HomeMy WebLinkAboutZurich Citizens News, 1978-03-30, Page 4Page 4
Citizens News, March 30, 1978
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Actions speak louder
One of the more disconcerting aspects of the
strike taking place at Fleck Manufacturing in
Huron Park is the way that it has degenerated into
a media event as the large number of violent in-
cidents on or near the picket line, occupy the
headlines.
On a day when some "action" is expected,
media people from across the province pore in.
And who can blame them? The age-old conflict
of union versus management, possible under the
table dealings by a senior civil servant who has
more than a passing interest in the strike and last
but not least, dominating males (Fleck
management) attempting to supress defenceless
women (the strikers). If the master of the pulp
novel Harold Robbins ever got wind of this, you'd
see a piece of fiction like "The Betsy" out 'in no
time at all.
While the purpose behind the busing in of
United Auto Workers members is to focus attention
on the plight of the workers, their actions have been
speaking louder than their words and may have in
fact hurt the cause of the local workers.
In recent years there has been a noticable shift
of public and government action to the right of cen-
tre of political thought, which has resulted or is a
result of labor strife which has disrupted the daily
Iives of Canadians.
It seems that in this part of the country, the
word "union" is a term that is not in vogue but in
the case of Fleck, having a union might not be a bad
idea.
According to local union negotiator Fran
Piercey most of the women employed at the Huron
Park firm are paid $2.85 an hour as a starting rate
and $3.20 an hour after two years service.
No matter which way you look at it, that isn't
much money in today's terms no matter what type
of job you're engaged in.
One of the reasons why industry has been at-
tracted to Huron Park and the South Huron area is
a cheap and available labour force. Other manufac-
turing concerns in the area have kept pace with the
rise in the cost of living and it seems reasonable
that a firm which has managed to stay alive for
over 18 years could afford to pay its workers wages
that are comparable to other local industries.
At the same time, it is also reasonable to
assume that one of the largest unions in the country
could act in a more responsible manner than
they've shown in recent weeks.
As was stated previously, actions speak louder
than words but it should be added that when the ac-
tions aren't worth a darn neither will be the
response from the party to whom the actions are
aimed.
Timings have changed
For most people in this country, the problems
and concerns of the rest of the world have had no
more relevance than an academic exercise, or a
crossword puzzle. Oppression, inequity and corrup-
tion happen elsewhere, not here — so Canadians
don't get excited about democracy in India, civil
war in Africa, economic colonialism in South
America, or even moral crises
e in the United States.
But now things have changed.
In India formerrime minister r Indira Ghandi
refuses to testify before a commission -she calls un-
constitutional. Here at home, federal Solictor-
General Francis Fox wouldn't release documents
to the Keable Commission examining RCMP
wrongdoing, for the same reason.
Former U.S. president Richard Nixon's "dirty
tricks" squad sent out fake documents to discredit
his opposition; the RCMP did the same to the FLQ.
To a barrage of moral indignation, Lougheed
Aircraft revealed sordid practices of bribery of
other governments; Massey -Ferguson and Atomic
Energy of Canada Limited turn out to have similar-
ly dirty linen to air.
More than one struggling Third World nation
has had its precarious economy staggered by finan-
cial decisions of multi -national corporate giants;
now Quebec has been sent reeling by Sun Life.
And it was easy to hurl accusations of "support
t
for terrorists" when the World Council of Churches
made
grants to liberation on
movements t s i n
far-off
Africa; now the WCC also funds Canadian native
organizations.
So let's quit kidding ourselves. Let's stop
dividing the news into "us" and "them", into
"world" and "local": Because both are really the
same.
For the future, we can't hope to improve the
world unless we clean up our own act. Nor, any
more, dare we boast of our own salvation while let-
ting the rest of the world go to hell.
Contributed
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Miscellaneous
Rumblings
By
TOM CREECH
The sports
column
Well sports fans, get ready for my second
floundering into the big world of sporting endeavours.
I profess not to be profound but if you find an error or
omission or if you just don't think that I'm right, give
me a shout.
Good season
Coach Herb Turkheim, manater Isadore Laporte
and all members of the Zurich Flyers should be con-
gratulated on the way in which they finished their
season off. Although the regular season was somewhat
of a disappointment, the team had nothing to be
ashamed about in their quarter -final series against the
Hensall Flyers. From someone not familiar with the
calibre of hockey that is played in the South Huron
league, it proved to be suprisingly entertaining es-
pecially when teams such as Parkhill, Thedford and
Goderich stuck to hockey. Maybe next year the Flyers
can regain the form that saw them take the league
championship a few years ago.
Hawks advance
The area's team in junior hockey, the Exeter
Hawks continue to make progress in their quest for a
second consecutive Ontario Hockey Association
provincial junior "D" championship., If one takes into
consideration that ten faces are missing from last
years championship team, the Hawk's winning of the
Western junior "D" loop must be somewhat of a sur-
prise to eternal optimists such as coach Ron Bogart
and manager Fred Mommersteeg.
Although' the South Huron Rec Centre is a nice
place to watch a game it just doesn't generate the ex-
citement of jamming 1000 people into the Zurich
arena as such was the case one year ago.
They're all winners
The real winners in the Zurich Rec hockey league
are those 50 or so men who came out every Thursday
night during the winter to have some plain "good old
fashioned fun" and at the same time, get some exer-
cise that would not hurt any of us. The great thing
about this league is that you don't have to be a gazelle
on skates because in this league you play the puck and
not the man which means that Doctors Lee and
Wallace have a few less knocked out teeth and strain-
ed muscles to worry about.
Who knows, you might even see this writer play-
ing his first game of organized hockey next year.
Fearless baseball predictions
The Toronto Blue Jays will finish last both in their
division and in the American league and could be more
games behind the division winner than they were last
year.
The trades which the Jays have made have been
aimed more at filling out the roster of their triple "A"
farm club than helping the team and you can't blame
them for that. While the Jays did improve at first base
with the acquisition of Tommy Hutton and at short
with free agent Luis Gomez, they are still pitfully
weak in the pitching department. One wonders at the
wiseness of trading, pitcher Pete Vuckovich and out-
fielder John Scott to St. Louis for Tom Underwood and
Victor Cruz.
One team that will be far ahead of the Jays will be
the Seattle Mariners because Lou Gorman, the Seattle
general manager is a better baseball person than
Peter Bavasi, the Jays' president and chief operating
officer. When Bavasi was hired, the general concensus
was that he was an excellent baseball person like his
Please turn to Page 6
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