B.C. LUMBER WORKER > > d » > > > > > » » d 1 > d AAAALAAA PAGE BOARD ‘PROMISES ACTION Safety regulations will be re- vised by the Workmen’s Compen- sation Board sometime this year. . At that time resolutions sent in by the District Safety Council No. 1, IWA, will be fully consid- ered, and the Council will have the opportunity of discussing all Sees changes. is assurance was given b; Mr. A. Francis, Chief een of the Workmen’s Compensation , in a letter to Bill Gray, secretary of the Council which further states: “We appreciate the action of the No. 1 Safety Council and are greatly encour- age nee aes eo and enthusi- in safety dis; members ty displayed by your solutions on the followin; matters were submitted to the Board by the Council. nstallations of new machinery. That the W.C.B. request from proper authorities, the right to install such equipment, 4, (Submitted by the Distri Safety Council). exe Separate fireproof compart- ment on all crummies, to avoid accidents from gas contained in damaged cans, used for power saws. (Submitted by Local 1-1 A, Port Alberni) °™ 8% TW Portable blower or vacuu pump on electric welding nae ay to patanize fumes when are worki i po ‘orking in confined (Submitted by Jack Pe we) ack Nelson, Installation of mechanical Irasnetie brakes on al fast move es (lumber play ete.), and that W.C.B, hue ‘auch “eee compulsory where feas- (Submitted _ b; come y Island Labor That phones be ci near all” jobs difficult lees “Bg a ae aoe hones Possible, that “Walky- Talky” one be compulsory, Bi men taught how to use them. (Submitted by 4 inate FOREST FIRES COST MILLIONS Forest fire losses in 1948 reached the second in the 20 years for wit es First Aid Can Cut Down This > - DEAD and MAIMED _ Here is 1949’s tragic record of men killed and injured in B.C.s woods and sawmills. Dead—21 Injured—3299 “ a ae MODERN FIRST-AID METHODS—(ilustrated above through courtesy of “The Vancouver Sun”) applied by non-medical men with proper training and equipment would reduce the toll of deaths in B.C. logging operations. This claim is made by Dr. W. N. Kemp, Medical Advisor to the Industrial First Aid Attendants’ Association, who points to the fact that the death rate from accidents in the lumber industry is one for every four working days. Dr. Kemp contends that 50% of the fatalities could be prevented by qualified first- aid men if trained and permitted to use oxygen inhalers and to administer blood plasma for shock when accidents occur. in isolated@s places. Accident prevention rather than payment of compensation should be given priority by the Workmen's Compensation Board) stated the medical advisor, who formerly served on the Board’s medical staff. : "IN FIVE-MONTHS U.9.C. Queries 2 Q.—If a workman is laid off at a point distant from the nearest unemployment insurance office, and his filing for benefit is there- by delayed by the length of time it would take him to travel from the point of termination to the nearest office, do¢s he secure pro- tection -under ‘the Act for the travelling time involved? A—The Act provides that a claimant under such conditions when filing his claim for benefit may request an antedating for the travel time involyed, and if acceptable, the application for benefit would be antedated to take care of the period covered by such travelling time. 9 Q—Why is it that with appli- cants filing a claim for benefit, they are not all called back for a reporting day on the same day in the following week? A—The reporting day for a claimant is based upon the last digit in his insurance number. Claimants whose insurance num- ber ends in O or i report on the Monday, 2 and 3 on the Tuesday, and so on. This helps to equalize the daily load at the pay coun- ters, and thereby eliminates peaks and valleys in the load at the counter. ? Q.—If a claimant cannot show 180 contributions in the two years preceding filing for benefit, due to being on full-time Joss com- pensation from the Workmen's Compensation Board, for all or part of the two-year period re- ferred to, can anything be done to overcome this situation? A—The Act provides that if a rson cannot show 180 contribu- in the two years immediate- ly preceding the date of applica- tion due to illness or injury, be- ing employed in non-insurable it, or having been in own aceount dur- At B.C. Forest Products Mill of B.C. Forest Products Ltd, quick action and knowing how. Bert McKay, a P.LI.B. inspec- tor fell while walking from a barge to the dock. He landed, falling across a fender log, the fall rendering him unconscious, with his head in the water. Bro. Pete Scherr, hearing a splash im- mediately investigated. With the assistance of Bros. Olson, Crouch and First Aid Man Bro, Jarvie, who were summoned, the partially drowned man was removed from his precarious position onto a stretcher and arti- ficial respiration was immediately applied. Before very long the water was pushed out and signs of breathing reappeared. By this time the fire department inhalator squad ar- rived and aided in resusciation. Bro. McKay