? LUMBER WORKER Page Five Strike Bother ® JPAR Bill: For this you'll buy a crock next trip to town. sty whytality is all used up try-| ing to find the right answers to your questions. This batting out the news for you loafers in camp | is a terrible strain on my pos-| terior. Couldn't you ask some- thing easy, like about my love- life. Now, abont dames, I could tell_you. ‘ What do you mean—is there going to be a strike? You know my name and it isn’t Solomon. There's only one place you can get the answer and it’s out on the job, where I ain’t right now. | You can figure out what's in the minds of the stiffs as well as I can. So it’s right back in your elap, old son. Place your own bets. The IWA has gone all democra- tic since Harold Pritchett ran the show. Seriously, I think we've got a fair ‘deal now without going to the mat with the boss. I've been poking around to get the dope, and it looks as though they'll call it a draw for a year anyway. The IWA has been swapping hefty punches with R. V. Stuart, but nobody's set. for a kayo. There's no sense in taking pun- ishment for nothing. And when we add everything up, we've got a fair contract in our mitt right now. Use Your Brains WERE on a spot where we've got to use what we got for brains, even if it hurts. So, I'll lay it on the line for you. We wanted more grocery money so we backed the play of the IWA Policy Committee, They haven't missed a trick. Name one, if you can think of it. but use dynamite. As a bargain- ing battle it’s been good, They’ve RETAIL LUMBER PAINTS — WALLBOARDS — ROOFINGS STEWART & HUDSON LTD. Branches at: Victoria, Duncan, Ladysmith, Nanaimo, Port Alberni ‘| MacGREGOR'S MEN’S WEAR For Everything a Man Wears WORK, SPORT or DRESS We can afford to Sell the BEST for LESS The point to decide is whether we can get any more by fighting \@ strike that'll be the toughest we've ever known. EF settle and stay at work. At the same time, what we stopped. stopped a cut in wages. The bosses had the axe right over the old pay cheque, and it was no bluff. They're really scared about orders for logs in the next few months, They’re doing more sub- traction than addition these days. Under the deal just worked out, we can hold wages where they are for a year. week stick and that’s something. The bosses had it worked out that they could make us sweat 148 hours a week and no over- The demands were sound. time. Wouldn’t that be the day. Their bargaining was smart, The IWA managed to ditch that They did everything to the boss proposition. PORT ALBERNI BUSINESS GUIDE Loshin'’ Areund By “High Rigger” STRAW VOTE BY “HI” OKAYS DEAL OF POLICY COMMITTEE carried ‘the fight to the point, where there is only one more play to make—a ‘strike—and called for a strike vote. The bosses got the surprise of their lives when the rank and file went 100% for a show-down at their mass meetings. The La- bor Relations Board got the jit- ters over how to run a strike vote, and they weren’t the only ones. When the pressure was on, Stuart, as front man for the bosses softened up a bit, and started hinting around that he would raise his ante. The Policy Committee boys went to work on him pronto. I heard that they really mixed it with him at the last bull session, but anyway they came out of it with a deal they could put up to the gang. Now we can take it or leave it. In the Bag RST, we ask ourselves what we've got up to now, if we we should reckon Take it from me, the IWA The Union made the 40-hour We can knock two-bits a day off the board rates, and that’s BUILDERS’ SUPPLIES MacDONALD’S PHARMACY Prescriptions, Drug Sundries First Aid Supplies Registered Optometrist Argyle St. Port Alberni Sales — 1,E.L. — Service Pioneer Power Chain Saws WARD POWER SAW & EQUIPMENT KAMLOOPS, B.C. AMLOOPS BUSINESS GUIDE GIBSON SAW SERVICES 742 Lorne Street KAMLOOPS, B.C. Phone: 332 JORMACS CLEANERS We Specialize in Out of Town Business 240 Lansdowne Phone: 53 Kamloops, B.C. LOGGING BOOTS or MILL made by DAYTON — HEAD PARIS — LECKIE KENNELLS SHOES LTD. 233 Victoria KAMLOOPS, B.C. “ — ROY CUMMINGS Ready-to-Wear 318 Victoria KAMLOOPS, B.C. JARDINE’S HARDWARE Tools and Heavy Hardware 263 Victoria KAMLOOPS, B.C. better than a kick in the pants, It will be in the contract this time, so no boost. That’s a point that Pritchett and Dalskog for- got last ‘year. It’s as good as another four cents an hour or better for the Joes in camp. That should get a cheer from you fel- lows. They've worked out a new wrinkle for the contract that will stop any monkey-business about recognition for the Union on the job. It will pay even more to be- long to the IWA from now on, and that will give us more strength. Another point is that the date of the contract will be changed so that we can start bargaining earlier next year, at a time when we can really talk back if the operators get too sassy. There are a lot of improve- ments I could mention but I’ve given you the main points. If we settle now, we've got a much better contract than last year. T'll bet it’s about as good as you thought we might get. What Now? CAN we strike the industry? Sure we can. Then what? It’s one thing to start a strike and quite another thing to wind it up with some gains, A strike at best is always a big gamble. It can be win, lose or draw. We know now that we can get a better contract than before without a strike. No one is smart enough to know what we'd get after weeks on the picket line. No one wants a strike for the sake of striking. It isn’t fun. It’s always grim. Talk's cheap, The chips are down now. We've got to figure out what we stand a chance of getting the hard way. My Straw Vote J took a straw vote among the loggers I know who are in town. Most of them told me they would settle for this new con- tract. They're not getting soft, but they were counting the fold- ing money in their jeans. Too many of the boys have had a bad year and would go short on a long strike, with winter shut- downs not far off. Just so long as they don’t have to crawl to the boss they’d sooner play it safe and pick a better time for a show-down. They figure the odds are against winning more than they would lose on strike pay. Believe me, they’d need strike pay and plenty of it. The IWA is nicely getting on its feet after the “Wooies” tried to wreck it, but there’s still too many outside the Union. A winning strike has got to be 100% and who knows how the fence-sitters feel. For my money, a bird outside the Union now, would be a total loss when the heat it really on. My Choice NYWAY, it’s up to us now. We're free to make a choice. The Policy Committee will settle for what we've got if we say so. Every IWA member can yote as he pleases, and vote his own ticket. If we say, no dice, they'll call a strike vote,; and that will set- tle any doubts about what the men feel. I’m voting to settle, and I don’t care who knows it. We can go along with this new proposition and still be ahead of the game. We can get in there punching harder next year. I’ve been trying to picture next November, if we pull the pin. It will take till next November any- way to win or lose a strike. Would we get more wages then? I doubt it like hell. If the indus- try goes on the fritz, who'll pay them? If we rock the boat too hard, we may get dumped out on the bread line. We needn’t fool ourselves, The bosses got enough worry to make them ugly. If we strongarm them for a few cents on the hour, and that’s the best we can hope for, would that pay off, after weeks of strike rations?’ And if we don’t strike with the hope of bet- ter wages, what in blazes would we be striking for! We're on our way to getting almast everything else. We got the decision for this round, and we're in good shape to fight the next round coming up. And that suits me. Adios. “Bone Dry” Work Clothing “Bone Dry” Jackets - Keep Dry! Double shoulder, back, front and sleeve with oil silk lining. Dome Fastening. “Bone Dry” Pants - - Double leg and seat with oil silk lining for extra comfort. Two slash pockets, two back flap pockets. “Bone Dry” Hats. - Md MAIL ORDERS will receive prompt at- tention. Address Forst’s Ltd., Mail Order 2500 E. Hast- ings. Please state size when ordering. *7:95 695