CANADIAN LABOUR- THE MARITIMES:

SUPPORT LOCKED OUT WORKERS AT ACADIAN COACH LINES:

Last November workers at Acadian/ien Bus Lines in the Maritimes were locked out by their employer when they refused a concessionary contract offer. The workers involved have been locked out for three months, and they are asking supporters to pressure management to accept arbitration. Here is the story

from Labour Start.

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Canada: End the lockout at Acadian Coach Lines


The 3-month long lockout, affecting the areas of New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, began in December 2011 when Acadian Coach Lines, a subsidiary of French multinational Keolis, locked out their employees because of a labour dispute. This has resulted in no intercity bus service in these provinces of Canada leaving many who rely on buses to get to and from cities in these provinces stranded.

The dispute began in late November 2011 when Acadian presented a concessionary contact to the workers, members of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1229. The bus drivers, mechanics and sales agents had been working without a contract for months. The insulting contract was overwhelmingly rejected by 88% and workers gave their 72-hour strike notice to the company. Acadian then decided to lock out the workers.

The union has made numerous offers, most recently on February 12, 2012, to go back to the table with the help of a federally appointed mediator and return to work immediately, but Acadian has rejected all offers. The ITF (International Transport Workers’ Federation) and French transportation unions in CGT, CFDT and FO federations have expressed their solidarity with the ATU and its locked out workers.

The Amalgamated Transit Union has been waging a campaign working to build coalitions with transit advocates, labour organizations and other groups to bring attention to the corporate greed at Acadian and bring and end this lock out that has a major impact on working people and their families throughout New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.
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THE LETTER
Please go to this link to send the following letter to Acadian Coach Lines management.

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It’s time to stop the corporate greed at Acadian Coach Bus Lines in Canada. I join the global protest in calling on French multinational Keolis to intervene with its Canadian subsidiary Acadian to end the 3-month lockout of bus drivers and call for a negotiated solution. The ITF (International Transport Workers’ Federation) and French transportation unions in CGT, CFDT and FO federations have expressed their solidarity.

Recognizing that many rely on this critical bus service the workers, members of the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU), were willing to return to work 12 days into the lock out when the Union applied to Acadian to go to binding interest arbitration, but Acadian refused leaving the public out in the cold for the holiday season.

Then on February 15, 2012, the Union once again asked to go to binding interest arbitration and return to work immediately, but the Company again rejected the workers’ attempt to put an end to this labor dispute for the better of the riding public.

This is another case of corporate greed that has brought the global economy to its knees and decimated working people and their families across Canada and the world.

It’s time for Acadian to bargain fairly and give workers the cost-of-living increase they deserve. I stand in solidarity with Acadian bus drivers and mechanics and demand that Acadian bring back service to Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick.

CANADIAN LABOUR ST JOHN NEW BRUNSWICK:

MOOSEHEAD BREWERY LOCK OUT WORKERS:

While I am not really a fan of Moosehead Beer there are many who are. Thus the following may mean a shortage of your favourite social lubricant. Too bad, but they really should treat their workers better. Here's the story from the CBC.

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Moosehead locks out 172 Saint John workers
New Brunswick Union employees say contract talks broke down Saturday night
Strike threatens Moosehead beer supply

About 170 workers are picketing outside Moosehead Breweries saying that the Saint John-based company locked them out over a contract dispute.

The workers, who are members of the New Brunswick Union, say they were given notice by the company after contract negotiations broke down on Saturday night, that they would be locked out on Monday morning.

When workers showed up for the evening shift on Sunday night at 11 p.m., their entry cards were not working.

Luke Coleman, vice president of the union, said the company surprised them with 24-hour lockout notice.

"We remain committed to getting a deal. The company is the one that has chosen to break this off and put us on the streets," Coleman said.

The contract ended on Dec. 31 and the two sides had been in negotiations since that time.

Workers say the main issue in the contract dispute is retirement benefits.

The union and management were not that far apart when talks broke down, according to the workers.

Joel Levesque, a Moosehead spokesman, said it was the union that walked away from the bargaining table on Saturday night.

He said the two sides agree on the principal sticking point being retirement benefits.

Moosehead now pays all of the costs of its retirees' prescription drug benefits.