is improving daily in a city hospital. Bro. Alex Jarvie, veteran first- aid man says the saving of this life is due primarily to Bro. Scherr and his helpers’ cool, Training, Quick-Action Saves PLIB Man’s Life The value of Safety training was shown on June 7 at the Victoria , When a man’s life was saved by trained actions, which he says is a condition brought about by Job Safety Training. Favorable results in safety work are usually the reward of a determined and sincere effort on the part of a camp or mill safety committee. Here are other proofs of where an active safety com- mittee has used job safety train- ing and an accident prevention program which has paid off. In 1947 there were 47 lost-time accidents and 59 no losttime ac- cidents. In 1948 there were 21 lost time accidents and 23 no lost-time ac- cidents. In the first five months of 1949 there have been 6 lost-time acci- dents and 6 no lost-time acci- dents. The improved conditions can be noted from 1948 on since the en- ergetic safety program has been in effect. « Some “True Confessions” about ra “confession”. CCL Is Right Number Here LATEST addition to the grow- ing strength of the CIO in the United States is the affiliation of the big independent Communi- cations Workers organization. This union represents 40% of the employees of the Bell Telephone Go. in the United States. The rumour is abroad that the 11- 000enployees of Bell in Canada will make a similar move toward the Canadian Congress of Labor. Last week, the Canadian Telephone Em- ployee’s Union was certified as bar- gaining agent for the Canadian sec- tion. The move i under way in the United States to bring all phone workers together in one union. This will add 65,000 to the pres- ent membership of 230,000, and make it the third or fourth larg- est union in the United States. A LITTLE CARELESSNESS COST CLIFF $150 accidents and some of the reasons for them, might help others to avoid the same mistakes. _ Cliff Edmonds, interviewed in the United Worker makes just such Says Cliff: “I reported for work on January 9, 1949, to assist in some repair work that was to be done on the machines as they were down for the day. ‘At about 2 o’clock in the afternoon I-was using the electric hoist to lower the shaft ... I was guiding the shaft with my left hand-and con- trolling the hoist with my right. “I glanced up at the hoist and the Jowering shaft caught the fingers of the left hand. Before I could stop the hoist, my, ring finger and my little finger had become pinched between the winder coupling and the housing. “By the time I was able to re- verse the hoist and lift the shaft both fingers had been badly cut. I grabbed a piece of cloth, cov- ered the hand and ran for the First Aid Station, Both fingers had been cut very deep and the bones in each bruised or seraped. This healing process was quite slow, and it was exactly five weeks before I was able to return to work. “Besides the inconvenience and discomfort,'I suffered a financial loss of approximately $150. It TO SHOP STEWARDS HANDLING GRIEVANCES By J. Stewart Alsbury, District President, LWA. A union does not become strong and active through good-luck * charms or four-leaf clovers. Trial and error, with a lot of hard work is the secret. The shop stew- ‘ard is the corner- stone of the » union, He makes it possible for the a2 union to serve the welfare of his fellow - workers {7 {2 fore, be an indiv- idual who accepts J. S. Alsbury yesponsibility wil- lingly. He must - be loyal to the union, sincere and tactful. No one should be frightened by these responsibilities. A shop steward with the right attitude toward his work, can accomplish much through encouraging team- work among his fellow-workers. He must at all times act so as to earn their confidence and good- will. The shop steward is the man who makes or breaks the union. If he is careless or unconcerned about his duties, the members feel that the union has failed them and quickly drift away. One important function of the union is to deal with grievances which arise on the job. ‘The [WA agreement has a clearly defined grievance procedure. The shop steward is the agent for the men on the job to secure adjustment of the grievance. He should be available and ready to listen, with patience. He must know the agreement and be able to inter-» pret its clauses as they apply to the operation. a If the grievance is not justified use tact. The man who has 2 grievance on his mind is not al- ways able to see the whole pic- ture, If there is good reason for the beef, see that the situation is cor- rected by following the IWA, grievance pro¢edure, step by step. ‘When in possession of all the facts, and you have decided on a course of action, explain the situ- ation to the union members. Never rush into your course with- out taking time to plan your method of approach. Keep your members fully in- formed of the results. (This is a second in a series of articles by the District President with timely hints for IWA shop pays to be careful.” stewards.)