i : i Bi-weekly Bulletin Published by The B.C. District Council, International Woodworkers of America, (CIO), Affiliated with Canadian Congress of Labor VOL. X. No. 16 VANCOUVER, B.C., SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 1941 = (259) Comox Employees Negotiations With LADYSMITH, B.C. — Employees of Camp L, Comox Log & Railway Co., lost no time this week in moving to consoli- date their recent victory, when, through united efforts they were able to win the reinstatement of a fellow worker laid off by the company, At a well attended meeting held in ‘ Nicholson’s Hall Tuesday an agreement ‘was drafted by the employees as a basis for negotiations with the management, and a Negotiations Committee was elected, composed of the following: John Ulinder, Stanley Brinham and Ben Roz- zano, company employees, together with Sam Guthrie, CCF MLA for the con- stituency and Nigel Morgan, Interna- tional Executive Board Member for the IWA-CIO in B.C. The committee was instructed to meet with the company’s representatives, and a letter dispatched to Superintendent Sheasgreen requesting a convenient date and place for the meeting be named by the company. Au- thorization was also voted to the com- mittee to apply for conciliation under the provisions of the ICA Act, should the Management refuse to negotiate. _ The Ladysmith loggers heard Sam Guthrie tell of the struggle of the coal miners for unioniation, in which he played an active part. He pointed to the many benefits enjoyed by organized workers, who have won for themselves the right to collective bargaining and signed agreements with their employers, and urged every logger on the job to join and support the IWA, Nigel Morgan, who has just returned from a successful organizational drive in the QCI, reported on the progress being made by the loggers’ union in B.C. He told how the QCI camps had joined LOGGING DEATHS REACH NEW TOTAL Jack Ranta, of Websters Corners, em- ployed by Baynes Logging Company, died in Royal Columbian Hospital, New West- minster, recently from a fractured spine received when he was hit by a falling snag. ‘ Bel Well known and liked for many years in the local labor movement, Ranta’s death brings the total logging fatalities to 59, John Arnold, donkey engineer at the Fletcher Logging Camp, Port Coquitlam, ‘was instantly killed last month when he was crushed between logs after the donkey engine turned over. Dally “Dan” Rykand Christesen, 38- year-old boomman employed at Pacific Mills Camp B-40 and a newcomer to the logging industry, lost his life early in ber at Juskatla, QCI. There were no of the death so the direct cause not be established. Having been . ‘by the company for two ‘he fell off the boom into about of water in the river where he up. According to the cor- he died from a heart at- as a result of shock from up 99 per cent strong ana how they, too, had drafted agreements and were now in the process of negotiations with the op- erators up there. Brother Morgan urged those workers who have not yet joined the union, to do so Immediately so that the Negotiating Committee will know they have their full backing. He also stressed the important task facing labor in their contribution to the defeat of Hitlerism, urging workers to become or- ganized so that they will become recog- nized and thereby be able to play a similar role to British labor in helping to solve production and war problems, Appoint Charman In Sash Dispute Professor Drummond of the University of British Columbia, has been appointed chairman of the arbitration board in- vestigating the dispute between the Con- tractors Supply Sash & Door Co. Ltd. and its employees, members of the [WA Local 1-217. John Stanton, legal advisor to the IWA, will represent the employees on the va-u, and Hlmore- Meredith, K.C., will vepresent the company. Main issues in the dispute are in- creases in wages, time-and-one-half for overtime, forty-four hour week and union recognition. The board will sit early next week. FLASH?! As we go to press, news has been re- ceived of the release of Harl King, Ernest Ramsay and Frank Connor, well-known Maritime Union leaders, for whose free- dom organized labor has been fighting since 1936. Their release is a tremendous victory for the labor movement which has contributed thousands of dollars to fight their case. Garfield King, promin- ent Vancouver barrister, is a brother of the California labor leader Earl King. | of, $1040.25 on a quota of $1250 for B.C.; Sam Guthrie Nigel Morgan Nigel Morgan, IWA International Ex: exutive Board member, and Sam Guthrie, CCF MLA for Cowichan- Newcastle, who, together with em- ployees, will negotiate for an agree- ment with the Comox Logging and Railway Company. Few Days Left To Reach Quota Contributions to the Canadian Tribune ‘Expansion Drive have