jPese Tee

B.C. LUMBER WORKER

BEAR CREEK CAMP

- COOKHOUSE ANGERED BY THREAT
TO CUT STAEF, AND EXTEND HOURS

The Editor:

This is a factual report of a
meeting held at Bear Creek
Camp, B. C. Forest Products Lim-
ited, between the management
‘and the kitchen staff, employed
at that camp, at 1:00 p.m. Fri-
day, September 30, ultimo.

Several days prior to this date,
we had been informed that the
practice of paying overtime for
late meals was to be discontinued.
"This camp is a countryfied “White
Lunch”. Three times a week the
bus comes in from Duncan and
while there may be only two or
men men for this camp, there
may be up to twenty men for
that late meal, as all the men
for the San Juan and Harris
Creek camps eat here on their
way in. In the past they paid
all the men who worked this meal
two hours, irrespective of the
time worked.

Friday morning we were in-
formed that there would be a
company representative there to
discuss it with us at 1:00 p.m.
Of course, we all thought that
it would be the expert placed in
charge of the kitchens by this
company, but it proved to be a
person holding a much more ex-
alted position in the company,
and who evidently regrets the
fact that the working conditions
here are superior to what he has
been accustomed to in Ontario.

Bosses’ Swan Song

He informed us that he had
contacted the Union office at
Duncan and apparently thought
that he had the green light to
proceed against a body of men
‘who were not fully protected by
the Union agreement. He also
stated that he did not wish to
discriminate against any men em-
ployed in the industry.

. _ Then he gave us the operators’
“Swan Song” with , variations:
The high cost of food, the terrible
heating that they were taking,
especially since they had cut the
board twenty-five cents per day,
then he came to what appeared
to him three obvious remedies for
this deplorable state of affairs.

FIRST: That the kitchen was
overstaffed and that they in-
tended to cut it down to one man
for every fifteen eating there.

SECOND: That there should
be no more overtime paid after
October Ist.

THIRD: That all differentials
in the kitchen would be cut out.
There would be no more flunkies,
kitchen mechanics, dishwashers
or lunchmen. That commencing
on October ist their employment
office would sign up these men
as kitchen help and it would be
left to the discretion of the cook
as to what their duties were and

how.
“Sign Here”

Then he produced a paper for
our inspection, a paper which he
informed us, every kitchen man
would have to sign if he wished
to be employed by this eminent
body of philanthropists, the B.C.
Forest Products Limited. This
paper stated the work he was ex-
pected to do, and the separate
clauses ran from A to N inclusive

to’ E, and one subsequent
clause was in the normal line of
duty for a flunkey, but three in-
cluding kitchen mechanics, lunch-
men and dishwashers, would not
only permit them to shift these
men around from pillar to post,
but also to work them long hours
for very short . Signifying
that paper would place them in
the same position as the Biblical
gentleman who sold his birth-
right for a mess of pottage.

Flunkies who shipped out on
Sunday for this company stated
that they had signed such a
paper. Of course, as was stated
‘at the camp “only as a matter of
form”. If that is the truth, why
waste all this time and stationery
upon a regulation that they do
not intend to enforce?

It was atl ot at that

meeting tw! ie company

representatives had stated tha
2

&

they did not wish to discriminate
against any body of men, they
were making a sacrificial goat
out of us in their drive to cut
down expenses. The’c ompany
rebuttal was that we were not
in the agreement for overtime
pay and the reply that we were
speaking of discrimination, and
not the union agreement.

Pre-Historic

Clauses M and N specified the
unloading and storing away of
Kitchen supplies. This is some-
thing that with a few very rare
exceptions, has been recognized
as a bull cook's work for over
thirty years in the logging indus-

A man wearing white clothes
in the kitchen would have to rush
out and longshore freight coated
with mud and dirt. Even’ the
gentleman who wished to restore
prehistoric conditions in the
camps admitted that this point
‘was well taken while the kitchen
spokesman ¢onceded that fifteen
men to each man employed in the
kitchen would entail no great
hardship, owing to equipment,
working conditions and the
amount of food handled in Bear
Greek Camp.

In 1938 the same quota gave
each flunky fifty-two men to wait
on and believe me, that was no
job for a cripple.

It was also pointed out to the
company representatives that they
were also abolishing the differen-
tial in treatment between the
man who had remained with the
company and rendered clean and
effiicient service, and the casual,
who only remains as long as he
can get away with dirty slipshod
work.

Don’t Laugh”

Some of my brothers out in the
tall timbers may laugh and say:
“That's a good one on the flunk-
ies, but it won't effect us.”
Don’t be too sure of that, my
supient friend. Perhaps you may
wake up some day and find your-
self shipping out under the old
Ontario classification of bushmen.
How would you like that at a
chokerman’s ‘wages? IMPOSSI-
BLE! Only in the case of High
Riggers, Engineers, and Railway
Crews. Just the same dispensa-
tion that is granted to cooks and
bakers, will be granted them.
We are informed that this reg-
ulation is subscribed to by B.C.
Forest Products, H. R. MacMillan
camps and Bloedel, Stewart and

Welch,
Card 859.

SQUIRE GOES
TO CLEVELAND

S. J. Squire,
Local 1-85, Port
Albetni, was one
of the seven elec-
ted to attend the
national CIO con-
vention in Cleve-
land, Ohio, at the
end of October.

SAN FRANCISCO °*
— TAILORS —

LOANS MONEY ON

Suits, Overcoats, etc.
Loggers Boots, Sleeping
Bags, Suitcases, Radios,

Watches and Rings.

