(The following article is from the December 1-31, 2007 issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $25/year, or $12 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $25 US per year; other overseas readers - $25 US or $35 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 133 Herkimer St. Unit 502, Hamilton, ON, L8P 2H3.

The BC Federation of Labour reports that almost 600 workers from various sectors have broken ties with the Christian Labour Association of Canada (CLAC), criticizing CLAC for negotiating sub-par contracts with lower wages, poorer benefits, and inadequate representation.

     "These workers have demanded a democratic choice in union representation," said B.C. Federation of Labour President, Jim Sinclair. "They want to be treated with fairness, dignity and respect on the job, and despite pressure from their employer, they won that."

     In a Labour Relations Board-supervised vote counted in two health facilities on Nov. 21, workers rejected the CLAC and voted to join an HEU/BCGEU "poly-party" bargaining unit.

     Two hundred and fifty health care workers at two privately-operated care facilities in the Kootenays have voted to join the Hospital Employees' Union. In Nelson, more than 90 care staff - employed by Advocare at Mountain Lake Seniors' Community - joined HEU as part of a joint campaign with the B.C. Government and Service Employees' Union (BCGEU) that also included some of the company's operations in Kelowna and Penticton. And in Cranbrook, more than 160 staff at Golden Life's Joseph Creek Village voted to join the HEU. The workers provide both support services and direct care to seniors in that community. In August 2006, the LRB found that Golden Life had intimidated and coerced workers to ratify a CLAC collective agreement.

     In Abbotsford, more than 150 workers at Dynamic Windows and Doors voted to leave CLAC and become members of the United Steelworkers. Local union organizers said workers want their grievances addressed in a timely manner and to be properly represented in dealings with the company.