© iT PRL Ov B.C. LUMBER WORKER . Page Nine Au provisions of the IWA Constitution were framed by the IWA protection It might not be -amiss, one ee te aS Seaton which is more honored in the ‘The reference is to the Sectionf which reads in part as follows: “All members going to work under the jurisdiction of an- other Local Union than the one in which they hold membership, shall be automatically trans- ferred to such new Local Union. + Such members shall be re- quired to report to the new Lo- cal Union within a period of ten (10) days or he subject to the payment of a fine of not Tess than five dollars ($5.00) even though their dues may be paid up currently or in ad- vance...” a Sd) TN eS It will immediately be recog- this Section is important under conditions which prevail in the lumber industry. Union? records necessary to service the interests of the membership efficiently would become hopelessly von- fused, unless Local Unions are at all times aware of the move- ments of its members from op- eration to operation. Members’ Obligation The Constitution wisely places the initial obligation on the mem- ber himself to advise the new Lo- cal Union that he is within its nized that the enforcement of By George Mitchell, Secretary-Treasurer, B.C. District Council, WA _ HELP MAKE YOUR LOCAL’S OFFICE WORK EASIER; _TELL THEM WHEN YOU MOVE; PAY.ON CHECK-OFF . jurisdiction. As a matter of fact, obedience to the Constitution is made the responsibility of the member when he takes his obli- gation. This obligation should | be carried out faithfully. |_ I this provision is obeyed, the interests of. the member ‘con- \cerned can be more efficiently 'served. Immediate notification to the Local Union with jurisdiction, (prevents endless complications, that might later cause the mem- \ber embarrassment, especially |with the new rule * regarding | maintenance of membership. If months are allowed to pass before notification is given, de- lays are inevitable to determine accurately the membership stand- ing and check-off accounting. Just a little thoughtfulness would work -to the advantage of the Union and the member himself. The Dues Check-off Another point, which is not strictly a constitutional matter, efficiency, is the desirability of paying dues by means of the check-off. Some members, for reasons of :their own, still prefer to pay their dues in cash. It is not to their advantage under present circumstances. Certainly it places a great inconvenience upon the Union. Blue Slip Members If any member would take time to consider the extra entries nec- cash dues, he would not persist in this demand. Individual cash DEAF EARS pay WAS LOW, working: con- listen to what he has to say.”. ditions were bad and employ- ees of the mill lived in cheap little shacks, The employer, on the other hand, was a “big shot” and a firm believer in paternalism. He’d served in the State Legislature for quite a few terms and re- garded himself as a persuasive orator. The workers, all Negroes, were not happy about their situation, but didn’t make any move to im- prove it until confronted with a wage decrease. Then they began talking about getting a union to represent them. A CIO organizer arrived on the ee and began signing up mem- ers. HE ORGANIZER said later that he’d never seen anything gave each worker a little parcel, told the group what the parcels contained, and then the organizer said, “Don’t even open the 'par- cels until the proper time—then use what they contain.” ‘THE EMPLOYER called all the workers together the next morning on company time. Soon he was launched on his speech. He told them that he had been good to them, that he knew what “Why, the daddies of some of you worked for me before you did—and when things got tough I loaned them money,” he de- clared. “Yes, I’ve been good to my people—and you are my peo- like the situation which con-|""G,. and on he went. ‘The group fronted him. i sat in silence. The employer Within a comparatively short) really. turned on the heat. Still time he had signed up every worker at the plant! There was not a single hold-out. And, to his surprise, the mill owner and other officials made no _ attempt to interfere with the or- ganizing campaign. The owner had what he consid- ered an ace up his sleeve and he wasn’t going to play it prema- ‘turely. He, however, didn’t keep his scheme secret and word regard- ing it reached the organizer. “H-m-m-m-m,” the CIO man told himself. “This calls for a bit of thinking.” Seu And so he did some thinking. ee) S THE DATE for a NRLB el- eetion among the workers ap- proached, the organizer and the leader of the mill workers got together to plan strategy. | The employer, the organizer said, had an idea that he could defeat the union at the last min- ute merely by calling all the workers together and making 2 Speech to them. PaMhe boss is a powerful speaker,” the local leader said. “He’s been swaying them up at the Legislature for years—and he might talk the boys out of voting for the union. “J don’t think he can, but he might. Anyhow, he’d win over some of the fellows and cut down our margin—and we want a 100 percent union.” there was no response. Finally he finished. The work- ers returned to their posts. Then they began removing from their ears the wads of cot- contained. “I don’t know whether they heard what the boss said or not— but that afternoon the workers went to the polls and every one of them voted in favor of the union!” the organizer said. A.LS. in CIO News. Labor Wants Bill of Rights The annual submissions of the CCL and the TLC to the federal government, disclose that the two main labor bodies are in agree- ment on a surprisingly large number of issues, Summarized from Canadian Labor Reports, the two submis- sions show that. both bodies have asked that a Bill of Rights be written into Canada’s constitu- tion. On immigration, too, the Con- lgresses are in agreement that immigrants should ‘be welcomed and come under an Immigration Commission on which there would be equal representation from La- bor, management