reached a total $359.60 of this amount has been raised in subscriptions and $680.65 in dona- tions, In the IWA, the total raised to date is $127.85 on a quota of $150, with still some more funds to come in, Of this amount $88.75 has been turned in by Local 1-71; $88.60 from Local 1-80, How about Local 1-85 and Local 1-118? Let’s hear some- thing from you! There are only a few days left in which to reach our quota, so let's make a supreme effort and put it over the top! Only 30 more chopping days to the Loggers’ Ball! QUEEN CHARLOTTE ISLANDS. — The first round in the struggle for union agreements in the QCI was won this week when word was received by TWA International Executive Board Member Nigel Morgan aboard the Loggers’ Navy MV “Annart,” that the Pacific Mills Co. were prepared to negotiate. Morgan an- nounced receipt of the following tele- gram from Harold Pritchett, secretary of the Vancouver Labor Council: DEPARTMENT OF LABOR REP- RESENTATIVE CURRIE MET WITH PACIFIC MILLS VICE PRESIDENT YOUNG WHO SEES NO REASON WHY SUPERINTENDENT BONNEY SHOULD NOT MEET WITH EM- PLOYEERS’ COMMITTEE AND HAS WRITTEN BONNEY AGAIN. Encouragement was voiced by loggers all over the Islands who have been watching month-long efforts of the TWA to get negotiations under way for a peaceful and amicable settlement of their Q.C.I. Loggers Win First Step To Negotiations With Pacific Mills demand for a union agreement. In spite of the fact that only two men in the three QCI camps operated by Pacific Mills have not yet joined the TWA, and that other camps in the same district have agreed to negotiate, Bonney had vefused to even discuss an agreement until the union was forced to appeal to the government to intervene and enforce the labor laws. Organizational work is now completed for this season and with the crews of Kelley’s, Carstairs, Camp B-40 and Morgans Camps 99 per union members, the Loggers’ Navy has left for southern and less-stormy waters until after the New Year. Meantime, Camp Committees and Delegates are carrying on. Plans are proceeding In Vancouver for a mass meeting of all QCI loggers early in the New Year, and negotiations with at least one company will commence before the crew leave in the spring. repare For Company ‘SAWMILL DRIVE (GETS RESPONSE By W. STEWART Organizer, Local 1-217 The drive to organize the sawmills is meeting with favorable response from the workers. For years the sawmill op- erators have boasted of the open shop conditions prevailing in the mills, made possible through the efficient espionage system and discrimination against any worker who mentions organization, coupled with the fact that there was a large surplus of unemployed. However, conditions have changed; the workers realize today that organiza- tion is the only answer to their probléms. A new feeling is prevailing in the mills; no longer the workers distrust their fel- low workers, but are openly talking of the advantage of union organization, But talking or wishing won't make things so; it is the responsibility of every sawmill worker to get organized. That responsi- bility can best bo-shown In the provisions of Order in Council 8253 by which wages are frozen as from November 15, 1941. However, the Minister of Labor has agreed that in low paid industries wages can be increased by the regional boards established by the Order in Council. It must be obvious to all mill workers that the sawmills most certainly come within the low paid categories, and again it is obvious that no regional board is going to listen to the complaint of any individual worker. Therefore, now more than ever before is the need for organi- zation urgent. The IWA’s appeal to the sawmill workers is not an empty one; the present membership of the union has already benefited to the extent of $500,000 more in the pay envelopes since July 1940. This increase, of course, has been obtained ‘mainly in the logging camps, but the same possibilities are open to the sawmill workers. Coming back to the question of PC 8258, the first bonus under the order will be paid on February 15, 1942, and unless there is a change in the basic scale be- tween now and February 15, the bonus will be paid at the present rates, No time must be lost; let’s get organized now. To delay might mean that present levels will prevail for the duration of the war. Plant meetings are being organ- ized on a small scale at present, which will be broadened out to larger meetings later on, Join the IWA Local 1-217, 504 Holden Building, and improve your living stan- dard! , INFORMATION WANTED Will anyone knowing the present whereabouts of Harry Middleton, or T. D, Goldie, who operated an outfit at the head of Jervis Inlet in 1940, please com- municate with the IWA Office, Holden Building, Vancouver. Only 30 more chopping days to the Loggers’ Ball!