Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1978-03-09, Page 1CHARGED-UP SITUATION! 0 Tempers appeared to cool somewhat on the picket line staffed by striking workers at Fleck Manufacturing Ltd of Huron Park, Wednesday, following two days of hectic action which saw two union leaders jpiled and a volley of criticism fired at'OPP. About 60 of the 130 workers who went on strike STRIKE COMMITTEE CONFERS — During the strike at Fleck Manufacturing Monday morning, UAW Local 1620 president Andy Mclntrye talks with negotiating committee members Sheila Charlton and Mary Lou Richard. T-A photo Union charges intimidation, police charge obstruction paraded on Wednesday mor­ ning under the watchful eye of some 20 OPP. There were no altercations, as a busload of office and production workers made its way through the picket line at the entrance to the industrial park. Trouble broke out Monday when Al Seymour, inter­ national representative with the United Auto Workers (UAW) in London, was taken to Stratford jail, charged with obstruction and intimidation. Also charged with obstruction was Rene Montague, chair­ man of the 1,200-member UAW unit at Northern Telecom in London. They were released on their own recognizance, with one of the terms being that they stay out of Stephen Township. Union spokesman said the two men were provoked into action by the police. OPP Sgt. Ray Glover has denied that accusation, saying the police are not taking sides in the dispute. “If everyone had done what we suggested, there would have been no problems,’’ Glover said.’ “We are only doing our job, trying to remain neutral in this.” He said strikers were told several times not to obstruct the bus or vehicles going to other Huron Park plants. The union leaders claim they were not walking in front of the bus, but rather beside it, when they were collared by police. Montague said the plainclothes officer grabbed Seymour and another policeman then grabbed Montague as he came to the aid of the other union leader. Dennis McDermott, Cana­ dian director of the UAW has charged that the OPP tried to use a “form of in­ timidation’’ against the workers before they went on strike. He was referring to com­ plaints that last Friday when Grant Turner, Fleck vice-president, spoke to the workers, and OPP plainclothes officer told them what constituted legal and illegal behaviour on the picket lines. “Can you imagine what it felt like to have the cops standing there giving advice on what you should or shouldn’t do on a picket line when you haven’t even gone on strike?” he asked. McDermott suggested that OPP maintain a “more objective role” in the strike. The national director was also critical of the fact the two arrested union men had been ordered to stay out of Stephen Township. “Even an injunction doesn’t go that far.” he claimed. The union plans to contest the terms of Seymour’s release in Huron County court in Goderich today. In the Ontario legislature, labor minister Bette Stephenson said Tuesday she will look into the cir­ cumstances aurrounding the strike and fielded angry questions from members of the NDP. “How do you pretend to represent organized labor?” asked Ian Deans (NDP- Wentworth) in asking the labor minister why she didn’t know of police lec­ turing the workers before ORDERLY CONDUCT— Members of the UAW 1620 on strike at Fleck Manufacturing at Huron Park were orderly as the bus carrying a few workers entered the Industrial Park gates Wednesday morning. About 20 Ontario Provincial Police officers were on hand to ensure safe passage of the bus, T-A photo the strike began or the arrest of two UAW officials and the terms for their release. After Monday morning’s problems on the picket line, the situation cooled somewhat. The female strikers tried to prevent the company bus. from driving away at 3:30 p.m., but the vehicle left by a rear entrance and went down a runway. About 20 women ran to the rear of the Fleck plant and yelled “scabs” and other epithets as the. bus left. Company officials locked the front and side doors to the plant on Monday and have refused to answer phone calls and one official said he didn’t care what the union said about the firm, it wasn’t making any com­ ments. Fleck Manufacturing operates from one of the buildings formerly used by Hall Lamp, a Detroit-based company that went bankrup about four years ago. throw­ ing 350 people out of work. Local union negotiator Fran Piercey said that most of the women employed at the Huron Park firm are paid $2.85 as a starting rate and $3.20 an hour after two years’ service. Some make $3.40. The UAW was certified last fall and the union is seeking a first contract. The union opened negotiations with a request for a 75-cent- an-hour increase and the company replied with an offer of 10 cents an hour in each of a three-year con­ tract. Mrs. Piercey said the workers pay most of their own medical premiums, and sickness and accident benefits pay $30 a week to those off sick or injured, starting eight days after a worker’s absence and for a maximum of 13 weeks. Many of the employees are young women in their teensand early 20s. The company manufac­ tures wiring for the auto in­ dustry and electrical cords. Wants investigation A new twist was added to the situation, Tuesday, when McDermott called for an in­ vestigation by the Ontario government into the relationship between James Fleck, deputy minister of tourism and industry, and Fleck Manufacturing. Fleck, who founded the company, claims he has no direct operational involve­ ment with the company “on a day-to-day basis”, and hasn’t since 1960. McDer­ mott claims there is an in­ volvement because Fleck’s family owns one half of the company. ON THE LOOKOUT — Striking employees of Fleck Manufacturing at Huron Park were on the job