L0fthouse. employees, ons strike By Mark Reesor Thirty-three unionized employees at Lofthouse Brass walked out at mid- night Sunday in the"fre-t strtke in the ahnost 40-year history of the Whitby com- Temembers of the Canadian Auto Workers Local 1090 say job security contractin g. out and seniorîty rights are the main issues. Negotiations with Lof- thouse management, who aren't returning calîs, broke off Thursday morn-, ngrand no new talks are The Hopkins Street com- pany wants te change the contract to permit contract- Wehad good langquage, they just want te change it, » says CAW unit chair Jackie Gilkes. It also wants to bring in management te work in the plant when it's busy in- stead of paying overtime, she says, and is Iooking te uerode"~ some seniority Inofthouse bas offered a wage increase of 20 cents an hour in a one-year con- tract, says Gilkes, adding the union hasn't yet asked for a sépecific figue but is lookig for a "decent» i- crease in pay and benefits. "We don,'t make big money at ail here. Ouïr average wage is 'about $13.50 (an hour)... "W. just went through a decertifi<dation attempt that was strongly baekeclby the employer. They carpaigned very liard to get rid of us and wo believe they want tu get rid of us again so they proposed a one-year agree- ment.» Lofthouse's Whitby plant -- it also bas a facility in Burks Falls -- supplies about 80 per cent of the North American block hea- ter body market and pro- duces about 400 different types of brass forgings. Items from Wh"tby. Coujncil agfenda(s) Monday, October 21, 19 96 -Recommendations fromt theplnnngand development committee That a rezoning application by Cummins Engine Company Inc., 1311 Hopkins St., be approvod-. Cummins has boon oporating as a truck/heavy equipmont ropair and rotait parts sales business, and wants to b. able soiltruncks on the site. Recommended to coumdil Recommendations from the operations committee That a byiaw b. brought forward to appoint Murray Gale and Randy Kureto as municipal bylaw onforcoment officems. Recommended to council That the proposai of Brock/BayWood Physioth- erapy Contre, for the lease of space for a sports medicine and rohab ciinic ln the tower lobby- area of the Civic roc compiex on Rossland Road, bo accepted; that $12.000 proposed for the 1997 operâting budget to undortako work to prepare for the ciinic be approveci. There wore onty thmee bids for the f îve-year contract (to be renewed annauily) that bog ms Jan. 1, 1997. Recommended to council That a bylaw be brought foiward to update the Town's iconsing regulations rogarding the oporation, of refreshmont vehicios. The rocommendation cornes after the Town's current bylaw was found to be deficient after an application for a refroshment vehicte licence oariier this yoar was denieci becauso the vehicie, a convorted school bus, was not considored appropriate for the Intended use and location. Among other provisions, the now iconsing regulations recognize four different types 0f vehicles -- mobile canteens (annuai feo $300), refreshmont carts ($150), refreshment cycles ($75) and refreshment trucks ($300). The Town now has nine mobile canteons, 10 carts, seven cycles and eight trucks, to bring ln revenue of $7,125 annualiy. Recommended to council That the Town of Whitby accept the proposai of Brown's Fine Food Services to provide and operato two stand-atone concession booths at Iroquois Park. LWithdrawn for further study by staff Whitby Free Press, Wednesday, October 23,1I996, Page 3 Twelve youths ' charged A robbery victim's friend who recognized stolen itm na Whitby second- hand store led police to arreet 12 people ini connec- tion with local break and enters. The seven young offen- ders, aIl aged 15 to 17, and fiveý adulte, aged 18 te 20, ail from south Whitby, were charged with a dozen .., br einb that area bet- ween lato August and mid- October. The thefts aIlivolved rtting bite residences by eaigor sliding open windows, says Inspector Grep Reid of Durham Regu'onal Police,' who adds the culprits stole CDs jewellery, VCRs, liquor anc1 cash.- Charges laid against the 12 suspects include break, enter and theft, powseqion of toln popetyunder $5,000 ana conspiracy te, commit break and enter. .. Te investigation is con- ~ tinun and police say more ~ ~YV~'.:, arresta are possible. .Pro bleni ~x ped estrians Truck check- TRANSPORTATION MINISTRY employee Gerry LaFiamme (front) and To m Chow Check out a vehicle during truck inspections held Thursday and Friday at the Whitby weio h scale off Highway 401. Members of tme Durham Regional Police truck enforcement unit also partiated in the inspection. Bracelets stolen from sor Three trays of gold brace- lets valued at between $10,000 and $12,000 were stolen from a Whitby jewel- lery store Sunday after- moon. police aire uncertain whether they were invol- yod. The cuiprit(s) managed te elide open a- glass window display and got out of the store with the trays with- out being noticed. An investigation is con- INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT eTAX / ESTATE STRATEGIES Durham Regional Police sw there bave been in- cidients in Whitby i which some pedestrians are using school crossings as pedes- trian.crossovers. Police.say if a pedestrian icrossmng a street at a school crossing at a time when there is no crossing gu ard, the pedestrian shoul ot raise his/her hand and expect traflc te stop Atempts te do so jo pardize the safety of both the peestrian and driver, durb fi ngsareonly that duighsool hours when there is a crossing guard on duty, remind police, noting thgt such crossigs are just like any other location when there is nogauard. P7olice say the most recent area of concern is in the Anderson Street area,