Published Every Second Monday by
INTERNATIONAL WOODWORKERS OF AMERICA (CIO)
DISTRICT COUNCIL NO. 1

Editer: JACK GREENALL Advertising: MATT FEE
Room 504 Holden Building—Phone PAcifie 4151—Vancouver, B.C.
e

‘Phe deadline for stories for the coming issue is 4 p.m.
Thursday, December 20, 1945

Big Business

The ranks of the unemployed continue to grow while the Cana-
dian people go short of a'l types of consumer goods. There is a
definite shortage of many foodstuffs and suitable clothing. Millions
of people in Europe and Asia are crying out for the good things
we can produce and face disease, pestilence and death through
hunger and the lack of clothing, housing and medical supplies. At

- the same time Canadian veterans, who have done such a tremendous
job in the military victory, on their return from the battle fronts,
are without work, living on their gratuities or living on the sale
of Christmas trees, and in many instances applying for relief. This
situation applies also to the war worker, who cantributed so much
during wartime to the victory, and who are now being thrown
on the streets by the thousands.

The foremost question in every right thinking citizen's
mind is why? Where are we heading?

It is obvious that big business in Canada, as in the United
States, are on a sitdown, the purpose of whieh is to torpedo price
control for the purpose of sky-rocketing prices. At the same
time they desire a man-power surplus for the pyrpose of using
veterans again labor and eventually eliminating the trade unions.
In the words of Mr. Dale L. Pitt, speaking for the mining inter-
‘ests, before the Professional Engineers in B.C., and the Canadian
Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, declared that what was needed
was a suitable financial set up, not an unbalanced budget, and a.
tax policy that did not single out industry and destroy its initiative.”

There you have it in a nut shell. Reduce taxes for private en-
terprise, which in turn would cut down the national income and
the people’s purchasing power and big business would increase their
profits at the expense of organized labor and the public. To crown
the entire picture, the Federal Government continues to add in-
-eentives to business. Business on the other hand continues its
sit down, while elaborate poswar plans remain on paper.

Organized labor, farmers and little business must unite in
its demand to stop the sit down of big business.

CIO Leader Calls For
U.S., Soviet Collaboration

By ANNA LOUISE STRONG

MOSCOW (ALN).—Once the U.S. and the Soviet Union, “the
two great netions, are willing to collaborate and aid each other, there
will be no new war,’ Leo Krzycki, vice-president. of the CIO
Amalgamated Clothing Workers, stated here this week. Krzycki,
Who is also chairman of the Polish American Labor Council, ad-
dressed the plenary session of the A'l-Union Central Council of
Trade Unions, He came here frum Poland, where he attended the

THE B.

C& LUMBER WORKER
By Don

Heading Out... 22

Perhaps the title on this column for this issue is wrong:
“Heading In” would be more appropriate. At this time of the year,
the facilities of the Union Hiring Hall can be used to a different
purpose and any loggers heading in to Vancouver in need of a
room can get considerable help. The response to the recent notice

in the Vancouver Sun asking.
home owners to register their
spare rooms for the use of log-
gers in town during the Christ-
mas holidays, has been better
than good. It is obvious from this
response that those engaged in
our basic industry have won
many friends among the citizens
of Vancouver and may that sort
of friendship continue to grow
in the. future.

While it is true our Union
Hiring Hall has not yet achieved
the goal that has been set some
time ago, it is also true we have
firmly established our right to
Union Hiring and will in time
become a factor in collective
bargaining,

There comes a time when the
“old order” does change. The op-
portunities for a progressively
rising standard ‘of living were
never better and progress does
not occur where blacklists and
sucker systenis of hiring prevail.
So, union members, and that does
mean the majority of those en-
gaged in the lumber industry in
B.C., put on your thinking caps,
think straight and nothing in

this wide world can stop you
from hiring out through your
own Union Hiring Hall where
your manager, whoever he may
be, will be responsible to your
elected union leaders and con-
sequently must be concerned
with your best interest.

Today, those who go down to
the sea in ships are notified
ahead of time of . approaching
gales; and truly the storm sig-
nals to the labor movement have
been posted. These can be seen
quit plain in Windsor, Ontario,
and the number of unemployed,
not forgetting the efforts of
some people to cause a split be-
tween returning soldiers and or-
ganized labor.

I am firmly convinced that the
Union Hiring Hall can do a great
deal to nullify the evil inetn
tions of union hating, labor bust-
ing elements that are now show-
ing up in their usual role. So
take heed of all the storm sig-
nals, do your utmost to win the
Ford Strike and make sure to
hire out only through the Union
Hiring Hall in 1946.

Larsen, Laux, Greenall

Endorsed By Midwest

IRONWOOD, Michigan—The Midwest District Council No. 12,

International Woodworkers of America, CIO, in its regular annual
convention held in Ironwood, Michigan, on December 8 and 9, unani-
mously adopted a resolution endorsing Karly Larsen for first vice-
president of the International Union, J. E, (Ed) Laux for secretary-
treasurer, and Jack Greenall for trustee.

Delegates to the convention
felt that election of Larsen, Laux
and Greenall would give the In-
ternational Union a balanced
leadership representing the en-
tire membership rather than just

(Continued from Page 1)

Youth Trek

vacillating policy of the federal

a section of it. It was the opin-
ion of the delegates also that the

government in the strike of the
Windsor automobile workers, and

congress of the Polish Federation’ of Trade Unions.

