Page Four * ee Cc B.C. LUMBER won. IWA VICTORY! [WA members, conversant with the facts, will readily agree that the Union has won a victory in the present dispute with the lumber operators on the Coast. Victory in this instance must be measured, not only by gains made, but also by the dangers removed. The bare-faced and ruthless attempt of the operators to slash wages and undermine established working condi- tions was effectively blocked by ‘the fighting solidarity of the IWA membership. : Mass rallies of lumber workers on the Coast made it unmistakably clear that even a one cent cut in wages would close down the industry. Lumber workers were equally determined to fight any infringment upon the forty-hour week as now established. Loggers were no longer willing to longer tolerate the risk of further increases in the board rates in camps, which in effect would be wage cuts. All the tactics of the operators were designed to force the IWA into retreat, and finally smash the Union. Had the IWA taken one step backward, it would soon have been on the run, and the operators would gain a clear field to dictate their own terms. This danger was fully realized following the majority report of the Conciliation Board. While the IWA had taken the offensive throughout negotiations, the defence _ of these elementary rights could not be ignored. Their successful defence is now a matter for gratification. Tactical Advantages yN VIEW of this holding action necessary, the gains made are doubly gratifying. The omission of a clause gov- erning board rates for loggers in last year’s contract will be corrected. The reduced rate will extend the equivalent of a four-cent-an-hour wage increase to loggers in camps. Important tactical advantages have been achieved for the Union, from which lumber workers will benefit in the months ahead. June 15 as a termination date for the contract gives the Union more elbow room to bargain and win during that period of the year when its bargaining strength is at highest pitch. It eliminates some of the dangers which arise when the Union is forced into a finish fight just be- fore winter shut-downs. More adequate protection of bargaining rights paves the way to union security in the future. Make It A Reality! ‘THE District Policy Committee acted with wisdom in recommending the concrete advantages in the proposed new contract as revised, in preference to the uncertain results of strike action. _ Considerations which weighted with the Committees are very clear. In balance, the advantages for IWA mem- bers tip the scales in favor of a settlement on the im- proved terms. = Wage rates will be stabilized and protected against any downward revision inspired by market fluctuations, until the economic skies clear. Gains made can be consolidated through an improved contract without subjecting the lumber workers to the economic stress of a strike in addition to the year’s inter- rupted employment. ~ Without sacrifice and with some gains, a breathing spell has been obtained which offers every opportunity to gather greater strength for the next bout of bargaining. A noteworthy accomplishment has been the mainten- ance of an industry-wide master agreement for workers in every section of the industry. A firm and uniform base rate is of the greatest importance at the present juncture, especially for those dependent on cedar, plywood and fur- niture production. It remains only for the [WA membership to make this victory a reality by giving the interim agreement an af- firmitive vote. When Looking for a Suit SEE OUR New Fall Shades and Pattern - PRICED FROM ‘ $65.00 _UNITED TAILORS UNION SHOP 549 Granville Street VANCOUVER, B.C. . IT CAN HAPPEN HERE! fo THROW THOSE SCALES, Awar/ Who Is Right? The Editor, The members of the progres- sive shop committee at Fraser Mills sub-local have come to grips with a poser that has left them literally “hanging on the ropes”. The question is this. A foreman returning to’the bargaining group, what seniority would he maintain? On the surface it seems a simple matter, but when various conditions are applied then the complications pyramid. One group of theorists had the foreman returning in the line of progression to the job he had vacated to become foreman, with accumulated seniority accrued while in the supervisory group, plus that from his former job. However, when the question was asked, “Suppose he had not work- | ed in any other job in the plant, | but had come in as a foreman?”, | the silence was deafening. Still. another group insisted | that hé return to his former job (if he had one) but without the’ accumulated seniority as a fore-| man. Everyone smiled at this suggestion, but the smile became a frown when some nit-wit cited a ease, A planer feeder works 2 years feeding planer, then is made foreman. After five years, through possible shut-down of a shift, he is returned to the Bar- gaining group. The replacement on the planer has five years’ sen- iority on the feeding job to the xeturning foreman’s 2 years! At this stage the Shop Com- mittee took down the old fowling piece (shot-gun) and threatened to “do in” the next man who gummed up the works. That fi- nally stopped ’em. We are asking woodworkers throughout the district if they can find an answer that could be applied to this problem and has no kick-back, Send your letters to the Editor, B.C. Lumber Worker, or to the Press Manager } of the Buzz Saw, 533 Clarkson St., New Westminster. Henry, Switzer. “Political Bias‘” The Editor, We at Eburne are stunned by the terrible majority award of the 1949 IWA Conciliation Board. The 6-day week and a boost in the board rates, which the award in effect threatens, plus the ab- sence of any union security (which costs nothing!) has come as a shock to all of us. The decision of Messrs. Mc- Leod and Macrae will, I’m sure,! place the whole Governmental machinery of Conciliation into disrepute. In all probability fu- ture IWA policy committees will 'steer clear of conciliation boards. %. Your Space Boys! Readers Lhiuel The appointment to the Board of a 75-year-old lawyer whose complete background and educa- tion for over three-quarters of a century absolutely blinds him to any fair analysis of the workers’ demands, is in my opinion, noth- ing but bias on the part of the politically appointed Labor Re- lations Board. Tony Gargrave, Eburne Mills, Local 1-217, License Beef The Editor, ¥ Most of our members have mo- tor drivers’ licenses, and many of us use our cars to go to and from work. These licenses were given through another test, and pay another dollar each, and incident- ally lose a day’s work, to appear. Sufficient cannot be said against the stupidity of this test and it will not stop drunken and dangerous drivers ‘causing acci- dents, The only benefit will be upwards of $25,000 extorted from the Public by the Government. It would be intereseting to know who are the “experts” who will make these tests, ° I think that the grievance com- mittee should tell the Govern- ment plainly that we will not take this test unless they pay us for time lost, and make no charge for the test. If all members took this stand the Government would take no- after passing a test and the ones we hold are valid until Feb. 28, 1950. Now we are told we have to go LET THE CHIPS FALL by Woodly Weadpecher — "THE present line of the LPP mouthpieces in the WIUC is as phony as a pink $3 bill. And it will buy no more for lumber workers. / 5 The words are the words of good honest trade union currency. But underneath are all the well-known zig-zags of Kremlin-style engraving. It’s not even a good counter- feit. The color fades in the daylight. It’s only intended to flim-flam those in the dark. «United action on the job,” is the new slogan, whil tice and stop trying to get another dollar from the motorist. A Driver. they try to hammer every wedge they can into the fight 4 ing solidarity of the IWA. The ery of unity is always @ convenient cloak for traitors who work unceasingly for disunity. Out of the mouths of self-confessed union-splitters the slogan is ludicrous. When accompanied by repeated and vicious attacks on a strong, united trade union, it is a too, too obvious sham. The only unity permissible in LPP circles is the unity of robots, mouthing their masters’ words. The undercover purpose of the new unity slogan is to destroy all organization not under LPP control for LPP purposes—but they still call it unity. ‘THE fakirs have now out-faked themselves. Their pre- tence becomes merely a joke — but a joke that the bosses readily appreciate. Parading as trade unionists they have attacked in their pamphleteering the union security demand of the IWA. Yesterday, when in command, union security was right for ne organized lumber workers, «Today, smarting under their lost ambitions, they agree with the bosses that union security is undemoanantl and wrong. A democratic trade union of lumber workers sim! cannot be trusted with a union security agreement. the only reliable brand of unity on the job is the LPP brand. _ Someone ought to tell the WIUC nationalists that lum- be workers are of age, and can add two and two and get ‘our. :