PasTmon

MTS Centre's True North Sports & Entertainment Ltd. President and CEO, Jim Ludlow sent a nasty letter on January 14th, 2004 addressed to IATSE's international representative Barny Haines threatening legal action. In his letter Jim Ludlow demanded of Barny Haines that he "put an end to the campaign you (Barny Haines) have launched to intimidate individuals, patrons of MTS Centre and all Manitobans in an attempt to advance the economic interests of a small group." Ludlow went on to state that "if forced we (MTS) will take whatever legal steps necessary to protect our stakeholders". And perhaps that is honestly all that Ludlow is concerned about- protecting "the stake holders". Since when are our corporate slave masters so

concerned about their workers welfare or for that matter all Manitobans? The Winnipeg Sun reported in their article Union staging scare tactics, that MTS Centre managers are accusing IATSE 63, a Winnipeg stagehand union of intimidating MTS Centre employees and have asked the Manitoba government (a stake holder) to referee their dispute. Management from True North Sports & Entertainment Ltd, have now decided to enter conciliation talks with the International Alliance of Theatrical and Stage Employees local 63 on Tuesday Feb. 1, 2005, perhaps in the hopes that the Manitoba Doer government (a share holder) will side with them. Nancy Allen, Manitoba's Minister of Labour had tried to intervene in the dispute sending this response in a letter to IATSE stating: "I regret that this decision has resulted in disagreement between the MTS Centre and I.A.T.S.E. The MTS Centre is a private enterprise that makes decisions such as this independent of government. However I would like to see the parties resolve their differences in a manner that is acceptable to both parties. With that in mind, we have offered the services of a Conciliation Officer to help find a resolution." True North Entertainment however turned down the invitation from the province of Manitoba for conciliation, Haines said. Now perhaps MTS thinks they can manipulate or hy-jack the government system to get the results they want. We must not forget the hoards of money and enthusiasm the Doer government has put into the MTS Centre and the up coming Juno Awards as well. The alleged harassment of the downtown complex's staff is a key reason for entering into conciliation, arena manager Kevin Donnelly told The Sun. "They have targeted certain people within our organization," Donnelly said of the Winnipeg IATSE local, whose members have been kept out of concert staging since the $133.5 million arena opened in November 2004. "It's gone beyond what we feel is an accepted business practice", Donnelly went on to say. What does Donnelly know about accepted business practice, we certainly should ask him? True North is also desperately trying to prevent the union from picketing the 2005 Juno Awards at the MTS Centre on April 3, a protest that local government officials and MTS stakeholders know will embarrass the city of Winnipeg. IATSE seems to have got the attention of MTS corporate CEO's with their "direct action strike", something IATSE had to obtain in order to have a chance of obtaining a contract for the IATSE Winnipeg workers. IATSE is promising further use of old fashioned IWW industrial direct action against their corporate slave masters in an attempt to persuade the MTS Centre to give IATSE a contract. Direct action means industrial action directly by, for, and of the workers themselves, without the treacherous aid of labor misleaders or scheming politicians. A strike that is initiated, controlled, and settled by the workers directly affected is direct action. Direct action it is argued by some to be true industrial democracy. More workers and more unions should be taking notice of IATSE campaign tactics and fully supporting IATSE in their attempt to advance the economic interests of this small group of workers. IWW Wobblies maintain that it is the discrepancy between promise and performance of labor governments that in the past has discredited political action and demanded direct industrial action. Good old fashioned industrial action may be all that IATSE can truly rely on, but industrial action is something that the corporate slaves are not accustomed to and who wants to contain it quickly with legal action as proposed recently by MTS Centre's Jim Ludlow. James C.R. Ludlow is a lawyer who practices corporate and securities law with a special emphasis on corporate finance. Ludlow has experience working on behalf of an investment fund with respect to debt and equity investment in public and private companies and has acted in initial public offerings, reverse take overs, private placements and financial restructurings. Ludlow has also acted in accessing junior and senior capital markets and on acquisitions and divestitures, transaction structuring and securities and regulatory compliance. In September 1, 1998 James C.R. Ludlow was put back on the "Inactive to Practicing" Manitoba Law Society list. In the fall of 1999 the Winnipeg legal firm of Aikins, MacAulay & Thorvaldson announced that Jim C.R. Ludlow had been admitted to the law firm partnership. Ludlow had returned to the partnership from Calgary, Alberta where he had spent the past two years as General Counsel and Vice-President, Corporate Development, to a private western Canadian merchant bank and venture capital firm. Despite Jim Ludlow's predictable corporate bullying tactics, Barney Haines, spokesman for the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), Local 63, said pickets will continue to be set up outside the MTS Centre employee entrance on Hargrave Street and outside the trucking entrance on Carlton Street. Everyone going in and everyone leaving those entrances from the MTS Centre get a first hand experience of the direct action IATSE protest picket until they get a contract with the MTS Centre arena just like they had with the old Winnipeg arena for the past fifty years. True North Entertainment senior vice president of Marketing & Communications Jim Millican said IATSE's contract with the old arena was not transferable to the new facility, and has no obligation to hire the union's Winnipeg workers. Instead it is rumored that the MTS Centre brings in workers from across Canada to work gigs at the MTS Centre, leaving Manitoba workers out in the cold. True North Entertainment however gave Cupe local 500 a contract in the MTS Centre after Cupe's Paul Moist used Crocus's influence to wrangle a voluntary agreement from True North. Crocus has lots of money invested in True North, but not nearly as much money as Manitoba tax payers.