‘ \ Interim: Contract Signed; Strike Vote Postponed BOARD CUT TO $2.25; WAGE, HOURS, LINE HELD; |#2€" Ly mRERI Officist Publication of the International Woodworkers of America nb. disci Councit No.1. CONTRACT STRENGTHENED. On the eve of a strike vote demanded by determined] Vol. XIX, No. 5Q <= Sept. 8,1949 woodworkers, Jumber operators in the Coast industry de- ; PB cided to “think again”, and offered new terms to the Dis- trict Policy Committee of the IWA. To All IVA Members After careful consideration, and with the strike vote RECOMMENDATION Se per copy EVASIVE BOSS PINNED DOWN Vancouver, B.C. only postponed, the Committee is recommending accept- ance of a 1949-50 master contract which gives these con- crete gains as set forth in an interim agreement, pending acceptance or rejection by the IWA mentbership. 1. Operators under extreme pressure have scrapped their deter- mined bid to slash wages to 1947 levels. 2. Operators agreed to abandon the hours of work clause recom- » mended by the majority of the Conciliation Board, which threat- ened to wipe out the 40-hour week. . 3, Maximum board rates in all logging camp boarding houses will be reduced to $2.25 a day, maximum, effective September 15, and in camps where the rate is Jower it cannot be raised. This zives 7000 loggers the equivalent of a pay boost of over four cents an hour, 4. Major step toward union security with a new clause in the con- tract strengthening the bargaining rights of the IWA. Under the : 0 regarded as a new contract, thus preventing raiding on certified operations until a period of ten ICA Act, the contract will be months has passed. 5. ‘The annual termination date to be advanced to June 15, thus giy- ing the Union a tactical advantage in bargaining, and. lessening danger from stalling tactics of has passed, 6. All demands of the IWA agreed to during negotiations to be included in the new contract with special reference to provisions for leave of absence, accident iority rights. The “about face” on the part of the operators followed quickly on the reports of IWA mass membership meetings at which the majority report of the Con- ciliation Board was unanimously rejected, and the demand for a strike ballot authorized, While endeavoring to secure satisfactory conditions for a su- perized strike vote within a reas- onable time, it was intimated to the District officials that media- tion on better terms was possible because of overtures made by the operators, The Labor Relations Board had agreed to proceed with the exten- Sive arrangements necessary to supervise the balloting on opera- tions scattered along the Coast and on Vancouver Island, and the Lower Mainland, The formid- able difficulties were freely ad- mitted, with the prospect that a prolonged and bitter strike might ensue. Tt is understood that con- siderable pressure was brought to bear on the operators to adopt a less ruthl attitude. Consider- able activity was evident behind the scenes in top business circles. When the assurance was given that the operators were prepared to offer conerete and more satis- factory terms, the members of a: Policy Committee were sum- noned to Vancouver. They re- viewed the situation, and agreed to meet the operators under the auspices of the Labor Relations Board, to reeeive any proposals without prejudice to the instruc- tions of the Union. The opportunity was seized to press the demands of the IWA. again to the utmost limit. After a frank exchange of views, the proposed formula of settlement was worked out and incorporated in an interim agreement for sub- mission to, the membership of Safety Appreciation... 8 the operators, until strike danger prevention committees, and sen- the IWA, and the operators, as the best possible basis of settle- ment, District President’s Statement In a statement released over the “Green Gold” radio program on September 8, J. Stewart Als- bury, District President, said in part: “Following a frank exchange of views with the operators’ representatives today, and after pressing every demand to the limit, the members of the Committee are convinced that little more can possibly be gained by strike action. Indeed the gains now secured might be lost, “The Committee has been in close consultation with the rank and file members throughout all stages of negotiations, and has (Continued on Page 3) es INTERIOR TALKS CONTINUE ~-IWA negotiations for the lum- ber workers in the Northern and Southern Interior districts of B.C, will take a decisive turn at conferences arranged for Prince George on September 17 and Ke- lowna, September 