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Vol. 71/No. 33      September 10, 2007

 
On the Picket Line
 
Woodworkers strike for job safety
in British Columbia
VANCOUVER, British Columbia—More than 6,000 woodworkers have been on strike since July 21 along the coast of British Columbia. The workers, organized by the United Steelworkers (USW), are fighting unsafe working conditions and forced shifts of up to 12 hours. In 2005 alone, 43 forest industry workers were killed.

Eighty-six percent of deaths on the job in 2005 were in nonunion operations, according to the USW. Jack Miller, a logger and union safety representative, told the Militant that nonunion operations often give little training to new hires. “Wherever you have a union operation workers have more rights. They can refuse unsafe work,” he said.

“A lot of loggers who work for nonunion outfits don’t have proper safety equipment,” said Tony Petula, a logging equipment mechanic. “We need to unionize the nonunion operations.”

—Steve Penner

City workers strike in Vancouver
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, August 23—More than 5,000 city workers, members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), have been on strike here for six weeks. They are resisting a concession drive by the city government. The employer has insisted that it “must be able to innovate to provide services in the most cost-effective way,” code words for contracting out. In addition they demand that “personal suitability,” not seniority, guide their job placement practices.

The workers turned down the city government’s final offer by 89 percent on July 19. All city services have been affected, including garbage collection, community centers, permits, and street repairs.

—Dan Grant, striking member
of CUPE Local 15

Contract workers strike Kia Motors
plant in south Korea
August 27—Contract painting and polishing workers at Kia Motors Corp.’s main plant near Seoul, south Korea, have been on strike since August 23, south Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported. The are demanding higher wages, job security, and equal working conditions with full-time workers. Production has halted at the plant, which accounts for 42 percent of Kia’s production.

A week earlier, after staging partial strikes, union workers there won a 5 percent wage increase.

Meanwhile, workers at Kia’s parent company, Hyundai Motor, rejected the company’s contract offer August 24, signaling a possible strike.

—Paul Pederson  
 
 
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