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Issue Number 31

No Charge

Summer 2002

· Labour Code Changes Target CTU
· Work - Life Balance
· Hired Guns Have No History
· Hands Off Hydro!
· Reader Poll
· Railway's Approach Warped
· Nail Chats Up the Cuties
· Not many companies have a two-year business plan
· Rail Shares Trail

How do you get Campbell's ear? SPEAK A LITTLE LOUDER!

In our last issue, General Chairperson Bob Sharpe encouraged members to get active in response to government changes to legislation and cutbacks to programs that will reduce government services and affect the way workers and their families are treated as individuals. As employees of a Crown Corporation, we are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of government changes. With the elimination of the Intermodal department 125 jobs were lost. Still more are walking the streets after cutbacks in other departments. Passenger services will be virtually eliminated. Portions of our line, or maybe all of it, will be offered for sale. And they're not done yet. In this issue we are pleased to have Jerri New, President of the 3000-memmber Office and Professional Employees International Union, Local 378 at BC Hydro. Jerri write of planned changes to BC Hydro, how it will affect the people of BC and what YOU can do about it. We again ask our members to think about how government changes will affect them and their families and to write or call their MLA to voice their displeasure with the direction this government is taking.

More Definitions
Internet/CALM

Coffee: a person who is coughed upon.
Flabbergasted: appalled over how much weight you have gained.
Abdicate: to give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.
Esplanade: to attempt an explanation while drunk.
Willy-nilly: impotent
Negligent: describes a condition in which you absentmindedly answer the door in your nightie.
Lymph: to walk with a lisp.
Gargoyle: an olive-flavored mouthwash.
Flatulence: the emergency vehicle that picks you up after you are run over by a steamroller.
Balderdash: a rapidly receding hairline.
Testicle: a humorous question on an exam.
Rectitude: the formal, dignified demeanour assumed by a proctologist immediately before he examines you.
Oyster: a person who sprinkles his conversation with Yiddish expressions.
Circumvent: the opening in the front of boxer shorts.
Frisbeetarianism: The belief that, when you die, your soul goes up on the roof and gets stuck there.
Pokemon: A Jamaican proctologist.

Work - Life Balance

Linda Duxbury and Chris Higgins, authors of the discussion paper, Work-Life Balance in the New Millennium: Where are we? Where do we want to go?, describe work-life conflict this way,

"We all have a number of roles that we hold throughout life. Work-life conflict occurs when time and energy demands imposed by our many roles become incompatible with one another, participation in one role is made increasingly difficult by participation in another."

The paper is based on data from the authors 1991 and 2001 work and family studies. It identifies problem areas and makes recommendations to employers, governments, employees and unions.

Duxbury and Higgins have determined that over the ten-year study period, all three aspects of work-life conflict - role overload (having too much to do and too little time to do it in), work to family and family to work interference - have increased. The implication of this increase is staggering. It is estimated that the direct cost of absenteeism due to employee inability to balance work and life cost Canadian businesses just under $3 billion per year. Work-life conflict is linked to employees and their families experiencing martial problems, reduced life satisfaction and an increased incidence of stress, burnout, depression and stress-related illness. In turn, increased incidence of medical problems puts further stress on the already challenged Canadian health care system.

As baby boomers retire, businesses are discovering they are competing for a shrinking number of skilled employees. The "nexus generation" or "echo boomers" now entering the workforce are, as a group, less loyal to employers and want choice, flexibility and more control over their lives. This group "works to live" as opposed to the baby boomers who "lived to work". Business is finding that it must adopt new human resource strategies in order to retain these workers.

Study highlights:

• Working mothers experience greater difficulty balancing work and family than do fathers, and working mothers report higher incidence of stress and depression
• Employees who experience high role overload and high work to family interference were significantly less committed to their employer. Conversely, employees who put work ahead of family experience negative repercussions at home
• Those who experience work-life conflict more frequently visited a physician or hospital. This suggests that the government can reduce health care costs by encouraging policies that make it easier to balance work and family
• "Sandwich group" employees (those who balance both childcare and eldercare) report the highest role overload
• Men report the highest work to family conflict, which appears to peak when children are in school but at an age were they cannot be legally left alone.

