we he ee ° ube Saturday, Januaty 25,1992 im” CN Rail reaches accord Atentative agreement was reached Jan. 15 between the rtation Union and CN Rail to permit the op- eration of conductor only freight and yard foreman only yard transfers. The landmark deal, fully endorsed by the UTU negoti- ating committee, will govern crewing arrangements, wages, benefits and operating conditions on freight train and yard transfers operating in Western Canada for approxi- mately 3,600 members. John Armstrong, spokesperson for the UTU membership on CN lines West, expressed his satisfac- tion with the agreement stat- ing, “I believe this agreement provides solid employment se- curity, lucrative benefits and conditions which are un- equalled by other labour agreements in North Ameri- ca. Furthermore, this is an agreement specially tailored to the needs of our member- ship and the train operations in Western Canada.” UTU represents approxi- mately 13,000 railway con- ductors, yard foremen, train and yard service employees in Canada and over 140,000 members in North America. UTU also holds several bus contracts in Canada and the United States. The agreement also caJs for special premium al- lowances to freight train. con- ductors which are equivalent to between a 10 and 25 per cent wage increase. For yard foremen, there are additional premium payments which represent an approximate 24 per cent wage increase. The deal includes a no lay- off clause and makes provi- sion for the current wage lev- els to be maintained. .. Lucrative retirement sepa- ration benefits and severance allowances are also furnished to enable train conductors, yard foremen and train ser- vice employees to retire or re- sign, but on a voluntary basis. “There are, of course, pro- ductivity gains for CN Rail, but I am confident that the terms and conditions of this Brian L. Brown. CERTIFIED GENERAL ACCOUNTANT 270 Columbia Avenue Castlegar ¢ 365-2151 ~~ NEVINS” EQUIPMENT * LAND DEVELOPING * SUBDIVISION SERVICING Hourly Rates & Contract Prices Available! FREE Estimates! R.R, 1, Site 31, Comp. 4 Castlegar, B.C. 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Invitations, Napkins etc. 197 Columbia Ave. @ Saturday, January 25, 1992. ~ Nine tOFIVE INFLATION DEFLATING Inflation, dragged down last month by the recession- plagued economy to a three-and-a- half year low of 3.8 per cent, could hit... a 30-year low this month of 1.5 per cent, analysts said has been high — almost 1.4 million unemployed, three million on welfare, and a record number iof bankruptcies — the government and analysts declared a key victory in the battle against inflation. MADE IN CHINA? The first pizza restaurant in Guangzhou, China, will be opened this year by Richmond- based Boston Pizza, company Officials said Tuesday. President Jim__ Treliving, who returned last Friday from the southern Chinese city with an agreement with ~ the government, said Boston Pizza Intemational Inc. is planning to open a 200-seat restaurant in August. HIGH-TECH NOW LOW United Technologies Corp. announced Tuesday it will eliminate about 13,900 jobs and report a $1 billion US loss for the year in a major restructuring. The job reductions, to be complete by 1995, amount to seven per cent of the company’s worlwide work force of 186,000. WorkRPLACE Taking out the trash Neither garbagemen nor sanitation engineers, Rocky Jameson and Brent McLean consider themselves “environmental specialists” News photo by Ed Mills Jonathan Green © NEWS REPORTER t’s a dirty job, but someone’s got to do it. Whoever uttered those words must have had a couple of guys like Rocky Jameson and Brent McLean in mind. Jameson and McLean are what some people call garbagemen, oth- ers call sanitation engineers, but they refer to themselves as “envi- ronmental specialists.” For six years, McLean has been™ riding the truck up and down the streets of Castlegar, picking up and disposing of what people no longer want. But through it all, he says his job.is really no different than any other. “It’s like any job,” he said. “It’s got its good and bad points.” Jameson has been on the job for 10 months, learning the tricks of the trade from McLean. “I took him under my wing and taught him everything I know, which took about five minutes,” McLean joked. Both men like the money they | make, the hours they work and the fact that they’re outside all day. On the down side, it’s the peo- ple who don’t use common sense that cause the headaches. “There’s a lot of drivers who fly past without seeing us,” McLean said. And Jameson? with the over-active green thumb. - “The people who let their rose bushes grow into the alley,” said McLean, adding that a bad case of branch whip is the result. At a time when environmental concerns and saving Mother Earth are high priorities, McLean thinks A _DAY | THE LIFE OF CASTLEGAR’S ENVIRONMENTAL SPECIALISTS “The bags that swell up and burst,” he says is his pet peeve, adding that discarded car batter- ies discharge acid when com- pressed in the truck. But it’s back lanes where most problems arise. Jameson says locating the 6wn- er of the car preventing access to the garbage bin is an inconve- nience while the thorn in McLean’s side is the homeowner that Castlegar is missing the point. “T’ve seen so much waste since I started here,” he said. “It’s dis- gusting.” Last summer, Cascade Recy- cling died a quick death after jumping on the environmental bandwagon, but McLean thinks the idea was right. “I would like to see a full scale recycling plant set up,” he said. Employed by Ace Disposal, Jameson and McLean are on the road before 7 a.m., working the residential areas from Tuesday to Friday, and the commercial route Saturday and Monday. Like a lot of other jobs, there is a busy season and a slow season. In the spring, as many as four trips a day to the dump are needed to unload the results of spring cleaning. Things slow down in the sum- mer when residents are on vaca- tion. While at work, Jameson and McLean subscribe to the adage “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure”, making use of unwant- ed stereos, telephones and power tools after some minor repairs. Both men admit that theydon’t - see themselyes as environmental specialists until the day they die, yet McLean takes comfort know- ing that his job is a little more se- cure than that of a Cominco work- er. “This is guaranteed,” he said. “People aren’t going to stop putting garbage out.” And though his is one job that honestly stinks, McLean pauses to be philosophical. “As they say in the movies, ‘It’s a living.”