B.C. LUMBER WORKER f 1-417 ‘KAMLOOPS \ssistance tendered by the Local Unions in the or- ion problems which ac- ed this year’s negotia- has achieved substantial for Local 1-417, and has warmly appreciated. erage was secured for op- that previously could be adequately serviced be- eause of the lack of full-time staff, and travel distances. The results have been that the _IWA has again secured a foot- d in areas where anti-union mployers had full sway, and in organized sections agree- ents have been signed in line h the 1950-51 contract terms, _The experience of Financial ecretary S. M. Hodgson, loaned by Local 1-217 for organization work in this area, illustrates the lifficulties which surround In- Bierior organization at this stage, nd the need for outside assist- In one operation, some distance from Kamloops, the employer had effectively fostered an anti-[WA sentiment, dating back to the neglect of the former leadership in 1946, Company Town Rule Not only the mill, but the sur- rounding property on which are _ situated the houses occupied by _ the employees is owned “by the ‘employer. For these houses the employees pay a $12.50 monthly rental, when the mill is working, and in the slack season they are permitted rent-free accommoda- ion, ‘The employer, anticipating an IWA invasion, astutely raised the Wage rates to the scale secured in the new Interior agreement. At the same time, he persuaded _ the workers to support his ban on all IWA organizers. When Organizer Hodgson pre- Sented himself to the crew on _ the green chain, suggesting a dis- “cussion of IWA organization and disclosed his identity, the fore- man was immediately informed. Promptly, the whistle blew, and _ the men scattered and disap- _ peared from sight, as though the _ IWA organizer had been a leper. Later, the manager appeared _ and threatened to eject him fore- ‘ibly from the premises. Nothing daunted, the Vancou- ‘yer visitor revised ‘his plans and initiated “back-door” tactics, Which if followed up, he hopes, will yet bear fruit. A similar “fear complex” was encountered in other operations and will be ake the well-known IWA anti- Salmon Arm, Canoe Alert In the Canoe and Salmon Arm area, headway was made in the signing of new agreements, rec- gains in addition to those ‘ otiated in the Southern In- terior master agreement. % ment reached on behalf ie employees of the Saskat- le Federated Co-operative at Canoe, by the plant committee, h d wage category revisions, increases ranging from 12% to 5744 cents an hour. Pro- was also made for im- d seniority clauses, time and or lf for Saturday afternoons, and double time on Sundays, (re- less of the hours worked pre- jously in the week), and for two an rest periods. Other hinor concessions were also sec- IWA committee in this op- had previously negotiated ion shop conditions and two ks vacation with pay after 3 "service, nd The Locals: Kamloops Says ‘Thanks’; New Princeton Sub-Local; ee weeney Cooperage Gets 12%4c: 1-357 Reaches Record High Concessions previously secured by the committee were Union shop conditions and two weeks vacation with pay after five years service. Merritt Operations Organizers visiting the Interior have warm praise for the indefa- tigable efforts of Albert Roebot- tom of Merritt. He is well known for his zeal in distributing copies of the B.C. Lumber Worker, to every woodworker he is able to contact, and for his pioneer work in organization. Contacts established led to a meeting of the crew at Canford Sawmills Ltd., Canford, after which an agreement was pre- sented to the company in accord- ance with the terms of the mas- ter contract, and with substantial upward revision of categories, Plant committee elected at the meeting was; chairman, George Isitt; secretary, Gerry Pope; shop stewards, James Dick, Albert Ru- dence and Don MeKenna. _An agreement was later nego- tiated with the Nicola Sawmills Ltd, in this area, on the same basis. 