Is the Diamond Casino owned by the managers of Plaza of Nations? Please Read This...

[nigel]

> > ****************VDLC STRIKE SUPPORT COMMITTEE REPORT****************
> > JANUARY 14TH, 2002
> >
> > Current B.C. Lower Mainland Labour Disputes
> >
> > 1. 100 members of CAW Local 3000 have been locked out by the Royal
> > Diamond Casino at the Plaza of Nations in Vancouver since July 15th.
> > Even though the owner made $7 million last year, he wants his employees
> > to take wage cuts of from 5 to 40% and give up all their health benefits
> > because the city won't let him have slot machines. There have been no
> > talks since the dispute began. The union has filed a number of unfair
> > labour practices against the company at the Labour Board concerning
> > RDC's failure to bargain in good faith. They've also been leafleting the
> > unorganized workers at the Gateway casinos in Burnaby, New Westminster,
> > and Coquitlam. Response from these workers has been promising in regards
> > to unionization. The locked-out workers are requesting picket support at
> > the Plaza of Nations (8106-750 Pacific Blvd. S.) where they picket from
> > 11am to 5pm every day. The # for the casino is 604-685-2340. E-mail for
> > the company is mailto:admin@rdc.com , or mailto:rfong@rdc.com (casino
> > manager) . The local's # is 604-526-3038, and their e-mail is
> > mailto:cawbc1@caw.ca .
> >
> > 2. Over 75% of the CEP's 1600 CBC television and radio technicians
> > across Canada who went on strike or were locked-out on December 6th &
> > 7th of 2001 voted to ratify a new collective agreement on December 30th,
> > and returned to work the next day. Members will receive a 5 1/2% wage
> > increase over 2 years, and fought off several management demands for
> > concessions.
> >
> > 3. 50 members of IWA Local 1-3567 went on strike against plastics
> > products manufacturer Leyland Industries in Pitt Meadows on September
> > 24th. Major issues include wages and benefits, and the company still
> > refuses to bargain. These workers are mostly women, and besides a couple
> > of bargaining unit members crossing the picket line, the company is
> > hiring illegal scabs. They are requesting picket support at 19473 Fraser
> > Industrial Way. The local can be contacted at 604-513-1850, or e-mailed
> > at mailto:local13567@iwa.ca . Leyland's phone # is 604-465-9122.
> >
> > 4. The Sears Canada repair technicians of IBEW Local 213 are still
> > trying to negotiate a first collective agreement with the company.
> > Their strike has been abandoned for now, as talks are slowly ongoing
> > under Labour Code Section 55 first-contract mediation. For further
> > information contact Henry Pritchard at 604-571-6500. Sears' e-mail is
> > mailto:home@sears.ca .
> >
> > 5. The B.C. Teachers Federation commenced Phase 1 of job action against
> > the B.C. Public School Employees Assn. on November 8th, 2001, which
> > entailed the withdrawal of certain non-instructional services such as
> > filling out report cards and meeting with parents. Phase 2 commenced on
> > January 7th, 2002, with teachers withdrawing from participation in all
> > extracurricular activities, which the B.C. Labour Relations Board has
> > ruled are not essential services. The Bulkley Valley school district has
> > cut their teachers' wages by 5%, and the provincial government is
> > threatening to legislate a settlement.
> >
> > The BC Teachers Federation held a very successful march and rally in
> > Vancouver on Saturday, January 12th. Several thousand teachers and their
> > supporters marched from Canada Place to the Vancouver Art Gallery for
> > the rally which featured speeches from B.C. Federation of Labour
> > President Jim Sinclair, B.C. Nurses Union President Debra McPherson,
> > BCTF President David Chudnovsky, and many others. Two outstanding labour
> > bands, the Ginger Group and the Teachers' Band, entertained the huge
> > crowd and led them in singing several great songs. Important issues that
> > were stressed included the right to be able to bargain collectively
> > (instead of having your "agreement" written by the provincial
> > government), to not have your negotiated agreements ripped up and then
> > rewritten by the provincial government at their whim, and the importance
> > of preserving the protections for quality educational services that the
> > teachers have fought for. The BCTF can be reached at 604-871-2283, and
> > their website is at http://www.bctf.bc.ca/ . Messages of support can be
> > sent to mailto:info@bctf.bc.ca .
> >
> > 6. 105 members of the Communications, Energy & Paperworkers Union of
> > Canada, Local 2000 at Purdy's Chocolates in Vancouver who were
> > decertified after being on strike for 5 1/2 months have taken a
> > recertification vote. The vote, however, is still sealed and the LRB's
> > hearings finally concluded on Dec. 3rd. A decision to count the vote is
> > still being awaited by the workers, who are under severe attack by their
> > rabidly anti-union employer now that they've got them back to work
> > inside the Kingdom of Purdy's without a union. Two workers fired during
> > the strike, Maria Silvestre and Sam Craft, are still awaiting
> > reinstatement hearing dates at the LRB. Sam and Maria continue to staff
> > the former strike office at 102-2806 Kingsway.
> >
> > The members are requesting that people not buy Purdy's Chocolates to
> > support their union-busting employer. The phone # for the members'
> > Kingsway office is 604-438-2747, and local 2000's # is 604-408-0746. The
> > company's e-mail is mailto:choklit@purdys.com , and their number is
> > 604-454-2777.
> >
> > 7. There will be a second annual Strike Benefit Concert at the Maritime
> > Labour Centre 1880 Triumph in Vancouver on Saturday, Feb. 2nd, 2002.
> > It starts at 8:00 PM (doors open at 7:00). The Flying Folk Army will be
> > donating their time and considerable talents to perform for this very
> > worthwhile cause, as will Anne Feeney & Chris Chandler (visiting from
> > Pittsburgh), and Solidarity Notes who will be opening up the show.
> > Sliding scale admission (at the door) will be $2-$20. Beer, wine, soft
> > drinks & juice will be served. This event is sponsored by the Vancouver
> > & District Labour Council and the Industrial Workers Of The World
> > Vancouver. All proceeds will go to benefit the locked-out Royal Diamond
> > Casino workers of CAW Local 3000 and the striking Leyland Industries
> > workers of IWA Local 1-3567.
> >

