ee THE WESTERN CANADIAN LUMBER WORKER JUNE-JULY, 1976 GRANT MacNEIL FORMER IWA P.R. HEAD DIES AFTER LONG ILLNESS Charles Grant MacNeil, the former Director of Public Re- lations for the Regional Coun- cil and a founding member of the CCF and NDP, passed away March 29, after a lengthy illness. Widely respected for his de- fence of the underdog, Grant first came to public attention when he was Secretary of the Great War Veterans Associa- tion which was the forerunner to the present Royal Canadian Legion. The veterans were getting a raw deal from the government and Grant initiated the move to have their plight made public by inviting Field Marshall Haig, the Allied Supreme Com- . mander, to come to Canada and speak on the veterans’ be- half. Haig accepted the invitation and while in Ottawa addressed parliament where his plea for the veterans gained them in- creases in pensions and al- lowances and greater recogni- tion by the government. Working with Grant at this time was Ian Mackenzie, who was later appointed Minister of Defence in MacKenzie King’s Liberal government. Their re- spect for each other in their work formed a lasting bond of friendship. The depression of the thirties was a major turning point in Grant’s life. Convinced that bolder ideas were needed to get the country on its economic feet, he joined the old Canadian Commonwealth Federation (CCF) and became one of its staunchest supporters. He formed the first CCF club in West Vancouver and shortly afterwards was elected Mem- ber of Parliament for the riding of what is now known as Coast-Capilano. During his years in the House of Commons he con- tinued his fight to improve con- ditions for the veterans, the un- employed and the labour movement. He played a pro- minent role in forcing the pro- vincial ent to hold a al ission into the police atrocities committed during the Blubber Bay strike in 1938 where IWA member ns Gardner was beaten to See In the early stages of the Second World War, Grant worked closely with Tommy Douglas in breaking the in- famous Bren Gun _ scandal. MacKenzie King’s Liberal gov- ernment was in office at the ‘time and had’ given the con- tract to manufacture the gun to a company totally lacking the knowledge or ability to pro- duce such a weapon. The expose had a profound effect on the country. The people bitterly resented the idea that Canadian soldiers were being sent off to war with inferior weapons and the re- sulting hue and cry did much to slow down further government patronage. In the early forties, Grant was defeated in the general election by Jimmy Sinclair, the father of Margarette Trudeau. When the Japanese were ordered evacuated from the Pacific Coast in 1942, Grant was appointed by the federal government as one of the members of the commission overseeing the move. He did much to protect the Japanese’ interests during this bitter period and earned the respect of everybody involved. In 1941, Grant was elected a CCF-MLA in the riding of Van- couver-Burrard. While an MLA, he fought for improve- ment of the provincial labour laws and worked very closely with the labour movement. In the fall of 1948, Grant worked for the IWA District Council (now the Regional Council) as editor of the Lumber Worker and Director of Public Relations. He re- ‘mained in this capacity with the Union until his retirement in 1971. He was a life-time member of the CCF-NDP and the Royal Canadian Legion. A memorial service was con- ducted in North Vancouver, April 7, with former premier of British Columbia, Dave Bar- rett giving the eulogy. (sted ars Eee Sneeo Ss re See) PLASTIC PACKS Using plastic packs the Canadian Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service can store frozen red cells for years. IN LOCAL 1-367 COMPANY OWNER CHARGED WITH ASSAULTING UNION OFFICIAL An official of Citation Cedar Products mill at Mission, was charged with common assault for roughing up Erik Wood, Fi- nancial Secretary of Local 1- 367 IWA, Haney, last February. ‘. Mr. Kelven Gill, part owner of the mill was put on one month’s probation April 22, in Mission. The judge in passing sentence stated that it was the clearest case of assault that he had heard. The incident arose when Wood was at the plant at- tempting to resolve a grie- vance of one of the mill em- ployees. The employee, a member of Local 1-367; had been laid off out of seniority by the Company to avoid paying him his proper job rate. Wood took the grievance up with the mill foreman who in- vited him into the office to dis- cuss the matter. While the matter was under discussion between Wood, Bruce Hawkin the employee, and the fore- man, Gill entered and became highly agitated when he saw Wood. ; He asked the foreman to go outside with him leaving Wood and Hawkin alone in the office. Approximately twenty minutes later Gill burst into the office in a wild stage, grabbed Wood by his jacket and ordered him to - leave. Without giving Wood a chance to comply Gill then at- tempted to shove him through the wall of the office. When Wood got outside of the office Gill then proceeded to call him a Communist Son of a Bitch and ordered him off the Com- pany property. To get to his car Wood had some distance to’go and by the time‘he got to it Gill in his rage had shut down the plant and locked out the crew. After