The Work-Life paper makes the following recommendations:

For employers

• Devote more resources to improving "people management". Employees who work for a supportive manager report greater ability to balance work and family
• Provide employees with increased control and flexibility regarding when and where they work
• Create more supportive working environments by working with employees to identify what they need, by better informing them of policies that may be currently available and by encouraging them to make use of supports that are already available
• Give employees the explicit right to refuse overtime work
• Provide a limited number of annual paid leave days for personal reasons such as childcare, eldercare, etc.
• Make it easier for employees to transfer from full time to part time work and vice versa. Pro rate benefits for part time workers and protect seniority when shifting from full time to part time and vice versa.
• Provide support for employees working spilt shifts. Limit split shifts, provide advance notice of shift changes and allow employees to trade shifts among themselves.
• Introduce initiatives to increase an employee's sense of control.
• Examine employee workload concerns
• Offer Employee and Family Assistance Programs (EFAP).

For unions

• ·Spearhead campaigns to raise public awareness of work-life issues. (Outside the collective bargaining process)
• Within the collective bargaining process, push for inclusion of stronger work-life provisions with the objective of gaining new ground in this area
• Set up educational campaigns to increase the individual's knowledge of work-life balance issues and to give employees the tools they need to deal with work-life situations when they arise.

For governments

• Implement legislation that
• clearly states that employers do not have the implicit right to demand overtime (are you listening Gordon Campbell?)
• gives employees the right to time off in lieu of overtime pay
• entitles employees to a limited number of paid personal leave days per year
• Strive to be a model employer
• Develop and implement a national childcare program
• Include in labour legislation long term unpaid leave for the care of a parent
• Make it easier for a family member who wishes to stay home to care for children or parents (no negative tax implications)
• Fund work-life research, disseminate information and develop appropriate educational programs
• Given that richer families are better able to cope, use tax credits or change minimum wages in order to "make work pay".

The discussion paper, Work-Life Balance in the New Millennium: Where are we? Where do we want to go?, is sponsored by the Canadian Policy Research Network (CPRN).

The paper is available on the CPRN website ate http://www.cprn.org

Little Bones
By Junk Yard Dog

"Ahoy all assorted scurvy dogs, peg-legs, bootlegs, an various miscreants." "A special ahoy te all the company spies tunin' in today, an hey, who can blame 'em, 'cause "MEETING POINT" is where ye get the straight goods, an' 15% less bilgewater."

So I was squeezin' the octopus the other day, ye know, fer the ink, an' it occurred te me that instead of diggin' up more little bones of contention with the company this issue, I should be more positive, turn over a new leaf, an' point out all the great things that the company has done fer us during the last decade.

Not goin' te bitch about the demise of the COUPLER or whine about the end of the twenty year dinners or the fine retirement parties at Willy's Puddle or the way that the company seems te be goin' up the spout faster than a wabash cannonball. No, today we are goin' te salute all the wonderful accomplishments. If Seadog would pass the list, por favor, let's 'ave a look an' shiver me timbers whatta ye mean there's nothin on the list?!

… OK, now back to our regular program.

P.S. I don't eat my words very often, pass the salt an pepper, the retirement party is back in Willie's Puddle, October 5th. Somebody has done something right, an' my hat is off to you. 'Ave a good summer everyone, see ye in September. - JYD

Hired Guns Have No History
Views From 1923 Local Chairperson, Dennis Byron

Brothers and Sisters:

Over the last few months, the railway has been stepping up its' efforts to keep running trades employees in line as is evidenced by the huge increase in hearings for everything and anything, including hearings for employees injured on the job. There is no doubt that safety needs to be at the top of the list when performing our duties and occasionally accidents happen. We do not work in a static environment. Mechanical failures (broken rails, etc.) and human error are the two main contributors to accidents and incidents. In most cases we have no control over mechanical failures. Human error, on the other hand, is most definitely under our control. In a majority of hearings, the theme is communication. In many cases, a lack of communication was one, if not the main, reason for the accident. All crew members need to have a clear understanding of the moves being made. If this means that the work does not get done as quickly as the company would like, so be it. Don't sacrifice your health or employment for this railway.

