THE B.C. LUMBER woW@nn

——

Sawmill News

“Every Reader a Correspondent”

REPORTS

VL M Emon Charged Organization At C.W,P:
With Accepting Money

Gordon Cook, former planer mill foreman in the Victoria
Lumber Manufacturing Company's big Chemainus Mill, ap-
peared in Chemainus Police Court last Tuesday before Magi-
strate G. E. Tisdall charged with unlawfully accepting money
from an employee of the company for which he, the accused,

Employees of Sitka Spruce, at
‘the regular meeting of their as-
wociation, were addressed by Nigel
Morgan, International Board Mem-
ber, who certainly didn’t pull any
punches in explaining the com-
pany union setup at the spruce
mill. From reports coming in this
past week, it appears that the crew
at Sitka Spruce are very much in
favor of throwing the company
union out and joining the IWA en
masse, The logging end of this
industry is already 100 percent
IWA. So come on, you mill work-
ers, and make it 100 percent union
from the stump to the finished pro-
duct!

Last week I finished up my col-
umn with a little story which was
given to me by a friend of mine
who swears it is all true. How-
ever, when I received my copy of
the “Lumber Worker,” I hurriedly
turned to my column (I always
read the best parts first) and so,
help me, the editor had cut the
story out. Well, I said, he can’t
do this to me, so here's the story
again. He won't be able to get
away with that stuff this month,
ag the column won't contain very
much else,

It seems that back in the de-
pression days of '32 there was a

“bright young fellow who got the
idea of making sausages out of
rabbit meat and selling them in
order to make a little cash, To
begin with, the sausages were very
good and ho built up quite a busi-
hess. After some months, however,
the quality of his product began
falling off and some of his cus-
tomers began to kick. One day,
one of his best customers sai
“Say, Joe, how come your sausages
aren’t as good as they used to
be?” “Well,” says Joe, “when I
started in business there were lots
of rabbits, but I’ve killed most of

_ them off now and I have to mix

_ the rabbit meat with a little mule
meat.” The customer thought this
over, and then said: “What per-

_ centage of mule meat to rabbit

do you use?” “Oh,
says Joe. “One rabbit, one-mile.”

Now the hero in our story is a
lot like a few of our lumber op-
erators in B.C, But instead of the
sausages, it’s cooperation between

Jabor and management they are

_ selling. They want us to cooperate
with them to boost their produc-

tion and their profits, but they
don’t want to boost our wages or

‘improve our working conditions,

We approve of the cooperation

but we would like to see a

more rabbit mixed in with
mule, especially sinse we are

See
a

‘Men's Sults, Overcoats, Log- /
Boots and Sleeping Bags

was agent.
The charges

against Cook following an investi-

were preferred:

ment of Labor requested by the
Chemainus IWA Sub-Local after
a number of oriental employees
had complained to the union of
the practices which it was alleged
has been in operation for years.

Following a meeting between Mr.
A, M. Whiskers who was sent by
the Department of Labor to in-
vestigate the charges with the su-
perintendent of the Chemainus
Mill and union officials, Cook re-
ceived his dismissal from the com-
pany,

Appearing in Chemainus police
court with Frank Cunliffe, K.C.,
of Nanaimo as his attorney, the
accused pleaded not guilty. The
case, which is being tried under
the Summary Conviction Act, was
remanded until Tuesday, May 18,
on the request of the Crown. Mr.
Alex McLean of Victoria is acting
as Crown prosecutor. [Results of
the case are being watched with
interest’ by millworkers throughout
the province who will remember
the last case in 1938 over similar
practices at the Straits Mill at
Nanoose Bay,

Proceeding Favorably

Employees of the Canadian

White Pine Lumber Company

(McMillan) are organizing themselves into IWA Local 1-217.

