THE B.C LUMBER WORKER

Published Every Sead: Monday by
INTERNATIONAL WOODWORKERS OF AMERICA (CIO)
DISTRICT COUNCIL NO. 1
Editor: JACK GREENALL Advertising: MATT FEE
Room 504 Holden Building—Phone PAcifie 4151—Vancouver, B.C.

eo

The deadline for stories for the coming issue is 4 p.m.
Thursday, December 13, 1945

Bill 15

By E. DALSKOG, International Board Member
BILL 15—WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT IT?

Bill 15 is an Act to be cited as The National Emergency Powers
Act, 1945, now under consideration by the government: which, if it
became law, would give the Governor in Council almost unlimited
power to rule the country. It would allow the Governor in Council
(in other words the Cabinet) abso!ute power to make orders and
regulations without proper ratification by parliament. In this
reference the proposed Act states: “(4) Every order in council made
under this Act shall be laid before parliament as soon as may be
after it is made.” In other words, anything pertaining to the fol-
lowing matters could be ordered by Order in Council without rati-
fication by parliament until it pleased the Cabinet to place the
Order before it.

(a) Production, manufacture, trading, exportation and import-
ation;

(b) Foreign exchange;

(ec) Transportation by air, road, rail or water;

(d) Supply and distribution of goods and services, including
the fixing of prices;

(e) Employment, including salaries and wages;

(f) Appropriation, control, forfeiture and disposition of prop-
erty and of the use thereof, including the control of rentals and
occupation;

(g) ENTRY INTO CANADA, EXCLUSION AND DEPORTA-
TION, AND REVOCATION OF NATIONALITIY;

(h) Imposition and recovery, in connection with any scheme of
control contained in or authorized by orders and regulations, of,
charges payable to the Receiver General of Canada or into such
fund or account as may be ordered.

The fascist countries had no more autocratic powers than this,
and when we have just reached the conclusion of the most terrible
war in history, fought so that people everywhere could enjoy
FREEDOM from oppression in any form; it was not fought so that
Canadians should have their democratic rights taken away.
WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT

(1) Write individual letters to the Prime Minister, Right Hon-
ourable W. L, Mackenzie King, protesting and asking for with-
drawal of this bill.

(2) Write to the Member of Parliament in your constituency
requesting him to go on record against this infamous proposal.

(8) Let us know about the action you are taking, so that we
can guage the’ amount of protest raised.

Unemployment.

Canadian unemployment problems facing the people, and with
little or no leadership from government is similar to the situation
that our good neighbor south of the international border, the U.S.,
is facing.

President Phillip Murray of the CIO, who is appearing before

the wage and price conference in Washington, D.C., stated:
4 “America must provide jobs for all those willing and able to
work. Unemployment is our greatest peacetime enemy. It drains
our wealth and corrodes our faith, and belief in the democratic
system.

The economic losses fom unemployment are staggering. Every
unemployed worker means an average annual loss of $4000.00 in
wealth: produced.

Bare. unemployment figures don’t even tell the ahole story.
The rising tide of insecurity affects all workers. Among the em-
ployed, féar of being laid off finds its outlet in reduced efficiency,
inereased accidents, and, in some instances, unauthorized strikes.

The frustration and personal loss for the nnemnloved worker,
these too cannot be measured by mere figures. The deterioration of
skills, break-down in morale, all represent an irredeemable loss to
the community as well as to the worker.

Passage of the Full Employment Bill, now pending in Con-
gress, is a step in the right direction. This measure would at ‘least
put the nation on record as favouring a policy of providing jobs
for all those willing to work. However, this bill is only one link
in the chain. It must be supplemented by higher wage rates, fairey
taxes, improved unemployment compensation and social security
Jaws, and passage of the minimum wage act.”

‘We in Canada can heartily endorse Phillip Murray’s statement,
The fight for full employment is not labor's fight alone; but affects

to profit from human misery. Pulling together, labor and veteran,
business man and farmer, can and must apply the necessary pres-
sure to have action taken that will remove this spectre from our

every citizen with exception of a handful of the overrich who hope |

Continued from Page 1

| constitutional clause which calls!

Convention

which also asked for the with-

' for written chaiges and trial be-| drawal of the May-Johnson bill.

fore any member, officer or local
| may be suspended was voted un-
animously.

Efforts to change district
boundary lines or give the execu-
tive board power to redefine
boundary lines in case of juris-
dictional disputes was voted
down with little support for the
proposals being voiced.

A motion to postpone ballot-
ing on International officers un-
til March J, in line with the post-
ponement of the convention, was
ruled out of order by President
Fadling. Fadling refused to
permit Karly Larsen, president
of the Northern Washington dis-
trict council, to speak in support
of the measure.

‘A referendum vote for repre-
sentatives on the International
Negotiating committee was ap-
proved with the addition of the
two senior International officers
to positions with full voice and
vote. The negotiation commit-
tee was instructed to act upon
recommendations made to it by
the convention. A subsequent
contract negotiations conference
to be called in time to form pro-
posals for the reopening of con-
tracts April 1, was also approved.
ONE ROLL CALL

The Officers Report Commit-
tee report brought forth the roll
call vote of the convention. While
accepting most of the recom-
mendations made by the officers,
the minority report criticized In-
ternational Organizer George
Brown for an “undiginified” at-
tack upon the British Columbia
district and its officers. Brown
stated in his report that failure
of the officers to give him coop-
eration had retarded organiza-
tion in the district. District
President Harold Pritchett and
others pointed out that the dis-
trict had made the greatest gains
of any district in the past two
years and that Brown had refused
to name any organizer recom-
mended by the B.C. District.

