B.C. LUMBER WORKER | B.C. LUMBER WORKER Published Bi-Weekly, Every Second Monday by DISTRICT COUNCIL, International Woodworkers of America Editor: NIGEL MORGAN Managing Editor: B, J. MELSNESS BO. Holden Building — Phone PAcific 4151 — Vancouver, Bc. Make Payments to: “I.W.A., B.C. District Council” Organize For Victory LSEWHERE in the columns of this issue of The B.C. Lum- ber Worker, the officers of District No. 1, International Woodworkers of America, extend a cordial invitation and call upon the remaining unorganized woodworkers to join the xanks of the IWA and Organize For Victory! The reasons for this urgent call are’ simple and logical, and could be summed up in the following: (1) Labor abhors fascism and all it stands for. (2) Where fascism is successful, particularly in the fascist _ countries such as Germany, Italy and Japan, and now in the subjugated countries, trade unionism is the first to be destroyed. (8) While we may not hope to contribute our greatest ef- fort to the war as individuals, through the united efforts of a strong, powerful, well*knit and responsible trade union, we may remove the grievances that exist, develop and improve the morale of the workers so we may be in a strong position to give our utmost on the production front. (4) We owe a responsibility to ourselves, to our families, to our country and to our fellow workers fighting in, foreign battlefields for our very freedom, to guarantee the greatest production of vital sinews of war, to guarantee victory and the peace that must follow. (5) A nation’s strength lies in the family, so that where wages, conditions and welfare is guarded by a strong and responsible Canadian labor institution, the strength, morale and vitality of the nation is immediately reflected upward. (6) In times of peace, and especially so in times of war, harmony, cooperation and stability must, be the watchword in basic industries such as ours. Harmony and cooperation is established on the basis of respect; respect is established on the basis of organized strength. Stability is the logical conclu- sion and derived by the establishment of signed commitments or, in other words, industry-wide agreements. Join the Inter- national Woodworkers of America now! Organize for Victory! War Labor Board Hearing wus the establishment of a special committee under the chairmanship of Mr, McTague, the Canadian government has at last fulfilled a long-felt need in the ranks of labor. This committee, which is meeting in Ottawa, will consider and hear representations of labor and management on the shortcomings of the government’s labor policy, with view to improvement in labor relations and increased production. District No. 1 of the IWA, taking advantage of this opportunity ot present prob- Jems of our industry to this government board, has decided to prepare a brief in the matters of sound labor relations, produc- tion committees, an dthe establishment of an industry-wide war council under the leadership of a government coordinator. Such matters as inadequate rationing of meat, butter, sugar, tea, coffee and beer will likewise be presented. Many Locals of the IWA and Sub-Locals have already expressed their Opinions to the government in these important matters and the personal presentation of a brief by the officers of District No. 1 will be the means, no doubt, of convincing the govern- ment of the need for establishing a sounder Jabor policy in all feesee of Canada’s war effort, | Ladies’ Auxiliary Planning Meeting Over Sugar Ration LAKE COWICHAN, B.C.—IWA Ladies’ Auxiliary Local 1-30 unanimously decided this week that something definitely has to be done concerning the new allotment of canning sugar for the 1943 season. The ten-pound-per- person quota was condemned as an outrage in view of the practical impossibility of obtaining jam or canned goods of any kind in the stores in that vicinity, Severe criticism was also levelled at the enormous amount of trouble the Wartime Prices and Tradé Board put people to in com- pleting the elaborate forms provided for the sugar ap- plications. ’ “ A call has been sent out to all IWA-CIO Auxiliaries in B.C., to the Housewives’ League of B.C., and other women’s organizations to discuss this question with a view to taking collective action. These groups are being asked | to contact all other interested organizations in their re- spective districts with a view to holding of meetings and a delegate conference at a central point in the very near ~ Continued ARBITRATION ment in its proper light. In our view, for a company to deal with an unattached commit- tee of its employees is not collec- tive bargaining at all, because the members of that committee are not free agents, nor are they a continuing body. P.C. 10802 (already quoted) both in its preamble (paragraph ii) and in ‘paragraph 6, clearly envisages the signing of a “collective agree- jnent” as aconsequence of the col- lective bargaining process. P.C. 2685 (whose principles are followed and applied in P.C. 10802) also clearly envisages the same idea and justifies it as a means of avoiding “industrial strife.” ‘Thus paragraph 6 states “that . . employees should be free to or- ganize in trade unions, free from any control by employers or their agents,” and paragraph 7 continues “that employees, through- the of- ficers of their trade unions or through other _representatives chosen by them, should be free to negotiate with employers or the representatives