AY

Bi-weekly Bulletin

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Published by The B.C. District Council, International Woodworkers of America, Affiliated to Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO)

p= c.
VOL. XII. No. 4

VANCOUVER, B.C., MONDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 1943

Broadway <B> Printers Ltd.

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The long drawn-out dispute between the logging operators’
and their employees in the Queen Charlotte Islands drew some-
what nearer termination with the union calling their last wit-
ness, Nels Madsen. Mr. Madsen, a former employee of Pacific
Mills, Camp A-35, was discharged last December. The company
claimed a “shortage of work” as the reason for Madsen’s dis-
missal. Attorney John Stanton, counsel for the-
gested to the Arbitration Board that the matter
case of discrimination and asked that the board investigate

union, sug-
was a clear

____under provisions of the Federal Disputes Investigation Act.

Pritchett And Melsness

Elected To Lead Council
In District Referendum

C. H. Locke, K.C., who does not
appear to be disputing the fact that
: the union does represent the men
in the camps, but is attacking the
Policies of the IWA in regard to
support of the war, called Nigel
Morgan, IWA International Ex-
exutive Board member in B.C. as
his first witness. When questioned
by Mr. Locke regarding the policy
of the IWA towards the war in
1939 and 1940, Morgan said, "The
whole structure of democracy is
_ based on the right to disagree with
‘the government. The majority of
our members believed in March,
1940, that the best interests of Can-
ada lay in our withdrawal from
the war.” 4
Morgan stated further, “We
don’t think the government policy
under Chamberlain was sound.
We were helping Japan on one
hand and asking workers to give

up their lives in the fight against
Germany on the other hand.”
Morgan quoted the Bank of
‘Engiland’s Montague Norman, as
saying, shortly before the out-
break of World War I, “We have
just loaned Germany fifty million
pounds, We don’t expect to get it
back, but even that would be pre-
ferable to the fall of fascism.”
Under these circumstances, the
IWA was of the opinion that Ca-
radian participation in the war
at that time was not in the best
interests of the country and es-
pecially of labor.
When questioned as to the sus-
ion of the IWA from the Ca-
n Congress of Labor and the
d political activities within
» Boilermakers’ Union, Morgan
lied, “It refers entirely to the

makers’ Union.” He stated
rther, “My interest was to see
- democratic rights of the Boil-
cers’ Union, as well as my
union, were observed.” Also
t out in the evidence was the
t, although the head office
union is in Portland, Ore.,
adian Distriet and Locals
te autonomy and de-
| policies for Canada.

will be resumed on Sat-

MORGAN, CALLED BY CO. IN 0.C.1. DISPUTE,
REFUTES CHARGES AGAINST I.W.A. POLICY

CIRCLE “F’ WORKERS
AGREE TO OVERTIME

Tabulation of the Referen-
dum Ballot for the election of
officers for IWA-CIO, District
Council No. 1, resulted in the
following being elected for the
year 1943: President, Harold
‘Pritchett, Local 1-217; First
Vice-President, Hjalmar B-rg-
ren, Local 1-80; Second Vice-
President, Ernie Dalskog,
Local 1-71; Third Vice-Presi-
dent, Mark Mosher, Local 1-85;
Secretary - Treasurer, Bert
Melsness, Local 1-217; Trus-
tees, three-year term, Jack
Lindsay, Local 1-357; two-year
term, Darshan Singh, Local
1-118,

The third trustee, who has one
year to go in his term of office,
and consequently was not up for
election this year, is Brother He-
man Vellay. Nigel Morgan, secret-
ary-treasurer of the District Coun-
cil for the past four years, will
devote his full time to the position
of international executive board
member for this district, and
therefore “was not a candidate for
re-election, With practically half
of the two-year term still to go,
election for the position of inter-
national executive board member
will take place immediately after
the international convention next
October, when the referendum bal-
Jot for the election of international
officers is voted upon by the mem-
bership.