early Wednesday morning to wait for the bus which brings a few workers to the plant. A number of the strikers are shown above along with one young lady perched on the pillar as a lookout. T-A photo X $2 Screen trips March exams cancelled The Huron County Board of Education decided Monday that March secondary school examinations would be cancelled in an effort to make up lost school time caused by the secondary school teacher’s strike. The board decided to cancel the examinations to make up between seven and nine instructional days that normally would be set aside for mid-terms. Along with the exams, the board decided to request school principals to be very careful screening student field trips before asking for board approval. The board also cancelled two professional development Two people hurt in area collisions Two people were injured in area accidents this week, one being a seven-year-old Huron Park girl who was struck by an unknown vehicle on Friday. Victoria Carolynn Reynolds, was hit by a tractor trailer at the in­ tersection of Algonquin and Kensington Gres at 3:45 p.m. The rear wheels of the vehicle struck her and resulted in minor cuts and bruises. It is believed the driver of the vehicle may not have known the youngster was hit. OPP Wally Tomasik in­ vestigated. The other injury was sustained by Kevin Buchanan, Hensail, whose vehicle went out of control on Highway 4 at 2:40 a.m., Sunday. The vehicle rolled over and came to rest on its roof in the east ditch, Buchanan was trapped in the vehicle and after being removed, was taken to South Huron Hospital, complaining days in April and may delay final examinations in June to make up even more school time if necessary. Education director John Cochrane told the board that the students can be tested in class after the strike is over and that the March examinations were not necessary. He said teachers could estimate marks and give their students class tests to achieve the same results the March exams wohld give. He added that the teachers can come up with some type of testing “presumably some time in April.”' Cochrane said the con­ version of the examination time would result in seven to of leg and back injuries. Damage was listed at $500 by Constable Bill Osterloo. The only other accident of the week was also a hit and run. It occurred on Saturday when a vehicle driven by Fay Hacon, Goderich, was struck by an unknown vehicle on Highway 4, north of Huron Road 21 Damage was listed at $300 py Con­ stable Tomasik. Two thefts are also under investigation by the Exeter OPP this week. Eight bundles of split cedar shakes were stolen from a building site on High­ way 81 Friday evening. They were valued at $120. The other theft involved a small amount of cash from a vending machine in the men’s washroom at an area hotel. During the week, the of­ ficers laid 16 charges under the Highway Traffic Act, two under the Criminal Code and six under the Liquor Licence Act. nine more instructional days. He said that if the weatherman co-operated for the remainder of the winter the board will be ahead of last year in terms of lost time due to winter storms. The director told the board that South Huron Secondary School and Seaforth Secondary School had scheduled professional development days in April and that those should be cancelled. He >said that those moves by the board should leave the students “not that far behind in instructional time lost if the strike is settled soon.” Cochrane said the board could arrange for more class time in June if it was required. He said the final examinations could be pushed back farther in the month but added that he would recommend that matter be left until the board knows how much time will be lost by the strike. He said that the screening of field trips may result in some cancellations if the principal does not feel the educational benefits of the trip warrants the students leaving the class rooQm. He said he would urge the principals to be very careful before they ask the board to approve a trip. The board gave the director power to act in approving a field trip planned for Grade 12 and 13 students at South Huron. The trip is a week long exchange program with students from Quebec and the Exeter students already have a strong commitment to the Quebec students. Cochrane said the students would be attending school in Quebec and would be hosting a group of French-Canadian students back in Exeter on the same program. The board told Cochrane to discuss the matter with the principal of South Huron and make a decision based on that discussion. imes - Advocate erving South Huron, North MiddlesexServing & North Lambton Since 1873 One Hundred and Fifth Year EXETER, ONTARIO, MARCH 9, 1978 Price Per Copy 25 Cents PUC and gas costs set at $36,000 for '78 Rec centre gobbles up energy The high cost of gas, hydro and water continues to be a concern for members of the South Huron rec centre board of management. Bills from the Exeter PUC and Union Gas totalled over $7,400 during January and February and helped create a deficit of almost $11,000 in the board’s operation for the two months. Another major factor in the deficit was an expen­ diture of $3,576.79 plus sales tax of $587.04 for a new hot drink dispensing machine. Manager Kirk Armstrong advised the board that he had talked with other arena managers about the cost of heat and hydro, and said while all reported high figures, the rec centre was higher than most. He was directed to talk with PUC and gas company officials in an effort to determine if there were ways in which the costs could be reduced. The two expenditures provided some of the larger expenditures in the 1978 Dashwood barn burns A fire early Thursday morning caused extensive damage to a barn on the farm of Cornelius Van Raay, one