1-423 KELOWNA _ Otitcome of the recent organ- ization drive, directed by the IWA District Policy Commit- tee in conjunction with Interior negotiations is the prospect of a new IWA sub-Local at Princeton, despite tactics pur- sued by the WIUG, in complete contradiction of their an- nounced policy of “unity” be- hind the LWA. Operation of Taylor Brothers, Princeton, was found by S. M. Hodgson of Vancouver, to be un- der 2 WIUG agreement although certified by the IVA. The em- ployees had been persuaded by the WIUC to pay their dues to that organization. When the employees were in- formed as to the manner in which their interests were endangered, they promptly wired the Labor Relations Board repudiating any WIUC certification. When arrangements were pend- ing for a meeting of all employ- ees to further dicsuss the situa- tion, the operation was visited by Ernie Dalskog, appealing for sup- port of WIUG certification. He was invited to leave by the work- ers, who stated that they were no longer interested in the WI- uc. International Representative George Collis thereupon under- took to complete full organization of the operation within the IWA. It is predicted that with the in- clusion of this operation, the I- WA membership in the vicinity of Princeton will justify the formation of a sub-Local of Lo- cal 1-428, IWA. 1-424 PR. GEORGE * First certification obtained by the IWA in the Quesnel district were announced this week by International Representative Mike Sekora on behalf of Local 1-424 IWA. Companies certified were Quesnel Sawmills Ltd., Quesnel, and Quesnel Sawmills Ltd., Barkerville Road. Second certification in the dis- trict was secured on behalf of the employees in the Western Ply- woods Ltd., Quesnel. Negotiations with both com- panies for an agreement are now progressing satisfactorily. Threat of the Quesnel Sawmills Ltd. to place employees on a piece rate system was countered by the Union’s demand that the terms and wage scale of the master agreement reached with the Nor- thern Interior Lumbermen’s Asso- ciation be established. seem favorable for the adoption of a health and wel- fare plan as now in force in some Coast operations. Several other applications for certification are now pending in recently-organized plants. 1-217 VANCOUVER Settlement reached by Local 1-217 IWA with Sweeney Coop- an unusual number of rejected claims. Delays have proved irk- some in the extreme. . Film Programs Popular demand for the plant film programs has been the out- standing feature of the educa- tional program. A well organized schedule, which meets the con- venience of members on the job, has proved effective and attract- ive. ‘Trade union films and safety films are well received. erage Ltd., Vancouver, (cooper- age section) has secured for the employees a wage increase of 12% cents an hour, retroactive to June 22. The new agreement also provides for two paid stat- utory holidays, a basic 40-hour week, and union security clause as contained in the Coast mas- ter agreement. President Lloyd Whalen has been named by the Local Union as a member of the Conciliation Board which will hear the IWA dispute with River Sawmills Ltd. Vice-President Wm. Gray will present the case for the Union. Red Band Shingle Seniority plan was prepared and presented to the Red Band Shingle Co. by a Local Union Committee comprised of Plant Chairman Harry Haddock, and committee members Frank Hiscox and Sam Cronk, assisted by Pr ident Lloyd Whalen and Financial Secretary S. M. Hodgson. Consideration was promised by the company officials with an early decision in the offing. Delegates Report The general membership meet- ing of September 17 heard a full report on the IWA International Convention from the returning delegates. A vote of thanks was tendered Local 1-80 for financial assistance which enabled Bro. Andy Good to take part in the Interior organi- zational drive. At the next general member- ship meeting, October 15, dele- gates at the Canadian Congress of Labor Convention will submit their reports. Capilano Shingle Plant Committee at Capilano Shingle Co. Ltd. reports the plant 100 per cent IWA with one lone exception, who is stubbornly de- laying the inevitable. Negotiations have reached the final stage with Ace Shingle Co., North Vancouver, for an agree- ment, with President Lloyd Wha- len acting as IWA spokesman. Vice - President William Gray will assist as business agent dur- ing the absence of Financial Sec- retary S. M. Hodgson at the CCL Convention. Mel Andrews was selected as a CCL Convention delegate to re- place President Lloyd Whalen, who is unable to attend. 