The new regime (CP Rail) has no history and, therefore, no loyalty to its' employees. These "hired guns" were brought to BC Rail make the kinds of changes required to put the railway in a more profitable (sellable?) position. We now have an excess of employees as is obvious by the number of layoffs being experienced so employees with a marginal work-injury history are being targeted for termination.

The General Committee of Adjustment made a tour during the week of May 27th. We went to Mackenzie, Chetwynd, Ft. St. John, Quesnel and Williams Lake. A total of 22 members attended the meetings so I am guessing that there are very few problems out there and that all members are happy in the service!

I am pleased to report that support for our layed-off members is strong. Of the two members we met with in Ft. St. John, one was off the spare board who, if it weren't for the 80 hour and no overtime restriction, would not be working. The General Committee of Adjustment would like to thank you for your support during this difficult time.

Quote by an unknown author: "How to win a case in court: If the law is on your side, pound on the law; if the facts are on your side, pound on the facts; if neither is on your side, pound on the table!"

Fraternally, D.G. Byron

Affordable, reliable and clean power - owned by the public - is at risk

Jerri New, President, Office and Professional Employees International Union Local 378

The BC Liberal government is about to make a radical decision that would punish every consumer of electricity - to privatize, deregulate and break up BC Hydro.

BC Hydro consumers, from households to small businesses to our largest industries, would face rate increases of 30 to over 100 percent if the Liberal government proceeds with plans to privatize, deregulate and break up BC Hydro.

Why would the BC Liberals make such a mistake?

BC Hydro has been publicly-owned for over 40 years, providing BC with affordable, reliable and environmentally clean hydroelectric energy. Today BC Hydro provides British Columbians with the third lowest electricity costs in North America.
By way of comparison, a power bill that cost you $101 in Vancouver would cost you $285 in San Francisco and a whopping $352 in New York.

In addition to low rates, British Columbians also benefit from BC Hydro's contributions to provincial revenue - in 2000-2001, BC Hydro produced $904 million in revenue for education, health care and other services and another $790 million in 2001-2002.

Meanwhile, privatization and deregulations has been a disaster in California and in Alberta, where electricity rates went from among the lowest to the highest in Canada.

So who would still argue to privatize BC Hydro?

The BC Government's Energy Policy Task Force made that recommendation in its interim report. The Task Force admits that moving electricity to market rates would cost British Columbians 30 to over 100 percent more for their power bills.
Even BC's biggest industries said the Task Force recommendation would be a disaster.

The Joint Industry Electricity Steering Committee, which represents 30 of BC's largest corporations, including Teck Cominco and Canadian Forest Products, says 6,000 direct jobs and thousands more indirect jobs would be lost across BC if rates jumped to market prices.

These businesses say the rate increase proposed by the Task Force would create "serious economic dislocation, destroy the fundamental economic health of many [firms] and result in serious unemployment, community instability and reduced government revenues."

Highland Valley Copper in Kamloops has estimated that if industrial rates went up 60 percent, it would cost the company $21 million and result in the mine closing.

The Task Force report, the industrial users rightly conclude, "is a dangerous piece of work with dangerous consequences for the province."

But the government is now moving to privatize several key components of the crown corporation - information technology (Westech), customer services, fleet services and much more.

A new joint venture being negotiated would involve transferring two-thirds of the OPEIU's 3,000 members to a new company privately controlled by Accenture, a U.S. based corporation formerly knows as Andersen Consulting.

BC Hydro would initially be a minority partner but then would end any involvement within two to three years.

What it means is that the public is being asked to subsidize - through higher electricity rates - the private takeover of the most valuable public asset now owned by all British Columbians.

