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District Council No. 1.

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Vol. XIX, No. 43

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May 19, 1949

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5e per copy

Vancouver, B. C.

OPERATORS GIVEN IWA DEMANDS

Want To Win
A $25 Iron?

$25 electric steam iron,
Submit to the editor, as soon as

‘THE 1949 battle of the B. C. District of the International Woodworkers of America
(CIO-CCL) to improve the wages and working conditions of 40,000 logging and saw-
mill workers in British Columbia has begun.
Headed by District President “Stu” Alsbury, the negotiation committee handed to

employers’ representatives this week the detailed demands of the

1949-1950 Master Agreement for the coastal region.

ALSBURY OFFERS “PAC” PRIZE

Readers of the B.C. LUMBER WORKER have a chance to win a

possible and not later than June 5,

in a letter of not more than 150 words, your opinion on the following

subject:

"WHAT BENEFITS WILL BE GAINED BY 1W.A MEMBERS
THROUGH CCL POLITICAL ACTION?”
A selection of entries will be published in the next issue, and the

winner will be announced in the issue of June 17.
The prize is being donated by District President Stu Alsbury, who
biraself won the iron at the Mosher GGL Rally in Vancouver.

LOGGER KILLED

STRICTER
SAFETY
URGED

A recommendation that
safety rules be established
and enforced for the opera-
tion of power shovel tongs
was made by the coroner's
jury following the inquest
into the death of Bro. Henry
Monk in Vancouver, May 8.

Death resulted from an acci-
@ont which occurred at Bloedel,
Stewart and Welch, Camp _5,
Campbell River on May 4th. The
deceased was employed as a pit
man for power shovel work. Evi-
dence given at the inquest was to
the effect that as he had just
fastened a pair of tongs on a
half-buried log, the shovel oper-
ator took up the strain. The log
broke, catapulting “Monk against
the shovel bucket.

Dr. N. B. Hall, of Campbell
‘River, was flown to the scene of
the accident and removed the in-
jured man to Lourdes Hospital,
where he partially regained con-
weiousness. The next day he was
flewn to Vancouver where he died
two days later.

Three IWA members of the
eoroner’s jury, Leo Young, Jim
MacEwan, and L. Lychak, Local
1-71, secured a recommendation
‘that in future all men in the vic-
inity of such operations be re-
quired to stand clear, before tak-
ig up the strain on the tongs,

WHAT'S
INSIDE

VLC Donation
To Strikers

Striking asbestos workers
in Quebec received a $50 do
nation from Vancouver La:
bor Council last week.

The meeting was held, for
the first time, in New West-
minster, at the Legion Hall.

The 5000 workers in Asbestos,
Que., against whom the full force
of Duplessis police is being used,
are members of the Canadian
Catholic Confederation of Labor.
‘An appeal was made to all unions
to help them in their struggle.

At the same meeting, it was
announced that CCL secretary
Pat Conroy has demanded that
Harry Strange, CCL nominee to
the Labor Relations Board, be
dismissed and replaced by a
suitable CCL person.

Strange has several times been
condemned for his apparent ac-
quiescence to anti-labor acts by
the legislature, notably the recent
Labor Board refusal to re-open
for amendments the Industrial
Conciliation and Arbitration Act.

MONEY WANTED

George Home, secretary-treas-
urer of B.C. Federation of Labor
(CCL), appealed for more funds
for the political action plan of
the CCL in B.C., both for the
CCF provincial and federal cam-
paigns.

He said that four CCL locals
had already reached the $1 per
member target, and appealed to
those who could afford it, to give
a day’s pay.

NEW HALL WANTED

IWA. District President Stew-
art Alsbury welcomed the Coun-
cil delegates to Westminster, and
expressed the hope that the pol-
iey of holding meetings there
would be continued.

He reminded delegates of the
many years that IWA delegates
and others from up the Fraser
Valley, beyond Mission, had been
travelling to the meeting place
in Vancouver.

A delegate from the CBRE asked
if it were possible for the meet-
ing place in Vancouver, the Pen-
der Auditorium, to be changed.
He said that it was not a satis-
factory hall, because of the noise
of bowling sles from below,
and the dance from above.

\

IWA in respect of the

Negotiations will cover every operation in companies as listed on
pages 2 and 8 of this issue—each and every one of them a duly cer-

tified IWA bargaining operation.

This is what the IWA, on behalf of its 24,000 membership and
every other man in the industry, are determined to get:

UNION SHOP—FIFTEEN CENT AN HOUR PAY BOOST
(basic rate to be $1.23): $16 BASIC GUARANTEED DAILY

MINIMUM FOR FALLERS,

BUCKERS, SHINGLE SAW-

YERS: $12 DAILY FOR SHINGLE PACKERS: IMPROVED

SENIORITY PROVISIONS:

BETTER HOLIDAYS WITH

PAY:: BETTER WORKING HOURS: $1.50 BOARD RATES:

EMPLOYER PAID HEALTH

Present contract expires on
July 15.

‘When the policy committee met
on May 1 to iron out the contract
changes, arrangements were
made for the table officers and
Joe Miyazawa to meet and work
out the Interior agreement
changes. This has been done.

COMMITTEE MEMBERS

Tom MacKenzie is the Policy
Committee secretary. Apart from
President Als bury, the other
members are: Andy Smith,
George Mitchell, Joe Morris, Reg
Faint and Tom’ Bradley. J. S.
Squire and Roy Whittle are al-
ternate members,

Apart from the main demands
outlined above, many other
changes are made.

