B.C. LUMBER WORKER

-B. €. FEDERATION -
ITS JOB & AIMS

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Lumber Industry Must Erase
Toll of Dead, Maimed IWA Men

With this issue THE B.C. LUMBERWORKER
inaugurates a section on safety which will be a regu-
lar feature of the paper from now on. Accident pre-
vention in the lumber industry is of importance both
to the employers and employees.

Both still have a long way to go before the lum-
ber industry loses its present unenviable position as
the number one maimer and killer of workers, as
the accident report of the Workmen’s Compensa-
tion Board for 1948 will reveal.

It doesn’t pay to monkey with
the buzz-saw. More than 5,400
met with accidents in the saw-
mills, shingle mills, sash and
door and veneer plants in British
Columbia in 1948. Of this number
24 were killed.

Chief causes of accidents in the
manufacturing end of the indus-
try were:

Struck by machinery

and lumber — - 1638
Falls and slips 1211
Strains and over-

exertions 781

Caught between objects 604
Saw cuts 334
Caught in machinery . 177

Most of these accidents were
due to failure to observe proper
safety precautions. Only 52 acci-
dents were due to failure of
equipment.

,. Men were injured by standing
in front of roll castings, stand-
ing between green chain tables
and carriers, taking hold of lum-
ber the wrong way and crushing:
their hands.

Standing behind the edger is
another invitation to hospital. In
one plant in Vancouver a piece
off the edger pushed the back
stop over to an angle of 45 de-
grees. As this backstop was con-
structed of 12x12, it does not
take much imagination to realize
what would have‘ happened to’
anyone standing behind it.

The tail sawyer who refuses to
wear a face mask is just waiting
for the day when the saw will hit
a knot and drive it into his face
like a bullet.

The man who does not know
how to use his Jeg and arm

Safety committees in plants
must make it their business not
only to watch for defective equip-
Det of teansperoschs bet sso t0

management, but also to
check: workers who fail to use
their heads and their eyes.

Slipping and falling — 2142
Axe and saw cuts from

pesipping 877,
Hits by limbs and

chunks —_——_______ 299
Hits by snags and

saplings _. 176
Falling tree itself _ 149
Rolling logs —. 700
Hits by lines, tongs

and other gear 429

Failure of rigging 48

From the above table it will be
seen that nearly half the acci-
dents resulted from slipping and
falling. This type of accident may
result in cuts from tools carried
at the time, or may result in bro-
ken ankles, legs or arms or in
back injuries.

A frequent, probably the most
frequent cause of such accidents
is defective calks and boots.
Safety committees must make it
their business to impress on
workers the need to keep calks in
good shape. In some camps the
operators supply new calks free.

Where this is not the case camp
committees might well make it
their business to make this de-
mand on the employer.

Hits by flying limbs and chunks
while not accounting for a very
large proportion of the accidents
have been the cause of more
deaths than any other single fac-
tor. The cure here is the use of
the hard hat.

It is not the job of the safety
committee to drive home the need
to wear safety helmets at all
times in the vicinity of falling
operations or wherever there is
danger of flying limbs. Safety
helmets may not be too comfort-
able to wear, but they beat a
wooden overcoat anytime.

Rolling logs may catch a
worker in any one of several op-
erations. A single log may roll on
a bueker who has been working
from the low side without block-
ing the log first.

Logs may roll off a truck or car
onto a worker who is careless in
attempting to loosen a load, or
who attempts to slip past the un-
loading side. Take no chances on
cold decks or log dumps. Remem-
ber a log is round and it will roll
if given half a chance.

Hits by lines, tongs and other
gear are almost invariably the
result of carelessness on the part
of the worker or his fellow crew
members, It may sometimes be
the result of “high ball” pres-
sure on the part of the boss.

If that is the case it is the job
of the safety committee to insist
on the observance of proper
safety precautions. But the fact
must be faced that nine times out
of ten the worker is to blame
himself. e

To avoid accidents of this na-
ture keep out of the bight of the
line and clear of running lines.
You may get away with it this
time but sooner or later your
turn will come.

Safety committees must make
it their job to see that every man
on the show understands the sig-
nals and knows what to expect
when a signal is given.

The committee should see that
no attempt is made to operate
with hand signals and that the
whistle punk Imows his job.

Failure of rigging accounted
for only a small proportion of
accidents in the woods last year.
But it might become a serious
factor if rigging crews fail to re-
port deterioration in equipment
and if safety committees fail to
act promptly to have the condi-
tion rectified.

Most companies these days are
ready to co-operate in safety
measures if only to prevent their
Compensation assessment from
going up. Where this is the case
camp safety committees should
co-operate with management in
tee effort to reduce the accident
rate.

Where employers fail to co-
operate and persist in allowing
unsafe conditions to obtain in
their operations, camp safety
committees should be active and
militant in their protests and if
necessary call on the union offi-
cials for support in their fight
for safety in the woods.

