BC At Work Episode 13, Video

[00:00:18.28] – Scott

Hi, she’s Judy Pal.

[00:00:20.28] – Judy

And he’s Scott Swanson.

[00:00:22.04] – Scott

And this is BC at Work.

 

[00:00:46.23] – Scott

Good evening.

 

[00:00:47.27] – Scott

Welcome to the final show of our first season. Over the past 13 weeks, our production unit has traveled throughout British Columbia, sharing with you some of the sights and sounds of BC at Work.

 

[00:00:57.13] – Judy

We’ve met with working men and women from all corners of the province.

 

[00:01:00.07] – Scott

We’ve talked to the management side of the house, to unions, and to just plain working people. I’m sure Judy will agree with me when I say that one of the most important things we learned was what a tremendously positive attitude there is, shared by labour and management, when it comes to keeping BC at work. No pun intended.

 

[00:01:18.28] – Judy

All over the province we found positive examples of the fact that labour and management are working together for a common good. Here now are highlights remembering some of the people, places, and even some of the things we learned and shared with you during our last 13 weeks. There was a time when the sound of a wheelwright’s hammer was recognized by young and old alike But the world was changing. The wheelwright fell victim to technological change. Industry had successfully reinvented the wheel, causing a centuries-old profession to become obsolete. But that was yesterday. Today, through the efforts of people like Dave Lockyer, the trade of the wheelwright lives on.

 

[00:02:15.00] – Scott

The grape and wine industry is now a vital part of the economy of the Okanagan, employing thousands of workers and pumping millions of dollars annually into the BC economy. But this has not always been the case.

 

[00:02:28.01] – Gordie Partridge

In the mid-1960s, the Okanagan was declared a depressed area, and a great deal of money was poured into the Okanagan to create new industries, and one of these industries was the grape and wine industry.

 

[00:02:41.07] – Judy

Chas Thompson has been a lighthouse keeper for eight years. It was the seclusion and variety of work that drew Chas, a member of the Public Service Alliance of Canada, to this type of job.

 

[00:02:51.18] – Chas Thompson

I like the work. You can, you can pick and choose what you’re doing every day. It’s not as if you’re in a factory working at one job, a particular job, day in and day out for eight hours a day, if you get bored with doing something, here mowing lawns, well, you can quit and go do it again the next day and do something else.

 

[00:03:08.08] – Speaker

I’ve had support from my fellow members, my brothers in the union. They’ve helped me find this place that I’m living in. They moved me in. They’ve set it up. The suite itself that I live in is totally accessible. It has A shower area, it has ramps in it. It’s huge. It’s accessible for wheelchairs, and that’s the big thing with people in wheelchairs. They need the accessibility.

 

[00:03:41.25] – Judy

In the traditionally male-dominated arena of mining, and especially heavy equipment operation, Bev Morrow has demonstrated that stereotypes of men’s and women’s work no longer hold and has proved that there’s a place in these arenas for women.

 

[00:03:56.05] – Bev Morrow

’76 when I started up here, early ’76. I went to BC Mining School in Rossland, took a three-month course there, and it gave you all the basic ideas of how mining was done.

 

[00:04:09.01] – Scott

Ah, that brings back memories.

 

[00:04:10.17] – Judy

It sure does, but remember George Koffler? George is a retired blacksmith from historic Barkerville who taught us city folks all about hunting, fishing, and looking for gold.

 

[00:04:21.09] – George Koffler

Is she going?

 

[00:04:22.26] – Judy

Look at this. I’m not doing anything. It’s serious.

 

[00:04:33.22] – Advertisement

I invented the telephone so that folks could talk to each other inexpensively. So far, Canadians have resisted corporate attempts to dismantle our phone system. But now, with Mulroney’s trade deal, it’s happening again. This trade deal could double your home phone bill. It’s already happened in the States, and we could be the next unless you call this number now. When it’s your phone, there’s nothing free about free trade.