Levesque said the company is asking retirees to pay 30 per cent of the cost of benefits, such as prescription drugs.

"In recent years, as everyone knows, the costs of drugs in particular has escalated astronomically," he said.

Despite the contract dispute, Levesque said he believes the two sides are close to reaching a settlement.

"We truly don't think we're that far away from a resolution," he said.

"There are many ways of approaching the issue of post-retirement benefits and we had a number of different scenarios on the table."

Beer still in storage
Moosehead workers are holding up vehicles heading into the facility.

The union members say an unusual amount of beer was taken out of the facility last week.

As of Monday Moosehead is not making beer in New Brunswick.

The company says it has plenty of beer in storage. But the union members are pretty sure Moosehead won't be able to resume production without them.

Moosehead Breweries is Canada's third-largest brewer.

CANADIAN LABOUR NEW BRUNSWICK:

STUDENT WORKER KILLED ON JOB AT WALMART:

Three days ago a grade 12 student working part time at the WalMart in Grand Falls New Brunswick was killed on the job, electrocuted while operating a floor scrubber at the store. One wonders if the store closed for even a minute out of sympathy. Here's the story from the New Brunswick Daily Gleaner.

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Victim died while working at store in Grand Falls
By HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN
mclaughlin.heather@dailygleaner.com

WorkSafe NB has launched an investigation into the apparent electrocution death of 17-year-old Patrick Desjardins of Drummond.

Desjardin was using a commercial floor scrubber in the garage section of the Wal-Mart store's automotive department when the incident occurred.

A defective extension cord is being examined as a possible cause.

WorkSafe NB said the garage area was damp and that the buffer machine was old.
( I guess that newer and safer equipment would lead to a price increase of 0.00001%- Molly )
"We start at the electrical panel and go all the way to the worker and look at what all the elements were and if all of them were in good condition," said Lise Malenfant, regional director, northwest region of WorkSafe NB.

Desjardins was found laying on the floor at about 8:30 p.m. Wednesday.

"He was found without signs of life, but there were no clear indications on his body as to the cause of death," Malenfant said.

Burn marks from electrocution occur where there is high voltage, but WorkSafe NB will study the results of the autopsy when it arrives.

Desjardins was transported to the Grand Falls General Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

An autopsy has been scheduled for this morning in Saint John. Grand Falls Town Police and a WorkSafe NB inspector are investigating.

Public expressions of condolence have come from school District 14 where Desjardins was a Grade 12 student at John Caldwell School in Grand Falls.

"Patrick Desjardins will be greatly missed by everyone. He was an outdoor person who loved fishing and camping with family and friends," said District 14 Supt. Lisa Gallagher.

"His friends described him as a generous, trustworthy, reliable, loving and kind person who would put a smile on their face," she said.

Although school doesn't resume until Jan. 11, John Caldwell School opened its doors Wednesday for staff and students who wanted to drop in to support each other.

"Support from the New Brunswick Teachers Association, School District 14, Parent School Support Committee and home and school have been present," Gallagher said.

With files from The Victoria-Star

CANADIAN LABOUR-NEW BRUNSWICK:

HUNGER STRIKE IN NEW BRUNSWICK:

School support workers in New Brunswick have started a hunger strike in support of a new collective agreement with the province. Here's the story from Canoe.ca.

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Hunger strike begun in N.B. for new collective agreement
By The Canadian Press
FREDERICTON -- Union officials for school support staff in New Brunswick have begun a week-long hunger strike as they push for a new collective agreement with the province.

Nine people from a CUPE local were camped out Monday in a recreational vehicle outside the Fredericton Inn and vowed to not eat for five days.

Local president Sandy Harding said they're looking for fairness and respect from the province.

She said the union, which includes teacher and library assistants, school intervention workers, district and school administrative support staff and student attendants, has several issues.

Harding said the average employee works 28 hours a week for an average salary of $17,000 a year.

She said most employees also don't have a defined benefits pension plan.

"We felt doing a hunger strike would show the seriousness of the situation, and what this team is willing to do to make the government take notice," said Harding, who was joined by the CUPE negotiating team on the hunger strike.

"We need a collective agreement and we need something that is fair."

