1953 District Convention Shows IWA Peak Strength mY eke Oy Sr isae] Haeies th aoa Vol. XXI, No. 4 <@S> *° FEBRUARY 19, 1953 - VANCOUVER, B. C. Sc PER COPY S Officers Report Sound|IWA Status Outstanding fact revealed in the Officers’ Report sub- mitted to the 16th B.C. Annual District Convention, Tuesday, was the progress achieved by the Union in all fields of its operations despite the grim struggle forced upon it by the employers last mid-summer. The report stated: Greetings The Officers of B.C. District Council No, 1 wish to extend to all delegates, fraternal delegates and visitors to this our Sixteenth Annual Convention, a most cor- dial welcome. This Convention assembles at a time when the world’s political ‘and economic problems are of such magnitude that they must have attention focused upon them. In this world of today with fast means of travel, it is necessary to face our political and economic problems on a broad basis. The conditions de- veloping in China by the support given to Chiang Kai Shek; and statements made by President Eisenhower, we believe, can eas- ily lead to a third world war. We believe that the voice of our people should be heard to bring about a distinct and lasting peace, wherever our pressure can be applied either economic or political. To this end we recom- mend to our members that they keep a watchful eye on the politi- eal and economic picture during the coming year. Get Out and Vote We also draw your attention to the fact that in all prob- ability, there will be a federal election this year. We urge that each and everyone of you get out and vote and urge their friends to yote, so that when Parliament assembles again, it will have the kind of repre- sentation that will give con- sideration to the demands of organized labor and to the gen- eral betterment of all the Cana- dian people. During the past year, we have gone through one of the longest and possibly the largest strike, numerically speaking, which has taken place in Canadian history to date, We would like, at this time, to extend congratulations to our membership for the magnificent fight which they put up for bet- ter wages, hours, and working conditions, Our membership, over the past year, has retained a high aver- WHAT’S INSIDE Locals .. Editorials age and with this large member- ship, there are bound to be prob- lems and some decisions made that everyone did not agree with. While we agree that criticism is always in order, we believe that it should be kept within our own house, and contentious matters should not become public issues. LPP Menace We would like to warn our delegates that during ‘the past year, we have seen the Labi Progressive Party through vari- ous means, pushing up its head again to the fore in our organiza- tion, and in some instances bid. ding for power and control again. We must all recognize the damage done to this organization by these individuals and their followers. We urge that during the coming year, they be dealt with in a forceful manner by all Local Unions and that these in- roads which may have been made in our organization, be stamped out. ‘The years ahead, by the very nature of today’s events, cast a shadow before them of a strug- gle. How bitter that struggle will get, no one yet knows, but our best protection against dis- aster or defeat in any struggle we may enter into, is the weld- ing of a solid brotherhood at- titude and the carrying out of our pledge—an injury to one is an injury to all. The years ahead can be made right. Determination to make them so must rest within our membership and those who guide destiny. Finances The financial position’ of the District Council at the end of this year is very good. The increase of 15 cents per capita beginning with September, has stabilized our income and contributed considerably to this position. We have given the various Interior Locals financial assistance in an amount of over $12,000 which was made in out- right donations and gifts to the Local Unions. We also assisted the Haney Local in the purchase of a boat to service their membership on the Harrison Lake area, by loan- ing them the full purchase price and making a donation of $500— an outright gift to them. During the year, we placed on our payroll, the International Board member and the Safety See “REPORT” Page 11 FILTHY CAMP CLOSED Camp “Mile: 12”, in’ the Terrace area, owned by Lit- tle, Haugland & Kerr, a com- bined logging and sawmill operation, was ordered clos- ed by the Deputy Minister of Health last week until the present unsanitary condi- tions are rectified, following complaint laid by Local 1-71, IWA. At the same time the Deputy Minister issued orders that with- in seven days the following con- ditions must be complied with at Camp “Mile 17”, also owned by the same company and operated as a logging camp, At the latter camp, the com- pany must now provide sheets and pillow-slips, clean blankets, shelves for the personal ef- fects of the men; an incinerator for refuse; sanitary water facili- ties; re-surfacing of floors and walls; paint in the shower-room; better toilet facilities; and a dry- room, Some months ago, the Local Union officials made the effort to secure action by the local health inspector to remedy the notor- iously unsanitary conditions, complained of by the crews. At that time the inspector expressed reluctance to jeopardize