 

[00:05:07.26] – Ken Georgetti

When there’s an earthquake or a hurricane, the world rushes to help the victims. But at the same time, we ignore the victims of tragedies which we have the power to prevent.

 

[00:05:16.02] – Martin Sheen

Such a tragedy is the pesticide poisoning of thousands of California farm workers and their families. Every year, the growers dump millions of pounds of pesticides on the table grape vineyards. These are toxic poisons which cause illness and death. But this is one tragedy which we can prevent. Please don’t buy California table grapes.

 

[00:05:41.01] – Judy

And now, from the wrinkled, unabridged pages of his historical logbooks, BC At Work’s resident storyteller, Clay Perry. For the last show, we thought we would introduce the man behind the log. Clay Perry’s log, that is. Clay, when you’re not working on Clay Perry’s Logbook, what are you working on?

 

[00:05:57.27] – Clay Perry

Well, I work with the IWA, Judy. I write speeches and do briefs for governments and teach shop stewards, camp stewards, utility infielder for the IWA.

 

[00:06:12.20] – Judy

Right. And before you started working with the IWA, what was your background?

 

[00:06:16.06] – Speaker 4

Well, I wandered off into the woods shortly after I graduated, which is what everybody, every young man did at that time, and I surveyed and logged and generally wandered around. Kids at that time had a great dimension of freedom which they do not now have. You could have four or five different employers in the course of any month or two and quit at any time and start another job. It’s often occurred to me that it’s a great loss for kids these days that they don’t have that. At any rate, I, um, that was the kind of thing that we all did.

 

[00:06:53.05] – Clay Perry

And somewhere along the line I met an old Icelander who had been for many years a Wobbly, was still as far as he was concerned a Wobbly, a member of the IWW, and he got me interested in the history particularly of forest industry labour and kind of branched out from then, became in a way, an obsession. And so I’ve pursued that line as one of my hobbies, I guess.

 

[00:07:21.19] – Judy

Where do you get the background from your stories? They’re so vast and varied.

 

[00:07:25.08] – Clay Perry

Well, you— if you just pursue something like that for a couple of decades, or longer in my case, Judy, you collect a lot of stuff. It’s— I guess it’s like collecting baseball cards, only different.

 

[00:07:40.23] – Scott

Thanks to people like Clay Perry, the rich history of working people in British Columbia is being preserved and remembered, and BC at Work is proud to have been part of that. We’ve also been part of a successful experiment designed to show that there really is common and productive ground for good labour-management relations in BC, and that that road must be paved with good intentions. Here now are some of the unions who have made BC at Work possible.

 

[00:08:08.00] – Jack Munro

I believe we all lose when we see those logs sailing out of the harbour unprocessed. The IWA’s commitment is to saving our environment and protecting our jobs. I believe this can be done. I believe this must be done. Working together to build a strong economy, maintaining our beautiful province of British Columbia at the same time.

 

[00:08:32.29] – John Shields

I’m John Shields, President of the BC Government Employees’ Union. Like Rick Hawes, the 39,000 members of the BCGEU provide many of the vital services which make our province so special. The sick, the elderly, the vulnerable need special care no matter where they live in our province.

 

[00:08:50.15] – Nick Worhaug

The hospitality industry is the second largest in BC.

 

[00:08:53.25] – Nick Worhaug

We know our work is important to all British Columbians.

 

[00:08:56.15] – Nick Worhaug

Working with other trade unions, the business community, and the public. We make the good times better in BC.

 

[00:09:03.05] – Art Gruntman

I’m Art Gruntman, Western Vice President of the Canadian Paper Workers Union. Our members are hard at work in pulp, paper, and related industries all over BC.

 

[00:09:12.02] – Leo Cochran

So the next time you or your family travel on BC Ferries, you’ll know from the ticket agent at the gate to the bridge of the ferry, there are many people working to make your trip both comfortable and safe.

 

[00:09:25.16] – Pat Savage

Nurses in BC began to become unionized in the late 1940s for some very basic and obvious reasons: better wages and working conditions.

