| | | i | | | THE B.C. LUMBER WORKER March 11, 1946 District Suggests Policy For Interior Conference To assure the maximum results in obtaining the 1946 demands of the International Woodworkers of America throughout the prov- inee of British Columbia, and especially the Interior, the executive committee of District Number 1, IWA, fully supported by our Inter- national Officers and through a statement of the Canadian Congress of Labor, issued February 14, 1946, set forth the following: “The failure of the government to replace the present National War Labor Board in which the workers have completely lost confidence, with a fully repres- entative board which would have power to determine wage rates on a basis of what is considered fair and reasonable; and at the same time, the government pur- sues a policy of relaxation of price levels and in fact has re- duced workers’ living standards and leaves us no alternative but to demand the abolition of the Wartime Wage (Control Order-in- Council P.C. 9384, and the restor- ation of freedom to determine ' YOU CAN BANK BY MAIL with IMPERIAL BANK OF CANADA Banking can be carried on simply and safely through the mails. Deposits will be promptly acknowledged and instructions carried out with proper attention to detail. Miners and Iumbermen in out-of-the-way places will find banking easy and con- venient using Imperial Bank mail banking sevice. Address your letter to any branch listed below and ser- vice will follow promptly. IMPERIAL BANK OF CANADA Vancouver—Grenville & Dunsmuir Vancouver—Hestings & Abbott Other Branches in British Columbia: Cranbrook —Fernio. Golden Invermere Natal Nelson Revelstoke Vancouver Victoria end at Yellowknifo, N.W.T. wage rates by the process of col- lective bargaining. The District Eexecutive, in order to link up the IWA locals situated in the Interior of British Columbia, with our District, as a whole, has unanimously recom- mended a conference, and submit the following points for the con- ference’s consideration: (1) The five IWA locals situ- ated in the Interior, immediately establish a representative action committee. (2) That similar action com- mittes be established in every operation. (3) That officers and mem- bers, fully strive for a 100 per cent strike vote, and wherever possible, the collection of one day’s pay, together with public contributions to build up the Dis- trict one hundred thousand dol- lar fighting fund. (4) That the Interior confer- ence establish a representative Interior IWA action committee, such committee to meet regularly with District and International representatives to fully coordin- ate the campaign and work of all Interior locals. (5) Interior locals having not already done so, should immedi- ately notify the Provincial De- riment of Labor, re their de- re to be represented in all ne- gotiations through the District negotiating committee of the IWA. (6) That, all locals unions in the Interior keep the Interior ac- tion committee, and the District office, fully informed of its prob- lems and progress, by weekly reports and similarly, the Inter- ior action committee and the Dis- trict Office keep the locals of the Interior fully informed by regu- lar communications and a Dstrict Interior weekly bulletin. o,. Respectiully submitted, Harold Pritchett, President Jack Greenall, Secretary Ernie Dalskog, Int. Board Member.” a ‘JOHN STANTON Barrister - Solicitor - Notary 502 HOLDEN BLDG. 16 E. Hastings St. MAr. 5746 We Sell all times. & NAV DEPT 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 and Navy prices are guaranteed to be the lowest in’ Vancouver at For Less SUCHEN = Vancouver oe a : oe oe @ Interior Activities FROM CRANBROOK, NELSON, PRINCETON, KELOWNA, KAMLOOPS AND PRINCE GEORGE i Local 1-405 Rescinds Its “No Strike” Pledge “Woodpecker Slim” Visits “Gas House” ‘At the annual general meeting of Local 1-405, with represen- tation from practically all sub-locals in the East Kootenay area, the Well byes, I am not going to < . ind the “No Strike” pled; membership voted unanimously to rescind the “No Strike” pledge repeat phat all thom cmert 70 | and heard their executive officers condemn the reactionary policy von about the Labor Letty, bat| of the employers and their association who have taken such an you about the Labor Lobby, but rather deal with some of the more intimate goings on. Come Monday in the morning, Under heated discussion came and the byes piled into the jint| the 1946 District Council Conven- like hornets Salmon Can all prepared to in- quire personal-like as to the in- tentions of them new come legislateurs. It wasn’t long be- fore they was asking everyone from the bell hops up, as to|vinced by into an overripe| tion demands presented under the officers report and a solid stand- ing yote of endorsation is re- corded. Members of the outlying sub-locals seeking clarification of the demands were fully con- statistical evidence what they thought about a 40-|that the program is not out of hour week and such things, Our byes had to see Messrs, Putnam and Webster. away gave us an apintment for 10 the next morning; the other guy, we was told, was in Van- conformity with Canada’s econ- omy, and the government and The first right| employers could meet these de- Revival Of Unionism couver. So having the morning} At Lumberton to myself so to speak, I draps in to see Tommy Uphill, a coal miner and a gintlemen. After listening for awhile I gets out|? the old lumbering town of Lum- berton, with the sound of tools used by to see if I can give some of the boys a hand. Since the industry-wide strike of the IWW in 1924 until Feb- uary 25, 1946, the woods around B.C., never have rang Well, it appears quite a few! organized workers. On the above of them gov't fellers was fair| date certification was applied for guys, ready and willing to meet| the J. §. & B. Cooperative Co our byes face to face and telll who now operate on the very ‘em what they'd go for an what|same ground that was once con- they thought. Then there was| trolled by them non-committal ones, the powerful B. C. Spruce Mills Ltd. A great deal of Well, that afternoon while one| labor history was made on this lot of them gov't fellers was a damin the rest of them, we fel- lers meets to tally up the score. Some of them captains was mighty sore having wore their logs clean down to the knees trying to catch up with some of them representatives of the people. The meeting broke up with the byes more solid and determined to meet their man. site, although a lot of it is now forgotten. There are many dele- gates of the old IWW in other parts of B.C. who will remember quite distinctly the struggles of those years. A great deal of con- demnation is coming to govern- ment bodies who allowed the B.C. Spruce Mill Co. to take the cream and the face off this great stand of timber and close down their operations when they were re~ We interviews the Hon. Put- quired to travel some distance nam according to apintment and| for their logs. he turns out to be a fair spoken Balloot tellin us his views fair | ll and honest like. He can only sive us an hour of his time but tells us to come back the nex morning. About this time the boys was gettin warmed up to the job, and I hears several of them M.P’s tellin as to how them loggers, miners, etc., was intim-|= idating some of the members ot the House. Well, if insisting on a trathful reply to an honest question was intimidatin then I pleads guilty, Ke 16 EAST. HASTINGS EC uM Below IWA Offices TT TCU Sco ON advantage of the whole-hearted pledge that was given to our fight ing forces during war time. mands without any danger of in- flation or the lifting of price ceilings. Resolutions endorsed by the meeting included housing pro- gram, health insurance, price control, improvement in camp conditions, school lunch program, electrification of rural areas and others. Unanimous approval was ex- pressed in regards to the fight- ing fund to be established and all delegates were instructed to pro- ceed with the building up of this fund immediately. Lumberworkers, When In CHEMAINUS Stay Ar ‘GREEN LANTERN HOTEL Prop’s, W. J. Drummond and J. Foley P.O. Box 171—Phones 79-51 LOGGERS For a Good, Reliable TAXI Phone VERNON 190 Kal Taxi (Bob Carswell) 21 Eighth St. Res. Phone 515 VERNON, B.C. @ I VANCOUVER, B.C. ia 803 ROYAL BANK BLDG. save enough to retire at sixty. A SUN LIFE ANNUITY will assist you to be one of them. For Further Information Write G. R. (Gerry) CLERKE : VANCOUVER, B.C.