Vol. XLVI No. 1 VANCOUVER, B.C. ane : » itn »’ d ‘ 7 % oil 2 lumber WOT KC 16 ISSN 0049-7371 JANUARY, 1978 ements Mes aa E: 1WA MEMBERS from the B.C. Local Unions who attended the highly successful week- Pg eee long labour school sponsored by the CLC and the B.C. Federation of Labour January 15-20, at Harrison Hot Springs. A special IWA class was also sponsored by the Regional Council under the direction of Frank Wall, Regional Educational Director. See page 9 for more pictures. ‘ CONGRESS STATES: LABOUR MUST PROVIDE LEADERSHIP ...The labour movement will | \ have to provide leadership in developing answers to Canada’s economic crisis in the year ahead because gov- ernments are ignoring the y--—-~ problems and hiding behind “every available side issue,”’ according to Canadian Labour Congress president Joe Morris. “During the coming year the Canadian labour movement will be called upon to demon- Strate, as perhaps never pefore, its concern for all the people of Canada,” the CLC president said in his annual New Year’s message. Morris’ concerns were reflected by other trade union leaders, who focused on unem- ployment and wage controls as the major problems of 1978. But the CLC president went adeaioenoll PERMIT No. 2075 | Class classe _ VANCOUVER, B.C. ! Third Troisiame | — die: 6.C. j i TURN REQUESTED LUMBER WORKER 9089 Commercial Dr. Vor ’ depression, farthest in charging that “Canada was suffering from a leadership vacuum’ in the year just past and emphasizing the necessity for ‘‘positive leadership.” “Late in the year the CLC .decided it had become neces- sary for some sector in society to provide positive leadership —it had become necessary for someone to develop answers to our problems and not rely on a government which had chosen to desert its responsibilities,”’ Morris said. “or this reason, the Con- gress formulated an industrial strategy for Canada that will produce the kind of growth needed to produce jobs. A * major factor in this strategy is national economic and social planning which will develop and promote policies designed to achieve our goals — greater social justice and equality for all. “National economic and social planning is essential to restore Canada’s economy toa state of health. It is up to us in the labour movement to make sure it is achieved. The job will be a tough one because what we are proposing breaks with tradition. It is a system which would mean a better break for all people in our country. Itis a system I am certain we will lave your support in fighting or.”’ Andy Stewart, president of the Public Service Alliance of Canada, warned the new year will be a difficult one for public service employees because of “recent and threatened’’ ac- tion by the federal govern- ment. Stewart criticized the gov- ernment for limiting the total increase in compensation, in- cluding fringe benefits, to only six percent in the third year of the anti-inflation program de- spite much higher increases in the cost of living last year. GOVERNMENT REFUSES TO HELP UNEMPLOYED In spite of statistics showing unemployment stands at the highest levels since the employment minister Bud Cullen says the government is doing all it can to provide jobs. Despite calls for measures to reverse the climb in unem- ployment, rates from NDP leader Ed Broadbent and the Canadian Labour Congress, Cullen said ‘‘the system is working as well as it. can.” ' Unem ment stood at a y adjusted rate of 8.5 percent in December, with 882,000 people out of work, according to Statistics Canada. Broadbent renewed his call for the government to adopt a four point NDP jobs program that could create hundreds of thousands of jobs this winter. The NDP has called for $1.5 billion in tax cuts to low and middle income people; $500 million to develop housing and urban transit; $400 million for capital works projects and $50 million in employment sub- sidies for small business. aw UNION PROTEST © FORCES STUDY The violent protest by IWA officials over the announced closure of MacMillan Bloedel’s giant 700-man Vancouver Ply- wood operation, has been suc- cessful-in forcing the Company to postpone its plans until a complete study is made of the operation by a committee com- prised of union, management and government representa- tives. Local 1-217 President Syd Thompson and Financial Sec- retary Doug Evans, whose Local Union holds certification of the operation, along with Regional President Jack Munro have charged that the - layoffs are unnecessary and demanded government inter- vention. MacMillan Bloedel officials claim that the closure is neces- sary because the operation has been losing money every year. Following meetings with the three parties the decision was made that a committee of union, management and gov- ernment be set up to investi- gate the Company’s argument that the operation was no OF MB’S VANPLY longer financially profitable to- operate. While the study is being made M.B. officials have agreed to postpone the closure for at least one month. Provincial Forests Minister Tom Waterland who attended the meetings, admits that he is not optimistic that the jobs of all the seven hundred can be saved. Because of this the gov- ernment has established a manpower task force for the purpose of replacing any lost jobs if possible. IWA officials state that the Company’s “‘A”’ mill is old but insist that with proper man- agement and renovations, the mill could turn a profit. “B” mill, they argue, is in good shape and there is no excuse why it isn’t making money. Munro, Thompson and Evans are adamant that they are going to insist that all avenues are explored in the study of the Company’s opera- tion and are not prepared to allow MacMillan Bloedel of- ficials to get away with any “‘snow’’ job. MORE STAFF MEMBERS HIRED BY REGION IWA Regional President Jack Munro has announced the addition of two new staff mem- bers to the Head Office of Western Canada’s largest union. Clay Perry will head up the union’s new Legislative Department. Perry was the union’s Research Director in the early ’70s but was ap- pointed Executive Assistant to former Health Minister Dennis Cocke in 1972. Perry later was appointed a Commissioner with the Public Service Commission and then special Assistant to the Deputy Mini- ster of Labour. Following the defeat of the NDP Government, Perry was appointed Research Director for the opposition caucus and most recently as professional officer for the UBC Faculty Association. “We are very pleased that Clay Perry has accepted the position of Legislative Direc- tor. He is familiar with how governments function and he is familiar with how our union functions. With government at- tempting to become more in- volved in industrial relations, it is very important that we have someone with expertise in dealing with government on our staff’’. Les Harding, a 36-year old native of Nakusp, B.C. has been appointed as Staff Fores- ter with the Union. Harding is a ~ professional Forester and Economist and has been acting as a consultant to the I.W.A. for the past two years. “Because the future jobs of our members depends on the intelligent well planned use of our forest resources, the I.W.A. has realized over the past couple of years we must start playing an effective role on how our forest resources are managed. Les Harding has the kind of experience and back- ground that will allow us to develop well informed policy and have the input we need into how our forests are utilized”. Munro said that the addition of the two staff members is in keeping with the I.W.A. policy of “keeping up with the times”. “We are faced with large multinational corporations who have enormous staffs and resources. If we are to remain an effective voice for our membership, we must keep pace with changes in our in- dustry and the best way to do that is ensure that we have the very best resource people available’.