chosen by them, should be free to negotiate with employers or the representatives of employers concerning rates of pay, hours of labor and other working conditions, with a view to the ‘conclusion of a collective agreement.” The Union's Strike Policy — As the the IWA has not been involved in any strike in British Columbia since 1939, the companies were hard pressed to bring forth what they fancy is damaging evidence on strikes. Indeed, the only mater- ial submitted was that from the United States contained in various issues of the Bellingham Herald. Page Seven STILL GROGGY! You know boys, n the prize ring (grunt and groan contest to you), when a fighter is groggy his opponent moves in for the kill and the crowd roars, “Give him ‘the old one-two — let him have it!" What would we think of a fighter who leaned back against the ropes every time his opponent was out on his feet? We'd think the fighter was an awful faker or just plain nuts. When your opponent is on the way out you don’t give him time to recover. Hitler was on the ropes last winter. The magnificent Soviet armies cut his outfit to pieces at Stalingrad. They drove the Nazis yack hundreds of miles, and they e still driving them back. They killed or captured more than a mil- lion Hitlerites. They destroyed 5,000 planes, 9,000 tanks, and 20,000. guns. That was the golden opportunity to give Hitler the old “one-two.” It was time to move in for the kill. It was time to strike in the West of Europe. Hitler was being beaten on the Hast.... What would have happened if he had had to di- vide his forces to fight on the West at the same time? Reminds me of a story Brother Jack Nelissen (Local 1-71), who has just returned from overseas Gnvalided out of the army for the duration), tells. Apparently two Americans stationed in, England meeting in an Old Country pub over a glass of the light brown re NBS Meat must be stamped with slaughterer’s permit number amounts for war uso BLACK MARKET if... ‘WHAT HAPPENS TO OUR «you get meot without points PEAT SUPPLY WITH LEGAL MARKETS. Slaughterers must set aside certain War and civilian needs are met Supply for war needs is endangered Black marke? slaughterers avoid inspection : H Valuable meat by-products’are wasted H a a Be Honest people get less while chiselers pay fancy prices to get more than their share -yaU pay more than ceiling prices beverage, were comparing the Englishman of 1943 to his prede- cessor of 191418, The one Yank says to the other, “They've sure given us a swell welcome. You 3| know I've not even had an argu- ment over who's winning the war this time.” Then up speaks the other American soldier, “Well, of course, there really isn’t any argu- ment, over who's doing the fight- ing in this war anyway. Why, look at what our boys have done in North Africa. Look at what our boys are putting up with on the fighting fronts, It's true the people. of Britain have held out heroically against the Luftwaffe air raids but that’s nothing to the suffering our boys are putting up with the battle- fronts,” At the next table were a couple of Englishmen, who overheard the conversation, Says the one English- man to the other, “Ain’t it simply amazing how quickly them Rus- sians learn to speak English!” Like ‘these two Englishmen, every time your ol’ Bullcook thinks of fighting, my mind works round to the glorious battle the Soviet people have been waging. We missed the chance last winter to help them bring old Snickelgruber down on his knees. There’s been a brief rest. period between rounds. But the bell is sbunding for the next round. The British and Am-— erican forces with a strong and ef- fective offensive have driven the fascists out of North Africa, Mil- lions more hard-fighting Soviet troops are moving in for another great offensive from the Hast, and millions more equally. brave, ‘equal- ly anxious Canadian, British and American boys are getting ready to land a heavy left hook from the West. Mussolini and the whole of ‘Western Europe has got the jitters. We dare not rest on the ropes this time — THE WHOLE FUTURE OF THE WORLD'S AT STAKE! We must strike now! That’s smart fighting and that’s the only way to knock Hitler out. This course of action calls for a tremendous effort, not only on the fighting, but also on the PRODUCTION FRONT. And that even includes your ol’ Bulleook, boys. Everyone of us has a responsibility, so let's not lean on the ropes while Hit- ler staggers around the ring, giving him another chance to get his wind. Let's move in for the kill with the United Nations army. Let’s open up that Second Front NOW, and ABOVE ALL, LET'S DO OUR FULL PART, whether we're on the fighting front or on the production front. Remember, boys, they're inseperable. Hear Brother Harold Pritchett is really impressed with the fighting spirit of the QCI boys producing the “round stuff” for the famous Mosquito bombers that have been Imocking the hell out of Hitler lately. Don't know what Mr. Locke (company counsel for the QCI arbitration) woul have said if he'd seen the fine red beard the District President brought home with him, but if he'd heard the report of progress he brought back, he'd have the jitters worse than Mus- solini for sure. The QCI boys are certainly setting a pace for organi- zation, for production (and thereby for working people the world over) which their brothers in the lower coast camps, as well as the “saw- dust easters” will haye really to step out to keep up with.