‘not next year... UNION SHOP! _ and only then will they be obli- B.C. LUMBER WORKER Page Nine Right to Union security for the IWA in th B.C. ein Jee cite by the IWA- Nepodiuag cee re the Coast Conciliati: i re ee liation Board, during the May 19 Employers’ arguments in opposition were declared to be out: moded in modern industry and offered ; itions i offered in defence of conditions Section of the IWA brief deal-9 worked under non-union condi- tions and have no way to draw comparisons. Other English- speaking nations have long ago accepted the idea of Union shop and, having done so, made a part- ner out of labor so as to increase responsibility and co-operation between the parties, We are willing to accept our responsibility in living up to the agreement if we have the oppor- tunity. A new person coming on the job may or may not take it upon himself to become ac- quainted with the working agree- ment. More than likely, he will not, unless he can be induced to join the Union and participate in the affairs of the Union. When a Union signs an agree- ment with an employer pertaining to the terms and conditions of employment, it has acquired a measure of security, at least for the duration of the contract. While the agreement is in force, the major aspects of the collect- ive bargaining relationship — wages, hours working conditions —have been removed from the area of conflict. The rules and procedures of this relationship ‘have also been fairly established. ing with the IWA demand for the Union shop stated in part: We feel the Union shop is not only desirable from the Union’s tt of view; we believe it is absolutely necessary to stabilize employment and increase effici- Union Shop Won in U.S. The International Woodwork-|,, The, employers were adamant ers of —, aoe in Canada Aaa el 2 ry pen nee, WeS| strikes resulted” However, the fndustry. A great deel of tee| Union did win’ Union security and effort was spent by the work- Peete rectl of War Labor rs fee sa te organization in| rr Was ea PES 8. or ard was a Be rieiatonwes ccrabianca |tePartite boatd similas icine - democratic organization, |C°"¢iliation Board we are appear- Wearsousible te ie jal |img before here. It was comprised ponsible in its financial of T bli dealings with its members and cinpioyer, public and labor “eater members. These men were far- ee tintioulfées and | ichted enough to visualise tho 9 benefits of Union shop, and the 2, The Union is well-known | results speak for eis naeivess by to the employers and has |the very few work stoppages proved to be made up of re- over this matter. sponsible citizens. h i i Whey are known to be in- The International Woodworkers # ; terested in civic affairs by their Serene has, feats umber. of meee, in ao Paiste: pny employers in B.C, to agree to co-operat Wi! usiness lead- i = es ers, school and church officials | OTP Shop, but to no avail. In stead the lumber operators say for the betterment of the com- | i¢ j, i j 5 Sesion in witch gins eee it is against their policy and offer 2 the ridiculous proposal that the 4. These responsible employ- | Union post bond for all the em- ees of the various operators ployees whether or not they are haye strongly indicated that |members of the Union. es they want such a clause. Union Shop G 1 5, There is no law prohibit- Sree ences ing such a clause and, as we Union security in most of the will show later in our discus- | North American continent is now sions, the trend is toward more js well accepted that it has be- Union security; thus, adding joe standard part of agree- responsibility, | ments. ‘The U.S, Bureau of Labor 6. There has been no showing | St#tistics in 1939 estimated that that the inclusion of such a |2 Million out of 8 million organ- clause would act as a detri- ;2¢d workers were under closed ! shop. By 1948, 6 million, or 45| Pees pone tenn’ 8" | percent of the 48 raillion then om | ganized, were under closed shop. Bathe paares Would be a8- lin addition, there were 2.5 mil: val one rsnazae oganine |e covered. by other” forma of tion in all their labor relations | nq "oder dig Ono, SHOR during the contract period and | Ynion security. all grievances would be brought : s to the attention of management |, During a study of labor legis- at once rather than having dis- | ation in 1946, it was shown that gruntled non-union men on the | Union security was more wide- Job. laid down a hard and fast rule that they would not work with People who did not belong to the Union, and in the early 1940's, Union shop was a big issue in the lumber industry in the States. spread than at any time in the history of organized labor in Am- erica, About 10.5 million workers out of 15 million were covered with Union security contracts. Following passage of the Taft- Hartley Act, millions of workers reaffirmed their position on the Union shop question by secret government conducted elections. As a result in 1950, there are more Union shop contracts throughout the United States than ever before. This trend toward Union shop contracts is healthy, as many thousands of workers today never