THE B.C. LUMBER WORKER

Published Every Second Monday by

INTERNATIONAL WOODWORKERS OF AMERICA (C10)
DISTRICT COUNCIL NO. 1

Editor; JACK GREENALL

Advertising Manager: MATT FEE
Room 604 Holden Building—Phone PAcifie 4151—Vancouver, B.C.
e
‘The deadline for stories for the coming issue is 4 p.m.,
Monday, September 10, 1945

Laid Off

'TH unconditional surrender of the Japanese Imperialist Gov-
+ ernment, the world is once again at Peace. It appears that
post-war rehabilitation plans of the various Provincial and Federal
Governments of Canada, are mainly on paper. There is no longer
a need for materials of war.
millions of dollars of orders of vital war materials, throwing onto
the labor market thousands of Canadian citizens. Coupled with
this is the welcomed return of our fighting men and women.

Remembering what happened following the last world war,
organized labor throughout Canada is demanding immediate action
now, for the implementation of the forty-hour week with no reduc-
tion in take-home pay, and a war worker gratuity of one month's
severance pay for every year worked in war industry. The im-
mediate re-convening of the Dominion-Provincial Conference, to
which labor and management will be invited to participate, Here
in Vancouver, the All Union:Veteran Continuations Committee
has presented these proposals to the Provincial Government and
civic bodies. and the general principle has been endorsed.

The future of every citizen, whether engaged in peace-time
industry or now temporarily unemployed because of the cut-backs

in wartime industry, is dependent upon the maintenance of payrolls, |

at the highest possible standard. In the woodworking industry in
British Columbia, many veterans of the war. and former workers in
war industry will find permanent employment.

It is up to every member of the International Woodwoykers of
America, to extend a warm hand of welcome to our fighting men
and to our brothers and sisters who have done such a great job in
war production. Help them to establish themselves on the job!
Help them to establish themselves in our union. In so doing you not
only assist in eliminating unnecessary confusion and apprehe
sion, but will aid in the production of vital wood materials, so

necessary to mect the Canadian housing requirements and to con-|

tribute fully to the reconstruction of the devastated countries, as a

Disagreement

THE: importance of full attendance of delegates from B.C. to the

coming IWA International Convention cannot be over-empha-
sized. To be held in Eugene, Oregon, November 13, the conven-
tion will have before it the task of mapping out a program designed
to guide the activities of our membership through the difficult
period of reconversion and toward a more secure, satisfying life
for all.

Disagreements over policy within the IWA have existed for
many years, but never were. they more acute than they have been
throughout this past yar. The issue of Article 1, Section 4b, and
the expulsion of two delegates from the convention in Vancouver
last year, created a division that has been growing wider ever since.

On the surface, it would appear that the disagreement was over
two men and their expulsion; but the truth is that the basic cause
lies much deeper. It is caused by disagreement over basic policy,
the interpretation of the purposes for which the war itself was
fought; whether mankind was fighting for a freer life for all or
whether CIO unions are to concern themselves solely with the
welfare of their own members, and to hell with the rest. This,
notwithstanding the realization expressed by Philip Murray him-
self, who stated that our own welfare is inseparably bound to the
welfare of workers everywhere.

It is no secret that the B.C. District stands solidly with Philip
Murray on this issue. It is no secret. either, that some of the
International officers are deeply concerned over the lack of sup-
port their opposite policy is receiving. Activities, conducted with-
in this district for the past year, are proof of this, The member-
ship in B.C. are not going to have their task made easy. Holding
of the convention in November instead of October will make it ex-
tremely difficult to obtain a full vote on the post-convention refer-
endum, with camps closed down for the winter.

Whatever the difficulties may be, however, there is no doubt

on the referendum,

V-J. night saw the cancellation of!

Heading Out...

By DON BARBOUR

Whoever said “there is nothing new under dhe sun” was wrong,
| for a plane load of loggers left for the Queen Charlotte Islands on
| September 7 after clearing Selective Serviee via the Union Hiring
| Hall. Now the fact that loggers have left town by plane is not
new; but to have been dispatched by the Union in this manner is
something new. Further, some of the men in that plane were!
working in the logging industry before the days of the “highlead” |
| and I wonder just what their thoughts were when crossing Queen
Charlotte Sound. Certainly the changes that have occurred in
| their time, in the logging industry, borders on the marvellous; and
with the controlied power of the atom utilized for the benefit of
| mankind in general, the future will unfold even greater changes.
| However. there is a matter that should be brought to the at-|
| tention of our miny members working in the industry and I pro-
j Pose at this time. to use this report as an appeal for financial
assistance. Brother W. MacDonald received injury on a picket
line in 1938 that has left him unable to work ever since, Lists
soliciting your support will be forwarded to the job stewards in
the camps and any money raised will be handled by a committee of ;
your elected officers in seeing that medical or surgical aid is pro-
vided. The job. stewards will have full information on this case
that merits your support.
The Hiring Hall is still domg a fair amount of business; but

individual member who perhaps does not fully realize the benefits
of Union Hiring,
use of the Union Hiring Hall at 206 Holden Building goes the best
wishes of the IWA and I feel sure the future growth of Union Hir-
ing will-depend a great deal on their efforts to further popularize
the idea of 100 per cent Union Hiring in the lumber industry. ‘The
achievement of Union Hiring comes exactly the same way as we
built the IWA and that has been a job well worth doing, even if
the building of it has been hard, slow and tedious.

