, 7 N Wi tie ony / [? i is Wn Incorporating The z.Z. Lumberworker Official Publication of the International Woodworkers! of sémertea Regional Council No. 1 Vol. XXX, No. 20 VANCOUVER, B.C. 5c PER COPY Ae? 2nd Issue October, 1963 COMPANY COMMISSARIES mjc 1 mim Bo m 2M mijn 3 ee Rcihvancalicn EARLY STRIKES that ite win benefits now enjoyed by IWA members included the 1935 industry-wide walkout in the Pacific Northwest. This photo shows the march by some 6,000 union members, their families and sympathizers between Aberdeen and Hoquiam, Wash- ington, U:S.A., won shortly after parade was held. in protest against employer refusal to bargain in good faith. Strike was OFFICERS’ STATEMENT The following statement is published by the Regional Of- ficers in the belief that the membership may not be fully con- versant with all the facts related to the reasons why a per cil at this time. - capita tax increase is so vitally necessary to the Regional Coun- An increase in the per capita payments to the Regional Council was recommended to the 26th Annual Regional Con- vention in resolution form by the Regional Officers and several Local Unions. A majority of the Constitu- tions Committee recom- mended that the per capita payments from the Local Un- jons to the Region be in- creased by 15 cents per mem- ber per month The Convention was given a full explanation by the Re- gional Officers of why such an increase was necessary. The Region’s per capita require- ments were then hotly de- bated by the ae During this debate the main issue before the Con- vention was whether or not a referendum ballot should be submitted to the membership to determine their wishes on WHAT‘S INSIDE Congress - - 2 Turns ete a Editorial - - - 4 placing the Regional Council in a more sound financial position. On a roll call vote the pro- posed per capita increase was defeated by a narrow margin. To intelligently analyze the per capita requirements of the Regional Council, it is necessary to review both the income and the expenses of the Region. The income of the Regional Council has been affected to a large extent by the recent boom in the industry where many Local Unions have in- creased their membership in manufacturing plants, partic- ularly in the Lower Main- land. This increased member- ship has been affected to a eet by continued mechan- ization which has cut down normal requirements of em- ployees in the industry. The organizational cam- paign conducted by the Re- gional Council bas. likewise been a factor in increasing the average membership within the Region, and of course increasing the normal " income of the Regional Coun- requirements of the Region. In 1959, when the structure of the Regional Council was changed to extend the juris- diction of Region 1' to cover all provinces west of Ontario, the Region was required to take over the responsibility of organization and negotia- tions which were formerly the responsibility of the In- ternational Union. See “OFFICERS” — Page 2 Strike | Settled IWA Region No. 2 Direc- tor H. Landon Ladd has re- ported that the strike at Hanover Kitchens (Canada) Ltd. has been settled with the signing of “the best contract in the area.” Sixty-five employees who are.members of IWA Local 2-500 will get an average wage increase of 35 cents an hour. over a 30-month = period — 14c the first year, = 10c the second year and — four cents in the final six = months. The average wage = was about $1.30 an hour. = In addition the Local won = = fringe benefits including — = group insurance, hospital = = plan paid by the company, = = two rest periods daily and = = four hours pay if no work = = is available. = This is the first agree- = ment with this company. OU VICTIMIZE LOGGERS Investigated By Local 1-7] Repeated charges by Local 1-71 loggers that they are out- rageously victimized by some companies when purchasing necessary work clothing and logging boots from company commissaries have been borne out in an investigation con- ducted by the Local Union. A survey made of reported ‘ prices in a number of Coastal camp commissaries showed the cost to loggers for, an identical make of logging boot varied from $34 to $46. The average mark up on a pair of logging boots was 25%. In other cases, markups ranged from a low of 16% to a high of 67%. Not computed in the above figures is a_ small freight charge for shipping which would reduce «the companies profit by approxi- mately 1%. The survey also showed that only one large company, MacMillan, Bloedel & FPow- ell River Ltd., has a consist- ent policy of keeping com- missary prices within reason on articles considered es- sential for the safety protec- tion of the worker. Logging boots, Local 1-71 points out, come under the scope of the Workmen’s Compensation Board’s Gen- eral Accident Prevention Regulations and are consid- ered safety equipment. “Why,” they ask, “should some large companies use their commissaries to make exorbitant profits on safety equipment when M.B.&P.R. has demonstrated it is not necessary?” “If these companies were sincere in promoting the in- dustry’s safety programme they would concentrate more on making their profits from’ logging, not on the sales of safety equipment to the crew.” Two companies, Rayonier Ltd. and Canadian Forest Pro- ducts Ltd., are good examples of this commissary price gouging. A pair of Pierre Par- ris caulk boots “Light Cruis- er” No. 5069 costs $39.00 at Rayonier’s commissary at Moresby Camp in the Queen Charlotte Islands. The ident- ical boot costs $32.50 at M.B. & P.R.’s commissary at Jus- katla Camp which is also in the Queen Charlotte Islands. The same boot at Canadian Forest Product's Beaver Cove See “LOGGERS” — Page 3 Training Programme For Millwrights By JACK HOLST Regional 2nd Vice-President The Regional Apprentice- ship Committee comprised of Wyman Trineer, Fred Fieber and myself reported to the Regional Executive Board meeting October 2-3, on the proposed training programme for Millwrights. This training programme involves agreement between Forest Industrial Relations Ltd., the B.C. Apprenticeship Department, the Provincial Government and the Regional Council. The Regional Executive Board adopted in principle the training programme and recommended that Trades- men’s Conferences be held to report on the training pro- gramme. Following is the complete text of the report of the Ap- prenticeship Committee sub- mitted to the Regional Execu- tive Board meeting. The 25th Annual Conven- tion of Regional Council No. 1 and the Regional Executive Board have adopted a num- ber of principles which be- come involved in any appren- ticeship training. The Region- al Executive Board approved a draft apprenticeship train- ing agreement for Millwrights in January 1963, and discus- sions took place between the Apprenticeship Committee and Forest Industrial Rela- tions in an endeavour to work out a Millwrights’ Training Program. One of the first require- ments was the drafting of a suitable manual to be used in Vocational School for ap- prenticeship training. Only a few Millwrights’ Manuals are in existence, and they cover industrial undertakings other than the woodworking pare try. For this reason, by agree- ment with the Apprenticeship _ Department, Department of — Vonational Training, Forest Industrial Relations, and ft Regional Council, two