 

[00:09:35.01] – Pat Savage

As a union, the pursuit of those goals never stops.

 

[00:09:39.06] – Elsie McMurphy

Doesn’t a teacher need just a textbook and a classroom in order to teach? In fact, good teaching takes a lot more than that. In today’s complex society, the children in our classrooms have more diverse needs than ever.

 

[00:09:52.01] – Len Werden

Our unions, our members, and the organized construction industry in British Columbia have a lot to be proud of, and we’re constantly working to improve. We’ve eliminated jurisdictional work stoppages in the organized sector through the establishment of our unique jurisdictional assignment plan.

 

[00:10:10.10] – Bill Macdonald

The members of the Hospital Employees’ Union are really concerned about the levels of healthcare and the patients that they look after within the facilities.

 

[00:10:18.16] – Bill Macdonald

They are at the forefront of delivering healthcare in many areas of the hospital.

 

[00:10:24.19] – Angela Schira

Our union is dedicated to improving the lives of the disabled in the province. It’s our contribution to the community, and what better way to celebrate 100 years of progressive unionism?

 

[00:10:36.16] – Gene Errington

We see our program as benefiting not just the workers on the worksite, but everybody in the community. When people can cope with their jobs, when they can look for promotions, when they can protect themselves by being able to cope with health and safety regulations, this is going to benefit their families. This is going to benefit the community. As they become literate, they will be able to take a wider part in public life. We see this as having enormous impact, not just for our workers, but for everybody.

 

[00:11:04.16] – Judy

You know, Scott, I still have my divining rod, but I just can’t seem to find any gold in Kitsilano. I don’t know what I’m doing wrong.

 

[00:11:10.01] – Scott

Well, first of all, you’re obviously not hanging around the right pasta bars. And second, you’re digging for gold in the wrong neighbourhood. Way too much competition.

 

[00:11:18.04] – Judy

Speaking of competition, here’s Buffalo Bill Swanson.

 

[00:11:35.01] – Advertisement

Hundreds of miles from nowhere, far beyond the reach of any conventional communication system. Yet no matter where it is, a business needs dependable communications in order to do business, and that’s where the BC Tel Group comes in. Here in this remote logging camp, new answers had to be found to the tough problems of operating in virtual isolation.

 

[00:11:59.04] – Speaker

We need something we can really depend on.

 

[00:12:01.07] – Advertisement

Of getting help in case of emergencies, of keeping people in touch. BC Tel’s answer Was SpaceTel, an advanced system that uses satellite transmission, a system unaffected by vast distances or mountain walls, an innovative answer to a unique business problem. But to the BC Tel group, coming up with those answers is our business.

 

[00:12:24.27] – Speaker

Hey, glad to hear it.

 

[00:12:25.29] – Advertisement

BC Tel. Quality. We make it a way of life.

 

[00:12:31.03] – Advertisement

The BC ferry system is one of the finest in the world. It’s one of the finest because of the dedicated people who crew our ferries, From the bridge to the kitchen, to the lounges, to the car deck, to the engine room, the people who work on our ferries are the very best. Trained to do their jobs and trained to act quickly and efficiently in case of an emergency, these people ensure that the traveling public are not only served well, but protected also. The Ferry and Marine Workers Union. The public sector at its best.

 

[00:13:02.13] – Scott

Welcome back. Before the break, we showed you some of the unions profiled by BC at Work, and now here are some of the companies.

 

[00:13:09.14] – Jim Matkin

There’s a hidden opportunity in increasing our export trade with Japan and the United States. This is true because of the principle of tariff escalation, which means that as you add value to a product, the tax or tariff is increased. We want to remove these barriers so that we can keep the jobs here in British Columbia. This is something that both business and labour want.

 

[00:13:31.15] – Ivan McLelland

Well, we believe here at Okanagan that you are not going to get that type of product unless the people that are working for you care. So we feel strongly about our employees, and we like to think that we have a good place to work here, and the employees that are doing this work are very, very important to us.

