: Mass of Woodworkers

Pledge Loyalty to IWA

“Wehave iron-clad evidence now that more than 90 per
cent of the lumber workers in this province have already
decided to remain in the IWA,” declared District President
(pro tem) J. S. Alsbury in a statement to the B.C. Lumber
Worker issued today, based on last-minute reports from IWA

locals and sub-locals.

“We've called ithe bluff of the ‘WIUC’ leaders, and find
that their organization exists only on paper, and is mostly
an empty boast. Their ‘organizing drive’ to wreck the IWA
has blown up in their faces,” he added.

‘The ‘WIUC’ has not been certi-
fied for one single operation.” Re-
liable reports received from our
locals indicate that an extremely
low percentage of the lumber
yworkers have revoked the IWA
check-off. Out of this number, a
still smaller percentage have indi-
cated a desire to join the ‘WIUC.
Many of those w ho were misled to
take hasty action have since re-
pented, claimed District President
Alsbury. “Our union is in a better
position than ever before to bar-
wain for better conditions on be-
half of the lumber workers.”

PRITCHETT “FROZEN”

In his summary of developments,
district by district, the District
President pointed to the fact that
the New Westminster Local 1-357
with over five thousand members
has remained firm and rebuffed all
efforts of “WIUC”’ organizers to
undermine this loyalty. At several
mills, where Harold Pritchett at-
tempted to ‘address the workers
and distribute “WIUC” leaflets, he
met with stony silence, and no tak-
ers for his literature. He made no
return visits.

More than 700 workers assem-
bled during the lunch hour and
G00 during the night shift heard
Bro. Alsbury outline the plans of
the provisional district officers, and
expressed approval with hearty ap-
plause.

More than 800 new members
have joined the Vancouver Local
1-217 since October 10th, on which
date the membership repudiated
the move for disaffiliation, accord-
ing to reports received from Tom
MacKenzie, Financial Secretary.
It was predicted by the officers of
this local that at the end of the
present month the membership will
be the largest in the history of the
Local, Information received indi-
cated “WIUC” revokes were less
than 100 throughout the entire
area, Votes taken in plants
claimed by the “WIUC” had swung
hack to the IWA one hundred per-
eent, when all the facts had been
presented by the IWA organizers.

A feature of the work done in
Local 1-217 has been the signing
of agreements under which the
workers have been able to claim
the increased and retroactive pay.
In plants represented by Stuart
Research, 79 such agreements have
been signed by the IWA, and in
addition six independents have
been signed up.

SEKORA’S REPORT

Upon return from Victoria, Mike
Sekora, District Financial Secre-
tary reported that following a vote
by which the IWA control was con-
firmed, an entirely new executive
had been elected as follows: Presi
dent, Roy Whittle; 1st Vice-Presi-

“dent, Ed Sudues; 2nd Vice-Presi-

dent, Ed Haw; Financial Secretary,
B. Machan; Recording Secretary,
E. CG. Peters, These officers have
established their offices at 120 Mil-
ler Building, 1006 Government St.,
Victoria.

Renewed interest in IWA plans
throughout the Mission District is

Ou the An.

reported by Neil Shaw, Business
Agent, Local 1-367. The Silver
Skagit camps now operating have
yoted with a substantial majority
for the IWA. The sub-locals at
Hammond, Pitt Lake, Maple Ridge,
Brown Logging Co., Eddy Match
Go, Canadian Forest Products
Camp, Harrison Mills, and Chilli-
wack Sawmills have ‘all reported
substantial majorities for the WA.

Pending the outcome of legal ac-
tion to recover the property of the
Local from Mike Freylinger of the
“WIUC”, an office has been estab-
lished in the Lighthouse Cafe
Building, Mission. P.O. address,
Box 1290, Phone Mission 186.

A referendum ballot held by the
Prince George Local 1-424 gave a
majority to the IWA. District of-
ficer Mike Sekora will attend a
meeting in the CCF Hall, Sunday,
October 31, at which' new officers
will be elected.