On the other hand, the Union will be able to convey its pol- icies to all employees and ap- prise them of the proper way to ts grievances, if any a 7. Finally, the Union has a there will be no strikes with respect to any matter for which arbitration is provided. Consequently, it is essential that all people employed in the bargaining unit are active members of the Union. Then gated to follow decisions of the nor year after... One of the most important rules involves the position of the Union and its relationship to the workers in the plant and to their jobs; that it, the requirement that the workers in the bargain- ing unit must become and remain members of the Union as a con- dition of employment. The term “Union security” refers to this rule determining the status of the Union in the plant. First Step The first step toward “Union security” may be said to have been accomplished when an em- | 'i ployer recognizes the Union as sole or exclusive bargaining agent of the workers in the bargaining |! unit of the plant. Following rec- the contract—the Union and the company. John Smith does not hold the contract. The Union holds it in behalf of John Smith, whether he be a member of the Union or not. If John Smith, Union mem- ber, has a grievance he comes to the Union to seek redress, but if John Smith, non-member, has a grievance, he beefs on the job that the Union isn’t any good and the company isn’t good. This sort of thing must stop. When two parties sign an agree- ment, they both must agree to the terms and then adhere to those terms. ‘We hear employers say, “We don’t want to deprive a man of his liberty. He can join or not, as he sees fit.” That is so much rubbish as what good is liberty if you don’t get it? A non-mem- ber does not have the liberty to express himself on Union matters. He has no vote of acceptance or rejection. He takes a grievance to the boss, and the boss says, “Go to the Union.” So the man has no liberty; he is governed by an outside force. In order to get liberty and justice he must be in the Union and participate in its affairs. * Strikes We have discussed the matter of Union shop many years around the bargaining table, and the committee for the Union has al- ways let the Union shop issue drop before we have come to blows, so today, we-find consider- able unrest and demand for Union shop. ... but this year ognition, the employer and Union|; or their representatives, enter in- to collective bargaining to deter- |) / mine the terms and conditions of employment, including Union see. urity going beyond simple recog- nition, The position of the Union is based upon the simple proposi- tion that all workers who share the benefits of the collective agreement should, at the same time, share the costs and obli- gations of the Union. Member- ship in good standing in the Union is regarded as the prin- cipal obligation. For the most part, management has opposed Union security be- cause it has feared that the con- trol over the supply and quality of its labor force would thereby be placed in the hands of the Union. However, the thousands of Union agreements which con- tain Union security provisions of one type or another, afford ample evidence of the fact that employ- ers and unions have, through the process of collective bargaining, found a basis for reconciling any differences, Parties to the Contract Democracy is what the people say it is; not what some small group or an individual says it it. The company and the Union should both strive to see that the contract works, If that is so, everyone must participate and co- operate. That brings us up to the ques- tion of who are the parties to the contract. The agreement says, “The company recognizes the Union as the sole collective bar- gaining agency of the employees of the company ... etc,” There are only two parties to majority, In the early days, men eagerly Joined the Union to better their eonditions because they knew what it was like to work in un- organized mills and camps. The workers in most mills and camps GO ay AS SAN FRANCISCO =— TAILORS — LOAN 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. NIGHT BE AN EARLY BIRD AND FLY TO YOUR JOB IN THE SPRING FORM A PARTY AND SHARE A "SKYCAB” FAST — EFFICIENT — ECONOMICAL ASSOCIATED AIR TAXI RICHMOND 1551 ‘// TIME=MONEY ., SAVE TIME -*. Save Money DAY ‘i Whether you purchases. . safe provides quick action. Drop in at your nearest B of M branch. We will be glad to arrange all the details for you. Roa tes ay MONEY awpX : ZE : are paying for ontabtona «of seading gifts of money, you will find B of M Money Orders and Drafts cheap, and ‘convenient, For ‘'rush"? transactions, our telegraphic and cable transfer system TOA WILLION CANADIANS Ask for our Booklet 21 ways a million Canadians use the B of M aprz Bank or MonrTreAL GQanada'e Piret Fank ... WORKING WITH CANADIANS IN EVERY WALK OF LIFE SINCE 1617 WOODWARD’S Hand-Made LOGGING BOOTS @ No. 1 Chrome Leather Uppors © Highest Grade Leather Soles @ Non-Rust Eyelets. 8-Inch Tops. ? Price Delivered _ $21.95 Caulking $1.00 Extra pedwands MAIL ORDER DEPARTMENT