Don’t Forget To
Submit Your News
And Views To
The Editor

By GEORGE HOME,
Secretary B.C. Federation of Labor

‘THE Canadian Congress of Labor regards provincial
federation of affiliated unions as an essential part of
effective trade union organization. ?

‘The Congress itself is the means through which
International and National unions may combine for
action at the national level.

Local trade unions may combine through Labor
Councils to bring the maximum influence to bear on com-
munity problems of common interest, at the civic level.

Similarly, affiliated CCL unions are encouraged to
establish Provincial Federations as the means for joint
action on questions of provincial scope.

The responsibilities of the B.C. Federation of Labor
are two-fold. It co-ordinates and presents the legislative

demands for all CCL: affiliated unions in British Colum-*

bia. It also provides for close cooperation in promoting

the welfare of the workers represented, and strengthen-

ing organization.

The B.C. Federation of Labor was founded at a
convention of CCL unions held in Vancouver, Sept. 30,
1944, Daniel O’Brien, then Regional Director of the Can-
adian Congress of Labor, acted as Chairman. Twenty-
five union organizations were repreesnted, including, five
Labor councils, with a total of 73 delegates.

The officers elected on that occasion were re-elected
at all subsequent conventions until 1948. President, Dan
O’Brien; 1st Vice-president, Harvey Murphy; 2nd Vice-
president, A. MacKenzie; Secretary-treasurer, Harold
Pritchett.

During these years, important work was undertaken
by the Federation. The Strike Fund drive for the Ford
workers resulted in raising $50,000 in B.C. Other unions
on strike were assisted.

‘TH Federation led the fight against Bill 39, especially

with reference to the Nanaimo Laundry strike. A
campaign of publicity warned the trade union members
of the threat to union security.

Each year the Federation arranged for the presenta-
tion and support of legislative demands through a mass
labor lobby at Victoria. The value of the methods
employed were sometimes questioned by the members,
but on the whole these lobbies directed public attention
to the importance of labor’s requests.

At a public banquet, held in connection with the
labor lobby, April 1948, Vice-president Harvey Murphy
gave vent, in a vindictive speech, to his hatred of the
officials of the Canadian Congress of Labor. This un-
principled attack on the integrity of all labor leaders
who did not agree with the LPP brought immediate
repercussions,

The most important convention, and one that made
history for the Canadian Congress of Labor in this prov-
ince, was held in Vancouver, Sept. 4 and 5, 1948. 133
delegates were in attendance, only seven less than the
total possible attendance.

Even as the convention opened, it was made apparent
that a show-down was inevitable on the major issue.
Would the Federation support policies laid down in the
national conventions of the Congress, or would it become,
the spearhead of a drive to establish a Communist-led
Congress of splinter groups?

The elections to the incoming executive decided the
issue, after stormy debate, and hotly contested voting.
Five members were elected, who had pledged their loy-
alty to democratic procedures and Congress policy. Four
were returned to the Executive who had upheld LPP
policy.

This majority contro] of the Executive, by those who
are resolved to execute the decisions of the membership,
as determined under democratic procedure, has had im-
portant results. ‘

[ PON the attempted disaffiliation of the IWA in Octo-
ber, the entire strength of the Federation was placed
peeee! those who remained loyal to the IWA and the

Two major projects are now under way, under the
auspices of the Federation. On the basis of resolutions
adopted by the last annual convention, and subsequent
representations from the local unions, a brief embodying
labor’s legislative demands, be presented to the
members of the Provincial Cabinet and the Legislature
during the session which opens on February 8th.

The contents of this brief will be explained and sup-
ported in argument before the Cabinet by a representa-
tive delegation from the Federation.

Other steps are’ under consideration by means of
which the Federation will be kept closely in touch with
developments in the Legislature, which may bear on
labor’s interests. Union members will be kept informed
on all important issues, from day to day. .

All local unions are urged to channel through the
Federation the evidence and recommendations on prob-
Jems of their members affected by such legislation as
Workmens’ Compensation, the ICA Act, and Unemploy-
ment Insurance. x

‘THE approaching Federal and Provincial elections will

place still greater responsibilities on the Federation,
and make it a still more important instrument in the
hands of B.C. workers. The political action program of
the CCL will be carried out at the provincial level by
the Federation.

The practice of the PAC in other provinces has been
for the Federation to collect the voluntary donations of
the members, distribute it where necessary, and be re-
sponsible for printing and advertising, and labor’s cam-
paign activities, generally.

It should be borne in mind that, in carrying out the
political action program of the Congress, funds collected
by the Federation are spent by the Federation or, its
designated committees, and is not turned over to the
CCF. The details of the political action program will be
carried out by the members of the unions elected for that
purpose.

The plans of the Federation for 1949 offer great
promise of important advances on behalf of organized
Jabor, now that the Federation no longer is a sounding
board for LPP propaganda.

eo