THE B.C. LUMBER WORKER

February 7, 1941

LETTERS

Camp and Mill

“Every Reader a Correspondent”

Protest Intimidation To
Force Bond Purchases

To the Editor:

I would like to now who gave “Irish”
the authority to tell the men at Fraser,
Mills that if they don't buy War Bonds
(so that the mill can get government
orders) they will lose their jobs.

This individual, armed with a list of
the names and numbers of the employees,
circulated among the men, and when a
fellow would refuse to buy the War
Bonds, the Irishman would threaten to
call in the superintendent, Mr. Ryan,
and warn the employee that it would cost
him his job if he didn’t kick through.

We would like to know who gave this
man the authority. Was it given him by
the company? If this company is con-

Join Your Friends at

COURTENAY HOTEL
Headquarters”
“The Loggers’

G. TATER PROP.
Courtenay, V.I.

HASTINGS STEAM BATHS
761 EAST HASTINGS ST.
Government Registered Masseurs
In Attendance
J. WEPSALA, Prop.

Also Agent for Norwegian and Swedisr
American Steamship Lines.

Highland 0240 ALWAYS OPEN
——————————————————

Money To Loan
On Men‘s Suits, Overcoats, Logging
Boots and Sleeping Bags,

San Francisco Tailors
62 WEST HASTINGS ST.
(4 Doors West of Beacon Theatre)

mae a teen e eee nee eneeeeenns:

EE TET
SEA FOODS ARE GOOD FoR You
++ and you'll Uke them at

THE “ONLY” FISH
THEY ARE ALWAYS FRESH!

20 East Hastings Street
100% UNION HOUSE

s
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g

preeseeseese

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4
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4

cerned with making a big showing in the
purchase of war’ bonds, why don’t they
take the lead and hand over some of their
enormous profits to the war effort,. in-
stead of using such intimidatory methods
to get “voluntary” donations out of the
boys?

Or is this Irish fellow so scared of his
own job that he is afraid to return a list
only partly filled with subscriptions, to
the office? He is a good stooge for the
company, and worked a similar thing for
the Red Cross, But to us who are familiar
with the ways of the Canadian Western
Lumber Company, it looks like genuine
Fraser Mills tactics.

MILLWORKER.

Warning Re
Rock Bay

Reports reaching this office from Mer-
rill, Ring and Wilson's operations at Rock
Bay, show conditions anything but good
for the falling crews.

From several sources comes the com-
plaint that the show is very poor at 76
cents per thousand. Timber is poor, and
favoritism is shown, with =relatives
getting the best show, and the other fal-
lers have to take what is left. The
lengthy distance from camp to/the job
is another grievance which affects the
rigging crew as well as the fallers.

The advice passed on from some of
those who have tried it, is for fallers to
stay away from Rock Bay, if you want to
make wages,

“The greater the difficulties are, the
stronger we resist, The final victory
must be ours.”—Dr, P, D, Chang, in
“China Today.

HANEY TAILORS

62 East Hastings St.
Phone SEy. 9417 Vancouver, B.0.

WE GUARANTEE A PERFECT FIT
AND COMPLETE SATISFACTION!

“Styles for Young Men and
Men who Stay Young”

APPRECIATE YOUR PAT-

RONAGE. Rent one of our halls

for your meetings, socials or banquets.

Modern Dance Every Wed., Saturday,

featuring the Alberta Ranch Boys,
sensational Cowboy Swing Band.

Hastings Auditorium
828 East Hastings St. High. 3248
‘Vancouver, B.C.

. Hotel

West Ltd.

FRED R. MARCHESE, Mgr.
=~

. Moderate Rates and
Centrally Located .

