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Page Four THE B.C. LUMBER WORKER July 11, 1942

Woodworkers And The Cost Of Livin

By BERT MARCUSE
Director, Pacific Coast Labor Bureau

The Dominion Bureau’ of Statistics tells us that on June 1, 1942, the
cost of living had-increased 15.8 per cent since the beginning of the war.
This means that you now have to pay almost $1.16 for what you paid
$1:00 for in August, 1939. But let us see whether this applies to wood-
workers and other workers in Canada. Sometimes woodworkers and
other workers claim their costs of living have increased over fifteen per
cent since the war began. Can there be any truth in their claim?

How Does the Gov’t Determine Cost of Living Figures?
Back in 1938 the Dominion Bureau of Statistics made a careful survey
of 1,439 “average” families throughout Canada. Expense records were
carefully kept and it was shown that $1, 413.80 was the average amount
of expenses per year of these “average” families. And remember, taxes

Thus as far as the lower paid wood-
worker or worker is concerned the cost
of food, which is a bigger item propor-
tionately on his budget than on wealthier
people's budgets, has risen 26 per cent,
whereas the miscellaneous items which
he can’t afford anyway, are up only 6%
per cent,

Workers’ Staple Foods
Higher Than Luxury Foods

To make matters still worse those
simple foods which are absolutely essen-
tials for a worker’s family are just the

How High Has Cost of
Living Risen For
Low-Paid Workers?

Since no accurate figures are avail-
able on the question it is impossible to
say just what the cost-of-living figures
are for a low paid worker. However, it
seems safe to estimate for the vast
majority of working-class families,
namely, those earning under ‘$1453.80 a
year, that the gost of living has risen at
least 20 per cent, and in certain cases _
where rent and food and clothing costs
are unduly high, at least 25 per cent,

of all sorts were much lower in those days, too.
These experfses were divided amongst:

1. Food ..

2, Clothing

8, Fuel and Light

4, Rent...

5. Home Furnishings and Services

G.Miscellancous (health, life insur:
transportation and recreation) ....

Change in Each Item
Measured.

Today when the Dominion Bureau of
Statistics wants to find the change in
the cost of living they calculate the in-
crease or decrease in the costs for each
of the six items above. Then they give
the proper “weight” or value. to each
item. This “weight” is based on what
percentage of the total expenses of the
“average” family each item is, For 2x-
ample, the “average” Canadian family
spends more on food than on miscellane-
ous items, ‘The family may spend 31
per cent of its income on food and only
22 per cent on miscellaneous, Therefore,
any change in these figures will have to
take this fact into account, In other
words, the same increase in food as for
miscellaneous’ will have a greater effect
on the cost of living as a whole.

But Here’s the Rub!

The Dominion Bureau of Statistics
says that the cost of living increase since
the beginning of the year is 158 per
cent, Is this correct? Yes, it's correct
IF YOU ARE THE “AVERAGE” CA-
NADIAN FAMILY WITH AN INCOME
OF $1,453.80 PER YEAR OR MORE.
And as a matter of fact, if you have an
income considerably over that amount
the inerease in the cost of living for you
may be less than 15.8 per cent. But since
according to figures released by the Do-

~ minion Bureau of Statistics on April 28,
1942, only 20% per cent of Canadian
male wage-earners receive over $1,500.00
a year, this is not likely to affect you.
Especially if you are an “ordinary”
worker... or a woodworker!

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stronger we resist, The final victory
-—Dr, P, D, Chang, in

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62 East Hastings St,
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of Expenses
of Expenses
of Expenses
of Expenses
of Expenses

of Expenses

100.00%

Since according to the 1941 census re-
turns, 55 per cent of all male wage-earn-
ers in Canada have an income of less
than $1,000.00 a year; and also as a re-
sult of a recent survey made by the
Pacific Coast Labor Bureau in co-opera-
tion with the IWA the great majority
of loggers and almost all shingle, plywood
and sawmill workers do not average
$1500.00 a year you are probably inter-
ested in knowing what has happened to
YOUR cost of living. Well, in a nut-
shellIT HAS GONE UP CONSIDER-
ABLY MORE THAN 15.2%,

Why Has Cost of Living
Of Most Workers Gone Up
More Than 15 Percent?

Because’ it can be shown that the
lower the family’s income the more they
will have to spend on items like food
and clothing and the less they will be
able to spend on miscellaneous items
such as health, recreation, and transpor-
tation, The recent IWA-~Pacific Coast
Labor Bureau survey has indicated that
WITH VERY FEW EXCEPTIONS
EVERY WOODWORKER'S FAMILY
IS IN URGENT NEED OF MEDICAL
OR DENTAL CARE. It goes without
saying that these same findings will
apply to working-class families generally.

