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WHITBY FREE PRESS, WEDNESDAY,JULY 23, 1980, PAGE5 Firestone workers fight over pensions By MICHAEL KNELL Free Press Staff Without sounding angered or embittered, the president of the United Rubber Workers, Local 494, called for an investigation into the closing of Whitby's Firestone Canada plant and accused the company of discrimination. William Love, whose local represents about 550 of the 650 employees of Firestone who lost their jobs per- manently last Friday, ac- cused the company of "discrimination against production workers and the organized officer workers" for not having settled the pension dispute. The main bone of conten- tion between the union and the company is severance pay for those workers bet- ween 45 and 55 who will receive a vested pension when they reach age 65. Under the present set of circumstances, workers un- der 45 will receive severance -pay equal to two per cent of their entire earnings since they started with the com- pany. Workers who are 55 and over, with more than 20 years of service, will be retired automatically. However, workers bet- ween the ages of 45 and 55 who have the required 20 years of service will receive a vested pension from which they will not draw benefits until they are 65. According to Love, the union is demanding that the company grant these workers severance pay as well as the vested pension. The reason for this Love said is because this group will have the hardest time finding new jobs. "They will find it hardest to get a job," Lobe said. Davis to visit Ontario Premier William The luncheon begins at Davis will be in Whitby to noon and will be held at the address a special hffcheon Haydenshore Pavilion. meeting of the Whitb T Rotary Club on August 7. Ticetsor the er$ The Rotary Club is spon- pe eronan may eob- soring the Premier's ad- sta6 -37y;caligPTohn dress as part of their at 668-335; r rt celebrations of the Town of at 68-10r2t Whitby's 125th Anniversary. t "If the company had agreed, the same as in the United States, that a person with 25 years will get a pen- sion regardless of age," the problems would not exist, he said. "All we want is the same consideration." Compared with plant closing settlements in the United States, Love feels that his members are not being treated equally. "The Canadian workers with an international com- pany aren't getting treated the same," he said. If the company does not meet .the unions requests, Love said that they are prepared to take legal ac- tion. "The union is considering legal action under the language of the agreement," Love said adding that the company is "interpreting the agreement differently from what we are." He also said that because the company is closing its plant, they are not closing the union local because the present contract runs for another year. The union has "resisted" the company's efforts to terminate the agreement in order to preserve the mem- bership's successor rights should the plant be sold and, re-opened. Love also laid the blame for the closing squarely on the management of Firestone. "They're in trouble because of the type of management that they've had for the last 10.to 15 years," Love said. "Firestone changes management like they change socks." Love also suspects that the Whitby plant was closed in order for the company to maintain its American operations. He did concede, however, that the company has closed some plants in the United States. As of press time, Firestone had 12 plants in operation, 10 in the U.S. and two in Canada. The com- pany closed their Calgary operation in the spring of 1978. "American pressure (probably) forced them to close the plant," he said. Love also complained that the 16 week notice was "not nearly long enough" and suggested that it be exten- ded to six months. The 40 year old, 24½ year employee of the company also said that the "minimum" that the gover- nment of Ontario should do is investigate all plant closing to make such that the reasons for it are valid. Love also lashed out at the average citizen accusing him of being complacent in this time of industrial trouble. "The average citizen, unless it affects him direc- tly, isn't taking any notice," Love said adding that it will start to affect him if the out- of-work Firestone em- ployees end up on the welfare rolls. This, he said, will create an extra burden on the tax- payer when his members "end up on the welfare rolls when their U.I.C. benefits run out." Love said that the union and the company, under the chairmanship of an impar- tial third party, have set up a committee to help the men and women at the plant find new jobs. To date, only about five per cent of the 550 member union have found new jobs, Love said adding that the majority of these have been people with skills. Love calls for investigation