¥ : : ‘ce na in particular must be snowed under with resolutions, ss 7 THE B.C. LUMBER WORKER B.C. LUMBER WORKER Published Bi-Weekly, Every Second Monday by INTERNATIONAL WOODWORKERS OF AMERICA (CIO) DISTRICT COUNCIL NO. 1 Managing Editor: B. J. MELSNESS Holden Building — Phone PAcific 4151 — Vancouver, B.C. Make Payments to: IWA-CIO District Council No. 1 ——— ‘ Political Action Week ITH Canada involved in a global war, one would think that employers would be more than anxious to recognize’ the union of their employees’ choice, to bargain collectively in a reasonable manner and to sign an agreement in conclusion of the conditions arrived at through the process of negotiations. But the employers in the woodworking industry in British Columbia evidently are not convinced that we are fighting a people’s war and that the main principle is whether democracy will live and grow, or whether fascism will become the domin- ating factor of the world. In the light of events over the period of the last few months, where in case after case the employer will recognize the union and the bargaining ofifcials as required by law and in conclu- sion of such so-called bargaining have the audacity to present the representatives of the union with a “memorandum” setting forth the minimum position of the employers’ association; the executive board of IWA District No. 1, in its last regular ses- sion, has established a Political Action Week, which recom- mends that every Local and Sub-Local of the IWA will enlist the support of other unions within the territory under their jurisdiction, send strong delegations to meet with the MP’s land the MLA’s in their respective constituencies, and in no un- certain terms, place the position of organized labor before them; “ice., the right to organize and bargain collectively and the right to signed union agreements providing for wages, hours and working conditions; and urging them to immediately wire the Provincial and Federal Ministers of Labor expressing their sentiments and making public their position. The CIO is on record officially as opposed to strike action for the duration, and in this, our organization, an integral part of the CIO, gives wholehearted endorsement. The reactionary and outmoded position of the employers and their association, in refusing to bargain and to sign a collective bargaining agree- ment, must be made public and responsible representatives of the people in both the Provincial and Federal Houses must express their demand that Canada’s war effort must no longer he delayed by a small, compact, well organized group of selfish employers. Queen Charlotte Islands HE trade union movement of the Province—and particularly the 30,000 lumber workers are faced with a serious challenge as a result of the open, flat refusal of logging and sawmill operators to ageree on collective bargaining with the thousands of members of the International Woodworkers of America. If the operators are per- mitted to get away with their policy, the resultant effects will be to undermine not only the IWA, but the whole structure of trade unionism in British Columbia. ae The QCI companies forget that this is 1943 and defy the Provincial Government which at last session of the Legislature passed amendments to the ICA Act making the principle of collective bargaining bindings upon all employers. They defiantly refuse to abide by the recommen- dations of a Federal Arbitration Board that after lengthy deliberations recommended the signing of a collective agreement between the lum- ber operators and the IWA. They overlook the fact that we are fighting to destroy Hitlerism, not to embrace it Ae Re i 7 refuse to deal with legitimate unions—they want to play al Grezntintons? with marionettes. The open shop and the black list are the weapons they have used for years to hound every logger who dared to speak up for himself and his fellow worker. They insist that they intend to keep it that’ way. : ‘In effect, they say—to hell with the government and damn the public. We've never before had to be bothered with negotiations about condi- tions for the men who work for us. We're going to keep on having things our own way—and no one can stop us. Lumber is the basic industry of the province and certainly one of our most important war industries—producing, as the Queen Charlotte Ysland loggers are, spruce for Mosquito bombers. Continued disregard ‘of labor's partnership today is a serious threat to the national security of the Canadian people—particularly at this time when the war is enter- ing its most critical stage, and when the people eagerly await the united offensive which will bring Hitler to his knees. The grievance ‘of the QCI loggers is a just one and every legal requirement has been ~ complied with; every peaceful means of reaching a fair and just settle- ment has been explored, and now tle QCI loggers have been forced by the provocative, anti-labor attitude of the spruce companies to ask for a government conducted strike ballot. Immediate correction of this injustice is vital to satisfactory labor relations. Local 1-71 asks your cooperation in their campaign (now two years old) to get this grievance settled and thereby strengthen the war effort. Defeat the anti-labor, open-shop, Hitler-aiding policies of such selfish minority groups who are striving to disrupt national unity and shackle the Canadian people’s offensive against fascism. Z Labor must act quickly and unitedly. Every local, sub-local, camp and mill should immediately direct sharp protests on the logging opera- tors’ position to Victoria and Ottawa, demanding that the employers ‘be forced to live up to existing labor legislation and sign agreements ‘with the IWA as recommended by the Federal Arbitration award. Hum- and telegrams of protest. Labor must let Ottawa know in ble terms that it does not intend to allow the operators’ ive action to go unchallenged, and that the people of B.C. By ERNIE DALSKOG IWA Hiring Hall Agent Headquarters of the