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B.C. District Council, International Woodworkers of America, (CIO), Affiliated with Canadian Congress of Labor

eet tie Published by The
VOL. X, No. 10 ;

VANCOUVER, B.C., SATURDAY, JUNE 28, 1941

Oe (258)

Ce

Union Wrests Concessions In
Magnificent Victory Over
Anti-Labor Operators

More than five hundred elected
delegates representing better than 23,-
000 striking woodworkers, members of
the International Woodworkers of Am-
erica, CIO, met in the city of Olympia,
Washington, last week to report adop-
tion by 2 30-1 vote of the membership
the latest proposals of the United
States Mediation Board.

President O, M, Orton, who was loud-
, ly commended for his “brilliant and cour-
ageous leadership,” was unable to be
back in time for the conference, but
wired his recommendations that the dele-
gates give favorable consideration to the
concessions granted on fhe Union’s fir
belt demands:

1, UNION HIRING: The Board recom-
mended first, that every present em-
ployee should belong to the. Union and
every future employee to join the Union
shall, as a condition of employment, main-
tain Union membership in good standing
and such new employees shall join the
Union within forty days of being em-
ployed.

2, SEVENTY-FIVE CENT MINIMUM:
Basic wage rate shall be increased by
Te across the board as of September,
1940, establishing the base rate of 75c
per hour,

8. HOLIDAYS WITH PAY That one
week’s vacation with pay be established
for all employees who have worked for
their employer 1400 hours or more.

4, ABOLISH BUSHELLING: That
piece work demands be subjected to fur-
ther negotiation by the joint employer-
union committees,

In the event of disagreement or dead-
lock in future collective bargaining nego-
tiations, the Mediation Board shall im-
mediately proceed with the appointment
of an impartial commission to study the
entire question. President O, M. Orton
hailed the recommendations as a tre-
mendous victory in face of the united
employers’ efforts to destroy hte Union
in a fanfare of super-patriotism, and he
believed these latest concessions to be
‘ basis for resuming negotiations in order
to effectuate a satisfactory contract.

Striking Example of Trade
Union Benefits at Niagara

NIAGARA FALLS, Ont.—aA tie-up of
_ Steelwork on the new bridge across the
Niagara Gorge provided a striking ex-
ample to Canadian workers of the bene-
_ fits of trade unionism last week. The
Strike occurred when 30 members of the
_ Structural Steel Workers’ Union de-
pe: manded $1.65 hourly instead of $1.50
for work on the American half of the

| MID

SUMMER

VANCOUVER

EMBASSY BALLROOM

Valuable Prizes ——

Important Meets
Called For First |
Week Of July

VANCOUVER. — With several thou-
sand loggers converging on the City for
the July ist shutdown, plans are an-
nounced for a number of important
meetings under the sponsorship of the
International Woodworkers of America
—C.LO.

District Semi-Annual

Conference Called.

A call has been sent out to all camps
and mills locals and sub-locals. to elect
delegates to attend a “Comp Delegate
and Shop Steward Conference” being
sponsored by the B.C. District Council
L.W.A—OC.LO. The one day meet which
is scheduled to start at 10 a.m. sharp
on Sunday, July 6th, at I.W.A. head-
quarters in the Holden Bldg., 16 East
Hastings Street, Vancouver, will review
the work of the organization since the
Annual Convention in January. In ad-
dition special consideration will be giv-
en to the matter of union contracts,
wages, hours and working conditions;
a number of new problems of vital
concern to lumber workers such as tax-
ation, the rising cost of living, P.C. 7440,
conscription, etc.; and formulation of
plans to carry the decisions into life

THIRTY-EIGHT KILLED
IN SIX MONTHS 1941

As the first half of the year draws to
a close, the total list of fatalities in the
lumber industry stands at thirty-eight,
with five more names being added since
our last issue.

Injured on June 19, while employed as
a faller at the Rock Bay operations of

Merrill, Ring and Wil-

son, Ernest Stouth
died in a Vancouver
hospital on June 19,

through an intensified organizational
drive,

Semi-Annual Meeting of
IWA-CIO Local 1-71.