this matter was taken care of by the Local Union, Wood pressed his assault charge. Gill’s only defence in court was that Wood had not been in- vited into the office and was on Company property without written consent. However, his arguments were ignored by the . judge following the testimony of the other witnesses. i Local officers believe that the main reason for Gill blowing his top was that the Company had held back retro- active pay; Union dues and other money owed, following the signing of the last agree- ment, and the Local appealled the matter to the Labour Rela- _ tions Board. The Board forced the Com- pany to pay up the money which amounted to $5,000. In appreciation, the Local put an ad in the newspapers thanking the Board for its action and named Citation as the Com- pany that had withheld the money. : CLC DELEGATES REJECT CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGES Delegates to the 11th biennial convention of the Canadian Labour Congress _ over- whelmingly defeated a_pro- posed constitutional change approved by the Congress’ executive council which would have changed the way dele- gates to future conventions are selected. The constitutional resolution was presented by Steelworker District 6 Director Lynn Williams as chairman of the CLC Commission on Constitu- tion and Structure, and re- sulted from a motion passed by the 1974 CLC convention in- structing the Commission to “undertake a study with a view ~ to amending the structure and operation of Congress conven- tions.” At present, rank-and-file re- presentation is based on one delegate elected by each local of each affiliated CLC union. This representation formula means that unions with large locals are under-represented at conventions, and provides for a total number of delegates of about 10,000, which is con- sidered too unwieldly for ac- tive participation in convention debates. After studying the situation, the Commission recommended that each affiliated union be entitled to one delegate per 1,000 members, with the selec- tion of the delegate to be deter- mined by the affiliate in some manner which is “fair and democratic.”’ But most of the’2400 dele- gates would have nothing to do with the proposal when it was presented, most arguing that it was ‘‘an attempt to put control of the trade union movement at the top of every international and-national union and to take it away from the rank-and- file.”’ When the vote was taken the vast majority of delegates op- posed the proposed. changes, and a substitute resolution was passed calling for further study by the Commission ‘‘to explore altenate arrangements so that a larger number of delegates can be accommo- dated”’ including a ‘‘detailed study of methods used to stage major European congresses.”’ Several delegates, however, spoke against this resolution because they don’t want to see CLC conventions become “‘theatre-style’’ events with those on the stage actively par- ticipating and those in the seats becoming a passive audience. The debate will continue in 1978 when new recommenda- tions based on further study will be presented to the next bi- ennial convention. FORMS OF GOVERNMENT SOCIALISM: You have two cows, you give one to your neighbor. COMMUNISM: You have two cows, you give both to the gov- ernment, which gives you part of the milk. FASCISM: You have two cows, you keep both and give the milk te the government, which lets you buy part of it back. CANADIAN NEW DEAL: You have two cows, the govern- ment shoots one, buys the milk from. the other and pours it down the sewer. NAZISM: You have two cows, the government shoots you and takes both cows and sells the milk, CAPITALISM: You have two cows, you sell one and buy a bull. CREDIT: You shoot the bull. LABOR DEFENDS | BOARD Organized labour in B.C. has come to the defense of the pro- vince’s Worker’s Compensa- tion Board. This follows criticism from employer associations that the WCB is too ‘‘pro-labour,” has “gone wild,’ and should be more responsive to employer interests. = Len Guy, Secretary of the British Columbia Federation of Labour, said in a recent state- ment the employers are ‘‘deli- berately ignoring the purpose of the Board.”’ : The function of the Board is to rule impartially on compen- sation claims, and to develop regulations that will protect workers from dangerous work situations, he said. As for giving employers greater control over the Board, Guy replied that ‘“‘it is the worker who risks injury doing a job, not the employer’’ and the worker has a right to ex- pect the best possible protec- tion. “T find it disappointing that in this day and age employers are still resisting the develop- ment of programs to protect the health and safety of their employees.” This sentiment was echoed by the delegates at a CLC Con- ference on Safety and Compen- sation who passed a statement condemning the employers as- sociation criticism of the Board. “While we in the labour movement agree in principle that compensation costs must be lowered, we believe that only by reducing the hazards which’ cause industrial acci- dents and disease can those sare ie ean ae “All efforts by employers to extend their political influence or emasculate the Worker’s Compensation Board will be firmly resisted by the workers in this province”’ it concluded.