Chinese. Unity Furthered,
By Pact With Soviet Union

NEW YORK (ALN) — Two new and important de-
| velopments have occurred in the Chinese situation—the an-
| nouncement of the, Soviet-Chinese Pact and the arrivel of
| Mao Tse-turlg, Chinese Communist leader, in Chungking.

The US. is Sianding sponsor to the new Kuomintang-Com-
;munist negotiations. Ambassador Hurley, who has been
| Supporting Chiang Kai-shek’s attempt to retain monopoly
| power, wen tto Yenan to bring Mao to the capital.

‘The American press, almost |}——-————_-—
| without exception, hailed the _ The pact, and this authorita-
| Soviet-Chinese pact as a big | tive interpretation, opens the
step toward peace in the Far|"0ad for Big Three assistance to
East. The writers who had pre. | China in attaining unity on the
| dicted that Russia would want|basis of such development.
| territorial concessions were “fa-| There is every indication that
|vorably surprised” by the fact ‘¢ parallel designs of Chinese
[that the Red Army has undes |?¢2¢tionaries and the surrender-
jtaken to withdraw within three 1S J@panese—to embroil Am-
|months even een Mencia jerica and the USSR over Chin
| where no framework of Chinese |(S* duestions and climb back to
authority as yet exists to sup-| fori tq fee ee ot shrewd
plant the 14-year old Japanese ne ere Reso ne ues

tion, hav ived a se
|and puppet structure This pro-|pack | "eve @ Severe set-

| vision carries a hint that no
Teach First Aid

other foreign troops should re-
main on Chinese soil either, thus}
In Kootenays
St. John Ambulance First Aid

|

leaving the country’s internal
problems for its own people to
settle.

In one respect, many commen-
tators on the treaty proved
wrong. The headlines of the big

the spectacular growth that is to come, still lays dormant in the,
To those who have to date made the best possible |

Well Boys, if this column of
mine seems a mite addled, don’t
blame me, blame the editor. I
was coming along Hastings
Street under a full head of steam,
heading “north by west in the
sunlight” when I run smack into
Greenall. He demanded that 1
get my usual comments on paper
at once for the paper was due
to come out again. It seems to
me that two weeks roll by pretty
Perhaps I should
et married for it is claimed by
some, that time is not really any
longer to a married man, only
scems longer.

With these lay offs taking
piace in the war industries in
Vancouver now that the last of
the Axis powers has had their
jeuns taken away from them, 1
notice that organized labor has
made some progress in having
its plans for the winning of the
jpeace put into effect. The ma-
yor of Vancouver has actually
stated “surely to goodness they
(meaning, I presume, shipyard
workers) must have seen this
coming” and he (the mayor) ac-
tually spoke at the second rally
that organized labor has called,
since lay offs began, to put for-
ward its plans of action.

All the talk I hear on the skid
road is all about how well labor
men spoke at these meetings and
put forward plans made long by*
labor for the peace that was te
| come,
| There wasn’t any doubt in my
mind about labor knowing ail
about the coming events that
caused His Worship to say what
ne did, for labor does not live im
an “ivory tower.” Had those who
live in an ivory tower been as
aware of peacetime problems
and as willing to do as much
2s organized labor to solve tnem,
then peacetime reconversion
would never have been as
badly dislocated as it is right
now. As everybody knows, it
is just as important to win the
peace as it was to win the war;
and if a signed requisition form
can build a 75 million dollar
battleship, surely to goodness,
the same thing can erect the ne-
cessary homes for those whe
make the winning of the war
possible, That, fellows, took the
work of a lot of people. Could
be, I count a lot more people as
war winners than some folks do.

Let an old warrior tell you

|

newspapers almost unanimously
declared: “Soviets back Chung-
king; abandon Reds.” In fact,.
the Soviet Union has never giv-
en direct aid to the Communist-
led armies, but has pressed in
and out of season for a united
China, possible only on the
basis of democratic agreement
between the parties negotiating

jon equal terms. That this atti-

tude is not changed is evident
from the editorial in Red Star,
Soviet army newspaper.

The Red Star wrote a few
days a; “China can no longer
be a backward, semi-feudal
country. Any attempt to lead
China along the path of reaction
will be opposed by the demo-
cratic forces of China. The only
path...

democratic powers.”

h ee m : is progressive, demo-_
that the membership of District No 1 will do their utmost to: 1,/cratie development in close co-ed
Send their delegates to the convention; and 2, Get out a full vote! operation with the other great in

courses are being organized in

every lumber operation in East

Kootenay, it was reported at the
| meeting of the Lumber Industry

East Kootenay Safety Council.
|The couneil consists of manage.
;mént and employee representa-
tives from each operation, work-
jing together to raise safety
(measure standards in the dis-
, trict.

In a letter to the District
Council this week, the Provincial
Secretary of the St. John’s Am-
|bulance Association commended
TWA members in the Cranbrook
district for their part in organ-
izing this safety council; ex.
pressing the hope that this for-
ward step by management and
employees would set an example
for other districts ta follow:
The Association also express-

their willi

i

that we are not going to accept
the slogans of any old die-hard
that comes along. The German
people did that when they accept-
ed the “guns instead of butter”
slogan of Hitler, Georing and
Company, which caused and is
still causing so much world wide
bar pale I do not believe that we
re going to accept unempl
ae all eres goes with 1 ee
‘Y road open for
a long hoe ey
No more of those
an old man