 

[00:13:51.13] – Judy

Okanagan Manufacturing, an important part of the local economy, a company that puts employees and quality first.

 

[00:13:57.26] – Judy

For many years, a secret has been lurking deep in the Kootenays. BC at Work has discovered it, but we’ve been sworn to secrecy. However, this is the story we can tell. When the miners came to the Kootenays for gold, the brewers came for the miners. Five small breweries competed for many years, and in 1959 they amalgamated in Creston to form Columbia Brewing, which bottles the most popular brew in BC.

 

[00:14:25.05] – Judy

Possibly the most important aspect of Vancouver Helicopters is search and rescue.

 

[00:14:29.26] – Speaker

We normally just have the pilot on board, and then the rescue specialists go on the end of the line.

 

[00:14:36.26] – Judy

And it can carry two people?

 

[00:14:38.26] – Speaker

Yeah, they can actually go up to three with a stretcher. They could carry a total of three, but normally it would be the one technician and then the one victim.

 

[00:14:47.11] – Stephen Sassen

Economics is definitely first. The quality and the depth of the workforce, the labour force, the diversity of locations, and the proximity to Los Angeles. Between those four, you have pretty much everything covered.

 

[00:15:03.25] – Scott

Steven Cannell, producer of such hit shows as The Rockford Files, Ten Speed and Brown Shoe, Baa Baa Black Sheep, A-Team, and many, many more, is now shooting two series in BC: 21 Jump Street and Wiseguy. Cannell Studios is committed to building a state-of-the-art production centre in North Vancouver.

 

[00:15:23.15] – Phil Nuytten

The equipment that we manufacture in Canada is primarily equipment for our own use— exposure suits, diving helmets, submarines, that sort of thing. Once in a while we come up with a real dandy such as the newtsuit. Hardsuit really is a submarine that you wear, and it’s a very simple concept but very difficult in the realization.

 

[00:15:42.29] – Phil Nuytten

Obviously, the problems that we have in diving are primarily from the pressure.

 

[00:15:48.11] – Al Dickey

Well, West Coast Manly is one of the older shipyards in Vancouver. It used to be down in False Creek, right down by Granville Island. They used to just build wooden barges and repairs and so on. And along about 1966, they got into building boom boats and sidewinders. We were actually pioneers in it.

 

[00:16:08.12] – Judy

The producers of BC at Work made sure that each show had a political focus that everyone could understand. For this, they turned to a man outstanding in his field, one of Canada’s leading grassroots philosophers, Charlie Farquharson.

 

[00:16:33.25] – Charlie Farquharson

You’d think more trade with them Yanks would be a good thing, for if it worked, then maybe we could try it out between the provinces of this country. If you just go west far enough, you come in contact with your far easterners, like your Nippon and both your China’s, your Mainliners and your Taiwan-on. The only trade school my boy Orville’s interested in is your discotheque. That boy’s been in school 10 year, barely knows how to add or distract, and I think the only way Orville will ever learn to multiply is watching our animals behind the barn. My old granddad used to say the only good government’s a bad one that’s scared to death. Well, sir, if that’s the case, then your BC province must be in for good government. And in all that time, I never had an accident. Oh, I’ve been kicked by a cow, throwed by a horse, and bit by a snake, but them wasn’t accidents. Them suckers done that on purpose. I sure would love to watch them forest cut-ups at work, especially the ones as picks just the one tree out of the whole forest, and after they picks it out, they picks it off and picks it up with one of them twirly gigs, what they calls, you hell of a copper.

 

[00:17:35.25] – Charlie Farquharson

And as for myself, I’m thinking of your futures as well as your pastures. Mind you, you have to watch your stuff at both places. And I think I’d have a better chance of getting your workers’ conflagration if I belonged to a union. So I’m thinking of becoming one of your UFOs. That’s your United Farmers of Ontario, not your unidentifiable flying objects.

