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Organizing We're making progress and you can help By Dave De Sousa, Organizer We have been very busy this spring organizing tradespeople on industrial and construction sites all over the province. Currently, we are awaiting the results of a certification vote for the workers at the Surrey branch of Marcels Equipment (Great West Equipment), the Volvo construction equipment dealer. During the days leading up to the vote, the workers were subjected to anti-union messages given in letters and captive audience meetings. The messages consisted of half-truths and less-than-accurate information. For example, the workers were led to believe that their “wages would drop if the union gets in.” Unfortunately, the current Labour Code gives employers considerable freedom in terms of the information they can disseminate and what they can say at meetings with the workers. We don’t get the same opportunity or have access to the workers eight hours a day. We’ve seen anti-union employers join employer associations for mutual benefit and financial gain. Yet, they are dead set against their employees joining any organization that would provide them with leverage in bargaining for better wages and benefits on the job. Education is the key. Skilled workers who work non-union, or worse rat union, need to know that they are in very short supply. There is no need to work for less than what would be provided in an Operating Engineers’ collective agreement. We need the entire membership to get involved and help educate those workers who perform the same work that we do, but for less. Many of these people have no idea what a union really is. If you have an opportunity to explain the many benefits and advantages of membership in the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 115 to a non-member, please do so. Live better—organize! |
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