THE WESTERN CANADIAN LUMBER WORKER

By BEN THOMPSON
Local 1-71
First Vice-President
Logging during 1970 was
curtailed for almost the entire
year with many loggers
unemployed and forced to seek

employment in other in-
dustries. The log stock - log
price situation has _ not
drastically improved and

loggers again face another
tough winter. Camp shutdowns
of indeterminate duration are
once more being repeated and
the list of unemployed loggers
is daily growing larger.

Unemployment has to be the
largest single problem which
an individual must face.

In spite of this self-evident
truth the elected represen-
tatives who form the govern-
ment have decided that
unemployment is ‘‘good” for
us.

Quick Cabinet and Minis-
terial action is interjected
when contract negotiations be-
come a little too sticky for
some industrial employers
association, but, ‘‘We are
studying the situation’, is the
answer given to the unem-

ployed. Too often are the
legislative halls of this country
reacting to headlines focusing
attention to some pending
labour negotiations problem.
The problem of the unem-
ployed receives little attention
as it is with us every day and
therefore not “news’’.
Unemployment is not good, it
is bad; bad for the individual
and his family, bad for the
community, bad for the
province and bad for Canada.

The truth of the news is found
by examining the statistics as
gathered and published by the
government’s Dominion
Bureau of Statistics. The total
of strikes and lockouts in
Canada during the first seven
months of 1970 involved:

348,788 workers — 4,554,000
man days lost time.

Every day in this same
period the unemployed and
actively seeking work in-
volved:

400,000 workers — 60,800,000
man days lost time,

It is totally wrong to consider
unemployment percentage
rates as ‘‘tolerable’’ or
‘‘sood’’. Surely this fast

SNOWMOBILE DEATHS

INCREASE BY

Snowmobile deaths soared
by 50 per cent last winter.
Predicted high sales of the
motorized snow vehicles make
a further increase in casualties
most likely this winter unless
operators take more care.

In a national report prepared
by the Canada Safety Council,
public road collisions are
singled out as by far the
leading cause of snowmobile
deaths.

Of the 93 snowmobile deaths
last winter, 47 resulted from
collisions with other motor
vehicles. One of the victims
was a nine-year-old boy whose
snowmobile collided with a car
on a main highway.

The Canada Safety Council
recommends that
snowmobilers using their
vehicles for recreation stay off

50%

public roads. The Council also
says that snowmobilers should
tow their vehicles across
public roads manually
although driving them across
under power is generally legal.

Driving snowmobiles at
night proved to be the most
hazardous practice of all. Of
the fatalities, 28 took place at
night.

Broken down by location, 22
of the total number of deaths
took place on municipal roads,
21 on secondary roads and four
on main highways.

While legislation varies

widely from province to
province, snowmobiles are
generally allowed on roads
except on main highways.
Where snowmobiles are
allowed on roads, registration
is compulsory.

growing city of unemployed
(reported to number 419,000 at
the end of October) can no
longer be ignored by any
thinking person. The truth
today is that Canadian em-
bassies, trade missions, etc.,

around the world can only say,
“Come to Canada — Join the
unemployed’.

The picture for the wood-
worker in British Columbia
and the coastal logger is far
from encouraging. Lay-offs for
the ‘‘winter’’ shutdown
commenced in October when
logging weather was actually
at its prime. No one is able to
answer the loggers’ question,
“How long will the camp be
shut down?’’ The Loggers
Local (1-71) which had a
membership of 5,140 in April

1969 had only 3,500 working at

the 15th of November 1970 and
less than 1,000 working on
December 15th 1970. Many
small contractors were among
the first to be closed but these
were swiftly followed by the
giants — Rayonier, Crown
Zellerbach, MacMillan Bloedel
and Weldwood of Canada Ltd.
Where is there any action to try
to reduce such fluctuations?

We do not cry when com-
panies introduce machinery
which reduces the logging
force. Many machines makes
the loggers’ tasks less back-
breaking and safer. We note
that company supervisors ask,
“Where are the loggers?”’
when they choose to log. Our
concern is when companies too
frequently choose not to log is

the fate of the individual worker

even considered? When the
economy of British Columbia is
so dominated by the forest
industry we believe it is time
that one should question the
“sole” right of a company to
open and close their operations
overnight. More serious
thought and long range
planning for the individual
woodworker must be con-
sidered. Hot summers, cold or
snowy winters and machinery
breakdowns create enough
hardships without additional
time off through log price, log
stock, log market fluctuations.
The individual cannot endure
this constant pressure and the
nation cannot afford the
‘luxury’? of a vast army of
unemployed.

CREDIT

BUREAUS SHY ABOUT

DISCLOSING CONSUMER RATINGS

There’s about eight million
bucks owing in consumer
credit in Canada now, yet
around half the applicants for
time - payments get turned
down.

How come? Who knows
who is a good credit risk?

The Agency

The local credit bureau is
the agency which usually tells
the local merchant if you’re
good for the payments on the
furniture, appliances, etc.

But how accurate is the
credit bureau? And how can
you find out what it’s saying
about you?

As you might expect, the
credit bureau gathers inform-
ation from a variety of sources
— department stores, ban
credit unions, other accounts.
And — sometimes — from
your boss or your neighbours.

Make Mistakes

The credit bureaus try to
be accurate, but the people
there are only human like the
rest of us. Sometimes they
make mistakes.

How can you find out? Try
asking. Sometimes, they'll tell
you. But just “sometimes.”

The Associated Credit Bu-
reaus of Canada claim that

their members will disclose
to any consumer the informa-
tion they have on file. But it
isn’t always so. The Consum-
ers Association of Canada did
some investigating.

AC members who partici-
pated in a nationwide survey
reported “a wide range of at-
titudes.” Some are willing to
show credit files. Others just
refused flatly, even after prop-
er identification. One bureau
wanted a $2.50 fee — and then
would let you look only if
you’d been turned down for
credit.

Married Women
In some places, a married
woman just automatically as-
sumes the credit rating of her
husband, and can’t see her file
unless her husband is with
e

r.
The Consumers Association
of Canada is calling for “real-
istic” legislation and enforce-
ment. It wants credit bureaus
to be licensed so that their
activities can be regulated.
Why regulate? To protect
individual privacy and repu-
tation, and to safeguard the
consumer’s economic security.
Most agencies are honest
and try to give correct inform-

ation — but mistakes do hap-
pen. And there’s always the
fly-by-night operators.

The CAC suggests that you
approach your local credit bu-
reau or similar agency and
ask to see your file. THEN
LET THE CONSUMERS AS-
SOCIATION OF CANADA
KNOW WHAT YOU FIND
OUT. The address: 100 Glou-
cester Street, Ottawa 4, Ont.

The reputation you save
may be your own, too!

LIGHTER SIDE

Kamloops Katie says that a
bachelor is a man who leans
towards women — but not far
enough to fall.

* * *

A backwoodsman was leav-
ing home for a hunting trip of
several days during the cold
fall. His wife wasn’t happy to
be left alone with snow due
any time

“Zeke, » she complained,

“youre going away for a
week and there’s not a single
stick of wood cut for the
stove,”

“So what?” Zeke replied.

“ain’t taking the axe.’

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