More than five hundred lumber
workers attended a meeting held
in Duncan, Sunday, October 24,
which was’ addressed by Adolph
Germer, National CIO Representa-
tive. Delegates were present from
Nanaimo, Ladysmith, Cowichan
Lake, Chemainus and Youbou. No
opposition was expressed to the
motion endorsing the policies of
the IWA. Joe Morris and Jack At-
kinson headed the slate of new of-
ficers elected for the Local.

ALBERNI SOLID

Financial Secretary Jack Squires,
Port Alberni Local’ 1-85 has in-
formed the District office that the
vote of that local to remain within
the IWA has received overwhelm-
ing support from the camps and
mills in the vicinity. Several of
these camps which had given hasty
endorsation of the “WIUC” have
since reversed their decision and
are now supporting the FWA.

Meetings addressed by Organ-
izer Tony Gargreave in the Engle-
wood and Port MacNeill area, and
representative of over one thous-
and loggers rejected the pleas of
the “WIUC? organizer John Me-
Cuish, and accepted IWA obliga-
tion. "An attempt had been made
by the operators to bar the “WI
UG” organizer from these camps,
but upon the recuest of the IWA
organizer he was admitted.

At an IWA meeting held at
Camp A, Canadian Forestry Prod-
ucts, when McCuish requested the
floor, he was greeted with the re-
mark, “Sit down, you're rocking
the boat.” The ensuing laughter
made it difficult for him to pursue
his argument, and only 20 persons
out of an audience of 200 remained
for the “WIUG” meeting held after
the IWA meeting adjourned.

That the logging camps in the

ueen Charlottes are dubious about
the pretensions of the “WIUC” is
indicated by the wires received at
the District Office asking for IWA
representatives to give these more
remote loggers the facts about the
situation. In response to this. re-
quest, the new “loggers’ navy” is
on the high seas.

-MONDAYS - - 8:15 p.m.
cok a Naas OF THE IWA

CJOR - THURSDAYS -

7:00 p.m.

GREEN GOLD

CKMO - THURSDAYS -
CKMO - SUNDAYS -_ -

7:30 p.m.
LABOR HEADLINES

6:45 p.m.

CCL RADIO SESSION

NEW LOGGERS’ NAVY sailed from Vancouver this week to curry the truth into the
isolated camps up and down B.C.’s rugged coastline. Vancouver Labor Council presi-

dent George Home is among the top rank organizers who form the crew of the boat.
Home is also secretary of the B.C. Federation of Labor (CCL).

With him is R. J. Brown, organizer, from Local 1-217, Vancouver.

Board Rates
Pinned on

Neglect
alskog

Right on the heels of the recent settlement of wages and
wokring conditions for 1948-1949, a number of logging

operators increased board rate:
This came on top of the 50-

angry loggers are protesting

packets whittled down down.

An attempt has been made to
saddle the International officers
with the responsibility for this
situation. All negotiations were
exclusively in the hands of the
District officials. The responsi-
bility for neglecting to include this
important feature of working con-
ditions in the bargaining proceed-
ings rests solely on their shoul-
ders. *

A letter from Mr. J. P. Hogg,
chairman of the B.C. Labor Re-
lations Board to E. Dalskog, their
District President, written on
June 11 this year, reveals that this
neglect to include board rates in
negotiations, was not merely an
oversight on the part of the form-
er District Officers. Mr. Hogg
wrote as follows:

“Y have given a good deal of
consideration to your letter of
April 27th, and “I understand
the difficulty of your position.
Hoever, I have read the Master
Agreement and there is no ref-
erence in it to charges for
board. This is of course very un-
fortunate from your point of
view. However, I understand
that you are in the course of
negotiating a new agreement.

s 50 cents a day.
-cent increase last April, and
at seeing their bigger pay

Would it not be well to have the
matter specifically covered in
the new agreement?”

It appears from this letter from
the chairman of the Labor Rela-
tions Board that the) former Dist-
rict officers had considered the
matter of board rates. No explan-
ation Has been forthcoming as to
their reason for not pressing the
matter during negotiations or in
front of the Conciliation Board.

