page 12

THE OTHER PRESS

November 9th, 1984

_Astraightforwardrepair job.

In these times runaway in
and rampant employment, people are
more paranoid about their jobs than
ever before. Any threat to the security
of that job, whether real or pee
can be the greatest stress factor in a
person’s life. It is no surprise, then,
that labour disputes often lead from
negotiations to violence. As they say,
Action--Not Words. This time, | was
lucky: 5

by

PY aie

S.J. PICKTHALL

 

| notice a single coverall-clad figure
watching as | begin drilling the first of
four holes in a steel tube. The place is
the machine shop of MacMillan-
Bloedel’s Powell River Pulp and Paper
Mill. It is 11:08 on Saturday morning;
overtime.

“It’s a lousy job, and the
reguar maintenance
crew won't do it, so the |

company gets outside
workers to come in
and tackle the job.”

 

The watcher fades and | turn to my
holes. | am working with. a. private:

contractor, in my capacity as a Steel
Fabricator. We are troubleshooting on
the big 40T overhead crane in Mac-
Bloe’s paper room--where they make
the paper. It’s hot and humid and dirty
up there on that crane. The dust is half
an inch thick, and gooey like mud from
the moisture in the air. You sweat
profusely within minutes from the
heat.

It’s a lousy job, and the regular
maintenance crew won’t do it, so the
company gets outside workers to come
in and tackle the job.

| finish the last of the holes and heft
the tube over to a handcart. As | turn
to wipe down the drill press, | see a
party of four men hanging around ten
feet away. The watcher is not among
them. A grizzled figure steps out of the
group--the obvious leader.

“You guys in a Union?’ he de-
mands.

“Yeah, Boilermakers.’’! reply.

“I’m the President of our local
Chapter: Paperworkers Local 1.’’

‘Congratulations. ’’

He has no sense of humor. ‘‘Don’t
you guys have your own drill press2’’

“We're here from Vancouver, how
could we ever bring...’’

‘“‘That’s not our problem. We got
drill operators here, and only our men
use our machines!”

“This was just a 10 minute job.’’ |
protest. ‘‘I’m already finished.’

“| don’t give a shit about that! You
guys just stay the hell away from M&B
equipment from now on.’’ He turns on
his heel and stalks away.

The SWAT team hesitates one more
threatening moment, then follows its
leader.

“Have a nice day, guys.’’

The second confrontation with the
Powell Riverians comes later that
evening, when | am out for a few beers
with two American fellows | had met at
the hotel. These guys also were
“outside workers’’, supervising the
installation of some equipment their
company had sold to Mac-Bloe. As a
gesture of goodwill, M/B gave one of
these guys a M/B windbreaker. The
problem arises when he wears it into
the local cabaret.

“You guys just stay the
hell away from M&B
equipment from now on.”

 

We are approached almost imme-
diately by a middle-aged greaser who
is pissed beyond repair. It is obvious
that he is merely representing a few of
the local boys.

‘‘You know, you got a f——— of a
lot of nerve, wearing that jacket in this
town.’’ he snarls viciously.

“What's wrong with it?’’ asks
Robert, the wearer. He’s a big guy,
and | see him shift his weight,
readying for the worst. His partner,
Cal, eases his beer onto the bar,
freeing his hands. They’re old-timers
at this game; they’ve dealt with the

-situation before. | glance around the

club: not very many friendly faces
here.

“ll tell you what’s wrong with it.
You don’t belong here, that’s what’s
wrong. You’re outsiders here, and a
lot of people would just like to see the:
last Shen. He stumbles, falls to the
floor. There is a tense moment, until
his allies realize that he fell down
under his own power.

Cal stretches out a hand, ‘‘Help you
up, partner?’

‘“F——— you!’ He spits out the
words, struggles to his feet unaided,
and wavers there for a minute.
“Y'know, if it wasn’t for shit like you
coming in here, this would be a good
town to live in. But it ain‘t. The
Goddam company screws the workers
any way they can--then they bring you
bastards in from the outside to take
our jobs.”

“| don’t see how you figure we’re
taking your jobs.’’ | interject quickly.
‘These guys are just supervising the
installation of some new equipment,
and I’m doing maintenance repairs on
one of your cranes. So whose jobs are
we taking?’

 

“The goddamn company
screws the workers any
way they can”

 

‘““We got our own maintenance crew
here, asshole! ’’ :

_ “*Yeah, but they don’t want to do the
job. | guess it’s too hot and dirty up
there for them.””—-

‘| don’t give a shit for your Goddam
excuses,’’ he growls. ‘All I’m saying
is this: there are a lot of le in this
town who count on that mill for their
Jiving. There are a lot of guys who’ve
lost their jobs here, and all they know
is that they see you f———ing
outsiders coming in here and making

good money while they’re sitting’ out
in the cold.

““So I’m warnin’ you, just be careful
where you step. People here are pretty
pissed off with scumbags like you
takin’ their jobs. And when we get
pissed off, some heavy shit starts to go
down.”’

He laughs threateningly, enjoying
his moment to the fullest. ‘So just
careful. Okay?’’ He spits on the floor
at our feet, then stumbles away to
merge with the angry-faced crowd.

‘Friendly little town they got here.’
Murmurs Cal after a minute. ‘You
guys want another beer?’”

‘Hell ‘no!’’ Robert and | chorus in
unison.

“Right. Let’s get out of here.’’

On the way*out the door, we

“encounter our acquaintance once a-
gain, this time in the company of
several of his friends. They outnumber
us by three to one, but we outsober
them by about five to one, so we are
allowed to pass with only a minimum
of snarls and grumbling.

“People here are pretty
pissed off with scumbags
like you takin’ their jobs.”

 

Only within the safety of the, Car,

with the cabaret several miles behind —

us, do | finally manage to relax.

“Powell River,’’ | quote, ‘Is a nice.
place to live. But | sure as hell

wouldn’t want to visit here.’’
~ No argument on that one.

The third situation, and the one that
crystallized my feeling of being unwel-
come in Powell River, came the
following Monday morning, when |
had occasion to visit Mac-Bloe’s
first-aid room

“tm sorry, but these ear
plugs are for use by
Mac-Bloe employees only.”

 

“Excuse me,’’ |-asked the attendant
there, ‘‘But Would it, be okay if | get a
pair of ear-plugs for that noisy
machine room? I’m practically going
deaf up there.’’ :

“Do you work for. MacMillan-
Bloedel?’’She asked me.

“We're here doing repairs on one of
your cranes.’’ s

“I’m sorry, but these ear plugs are
for use by Mac-Bloe employees only.
Private contractors are supposed to
_supply their own hearing protection.’’

‘| didn’t realize that.’’ | protested.
“We didn’t bring any. Do you think | °
could get just one pair? The noise is
driving me crazy. | could pay you for
them.’

“I’m sorry.” She said, and folded
her arms across her chest.in dismissal.

| turned to leave, then asked: ‘‘If my
partner cuts off his arm, is it okay to
bring him down here for a little direct
pressure--or do | run him into
Vancouver?’ 5 jealous

| didn’t have the courage to wait for
an answer. Seer

 

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