By GEO, H. BROWN The transformation of the B.C, Lum- bera Worker inot a union bulletin, avail- able for free mass distribution through- out the woodworking industry of B.C., marks another advance of the organiza- ial offensive of the B.C. Coast District ‘uncil, true, many will regret, on first thought, the new departure. The B.C, Lumber Worker has a tradition; in its Seven years of continuous publication, it has had its up and downs, and always, ‘when need arose, our union brothers in camp and mill have rallied willingly tto pull our paper out of financial. dif- ficulties. On the job, our delegates and agents have “stuck out their necks” to distribute it, often at the cost of their job. With what result? So far, the B.C. Lumber Worker has cireulated only amongst union support- evs, Because of the vicious blacklist our delegates in camp and mill dared to solicit only known union sympathizers; “in order fo sell the paper they were com- pulled to expose themselves, with the re- sull so many know—the blacklist. Be~ cause of this, our paper circulated only amongst staunch union supporters; our paper was shut off from the thirty thou- sand or more unorganized men in the camps and mills, the very men to whom our paper was most needed. Financially, the burden fell on the shoulders of the same 2,000 to 3,000 loyal supporters. All in all, instead of reach- ing the 30,000 unorganized woodworkers (Continued on Page 3) Governor Olson Steps In April 3 two thousand employees of the Red River Lumber Co., of Westwood, California, comprising members of both the C.L.O, and A-F\L, organizations, went back to work this morning. It is understood that Governor Olson brought pressure to bear on the Red River Lumber Co., which has resulted in the reinstatement of all employees until after the N.L.R.B. election, which will decide which organization is to be vecognized as the official bargaining agent between company and union of- ficials, This brings to an end a long and disgraceful period of brutal beatings and vigilante persecutions; of gangster meth- ods and inhuman outrages instituted by the company in an effort to break the strike. Attention, Subscribers! The business manager of the B.C. Lumber Worker wishes to notify all sub- seribers already on the books that they will receive copies mailed directly to them as usual, until they have received the number of copies af present outstand- ing on their paid up subscriptions. BLUBBBER BAY STRIKE DONATIONS, APRIL 4 Previously acknowledged . $6,880.96 5.50 6 Stop Wages Without ~ Consulting Workers Workers Urged to Investigate Closely Before Agreeing To Latest Plan of Bosses © TWO MORE BLUBBER BAY STRIKERS RELEASED On March 23 last we had two very welcome visitors to this office in the persons of Joe Eng, and Lim Chung, who were on that date released from Oakalla Prison Farm after serving one hundred days of sentences meted out to them for their alleged manhandling of stal- wart Provincial Police at Blubber Bay. The boys were fat and sassy and seem to be just as hard to scare as ever, The ever genial Joe Eng reports that they were not badly treated, and that all the boys in Oakalla are full of vim and vigor and in the best of spirits, Joe and Lim were employed in the laundry during their “guests” of the government. sojourn as They report that the guards at) the institution refer to the boys as “Reds,” but more in facetiousness than any other spirit, and many of them carry the con- viction that the boys should not be thore at all. Ronald MacDonald has been made a “trusty.” A. Williamson, the courageous ex-cop who beat up Robert Gardner’ behind the protection of his uniform and authority (and got six months for his pain) is constantly pre- dicting his release on parcis but, sur- prisingly enough, there have been no signs of it to date. It has come to the attention of the District Council that men shipping out ~ to Vancouver Bay Log. Co., have a charge made against them of $190 per month. This charge is made on the transporta- tion slip before the men ever leave town and is deducted from the pay cheque for every ensuing month in which the man may be in the employ of this company. The legality of such a procedure is very doubtful, Although it is a fact that ” the mere act of signing on makes a man a party to a contract which allows his employer to deduct $1.00 per month for hospital fees, the fact remains that the man is not even consulted and really has no voice in the matter. It always seems a rather high-handed procedure when some one nndertakes to appropri- ate part of one’s cheque without deign- ing to ask permission, Without from the good work which the Colu Coast Mission is doing up and down Coast, it would not be out of place to suggest that caréful thought be ‘given to this latest arbitrary move on the part of the powers that be. Some of our unig officials interviewed the superintend of the Mission and learned some fact that are worthy of a little serious con- * sideration, In the first place comes the very serious fact that the workers in- volved were not consulted. In other (Continued on Page 3) .C. District Council Outlines New Policy ‘he quarterly conference of the B.C.,the industry. Since that time, however, ,culation would range from 5,000 to 10 The change to a bulletin will by no Coast District Council was held in the Miners’ Hall, Nanaimo, March 26, Various questions were raised and @iseussed. ‘The most important of these was the B.C. Lumber Worker. For some time it has been questionable whether the B.C. Lumber Worker was fulfilling its role as an organizer in the lumber- _ ing industry of British Columbia. ‘This of course has been discussed pro Peon very extensively by the execu- and was discussed in the Nanaimo in that Jight. the B.C. Lumber Worker was AS the official organ of our " it was then the lumber workers’ “industrial union, with no International affiliation, and, in fact had very little m with the Eastern locals, with exception of through the medium of ‘ ers’ Unity League to which is At that time an of- of the B.C, district was neces- our union has gone through many or- ganizational phases. First to the Brother- hood of Carpenters and Joiners and finally to the Congress of Industrial Or- ganizations, when the LW.A. was formed in 1937, In the last few years the results ac- complished by our publication have not met with the requirements demanded by the council and the locals. Therefore the conference, after a very broad discus- sion, saw fit to change the policy to meet the needs of the existing. condi- tions within the industry. Up to the present time, the Lumber Worker has been distributed in numbers ranging from 1,800 to 2,000 copies per week, at all times reaching the same people, and thousands of unorganized workers have, as a result, been ignorant of a paper known as the B.C, Lumber Worker. Therefore it becomes imperative and Vitally necessary to change the policy 50 as to serve a larger section of the lumber workers within our district. To do this the conference decided that it ‘would continue to publish the B.C, Lum- ber Worker as a trade union bulletin with free distribution, and that the cir- kL oe 000, according to the organizational ability of distribution. Within a very short time it is expected that we will have facilities whereby we can distribute anyhere up to 20,000 copies if it should be necessary. The size of the bulletin will also be increased should necessity demand it. It can readily be seen that the policy carried out in this way will result in reaching additional thousands of new readers; and will also result in involving additional thousands of hitherto unor- ganized workers in our union, The cost of distribution of this bulletin will repay itself tenfold by securing the active participation of the hundreds of sympathetic and union conscious men who have heretofore been practically un- Imown to our union. The cost involved in the distribution of the paper under the old policy has proved to be prohibitive, particularly in the slack seasons in the industry. In reviewing the financial statements of our paper we find that there is a debt of $873 which has been incurred since the Iast financial drive for sustaining funds was made in the spring of 1937. means solve the financial problem, nor will it liquidate the outstanding debts, which have accumulated in the past two years. There will be a referendum vote sent out to all locals in connection with the 10c per capita to be paid to the B.C, Lumber Worker. This per capita will not involve an additional levy on the membership, but will be paid out of the dues collected. This, however, will ultimately become the main source of finances to guarantee the publication of our paper. It will require the active cooperation from our members and locals, to meet current expenses while, at ti same time, our debt is being liquidat The council wishes to express gratitude and appreciation to the dreds who have supported us i past and hope that they will conti; do so. To the membership at 1; want to impress upon them ti sity of cooperating with us in policy and help us in every sible to build our organization, this {t will place us in a muel position to fight for and win an ized industry in B.C,