This neglect on the part of
Dalskog and Pritchett has left the
present District and the Interna-
tional officers in a difficult posi-
tion in their attempts to reach a
settlement of the Board question.

The employers‘ representatives
are not slow to point out that the
former IWA officials had plenty
of opportunity to raise the mat-
ter while the negotiations for a
new agreement were in progress.
International president Fadling
is hopeful still of reaching a satis-
factory settlement. The full
strength of the revitalized Inter-
national Woodworkers of America
will be used to make sure that
the logging operators do not get
away with this cheese-paring
tactic. 1

“wie” Renegades Branded

At Portland IWA

Swift and decisive action was
taken by the twelfth annual con-~
vention of the International Wood-
workers of America in Portland to
protect the interests of the lumber
workers in_ British Columbia
against the WIUC conspiracy to
wreck the B.C. organization.

Harold Pritchett, Ernie Dalskog
and officers of B.C. Ditsrict 1 who
had proposed dis-affiliation, were
named and branded as renegades
to the labor movement, in a reso-
lution which secured the unani-
mous support of the convention.

In the judgment of the conver
tion they were held guilty of viola-
tion of their sworn obligations by
their action to form a competing
union to destroy the IWAgand had
therefore lost all claim on the con-
fidence of the lumber workers.

As the great majority of the
IWA members in District 1 had

Meet

indicated their loyalty to the IWA
the convention disregarded the
declarations of the former district
officers on dis-affiliation. No such
powers had been granted by the
membership, and the effect of
their actions was merely to place
them outside the IWA.

The convention determined to
maintain the IWA in British Co-
lumbia, on its former basis, and
conferred authority upon the In-
ternational Executive Board to
administer the affairs of the dist-
rict and disrupted locals until such
time as the members could elect
new officers.

Steps were also authorized to
recover funds, records and prop-
erty rightfully belonging to the
IWA, and to restore these assets
to the membership of the district.

Approval was given to the ac-

Mailing - Lists

Union officials and shop stewards
are urged to make sure that the
B.C. Lumber Worker will have full
and complete mailing lists of all

IWA members.

Information should be passed

“through the usual channels” to
the B.

C. District Council.

WE SUPPORT THE IWA

Copy of resolution passed at
a meeting of the Vancouver
Labor Council, Tuesday, Oc-
tober 26th.
Moved, Seconded and Carried
“That the Vancouver Labor
Council go on record giving
full moral and financial sup-
port to the IWA and to de-
feat the reactionary elements
who are trying to destroy it.”
George Home, President.
George Mitchell,
Vice-President:
James Bury, Secretary.
YN

tion taken by the members of
Local 1-217 in electing provisional
officers, and continuing to con-
duct the affairs of the local.
International President Fadling
stated, “This is the most serious
situation with which our union has
been faced. There has long been
a difference of opinion and policy
between Pritchett and the officers
of our union who upheld the poli-
cies of our union.”
NO SURPRISE .
“This development comes as no
surprise,” said President Fadling,
as he reviewed the administration
of the International Union during
Pritchett’s term of office as Inter-
national President. “Pritchett fail-
ed miserably then as now,” and
has been recently ousted as Sec-
retary of the B.C, Federation of
Labor. Since leaving the United
States Pritchett has tried to build
a little empire in British Columbia
to further his political dreams.”
Ronald Roley, Executive Board
member and Chairman of the com-
mittee appointed to investigate the
finances of B.C. District 1, report-
ed to the convention, stating that
serious mal-administration of
finances had been found, and that
many thousands of dollars had
been expended without vouchers to
cover the expenditure. The former
district officers, he stated, had not
given the investigating committee
the information required.
number of delegates from
h Columbia took the floor on
sue, and scored the adminis-
tration of the district finances
under the seceding leaders. It was
pointed out that although the B.C.
District had collected per capita
payments equal to those alloted to
the International, that too little
had been done to promote trade
union organization and improve
working conditions. |