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Vol. XIX, No. 26

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Official Publication of tne Jndennational Woodworkers of America v0. district Council No.1.

November 1, 1948

Vancouver, B. C.

eIWA MARCHES TO VICTORY IN B.C.

“WICU" Crawls
To A. F. of L.

Top IWA and CCL officials
wiped the floor with the Pritchett.
Dalskog gang at the Vancouver
Council meeting Tuesday night,

During the discussion it was
revealed that the LPP-line leaders
of the Marine Workers’ and Boil-
ermakers’ Industrial Union | are

4p planning to be “thrown out” of

the CC)

Guest speaker James E, Becliney
IWA international president, ha
the pleasure of hearing the coun~
cil, by. a smashing majority,
support to the IWA in their fight
against the WIUC saboteurs.

Tn a forceful, aggressive speech,
President Fadling reminded the
Council that a few years past
Pritchett and his group acted in a
manner which forced the CCL to
suspend IWA locals.

“The situation in the IWA,” he
said, “has been no different from
the situation in the CIO and the
CCL, where we have people going
to conventions, expecting and get-
ting every right and privilege of
a pene

“They then refuse to accept the
responsibility of accepting ma»
jority ‘decisions and helping to
carry them out.”

In direct attack on the break.
away group, Fadling said, “Pri
chett and his gang are down on

their bellies, crawling to the
AFL for affiliation. For a long
time these people have been

‘iving only lip service to the
iW, the CIO and the CCL.
They have decided now to go
their own way.

“Now you will see a bigger and
better and stronger IWA move-
ment in B,C. and Canada, because
we are getting rid of the dead-
wood.”

Fadling referred to the “con
ee gonyeiucu, per the WAY

iy “To get ele; 1s
here My must have collected the
entire membership. I’m sure, too,
they had every Party hack they
could scrape up.’

Before sident Fadling spoke,
George Mitchell, financial secre-
ea of New Westminster Local
1-357, and Lloyd Whalen, presi-
dent of Local 1-217, had addressed
the delegates.

Mitchell said that since the
breakaway, his local was not los-
ing, but gaining members’ every

day.

Tic: Whalen marked the lead-
ers of the so-called WIU as people
who “for years have lied, slan-
dered and  character-assassinated
anyone who had the guts to stand
pee expose their sell-out poli~

within the IWA.”

from 90,000 workers across the
line,

“They will not get away with
it. Local 1-217 will be the largest
local in the whole international.
‘We have a potential membership

. In less than 10 days

910 members.”
Whalen ¢! that the pre-
local leadership had neglect-
their organization work alto-

‘Whalen was reeeived with a

Federation of
pleaded that the

Our Policy: Statement
By President Alsbury

With this issue the B.C. Lumber Worker comes back into
possession of its owners, the members of the B.C. District
of the IWA. A paper bearing the same name has been pub-
lished by the Pritchett-Dalskog group since the disruption
move on October 3. Steps are now being taken to prevent
the further use of the name by these people.

In the past the B.C. Lumber Worker has been used for
every other purpose than the promotion of the interests of
lumberworkers in this province. It has been a propaganda
sheet for a certain political party and a large part of its
space has been devoted to spreading the ideas and the poli-
cies of the Communist world organization, and to° vicious
attacks on everyone within and without the IWA who has
opposed those ideas and those policies.

For a long period of time the B.C. Lumber Worker has
devoted itself to a campaign of attack and vilification of the
officials of the Internatinal Woodworkers of America and the
Canadian Congress of Labor. It has harped on a “district
policy” which on anlysis has proved to be nothing more nor
less than the policies of the communist organization.

These people who have been using the Lumber Worker for
these purposes have now left us. They have moved right out-
side the legitimate trade union movement of Canada and we
may leave them there. _

Today we start with a clean sheet. From now on the policy
of the B. C. Lumber Worker will be to advance the interests
of British Columbia’s lumberworkers and to support the
policies decided upon in democratic convention by the Inter-
national Woodworkers of America and the Canadian Con-
gress of Labor. 3

In the past, the columns of the Lumber Worker have been
closed to any correspondent who dared to criticize the policies
of the former District Officers or the paper. This will not be
the case in the future. As far as space permits, the views
of correspondents will be published, no matter how diverse
those views may be.

The B. C. Lumber Worker will at all times loyally support
the policies of the IWA and the CCL. There is no intention
and no desire to stifle honest and constructive criticism of

. those policies.

It is the intention of the District Officers to make the B.C.
Lumber Worker the real voice of the men in the woods and
the mills, and to that end we ask the co-operation of every
member.

J. STEWART ALSBURY,
Provisional President,
District No. 1,

anna eee RT|

(Continued from Column 1)

council should do nothing to it
“widen the split.”
Elderly Ed Leary, Fur and

midst who if they cannot rule this
Congress will attempt to destroy

““This Council is right in going
on record without equivocation

Leather Workers, caused a laugh
when he suggested that the two
bodies be allowed to settle their
own differences without interfer-
ence.

Final blast of the evening came
from Bill Mahoney, CCL Western
director, who challenged anyone
to get up and defend the actions
of Pritchett and Dalskog.

“These people,” he said, “have
committed an offence that to any
trade unionist with a sense of de-
cency is abhorrent.

