Page Three

The battle of the barrels is just

about over. Mr. Sweeney of the
Sweeney Cooperage in Victoria
has finally decided that crime does
not pay. Last week we left Sweeney
with two charges hanging over his
head — regarding the formation of
a company union, After going into
a huddle with himself Sweeney de-
cided to withdraw all financial as-
sistance to this abortion which he
termed an employees’ association.
By withdrawing this monetary as-
sistance Sweeney has scuttled his
company union. However, Sweeney
is still trying to discredit the IWA,
and to help matters along he
shamelessly borrowed a copyright-
ed trade name from a certain
group of individuals at Fraser Mills
known as the “Old Timers.”
Sweeney, however, has not had the
experience in writing propaganda
that Mr. Mackins’ stooges have and
bungled the job pretty badly.. I'm
afraid Sweeney's “Old Timers” are
so old they are in their second
childhood, and should: be pen-
sioned off.

‘The days of company controlled
unions are over and every week
finds more of them being disband-
ed by the employees. The latest
easuality is the Sitka Spruce As-
sociation which is about to re-
ceive the bum’s rush. This little
club has been in existence for
quite some time and has been of
great benefit to the company. The
association is registered in Vic-
toria and also incorporated. If for
any reason the members of this as-
sociation were to decide to go on
strike the officers of the organi-
zation would be liable for prosecu-
tion under the laws of Canada and
could be sued by the company for
shutting the mill down. Fortun-
ately, the members have seen the
uselessness of this setup and are
now organizing themselves into the
IWA. It won't be long now till the
spruce industry from the stump
to the finished product is 100 per
cent organized. All employees of
the Sitka Spruce are urged to at-
tend the next meeting of the as-
sociation on September 14 and vote
against the present company union.

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@ 938 Granville Street

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40 Lome Street

NEW

Across from Court House
pen Wed. to Sat. 10 a.m. to 10
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Ee: B.C, LUMBER WORKER YY

SO
Sawmill News

“Every Reader a Correspondent”

REPORTS

Negotiates For Contract

Negotiations between IWA, Local
4-357, and the Canadian Western
Lumber Company got under way
in the office of Mr. H. J. Mackin,
president of the company, Monday,
August 23, Representing the com-
pany were Mr. H. J. Mackin, presi-
dent, Mr. Murray, general maneger,
Mr. Maurice Ryan, superintendent,
Mr. Jones, personnel director, and
Mr. Stewart, secretary of the com-
pany. Representing the union were
Stewart Alsbury, vice-president,
George Mitchell, recording secre-
tary, Rae Eddie, executive member,
and Harold Pritchett, district presi-
dent.

The representatives of the com-
pany made it quite plain that they
would bargain collectively with the
certified represenatives under the
Jaw, but would not enter into a
signed agreement with the union.
After a lengthy discussion the com-
pany proposed to submit the usual
Lumber Manufacturers’ memoran-
dum of the conditions under which
they would agree to work for the
ensuing year.

At a regular local union meeting
of 1-357, the bargaining committee
reported and the local executive
recommended that the member-
ship instruct the local officers to
apply for arbitration to Minister
of Labor George S. Pearson, when
they deemed it advisable.

During the negotiations, the com-
pany stated they were considering
the implementation of vacations
with pay, and that vacations would
come at the end of the year—first,
because it was too late in the year
now, and secondly, because of the
war effort.

In all likelilood arbitration will
{be necessary and will be applied
for in the near future.

Lake Log Crew
Fight Big Fire

ROUNDS, B.C.—All Lake Log
crew were busy last week fighting
a fire which broke out a week
ago Saturday and did between $25,-
000 and $40,000 damage.

At the last union meeting, H.
Wade was elected to take the place
of Recording Secretary Johnston
who resigned.

Lake Log softball team jubilantly
reported that they defeated the
Lake Cowichan:team in a very fast
game on August 3.

When in VANCOUVER
Stop at

COLUMBIA
HOTEL
LICENSED PREMISES

303 Columbia Avenue
MAr. 3757

Tll Corner

Now with forty major sawmills
and logging camps certified in Bri-
tish Columbia, with negotiations
about to start, having started or
having broken off, all eyes are fo-
cussed on the log jam in the
Queen Charlotte Islands.

Here we find the organized log-
ging employers, allegedly backed
up by the Lumber Manufacturers’
Association, denying the workers
the legal right to collective bar-
gaining in its full sense. It ap-
pears to make no difference to
them that the majority are favor-
ing collective bargaining and
signed union agreements with the
IWA according to the declared pol-
icy of the government by order-in-
council.

Logging operators, through their
closed shop association, inform la-
bor, government ‘and the general
public, that they have enjoyed open
shop in the woodworking industry
for more than forty years; and as
far as they are concerned, the open
shop will remain, regardless of the
war effort and regardless of the
fact that millions are dying on
foreign battlefields for democracy
and all the principles that democ-
racy entails.

