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SALT LAKE CITY - By a vote of 74 to 15 striking members of the Oil, Chemical, and Atomic Workers Union (OCAW), Local 2-591 ended their strike against Hexcel Corp. The vote took place on January 4, the day after the membership debated what to do at a special union meeting.

The workers went on strike November 2 to protest deep cuts demanded by the company in wages and benefits. On December 23 a big majority voted against ending the strike because the company insisted that five strikers were not coming back due to picket line incidents.

The agreement which ended the strike does not bring the five back, but the company offered $5,000 to each to settle and sever their relationship with Hexcel. Two workers took the offer, another two the company and union agreed to take to arbitration. The company refuses to take one worker back, but leaves the $5,000 settlement offer open for him, which he is still considering.

The strike originally involved 143 members of the union. Thirty-one are scheduled to return to work on January 20. The 43 scabs hired during the strike will all stay on the payroll. Some 30 more union members will be recalled in June. The remaining workers have no date to return and only get one year recall rights, which means some may never return.

The new contract slashes wages from $1.50 - $2.00 per hour and cuts benefits drastically - from medical coverage, pension plan, and sick leave.

Many strikers found other jobs during the strike including four who work with this reporter at the Kennecott Copper smelter. Two of them plan to return to Hexcel when called back and two plan to stay at Kennecott.

Movie projectionists face lockout in Toronto
TORONTO - Ninety projectionists of Local 173 of the International Alliance of Theatrical and Stage Employees (IATSE) have been locked out of their jobs by Cineplex-Odeon since October 26. They had been working without an agreement since the start of 1995. The company is demanding a combination of pay cuts and reduction in working hours which would reduce the salary of an average projectionist by 80 percent, and has already rejected a 12 percent wage reduction offer by the IATSE. In their previous contract, the projectionists took wage concessions of up to 33 percent.

During the lock-out, the company has been using cinema management to run the projectors. Cineplex-Odeon is attempting to justify this by claiming that the technology used to project movies has simplified the job of the projectionists, making them "barely more important than fast- food employees," according to a December 28 article in Globe & Mail. Dave Callaghan, a member of Local 173 who has worked at the Hyland theater in Toronto for 13 years, said this was not the case. There have been frequent reports of damaged films and spoiled screenings caused by improper operation of the projection equipment.

The projectionists are seeking public support. "The best thing you can do is to boycott Cineplex-Odeon," said Bob Hilder, a spokesman for the projectionists. "If you want to help, just don't go." Picketing projectionists have also been asking movie-goers to not patronize the snack bar and to demand a cash refund in the event of a spoiled screening. Solidarity rallies have taken place outside popular cinemas, closing them for brief periods of time. Members of IATSE have also been present at solidarity rallies for other fighting workers. A team of six projectionists were present at a recent rally to support strikers at S.A. Armstrong.

Dan Fein, member of United Steelworkers of America Local 4347 in Salt Lake City, and Greg Yardley, member of the Young Socialists in Toronto, contributed to this column.  
 
 
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