SEy. 9401 and SEy. 9402

Vancouver, B.C,

To the Editor:

Considerable interest has been centered
lately around the hospitalization scheme
which has again been thrown out by the
employees. As the workers in Alberni
district are fully acquainted with the
hospital's proposals for an increased rate,
viz, $1.00 a month per man, it is un-
necessary to take up space with all the
details. Suffice to say that the loggers
and millworkers felt they were being
asked to foot the expense incurred by
the hospital during the past year for
improvements, additions, ete. Any worker
in Alberni knows that the hospital would
probably have gone under without, the
scheme and cannot see the reason for an
increase, no matter how small, on some-
thing that enabled them (the hospital)
to continue operation,

An important point, however, that has
not been brought out to date is the fact
that NO problem affecting the workers
can be satisfactorily solved without an
organization of the workers free from
employer control, with democratically-
elected committees who do not have to
worry what the boss thinks when they
express an opinion either in or out of a
meeting. Just because the bosses are in
apparent agreement with the views held
by their employees on the hospital ques-
tion, does not fool any worker into sup-
posing they would feel, the same way
about a demand for a lwage raise, yet
who among us would begrudge the hos-
pital another two-bits a month off the
check if we were paid the same rate that
woodworkers across the line receive, 6744
cents per hour, time and a half for over-
time, and double time for Sundays and
holidays? Ask any millworker who has
the problem of housing, feeding and
clothing a family on four-bits an hour,
to say nothing of taxes.

Hoping you will find space in your
valuable paper for this letter, and that
other woodworkers will also write and
express their opinions on this and any
other matter that affects their welfare.

Fraternally yours,
CARD VL-3770.

Join the IWA and Help Boost
Our Pay a Buck a Day!

Alberni Hospital Scheme
Would Have Increased Rate

| CAMP ACTIVITY

All Association Camps are reported
running with the exception of Camps
3 and 6, Youbou. Fallers are working
in all Harrison Lake camps, with reports
circulating the rigging crews are going
out soon. A few of the smaller camps
on Knight Inlet have not opened up yet.

Day fallers at M. & M., Forward Bay,
are getting $6.00 a day, though according
to reports, the bushellers are not averag-
ing that much.

All Q.C.I. camps are going full blast,
although no rafting has started yet. Re:
ports have been reaching union head-
quarters of a little intimidation being
used by some of the Q.C.I. bosses, with
some of the crew being warned in veiled
threats about complaining about low
wages and being told to stay away from
the union if they want to go back to
camp.

Fallers are already-getting scarce in
town and “employment sharks” have
been reported “man-hunting” right out
on the main drag.

A report reached union headquarters
this week of unfair treatment of two
rigging men by the “push” at Lundeen’s
Gregory Island camp, The two men who
went out to camp on the understanding
they had a job, found after three weeks
they were “out.” Asking the foreman for
the reason, they were told their work had
been OK, but that two other men had
to have the job. And this after they had
spent $7.50 each for boat fare as well as
the cost of berth and meals to get to
Gregory Island.

BEWARE OF K.& W.

Editor, B.C. Lumber Worker:

I want to warn the boys to keep away
from the K. & W. Logging Company's
outfit because she is completely haywire,
She is a gunnysack outfit, The time

| cheques are made of rubber and keep

bouncing. There is nothing to work with
there; thé pay is poor, and even the grub
is not so hot. Fraternally,

E. M. GARK.

Spicher’s Camp,
Port Hardy, B.C.
Editor, B.C, Lumber Worker:

Another example of conditions being
“different than advertised” is furnished
by this outfit, recently taken over by
Millburn, who was formerly connected
with Thomsen and Clarke's at Bowser.
When the crew shipped out here after
Christmas, they were told that camp ac-
commodations were of the very best.
Consider their astonishment, then, at
finding that the bunkhouses would ac-
commodate only about 30 men of a total
crew of 60, forcing the remainder to find
“board, and blankets” at one of the

Port Hardy hotels. On top of that, board

BOARD CONTINUES BAD AT
PORT HARDY LOGGING CAMP

is priced at $1.50 a day, 15 cents more
than the rate called for by the employ-
ment slips.

Fallers and some of the rigging crew
are staying at a hotel, and are, of course,
finding it somewhat inconvenient due to
lack of dryhouse facilities and other ac-
commodations usually taken for granted.

Some of the boys feel that they should
have been given fuller information be-
fore shipping out—not told by the “push”
that it was a new camp, only to find that
accommodations were “strictly limited,”
The incident only gives further proof that
employment sharks should be forced to
give men complete information on camp —

conditions before shipping crews to work, —

&