Official Publication International Woodworkers of America,

B.C. District Council No. 1

_ Vol. XVI, No. 27

VANCOUVER, B.

DECEMBER 31, 1945

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-, Support The Keystone Strike!

Now in their fifth week of strike workers
at the Keystone Shingle Mill in New Westmin-
ster are continving with unabated intensity the
struggle for a signed union agreement, A joint
meeting of the Keystone strike committee and
members of the District Strike Committee was
held in New Westminster last Thursday eve-
ning where plans were laid for’ intensifying the
campaign, Radio time is to be purchased and
some of the strikers will take the air and ex-

plain the issues at stake. Ac
elected to interview the city counc

to putting on a tag day in New Westminster.
A monster dance is being sponsored to be held

in January.

Committees of strikers will vis’

the jurisdiction of local 1-357 distributing leaf-
lets and assisting in the collection campaigns.
Keystone striker stamps have been printed and

have been distributed to all IWA

members donating will have a record in their

union books,

A report given at the meeting on the pro-
gress made so far in negotiations with Mr.
each indeated that no settlement was yet in

the first week
charges of

ommittee was
il with a view

sight. The Regional War Labor Board has issued
a summons to Mr. Beach to appear in court

in January and answer to nine

ignoring Regional Board rulings
which gave wage increases ‘to the crew dat-
ing back to last February.

International Board Member Ernie Dalskog
who attended Thursday’s meeting spoke at some
length on the importance of the Keystone strik-
ers to the lumbering industry of B.C. “The pres-
tige of the IWA is at stake in this strike,” he
declared. “While we do everything in our power
to avoid strikes and to gain our just demands
by peaceful means, the facteremains that when

we do call a strike then that strike must be

it all mills in won.

locals so that

gle,

concluded.

“With negotiations for a new 1946 contract
coming up in March we can be sure every opera-

tor is watching us closely to see how we con-
duct ourselves and how willing we are to make
sacrifices in the interests of the common strug-

“yery member of the IWA should contribute
substantially to the Keystone Strike Now,” he

Unemployed
Demonstrate
At City Hall

First unemployed demonstra-~
. tion in Vancouver since the
thirties was held on Saturday,
December 2, when fifteen hun-
dred workers assembled at Cam-
bie St. Grounds and paraded to
the City Hall carrying banners
and slogans. Called by the Ma-
rine Workers and Boilermakers’
Industrial Union the parade was
led by a committee consisting
of representatives of several
large anions in B.C., including
the IWA and veterans of World
War No. 2.

Arriving at the City Hall the
committee went in and inter-
viewed the Mayor and City
Council with five specifie de-
mands. These were:

1, We urge the City Council
to use its authority in insisting
that contracts for maintenance
of the shipbuilding industry in
the province, remain in the
province, especially where it af-
feets provincial government pro-
jects. 2. We urge the City Coun-
cil to immediately implement its
 Civie Postwar Publie Works
program. 3. We urge that the
City Council institute the 40-
hour week with no reduction in
take-home pay, for. all civie em-
-ployees, thereby setting an ex-
to private industty; and

we urge the City Coun-

Delegates From All B.C.
Coming To District Meet

Delegates from all parts of B.C. are arrivin
this week to attend the Ninth Annual Convention of

in Vancouver
istrict Coun-

cil No. 1, IWA-CIO, which will be held January 4-5-6 in the
Mayfair Room of the Hotel Vancouver.

For the first time, interior
points such as Prince ‘George,
Kelowna, Penticton and Nelson
will have representation as a re-
sult of the establishment of four
new locals in these areas during
1945.

The convention will be presid-
ed over by Harold Pritchett, Dis-
trict President. Mayor J. W.
Cornett of Vancouver will wel-
come the delegates and the Rev.
A. E. Cook of St. John’s United
Church will conduct the invoca-
tion, Speakers at the convention
will include representatives of
the IWA-CIO; the National CIO;
the Canadian Congress of Labor;
Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers;

cil wire the federal government
requesting that one billion dol-
lars be appropriated for con~
struction of low rental homes.
5. We urge the City Council to
press the federal authorities for
50 percent incfease in all unem-
ployment insurance benefits.

The Mayor requested that the
proposals be submitted in writ-
ing and that they would be
dealt with by the Council the
following Monday. On Monday
the Council referred the pro-
posals to Ottawa without en-
dorsement. Requests by the com-
mittee that the mayor should
come out and speak to the de-
monstrators were refused by

his worship,

Northern Washington District,
IWA;. Plywoods District TWA;
Canadian Legion; Safety Branch
Dept. of Labor; Workmen’s Com-
pensation Board; Regional War
Labor Board; Selective Service;
and the Pacific Command Cana-
dian Forces.