mile east of Dashwood. Smoke coming from the fire was noticed by Mike Rau and Earl Keller of Dashwood at 6:30 AM as they were proceeding to work at Dashwood In­ dustries. After arousing the Van Raay family, the Dashwood Fire Department plus the tanker unit from the Zurich Fire Department were call­ ed to the scene of the blaze. Firemen who were hampered by 20 Celsius temperatures confined the fire to the wing of the barn where the blaze had started. Van Raay credited the quick action of the fire department with the saving of the barn. A large hole in the floor of the barn whs caused by the fire with a corn planter located near the hole damaged. According to Van Raay some other equipment was lost in the fire. Fire chief Emil Becker es­ timated damage at $15,000 with the cause of the fire un­ determined. The loss was covered by insurance. budget which the members perused at Monday night’s session. The expenditure for gas this year has been ex- timated at $15,000 and the PUC bill is anticipated at $21,000. There was little discussion on the budget, members be­ ing asked to consider it for debate at their next meeting this Monday. This week, the board worked out an agreement with figure skating professional Brad Loosely for the operation of a school to be conducted at the rec centre this August. Loosely will be charged $15 per hour for the use of the ice for a four-week period. The time of opera­ tion will be from 7:00 p.m. to 12:00. The pro for the Exeter Figure Skating Club said he realized his suggested price was low, but noted that he could not consider the ven­ ture at a higher price because it would take some BROWNIES TRAVEL Members of the Exeter Brownies went on an imaginary trip to China, Wednesday. Dressed in oriental costume are from the left, Sarah Patterson, Bridget Newton, Cheri Wedlake, Kathy Hodgins and Kimmy Vander Wiel. time to develop a local program. However, he said that as the school is developed, it T-A tops The Exeter Times- Advocate was the recipient of the general excellence award for first place in its circulation category at the Ontario Weekly Newspaper Association annual conven­ tion in Toronto this weekend. A total of 12 newspapers had entered the competition in the circulation range from 4,501 to 6,500. Second place went to the Delhi News Record and the Gravenhurst News placed third. In addition, the T-A won the competition for the best front page, scoring 80 out of a possible 100 points in the judging. should work out to the benefit of the rec centre board as well. A motion approving the prize list The categories used by the judges to select the general excellence awards involve all aspects of the newspaper, front page, com­ position and layout, editorial page, sports, photo, local and classified advertising and news and features. The Times-Advocate plac­ ed second in four of the categories and ifs overall point standing of 396 was 35 ahead of the second place finisher. The plaques presented at the convention were receiv­ ed by editor Bill Batten. Other staff members atten­ ding the convention included Lome Eedy, Jim Beckett, Dick Jongkind and Harry DeVries. terms was made by Bruce Shaw, who asked that the price be reviewed at the end of the first week's operation to see whether it should be reduced or augmented. In answer to a question from Jerry MacLean, Armstrong said the fee would “be close” to cover­ ing the costs to the board. In other business, the board: Learned that the com­ mittee studying proposals for the development of the community park has held two meetings and will have an interim report by April. Member Don Finkbeiner said one of the first recommendations will probably be for tile drainage of the facility, at an es­ timated cost of about $6,000. Decided to “grin and bear” the parking problems that result when large crowds attend functions. A suggestion to have snow removed from the east side of the facility was turned down due to the fact it appeared too costly for the parking that could be created. It is anticipated that increased parking will be among the recommen­ dations from the grounds committee. Agreed to continue providing free use of the rec centre for area schools, sub­ ject to pre-emption, and in consideration for use of school facilities for recrea­ tion programs. Most area schools have taken advan­ tage of the free ice time to have a couple of sessions of skating so far this winter and the board learned that Precious Blood Separate School was interested in a regular Friday afternoon session. Delayed decision again on the proposed new rate struc­ ture, which had been presented to them several weeks ago by Armstrong. Were advised that fans attending junior hockey games spent an average of 56 cents at the concessions. The net profit was listed at around 30 percent by the manager. Asked Armstrong to take an inventory of the kitchen supplies after he reported that about 50 place settings of the original 400 were mis­ sing. Members expressed the fear that some of the boxes may have been stolen by construction workers this summer when the supplies arrived. Each place setting was valued at $20. Area lady views UFO Residents in an area of Ontario stretching from Windsor to Barrie reported sighting an unidentified fly­ ing object at about the same time Monday night. Among those viewing the object was an Usborne Township resident, Mrs. Harry Hern. She told the T-A on Tues­ day that she saw the bright light flash across the sky while walking from the barn. It disappeared before she had a chance to call other members of the family to see the spectacle. Descriptions of the object ranged from red and yellow to blue and green. Mrs. Hern said it was a yellow light when she spotted it and it was much larger than an aircraft beam. The sighting was around 8:00 p.m.