March 19, 1941

THE B.CLUMBER WORKER

Page Three

Crofton Boom-Crew Discuss
Adjustments To Agreement

CROFTON, March 10. — The regular
meeting of the Crofton Sub-Local was
held here on February 28 with 100 per
cent attendance.

International Executive Board Member,
Nigel Morgan, attended and gave a short
talk on the general progress of our
Union, A number of outstanding ques-
tions were raised and placed before the
meeting for consideration, The matter
of joint negotiations with the Rounds
Sub-local toward a renewal of our pre-
sent contract was taken up and will be
dealt with again at the next meeting,

A letter outlining the case of Brother
Mezger was read, and a collection of $8.00
was taken up for the Local 1-118's De-
fense Fund.

It was decided to send a letter to the
Federal Minister of Justice protesting
the ban on the “Canadian Tribune” and
demanding that this journal of demo-
cratic opinion be permitted to continue
publication,

An attractive credential holder, bear-
ing the name of our Union and the Hotel
West, which was put out through the
courtesy of-Mr, Fred. Marchese, was pre-
sented to our delegates by Brother Mor-
gan,

At the present time, Crofton Export is
working at capacity, with an enlarged
crew. The loading works at the Lake are
working two shifts and from three to
five trains are brought down each day.

Concerning accidents here, there have
been none of a serious nature in the past
year. Danger spots are attended to when-
ever they present themselves and there
is no doubt that this goes a long way in
making for safety.

The Osborn Bay wharf, formerly used
by the Hillcrest Lumber Co, as a lumber
wharf, has been closed down for a month,
It is understood that the lumber from this
mill is now being shipped through Che-
mainus,

COWICHAN AUX.
TO AID B.CLW.

LAKE COWICHAN.—A very successful
meeting of I:W.A. Ladies’ Auxiliary, Local
80, was held at the home of Sister Reridle
on March 6th. Secretary Greenwell, of
Local 1-80, L.W.A. installed the follow-
ing officers for the ensuing year.

President—Sister Godfrey; Vice-Presi-
dent—Sister Wklund; Recording Secre-
tary—Sister Beline; Financial Secretary
—Sister Enlund; Trustees—Sisters Olson,
Brown and Edwards. Warden—Sister
Beech; Conductor—Sister Friberg.

After the new officers had taken over
their duties, two new members, Sisters
Lewis and Robertson, were welcomed and
initiated.

It was arranged to hold another social
and dance on March 22 in the Union
Hall, the proceeds from which will be
sent to the “B.C, Lumber Worker.”

On behalf of the members, Sister God-
frey presented Sisters Beech and Brown
with a small gift in appreciation of their
past services and faithfulness.

‘The next meeting will take the form of
@ social afternoon when the members
will visit Sister Nevo on March 20th.

Refreshments were served at the close
of the meeting, and a very pretty birth-
day cake was shared with Sister Beline,
in honor of her birthday.

“Press Committee.”

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

Core TCC CrceCcercecceecy

ALL WORK GUARANTEED 4

SERVICE JEWELERS

Dealers in Diamonds
Watches and Jewelry

WATCH AND JEWELRY
REPAIRING

ZLOTNIK, Manager Z
ST. VAN,, B.C. 5

Seen neeneenenew ential

waneesseenescs:

The few gyppos that logged here in
the past year are through, and have
moved to other claims.

—Press Agent.

If discussion in the bunkhouses and
on the boats are any indication, the re-
cent People’s Convention in Britain has
aroused considerable interest among
loggers, miners and fishermen. They are
eager to know the full story of the con-
vention and what has happened since,
and while, for reasons of space, a full
report cannot be given in this column,
here is the resolution adopted at the
first full meeting of the national com-
mittee of the People's Convention last
month. The resolution states:

“This meeting calls on all democratic
and progressive organizations and on
the whole mass of the people to rally

to the defense of their rights and in-
terests in the face of many direct and
indirect threats to which they are ex-
posed at present, The reactionary prop-
erty interests, instead of devoting them-
selves to redressing the grievances ex-
posed by the People’s Convention and
admitted on all sides as real and seri-
ous, are now openly developing their
plans to destroy democratic and trade
union rights, break up the working
class movement, cut down the living,
health and cultural standards, and
establish a fascist type of social, eco-
nomic and political organization, in par-
ticular in the following respects:

Industrial Conscription

“The introduction of industrial serfdom
for industrial workers for the benefit of
private employers who retain the indus-
tries in their own hands and operate them
not in the interests of the people but for
their own profit and enrichment; large
scale absorption of women in industry on
the basis of agreements which in practice
provide no real safeguard for the stan-
dards of either men in industry or women
entering it; the sending into the armed
forces of skilled workers who are urg-
ently needed for the efficient operation
of industry; grave threats to trade union
standards inyolved in all those measures.

“2. The development of economic and
financial policies which increase the
power of large scale monopoly combines
at the expense of small producers and
traders; this coupled with a food policy
which enables the rich to consume ample
supplies of unrationed food and compels
‘the poor to suffer unnecessary hardships
for the enrichment of the food profiteers.

“3..'The attack on the freedom of ex-
pression, particularly on the press, as ex-
emplified by the suppression of the Daily
Worker, suppression which both in itself
and in the manner in which it was car-
ried out represents a long stride on the
way toward fascism and a ‘co-ordinated’
government press,

“4. The ripening proposals for prolong-
ation of the spurious national unity of the
capitalists and ‘socialists’ after the war,
in which the Labor Party leaders will con-
tinue their inglorious. role of buttressing
the capitalist system against the desires
of the rank and file; together with the
vague and empty promises of a ‘new
order’ on the basis of their spurious
unity.”

