Gov't To Assist In Negotiations A meeting between represent- atives of the Department of Labor, the IWA and the Interior Lumber Manufacturers gives rise to the hope that the issue of interior contracts may be de- termined by a negotiations con- ference which is to be held at Prince George on January 25 where all three parties will be represented. The efforts of Mr. James Thomson, chief cpncilia- tion officer of the Department of Labor, resulted in the manufac- turers’ representatives making some commitments that have given rise to this opinion. Should the meeting at Prince George result in an agreement being signed, then there will be no difficulty in reaching agree- ment in all other interior dis- putes. On the other hand, should negotiations at Prince George fail, then arbitration boards will be the order of the day. Dalskog, International member IWA, is at present in Cranbrook preparing for the ar- bitration board already estab- lished by the government. Anticipating a favorable meet- ing at Prince George sittings of the Cranbrook board amy be de- layed until the end of January. Genuine MSA Skullgards High Pressure Molded For Fleck Bros. Safety Div'n Vancouver, B. SAVING BY MAIL A postage stamp brings you all the advantages of the Write to any of the Bank’s branches listed below for a Mail Deposit Form. When deposit has been received an account will be opened in your name and passbook for- warded for your records. Withdrawals can be made in the same way. IMPERIAL BANK or CANADA "The Bank For You" Branches in British Columbia: Cranbrook Fernie. Golden ek ie a Year End Report On Interior Activities By E. Dalskog, International Board Member CRANBROOK, LOCAL 1-405 On checking up on the situation in Cranbrook we find that local 1-405 has been certified as bargaining agency in 23 opera- tions covered by 18 companies, and a conservative estimate of the number of employees involved is 700. A Board of Conciliation has been granted for the Cranbrook Cartage & Transfer Company and it will sit in the middle of January to hear the case of the Union against the Company for failure to sign an agreement. This is the first Board of Conciliation to be set up in the Interior. It must be noted in reporting 700 employees covered by cer- tifications, that the membership in good standing in the Local is’ less than 300, which shows a need for consolidation of the member- ship if we are to have any success in immplementing an award by the Board, if such an award is favoroble to the Union, and also to force the issue of getting an agreement regardless of the outcome of the Board’s findings. PRINCE GEORGE, LOCAL 1-424 4 * Negotiations for an agreement took place in Prince George on December 3 and 5 with no better progress than elsewhere in our attempts to negotiate, with Mr. Ruddock representing the employers. Six major points were left in dispute and we have recommended to the Local to apply for a Conciliation Officer im- mediately as the first step towards getting a Board of Concilia- tion. This Local has been’ certified as bargaining agency in 13 operations of 13 different companies. The total, number of em- ployees covered by these certifications comes to 900 and the Secre- tary of the Local informs us there are over 900 members in the Local Union in good standing, which shows that this Local is in a favorable position to begin the new year with a feeling of confi- dence that we can accomplish a great deal in the conciliation of the dispute with the employers. KAMLOOPS, LOCAL 1-417 According to the last report, we are certified in 14 operations in this Local. How many employees they cover we have no idea, but according to information received from the Local, the total number of members is 875. There are four agreements signed which embody the 1945 agreement, plus in some cases, the union shop and in others maintenance of membership. However, ‘it must be noted that the wage scale that was accepted in the North Kam- loops Sawmills was far below the scale adopted at the Kamloops Conference, PRINCETON, LOCAL 1-418 Some four or five certifications have been made in this Local and three agreements signed embodying the 1945 agreement with the added feature of union shop, checkoff, and transportation. However, the Regional War Labor Board disallowed the transpor- tation clause. The totol number of members in this Local is 128 with only 42 in good standing, In the matter of the Penticton Saw- mills and the prosecution of Mr. Leir, this has been disallowed by National Selective Service on the grounds that the women who were laid off have no case. The Local was given the right to prosecute, however. In negotiating with Mr. Ruddock and Mr. Leir for an agree- ment covering Penticton Sawmills, we made no better headway than elsewhere, approximately the same number of points being left in dispute as in the Prince George negotiations. Application for appointment of a Conciliation Officer has been made. KELOWNA, LOCAL 1-423 This Local at the present time has a membership of 324 according to the report of the Financial Secretary. An agreement has been in existence between the Local and Simpson Sawmills. Certifications were to be switched over at the end of the year from the Canadian Congress of Labor affiliated Woodworkers Local to Local 1-428, to which the membership has already’ been turned over. Certifications have been obtained for Vernon Box and Pine Lumber Co. and H. Sigalet & Co., covering a total of five opera- tions of these two companies. NELSON, LOCAL 1-425 Negotiations were opened between this Local and W. W. Fowell Co. Ltd. and R. A. Patterson Co. Ltd. Mr. Ruddick represented the companies in these negotiations and again we found the same dif- ficulty in reaching an agreement. Subsequently, negotiations were broken off because no agreement could be reached and application for a Conciliation Officer has been made. We have no information as to how many members are covered by certifications or how many members are in the Union. At pres- ent nearly all operations are shut down. « Proposals will be made for immediate mobilization of the membership for action. The first step in this direction is to ac- quaint the membership with the failure of negotiations with the employers organization, and also to have the membership fully aware of the issues involved. Based upon this, we feel that it will be necessary to start a drive for an emergency fund if it should become necessary to take strike action in the spring to foree i : ee nies won kun Interior Activities FROM CRANBROOK, NELSON, PRINCETON, KELOWNA, KAMLOOPS AND PRINCE GEORGE 1-417; W. Smith, 1-418. Center Allan Parkin 1-405; Bunce 1-424; F. Petzinger 1-424. Interior delegates to the IWA Convention taken on the Court House steps: top row, left to right; Miké Freylinger, Local 1-424; Wil- liam Langmead, Local 1-425; Geo. Argotoff, 1-425; W. Lynch, Row, left to right, D, Gallacher, 1-423; J. Dougdale 1-428; W. Carrie 1-405; A. Papke 1-424: A’ Newman 1-424, Front Row, left to right: Mel Fulton 1-423; A, Bert Melsness, District Representative; G. —(Sunday’s Photos) i\Wage Case By Interior Delegates A délegation of interior representatives taking advamtage of their attendance at the District IWA Convention appeared before the Regional War Labor Board on Tuesday, Jan, 8, in support of the IWA brief on interior wages. Reclassification was the main point of contention so far as the board was concern- ed and. recognizing the import- ance of proper classification for wage stabilization purposes mem- bers of the board promised to tour interior points immediate- ly to see for themselves what conditions are like. of categories Presented GOOD LUCK ¥ TO THE IWA-CIO ! See Us for... Johnson “ARCH-KING” LOGGER BOOTS The Skeena Mercantile ‘George McAdams, Prop. Terrace, B. Cranbrook Board Now Established Official word has been received that the arbitration board re- quested by IWA local 1-405 for the case of Cranbrook Cartage Ltd. hag now been established. The board will commence hear- ings as soon as all three mem- bers can get together-and agree upon a suitable date. A LOGGERS For a Good, Reliable TAXI Phone VERNON 190 Kal ‘Taxi (Bob Carswell) 21 Highth St. Res. Phone 515 VERNON, B.C. A. W. JOHNSON 280 Columbia Ayenue “— Vancouver, B. LOGGERS — HIKERS WORK AND DRESS SHOES FOR MEN AND BOYS * Our Low Overhead Sates Bou Money We Sell all times. Army and Navy will never knowingly be. undersold. We will meet any competitor’s price at any time, not only ceiling prices but floor prices, and we will gladly refund any difference. Army gana Navy prices are guaranteed to be the lowest in For Less Vancouver at