Cape Breton's Magazine

on television some nights, perhaps using some other television people interchangea? bly. And there was a great fear among the staff that they might get into a split- shift, staggered-hours situation. It was more a job security kind of thing. Actual? ly, the pay wasn't that bad. Sydney paid better than Saint John and Halifax and a lot of other places over all. There were discrepancies. When we had our first meeting when we planned to organize, we went around the table and everyone said what he and she was making. And I think we were all pretty well paid. But it was sur? prising how some people who didn't seem to have more experience or ability were paid higher. So you were in a situ? ation where they paid you what you thought you were worth which might have been fair enough from their point of view, but from the point of view of the staff, they wanted a little more consistency. There were things like that. Two fellows approached me.... And I talked about the people (at the station). There were several others who were, perhaps, more militant than I. I was the contact person there. It took us about a year to get certifica? tion and when that came through we went for our first contract. And I was last on, in a sense, so I was first out. That was all right because, you see, what they did was they didn't fire me outright. What they said was, "We're going to take the network for awhile and the local inserts can be run from South Bar," where the technicians were, and they could play re? corded ones or whatever they had in the You know, in any business that is family-owned there's a cer? tain paternalism in it. I don't say that to be derogatory in any sense because the other side of that is that they were very, very kind. If anyone was sick or had an appendectomy or something, they were very good and they would visit in the hospital and, you know. But I think that people always want their freedom and maybe people who are sort of creative have a sense of justice, too, and I suppose that's where the union stemmed from. That's kind of a long answer but I think it's basically that. There was nothing harsh or difficult in it. They were good broadcasters! They knew how to do it. (Were you the actual organiz? er? Because you were pretty young then.) Well, yes! But you see, my fa? ther was a known unionist. My father was a real good unionist because he always believed that the contract worked as much for the company as it did for the union, because he used to say, "There's slackers on our side, too." So it gave an outline of what should be done. I guess the other thing was that I was single and, perhaps, more approachable than the married men who would be less willing to go out on a limb. McKenzie College ( Now Accepting Applications I Questions 1 Who has the most computers per student in Nova Scotia? 2 Who has the only 24 hour computer lab in Nova Scotia? 3 Who has the only 486 networked multi media lab in Nova Scotia? 4 Who has over 100 computers for students to use at home? 5 Who guarantees 90% of your time will be spent at a computer? 6 Where is McKenzie College'! '- >' o'"' Answers 1 Computerized Office Administration 2 Computer Repair 3 Multi Media 4 Accounting 5 Telecommunications & Security 6 Computerized Medical 7 Computerized Legal 1 McKenzie College with over 250 computers. 2 McKenzie College has operated a card access 24 hour lab for the last three years. 3 McKenzie College has the first multi media networked lab in Nova Scotia and in Atlantic Canada. 4 McKenzie College has over 100 IBM computers for home use. 5 McKenzie College guarantees 90% of your time will be at a computer terminal 6 McKenzie College is on 86 Reeves St., Sydney CllSIMMf