Almost a year ago I wrote about the successful union organizing effort at McDonalds in Squamish, B.C. The Canadian Auto Workers won a representation vote, pursued negotiations for a contract, and the CAW members at McDonalds voted to accept the $0.25 raise, grievance procedure and other basic points recommended by a labour board-appointed mediator. However, McDonalds stalled, more than half the original workers are no longer employed, and a majority just voted to de-certify the union. The workers quoted in the paper said they believed that if they remained union the franchise would be sold back to the parent corporation who would then close it. They also said conditions had improved greatly since the the organizing drive. Bill Burgess