The support staff have been without a contract for more than a year.

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Here's more on this story from the St. John Telegraph Journal. Read more about this dispute from CUPE Local 2745 here.

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Labour: School support staff trying to get the attention of provincial politicians
by ALEXANDRA DAVIS
The president of New Brunswick's education support staff union says she's willing to go to drastic lengths to gain the attention of the provincial government.

Members of CUPE 2745 began a five-day hunger strike on Monday to bring attention to what they say is a lack of fairness and respect they receive from the province. Sandy Harding was joined Monday by CUPE Local 2745's eight-member negotiating team to kick off a five-day hunger strike.

She said the group will be camping out in a recreational vehicle in front of the Fredericton Inn, and is prepared to go without food until Friday.

"We are hungry for fairness and respect," Harding said. "We felt doing a hunger strike would show the seriousness of the situation, and what this team is willing to do to make the government take notice.

"We need a collective agreement, and we need something that is fair."

She said the union, which includes teacher and library assistants, school intervention workers, district and school administrative support staff and student attendants, has several issues with its contracts.

"The average number of hours we work is 28 per week, 39 weeks a year," she said. "Our average salary is $17,000 a year.

"We don't have a defined benefit pension plan for all members; only about 10 per cent of members are qualified to pay in."

Harding said she was pleased with the reaction of passing motorists, as union members held up signs and waved at Regent Street traffic.

"We've gotten a lot of public support," she said. "As people drive by, they're honking and they're stopping in. We're also collecting food for the food bank, and a lot of people have contributed. It's been going really well."

A.J. Savoie, a custodian with School District 6, said he isn't a CUPE 2745 member, but he supports the group's cause.

He joined picketers outside the Fredericton Inn on Monday afternoon, and said he was pleased to participate in the effort.

"These workers need full-time hours to be able to focus on students," Savoie said. "Teacher assistants and support staff are very important, and they should get the hours and fairness and respect that they deserve."

He said giving education support workers more hours would be beneficial for the province.

"We need more people to work within the province of New Brunswick because it helps everyone," he said. "When we have more people with full-time jobs, we have more people paying more taxes.

"We've got to fight for this. What's happening is not right."

Harding said the team was keeping hydrated and hunger hadn't started to set in Monday. She said the days ahead may be difficult, but it will be worthwhile if the hunger strike incites a response.

"We're confident we can go five days," she said. "Hopefully, it will get a reaction from the government when they see we're willing to go to these lengths to get a collective agreement. They know what the issues are with regard to our group. They need to step up to the plate and say they're willing to help with this."

She said union members who weren't directly involved in the hunger strike were supporting the initiative in other ways, such as fasting for a day or by collecting donations for food banks.

A spokesman for the Department of Human Resources said Friday he was unable to discuss any details as the matter is still on the table.

CANADIAN LABOUR-NEW BRUNSWICK:

FIGHTING THE CLAC IN NEW BRUNSWICK:

The CLAC (Christian Labour Association of Canada) is a right wing union founded in 1952. See this Wikipedia article for more information. In the years since its foundation it has been accused, usually rightly, of being a "bosses' union". Employers are more than happy to sign up with the CLAC in order to avoid having to deal with a serious union. Down New Brunswick way, however, there is a new twist to the story. Traditionally strongest in the West, especially Alberta (no surprise there), the CLAC has undertaken to supply construction labour for the Canaport Liquid Natural Gas facility, labour imported from western Canada. This labour will, of course, be quite docile, and, also of course, paid less than standard rates. Seems that the CLAC is acting like a fast food franchise these days, serving the bosses wherever they may be, even at the other end of the country. Workers in New Brunswick aren't taking this lieing down. Here from the St. John Telegraph Journal is the story of how local workers slowed down the buses taking the CLAC-provided employees to the work site.

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Protesters slow down vehicles:

MARY-ELLEN SAUNDERS TELEGRAPH-JOURNAL

SAINT JOHN - School buses were delayed and traffic slowed on Black River Road Wednesday morning as protesters waited for buses carrying out-of-province workers to pass on their way to Canaport LNG, police say.