1-357 NEW WEST’R Membership strength of Local 1-357 continues to show sur- prising growth. Latest reports indicate that dues-paying mem- bers almost approximate 5500. Main issue before the Local Union is the effort to curb em- ployer-inspired activity to by-pass the Union and persuade employ- ees to work overtime without proper sanction. - Arbitration Looms A grievance which concerns the dismissal of one employee at Alaska Pine has heen processed without satisfactory results to date, Consideration is being given submission of the case to arbi- tration. Unusual feature of the com- plaint is that the foreman in question is alleged to have used force, Local Union officials have been required to make frequent ap- ices before the Workmen’s mpensation Board because of The situation in Northern Wood Products is being followed with close interest by the Local Union because of advice that the plant is changing hands. Changes in the working force are expected. APOLOGY TO 1-80, DUNCAN In reporting the award of an arbitration board secured by Local 1-80 IWA, the B.C. Lum- ber Worker of August 17 stated in error that the employee con- cerned was reinstated without retroactive pay. An apology is hereby ten- dered to the officers of the Local Union for this unintentional mis-statement. The facts are as follows: The Hillcrest Lumber Co. dis- missed Bhag Singh, an East In- dian brother, for reasons that were disputed by the Local Union, and finally placed before an arbitration board. Vice-President John T. Atkin- son was .the representative of the, Union on the Board. Upon review of the evidence the majority of the board found that Bhag Singh had been un- justly dismissed. Re-instatement was accom- plished WITH full restoration of rights and retroactive adjust- ment of pay. Cowichan Lake Sub-Local Lake Cowichan Sub - Local 1-80 IWA played an important part in the Labor Day activities staged in the community, and which attracted a record-break- ing crowd. : The IWA float depicting the ‘International Solidarity of our Union and its aims and achieve- ments aroused much interest, The IWA tug-of-war team won first prize competing against the Elks and an East Indian team. The loggers’ sports were marked by close competition. The Chopping Contest was won by Arvid Ecklund; time, 1 minute 16-4/5 seconds, _Bucking Contest: Johnny Popo- vich, 1 minute 37-3/5 seconds. Splicing Contest— Eye Splice, won by Charlie Dillon. Log Rolling—C, Livingstone. RAIL STRIKE CRITICS REFUTED Charges by Bill Stewart of the Boilermakers that Frank Hall and ‘A. R. Mosher had perpetrated “the greatest sell-out in history” by accepting the government's “back-to-work” order were hotly refuted by delegates to the Van- couver Labor Council meeting of September 12. Speaking on a motion to accept Secretary Bury’s report on the mass meeting in support of the striking railway workers spon- sored jointly by the AFL and CCL Councils, Stewart launched a bit- |ter denunciation of the strike leaders and claimed they had sold the railway workers down the river. In rebuttal, George Home, Sec- retary B.C. Federation of Labor, charged that such irresponsible criticism was the result of frus- tration, because the LPP support- ers “were on the outside looking in and had no say whatsoever in the organizing and conduct of the strike.” Home stated, “If the. workers had defied the law and had re- fused to go back to work when the Bill was brought down, the union would have been set back years, as was the case in Great Britain after the General Strike of 1926.” Delegates H. Allison and R. Henham of the C.B.R.E. indicated that although the railway work- evs were none too happy about the government’s action they are waiting to see what resulted from the negotiations before passing judgment. “I am prepared,” said Henham, in answer to Stewart, “to balance the record of A. R. Mosher against that of any labor person in the Dominion of Can- ada.” B.C.E. Scored Without a dissenting voice dele- gates passed an Executive resolu- tion provoked by the recent cur- tailment of service of the B.C. Electric, The resolution demanded a full investigation by the City Council ‘and the Public Utilities Commission and, if necessary, the revocation of the B.C. Electric’s franchise. : Institute Success In the absence of Frank Dean, Chairman of the Education Com- mittee, Jim Bury and Jean Mo- hart reported that the educational institute held at Orlomah Beach over Labor Day weekend had been an outstanding success. “The re- ports of those who attended will be the best advertisement we could have for any future activi- ties of this kind,” Bury said. A large group of TWA’ members were in attendance, mostly from Local 1-357. a {\avOur of the A SZ This advertisement is not published or di: d i Control Board or by the Gaverient Rae te pases lumbia.