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Vol. XXXII, No. 20

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1st Issue
October, 1966

ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL ...

THE ECONOMY

PRICES, PROFITS
INTEREST RATES

AND JOBS

Federal tight money policies
and high corporation profits
were condemned by many
speakers at the regional IWA
convention, who forecast in-
creasing unemployment in the
forest industry this winter.

Even while delegates were
debating the question, there
were signs of cutbacks in pro-
duction and employment in
many areas.

Indication are that the
Lower Mainland will be hard-
est hit- with estimates that as
many as 2,000 in the area will
be out of work by Christmas.

So seriously did the con-
vention view the situation that
it passed an emergency reso-
lution, calling for measures to
ease the money situation and
to get the economy moving
again.

It resolved that “this 29th
regional convention of the

International Woodworkers of
America does hereby direct
public attention to the fact
that the present inflation is a
profit inflation.”

It went on to say “that the
B.C: Federation of Labor and
4the Canadian Labor Congress
be requested to renew repre-
sentations to the federal gov-
ernment and the Parliamen-
tary committee on living costs
to accomplish:

° A roll-back in interest
rates.

° The availability of funds
for home construction at low-
ered interest rates..

© Effective restraints on
costs, prices, profits, dividends
and corporate executive com-
pensation (including bonuses
and stock options) to secure a
well-balanced incomes policy
essential for economic expan-
sion and full employment.

WAGES UNJUSTLY BLAMED

The resolution said that
trade union demands for in-
creased wages have been un-
justly blamed for rising prices.

“Many corporations can af-
ford to grant substantial wage
increases and simultaneously
reduce prices. The © buying
power of the workers’ take-
home pay has consistently
lagged behind the rise in
corporation profits causing an
imbalance in income distribu-
tion.

“Despite the decline in unit
labor costs, .the wholesale
price level for manufactured
goods has risen sharply, in-
creasing the spread between
unit labor costs and industrial
prices to yield soaring corpor-
ation profits.”

It said that increased in-

terest rates under a “tight
money” policy are increasing
the costs of living and depress-
ing home construction, bene-
fiting only the financial in-
terests and_ discriminating
against the consumers, farm-
ers, and small business.
“The effect of the deflation-
ary measures. initiated is to
increase unemployment as
productive capacity expands
without a corresponding ex-
pansion of sustainable de-

. mand for goods and services.

“The present shift of in-
come from wages and salaries
to profits, dividends and in-
terest endangers the necessary
continued expansion of the
economy to achieve full em-

ployment for a growing work
force.” :

OFFICERS RE-ELECTED

All incumbent officers of
the regional council IWA
have been re-elected by ac-
clamation.

They are: Jack Moore,
president; Jack Mackenzie,
first vice-president; Del Pratt,
second vice-president; Mau-
rice Corbeil, third vice-presi-
dent; Fred Fieber, secretary-
treasurer.

For President Moore it is a
fourth term. He moved up
from first vice-president to
president in May, 1962, when
Joe Morris left Ee become ex-
ecutive vice-president of the

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Canadian Labor Congress. He
served out the few remaining
months of Morris’ term and
then was elected to the post
in 1962 and re-elected in 1964.

Wyman Trineer, president
of Local 1-357, and Keith
Johnson, president of Local
1-207, were elected interna-
tional board members by ac-
clamation after Weldon Ju-
benville, president Local 1-80,
and Walter Allen, president
Local 1-85, beanie their
nominations.

(Continued on Page 2)