News Reporter porensen@usnews.com ABOUT 30 striking food service workers placed a picket line out- side the BC Rail station in North Vancouver on Wednesday morn- ing. The workers, who went on stuke at the West Ist Street station, are invelved in a contract dispute with BC Rail subcon- tractor Aramark. amark provides food and. beverage for the corporation’s Cariboo Prospector train. The workers belong to Local 40 of the Hotel, Restaurant, Culinary Employ and Bartenders Union. A union picket line had disrupted ser- vice for passengers booked on the Roval Hudson train Wednesday and BC Rail was forced to bus passengers to Lillooet when a rail crew failed to report for duty Thursday morning. However, Alan Dever, BC Rail’s direc- tor of communications, said he hoped fur- ther disruptions could be avoided after the B.C. Labour Relations Board handed down an injunction Wednesday restricting the location of Aramark employees’ pick- ets. “As a result of that (ruling), we expect our employees to report to work. TI have no reason not to,” sai “We're looking for a fair contract, bet- ter working conditions and some bene- fits,” said Mariann Mahler, one of about ten picketers walking the line Thursday morning. Shop steward Gisela Franco said that the union's last contract expired in early August. Workers rejected the company’s latest contract offer earlier this week. Mahler claims the workers have heard nothing from the company. “Nobody has come to us at this moment. We're sticking together and we're hoping that somebody will ... come to us and say, ‘What is it going to take for you guys to get off the fine?*” Aramark’s North Vancouver employees work a three-days-on, four-days-off sched- ule. The Cariboo Prospector — one of three trains that runs out of the North Vancouver station — makes three weekly trips to Lillooet and Prince George. e at BC Rai t { \ : | NEWS photo Terry Peters SUNANTHA Ford, left, and Bica Hong are two of about 30 Aramark food service employees seeking a new contract. Workers have set up a pick- et line outside BC Rail’s West 1st Street station in North Vancouver. An Aramark spokesman said Thursday that the company will work with BC Rail to try and minimize any impact the labour dispute would have on passengers. “The company is very disappointed that the employees rejected the settlement ree- ommended by their union,” said Rob Rochkin, Aramark’s vice-president: of human resources, “We will continue to pursue a settle- ment that meets the needs of all our stake- holders, ” said Rochkin. Friday. September 8. 2000 - North Shore News - 3 bduction ploys inked by police NV incidents reported Anna Marie G’Angeio News Reporter adange- lo@usnews.com POLICE are investigat- ing a possible connec- tion between a man who recently tried to abduct a girl in New Westminster and two incidents that occurred in the Seymour area earlier this year. On Aug. 24, an DT) -year old girl was approacl i New Westminster by aman in a black SUV -nype vehicle, pos- sibly a Ford) Explorer, with tinted rear windows, The man cur off the girl who was walk- ing on the sidewalk. He asked her to get into the vehicle and help him look tor lost: pup- pies. The girl was walking home and fled to a) store. Police were called. New Westminster Police asked = North Vancouver RCMP to help in the invest gation by creating a computer “generated composite based on the girl’s recollection. North Vancouver ROMP Const. Heidi Hoffinan said the officer creating the depic- tion last Friday became aware that the New Westminster composite was similar to one she created in May. The May composite was based on infor- mation provided by a 12-year- old North Vancouver girl. Hoffman said the girl was approached near her home in the Seymour area on Feb. 24 by a man in a black Nissan- Pathtinder wpe SUV with tinted windows. The man asked the girl to get into the vehicle and show him direc- tons to the Dollarton Highway. The girl refused and COMPUTER composite of a suspect in a North Vancouver altrempted child abduction. i COMPUTER composite of a suspect in a New Westminster attempied child abduction ran away. Police were called. Police say that on April 19 the same man was spotted “dri- ving slowly” on the same road by the girl. The girl's mother alse. saw the man. No licence plate was obtained. New Westninster Police Sgt. [van Chu said, “It’s quite reasonable we are dealing with the same person.” Call North Van RCMP at 985-131) with information, Universal eyes Maplewood site scale purpose-built studio and offer room for expansion, ‘This type of studio is in high demand in the industry. Council has already expressed unanimous support for the possibility of a new stu- dio. Development of the site would bring an estimated 900 tu 2,600 jobs and an annual municipal tax revenue ranging from $1.1 milfion to $2.4 ruil- lion. But while a new studio would be a tremendous boost to the North Shore economy, many say a new tax policy pro- posed by Revenue Canada is threatening to urn out the lights on the B.C. film indus- ty. The policy, which was first suggested in 1997, would force foreign actors to pay Canadian income tax rates and rescind a federal tay” credit. Canadian tilm industry pla fear U.S.-based productions will pull out of Canada as a result. Mayor Don Bell told council on Tuesday night chat he would ra Le at the z i anadian Municipaliti fer he is ng in St. John’s Néild kend, He would fi other muni their opposition. Marcie Good Contributing Writer UNIVERSAL Studios is negotiating with the Vancouver Ports Authority for the use of a 39-acre site in Maplewood for a new film studio. The lands on the north side of the Dollarton Highway in the 2400 block of Maplewood North were identified in’ a June North Vancouver District sport as having “good potential from both an indus- try market and community planning persp area, known as the Maplewood ats, is owned by the ‘ancouver Ports Authoring At least two proposals for studios on the land had been discussed between the inter ed parties and district staff. Now that number is down to one Before the site can be developed, several technical studies will be required, including environmental, geotechnical, and engineering. Bur the fand of several advantages beeause us size would accommodate a large- Parking problems MEWS photo Terry Peters SPENCER Acker stands beside his 1979 Cadillac which along with two other cars were damaged when a Car port roof came down near homes at St. Georges and 17th Street in North Van on Monday. The mishap happened after another vehicle apparently knocked out a corner post supporting the car port.