THE B.C. LUMBER wvolhen

March 8, 1943

Plywood Workers Denied Rights By Co.
Continue To Fight For Recognition

Starting fro ma small plywood operation concerned mainly with the development of door panels, produced in its

By HAROLD PRITCHETT

President, IWA-CIO District Council No. 1
December, 1935, witnessed the establishment of a baby giant on the Fraser River, which, with no exception, has lived up to its name to the letter.

there now stands one of the biggest plywood operations in the British Empire. : °
This spectacular growth was made possible under the direction of H. R. McMillan, president and brains behind McMillan Industries Ltd.

Employees of the company, then known as B.C. Plywoods, chafing under a policy of speed-up,

entirety

from second-hand machinery,

low wages and rank discrimination, were inveigled into

accepting a company-inspired Conference Committee which was a creature born out of the front office and completely dominated by the company in the

interests of the company.

Tt was not until 1939 that the workers spontaneously voiced their dissatisfaction in the so-called Conference Committee,
grievances were still unsettled and made an attempt to establish a Local of the International Woodworkers of America an

with the company pertaining to wages,
ployees and during negotiations the com:
introduction of Orientals and boys,

From 1939 to 1942 saw the com-|
pany in complete control of the
situation with a growing restless-
ness on the part of the workers,
It was on Friday, April 17, 1942,
without any vestige of organization
the employees of the MacMillan
Industries Limited (Plywood Di-
vision), formerly called the B.C.
Plywoods, stopped work at 8:15 in
the morning and requested a bonus
from the company. The Conference
Committee, lacking the confidence
of the workers and influenced by
the company, was strengthened by
the establishment of a broad Sub-
Committee on whose insistence the
company agreed to make a joint
application to the Regional War
Labor Board for a bonus. Due to
the company’s misrepresentation
the bonus was rejected.

On Sunday, April 19, the employ-
ees contacted officials of the Inter-
national Woodworkers of America
and requested a mass meeting,
which was held in the Fishermen's
Hall on the same afternoon. Some
600 workers voted to join the union
and instructed the temporary com-
mittee to call further meetings
after hearing the district president
of the IWA speak.

On Sunday, April 26, a meeting
was held in Burrard Hall, where,
following an address by Secretary
Ernie Dalskog of Local 1-71, offi-
cers were elected and a contract
committee to draw up a union
contract.

On Sunday, May 3, another mass
meeting was held in the Burrard
Hall, which was addressed by rep-
resentatives of the Canadian Con-
gress of Labor and the officers
were instructed, by unanimous
vote,, to conduct a referendum of
all employees on the question of
application for conciliation and
arbitration.

On Monday, May 4, the entire
third shift were laid off, which was
felt by thé workers that the com-
pany was following a policy of
mass discrimination to break the

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union. Stop-work meetings were
held in front of the office with all
employees present and addressed
by District President Pritchett,
District Secretary Morgan, Vice-
President McAuslane (CCL), Bert
Melsness, president IWA Local
1217 and Mr. Johanson, manager
of the Plywood Division. Mr. Johan-
son ordered the employees to re-
turn to the factory within 15 min-
utes, and by unanimous vote, the
workers decided to return to work
in 30 minutes.

On Friday, May 7, a committee
of the employees as instructed by
the union, conducted a secret bal-
lot at the gate on the question, “Do
you favor application for Concilia-
tion under the ICA Act?” and the
result was 857 yes, 5 no. The ap-
plication was received by Provin-

cial Minister of Labor George
Pearson on May 8.
The company then got busy

through its so-called Conference
Committee and attempted to con-
duct a secret ballot vote of confi-
dence in the Conference Committee
inside the factory. The results of
this vote were so negative they
were never released. Sunday, May
10, saw another mass meeting in
the Burrard Hall, which was ad-
dressed by Harold Winch, COF
MLA, and it was decided to con-
duct another vote on May 11, on the
following propositions: (1) recaling
of members of the ocmpany Confer-
ence Committee, which results
showed 358 yes, 14 no, 17 spoiled
ballots; and (2) on the election of
a new committee with E. Skelley,
Bill Russell, Myrtle Hubble, Bert
Melsness and Harold Pritchett
elected.

On Friday, May 15, the Minister
of Labor appointed James Thomp-
son as conciliation commissioner,
and Mr. Thompson proceeded to
call a meeting of all employees in
the plant. After a general discus-
sion it was decided to vote on if
dispute existed, which carried by
a majority. of 480.

Then Mr, Thompson, after a
lengthy delay, conducted a vote on

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whether they desired the so-called ,Kennedy, personnel director, and

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the workers or the new committee.
By this time a large number of
the day shift had left, and while
a majority voted to dispose of the
Conference Committee and in sup-
port of the new committee, there
was not a majority of employees
affected voting.