The Office and Professional Employees International Union Local 378 represents about 3,000 BC Hydro employees who work in every part of our province -- and we are fighting to keep our publicly-owned electricity company.

OPEIU 378 has filed legal applications against these moves with the BC Utilities Commission, the BC Supreme Court and the Labour Relations Board.

But the best way to stop this outrageous move is for public opinion to convince Liberal MLAs that privatizing BC Hydro is a big mistake we can't afford to make.

Lastly, if BC Hydro is privatized, we can never go back to public ownership, because of North American Free Trade Agreement penalties.

Why should we give up affordable, reliable, clean power at among the cheapest rates in North America? Please visit www.handsoffhydro.com for more information and to send your MLA a message: Hands Off Hydro!

You can help. Follow the "What Can I do?" link at the Hands Off Hydro web site. The site provides e-mail links to your MLA and a short, prepared note to send. (Editor)

Joint Program Only Talk

Railway's approach is warped

Brian Gleason, Local Chairperson / Legislative Rep., Local 1778

I recently attended a discipline hearing for a trainman who was injured at work, when the seat on the engine broke. During the hearing the railway introduced occupational fitness assessment (OFA) forms, these are the forms used when the railway is looking at returning a worker to work on modified duties, and is all part of the railway's disability management program. The railway also entered into the hearing, notes that had been made by the work comp teck nurse. Throughout the hearing the railway tried to ask questions that had nothing to do with the accident and involved confidential medical information. Also of interest is that the seat had been turned in many times.

I support the principles of a good disability management policy, and in some cases, I have to say that it has been a good program, but for the most part it's the same old story of the railway saying that this is a wonderful thing and it's going to be a joint program for the benefit of all. The reality is that it is only talk.

In the first place, an accident should be investigated by the OS&H committee. The goal should be to determine the cause of the accident, and to ensure that action is taken to educate and ensure that this type of accident does not happen again. The legislation, as well as the railways own policy agreed to with the council provides for a joint investigation. The railway does not do this. The reality is that this is only talk.

The railway held courses across the system on disability management. Unfortunately, a lot of the management was not able to make it. We were assured at that time that OFA's were to be used only for the purposes of returning a worker to modified duties, we were told that return to work issues would be handled jointly with the local worker and management representatives. This has not been happening. The reality is that this only talk.

In my view, the railway's approach is warped. They choose to have discipline hearings instead of accident investigations. They somehow seem to think that they have a right to introduce confidential information as well as ask questions that they have no right asking. For the most part, the workers' representatives have had no part in the disability management process. It's just more of their talk.

Bob Sharpe and I met with Ann Kendell, Manager of the disability management program. She assured us that what had happened should not have happened, blah blah blah. I met with Levor Guenther, Superintendent, Coast and Cariboo regions two days later. His view, they had done nothing wrong, this was acceptable behavior, and would continue.

Under the circumstances, I therefore request: trainmen should not fill out any OFA's or sign any releases allowing work comp teck nurses disclosure of medical information without prior approval of the Legislative representative and Local Chairperson.

We're Everywhere!

Representatives from local 1778 have been busy in the community and in the labour movement. On May 25, Bob Sharpe, Brian Gleason, John Holliday, Greg Couch and Dave Moorhouse took part in the 40,000-strong rally to protest against the Campbell government. The rally was attended by groups representing low income, healthcare, labour, teachers, lawyers, the elderly and First Nations.

Earlier this month John Holliday and Dave Moorhouse attended the 3-day Canadian Association of Labour Media (CALM) conference held at UBC. The conference was attended by representatives from unions across Canada and included workshops on a variety of skills for labour newsletter editors and writers. CALM's 450 member publications reach a readership of over 1.5 million.

This week General Chairperson Bob Sharpe represented the UTU at the Canadian Labour Conference Convention, held here in Vancouver.

Also, last month Bros. Holliday and Lamarche represented the UTU at the resurrected Engine Cab Committee. John is looking to develop a list of cab standards with input from the members.