21. At both points IWA officials will meet representative operators face to face instead of negotiating through an intermediary Previous bargaining talks with J. H. Ruddock representing the operators resulted in a stalemate when IWA demands equivalent to those at the Coast were re- jected by the operators’ repre- sentative, Northern Interior op- erators demanded a 20%4-cent an hour cut, and Southern operators insisted on the 1947-48 wage levels. Upshot of the differences was that special conferences with each group was arranged for more direct bargaining, District Secretary - treasurer George Mitchell, and Vice-presi- dent Tom Bradley will attend the conference at Prince George. Similar arrangements have been made for at least one district official to attend the conference immediately following at Ke- lowna. At both points local resen~ be associat tatives wil with | the policy Committee members: in negotiations. [ AT a conference arranged by the Labor Rela- tions Board, the Coast lumber operators, through Forest Industrial Relations Ltd., pro- posed a basis of settlement for the present dis- pute. More satisfactory terms for the 1949-50 master agreement were offered than were con- tained in the majority report of the Conciliation Board. As established rights and conditions were guaranteed, and substantial concessions made on a number of points, your Committee entered into an interim agreement to recommend these terms as a basis of settlement. Pending ratification by vote of the member- ship, the Committee stipulated that the request for a strike vote be held in abeyance. Subject to approval of the membership, your Committee is prepared to sign a new master agreement, on the following terms. That the operators agree to maintain the wage scale now in force during the life of the agreement, and include the base rate of $1.08 in the contract. That the operators agree to enforce the hours of-work as set-forth in the 1948 agree- ment, without infringement as proposed by the Conciliation Board. That rates for board and lodging in logging camp boarding houses be fixed by the agree- ment with a maximum of $2.25 a day, effective September 15, and that where lower rates are now in effect, no increase be made. That a clause strengthening the bargaining rights of the Union be written into the new contract. That the termination date be set at June 15, 1950. That the Union demands agreed upon dur- ing negotiations be included in the agreement. Your Committee unanimously recommends this revised contract as offering the maximum ad- vantages to be obtained through bargaining un- der present conditions. (Continued on Page.3) GENUINE ‘DRY-BAK’ ASK FOR IT BY NAME AT YOUR COMMISSARY OR LEADING STORES The treatment by which canvas is water- proofed to produce ‘‘DRY-BAK”’ is a development and exclusive Process of Jones Tent & Awning Ltd., and is entirely Processed in our own plant. You should, therefore, look for the name “DRY-BAK”’ on every garment as your guarantee of obtaining the finest waterproof canvas clothing obtainable. Ask for it with or without interlining. BY STRIKE Swift and fully-organized strike action by IWA employees (Sub-Local 1-357) closed down the operations of Western Crown Manufacturing. Co... Ltd... New Westminster, on August 29. Issue was the company’s rejec- tion of the majority award of a Conciliation Board recommending an eight-cent-an-hour increase. A plant “stop-work” meeting on that date heard the results of the supervised vote, giving a 65 per cent strike authorization. Continued evasiye tactics by the employer provoked an immediate and 100 per cent evacuation of the plant and the establishment of an effective picket line. Sub-standard Wages During the hearings of the Conciliation Board it was dis- closed that the base rate paid since the signing of the first agreement in June, 1948, was 21 cents an hour below the prevail- ing rate under the IWA master agreement in other woodworking plants. ‘The demand presented by the Union was for an increase of 25 cents an hour. Management of Western Crown claimed that the company’s finan- cial position was desperate, and that a wage increase would com- pel cessation of operations. Offic « cials of Local 1-357, presenting the case on behalf of the em- ployees, asked for a full disclos= ure of the company’s financial statement. In this request they: were supported by the members of the Board. Eight-cent Increase The company’s legal represen- tative rejected the Union’s pro- posal of frank consultation, ‘The majority of the Board, with’the (Continued on Page 3)