new IWA Hiring Hall has been es- tablished at 204 Holden Bldg., 16 East Hastings St. The phone number is MArine 9436. Two fine offices have been rented for the hiring hall and for Local 71 office. Besides ad- ditional space has been rent- ed for clubrooms on the second floor adjoining the offices. Ren- ovation of the’ clubroom is now taking place. All that is need no wis that union men register for jobs that are available. Fallers, buckers, riggingmen and engineers are needed right away. All loggers are anxious to see dispute satisfactory to the men a speedy settlement to the QCI A\long the Skidroad are quite angry at the long de-|. lay. Write the member of par- | - liament in your riding urging them to put pressure on gov- ernment and the operator for implementation of the award by the Board of Conciliation hearing the dispute which re- commended a signed agree- ment. A strike vote has been authorized by the minister of labor and as soon as transpor- tation has been arranged for the government man to travel between camps to take the vote. We have been asked to an- nounce that the Uno Berg who got killed on North Shore some time ago is not the Uno Berg who falls timber and usu- ally stays at the West Hotel. Uno is at the West at the pres- ent time. and the union as a whole. They THINK BEFORE YOU wAAND, MY DEAR, YOULL DIE WHEN YOU HEAR WHERE THEY'RE SENDING JIM!... AND SO WUL JM! dao V-34-0-Yl2 Sawdust Caesar i ae first great rift in the Axis war camp came with dramatic momentum a few days ago when Mussolini was ousted to make way for a miiltary government under the leadership of Marshal Badoglio, who so far has not shown himself to be any better. It has long been said by the most aggressive military and political leaders of the United Nations, and chiefly by Marshal Joseph Stalin, that Italy could be knocked out of the war. The process of knocking her out is now at hand. Democracy has not come yet to Italy, martial law being de- clared by Badoglio for the continuation of the war. Now, with the entire German defensives in south central Russia threat- ened with collapse, the enemy forces are falling back to the Dnieper River. The enemy strongholds of Orel and Belgarod fell Thursday to the powerful Russian armies, who thus scored their greatest summer triumph of the war. Marshal Joseph Stalin spurred his troops on westward with the cry, “Death to the German invaders!” The next few months will hold tremendous victories for the Allied cause and it now behooves every democratic-loving citi- zen to do his or her utmost in whatever line we are employed in the interests of the Allied cause. Production and more pro- with extreme disfavor on any move that threatens to interrupt ‘t of vital lumber products at this critical stage of the war, duction guarantees our victorious fighting forces the maximum in delivering the death blow to the Axis now! x a7 uo) YT VATE Who saw the forty-second? Who saw the forty-twa? Who saw the forty-second? Anti-labor, anti-law. Some of them want company unions, Some of them want none at all. Who saw the forty-second? To hell with labor; we’re the law. Addressing the victorious Fed- eral Army on the field of Gettys- burg eight years ago, U.S. Presi- dent Abraham Lincoln opened his now famous address by stating: “Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth upon this continent a new nation con- ceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal...” After reading the recent state- ment of the forty-two bosses of B.C. lumber which appeared in the daily press, I couldn't help re- flecting that it is about time that this continent got itself in the family way again. That others have the same idea is obvious from the tenor (or is it basso pro- fundo?” of the thousands, yes, millions of American and Cana- dian workers who have turned to trade unionism to stamp out in- dustrial dictatorship and obtain economic justice. This movement has been officially recognized by government and hun- dreds of arbitration boards estab- lished underneath federal and pro- vincial labor legislation. And yet these considerably more than less promiscuous libertiness still seek to.place this continent in the ma- ternity ward of degradation with- out benefit of clergy, if we assume the time honored maxim “vox populi vox Dei” to be correct. It is this type who have for years endeavored to “bring forth upon this continent” a montrosity conceived in political adultery and dedicated to the proposition that all save a chosen few are created slaves. Others of the same kidaey head- ed by Mussolini, Hitler, Goebbels, little Itchy-itchy, et al, have suc- ceeded ‘in siring cankerous crea- tions in both Europe and Asia. Whilst .others took post-graduate courses in this method of “eugen- ics” at the “University of Munich.” So far these would be progenitors have been rendered unimportant on this continent, partly due to senile decay on their part, but in the main due to the virility and disinfectant action of organized la- bor in Canada, USA and Mexico. While the faculty at Munich was turning out. specialists for the pur- pose of creating an enslaved harem of small nations, progressive men from all parts of the world were dying at Belshite, Terrual, the Eb- ro and a hundred other places on the front against the combined forces of Franco, Hitler and Mus- solini. Since Spain, thousands, millions of working people in China, the Soviet Union, Britain, the occu- pied countries of Europe, and in the Far East have laid down their lives for the destruction of fas- cism and all that it stands for.- Hundreds of thousands of fellow Canadians are right now sacrific- ing their all on the far-flung fight- ing fronts for democracy, and let us never forget that a free trade union movement, sound collective bargaining and union agreements are universally recognized, long es- tablished characteristics of all real democracies. Only in Hitler Ger- many, fascist Italy and Japan, etc., is the trade union movement sup- (Continued on Page 6)