The government war needs in
connection with wood materials are
enormous, and according to official
statements are lacking by at least
50 percent. On the home front, the
housing needs of the people are
desperate with the main item lum-
ber shortage.

The blockade now existing be-
hind the Queen Charlotte Islands
dispute is represented by _negotia-
tions at Fraser Mills, Mohawk,
Boundary Road Shingle Mill, Ham-
mond Cedar, Youbou, Victoria
Lumber Co., Comox Log, Timber
Preservers, Chew's Shingle Mill
and many other operations about
to be certified or about to enter
into negotiations,

The present situation seems to
be untenable, to say the least; and
the government doesn’t appear to
be doing anything about it. While
Hitler gets his pants whipped off
in Russia and the Allies have com-
pleted a concerted drive against
the Nazis in Africa and Sicily, and
the Japs being annihilated in the
Pacific, and everything set for a
mighty invasion of the continent
to strike at the very heart of Fas-
cism, the employers of the wood-
working industry of our fair prov-
ince continue, like Nero, to “fiddle
while Rome burns.” And what's
more—are so naive as to expect
that with the sacrifices Labor is
making on the battle front and pro-
duction front, Labor will disregard
for the duration of the war the
fundamental basic principles of
democracy which we are all fight-
ing for, namely, the right to or-
ganize, the right to signed agree-
ments, included in the Atlantic
Charter:

MODEEN and OLD-TIME

DANCING

EVERY SATURDAY
Hastings Auditorium
828 Hast Hastings
MODERATE RENTAL RATES

"Styles for Young Men and
Men who Stay Young”

301 West Hastings St.

Mr. Plant, manager of Bloedel,

Victoria 1.W.A.
Makes Progress

A report by Brother McDonald,
Special IWA Representative in the
Victoria area, shows that very en-
couraging gains are being made
in that locality, not only in getting
many old-time members reinstated
back into the union, but also in
signing up new ones.

Brother McDonald wishes to
take this opportunity of thanking
the executive and shop stewards of
Local 1-118 for the fine cooperation
and assistance they have given,
which has been the main factor in
making these gains possible. The
fine example shown by these of-
ficers, in doing their utmost to
help organize the woodworkers in
the Victoria area, says very much
for them} and will no doubt be re-
warded, not only in building up the
Local to the standing it once held,
but in going further, to the final
objective of having the woodwork-
ers in this area organized 100 per-
cent into the International Wood-
workers of America.

Hillcrest Mill
Now Operating
At Metsachie

Hillcrest Lumber Company's new
mill at Metsatchie Lake sawed its
first log recently, after having been
under construction since last fall.
Lumber shipments are already
moving from the lake.

At the beginning of the week an
average cut of about 80,000 feet
daily was being made, a company
official reported. Shortage of men
is holding down production. The

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& CO.

63 West Cordova St.
MAr. 7612

LIGHT CRUISERS

Vancouver

President’s||Bloedel’s Shingle Grew
Demanding Arbitration

At the regular Local meeting of the employees of Bloedel,
Stewart & Welch Red Band shingle company, the meeting went
on record as instructing the Union’s Negotiating Committee to
proceed with negotiations with the management on the ques-
tion of providing more timber for the sawyers in the mill and
increasing the wages of the day laborer working on the deck.
Complying with instructions, the committee got in touch with

Stewart and Welch, and a meet-

ing was arranged for Friday, August 27th.
~© At the meeting it was agreed

that the company would proceed
immediately to alleviate as much
as possible the shortage of timber.
In the matter of the increase in
wages for the common laborer on
the deck, Mr. Plant agreed to con-
duct a survey of various other
shingle mills in this locality with
a view to finding how the wages
compared. The matter of a signed
union agreement was discussed: at
some length and Mr. Plant reiter-
ated the company’s policy of “no
signed agreement.”

The following day a special meet-
ing of the entire crew of Bloedel,
Stewart and Welch shingle mill was
called and a detailed report given
on the result of negotiations con-
ducted on the previous. The report
of the negotiating committee was
accepted and in view of the fact
that the company was remaining
adamant on the question of a signed
union agreement, the meeting, by
unanimous vote, instructed the of
ficers of IWA Local 1-217 to re-
quest immediately arbitration un-
der the ICA Act.

Commenting on the negotiatings,
Harold Pritchett, President of Dis-
trict Council No. 1, said, “While
negotiations are being carried out
in matters pertaining to wages,
still the most vital grievance in
this operation is a signed union
contract, which is going to have
to be arbitrated regardless of what
other concessions are granted by
the company.”

new mill itself is operating well.
The company office was moved
up from the former mill site re-
cently. Families from Duncan and
the old mill site are moving to
Metsatchie Lake as more houses