The minority report was re-
jected by a vote of 23,256 to
26,718. The majority report
which confined itself to approval
of all recommendations of the of-
ficers was carried on a voice
vote.

Following arrival of B.C. dele-
gates, Ernest Dalskog and John
McCuish, who were delayed two
days by immigration authorities,
the convention went unanimous-
ly on record to work for the
right of all B.C. IWA members
to enter the U.S. on union busi-
ness,

SOLDIERS ATTEND

Calling for public regulation
of all logging by federal legisla-
tion, the woodworkers enacted a
comprehensive wood utilization
and forest conservation program
which included improved safety
inspection and forest fire pro-
tection,

President Truman was called
upon to veto any bill giving con-
trol of the U.S. Employment
Services to the states, Immedi-
ate action was demanded for
passage of the $25 for 26 Un-
employment Compensation bill.

In the field of foreign rela-
tions, negotiations with Britain
and Russia, leading to interna-
tional control and pooling of all
information on atomic energy
was called for in a resolution

Distribution of UNNRA funds
under the control of the people
|of the nations needing relief
| carried unanimously.
RAP IMPERIALISM
Britain’s policy in Indonesia
was rapped and the withdrawal
of her troops was demanded in a
resolution ordered sent to the
state department. Condemnation
of armed intervention by the
U.S. was voted with the dele-
gates approving the statement
that the war was fought for the
right of all people for self-de-
termination.

Breaking of relations with
Franco Spain with aid for the
Republican people of Spain car-
ried unanimously,

Congress was called upon to
increase mustering out pay for
veterans, provide a more realis-
tic veterans’ pension, increase
Unemployment Compensation for
jobless veterans, educational op-
portunities, quicker demobiliza-
tion, higher allotments and other
improvements in the G.I. Bill of
Rights. The World Federation
of Trade Unions was endorsed
and labor representation on the
Social and Economic Council of
the United Nations organization
requested.

Price and rent control was
supported, with control of ma-
terials essential to civilian pro-
duction and the re-establishment
of rationing wherever shortages
develop called for.

The Rankin-Woods Un-Ameri-
can activities committee was
roundly censored and its aboli-
tion demanded.

High Time To
Wake Up

Mr. Dewar Fergusson, Acting
President of the Canadian Sea-
mens Union, spoke to the Can-
adian Radio Officers’ Association
last Friday and appealed for
United Labor to oppose the most
ferocious shipping operators
combine this country has ever
seen,

This Big Business which in
reality is an international ship-
ping cartel, is trying to ruin
Canadian shipping to the point
where our vessels must be placed
under foreign registry so that
owners do not have to support
decent living and wage stand-
ards in the process of being
forged by our great national and
international labor unions.

The Canadian Radio Officers’
Association heartily endorses
the Canadian Seamens’ Union
policy of helping labor to force
our government’s support of our
national industries; too long
now have we allowed people like
the Ford Motor Combine to use
us aS a source of cheap labor,
‘We, representing the fourth
arm of our fighting services
through this great war against
Fascism, now demand that the
designers of Hitlerism abroad be
brought to terms at home or
otherwise everything we have
fought for must be completely
Jost. The people of Canada must

Hello Boys:

Danged if it wasn’t just like
meeting- one. of these troop
trains bringing the boys back
from the battle fronts, to run
into a bunch of the delegates on
their return from! the IWA con-

vention at Eugene, Oregon, Like
the returning vets, they looked
a bit tired, but pleased, happy
and determined. Reckon that
means that the final outcome of
the convention lays in the un-
finished business of the conven-
tion, the referendum vote; which
gives your old Bull Cook his
democratic right. And boys, I
sure intend to cast it! The unani-
mous choice of the B.C. delega-
tion is the best guide for an old
rank and filer like myself. In
this referendum your only quali-
fication is a paid up card in the
1WA, not over three months in
rarrears, This is sure different
from getting on the voters’ list
in Vancouver city; when a party
called up the City Hall to find
out if her neighbors were on the
list, the question was asked, “do
they have a private bawth?”
The lady said, “Oh, hell!” and
hung up.

It sure did my old heart good
to bid goodbye to Pritchett,
Dalskog and McCuish when they
left for the convention, These
youngsters have sure put up a
real battle in leading the IWA
and it didn’t seem hardly right
that they shouldn't be there. It
isn’t any use to have a ship put
to sea without the Captain
aboard. However, the captain,
mates and crew were aboard on
this trip to Eugene; and it is
reported that one of the crew
reminded everyone that Canada
was and still is one of the Unit-
ed Nations by having the Can-
adian flag put on the convention
rostrum. It also seems that he
had to have the help of the
Ladies’ Auxiliary to do his shop-
ping. ©

Now it seems to me that if
the long fight for legal entry
for trade union leaders into
U.S.A. could bring such results,
the Ford strike in Windsor can
be won also, The financial sup-
port given to the Ford strike by
the workers in B.C. with their
own welfare now at stake in the
issue, makes me believe labor
will win with Windsor, and I
don’t mean Eddie. * F

The delegates, as I overhear
them, are presenting the true
Picture of this convention.
you have to do is look at
Picture as it is and get it in tl
Proper focus. Don’t be like
panes boy who, when

Picture of the prize baby
the baby show, said, “Man 3
don’t see anything so hot
that baby. Why, he ain't
hair on his head”. . . His {

HED aah fer nied ‘orkng