On May 30, Commissioner
Thompson conducted a secret bal-
lot at the gate and communicated
in writing to all employees, present
and past, asking them if they de-
sired to return to work at the Ply-
wood Plant if and when the com-
pany reopened the last shift, The
ballots were counted on June 1 with
serutineers present and on the
basis of the results, the Minister
of Labor declared in favor of the
Employees’ Committee, members of
the International Woodworkers of
America, which should have dis-
posed of the so-called company
Conference Committee, but didn’t.

Commissioner Thompson then

proceeded to bring both parties to-
gether and conciliation proceeded
in the Department of Labor offices
in the Hall Building with EB. B.
Ballantyne,

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plant personnel
director, representing the company,
and Myrtle Hubble, Bert Melsnéss,
Bill Russell, Harold Pritchett rep-
resenting the workers.

The company flatly refused to
concede to union recognition but
agreed to review the list of discrim-
inated workers and finally returned
all those desirous of returning, with
the exception of the Local leaders,
President Bert Melsness and Sec-
retary Bill Bennett. The company
also half-heartedly agreed to raise
the wages of the female employees
and give consideration to vacations
with pay. Conciliation then became
deadlocked and’ the Minister of
Labor ordered the establishment of
an. Arbitration Board. The com-
pany appointed Reginald Tupper,
K.C.; the employees appointed
Arthur Turner, CCF MLA, and the
Minister of Labor appointed Chief
Justice Bruce Boyd.

The arbitration proceedings were
lengthy and the evidence submitted
on behalf of the employees by Dis-
trict President Pritchett was vol-
uminous; first establishing the fact
that the majority of the workers
were members of the International
Woodworkers of America and de-
sired union recognition and that
seven votes had been conducted
among the employees and by their
action approving their contentioy
secondly, that wages were inade-
quate, and thirdly, that discrimina-
tion was rampant and that labor
policy of the company was a carry-
over from the 19th ‘century.

The majority award of the arbi-
tration board favored the company
in that it recommended the con-
tinuance of the company union
and rejected the contention of the
union that the company pursued
a policy of rank discrimination.

Throughout this entire period of
conciliation and arbitration the
company actively demoted and
generally discriminated © against
shop stewards and members of the
union, promoting company stooges
and laying off union boys and girls.
At the same time, many workers
left the employ of the company on
their own accord completely dis-
gusted with the company’s anti-
union policy, seeking work else-
where and in many instances join-
ing the armed forces, The com-
pany, believing they had the situa-
tion well in hand, with a favorable
and reactionary arbitration board
award under their belt, proceeded

to lift the highlights of the IWA

in that 90 percent of their just

id negotiate a union agreement
hours and working conditions. The heavy hand of the company was felt by the discriminate discharge of 51 em-
pany informed the so-called Conference Committee that they would not be able to increase the wages without the
which they felt they could procure at a low wage level.

agreement and go through the mo-
tions of negotiations with their so-
called Conference Committee, con-
ceding to’ time-and-a-half for over-
time work, vacations with pay and
other minor concessions embodied
in an employeremployee agree-
ment.

Through the progressive mem-
bers of the Conference Committee,
the workers demanded that a meet-
ing of all employees be held and a
discussion had on the clauses of the
agreement prior to any vote. ‘The
company refused to concede and
proceeded with a secret ballot on
whether they wished to accept the
company agreement, yes or no. In
the following action the employees,
of which a majority are still mem-
bers of the IWA, decisively and
conclusively voted to reject a com-
pany agreement by 198 for, 227
against and 9 spoiled balolts.

In view of the joint presentation
by organiezd labor in this province
to the provincial cabinet requesting
compulsory collective bargaining
and the, recent pronouncement in
line with labor's requests by the
Minister of Labor that labor's
rights be recognized and made law,
the employees of the MacMillan In-
dustries (Plywood Division) are to
be highly conimended for their con-
sistent and militant fight against
the company’s anti-union policy
from the plant's inception in 1935
to this very day. In the face of
promotion of company favorites
and demotion and discharge of
union members, mass layoffs, wage
reductions and indiscriminate wage
increases for the favored ones; in
spite of all this, the workers of
this company have continued their
consistent and militant fight for

With the latest victory in rejec-
tion of the company union and the
company agreement, the workers
are consolidating and revitalizing
their organization in preparation
for the final establishment of a
legitimate union, a signed union
agreement and the removal of most
of the contentious questions that
make it so difficult for workers to
produce plywood, so vital to Can-
ada’s war effort.

The history of the plywood work-
ers’ struggle against first a baby
and finally a giant is a glorious his-
tory. that will go down in the an-
nals of labor in this province. The
question asked and many times
answered, Could it be that the com-
pany fears the growth of organized

labor more than it fears Hitlerism?

their union and union recognition.”