<3 : y, September 4, 1940 THE B.c. LUM BER WORKER Page Three MBER WORKER yeekly Bulletin Published by B.C. DISTRICT COUNCIL 2 nal Woodworkers of America ‘Managing Editor NIGEL MORGAN 506, Holden Bldg., Vancouver, B.C. Phone, TRinity 4464 Payments to: The raises in wages that have been into effect this year are a direct of the agitation and organizational that has been done by the IWA— is why the operators leave no stone wed to try and halt the present h of unionism. In camps where we had no organization, the increases ven have been only a well-timed move to stall off organization, It is only _ through the struggles of these organized into the union; through weekly radio ‘broadcasts, weekly papers, and thou- sands of booklets and leaflets that have definitely established the price and profit fnereases; and which have been provided by the IWA membership—that the op- erators have had to grant a pay hoist. ‘The men whom we have to thank for our recent benefits are those who have stayed put on the job, and fought right there for a settlement of his grievances, The worker who takes to the road as soon as he is faced with a little ad- yersity, or because his conditions are bad or wages low, is not doing his share in bettering conditions. He is just leaving a pitfall for another brother to fall in. He is fleeing from the struggle, to take advantage of what others have accom- plished by staying in one place and fight- ing for, He is feeding the transportation sharks and doing EVERYTHING POS- SIBLE to hold back better conditions of nization watches the Company carefully and see that safety regulations are lived up to —and at the same time it watches the crew to see that no careless individuals endanger other men’s lives, for it is not always the operators who violate the laws in this regard. This Committee deals with Safety First without fear or favor to anyone. With the aid of the organization and the Compensation Board it can eliminate that large number of unnecessary accidents, If the organization did nothing else but protect the lives and limbs of its members it would be exceedingly cheap insurance. For the $1.25 monthly dues the members would be well reimbursed. The employers also would benefit, for it would reduce greatly that 10 or 12 per- cent of the payroll which is paid to the Workmen’s Compensation Fund, not to mention the time lost in getting and breaking in someone to replace an in- jured or dead man. Every man work- ing in the lumbering industry should see that everyone working in your oper- ation packs an LW.A. Union Card. That is the only way that you can protect yourself, let alone better your standard of living and working conditions. “ work and higher living standards, Realize AN INJURY TO ONE IS AN INJURY TO ALL — and let's stay on the job and fight to better conditions right where we are. Let’s settle once and for all with these sub-standard camps! Until we do, we'll never get out of the old rut we're in and these cheap, chiseling outfits will always be a menace to decent wages and conditions. There is only one way to improve our lot — AND THAT'S COLLECTIVELY. @ have to organize the unorganized ment everywhere. Our members realize that unless and until the unorganized are brought into the union, present wage and working standards are in danger. The chiseler in any line of business is always undermining the fellow who wants to do what is right: That is not alone |} true with respect to labor, but em- ployer as well. There is only one answer and only one solution—organi- zation. There is no short cut and no | substitute, Nor will organization come from wishful thinking, It never has and it will not come so in the future. NOT ONE-MAN JOB. ) Organization is the result of de- termined work — teamwork, with everybody putting his “shoulder to the 4 wheel,” as the saying goes. “a Organization is not a one-man job. It's the job of every member pulling together—in the same direction. That's the way unions were built in the past, : that’s the way they are built now, and - that’s the way they will be built in the future. It’s the only safe substantial way to organize. Several weeks ago we suggested that a labor union must work like a base- a ball team—when one man moves, everybody moves, ready to support each other, Every man is a live, ac- tive part of the team. Neither the manager nor the fellow team mates are satisfied with anyone boasting what he did or can do—they want per- formance, ‘That's true of a labor union, What ‘a fellow tells you he can do, or what he did do, sounds very well, but let’s see the result. THE RECORD COUNTS, In an organizing campaign only one thing counts—and that’s the signed membership applications — EVERY “MEMBER GET A MEMBER. That's @ score card, and the rule of the me is to get more membership ap- tion cards signed up than the fellow. And, as Al Smith would et’s take a look at the record.” s what counts—the record. ‘no mistake about it, some of Organize The Unorganized Go where we will, our members are talking “organization.” “We woodworkers.” This is the senti- the boys are “out and after them.” Where they are, the locals are grow- ing, They are getting results with the employer. Where they are not “out and after them,” well, everybody sits around as if they are waiting for the undertaker to haul them away. Everybody is dis- satisfied with everybody else, and him- self, too. Hell, boys, that the AFL. spirit. It has no place in the CIO. We are a live, up and going union. Take a look at the United Automo- bile Workers of America, They held their yearly convention in St. Louis a few wéeks ago, They are united and full of “pep.” President Thomas sends his greetings to us in the name of 412,000 workers protected by agree- ments with employers. Remember, when, in 1936, they were in the A.F.L., they had 27,000 mem- bers. That was the result of 35 years of A.F.L, “organization.” In four years in the CIO they jumped to the second largest union in the United States. The same story can be told of the steel workers, the rubber workers, the packing-house workers, the radio elec- trical workers, and other CIO unions. With everybody pulling together in the woodworking industry we can tell the same story. What others can do, WE CAN DO. What others did, WE WILL DO. Several organizers have been placed in the field, with more to-follow. The CIO is sending a supplementary staff to help in our campaign, But these organizers can be at only one place at a time, while the rank . and file covers a large area. It is necessary, therefore, that every mem- ber lend a helping hand, That's the way the auto workers, the steel work- ers, and others did it. That's the only way unions are built, so EVERY MEMBER GET A MEMBER, and TOGETHER WE'LL GO OVER THE TOP! FEDERAL HOUSE OF COMMONS DEBATES under Unemployment Insurance Plan. According to the brief of the Interna- tional Woodworkers of America forward- ed to the minister to be heard by the committee in this connection, it was pointed out that employment in that in- dustry lasts roughly eight or nine months a year. What is the attitude of organized labor in the woods in British Columbia towards this measure? I referred a few moments ago to the brief of the International Woodworkers of America. Before I deal with certain points in that brief I should like to refer to what was said earlier to- day by the hon. member for Vancouver East (Mr, MacInnis). To me it is sur- prising that he should take the position he has taken in this house. I had not thought the hon. gentleman was quite so much of a realist. He intimated that there was very little connection between labor, organized labor and the thought of organized labor, and Liberal members from British Columbia. I do not need to say to the hon. member for Vancouver East, through you, Mr. Chairman, that there are many members of the Interna- tional Woodworkers of America in the woods and logging camps of British Co- lumbia and in the county of Nanaimo too, I do not need to remind the hon, member that the locals of the Interna- tional Woodworkers of America, for whom I am now pleading, endorsed the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation candidature against me in my own county during the last election. Nevertheless I support their brief now. Let us hear no more of these innuendoes as to how far Liberals and Liberal candidates are from labor thought and sentiment on Vancou- ver Island. Another point of extreme importance to the loggers is not brought out in the brief to which I refer, and I think it should be mentioned. The logging in- dustry of British Columbia is running at full blast at the present time, and it is to be anticipated that so long as the war continues and there is a lack of the former sources of supply of lumber to Great Britain, the British Columbia logging industry will be very active. But there must come a time when employ- ment in the lumber industry will slacken off, and this is the time for which we must now prepare. I could not find an industry anywhere in Canada which is busier than the logging industry now is because of the war, but, for the reasons I have given, it will slump all the quicker after the war. It therefore seems to me essential that we should now take ad- vantage of the activity of the industry and pile up benefits which can be given back to the workers when the war is over the industry slumps again, Regent 324 W. HASTINGS ST. 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