The American people “are
proud of having become allies
of the Soviet people and of hav-
ing come to know this great peo-
ple,” he asserted. “No force can
now’ prevent us from collaborat-
ing in the establishment of a real
peace. We've won the war, but
we still have to win the peace
and it must be a lasting, effec-
tive and real peace. The masses
of the people will never forget
the sacrifices exacted by the re-
eent war. The people will do
everything that this should not
happen again.”

The Polish-American trade
union leader praised the war role
of the Soviet Union, stating that
“all honest people know that the
nation that made the biggest
sacrifices and proved: to be the
major factor in the defeat of
the infernal forces of fascism
was your nation.” He asserted
that both the Soviet and Ameri-
can people want peace.

Kraycki observed that “hope
has arisen for the Slav people.
This hope is the Soviet Union.
Life is improving in Yugoslavia,
Bulgaria and. Czechoslovakia. I’ve
just come from Poland. For the
first time a goyernment “has been
set up there which represents the

entite nation, And if Poland is

closely allied with her older bro-
ther and neighbor, the Soviet
Union, it will be a great achieve
ment.”

Recalling that when AUCCTU
chairman. Vasili V. Kuznetsov
was in the U.S. “our workers
were surprised ‘to learn that
there is no unemployment in your
country,” continued: “Your
country is the only place in the
world where there are no politi-
cal crises, no economic convul-
sions and where the people are
making steady progress. Back in

|America, I will tell of all the

things I have seen here. I now
that more Americans will be com-
ing here and sharing your hands
as friends and more of your com-
rades will be coming to our coun
try.”

The CIO leader said that he
was “happy at this opportunity to
salute the Soviet workers through
you.” He conveyed fraternal
greetings “on behalf of the 6,-
000,000 members of the CIO”
and the “fraternal greetings and
friendship of CIO President Phil-
ip Murray.” He also brought
grectings from Sidney Hillman,
chairman of the CIO Political
Action Committee and president
of the Amalgamated Clothing
Workers,

splendid program adopted at the
recent International Convention
would be more completely and
effectively carried out with the
election of Brothers Larsen,
Laux and Greenall.

expressed its whole-hearted sup-
port of the strikers.

The actions of the British and
Canadian governments in aiding
Dutch imperialism, either by
sending troops or by selling ma-
terials to the Dutch, was strong-
ly criticized.

The delegates stressed their
conviction that ‘without Jabor
unity, full postwar prosperity
Greenall to give progressive|is impossible, and strongly con-
leadership to the International|demned the attempts of Major-
and to carry forward the pro- |General Hoffmeister to destroy
gram adopted at the IWA con-| that unity. 5
yention held in Eugene, Oregon,| The Federation repeats on:
November 13-17, 1945. more that it stands "behind a

Copies of the resolution have ! ganized labor in its demands for
been sent to all local unions in| union security, the 40-hour week
the Midwest District, to the|with no reduction in pay, and
Woodworker and other labor | the $25-per-week minimum wage
papers. proposal.

The resolution endorsing these
candidates pointed to their rec-
ords of long and faithful sery-
ice to the IWA as leaders in thsir
respective districts and to the
ability of Larsen, Laux and

Losing Money

‘During the four wartime years, GM and Chrysler have salted

Research Report, June, 1945. When the United Automobile Work-
ers challenged GM to open their books, GM vice-president H. W.
Anderson replied: “We don’t even open our books to our stock.
j holders.” Nevertheless, GM and Ford both declare that unless
| Prices are increased they will lose money—(Editorial in “Bc.
i District Union News,” IUMM & SW.) pe

away $119,276,758 in postwar contingency reserves”—UAW-CIO. i

an all-out, “Clean-up for Christ-
mas” campaign last week, and
in chunking out the cupboards,
came across the following choice
item. I well recall the time it ap-
peared and the “tempest in a
teapot” it stirred up. -

“Capital must protect itself in
every possible manner through
combination and__ legislation.
Debts must be collected, bonds
and mortgages must be fore-
closed as rapidly as possible.
When, through a process of law,
the common people have lost
their homes, they will be more
tractable and more easily goy-
erned through the strong arm of
the law applied by the central
power of wealth under the eon-
trol of the leading financiers.
People without homes will not
quarrel with their leaders. His-
tory repeats itself in regular
cycles. This is well known
among our principal men, now
engaged in forming an imperial-
ism of capital to govern the
world. Sy thus dividing the vot-
ers we can get them to expend
their energies in fighting over
questions of no importance to us,
except as teachers to the com-
mon herd. Thus by discreet ae-
tion we can secure for ourselves
what has been generously
planned and successfully accom-
plished.”

Many different opinions on the
subject were expressed at the
time. It was claimed to have
come from many different
countries but I never heard any-
one claim it came from the So-
viet Union.

It seems to me that this is
the sort of thing that the boys
went overseas to destroy onee
and for all. In snooping around
the union offices, I notice the re-
turning vetrans are asking for
their old union books and job
steward credentials, which shows
that anyone who expects a rift
; between labor and veterans is
due for a sad disappointment.

I once knew a feller who was
| always worrying over the fu-
iture, so I asked, “How come?”
\He answered, “I worry about the
future because of the past.” That
isn’t the way the boys I have _
talked to are looking at it. They)
have seen the past and they’v

helped to destroy the threat to

all civilized advance that had
been made up to 1939,

Trying to get any constructive _
action out of the authorities
far as housing or jobs is
cerned, reminds me of
Dalskog when I met him in fr

of the Holden Building the other
day. I greeted him in my 4
friendly way but all I could gi
out of him was a surly

After several efforts I made §
‘ew uteomplimen: remai
and left him in disgust,

unlike th by
aaa ce authorities, I

Was
anyone, Becking to 7

found him #.<3
him a little than