and the govern- ment, Both Congresses want federal aid for education; their demands for complete social security are very similar; both support the Atlantic Pact, AFL and CCL officials took joint action in connection with the growing unemployment problem, and these efforts are continuing, Some city slickers think eoun- try folk are dumb, and some country folk just KNOW that city folk aren’t any too bright. Take the city steno visitin; Then he and the local leader was best for them and that a| union wouldn’t help them a bit. | ton which the little parcels had} These reasons should not be ship in a very important way. The first Canadian Credit Union was founded in 1900, with initial payments of 10 cents, and assets of $26.00. This Credit Union rapidly grew until its total resources exceeded $2 million. On a similar scale, credit unions are now dotted throughout all com- munities in North America, and have given clear proof of the ad. vantages to be gained by this |form of co-operative financing. In order to summarize the | benefits that would accrue to IW- A members from membership in no better than to quote from the writings of Alphone Desjardins, \founder of the Credit Union movement on this continent. “The peoples’ welfare can best be secured by institutions organ- ized by the people themselves.” | “The ideal system would then be one which should offer a wide | credit at the least cost, a credit available to all, while at the same time it appealed to all, in a con- stant .and practical way, to lay aside for the rainy day, a system in short which would put at the disposal of the working classes the funds accumulated by them- selves.” “Let it never be forgotten that the credit union is an association of persons, not of dollars .. . the |general meeting composed of all the shareholders is the real and dominating power ... the moral character of the borrower will be the prime guarantee of the faith- ful reimbursement of: thé sums borrowed the credit union should loan money only for pro- ductive purposes, never for a friv- olous or extravagant purpose, a credit union is not an ordinary financial concern, seeking to en- rich its members at the expense of unfortunates who need loans.” Trade Union Advantages A credit union rounds out and supplements the work of a trade union in promoting the welfare of its members in the following ways. Alex B. Macdonald Barrister & Solicitor Notary Public 751 Granville Street VANCOUVER, B.C. ‘Telephone TAtlow 5128 their own Credit Union, I can do | | THE CO-OPERATIVE VIEW Credit Union In Every Local! | Many reasons might be given why the IWA District Con- . vention, earlier in the year, urged the organization of a Credit Union in every IWA Local Union, in B. C. overlooked or neglected, because of the practical advantages offered. The resolution dealing with | the subject was more than a pious hope; it was a realization that Credit Unions could serve the welfare of the IWA member- | A eredit union strengthens the pre-existing common bond of as- sociation in industrial production, and knits more closely the mem- | bers of the trade union in a com- | mon purpose. It protects the living standards of the trade union members by |enabling them to take care of | their own short term credit prob- lems at reasonable rates. It is very definitely not an investment union, It is interested only in | serving men and women. The credit union enables its ;members to buy more advantage- ously for cash and thus stretch |the wage dollar further. In this respect it improves living condi- tions. The credit union trains work- ers to handle their own financial problems and frees them from various forms of exploitation, Let’s have more credit union members. |but which bears on the Union’s/ essary to account for and report! payments must pass through the hands of a number of Union of- ficials, each of whoni must pre- pare individual slips, make en- tries, and issue receipts until de- ~ posit is finally made in the | Union’s treasury. ., Less Paper Work On the other hand, payment by means of the check-off simplifies the Union’s accounting enorm- ously. Individual receipts are largely dispensed with, and sin- {gle entries suffice for lists of members in the operation. The whole point is that if the Union’s officials are freed from all unnecessary bookkeeping, they are able to devote more time to the important work of or- ganization and settlement of grievances. The less we clutter up our trade union affairs with paper work, the freer we will “be to apply our energies to building the resources of the IWA. FINDING JOBS FOR OVER 45's Problem of finding jobs for the over-45’s must be tackled vigor- ously by the regional employment committees which act as advisers to the Unemployment Insurance Committee. This was stressed by IWA Stewart Alsbury last week. “I am conyinced,” he said, “that this representation offers impor- tant advantages to trade unions. “Through the advisory commit- tee, unions get a chance to dis- cuss frankly, the general prob- Jems about UIC administration. These help to avoid misunder- standings regarding the purpose and interpretation of the Unem- ployment Insurance Act, and pro- vide a cross-section of Local opin- ion for the regional and national authorities, “The most important function of the committee is the discus- sion of local employment needs. Trade union representatives are kept in close touch with the facts about local unemployment, and can discuss the remediés. “An urgent problem now be- fore the Committees is the plight of. workers over the age of 45. ‘This is the type of problem, which can be attacked by such commit- tees, with some hope of results on the basis of all-round co-opera- ‘ion.” ‘There was the society lady who entertained a group of disabled serviee men by telling them of the evils of strong drink. Getting warmed up, to her sub- ject she shrilled, “I'd rather do anything than let a drop of vile liquor pass my lips. Yes, I’d even rather commit adultery. 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