i VANCOUVER, B.C., SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 1942 > (265) SH CO. REFUSES TO CEPT ARB. AWARD Employees of Contractors’ Supply Sash ‘& Door Co, Ltd., members of IWA Local "1-217, went on strike this week when the company refused to accept the majority award of a government appointed arbi- tration board handed down last Decem- ber, recommending union recognition, forty-four hour week, and time and one- _ half for overtime, and a shop safety com- ‘When attempts of the employees’ com- mittee to obtain satisfactory settlement with the management failed, the entire erew voted unanimously to strike until agreement could be reached. “Company officials have tried to give the impression that we struck because Mr, Andrews would not give us a cost- of-living bonus,” declared Steve Bileski, strike committee secretary. “That is not true. We went on strike because the company refused to accept the award, which the men already voted to accept last December.” Hon. George Pearson, minister of la- bor, has been asked to use his influence to settle the dispute, and the employees have applied to the Regional War Labor Board for a cost-of-living bonus. They have received no wage increase since last March and no bonus since the war be- gan, with wages far below the average. Donations for the Strike Fund should be sent to 604 Holden Building. LOGGER KILLED AT CHURCH CREEK - Second logger to meet his death in the lumber industry this year was Bill Miller, hook-tender at Kenney’s, Church Creek, who was Killed when a log rolled and pinned another on top of him during a hang-up. The inquest was held at Queen Charlotte City, and the body shipped via Prince Rupert to Vancouver for burial, One old-timer, a witness, described the peooidenk as the first he has ever seen n which absolutely no blame could be ched to anyone, a real freak acci- Woodworkers _ have been ‘| killed in B.C’s umber in- dustry since ‘the way to the inquest, the Coroner p and died of heart failure. Lend to Defend! _ Buy Victory Bonds ! COURTENAY, B.C—Members of the crew at Bloedel’s Camp 4, Menzies Bay, this week unanimously instructed their committee, elected at a meeting on Feb- ruary 19, to apply for a Conciliation Commissioner from the provincial gov- ernment to settle a dispute which arose over the discriminatory firing, without apparent reason, of a gang of fallers. At the meeting, held in the camp recreation room, attended by the entire crew, the committee, reporting failure to reach any satisfactory settlement with the management, was instructed to ne- gotiate a signed agreement with the com- pany, and Colin Cameron, M.L.A., was elected a member of the negotiating committee. Realizing that through organization they would best be able to obtain: har- monious relations with the boss, 80 per cent of the crew have joined up with the International Woodworkers of America. At the same meeting, on Feb. 24, keenly aware of the contribution they can make to the defense of our coast, members of the crew elected a com- mittee to be responsible for the forma- tion of a defense corps in that area, and also elected a safety committee. Canada’s Sécond Victory Loan Drive opened this week, marked by a renewal of the’ solidarity proudly pledged between our country and the United States. The government is asking the sub- seription of six hundred million dollars. ‘The people of Canada will see that it is raised. Already shipyard workers, railwaymen and numerous other unions and central labor bodies have pledged support for In their campaign to raise the quota for B.C.’s Second Victory Loan members of the committee staged a “Verboten Day” in Vancouver to show what it would feel like to have Hitler victorious. To prevent such scenes, Buy Victory Bonds! So It Can’t Happen Here? drive, the loan, That is the reply of labor, jointly with all other sections of the population to the government's appeal. That is the reply of labor to Hong Kong and Singapore. That is the reply of labor to the need pressed home by events abroad and at home; unity of the nation in total war against Hitlerism, Fight with your dollars as our boys fight with thelr machine guns! Don't hold back your fire! Announcement by the govern- ment that Civilian Home Defense forces were being formed in the iso- lated northern sections of British Columbia was greeted enthusiastic- ally this week by IWA members. Arms and training will be provided but enlistment will be voluntary among hunters, trappers, loggers, fishermen, settlers, prospectors and others familiar with woods life. Training will be carried on in the evenings so that men may continue with their civil occupations. ‘That such @ corps of bush-trained men could be of immense value to BC defenses is no new idea to organized labor, as a similar plan was embodied in proposals endorsed by the IWA Fifth Annual Con- vention last December. As was pointed out by Alan Morley, in a recent article in the Vancouver Sun, that area is the finest country in the world for guerrilla warfare. Today, the article stated, there is no conven- tional military force in existence which can operate in that vital area, Initiative in forming the first civic defense unit has been by Powell River, where a citizens’ committee, representing two trade unions, two ex-soldier or- ganizations and others, has applied to Colonel A. W. Sparling, Chief of B.C. Reserve Forces for official recognition and training, The committee asserts: it has more than 400 men ready to join the unit, Members of IWA sub-local in Cour- tenay have shown the way to other logging camps, when at a meeting this week at Bloedel’s Camp 4, they elected a committee to be responsible for the formation of a civilian defense unit it that camp. A similar corps was formed at Prince George last summer, but at that time the provincial government refused to ap- prove the move or to allow the men to carry rifies for training. Had it only done so, other communities would have fol- lowed suit and we would now have had a fully trained civilian home defense guard ready for immediate action, Now that formation of such a corps is approved and facilities available for training and arming it, IWA members and others in those isolated areas can play an invaluable role in the defense of our shore. Loggers know the bush country as they know their own hand, they are used to arms — many of them have rifles for hunting — and they are ready and willing to take patt in the defense of Canada’s coast from enemy attack. Civilian defense corps might well be organized in every logging camp, as many of the camps of the QCI are miles away from any communities, and defense of Canada’s timber area is vital to her war industry. B.C, loggers, organized in defense units, will see that it never falls into enemy hands, Lend to Defend! Buy Victory Bonds 1 Loggers To Aid Civil Home Defense Corps. Bloedel’s Crew Ask Conciliation; Elect Defense, Negotiating Comm.