It was reported last week that

a large number of them have

already joined the IWA and steps have been taken to increase
the tempo of the campaign and finish the job in the shortest
possible time. The general opinion expressed by those who have
joined the union is that the old Conference Committee is no

ie
Palentnyh theletaiicials Devaris Wage Payments Through
“Boss Chinamen’’ Illegal

Last week the union employees
of Hillcrest Lumber Co. protested
Department
union,

of Labor
IWA Local

to the
through their

Charter For

Hammond

To Be Installed May 26

The application by the sawmill workers in Hammond for a
charter has been accepted by the International and the charter
granted according to word received today from Jack Greenall,
International organizer for New Westminster. The charter will
be installed at a special meeting on Wednesday, May 26, by
Nigel Morgan, IWA International Executive Board Member.

The organization of the Ham-
mond Mill was started early this
spring and today the overwhelm-

IWA Dance In
Dunean Suecess

Duncan IWA held a well-attend-
ed dance on Friday evening in K.
of P, Hall. A four-piece orchestra,
led by Mr, Jack Austin, Duncan,
and including former members of
the Island Revellers, supplied the
music, Refreshments were served
by the IWA Ladies’ Auxiliary.

Meet Your Friends at

MANITOBA
HOTEL

44 West Cordova St.

Outside Rooms — Elevator Serv-|
ice — Steam Heat — Reasonable

Rates — Centrally Located
PA, 0267 _N,J. Thompson, Mgr.

ing majority of the employees are
members of the union. At the meet-
ing on the 26th officers of the local
will be elected and sworn into
office. The new local will be known
as International Woodworkers of
America, Local 1-367. It is expected
that one or more fraternal dele-
gates from Vancouver Island will
attend the installation ceremony.

Communist-Labor
Total War Committee...

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at 7:15 P.M.

on

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waging total war.

1-80, that the Chinese employees of
the company were being paid their
wages through a “tyee” or “boss”
Chinaman instead of direct from
the company,

The IWA’s lawyer in Vancouver
informed Local 1-80 and the com-
pany that this procedure was a
violation of the Semi-monthly
Wage Act and asked a representa-
tive of the department of Labor
to see the company.

Mr. Andrew M. Whisker of the
department saw the companay on
Monday and reporfed to the union
office in Duncan that he had found
that the latest wage payments,
made on Saturday, were made to
all employees directly, and that
therfore there was no need to pro-
ceed with the complaint. The com-
pany, he said, intended to make di-
rect payments in all cases, and all
employees were to receive state-
ments with their cheques.

The “boss” system is an over-
hang from the days when most
Chinamen could speaek no English.

The executive of Local 1-80 on
Sunday decided to send informa-
tion on this Department of Labor
Ruling to all camps and sub-locals
in the area. Oriental workers in
other camps may be affected.

“Styles for Young Men and
Men who Stay Young”

301 West Hastings St.

® longer useful. Due to the fact that

it offers no program for either now
or after the war. Everyone real-
ized the necessity of establishing
a sound trade union organization
so that we can better produce to
win the war and stabilize the post-
war period.

The employees of Canadian
White Pine are invited to attend
a meeting under the auspices of
IWA Local 1-217 and arranged
through the Organization Commit
tee in that mill on Sunday evening,
May 23, in the Legion Hall on 49th
Avenue, just east of Fraser Street.
An interesting program has been
arranged for this meeting with
Nigel Morgan, IWA International
Executive Board Member, as the
feature speaker, It has also been
arranged that the Workers’ Edu-
cational Association will show an
appropriate film at the meeting,
‘There will also be a question period
in which anyone will be able to
ask any question they wish re-
garding our organization and it is
promised that all questions will be
answered as fully as possible. The
big Canadian White Pine Mill has
for years been without organiza-
tion and the men feel that it is
time that they took their place
along with the other organized
woodworkers in the province.

The Organizational Committee
at CWP is asking that everyone’
turn out and come prepared to
sign on the dotted line so that
they can Bet on with the job of
organizing 100 percent,

LADYSMITH

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