ION’ $ BU [7 should be said that Local 1-71, IWA, ushered out the old year fraternity, and paved thi ‘Vecal Union’s you _ Ain a manner worthy of the best traditions of the logging e way for new successes in 1951, This "s year-end convention recorded and planned solid achievement, and the successful and gay Loggers’ Ball which followed was a happy occasion which highlighted the good fel- _ lowship among lumber workers. The major decisions of the convention are reported else- where in this issue, and I will simply state my impressions as an observer in at- sey non ee greatest impo! ance to the whole district organiza- tion is the fact that the amended Local Union by- laws made pos- sible the most thering yet held by the: Coast fomgers" Local. Under the old regime, it was a notorious fact that a- selected handful went through the pre- tence of transacting the business of the Local Union, but actually under -instructions issued from the platform by carefully coached LPP-Communists. ‘This time it was different. The principal camp sub-locals sent bona fide delegates, and they did their own thinking and made their own decisions. This was clearly evident when the recom- mendations of the table officers were under consideration. This democratic independence display- ed at the convention represents a tremendous stride forward in the - Loggers’ Local, WIUC Applicants In_ my opinion, the delegates acted wisely in rejecting applica- tions for membership from for- mer WIUC disrupters and in de- claring others ineligible for mem- bership in the IWA. It was a step that will protect the IWA Beene the future disruption, already being planned. ‘This decision was not made in a spirit of discrimination because of their political beliefs, It was not a matter of revenge. Many former WIUC members have been re-admitted to the Union, in recognition of the fact that they had been cruelly misled. The decision was made because the Union is aware that some of these men never have and never will give their first loyalty to the IWA, and that they are ready to carry out orders designed to wreck the IWA democracy and thus advance the ends of a politi- cal party bent on the destruction “of Canadian democracy. The Union Benefits Local 1-71, IWA, in making this decision protected the in- terests of all other Local Unions in the TWA. These union wreckers knew very well that the seattered nature of operations within the Loggers’ Local had made it difficult for the Local Union membership to scrutinize applications as in other Locals. Once admitted they would then have the right to transfer their activities to other Locals and con- duet their conspiracy against the IWA on a wider scale. They are adepts at all the tricks of intrigue and deception, but have not de- ceived the loggers this time. All credit to the Loggers’ Local for acting with foresight and with staunch loyalty to the Union which has served them well, when freed from the LPP-Communist manipulations. ICFTU FIGHTING FOR FREEDOM Just returned from Brussels where he acted as a Canadian delegate to the executive board meeting of the International Con- federation of Free Trade Unions, C. H. Millard, M.P.P., said he was more than ever conyinced that the ICGFTU is winning the contest be- tween free trade unionism and the “captive Communist organi- zations masquerading as the WFTU.” Mr. Millard represented the Canadian Congress of Labor at the ICFTU meeting. The WFTU has been branded by the democratic trade union movement as a Communist tool. 50 Million Workers The new ICFTU, representing 50 million workers, has made greater progress since its incep- tion last December than the old organization made in three years. ‘The program adopted at Brus- sels is based on a new regional alignment, which is in effect a decentralization of ICFTU’s op- erations. The secretariat will be maintained at Brussels, but the main regional groupings will be Asia (which will be divided into three sub-regions, India, In- donesia, and for the time being, Korea and Japan); two African regions; Europe, where ICFTU is already established, and the Inter-American region. Frightening The report of the ICFTU on underdeveloped countries, Mr. Millard called _a_ “frightening document”. ICFTU has now en- dorsed a concrete program of aid to these countries through eco- nomic, social and trade union de- velopment. The first stage will be a broad educational program with priority for the training of trade union leadership in each country. The work in Asia will get major attention, over half the 1951 budget being allotted to this area. 2 The Canadian trade union movement will make direct finan- cial contributions to the specific projects undertaken by ICTFU in the various countries, said Mr. Millard. Mr. Millard