Expert Watch Repairing

Suits and Caulk Boots
For Sale.

MAIL ORDER

52 West Hastings Street
VANCOUVER, B.C.

Local 1-217

$900 GAINED
BY LAWSUIT

The extension of time secured
for negotiations on behalf of fur-
niture plants as conducted by a
conciliation officer, resulted in the
employees of Skyline Manufac-
turing Co. demanding a Concilia-
tion Board,

The workers in this plant de-
sire to be classified as plywood
workers rather than’ furniture
workers, and are demanding the
|base rate established in plywood
plants,

Other important developments
in the furniture plant negotia-
tions are expected at an early
date.

Legal action launched by the
officers of Local 1-217, secured
settlement for men working
for a green chain sub-contrac-
tor at Giroday’s. Their pay
cheques had “bounced” facing
them with the possibility of
losing more than $900 in
wages. :

Appropriate action has been
taken to deal with similar situa-
tions at two other mills.

_Prompt action on a unique se-
niority grievance at M.L.L., re-
sulted in the re-hiring of a wo-
man employee with established
seniority at the time of the big
lay-off some weeks ago.

The next general meeting of
Local 1-217, IWA, will be held
October 16, instead of October
9, at the Arcadian Hall, Main
at 6th, Vancouver. The door
prize which will be drawn for
by those in attendance, now
amounts to $20. The winner on
the last occasign was not pres-
ent to claim the prize.

1-357 GRIEVANCE
SETTLED

The grievance of a member of
Local 1-357, who was summarily
dismissed by his foreman for ab-
sence due to a fractured hand was
quickly rectified by the IWA
grievance committee at the Mo-
hawk Lumber Co.

‘The injury was sustained while
at work,

PARAREEREEKS

Until the
Southam Co.
Opens the
Door and
Negotiates

WHY READ THE
PROVINCE?

@
The Southam Province
is the Only Newspaper
in British Columbia
produced Behind a
PICKET LINE.

@
Vancouver

Typographical
Union No. 226

Around the Locals

The facts gathered by officers
of Local 1-85, who recently vis-
ited Bloedel, Stewart and Welch,
Camp B, at Franklin River, to
inspect the newly installed “cafe-
teria”, will be placed before the
membership for consideration.
The visitors inspected the. mod-
ernized cookhouse and scrutinize
the list of prices. They expressed
the opinion that the quality of
the food and the manner of sery-
ing compares favorably with
cafes anywhere in B. G., catering
at a comparable price level.
They also assured that good
board and lodging could be pro-
vided at the stipulated $2.25 a
day.

Further investigation will be
given the wage scale for cook-
house employees. The view was
held that the installation of me-
chanical equipment, such as dish-
washers, did not justify the pro-
posed cut in wages.

Local 1-85 }

CAFETERIA WAGE CUT
AT B.S. & W. UNJUSTIFIED

Ee
full report on the deyelop-
ace at Franklin River will be
considered at the quarterly meet-
ing of the B.C. District Council,
October 15-16.
In the local radio duel with W-
JUG spokesmen, in which it was

d|charged that IWA membership

in Port Alberni was declining,
Financial‘ Secretary Jack Squire
established the fact?that the Lo-
col membership is at an all-time
high. Two large sawmills, Great
Central and B. S. and W., hit the
jack-pot, one with 194 members
‘and the second with 385 members,

Legal action launched by Lo-
cal 1-85 to determine the owner-
ship of the Eric Graaf Hall, and
to recover a $3,000 cheque and
sundry equipment, opened with
an examination for discovery in
Port Alberni recently. The case
will be heard in Vancouver, Oc-
tober 17.

FLAGG & COMPANY
Union Signet Rings

Enamelled Buttons and Pins, Medals, Crests and Badges
For All Organizations

“Consult Us For Your Personal or Group Needs”

‘701-16 East Hastings Street

“Success to’ the IWA Safety Campaign

Vancouver, B. C.

MEAT MARKET
CHEMAINUS, B.C.
For Quality Meats
at Moderate Prices
Phone 253
We Deliver

CHEMAINUS BUSINESS GUIDE

ieamimaanaaaaaaaaaaameaaaoaneeneeee eee

LARRY’S CAFE
“Good Meals at All Hours”

Phone 236

CLEMENT DRUGS

Prescriptions
Belts and Trusses
Cosmetics
Phone 123 Mail Orders

FRR

SAM YEE

GENERAL MERCHANTS
Phone: 28 and 169

CHEMAINUS, B.C.

AL BIGGS
Barber Shop
Maple St. Chemainus, B.C,

GREMLIN SNACK BAR
“Meals Just Like Home?

W. Syme, Proprietor
Phone 198

. TAVERN INN
Cafe and Bus Terminal
— Quality Foods ——
Sports HQ of the
Scenic Shuswap Area

Phone 74 Box 178

SALMON ARM BUSINESS GUIDE

FRONT ST. GROCERY
“Smiling Service”
Specialist in
FRUITS and VEGETABLES

“Phone 31

SALMON ARM FARMERS EXCHANGE

Manufacturers of BOX SHOOK and LUMBER
RETAIL LUMBER and BUILDING SUPPLIES

HUNTER’S PHARMACY
Complete Drug Store Service
Veterinary Supplies our
Specialty
PHONE 100

FORD — MONARCH
Ford Trucks and Tractors
Dearborn Equipment
DEARBORN MOTORS
SALMON ARM LIMITED

SALMON ARM MACHINE SHOP
FARM, LOGGING AND MILL MACHINE REPAIRS
McCulloch Chainsaw — Automotive Machine Work