BC LuxrentWornen

UNION BULLETIN)

Published Bi-Weekly by the B.C. ‘District Council, LW.of A.

“Ahead on the
Main’”?—
Help Organize

B.C. Lumber!

No. 223

VANCOUVER, B.C., JANUARY 9, 1940

>

“Organize Lumber for 366 Deathless Days”
“Forward to Job Security Through Working
‘ Agreements”

“Boost Our Pay

a Buck a Day”

Organized woodworkers in British Columbia were launched on a

drive to raise wages on an industry-wide basis
clusion of last week’s annual convention of the

during 1940 following con-
B.C. District Council, In-

ternational Woodworkers of America.
‘The convention, held during January 3 and 4, was the high point of a successful

two weeks of mass meetings and social affairs staged by the District Council during

the holiday period, and was attended by 45

accredited delegates from all parts of the

district, including Kelowna, and a number of fraternal delegates. Included among
the Jatter were International President Harold J. Pritchett and Secretary-Treasurer
Bertel J. McCarty. The meeting was opened Wednesday morning by Mayor J, Lyle

‘Telford, who urged woodworkers to adopt
reaction in the troublous times ahead.”

unionism as their “best bulwark against

Howard Costigan, executive secretary of the powerful Washington Common-
wealth Federation, was a feature speaker at both the convention mass meeting in
the Moose Hall, attended by some 2000 people, and at Thursday’s convention session,

‘Taking as its central point the CLO slogan of “organize the unorganized,” the
convention was unanimous in declaring that increased living costs, coupled with
greater profits for {he owners of industry, necessitated » drastic rise in wage scales,
and then approved in quick order 2 number of practical organizational steps which
will make the wage boost campaign realizable. The two-day session adjourned only

Two Killed In
First Week 1940

VANCOUVER, B.C—With the ink
barely dry on the International Wood-
workers protest to the B.C. Depart-
ment of Labor, over the record death
toll in B.C. woods during 1939, two
young loggers haye already met their
death this year. Last year’s heavy
toll reached 67, which was four above
the previous year and 18 above the
average for the past 10 years.

Reports reaching Union ‘Headquarters
this week tell of the death of William
‘Tippens, 23, a former clerk at the Chilli-
wack Empress Hotel, a former Univer-
sity of British Columbia student, and

more recently em-
ployed as a truck 2
Workers have

driver at Brett's Log-
ging Camp at Harri-

son Lake, Tippens, | jeen kdlled in
who was fatally in- | logging accl-
jured when struck cae. eal sae
aes ay |

Ist, 1939.
trailer sideswiping,

Jeaves 2 mother at

Rosedale.
‘Phe second death reported is that of
James Entwistle, 24-year-old faller at
Franklin River, near Alberni, Entwistle
was killed by a faling snag.

‘The strong sentiment of B.C. Log-
gers was expressed in the Convention
slogan of “ORGANIZE B.C. LUMBER
“FOR 366 DEATHLESS IN 1940.” The
_ Seeretary’s report pointed out that
_ while a number of these accidents are

unavoidable, many of them could be
if a little more time and care

@after delegates had

put teeth into
the slogan for @
general dollar a
day pay boost by
working out a
practical organiz-
ing policy and pro-
gram, which they
are confident will
bring thousands of
new members into
the unfon within
the next period,
‘The need for lin-
ing up a workable
able organizing program which would
put into motion the general program al-
ready adopted by the 1938 convention
was ably presented to delegates by Dis-
trict President Hjalmar Bergren in his
annual report which stressed the strong
sentiment for organization existing in
the industry and the steps necessary to
capitalize on the workers’ preference for
the CIO form of industrial unionism.
“All in all our present position has
considerably improved over what it was
a year ago,” declared
President Bergren.
“As examples of
this, we can point to
the new agreements
covering the Lake
Logging Company
operations, building
of organization in
the Youbou camps
with resultant wage
increases, the wage
increases in the

Wood and English
operations and the general strengthening

of the active forces working for the
union as well as the improvement in dis-

triet finances.”
‘As a means of improving organizza-

tional work, Bergren recommended (1)

Mayor Telford

Hi, Bergren

. CONVENTION STARTS ORGA
VE FOR ‘HOIST-WAGES’ CAMPAIGN

NIZINE

Able Leader
Addresses Conv.

HOWARD COSTIGAN

IWA RALLY HEARS
ROUSING ADDRESS

The Moose Hall, one of Vancouver's
largest auditoriums, resounded to laughs
and cheers of a “standing room only”
crowd of about 2000 persons who packed
the aisles and stairways twenty minutes
before the time scheduled for the Inter-
national Woodworkers meeting to com-

mence.

Mayor Lyle Telford, who once was
employed in the logging industry him-
self, told the audience that without or-
ganization they would not “get far in
the struggle for existence.” Internation-
al Secretary Bertel McCarty declared
that though it might take some time,
the I.W.A, would be instrumental in get-
ting wages of Canadian lumber workers
raised to levels prevailing in the United
States.

‘During an hour-and-a-half-long speech
Costigan kept the packed hall in
gales of laughter, scored the war-mong-
ers who sought today to profit at the
expense of their fellow man, and ap-
pealed to the audience to organize and
take sound political action to help make
“democracy function.” “The great task
which Hes ahead” he said, “is a task
which involves the labor movement vit-
ally. If we are to stay out of war then
we must build up an economic structure
which makes war unprofitable for the
profiteers, We must legislate the follow-
ing things: (1) Nationalization of the
munitions industry; (2) Complete na-
tlonalization the day war comes of every
single industrial corporation; and (3)

(Continued on Page Five)

(Continued on Page 4)

HARTUNG MINORITY
THREATENS SPLIT;
BOSSES’ TACTIC

Reports in the Vancouver press con-
cerning an attempt by lumber operators
and reactionary AFL officials to develop
a breakaway movement by the IWA Co-
lumbia River District Council from the
international union, reportedly under the
leadership of Al Hartung, president of
the Council were partly confirmed Mon-
day night by President Harold J. Prit-
chett in a special press statement to the
B.C. Lumber Worker, issued from his
Seattle office.

The bosses.’ press quoted Hartung,
who was twice defeated for the inter-
national presidency by Pritchett, as
threatening to refuse further payments
of per capita tax to the international, a
move which would in effect take the Co-
lumbia River basin membersh =
of the IWA.

Pritchett’s statement on the question
declared as follows:

“Although I have not as yet received
an official communication from our
Columbia River District Council, I
have nevertheless been made aware
of rumors of threatened secession, af-
filiation with the AFL and proposed
refusal to pay per capita tax obliga-
tions,

“As in the case of the young inter-
national CIO union, the United Auto-
mobile Workers of America, reaction-
ary AFL officials and employer inter-
ests are concentrating their efforts in
dismembering the International Wood-
workers of America, desperately try-
ing to stop progressive industrial
unionism within the basic lumbering
industry from without through phoney
boycotts, court seizure of union funds
and vigilantism, utilizing disgruntled
elements within the International who
have been unable to convince our
membership that they warrant elec-
tie to important International pos?

ions,

(Continued on Page Five)

1939 Death Toll
Up To Sixty-seven

Deaths in B.C. woods bringing last
year’s record toll up to sixty-seven
included James Gulkison, 22, of Rock
Bay, who was killed December 4 when
he was thrown from a flat car on
which he was standing by another car
which broke loose. Noburu Yanashi,
37, a Japanese logger employed by
the Takahashi Log Co. at Call Creek,
near Alert Bay, was the sixty-esventh
fatality reported for the year,

—_——

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