[silverfish]

hooray for Capitalism, privitization and globalization.

fuck~~ i the more i talk to people, the more the general public pisses me off. people put blind faith in the media (hello..... corporate owned, corporate interests, for fuck's sake!) and blind faith in government.

the function of privitization is to generate profits for corporate owners, at the sacrifice of those in need. private firms are required to govern themselves~ with no ties to community through public accountabilities and elections.

you mentioned a bit about the teachers dispute in this forwarded attachment.

i was at that rally, which had THOUSANDS of people in attendence.

on the tv news? the numbers because Hundreds. croud shots were not show because the sheer scale of teh protest was so immense, the chance of public support would increase..... bad for corporations, bad for government.
and was there any coverage in the Province or Vancouver Sun? nope. and the crucial points that were made by speakers........ do they get any coverage to inform the public??????? nope.

people have no fucking idea what privitization means for people.

i find especially the youth are absurdly conservative (though i am very impressed with student protests, however i find most of them are ill informed).

MY ADVICE TO PEOPLE~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
look at what ISN"T said in the media and by government. any stats, and polls, and information...... ask your self, what could they be leaving out? consider other points of view.

as for Plaza of Nations, before people go spazing about whether or not it will affect future raves...... i doubt labour disputes will affect raves.
i would reflect upon the labour disputes with movie projectionists~ theatres were still operational. Plaza used to be a crown corporation.... and still is i think? so it's a little different.

[wigglesworth]

Plaza is owned by a Taiwanese businessman. There will be a hotel put up on top of the hotel pretty soon (within a few years. ) When that happens you can bet there wont be anymore partes in the hall.