cm linemen

tact Pebtcaticn ot the International Weodusrhers of America wb. dissia Coen het

Vol. XX1, No. 16 <2

AUGUST 20, 1953 -

VANCOUVER, B. C.

S

Sc PER COPY

Interior Boards

To Start

Soon

Conciliation Board proceedings dealing with the dis-
putes between the IWA and the lumber.operators in the
Northern and Southern sections of the province will be
under way within a week, it was confidently anticipated
by the IWA Negotiating Committee today as its members
awaited the promised early announcement of the appoint-
ments of chairmen, by the Labor Relations Board.

Members of the Northern In-
terior Board are President Frank
Howard, Local 1-71, IWA, for
the Union, and Mr A. Sutton,
barrister, employers’ nominee. On
the Board appointed for the
Southern dispute, the members
will be District 1st Vice-Presi-
dent William Gray, nominated by
the IWA, and Mr. J. CG. Munro,
for the employers.

In each instance, failure to
agree on the nomination of a
chairman resulted in reference to
the Labor Relations Board of the
appointments.

Urgency Explained

Reasons for the special efforts
now being extended by the IWA
to gain satisfactory contract
terms in the Interior were out-
lined by Walter Allen, Secretary
of the District Policy Committee,
when speaking on the Green Gold
radio program, August 18, as
follows:

At this time I wish to stress
the importance of the Interior
contract battle for every lumber
worker at the Coast. We dare
not forget the danger to our own
interests at the Coast which is
found in conditions throughout
the Interior, substantially below
those now established at the
Coast. ss

Block Improvements

A few points should be clearly
understood by Coast woodwork-
ers. The differential which exists
has been the result of efforts
made by antagonistic Interior
employers, who have been de-
termined to block any contract
improvements, that they may en-
joy a marketing advantage over
Coast producers.

The base rate now paid in the
See “INTERIOR” Page 3

Council Ratifies
Coast Contract

Draft of the Coast master agreement, as agreed upon
between the IWA District Policy Committee and Forest
Industrial Relations Ltd., was ratified by the IWA B.C.

District Council, August 15.

Copies have been forwarded

to all Local Unions, and steps have been taken to expedite
the signing of agreements with individual employers.

It will be noted that the wage
clause incorporates the nine-cent-
an-hour cost of living bonus in
the base rate and adds thereto
5 cents an hour, thus raising the
base rate 14 cents from $1.35 to
$1.49 per hour, retroactive to
June 15.

It will also be noted that no
change was made in the contract
qualifications for the stipulated
statutory holidays, as applicable
to all except casual employees.

‘The clauses of the master con-
tract affected by the recommen-
dations of the Conciliation Board,
and now revised accordingly, will
read as hereunder:

Article VI—Wages
SECTION 1:

{a} The Parties hereby agree
thet wages shall be increased by
five {5} cents per hour fo all Em-

WHAT'S
INSIDE

ployees covered by this Agree-
ment, retroactive to the 15th day
of June, 1953.

{b) Fallers and Buckers, Shingle
Sawyers and ‘Packers, who are
paid on a piece-work basis, will
receive the increase of five (5)
cents per hour, to be added to any
existing daily rate, retroactive to
the 15th day of June, 1953.

(cl The Parties hereby agree
that the Cost-of-living Bonus
Clause, Article VII in the 1952
Agreement Is hereby cancelled.

{d] It is agreed that the Cost-
of-Living Bonus of nine [9] cents
per hour which was paid under
Article VII of the 1952 Agreement
shall be consolidated Into the
hourly, daily or monthly rate for
all Employees under’ this Agree-
ment. :

fe] The minimum rate for Com-
mon Labor (men) shall be $1.49
per hour, except those categories
listed “in the Wage Supplement
attached hereto.

SECTION 2:

It is agreed that the wage rates
for Power House Employees will
be paid in accordance with the
certificate required under the,
Boller Inspection Acf, as follows:

See “CONTRACT” Page 3

HEADS ICFTU

OMER BECU—Elected President
of the International Confedera-
tion of Free Trade Unions by the
ICETU Executive Board follow-
ing the recent Third World Con-

gress of the ICFTU, held in
Stockholm, Sweden. Becu, form-
er secretary of the dockers’ sec-
tion of the Belgian Transport
Workers’ Union, has been Gen-
eral Secretary of the Interna-
tional Transport Workers’ Fed-
eration since 1949,

Prime
Minister

Gets Bid

Prime Minister. Louis St.
Laurent has been extended an
invitation to address the 17th
Annual Constitutional Conven-
tion of the IWA to be held in
the’ Hotel Vancouver, October
12-16, it was “disclosed . this
week by International Secre-
tary Carl Winn.

The Prime Minister has ac-
knowledged the invitation, and
indicated that if his duties per-
mit, he will endeavor to be pres-
ent.

CIO President Walter Reuther
and CCL President A. R. Mosher
have also been invited and have
expressed their readiness to at-
tend if at all possible.