his friendly relations with company officials. This made necessary an appeal to the Department at Victoria, requesting a thorough inspection. The action outlined above, fol- lowed closely on the inspection. The IWA Local Union was com- plimented for its stand on the observance of the sanitary laws and regulations. B.C. Fed. Speaks Bluntly Brief presented by the B.C. Federation of Labor, February 11, to the Provincial Cabinet, claimed that the Socred Goy- ernment’s attempts to sell B.C.’s modified co-insurance plan, were “not correct and to a degree, fraudulent.” A four-man delegation which included IWA District Presi- dent J. S. Alsbury, met with Premier Bennett, Attorney- General Robert Bonner, Health Minister Martin and Labor Minister Lyle Wicks. See “FEDERATION” Page 5 (Green Gold—CJOR Thursday ¢ wk we & wk & REPRESENTATIVE MEET OPENS VITAL wo wow w SESSIONS wow Proceedings of the 16th B. C. Annual District Conven- tion of the IWA opened in the Mayfair Room of the Hotel Vancouver, Tuesday, with the customary invocation, civic welcome, and fraternal greetings under conditions which gave promise of the most important and successful con- vention in the history of the Union. Number of delegates, seated by the 12 Local Unions in the province under the representation terms of the Constitution, re- vealed that the membership strength of the Union excels pre- vious records, and that the at- tendance is more fully represen- tative than on any previous occa- sion. The exceptionally large num- ber of resolutions demanding the attention of members of the Resolutions Committee gave evi- dence of an intense interest in the affairs of the Union on the part of the members. Items on the convention agen- da, arousing an intense degree of interest were the 1953-54 con- tract terms, future plans of union administration, and the election of the District Officers. Election Year Nominations for District Offi- cers will be held toward the close of the convention, and the final results will be determined by the prescribed membership referen- dum. Guest speakers at the Conven- tion, announced for important policy speeches, were IWA Inter- national President Al Hartung, The IWA International Presi- dent was accompanied by his Vice-presidents, Jim Dicey and Claude Ballard, and Secretary- Treasurer Carl Winn, also sched- uled to appear before the dele- gates. Designated representatives of the City and Province were Mayor Fred Hume, and the Min- ister of Labor, Hon. Lyle Wicks. Fraternal greetings of the Ca- nadian Congress of Labor will be supplemented by Regional Direc- tor Dan Radford. The Workmen’s Compensation Board was represented by the Chairman, Adam Bell, with the labor member of the Board, Chris Pritchard, named as its official spokesman at the gathering. Invocation was pronounced by the Rey. Ralph Hardy, of St. George’s United Church, Vancou- ver. The Eastern Canada Regional administration of the IWA was expected to be represented by Director H. Landon Ladd. The state of the Union, the progress made during the past year, and the issues before the convention were clearly set forth lin the (fficers’ Report, published elsewhf +2 in this issue. and Preside ‘4.4, R. Mosher, of the Canadia c= of Labor. ELECTED MEN SCORE FOR IWA Three IWA members made their debut in the B.C. Legislature in the debate on the Throne Speech, and scored heavily for the trade union movement by demanding action on legislation long sought by the organized workers. They were Tony Gargrave, Local 1-217; John Squire, Local 1-85; and Rae Eddie, Local 1-357. Convincing case was made by" the three IWA stalwarts that ac- tion should be taken this session on proposed amendments to the Workmen’s Compensation Act, the ICA Act and the B.C. Hos- pital Insurance Act. With chap- ter and verse they built up evi- dence supporting the views of the trade unions. They voiced the bitter disap- pointment of trade unionists that the Throne Speech had given no forecast of any action on these matters, and urged decisions thereon before dissolution of the House. All three members also took the opportunity to state the most pressing problems of their con- stituents. Political observers commented favorably on the debating ability of the three woodworkers, and praised the ease and poise with which they entered parliamentary debate. In an earlier speech, Jim Bury, Secretary of the Vancouver La- bor Council, detailed the com- plaints of the trade unions against the ICA Act and its ad- ministration, and vigorously scor- ed the inaction of the Govern- LISTEN TO 9.15 p.m. * ment. Safety Program Succeeds District Safety Conference of the IWA Local Unions opened in the Hotel Georgia, Monday morn- ing, and transferred its location to the Medical-Dental Building for the balance of the day to pre- pare recommendations of the IWA Safety Program for con- sideration of the convention of the following day. The opening session was fea- tured by reports from the District Safety “Director and the Execu- tive Committee of the District Safety Council. ‘As discussion proceeded, it was recognized that remarkable pro- gress in reducing the accident frequency rate in the lumber in- dustry had been made, but that the area of benefit should be extended. Reports submitted to the con- ference appear elsewhere in this issue. :CKNW Saturday § 7.05 p.m. ¢ :CJAY 6.15 p.m. Thursday