Nail Chats Up The Cuties

Nail Driven, Part 4

Fiction by Chris Conway

We left our train crew, with their young artist run/stow-away onboard, somewhere up the Squamish Sub. They must be getting close to their hours, since its been a few months since they started.

While the train curved along side the stream, Nail could see small silvery fish beside its leafy edge. As the engines passed over a bridge, he saw native youths, almost directly below the train's huge wheels, leisurely fishing. Nail knew, like all kids do, who was older than him and which were younger and by how much. Some were just watching, sitting on their bikes still, rods over their shoulders. Others threw rocks into the water, and one looked up at the train grinding past. A little further a station shack, brightly painted totemic art covering much of the shoddy plywood, hove into view. It was about four o'clock Nail thought and dozens of people, mostly Natives, were standing around with a loose sense of expectancy.

"Waiting on the passenger train again," John sighed, jotting down the time then jumping from his seat to the little door behind the engineman. Opening it wide and stepping half out, arms crossed above his head on the grab-irons, he scanned to see who was there. Nail felt the big locomotives idle down as much as he heard it, and the engines came to a stop about 15 feet prior to the platform. John grabbed three or four tins of cold water and clambered down the ladder, pockets bulging.

"Are we staying long," Nail asked Joe, who was back in his slump, hat pulled low. Tiredly, Joe pushed his hat up and said, "Kid, if I knew all the answers to questions like that, I coulda retired from night freights a long time ago. We'll be here until the passenger train gets close, and don't expect God to explain when that'll be through prayer. Go on down there and see if there are any cuties to chat-up, we're here for 45 at least."

Nail clanged out through the front doors, lowering his head so he didn't bonk it on the eye-level steel frame. Once in the sun, the full force of the heat was on him. It was a palpable energy, the sun's rays reaching deep through skin to his body's interior. Once he got on the platform, he could see some Native kids drinking the cold waters John had brought down with him. John was talking to a deeply suntanned white guy, dressed in a brightly coloured homespun serape, a worn straw cowboy hat, jeans with a wide leather belt and a bright bandana in his hand. He took a can of water and soaked it, wiping his face, and as he re-tied the Paisley scarf around his neck, he looked at Nail and said, "So you know how to draw, eh."

As they bumped along the dirt track, the 4x4 hopping in and out of the now dry ruts as it laboured up the grade, Chuckie asked what John had said about him.

"Nothing," Nail said.

"Didn't say I was a pot farmer," Chuckie asked?

"Nope," Nail said.

"Well, we did that for a while," Chuckie said, "but it was the deer and rabbits who got the most stoned. Then the kids found it and we had to pretty much stop. We're working on bigger projects now," he added.

Nail never asked what, but Chuckie acted like he had. "We got a deal going with the powerhouse, but I can't tell you too much about it."

....to be continued....

BCR aims at 2004

Not many companies have a two-year business plan

General Chairperson, Bob Sharpe

Brothers and Sisters:

As some of you know, the General Committee of Adjustment (GC of A) recently made a tour of the north terminals. We will be touring the south terminals as soon as we can arrange the time.

I would like to thank all of you who took the time to come out and meet with us. These are very tough times and there are far more questions than answers. We continue to push the Railway to find out where we are going in the future but can't get the information we need to answer some of your questions and concerns. As soon as we know, you will know.
At this time we're dealing with the material change issue regarding the passenger business (14 positions). These negotiations are ongoing at this time. The Railway has advised us that they will also be serving material change notice regarding Fort St. John to Fort Nelson. The GC of A feels this must mean that someone is interested in purchasing this trackage but we haven't heard whom yet.

No one knows what other changes are coming, but my guess is that with our new boss in Victoria it can't be good for the working people at BC Rail. Maybe I'm just paranoid, but why do all of the projections seem to aim at 2004? It would be nice to hear from the Railway regarding projections to 2005 and beyond. Not many companies have a two-year business plan.