Sgt. Pat Bonner, with the Saint John Police Force, said about 200 protesters were on Black River Road and about 75 on Red Head dike at about 6:30 a.m. He said they were not blocking traffic but they were slowing it down.

Bonner said police were present and assisted vehicles in getting through the picketers. He said there were no incidents and no arrests.

Ron Oldfield, first vice-president of the New Brunswick Federation of Labour, said he attended the protests as an observer and did not see buses take workers to the job site on Wednesday.

He said protesters staged a peaceful demonstration to send a message to out-of-province workers: "If you really want to work here, get in line like everybody else and take your turn."

The outside workers are employed by Integral Energy, an Alberta-based electrical and instrumentation company contracted by SNC-Lavalin to work on a third holding tank at Canaport LNG. Some of the Integral Energy workers are members of the Christian Labour Association of Canada, or the CLAC.

Oldfield said local tradespeople believe SNC-Lavalin and the CLAC are in this together and have decided to circumvent the local work force. He said the New Brunswick Federation of Labour does not consider the CLAC a union and does not want it to be certified in the province because they fear wages will be driven down.

"They (protesters) are standing on the street while people from other areas of the country are going to work and they are upset, and rightfully so," Oldfield said.

The union leader said the protest slowed traffic but he believes the public supports the demonstrations and understands their need to stand up for their right to go to work in their own back yard.

Mayor Ivan Court said he hopes the union leaders and the companies responsible for construction at Canaport LNG will come together and work things out.

"We have people that go to work everyday for an honest day's wage, and you don't have to bring people in to cause problems by undermining union labour," Court said. "If that is happening, someone is going to have to step to the plate and make sure there is harmony in the workplace."

Dominique Morval, spokeswoman for SNC-Lavalin, would not answer questions about how the company has been affected by the protests and what her Montreal-based company is doing to put an end do the demonstrations.

"Work continued today on site and our primary focus remains the completion of the construction of the Canaport LNG Terminal," Morval wrote in an email.

Integral Energy declined comment.

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Here's more from the Telegraph Journal about how local labour in New Brunswick feels about the CLAC

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Protest: Union leaders blame Ontario-based organization for recent labour upheaval:
MARY-ELLEN SAUNDERSTELEGRAPH-JOURNAL

SAINT JOHN - Local union officials say they want to prevent the Christian Labour Association of Canada, also known as the CLAC, from receiving certification in New Brunswick.

Ron Oldfield, first vice president of the New Brunswick Federation of Labour, is lobbying provincial politicians to ban the Christian Labour Association of Canada from becoming a local trade union.

The CLAC was the organization that recently arranged for a number of out-of-province tradespeople to come to Saint John for work - a move that prompted local workers to demonstrate boisterously outside the hotel where they were staying.

Local union officials say they are concerned the CLAC wants to become a certified union and drive wages down. They are encouraging provincial politicians to change the text in the Industrial Labour Act in a way that would deny the CLAC's certification if it applied.

"We think they will try to be recognized as a union here"¦we are trying to be proactive," said Ron Oldfield, first vice-president of the New Brunswick Federation of Labour. "We are going to expose CLAC for what they are. They don't negotiate in the best interests of employees. We don't want to see the practices they use in Alberta used here."

The CLAC was brought into the national spotlight recently when protests waged for over a week in front of Hotel Courtenay Bay.

Tradespeople were protesting the hiring of out-of-province workers at Canaport LNG while many local workers are unemployed. Waving signs that read "Go home CLAC," the protesters were also sending a message that they do not welcome the organization or its members in Saint John.

The outside workers are employed with Integral Energy, an Alberta-based electrical and instrumentation company contracted by SNC-Lavalin to work on a third tank at Canaport LNG. Some of the Integral Energy workers are members of the CLAC.

Protests in the city attracted hundreds during the week of Sept. 14 to 17 and appeared to be over when Integral Energy workers left Hotel Courtenay Bay on Sept. 17.

But smaller protests emerged on Friday and continued throughout the weekend.

On Friday, a protest of about 40 people was held at the corner of Union and St. Patrick streets.

Sgt. Pat Bonner, with the Saint John Police Force, said between 50 and 60 protesters waited by the Petro-Canada station on Bayside Drive on Saturday at 6:30 a.m for buses carrying Integral Energy employees to drive by on their way to the work site at Canaport LNG. Bonner said the buses decided to go a different direction that day, avoiding the protesters.