is reporting to the Canadian Congress of Labor which he represented at Brussels that the ICFTU executive board is warning all free trade unions against “the Communist tactic of organizing so-called peace con- gresses”, stating that “the Com- munist aggression against the Republic of Korea has thoroughly diseredited their Stockholm ‘peace’ appeal.” - BCLewcenWorver Representing the Orgenized Loggers and Mill Werkers of B.C. PUBLISHED TWICE MONTHLY BY INTERNATIONAL WOODWORKERS OF AMERICA (CIO-CCL) B.C. DISTRICT COUNCIL No. 1. EP DISTRICT OFFICERS: Stewart Alsbury or ‘ORKER SASK. KEEPS RENTS DOWN REGINA (CPA)—Effectiveness of Saskatchewan’s rent control legislation in keeping rents down in this province is indicated strik- ingly in the cost of living index for October, 1950, Attorney-Gen- eral J. W. Corman, K.C., stated. The October, 1950, rent ‘index in Saskatchewan was 9.4 points lower than the Dominion rent in- dex, according to monthly cost of living index figures, prepared by the Dominion Bureau of Stati: tics, and compiled and issued in Saskatchewan by the provincial department of labor. The Saskatoon rent index fi- gure was 126.1 compared to the Dominion figure of 135.5. Since this was the only major category except fuel and light in which Saskatoon was not ahead of the rest of Canada, the favorable rent index figure can be attributed to the effect of rent control. The rent control legislation came into force in Saskatchewan on April 1, 1950. SIMPSON’S “JUMP GUN” OTTAWA (CPA)—The Robert Simpson Co., department. stores and mail-order house will intro- duce a five-day week for their employees beginning January 2, according to press reports. The employees will also get a company-paid $1,000 group life insurance policy. The cost of re- ducing the work week — through hiring additional help—and the new insurance scheme, will be about $1 million a year. These concessions must sound pretty good to the employees. It is curious, however, that these beneficial schemes came into ex- istence only after the union or- ganization in the Timothy Eaton Company, rival to Simpson’s, had applied for certication! Employees who are getting fairly good treatment are often harder to organize, and the Simpson Company would prob- ably prefer to spend a million a year more on employee benefits of its own choosing than face the possibility of bargaining with a union. Sun writers You'll Enjoy! VANCOUVER SUN Phone MArine 1161 for Daily Home Delivery ~-*BRING-BLANKETS’ ORDERS BANNED By OTTAWA In a letter addressed to International Organizer George Collis, now stationed in the In- terior, the Federal. Minister of Labor has advised that in future the offices of the Na- tional Employment Service will no longer accept orders from employers requesting that log- gers bring their own blankets. Advertisements appearing in Interior newspapers were the subject of complaint by Interior Local Unions, inasmuch as all logging camps are*required by law to furnish blankets. The Deputy Minister stated that the Federal service is not prepared to police provincial laws but in future the violation of such laws will not be condoned by National Employment Service officers in their relations with employers. In Oslo, Norway, the national trade union federation voted to send 1,500 city women to the country for free two-week vaca- j tions, providing they have three or more children. SS SSS SUPPORT OUR ADVERTISERS B.C. Steel Mill reed by USWA Five-point plan to meet Can- ada’s growing problem of short- age of steel has been propo: to the government by C. H. Mi lard, national director of tht United Steelworkers of America (CIO-CCL). Included is a reference to*the possible establishment of a new steel mill in British Columbia. The five-point plan asks for: 1. A Steel Council composed of the government, unions and steel companies. 2. Expansion of Canada’s steel- making capacity by at least 1,000,000 tons a year includ- ing, if needed, public develop- ment of new plants. 8. Full enquiry into the possi- bility of plants in the Gray Lakes, Quebec, and B.C. “to take advantage of iron ore re- sources available at each “@ 4. A price-stabilization program 5. Development of overall collec- tive bargaining policies to en- sure uninterrupted production. SPECIAL WEEKLY RATES 1221 GRANVILLE STREET VANCOUVER, B.C, Under New Management BANKING BY MAIL is convenient, easy to do. See for yourself—today. THE oman BANK OF COMMERCE 80 Branches in British Columbia BANKING BY MAIL The safe way to save your money is to put it in a bank. You can do this best through any of the: branches of the Canadian Bank of Commerce in British Columbia. Get some Banking by Mail forms before you leave town, or write for a sup- ply to your nearest branch of the Commerce.