 

[00:17:54.25] – Charlie Farquharson

I think I better join right away before I’m overtook by the next catarastrophy.

 

[00:18:03.04] – Scott

Quite apart from our friend George’s ability to find gold and his excellent marksmanship was his real talent of turning metal into art the old-fashioned way.

 

[00:18:12.03] – Judy

In our opinion, George represents the spirit in all British Columbians.

 

[00:18:22.04] – Speaker

That is the left blade.

 

[00:18:24.04] – Speaker

Just get it to the stem.

 

[00:18:29.02] – Advertisement

Lucy knows everything has to be right because we want our visitors to return.

 

[00:18:34.13] – Lucy Moncada

Our work is important to all British Columbians.

 

[00:18:37.19] – Advertisement

Nick Worhaug, president of Local 40, the Hotel and Restaurant Workers. Ten thousand men and women who make BC a great place to visit and a wonderful place to live.

 

[00:18:47.25] – Rick Heseltine

We would like to make a good impression on our guests. And we are proud of the high standards of excellence we have set.

 

[00:18:53.02] – Nick Worhaug

Local 40, we serve the need of our members and the province.

 

[00:18:56.19] – Nick Worhaug

We make the good times better in BC.

 

[00:19:00.19] – Advertisement

You’re still in bed when the first trucks start rolling. Before this day is through, each man will lift 15,000 pounds of garbage and walk miles of back alley. This job is tough and it’s dirty. Takes a special kind of man to work this hard for you and your community.

 

[00:19:15.04] – Advertisement

A garbage man.

 

[00:19:15.29] – Advertisement

It’s his neighbourhood too. They can’t rush it or cut corners because a safe, clean city is something to be proud of, and you can’t put a price tag on that. CUPE garbagemen, a winning team that takes pride in a job well done.

 

[00:19:30.08] – Advertisement

All across our province, members of the United Food and Commercial Workers serve British Columbians in supermarkets, drugstores, fruit and vegetable packing houses, lumber stores, warehouses, meatpacking plants, and other jobs. The 17,000 UFCW members work to ensure that consumers get the best service possible. In turn, the UFCW members spend their wages in the community, helping to improve the economic and social well-being of British Columbia. United Food and Commercial Workers, helping to make British Columbia better for all of us.

 

[00:19:59.27] – Judy

Scott, what was your favourite item we did in all the shows?

 

[00:20:02.18] – Scott

Oh, you sure put me on the spot. Well, the parasailing was a lot of fun, but I’d really have to say it was going underground at the Sullivan Mine in Kimberley. I mean, that is an experience I am not going to forget. And while we’re on the topic of mines, here’s Gerard Docquier, national director of the United Steelworkers.

 

[00:20:20.17] – Gerard Docquier

Through our organization, which is called the Canadian Steel Trade and Employment Congress, we are looking at the ability of the people that are— that will be laid off soon at Port Moody Ipsco. And we are trying to train them for new jobs, help them look for new jobs, help them adjust to a new situation. The steelworkers rescue team, I would compare them to the marine and the army. They are the best steelworkers, miners that are trained to come to the rescue of their fellow brothers that may find themselves in a dangerous situation. There is an example I can give. A couple of years ago, there was a fire at the Gaspé Copper Mine, Noranda operation. And the steelworkers from every mine in Quebec were flown in, and thanks to them, 67 lives were saved. Only one miner died in that operation. Sullivan Mine Rescue Team, another steelworker group, are winning the contest and the championship between rescue mines in the province, and they are really trained, they are giving their time freely, and they train continuously to be able to cope with situations that may arise anywhere here in BC or somewhere else in the vicinity of BC.

 

[00:22:03.03] – Gerard Docquier

And these steelworkers are really the outstanding people in our union.

 

[00:22:08.16] – Speaker

1 okay. 2 okay. 3 okay. 4 okay. 5 okay.

 

[00:22:11.02] – Speaker

Replace back cover. One step backward and dive.

