ee ee VOL. XLI No. VANCOUVER, B.C. AUGUST,1973 NEW OFFICERS AND BOARD MEMBERS of Local 1-71 IWA take the oath of office July 7 from Ernie Freer, former President of the Local who declined to stand for office. Group front row, left, E. L. Freer, Ex-President, W. H. Wilson, Secretary-Treasurer; B. Thomp- son, President; T. Thompson, Board Member; R. B. Pickering, 2nd Vice-President; E. Gill, Conductor. Back row, left: W. Kozij, Ist Vice-President; G. Robertson, Board Member; W Penner, 3rd Vice-President; W. R. Hutchison, Board Member; D. Pedersen, Board Member; G. Kofoed, Warden. | UNION MOURNS HARTUNG A. F. (Al) Hartung, past International President of the IWA and_ tremendously popular in the Union, passed away following a stroke July 23, in Portland, Oregon. Al was born on a Wisconsin farm in 1897 and entered the West Coast lumber industry at the age of 18 as a logger. Long active in the union movement, he was elected president of his local union at Vernonia, Oregon, in 1936. A few months later, he became president of the Columbia - River District Council of what was then the Lumber and Saw- mill Workers Union but which was to secede shortly there- after and participate in the formation of the IWA. It was as president of the Columbia River District Ennombre | classe PERMIT No, 2075 VANCOUVER si: THE LUMBER WORKER % RETURN REQUESTED 2:5 Commercial Dr., Vancouver, B.C. Council that Al opened the first convention of the fledgling anenenal joes workers of A.F. ‘‘Al’”’ Hartung .. will be sadly missed. America at Portland, December 3, 1937, and in the intervening years the histories of both the man and the Union have been closely joined. He served as district council president until 1941, when he became assistant director of organization in the IWA’s headquarters, which, like those of the Columbia River District Council, were in Port- land. By this time, the IWA had been affiliated to the Congress of Industrial Organization (CIO) and the old Canadian Congress of Labour for several years. The next year, Al became CIO regional director for the state of Oregon. When the U.S. went to war, he was given leave of absence to represent the IWA and CIO on the lumber production division panel of the See “HARTUNG” p-2 Organized lepers nee charged that Unemployment Insurance Commission benefit control officers are using loaded questions to disqualify eligible recipients. B.C. Federation of Labour officials made the accusation at a meeting at the Bayshore Inn with the nine-man UIC advisory committee July 20. Spokesman for Federation, 2nd Vice- President Len Guy, suggested that the committee should recommend in their findings that a union official or legal counsel be present when workers are being interviewed by the control officers. Guy stated that far too many workers were being denied coverage due simply to their lack of understanding of the questions but he was now hope- ful that following the Federa- tion’s representation, the com- mittee would make such a recommendation in its final report. The committee has already made an interim report on improvements to the benefit contro] programme. The final report is expected in the near future. the PROPOSED TO KING: FED. SEEKS CHANGES TO LABOUR LAWS The Minister of Labor, Wm. King, has announced that deep consideration is to be given to° revision of labour legislation in B.C. The following suggestions for improvement have been made by the B.C. Federation of Labour: ( 1) That a new Act be drafted to replace the Labour Relations Act, the Meditation Services Act, and the Trade Union Act. ( 2) Elimination of the present exclusions which deny thousands of B.C. workers the right of trade union representation. Professional people, agricultural workers, owner-operators, etc. Also, more effective barriers against for- mation of company unions. " (3) Unfair labour practices, which would prevent ‘employers from _in- timidating employees, to be prohibited. An. em- ployer must clearly justify any firing of em- ployees, while union organizational action is taking place. ( 4) Union security sections of present legislation should. © be strengthened. Legislation which prevents employees from making political donations through their unions should be repealed. ( 5) The collective bargaining process should’ be streamlined, and steps taken to ensure that both sides bargain in good faith. ( 6) Restriction on the rights of peaceful picketing should be removed, so that employees who are legally on strike should be guaranteed the right to form picket lines wherever the employer is doing business. The-right to support the boycott of “hot”? products. The hiring of strike-breakers during a legal strike should also be outlawed. ( 7) The process of arbitrating grievances during the life of a collective agreement should be streamlined, to eliminate the long delays which are common at the present time. ( 8) Provision should be made for negotiation of new terms in a contract if technological changes alter the basic conditions under which an agreement has_ been made. Matters. not ‘covered by a collective agreement should be subject to negotiation, if they arise during the life of a contract: ( 9) Steps should be taken to prevent avoidance of union certification by employers selling part of their business, or establishing separate companies to sidestep union certification. (10) There should be an overhaul of the Labour Relations Board. A full- time Board is proposed, with representatives of . labour and management who are truly represen- tative of their groups. Department of Labour officials, who are responsible for ad- ministering _ legislation, should not be members of . the Board, adjudicating under the provisions of that legislation. ON CARTOONS: WOMEN’S MEET SCORES LUMBER WORKER Delegates to the IWA Women’s Conference held in Vancouver were urged by Gene Errington, Ombuds- woman for the Status of Women Council, to stop relying on men of goodwill and start putting pressure on for legis- lative changes and changes in the structure and policies of their own unions to ensure that the interests of women workers are adequately protected. Discussing a wide variety of problems, delegates called for paid maternity leave to be a priority item in the next round of negotiations, along with an end to the limitation on the categories of jobs held by women. In addition, the dele- gates expressed criticism of the timing of the conference and called for an end to the publication of “male chauvi- nist”? cartoons in the Western Canadian Lumber Worker and in the Vancouver Local’s pub- lication, “‘The Barker.” The conference was opened by IWA Regional President Jack Moore and was chaired by Carolyn Gibbons, Legis- lative Director of the B. C.. Federation of Labour.