Bonner said there were a couple of protesters on the access road to Canaport LNG on Sunday at 5:30 a.m.

He said there were no arrests made as a result of the weekend protests.

Oldfield said he believes the out-of-province work at Canaport LNG is being driven by the CLAC's attempt to get their foot in the door. He is in the process of getting information together to make a bid to the provincial government to stop any situation, including the certification of the CLAC, which he believes would lead to standards and employee wages being dropped.

Andrew Dawson, Atlantic Canadian representative for the building and construction trades, said workers in Saint John have dealt with the CLAC when working in other provinces and are fearful the association will emerge in their home province.

He said he is confident the CLAC would be denied certification if it applied in New Brunswick. He said an assurance of this from the provincial government would put workers at ease.

Alex Pannu, a CLAC spokesman, said the association is not planning to apply for certification in New Brunswick in the near future.

"We have had requests from our members to come and operate there and we certainly think about that," Pannu said. "We're open to moving there"¦but we don't have any immediate plans."

Pannu said the CLAC has competitive collective agreements and he wonders why labour unions would want to prevent his association from working in the province.

"Is their model is so weak that they can't compete," Pannu said. "Why is competition good for everybody else but not labour unions?"

A record from the Labour Relations Board in Nova Scotia revealed that the CLAC applied for certification in the province in 2000 and was denied. The documents show the CLAC was not found to be a labour union as defined in the province's Trade Union Act because it did not follow established trade union practices.

Dawson said he believes the CLAC would fail for the same reason if it attempted to get certified in New Brunswick.

The provincial government, he said, has staked its claim to fame on self-sufficiency, which depends on the success of the energy hub. But the energy hub won't happen if Saint John gets a reputation as an unfriendly place to do business, he argued.

"We have a situation of labour unrest. Saint John is getting a bad name for itself and we recognize that is because of the fact that this threat of CLAC and lowering wages is out there and has created this discontent," Dawson said. "They haven't done anything illegal but they have created a fear amongst the working public."

Dawson said if the government tightened the Industrial Labour Act to ensure the CLAC could not become a union in New Brunswick, workers could stop worrying and get back to building business.

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Real unions have been battling the CLAC for some time now, especially in Alberta. For more information about the CLAC, and the threat it means to workers' conditions see 'The Truth About CLAC', a website sponsored by a number of Alberta labour groups. The syndicalist IWW (Industrial Workers of the World) has also been battling the CLAC for years. See this article from the website of the Edmonton IWW for even more info on the CLAC and the opposition to it.

CANADIAN LABOUR-NEW BRUNSWICK:

NURSING HOME WORKERS ASK FOR SUPPORT:

Here, via the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) is an appeal for solidarity with nursing home workers in New Brunswick.

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NB nursing home workers launch appeal:
New Brunswick nursing home workers are looking for your support in their fight against strike-banning legislation and a legislated wage freeze.
A deal's a deal: support New Brunswick Nursing Home Workers

A day after CUPE's New Brunswick Council of Nursing Home Unions approved a tentative agreement reached in March with the association representing private sector employers, the government extended its two-year wage freeze for public sector workers to cover nursing home workers.

The employer association refused to ratify the agreement they'd just negotiated because they argued they could not be assured of government funding unless the unions agreed to the wage freeze.

Rather than let union and management work things out, the government introduced special legislation declaring most CUPE nursing home workers essential, banning them from striking.
Please take a minute to send email to New Brunswick's premier, finance minister, labour minister and minister responsible for seniors and tell them a deal's a deal.

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THE LETTER:

Please click the highlighted link above or go to THIS LINK to send the following letter to the New Brunswick government.

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On March 12th, 2009, the New Brunswick Council of Nursing Home Unions (NBCNHU) reached a tentative agreement with the New Brunswick Nursing Home Association (NBNHA).

The tentative agreement was ratified by the workers in 46 nursing homes in this province.

The Government has no right to interfere in the private sector collective bargaining process. Respect our legislation and stop interfering with the workers’ rights to free collective bargaining.