma
of the B.C, Gas Inspection
Branch. ‘‘There are regula-
tions for propane install-
ment, The tank must be 25
feet from any ignition area,
it must be protected from
traffic. It’s realty no dif-
ferent from gas tanks, but
because it's above ground,
people get upset.”*

Petro Canada owner/
manager Terry Higgins says
if the propane was buried it
gets too cold and will not
flow. “If it’s open we have a
better idea of what's hap-

See page 13

17° outstanding grievances
filed by the union against the
House for breaches of con-
tract and harassment, in ad-
dition to a pending arbitra-
-tion concerning (wo laid-off
employees. The release fur-
ther states the union also
expects to lay new grievances
over seniority, harassment

IP’S ALMSOT spring. and ‘while the occasional’ breeze may make
heavier coats and even gloves desirable, North Shore residents are

and arbitrary changes to job
descriptions.

Union representative
Muggs Sigurgeirson said the
latest. grievances could in-
volve up to five employees.

The union also claims
management has not come
to the bargaining table since
June, 1984, with the House,
in the fast fiscal year, repor-
ting a surplus of $10,000.

Doug Sabourin, executive
director of the House,
disputed several of the
points contained in the
release, saying the only
notice the House received of
the strike vote was in a ver-

Tee bie

NEIGHBOURHOOD HOUSE

bal message from the
Labour Relations Board
(LRB) that an observer —
necessary in order for a
strike vote to take place —
had been appointed.

Sabourin denied SOR-
WUC's claims that the union
had won a decision from the
LRB fast November as a
result of the House using
unfair labor practices in the
dismissal af three long term
employees, reportedly for
union activity.

Said Sabeurin: ‘**What
happened was that we Said
off three program coor-
dinators. Two were. settled

within the terms of the con-
tract, and the third was set-
ted outside of the contract
upon a recommendation of
the LRB. We also laid off
the assistant director of the
Neighborhood House, who
was part of management.
We're certainly not anti-
union. The chairman of the
board is a member of a
union.”*

Sabourin added the two
sides last met in December,
1984, nat June, in order for
management to ask the
union’s consent in applying
for a federal Canada Works
grant.

orkers vote to strike

WORKERS at

Sabourin said at the time
both sides agreed to, among
other issues, a $100 signing
clause for the union.
However, the union backed
out of the deal when
Management stated they
would only pay the $100
once confirmation of the
grant had been received.

“We last five potential
positions and we had already
agreed the people hired
would have been placed in
the bargaining unit,’’ said
Sabourin,

He added the next meeting
for the two sides is scheduled
tor Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.

NEWS photo Terry Peters

discovering its not too early to get started on (heir summer tans. Above
photo was taken at John Lawson park in West Vancouver.

a