Plans for extending and building the
People’s Convention movement include
the calling of 12 regional conferences cov-
ering every area of Britain, Each of these
regional conferences, it is proposed, will
elect local committees to direct ‘cam-

Hotel East

“Make It Home”
445 GORE AVENUE

Vancouver, B.C.
SEy. 0308

NEWS and VIEWS

By EVAN LANE

WOODWORKERS

‘Bushelling Cuts Pay’

By ELMER HOLM

When the peak of logging began

to decline, the timber barons began

to look for a way to cut production costs. The piece-rate system was
This completes the news for this time. | borrowed from the growing industry of the East and introduced to the

timber industry.

paigns based on the 8-point program
adopted by the People’s Convention.

Thousands Starve in Spain

From Spain, by way of Lisbon, come
stories telling of the suffering of the
Spanish people. Thousands sleep on the
streets in Madrid, in the sewers or amid
the ruins of what were once their homes.
Their plight has been rendered even
worse by the recent bitterly cold weather
which has taken the lives of many
women and children. Tuberculosis is in-
creasing at such an alarming rate that
the Franco government has been forced
to appropriate the. equivalent of $36,000,-
000 for an anti-tuberculosis campaign.

While these conditions prevail, new
taxes are adding to the hardships of the
poverty-stricken people. The agricultural
tax has been increased from 25 to 50 per-
cent, the sales tax from 11 to 25 percent.
Additional consumers’ taxes have been
placed on coal, electricity, shoes, pastries,
knitted goods and canned goods.

Inflation Faces Sweden

With its foreign trade severely cur-
tailed as a result of the war and indirect
taxation already at a maximum level,
Sweden is now facing the prospect of in-
flation. Imports in 1940 fell 20 percent,
exports 30 percent, while the turnover in
foreign trade for the year showed a re-
duction of 25 percent. ‘The output of war
industry has increased, but paper, cellu-
lose and cement industries are at a stand-
still. Swedish economy is approaching the
level of 1932-33—the most difficult years
of the world economic crisis—with all the
consequences, unemployment, rapid de-
cline in living standards of the people,
sharpening of social contradictions.

Unemployment is now officially esti-
mated at 100,000, and this figure does not
include those not registered at labor ex-
changes. In the building trades alone
60 percent of all workers are without
work.

Taxation, which has trebled during the
past five years, has now reached its
limit, and the gap between the lowered
living standards of the people and the
increased incomes of the wealthy is
widening. From 1935 to 1940 the cost of
food stuffs, calculated on the basis of
a working class family's budget, in-
creased 700 kroner, but in the same pe!
iod nominal wages increased only 130
kroner.

At the end of last year the Swedish
Trade Union Federation and the Em-
Ployers’ Association signed an agreement
giving skilled workers a wage increase
of 107 kroners for six months, although
official figures of the home ministry show
that in 1940 the cost of foodstuffs for a
worker’s family over a six months period
inereased by 522 kroner over 1939. This
agreement is being opposed by the rank
and file of many unions, particularly the

metal workers, miners and building
trades.

eee means aes neere eo]
JOHN STANTON

Barrister, Solicitor, Notary

503 Holden Building
16 East Hastings St. MArine 5746

SEY: 0988

CITY

THE LOGGE

RADIO CARS

ALWAYS AT
YOUR SERVICE .

With much ado about how democratic
the plece system was the loggers proceed-
ed to institute piece work that was fin-
ally to drive wages to a level of unknown
lows. Slogans such as “each to his abil-
ity and work so shall he be paid,” were
mouthed by employers throughout the
woods.

‘The timber workers soon found out that
under this method that they were being
docked for rotten and cull timber that
formerly they had been paid for under
day work. Thus. the risk of rotten and
cull timber has been passed on to the
worker,

‘BIRTH OF THE GYPPO.”

Timber workers began’ to call piece
work, gyp or gyp work and a man who
did piece work a “gyppo”—this being the
birth of the gyppo and the GYPPO SYS-
TEM.

This method of passing the risk to the
worker in itself CONDEMNS the gyppo
or piece work system,

The timber barons did not stop at this
for they soon instituted the high-ball or
speed-up. This being done by cutting
the piece-rate, thus forcing the worker to
work longer hours and at a faster pace
than before to make the same wages.
Men broken in health and old before their
time are witness enough to condemn the
GYPPO or PIECE WORK SYSTEM!

ANSWER WITH ORGANIZATION.

Timber workers in trying to combat
this vicious system took to organization,
but here too the timber barons made the
piece system a weapon to counteract it.
This they did by giving select stands of
timber to skilled workers and pointed to
them as to what could be had by piece-
work, thereby dividing and splitting the
workers and nullifying organization.

Broken strikes, blacklisted workers,
hunger and privation are mute testimony
to the injustice of the gyppo or piece
system,

Years of struggle and the advent of
the C.I.O. in the timber industry is bring-
ing the dawn of a new day that will put
an end to the gyppo system. The young
organization is beginning to mature, gain-
ing strength and stature so that in the
near future gyppo will be a thing of the
past.

TO ABOLISH SYSTEM.

Minnesota timber is getting poorer
from year to year. It won't be long until
woods work here will be a brush-cutting
job. And the only way that the wages
of 80 percent of the timber workers can
be raised is to abolish the piece-rate
|.sweat-shop system.

This must be an immediate objective
of the coming contract negotiations—to
abolish piece work and to establish an

adequate monthly wage for all classifica-
tions of workers,

An end to millionaires’
and luxuries! . .
labor!

profits
. A decent life for

Office & Stand:
404 COLUMBIA AVE.

TAXI

RS’ FRIEND

Trin. 1000