Cedar Poison
Kills Worker

Two more deaths in the lum-
bering industry of B.C. raised

the to for

54 1945 to fity-
four.

Woodworkers | Harry Stew-

have been | art, 23, died at

killed in BC's | West Coast

lumber in- | Hospital, Port

dustry since | Alberni, after

Jan. 1, 1945] 4 Six months’

illness from ce-
dar poisoning which was the
cause of his death. He came to
B.C. from Saskatoon last spring
and leaves his parents at Saska-
toon, and five brothers and a
sister, Mrs. N. Scholwalter, at
Port Alberni.

Thomas Hudson, 22, a rigger
at Smith and Osberg Camp,
Crayeroft Island was killed on
December 12 during logging op-
erations. A single man he leaves
his father, Fred Hudson, 3226
Sperling Avenue, Burnaby.

_ Local I-71 Urges 40-Hour Week

Adopt Program For

1946 And

Proposals

For Convention

A 20 percent increase in

wage rates together with a

reduction in working hours ‘to 40 a week were the major
proposals endorsed by IWA Local 1-71 at their Ninth An-
nual meeting, held in the Boilermakers’ Hall, Vancouver,
B.C., on December 27, for the 1946 industry-wide contract.
Carrying out the recommendations contained in the officers’
report, which declared “that we should not raise too many
demands, but should unite and centralize our efforts around
3 or 4 specific demands which we will fight to obtain, and
not allow ourselves to be dragged into too many issues and
thus allowing the the struggle to be diverted,” the meeting

Strike Ends As
Ford Workers
Return To Work

The striking Ford workers at
Windsor, Ontario, have voted to
return to work, after three
months on the picket line,

Voting on a proposal that they
return to work and submit their
demands to a government arbi-
tration board, 72 percent voted
to accept with 28 percent against.
Decision of the arbitration board
will be binding, on both parties to
the dispute. The board will be
under the charmanshiip of Mr.
Justice Ivan C. Rand of the
Supreme Court of Canada. Major
demands of the union to be: arbi-
trated are union security and a
minimum annual wage of $1,800.

It is reported that the plant
will reopen on January 2 when
the main body of the 10,000 work-
ers affected will return to work.
Mr, H. R. Pettigrove, industrial
relations officer of the federal!
department of labor, has been ap-
pointed as umpire of labor rela-
tions pending settiement and will
participate in all negotiations
between the Ford Motor Com-
pany and Local 200 of the Unit-
ed Automobile Workers leading
up to the establishment of the
board. This will include matters
which may be in dispute affect-
ing the return of the Ford work-
ers to their jobs.

The Ford strike won wide sup-
port throughout Canada and
thousands of dollars were col-
lected from workers for its sup-
port. Over 41,000 dollars was
sent from B.C. through the B.
Federation of Labor and in addi-
tion it is estimated that another
25 thousand was sent through

endorsed only two further de-
mands; namely, union shop and
check off, The recommendations
that. these 4 points alone should
be our demands for 1946 negotia-
tions will be carried into the
Ninth Annual Convention by
Local 1-71.

30 resolutions were adopted by
the meeting which dealt with
many problems concerning the
union of legislative, administra-
tive and economic nature. These
included resolutions protesting
armed intervention in China,
‘British intervention in India, ap-
peasement of General Fransisco
Franco, and government inaction
with regards to the unemploy-
ment situation. Resolutions on
legislative matters demanding
amendments to the Unemploy-
ment Insurance Act to increase
benefits in that act to not less
than 50% above present benefits.
An adequate housing. program
was demanded and “government
action to ensure wood utilization
and protection of our forest in-
dustries. Demand was made for
amendments to the National La-
bor Act P.C. 1003 and the Wage

(Continued on page 4)

Notify Bosses
Contracts Open

Approximately 200 agreements
in the woodworking industry of
B.C. will be opened for amend-
ments on March 15, aceording to
a report this yeek from the Dis-
trict office.

Notification has been sent out .
by registered mail to every em-
ployer under contract with the
IWA advising them that it is
the union’s intention to open the
contracts. This is in accordance
with a provision in the agreement
calling for 60 days advance notice
of intention to open. Otherwise
the contracts would remain in ef-
fect unchanged for another year.
The contracts cover every phase
of the woodworking industry it
cluding logging, sawmilling, ply-
wood, shingle milling and sash

other channels.

oS ak Cn se

and doors,