With an unusually light ballot
recorded, due to weather conditions
and consequent disruption of pro-
duction during the past forty-day
period when the ballot was taken
in the various camps and mills,
President Pritchett, First Vice-
President Bergren and Second
Vice-President Dalskog were re-
turned almost by acclamation.
Secretary-Treasurer Melsness, ply-
wood worker from MacMillan In-
dustries in Vancouver, was elect-
ed with a substantial majority over
Brother George Mitchell, who is
also a millworker. Brother Mitchell

Pres. Harold Pritchett

Sec.-Treas, B. Melsness

who is recording secretary of Lo-
cal 1-857 is employed by the Fraser
Mills plant of Canadian Western
Lumber Co, ‘
Competition for the position
of third vice-president was keen
with Brother Mark Mosher, logger
from APL, Camp 1 at Alberni, nos-

Employees Demand Equal Saerifice
From Company

NEW WESTMINSTER.—Canadian Western Lumber Com-

pany (Fraser Mills) resumed
shutdown for repairs and bad

operations after a two weeks’
weather. On Saturday, Feb. 6,

the management requested the employees to work on Sunday
because of the extraordinary demand for lumber and the fuel
crisis. This the employees agreed to do. The following weekend
the management insisted on working gangs of shippers, boom-
men, as well as the regular maintenance crew, on Sunday.
They called in the Production Committee and informed them
that Sunday work was necessary because of the vital need for
wood products in the interests of the war effort. The shop
stewards hurriedly called a meeting of the various depart-
ments and on the basis of a vote the employees agreed to sac-

Boilermakers

Leave CCL

By an unanimous standing vote
in the Croatian Hall, Friday night,
members of the Boilermakers’ and
Iron Shipbuilders’ Union decided
to withdraw from the Canadian
Congress of Labor, and to procede
immediately with election of offi-
cers,

“We have no battle with the
rank and file membership of the
CCL,” said William Stewart, who
was elected president of the union
at the December elections, after-
wards disputed by the CCL execu-
tive.

“We entirely concur with the
aims and objects of the CCL as
announced at the last convention,
but we feel that certain officers
of the CCL are not acting in ac-
cordance with that convention.

“We feel that their avowed policy
of setting up dual charters in the
yards leaves us no alternative but
to secede from the Congress for
the present, in order to maintain
the integrity of the organization
and to consolidate our member-
ship.

“We pledge our full co-opera-
tion to all trade unions in the ship-
yards, regardless of affiliation, and’
trust the same measure of co-op-
eration will be accorded us,” con-
cluded Mr. Stewart.

That the door will be left open
for negotiations for re-affiliation
with the Congress was stressed by
all Boilermaker spokesmen.

They state that as long as the

—— rifice their Sundays or even legal

holidays, and in some cases their
evenings, in the interests of Can-
ada’s war effort, with the under-
standing that the company should
make equal sacrifices by granting
time-and-a-half for all work done
in excess of eight hours in any one
day or 48 hours in any one week.

In consultation with officials of
the Provincial Department of
Labor, Local and District officers
were informed that where the
company is desirous of working
overtime, they must procure a
permit and the permit must be
posted in a conspicuous place. The
company must also state its rea-
sons for the desired overtime.

The Production Comniittee again
met with the management, stating
specifically that the Production
Committee could in no manner be
used as a grievance committee and
that the employees are desirous of
cooperating with the management
and the government in any emerg-
ency affecting the war effort. In
agreeing to work overtime they also
requested the management to make
joint application to the Regional
War Labor Board for time-and-a-
half for all overtime work. The
management refused to make the
joint application, stating they would
not oppose an application made to
the board by their employees but
that they were unable to pay over-
time without the sanction of the
Regional War Labor Board.
Workers at Fraser Mills are
standing solidly in favoring over-
time work with time-and-a-half
overtime pay. In the meantime, a
brief is being prepared by the Pa-
cific Coast Labor Bureau and will

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