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THE WESTERN CANADIAN LUMBER WORKER

IWA DOCUMENTARY — CONCLUSION

a modern industrial revolution brought new and challenging
problems for woodworkers and their Union — the International
Woodworkers of America. Its attack on these problems opened a new
chapter in the Union's history with significant developments.

‘Up to this point in the IWA documentary, attention has been

focused on what the IWA is like, what it has done, and why it is what

it is. But “nothing is constant but change.” Since World War-Il, a
changing union, representing a changing work force, has been
grappling with changing problems caused by changing conditions.

It cannot be disputed that the IWA has done an impressive job in
the improvement of wages and working conditions for woodworkers.
The agreements negotiated throughout the years speak for them-
selves. In the Western States the new base or minimum rate now ap-
proximates the national average hourly rate in manufacturing. Fringe
benefits of substantial value have been written into IWA agreements
and modernized. The approach has been intensly practical inasmuch
as it has reflected the work-a-day experience. Militancy was not con-

fused with noise.

The emphasis was placed on results in matters of vital concern
to the membership. The core function of the IWA has been the protec-
tion of the economic position and personal welfare of woodworkers.
This function has undergone adaptation to a rapidly changing job
environment with important results in terms of membership welfare.

A number of important adaptations made by the Union are note-
worthy.

The scope of collective bargaining has been broadened with in-
creasing emphasis on the welfare concept in agreements.

Recognition has been given the importance of public policy in
relation to the aims of the Union with a consequent broadening of the
Union's activities in politics, legislation, public relations, community
cooperation and social security progress.

Greater initiative has been taken in charting guide lines for labor-
management relations.
Efficiency has been stressed in the administration of the Union as a

business-like (not business) institution to maintain membership unity
as the basis of union strength.

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Mounting problems of job security have been mainly responsible
for the changes in the Union’s program. In addition to the displace-
ment of workers due to technological change, other factors have
jeopardized security of employment. Structural changes in the industry
to accomplish its integration have stranded groups of lumber workers.

Small or uneconomic operations have been closed down or ab-
sorbed by larger corporations creating “ghost” communities. Under-
employment or part-time employment caused by seasonal factors or
market fluctuations has been prevalent. The competition of wood sub-
stitutes in construction has become more acute. Because of this com-
bination of factors, management groups have publicly announced
that job opportunities in the lumber industry will be further reduced.
The callous acceptance of the view that thousands of workers must
necessarily be thrown on the scrapheap has been vigorously chal-
lenged by the Union.

Woodworkers have grown familiar with the more obvious and ~
dramatic changes in production methods which have made it possible
for fewer workers to produce more lumber. The introduction of huge
mobile equipment in woods operations has displaced whole classifi-
cations of workers. The mobile steel spar, the windrow machine and
the loading “grappler’” moving over new access roads have worked
havoc with rigging, loading and yarding crews. Smaller crews have
been equipped to speed the booming and transportation of logs.
Automated units in sawmills and plywood plants are becoming com-
mon and step by step the industry is mastering “continuous flow”
techniques in the automatic transfer of material between automated
units.

The actual displacement of workers has been difficult to measure
because it has been uneven, gradual and often obscured by increased
production demands. Nevertheless, the Union has noted many opera-
tions now able to increase production with fifty per cent of the per-
sonnel employed five years previously. It has been a “creeping” dis-
placement or a form of “unseen firing” but with a continuing threat
which many workers have failed to recognize. Certainly, the displace-
ment has been reflected in local union membership records. The Union
has been made aware of the tragic effects of technological unemploy-
ment in the personal lives of thousands of its members, especially
those over 40 years of age. And the end is not yet in sight.

...in Future Union Negotiations

Some studies undertaken have shown that even in prosperous
periods 30 per cent of those displaced were still unemployed a year
later. Many over the age of 45 were out of work for an average of
six months instead of the usual average three months. Approximately
80 per cent used up their unemployment insurance benefits before
finding work. Most of those over 60 never found other jobs and were
forced to rely on some form of social assistance. The average pay-cut
of those who found new jobs was 10 cents an hour. Such statistics
vary from area to area and according to economic conditions but
everywhere they add up to tragedy and shameful waste of human
resources.

In principle, the IWA has not been opposed to technological pro-
gress, because it offers the opportunity to raise living standards. The
Union has taken the positive attitude that technological change must
be geared to full employment with adequate protection for the work-
ers‘ income. In the broader aspects of its program, the IWA has pressed
for full employment policies which will eventually provide for the
absorption of displaced workers. In the narrower and more immediate
requirements of collective bargaining, the Union has sought ways and
means of minimizing or cushioning the immediate effects of auto-

This total effort has required pressure on management to accept
greater responsibility for those whose skills are discarded as well as
action to gain public recognition of the over-all social responsibility.

As already stated, the complex problems involved have resulted
in an enlarged scope of collective bargaining. Not all the steps taken
have been set forth in contract language for a great deal of experi-
mentation has been necessary. In some degree, the Union has per-
suaded management to engage in advance consultation before in-
stallation of new automatic equipment. Where management has been
cooperative, adjustments have been made enabling the workers af-
fected to qualify for the new jobs, thus minimizing displacements.

_ Agreat deal of attention has been given to programs of re-training
for those with the aptitude for new occupations. Training by the in-
for jobs in the industry is regarded as of first importance. Con-

found necessary for the success of such training are that the
be paid during training and that the training should lead

directly to jobs. Co-ordination between re-training and job placement
has been demanded in programs sponsored by government agencies.

The Union has also demanded consideration of the expenses in-
curred by workers in moving to plants often distant from their places
of residence. Workers with present-day financial responsibilities are
not readily mobile. At many points, the Union has demanded that the
seniority provisions be broadened to protect the established rights of
workers transferred to other branches of the employing firm.

When re-training is not feasible, consideration has been given to
such provisions as severance pay and guaranteed wage plans.

The IWA has emphasized the importance of its wage policies in this
changing situation. The vastly improved profit position of the industry
has warranted acceptance by management of greater social responsi-
bility. Increased wages have been justified by the increased output
per man hour and the lowered labor costs per unit of production.

In large areas of the economy, the lumber industry is a major and
basic source of income. Increased wage-spending by woodworkers
is an important contributing factor in stimulating business activity and
increases the demand on productive capacity. Increased wages are
advocated by the Union as one of the important weapons to combat
chronic mass unemployment.

Mechanization and automation are affecting the whole system of
job classification and job evaluation. The Union has adopted various
devices to adjust rates affected by re-classification or change in job
content. The necessary adjustments are under constant review, either
by joint industry committees or local union committees and. are often
carried: out apart from general negotiations, The Union has insisted
that the wage rates on new jobs not be down-graded and that the in-
creased productivity of the operation should provide higher wages

for the non-automated jobs.
The IWA has supported the AFL-CIO proposal for reduction of the

hours of work without loss of take-home pay by establishment of the
35-hour week. One purpose of this proposal is to spread the available
employment among more workers to lessen unemployment. Funda-
mentally, the proposal is designed to allow the workers a greater
share of the increased. productivity in the form of increased leisure.

See “AUTOMATION PROBLEMS” — Page 10 |