An invitation is extended to all mem-
bers of Local 1-71 to attend their semi-
annual meeting. International Presi-
dent 0. M. Orton and Sec’y Harold Prit-
chett of the Vancouver Labor Council
(CCL) will be the guest speakers. Mem-
bers are urged to attend and do their

(Continued on Page Five)

the bridge for $1.00 an hour or $20.00
less per week while the job lasts. The
Canadians haven’t a union. Both are
paid by the same company, Steel work
is seasonal.

Refreshments

the victim of the sec- | Woodworkers
ond fatal accident in | , Dave been
Kdlled in B.C’s
one day in that camp. lamiber aia
M. O. Bjorkroth 39- | dustry since
year-old logger, was Jan. 1, 19:
killed instantly on

June 13, when a log rolled on him,
\fracturing his skull, while he was em-
Ployed by the Salmon River Logging
Company, near Campbell River. Bjork-
roth leaves a wife and infant daughter
living here,

Berton Kinney, 35, employed as a hook-
tender at Bloedel, Stewart and Welch
Camp 6, Great Central Lake, was killed
on June 16, by a rolling log. His widow
lives in Port Alberni.

Kanjo Naruse, 21, was drowned on
June 25, when he fell from a boom at
the operation of Burns and Jackson,
near Roberts Creek.

(Continued on Page Five)

23,000 Striking Wash. |WA Members Win

Crews of Lake Log and Crofton Export
Company’s Four Camps Come to Town
In Disgust Over Stalling on 2 Demands

Members of the International Woodworkers of America (CIO), Local
!1-80 formally resigned their positions as employees of the Lake Logging
Company and Crofton Export Company, after negotiations failed on a
minimum program of demands, including Union recognition and seni-
ority. Addressing the crew a few hours before this action was taken,
Manager Hunter told the men, “If you don’t like conditions in my camps,
you can always quit and go to work somewhere else.”

Thoroughly fed-up with the companies’
efforts at stalling and with the general
attitude of the company officials towards
the crew, and realizing it was illegal to
go on strike and futile to arbitrate, the
300 odd loggers and boommen employed
in the companies’ four camps, individu-
ally exercised their right of taking their
time and leaving their employment.

In Vancouver this week, Nigel Morgan,
International executive board member
for District 1, IWA-CIO, issued the fol-
lowing statement:

“The men feel that the action of the
companies is wholly unjustified and in-
sincere, especially in view of the normal
demands made, which-are not unusual to
a democratic country. Their experience
with these companies in the past has
been one of stalling and evasion, neces-
sitating about eight months of negotia-
tions, The men are indignant at the fact
that the companies have not considered
their demands, duly recognized ‘by law,
or even granted counter proposals, and
now claim to be acting in good faith by
entering into a long drawn out period of
arbitration,

“This is evidenced by the fact that the
men’s demands don’t affect the com-
panies’ ‘profits or production, but rather
make towards harmony and continuity,
The Union ‘stands ready and willing to
negotiate with the companies, with a view
to an early and amicable settlement. In
the meantime, the men stand on their
legal right to quit, pending the companies’
admission that legitimate Unions have
a right to be recognized under the laws
of Canada.” ‘

Meantime organizational work in the
surrounding camps is making rapid
progress, as many of the former Lake
Log crew have gone to work as “Dollar-
ayear” men organizing for the IWA.
The old Picket. Camp which is Siehiced
above has been reopened to accommo-
date the additional organizational staff.
Many new members have been enrolled
and a mass meeting of loggers is being
epeate by eee Log crew in the

uver Croatiay :
Tin, ae pellan Hall for Monday,
est report is negotiatio:
seeding and in view of market conn
tions and the impossibility of hiring a

new crew, a settlement which might

persuade the former emplo
is expected shortly. °°°s ‘® Tehire

pain eels
This is the War Deal's new slogan: “No
gas on Sundays and not much bread and

FRIDAY, JULY 4th ~ 9 P.M
—— Good Music

Admission 50c

butter any other day of the week.”

*