Marking 20 years
of bold journalism,
reader supported.
News

The Crushing Equation Telus Workers Faced

Why the labour dispute ended this way, now.

Sam Cooper 21 Nov 2005TheTyee.ca

image atom

As the votes were being counted on Friday, workers still surrounded the Telus building in downtown Vancouver. But resignation and weariness seemed to overpower defiance.

And today, gone for good are the camping chairs, sidewalk slogans and picket signs. When the mail-in votes were counted Friday night, over 64.1 percent of TWU members said yes to the November 6 deal.

"What was my dream scenario in this? To keep jobs in Canada," said local union 10 head Tony Zacharias. "What kind of workforce are they going to get back now?" he asked angrily. "I have to go back to work sometime, though."

A 23-year-old BCIT grad who only worked for two weeks before picking up a picket sign asked to withhold his name since he is still on probation with the company.

He said though he voted no to the deal presented by union leadership a month ago, he would change his vote this time, although he didn't see any real change.

"I think it will be passed," he said. "It probably shouldn't be, but it was so close the last time, they won't have made any drastic changes. In the companies mind, they can tweak it a little and get it past this time."

"I just started so I didn't really have the previous contract. But I feel sorry for the people who worked for 20 years that are losing a lot," he said.

"I'm here so my job doesn't get moved offshore or to Alberta. But I didn't see us getting any big changes if we did hold out longer."

'Capitulate or be crushed'

"This labour dispute has been a challenging time for everyone," said Bruce Bell in the official TWU post-ratification release.

"Not all of our members are happy with the deal. But it's good to be back at work in time for Christmas."

It's an understatement to say not all TWU members are happy with the deal. In fact, you'd be lucky to find one happy person.

But you won't find many people willing to voice their displeasure publicly.

"You're going to have a hard time doing this story," said a 30-year TWU veteran who asked to go nameless. "People just want to go back now without getting their toes stepped on."

"The union realized they had to capitulate or get crushed," the veteran repair worker said in a phone interview days before the ratification. "We are going back with not one thing we couldn't have had on the first day. But don't get me wrong, I don't blame the leadership," he added. "The union management was in an absolutely untenable position."

He said while the union claims there is an element of job protection in the new contract, he can't see any, and fears more jobs will be leaving B. C. for Calgary soon.

"Telus was just too strong an opponent," he added. "And if you just look at the numbers, [Telus CEO Darren] Entwistle is doing a hell of a job."

"The public doesn't care about job protection language, all they see is the company's new technology," he concluded.

Ultimate leverage

Days before the new deal was ratified, Telus posted record gains in the third quarter.

The company reported a 21 percent net income growth for the period during the labour dispute and offered a 37.5 percent dividend payout increase.

Apparently, TWU's urging the public to "hang up" on Telus and hit them in the wallet had no effect. The company's stunning success while shorthanded was a deathblow to the union's bargaining chances.

Before the ratification, in the quarterly report, Telus president Darren Entwistle told investors, "We have an agreement that recognizes our team members' tremendous contributions and provides TELUS with the flexibility to successfully operate in a highly competitive market."

Robert McFarlane, executive vice president and CFO, said, "The changes to annual 2005 guidance announced today, including a $150 million increase in cash flow, reflect the strong operational performance and resilience of TELUS regardless of whether the labour disruption continues."

The writing on the wall doesn't get any clearer than that.

'Had to grab this window'

In a phone interview, Bruce Bell explained why he thought it was now or never for a deal.

"The company is making record profits, half of Alberta is working, and all of Ontario and Quebec is working.

"It was bye-bye B.C. (at the bargaining table.) It wasn't a threat, it was just factual. They're saying 'we'd like to get you back to work,' but they were adamant on their language and we were adamant on our language."

"If we would have waited until spring, I know people in B.C. would have crossed the lines. They (Telus) would have opened the doors. They already have Alberta working. Those jobs are already lost."

"Christmas is the busiest time of the year. If we are not coming back, they have contingency plans. I had to grab this window. I didn't see our chances getting any better in the new year."

Bell said Telus got progressively tougher at the bargaining table, so that 1500 clerical and operating positions in the deal, one of the only peaches he had to show the union, were in danger of disappearing if workers weren't back before Christmas.

Other positives he points to are better benefits, the pension plan intact, service and seniority intact, and future work with Telus TV for the union.

'All we have is commitment'

But workers are focusing on the big loss.

Under the BC Tel-TWU contract language, any normal and regular work cannot be cut without the permission of the joint standing committee.

But under no circumstances was Telus going to carry this clause forward. The flexibility Entwistle talks about essentially points to the removal of TWU's powerful job protection language. In its place is a commitment to maintain TWU jobs, Bell says. What this commitment means is anyone's guess.

"We don't have that same job protection language," Bell said. "Do we have ironclad protection? No, all we have is a commitment."

"The fear mongers will say, 'No, my work is gone to the Philippines.' Well, we will have to see if the company stands by their commitment."

"And for those who say we could have had just as much without missing a day. The company wrote that (imposed contract) up without even collaborating. We weren't going to take that."

But in the end, dissenters say the union ratified a Telus document anyway. "It is the company's document, but it is a meld (with the union)," Bell says. "The company was not going to take our document. It wasn't going to happen."

No help from Feds

Throughout the union from the picket lines up to Bell, members talk about a different working culture in Alberta as a major factor in the Telus deal outcome.

"Over 50 percent of Alberta has gone to work under a lesser agreement. Alberta is a different working culture, with a different frame of mind," Bell said. "The entire province votes conservative, and it has done that for 35 years. They just go to work there."

And if the union would have held out longer, Bell says he envisioned more and more B.C. workers picking up and moving to Alberta.

But Bell says although the TWU lobbied B.C. Federal Liberals including Ujjal Dosanjh, Hedy Fry, and David Emerson to help protect the province's jobs, they did little or nothing.

"They all voted against the federal anti-scab legislation and it lost by only six votes. They could have stepped in with the CIRB. Something stinks in Denmark," Bell said.

Sam Cooper is on staff of The Tyee.  [Tyee]

  • Share:

Facts matter. Get The Tyee's in-depth journalism delivered to your inbox for free

Tyee Commenting Guidelines

Comments that violate guidelines risk being deleted, and violations may result in a temporary or permanent user ban. Maintain the spirit of good conversation to stay in the discussion.
*Please note The Tyee is not a forum for spreading misinformation about COVID-19, denying its existence or minimizing its risk to public health.

Do:

  • Be thoughtful about how your words may affect the communities you are addressing. Language matters
  • Challenge arguments, not commenters
  • Flag trolls and guideline violations
  • Treat all with respect and curiosity, learn from differences of opinion
  • Verify facts, debunk rumours, point out logical fallacies
  • Add context and background
  • Note typos and reporting blind spots
  • Stay on topic

Do not:

  • Use sexist, classist, racist, homophobic or transphobic language
  • Ridicule, misgender, bully, threaten, name call, troll or wish harm on others
  • Personally attack authors or contributors
  • Spread misinformation or perpetuate conspiracies
  • Libel, defame or publish falsehoods
  • Attempt to guess other commenters’ real-life identities
  • Post links without providing context

LATEST STORIES

The Barometer

Do You Think Naheed Nenshi Will Win the Alberta NDP Leadership Race?

Take this week's poll