Local Plans

The host Local Union, 1-217,
Vancouver, has appointed com-
mittees to deal with all phases
of convention arrangements in a
determination to demonstrate the
capabilities of the largest Local
Union in the International. Con-
vener of local convention ar-
rangements is Financial” Secre-
tary S. M. Hodgson,

Already plans have been set in
motion for convention publicity,
and the enjoyment by the dele-

gates of traditional Vancouver
hospitality.

Full Agenda

Convention officers indieate
that the agenda will include many

See “BID” Page 3

Green Gold—UJOR

LISTEN TO
9.15 p.m. ¢

tnrsay : UKNW

kw

UNION DEMANDS UNIFORM
WAGE STANDARD AT COAST

wow

wk kw

of the 22, who were facing
ations.

LATE BULLETIN: At press time, advice has been
received by the IWA District officers that 17 employers
had agreed to accept the general wage settlement, out

strike votes in their oper-

Commencing August 21, g
votes will be held in 22 Coast

Tabulation of the results will
be centralized in Vancouver, with
the expectation that the outcome
will be known during the follow-
ing week.

Following discussion of the
report of the District Negotia-
tion Committee, which was ap-
proved, the IWA District
Council in session, August 15,
authorized the use of the
Union’s strike fund, should
strike ‘action become necessary
at any point.

In a report to the Union made
over the Green Gold radio pro-
gram, Walter. Allen, Secretary of
the District Policy Committee
stated that the prevailing opinion
in the operations concerned was
that the employers should be re-
quired to comply with the stand-
ards now set for the Coast lum-

overnment-supervised strike
operations where employers

had rejected the general wage settlement, it was announc-
ed this week by the IWA District Officers.

One Standard Vital
He said: “No good reason has

.been shown why any group of-

workers in the Coast industry
should be required to work for
Jess than the majority of the
operators are now prepared to
pay.”

“The industry is so closely in-
tegrated, that the existence of
two separate wage schedules
would cause endless confusion,
and work, and grave injustice for
the workers concerned.

The exceptional conditions,
claimed by some operators as
justification for the payment of
a lower wage scale than now gen-
erally agreed upon, are not the
result of labor costs, but rather
spring from the greater degree of
monopolistic control established
by the employers as a whole.
Workers should not be penalized

ber industry,

for such conditions.

Majority report of a Con-
ciliation Board dealing with
the dispute between Local
1-423, IWA, and the Pentic-
ton Sawmills Ltd., released
this week, recommended the
contract terms now in effect
throughout the Southern In-
terior, with revision after
September 1 on the terms
to be negotiated for the
1953-54 master contract.

The Board, which sat in Pen-
ticton, was constituted of Mr. D.
P. Lockhart, Chairman, District
Secretary- Treasurer George H.
Mitchell, IWA nominee, and J. C.
Munro, company nominee.

The evidence and argument on
behalf of the IWA was presented
by Secretary of the District Ne-
gotiating Committee, Walter
Allen, 1st District Vice-President
William N, Gray, and Financial
Secretary J. W. Strong, Local
1-423.

In his minority report, Mr. J.
C. Munro, Company nominee,
filed objection to all the principal
demands of the Union on the

ground that marketing prospects
are uncertain.

After a detailed review of the
evidence, the majority report
stated:

“Messrs. D. P. Lockhart and
Geo. H. Mitchell, majority board
members, recommend that the
Master Agreement, 1951, Forest
Product Industries, Interior Region,
effective September 1, 1951, which
covers also from September 1,
1952, to August 31, 1953, be the
new agreement to be signed by
the Company and the Union and
that the wage scale of the sald
Southern Interlor Master agre:
ment for the said perlod be effec-

OARD CONFIRMS
INTERIOR RATE

tlve from the date of this report
until August 31, 1953, and to con-
tinve in full force and effect until
@ new agreement ‘is concluded
between the Union and the South-
ern Interior Association.

“Further, that the Company
agree to begin bargaining on or
as soon after September 1, 1953,
as is reasonable, on the basis of
any such agreement entered into
by the Southern Interior Associa-
tion, effective on or after that
date,

“We have come to this decision
bearing in mind that relations be-
tween the Company and its em-
ployees are of paramount import-
ance and consideration and that
in the hope that from our recom-
mendations, an equitable basis of
settlement and agreement will be
arrived af, by sitting around a
bargaining table by the two par-
ties in the dispute now being con-
sidered by this Conciliation Board.”

SUPPORT
URGED

All CCL Unions in British
Columbia have again been
reminded by the Vancouver
Labor Council that support
is urgently needed for the
strike at Slade & Stewart
Ltd., wholesale produce mer-
chants, Vancouver, conducted
by the Retail, Wholesale &
Department Store Union.

‘A determined effort has
been made to secure official
recognition of the former
company union, as a means
to ‘break the strike. The
picket line is holding firmly,
and operations of the plant
are at a standstill.

7.05 p.m.
Saturday

6.30 p.m.
Thursday

AB}