The Council of Trade Unions on BC Rail (CTU) will be meeting on June 20, 2002. Part of this meeting is to deal with issues that have to be completed prior to collective bargaining. Collective bargaining could start as early as September. As we said at the meetings, if you have proposals you would like to see considered, please forward them to your respective locals.

Sisters and Brothers, I want to touch on another very serious issue. At the time I checked yesterday, we still have 25 of our Brothers and Sisters laid off. There's no need to tell you that this matter is serious. We haven't seen conditions like this since the early '80's. As all of you know, the GC of A has asked all members to voluntarily help with this situation by working as close as possible to 80 hours, not taking any overtime, and working their own jobs. The vast majority of our membership has done exactly that and we thank you. For those who haven't, we suggest that they think long and hard about how they would be impacted if the rolls were reversed. Think about what it would be like to be out of work and having to try to make required payments and feed your family under the situation. Your Brothers and Sisters find themselves in a laid off position through no fault of their own. For most of you, your conscience alone will tell you that working beyond 80 hours, etc. is wrong, as it deprives others. The GC of A once again urges all members to do their part during these very tough times. The GC of A is doing what it can to see that the hours are shared as much as possible without making changes to our collective agreements prior to collective bargaining. When you support these initiatives voluntarily it makes it much easier and we can keep the maximum number of Sisters and Brothers working. Your Local Chairpersons, Dennis Byron and Brian Gleason, are doing everything they can to make sure the hours are tracked and the right number of members are on the assignments and spareboards.

You all know that the Railway has decided that "guarantee" has now become the dirtiest word in the English language. In fact, they would sooner pay large taxi bills and deadhead rather than have an extra member on the spareboard on a 60 hour guarantee. Let's hope this situation improves soon.

To end on a happier note, the warmer weather is here so let's get out and enjoy some time with friends and family. Wishing you all the best.

Bob Sharpe
General Chairperson, GO 759
604-434-8075

The BX

Railway Shares Parts of Cariboo Gold Rush Trail

History by John Holliday

In February 1858, 800 ounces of recently discovered gold left Ft. Victoria on the Hudsons Bay Co. Steam Ship Otter, bound for the Federal Mint in San Francisco. This was the beginning of the Cariboo Gold Rush.

On April 25,1858, the Paddlewheel Steamer Commodore, docked at Ft. Victoria with almost five hundred men, following the fur trade trails, and brigade roads, to the gold fields! They were the first of over twenty five thousand that would arrive by ship, and overland, by the end of the summer in B.C.

By 1859, there was a small number of Express Delivery Service companies including, the Pioneer Fraser River Express, Fraser and Thompson Express and the Lindhart and Barnard's Express, moving dry goods and golddust by canoe, horseback, and on the backs of men.

Francis Jones Barnard began delivering letters and parcels to the miners, and in June of 1862, having acquired and merging companies formed the British Columbia and Victoria Express. The weekly Covered Wagon service had an exclusive agreement with Governor Douglas to carry the Royal mail between Lillooet, Yale, Soda Creek, and Barkerville.
Stagecoaches were introduced in 1883, and in 1865, carried $4.6 million worth of gold (1865 prices), 1,500 passengers, and traveled over 100,000 miles.

By 1867, Barnard and his associates were incorporated as the British Columbia Express Company. Running especially reinforced Concord Thorobrace Stagecoaches, they operated the longest stagecoach run in North America.

The BX was very reliable service for over fifty-years, until the construction of the P.G.E. Railway was completed, and the widespread use of the automobile. The last load of mail was carried by the BX in October 1915.

Lillooet was mile zero of the original wagon road to the gold fields of the Cariboo. Clinton was originally called 47 mile house and in 1863, there were as many as 13 roadhouses on the Douglas Trail, between Harrison and Lillooet.

In 1864, the Royal Engineers completed blasting the road through the Fraser Canyon, and Yale became the terminus for the wagon road to Soda Creek, Quesnel, and Barkerville.

This article is based on information from Willis J. West, who was an employee of the British Columbia Express Company, in the early 1900's