Reprinted below are key sec-
tions of the decisions of the Po-
licy Committee, as formed from
convention decisions, as they will
affect the wanted contract:

ARTICLE II—UNION SHOP

The Company agrees that all
present employees of the Com-
pany who at the time of the sign-
ing of this Agreement, shall be-
come and remain members of the
Union, as a condition of continued
employment, and maintain their
membership in the Union in good
standing.

‘All new employees shall at the
completion of fifteen (15) work-
ing days of employment become
members of the Union, and as a
condition of continued employ-
ment, remain members in good
standing in the Union, for the
duration of this Agreement. The
Company further agrees, that
should any member, after proper
trial, be expelled from member-
ship in the Union, the Company
will, when requested in writing,
release such employee from their
employ forthwith.

ARTICLE 5, WAGES
Section 1:

The present wages paid to all
employees, shall be increased by
fifteen cents (15c) per hour. The
basic rate shall be $1.23.

Section 2: Strike out entirely,
substitute — Fallers and buckers
shall have a guaranteed minimum
wage of $16.00 per day, shingle
sawyers $16.00 per day, packers
$12.00 per day, :

Section 3: Strike out entirely.
Substitute — The wage increase
shall be retroactive to the 15th
day of July and shall apply to all
employees on the Employer’s pay-
roll on the 15th day of July.

ARTICLE 8—ACCIDENT
PREVENTION

Section 1: The management of

AND WELFARE PROGRAM.

every operation shall maintain an
Accident Prevention Committee
consisting of not more than
twelve (12) members nor less
than four (4) members. Members
of the Accident Prevention Com-
mittee shall be, designated in
equal numbers by the Union, and
by the Employers. Union repre-
sentatives shall be regular Em-
ployees in the operation, with at
least one year’s experience in
that type of operation. over which
their inspection duties shall ex-
tend.

ARTICLE 9—SENIORITY

1. Seniority shall be based first
on department, second on plant
seniority.

2, There will be no bumping
within departments. That is, se-
niority, shall be exercised only as
vacancies occur, except in cases
of demotion or lay-off.

8. In the event of a reduction
of Staff the last person hired to
be the first released; within the
department the line of progres-
sion shall be followed in reverse
order, that is, the last promoted
shall be. the first demoted, pro-
viding department seniority of
retained person is sufficient to re-
tain that person in the depart-
ment.

4, Persons transferring from
one department to another shall
begin at the bottom: of the sen-
jority list in the new department
but shall retain all their plant
seniority.

5. Persons with highest plant
seniority shall be given prefer-
ence when vacancies occur in any
department to which they may
wish to transfer, if the vacancy
cannot be filled’ within the de-
partment.

(Continued on Page 8)

"Trade unionists opposed to the
policies of Communist Harvey
Murphy have gained majority
control of the B.C. executive
board of the Mine, Mill and Smel-
ter Workers’ Union.

For the first time in many
years, the five-man group spon-
sored for office by Harvey Mur-
phy, regional director, had been
opposed at the balloting.

Claire Billingsley, Trail, de-
feated John Moffett for district
president; Dave McGhee, Kim-

$12,000 MISSING

MRS. HILLAND
‘ON THE RUN’

Another “WIUC”
in hiding from the law.
Sheriff’s officers are hunting
for Mrs. Gladys Hilland, who is
admittedly in possession of $12,-
000 of funds belonging to the
IWA membership.

Mrs. Hilland was financial sec-
retary of IWA Local 1-217, until
the “October Revolution” when
she fled with the Pritchett-Dal-
skog group to the breakaway or-
ganization.

She failed’ to appear in B.C.
Supreme Court in Vancouver
to hand over the $12,000 to the
custody of the Court Receiver
—as Ernie Dalskog was forced
to hand over $130,000 IWA
strike fund money after a short
stay in Oakalla Jail.

PAY UP—OR JAIL

When she is found, she will
have to hand over the money or
go to jail.

The “WIUG” lawyer told Mr.
Justice Manson that he had not
seen Mrs, Hilland since March
29, when she said the money, not
ina safety deposit box, was “in
safe hands.”

A. T. R. Campbell, the IWA
counsel, said that at the time
of the split she made out a
$7000 cheque payable to her-
self, and two cheques totalling
$4500 were paid to the Mine,
Mill and Smelter: Workers’
Union.

Mrs. Hilland had told Camp-
bell that the $4500 had since been
paid back to her. She was called
a “pawn in the game” by solici-
tor Campbell.

STIFF PENALTY

“This is a flagrant, brazen de-
fiance of the courts,” said the
judge, when he granted the writ
of attachment (power to send a
person to jail) to the IWA.

“1 will do all in my power to
stamp out this rebellious defiance
of the courts,” the judge added.
“Maximum penalties should be
imposed in every case.”

IWA District officials explained
later that the writs of attach-
ment on Mrs. Hilland was part
of the determined battle to en-
sure the recovery of all the funds
and assets of the B.C. District.

official is

MURPHY CANDIDATES LOSE OUT
IN MINE, MILL ELECTIONS

present office holder, for district
secretary-treasurer, and Jim
Byrne, Kimberley, defeated
Communist Belanger for Board
Member.

Only two Murphy supporters
still on the board are Communist
George Anderson, Copper Moun-
tain, and Glen Osborne, Bralorne.

A group in the Trail local,
which voted overwhelmingly to
defeat the Murphy men, have.
titioned that there were irregu-
larities in the balloting there.

berley, ‘beat Ken A, Smith,

‘GREEN GOLD” - - COR, Woriday, T p.m.

“AS COAST WAGE FIGHT OPENS