 

[00:22:25.11] – Speaker

Attach facepiece.

 

[00:22:28.28] – Scott

Before heading to a disaster, the team captain must know each man is ready and committed to the rescue, because if one member of the team goes down, the entire team is pulled and another team is sent in.

 

[00:22:42.26] – Speaker

He’ll test each individual out for his equipment. He’ll check out each individual man.

 

[00:22:50.16] – Speaker

Then the vice captain on the end will come back and check out the captain.

 

[00:22:55.28] – Scott

Every operation of the mine rescue team was performed at a measured pace to ensure that nothing was overlooked and that any potential problems with equipment or personnel were discovered above ground. While the five-member underground team prepares, the sixth member of the team is at the disaster site gathering all known information to enable him to coordinate the rescue from above ground. In this training exercise, the mine shafts are recreated above ground to enable the instructors to properly assess the team’s actions and reactions.

 

[00:23:32.03] – Scott

Bicycle horns are used for team communication in the darkness, smoke, and poisonous atmosphere that would exist in an underground fire.

 

[00:23:41.27] – Scott

Judy, remember Dick Blockberger?

 

[00:23:43.28] – Judy

Yeah, the president of Broadway Printers.

 

[00:23:45.26] – Scott

I think he summed up best the philosophy behind this program.

 

[00:23:48.28] – Dick Blockberger

But it’s a question of loyalty. Again, I want loyalty from my people. They deserve loyalty from me. If two parties of goodwill sit across the table, and they both want to get a contract, we won’t always agree, and my goodness, we have had some, some very, very strong disagreements at times, but we have always come up with a contract because both parties want it and both parties are prepared to work for it.

 

[00:24:14.02] – Scott

Well, Judy, that’s it for this show and this season. It’s been great working with you.

 

[00:24:18.12] – Judy

And with you too. You know, it’s been a lot of fun doing the show, and at the same time, we’ve been able to reinforce the fact that people can work together toward a common goal.

 

[00:24:26.23] – Scott

Thank you for watching. And from the crew of BC at Work, a special thank you to all the working people, their unions, and their companies for sharing their world with us and with you at home.

 

[00:24:36.11] – Judy

We close the show tonight with a song that Scott wrote. It’s called A Working Man. Good night.

 

[00:24:50.08] – Song

My father was a working man. And I’m a worker’s son. For 40 years he never quit before his work was done. And when he died at 63, each man who came around told me my old man was a working man and always to stand proud. ‘Cause he worked for his brothers in the union. He worked for his sisters too. He worked for his wife and children, as other workers do. He worked for the challenge of his job. He worked for the company. He died as he lived, a working man. Working set him free.

 

[00:25:53.05] – Song

My father always wanted me to go to school and learn, to study hard at college so I would not have to earn a daily wage down in the mines or on the sea so vast. But my old man was a working man, a worker to the last. ‘Cause he worked for his brothers in the union. He worked for his sisters too. He worked for his wife and family, as all the workers do. He worked for the challenge of his job. He worked for the company. All he does, he lived a working man. His work set him free.

 

[00:26:53.29] – Song

My brother is a carpenter, my sister is a nurse. I tried to finish college, but I could not sing the verse. I never told my father what it meant to be a son, but in my way I’m a working man, still a worker’s son. ‘Cause he worked for his brothers in the union. He worked for his sisters too. He worked for his wife and children as other workers do. He worked for the challenge of his job. He worked for the company. He died as he lived, a working man. His work has set him free.

 

[00:27:50.26] – Song

My father was a working man, and I’m a worker’s son. My mother worked as hard as he till her work was done. And on the day my father died, she calmly told me, ‘Son—your old man was a working man, so always you stand proud. ‘Cause he worked for his brothers in the union. He worked for his sisters too. He worked for his wife and children, as other workers do. He worked for the challenge of his job. He worked for the company. Oh, he died as he lived, a working man. His work has set him free. Died as he lived, a working man. His work set him free.