The worker's family must be fed and
clothed first! So more of the woodwork-
er’s income goes to food and clothing
and less to miscellaneous, And, as if to
mock the worker, the greatest increases
since the beginning of the war have been
Jin just what he has to spend most on—
food and clothing—and the lowest in-
creases have been in the miscellaneous
items which the worker's family can’t
afford anyway. Since the beginning of
the war we have seen this happen:

General cost of living (for “average”
family) up 158 per cent. Food (on
which lower paid workers spend more)
up 26 per cent. Clothing (on which
lower paid workers spend more) up
19% per cent. Miscellaneous (which
lower paid workers must largely do
without) up 6% per cent.

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ones that have increased the most in
price, whereas luxuries and the expensive
cuts of meats that workers never could
afford anyway have increased least.
Therefore if the food budget of a wood-
worker's family could be analyzed it
would probably be found that his food
costs had risen well over 30 per cent.

Similarly most woodworkers and other
workers have to spend from $50.00 to
$100.00 a year on special work clothing
besides the clothing for their families.
So this item, too, will represent a larger
proportion of their total expenses than
it would, say, that of a boss-logger.

Why the Cost of Living
Does Not Increase So

Much For the Wealthy

Let us suppose that a woodworker
with an income of $1200.00 spends $360.00
a year on food for his family. This means
that he spends 30 per cent of his income
on an item which for him has risen per-
haps over 30 per cent in cost since the
war began.

Then take for example the boss-log-
ger or plywood factory owner. We will
be conservative and say that the boss has
an income of only $12,000.00 a year, and
the same size of family as the worker's
family. Suppose they eat FIVE times as
well as the woodworker’s family, buy
more luxuries, more expensive meat cuts,
ete, Thus the operator will spend $1800.00
a year on food, or just 15 per cent of his
income on an item which for him may
not have increased even the amount the
Dominion Bureau of Statistics shows of
26 per cent, because he is also buying the
“luxury” foods which have increased less
than 26 per cent in many cases. He will
also spend more on miscellaneous items
like health, recreation, insurance, etc.,
which have increased least of all in price.

Low-Paid Worker Harder
Hit Than the Wealthy

Thus we see that for the wealthy per-
son, because he can spend a greater pro-
portion of his income on those items
which have risen least, the cost of living
may not even have risen the full 15.8
per cent,

On the other hand, it is on just those
items which have increased the most in
price that the worker must spend the
greatest proportion of his income. There-
fore, his cost of living has risen consid-
erably over the 15.8 per cent of the Do-
minion Bureau of Statistics.

ee eed
JOHN STANTON
Barrister, Solicitor, Notary —

503 Holden Building
16 East Hastings St. MArine 5746

MODERN AND OLD-TIME

— DANCING —

EVERY SATURDAY

Hastings Auditorium—828 E. Hastings
MODERATE RENTAL RATES

The Toronto Welfare Council made a
study in 1939 and showed that a mini-
mum of $28.35 per week was necessary
to cover the BARE ESSENTIALS for
health and self-respect for a father,
mother, boy of 6, girl of 10 and boy of 12.
jRemember, this is a minimum! No won-
der, then, so many Canadian boys have
been rejected for the army because of
malnutrition, In Canada, according to
figures of the Dominion Bureau of Sta-
tistics, in 1941 only 20% per cent of male
wage-earners were making enough to
provide this bare minimum or more. How
many woodworkers’ families in B.C, are
provided with this bare minimum?

How To Raise the Living
Standards of
Low-Paid Workers.

1, Adequate minimum wages or earn-
ings must be guaranteed the worker. The
freezing of wages at levels which can-
not permit the worker to maintain his
family in decency must not be allowed.

2. The right to organize and to bar-
gain collectively must be guaranteed.
Labor must be given a voice along with
management so as to provide more ef-
ficient, safer, and less. wasteful produc-
tion techniques.

3. A cost of living bonus to cover the
increase in the cost of living since the
outbreak of war should be allowed all
workers,

This is the road to a healthier nation
and to a stronger all-out war effort. The
welfare of the workers of Canada is the
welfare of all Canada, the welfare of the
Allied cause! 1

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

RANCHO HOTEL)

119 East Cordova St.
Vancouver, B.C, PAc, 0944)
*

The proprietor wishes to thank
loggers for their excellent patronage
in the past and hopes that they will
continue in the same way in the
Eni oes