“Phere is an obvious attempt
by certain people, including the
Boilermakers, whom I believe
would like to be removed from this
Council because they have not got
the courage to walk out them-
selves, e

“They could not justify a walk-
out to their membership. I think
they are attempting to get into a
position where we will ask them
to leave or be thrown out so that
they can be martyrs before their
membership.

“This is a weak and_ pathetic
attempt to destroy the CCL and it
is not going to end with the Prit-
chetts and Dalskogs.

“We still have people in our

that we are going to stand solidJy
behind the Congress and the IWA
in condemning without reservation
any person who injures an affili-
ate of this Congress.

“Any person who cannot
stand here in this Council and
join with us in this resolution
as lost his right to sit in with
us and take part in our delibera-
tions.

“I feel quite confident that
when we face up to this situation
(further possible _ breakaways
from the Vancouver Labor Coun-
cil), we will have a stronger and
better Congress.”

At this stage, Bill White, presi-
dent of the Boilermakers, rose
from his seat and walked out of
the hall. Bill Stewart, his vice-
president, also got up but instead
of walking out the door apparent-
ly changed his mind. He sidled
back to a seat on the other side
of the floor instead. White later
came back in.

The meeting showed solidly that
organized CCL labor in Vancou-
ver and New Westminster will do
all in its power to hasten the sure
death of the so-called rival orga-
nization to the IWA.

Loggers Navy: Green Gold
In Action Again For You

The B.C. Lumber Worker today comes back into its own.

For several weeks, the so-called union run by a breakaway
group, has used the named and title of the woodworker’s
official organ, to attempt to impress false propaganda on
woodworkers in British Columbia.

Let it be clearly understood that this issue is the first
authorized publication of the B. C. Lumber Worker since the
attempt on October 3 by a subersive Communist-led group
to ruin your union; to sabotage your contracts and wage

scales.

This is your paper. It is printed
and published to further the sin-
cere, trade union interests of the
reconstituted B.C. District Coun-
cil No. I, IWA. By publishing this
paper, the Council is fulfilling its
bounden duties under Article 4,
Paragraph 4, of the constitution of
the union.

Let it be clearly understood.
There is only one B.C, Lumber
Worker, and this is it. From
to week from now on, the
tivities of the woodworkers in
B.C. will be fully reported by
the B.C. Lumber Worker

PROVISIONAL

PRESIDENT

too, by the journeyings of an
emergency “loggers’ navy” which
sailed this week from Vancouver.

Members of the IWA are eager-
ly awaiting the Supreme Court
trial in Vancouver of the injunc-
tion granted to freeze the funds,
properiiea| and assets of the B.C.

istrict Council. That is when the
full facts of the finances will inex-
orably come to light.

Chief Justice Farris this week
extended the restraining order,
preventing any further handling
of cash or assets until’ the court
has decided the legal position.

Another key development this
week is the meeting in Vancou-
ver on Sunday of members
loyal to Local 1-71. New officers
will be elected to replace those
who fled when the “rule or
ruin” group of the former Dist-
trict Council, without any refer-
ence to their members, made
their farcical attempt to sabo-

tage the International. °

The attention of readers is
drawn to Page 3 where a photo-
static copy of minutes of the ex-
ecutive meeting of Local, 1-71, held
in Vancouver on October 1, is
printed.

Stuart Alsbury, District Presi-
dent, has stated that the financial
decisions taken at that meeting

will be queried in court as soon as
the local is re-organized.
Under the signature of Don

Barbour, then recording secretary,
it is shown that plans were made
to transfer $16,500 from the IWA

| funds.

J. S. (Stu) Ai

Faithful reports will be given
to the IWA membership of all cur-
rent events, enabling the trade
unionists to watch and judge for
themselves developments in the
province, and on the North Ameri-
can continent.

The B.C. Lumber Worker has
only one axe to grind—the knife-
edged axe of the alert servant of
the IWA, keeping careful guard
on all happenings of which mem-
bers must. be kept fully and
honestly informed.

Radio station CJOR in Van-
couver will continue to broad-
cast the “Green Gold” programs
on Thursday evenings at 7:00
p.m, but notice is given here and
now that the programs will be
under a distinctly new manage-
ment.

Contract with the station was
made in the name of the B.C. Dist-
rict Council, IWA. This contract
lwill be continued, but in future the
news and views’ emanating from
there will be another strong arm
for truth and justice for the lum-
ber_worker.

The true facts of the position in
the industry in B.C. will be spread,

{55
Isbury

The money is shown as planned
to be distributed to the union at-
torney ($2,500 as a retaining fee);
the union printers ($5,000 for
leaflets, supplies, materials), and
the District Strike Fund of the
Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers’
Union ($9,000).

News Wanted!

Editor’s Message

Publicity representatives
of all IWA locals, sub-locals
-and camps are invited to
send in notes of all union
activities.

Within the limits of our
space, every effort will
made to publish local news
from these sources.

Copy should be addressed

THE EDITOR,

B.C. Lumber Worker,
218 Lee Bldg.,
Vancouver.

to:

Try and get the informa-
tion in our hands by Mon-
day or Tuesday morning at
the very latest.