By RAE EDDIE, M.L.A. Business Agent, Local 1-357, IWA J spent a week in the Southern Interior of the Province, in the area where our members of the IWA are on strike, visiting with the members of Local 1-428, who are fighting to establish decent wages, contract provisions, The trip was made at the re- quest of the District Officers, who believe, and I agree with them, that Coast Locals of the IWA should get acquainted with members of our Locals in the In- terior, and should be familiarized with their conditions and require- ments. Kelowna Situation I spent three days in Kelowna and adjacent area. During the time I was there, our pickets were restrained by a Court In- junction, which said that the strikers could not be seen around or near the plant of the S. M. Simpson Co. This restraint was pretty ef- fectively overcome by a program of roving picketing. In short, our members were picketing the town instead of just the plant. There was no material leaving the plant. There was some saw- dust for fuel released by permis- sion of Strike Headquarters. Lumby Meeting I spoke to two meetings while there, one at Kelowna and one at Lumby. In the latter town the employees of the Bell Pole Co. are on strike, The plant of Lum- by Timber Co. is running, and at the meeting I attended, the mem- ers employed by this company went on record to assess them- selves on a monthly basis, to help their Brothers who are on strike, Injunctions Lifted The money raised was to be channelled through the District Strike Fund. Since leaving Ke- Jowna area, I have learned that the Court Injunction, “against the S. M. Simpson Co., has been lifted, so that the pickets are now back at their places in front of the plant. After leaving Kelowna, I tra- yelled to Greenwood in company _ with Walter Allen, Secretary of the District Negotiating Commit- tee and Henry Sommerveld of the Kelowna Local. We held a meeting in Greenwood of strik- ing members employed at the Boundary Sawmills at Midway. The following day we travelled to Grand Forks where meetings were held in the afternoon and evenings of the same day. The next day we travelled to Osoyoos where we met with the strikers of the Osoyoos Lumber Co. This meeting was held at 9:30 a.m., following which we met with Jack Strong, Financial - Secretary of Local 1-423, and drove to Vancouver in order to be present at the District Execu- tive Board meeting on December 11, ~ Met Businessmen While in Kelowna I called upon the Board of Trade of that City, also the Editor of the Kelowna Courier. In my discussion with these two parties, I attempted to persuade them that they should interest themselves in promoting a meeting of the two parties to the dispute and discard their “hands off” policy. While I was able to interest them in my plan, they did not appear too enthu- siastic. Public Relations Needed It is very obvious to me that we have a big job of public to do in the City of tices ay 1 fond iba atti- working conditions and which are long overdue there. to the citizens on the street, the barbers, the mechanics, and - the waitresses, I found that while at first they were com- pletely out of: sympathy with our members on strike, when the facts were explained to them, in many cases, their at- titude changed. Magnificent Spirit All through my trip I must say I was most agreeably impressed by the magnificent spirit of the strikers. Everywhere I went I found a cheerfulness, seldom found in like cases. They showed indomitable determination to win their struggle and expressed in every instance a determination to stay on the picket lines until next Spring if necessary to win their demands. I am certain they are going to win. I could arrive at no other conclusion after meeting and talking to these fellows. It is most certainly an inspira- tion to find among these Bro- thers, after all this time on strike, such’ an optimistic outlook for their future and such resolute determination to win their fight. Nowhere did I find any weakness in the ssolid front facing the operators. Coast Greetings In my meetings with them I brought them greetings from the Coast Membership and I received enthusiastic applause when I informed them that the Coast members had already as- sessed themselves $1.00 per member per month to aid their strike and that, further, they were considering raising that amount to $3.00 per month. They were-very grateful and encouraged by such evidence of solid support by the Coast members. Evidence of the unbeaten spirit of the members was seen in the meeting I attended of employees of the Grand Forks Sawmills. This operation, in the midst of the strike area, is in the final stages of their own negotiations. The members voted 93% to reject an inadequate Conciliation Award and by 97% voted to authorize the calling of a Government- supervised strike vote. Ready For Fight They showed clearly by this action that they are prepared to do their part to aid their Bro- thers now on strike. I believe that we in the Coast Locals have been remiss in our duties to our organization, by not paying suf- ficient attention to our Interior Locals, We should see that some of our officers or members visit those locals periodically and get acquainted with the membership. These visits should take place all during the year—not just when they are on strike. Wipe Out Isolation I believe such a program, if instituted, would do much to do away with any feeling of isola- tion the Interior members might have. It would do much to con- solidate our whole IWA and would impress upon the Interior members the fact that. we all belong to the same union. Impressed As I said earlier; I was deep- ly impressed by the morale and determination of the strikers. I have listened to reports of many people telling us of this attitude prevailing among our Interior members on strike, si ghive 3 but to really appreciate it you need to meet these people, I have learned this: that our Coast members can learn a lot from our Brothers in the In- terior. The best tribute I can pay them is to say, “they are real Trade Unionists who have a big job to do, and are doing it” We in the Coast Locals must see that they are supplied with the necessary funds to keep them supplied with food, fuel and clothing while they are doing that job. MOVIE SPENDING RISES OTTAWA (CPA) — Canadians spent a record $8.21 per capita on movie entertainment last year, according to a report from the Dominion Bureau of Statistics. This was 49 cents more than in 1951, $2.06 more than in 1946 and $3.20 more than in 1942. Generally speaking, Canadians went to the movies more often in 1952 (18.2 visits per capita against 17.9 in 1951), paid more to get in (an average of 45 as against 48 cents in regular the- atres), and saw a larger propor- tion of color feature films (16 against 13 percent) and feature films made in Hollywood (75 as against 68 percent). IWA Protests Postponement Proposal was made by Forest Industrial Relations Ltd. to postpone considera- tion of tradesmen’s rates until April, when IWA rep- resentatives met the em- ployers’ agents this week. It was indicated that the em- ployers, especially in the shingle and plywood industry, considered that present economic conditions prevented consideration of the proposed adjustments. The pro- posal was made to postpone the talks until April next. Objection was taken to this procedure by the IWA delega- tion, which included, District Secretary George Mitchell, Presi- dent Lloyd Whalen, Local 1-217, s A. Smith, Local 1-357, and Neil Shaw, Local 1-367. Further rep- resentations will be made in the matter. Tradesmen concerned are re- quested by the District Officials to watch for the official announce- ment of a special conference to be held on January 17, on which occasion further steps will be planned. 1-357 Suspects Policy Change Officers of Local 1-357, IWA, expressed concern this week over what they suspected to be a change of policy on the part of the. Workmen’s Compensa- tion Board regarding claims dealing with recurrence of dis- abling conditions from injuries originally classified as com- pensable. Steps are being taken to cate- gorize the rejected claims, and classify the results for considera- tion at the forthcoming District Convention. The opinion prevails that ma- jor cause of the trouble is with the medical men who largely in- fluence certain decisions of the claims department. Results of the investigation under way, under pressure of numerous complaints, will be re- ported to the District Council and other Local Unions as the basis of a broader enquiry. BARNETT HIGH LIGHTS PLYWOOD PROBLEM OTTAWA (CPA) — Lumber- workers on the Pacific Coast have been laid off because Prairie farmers do not have the neces- sary cash to buy plywood and other products, Tom Barnett (CCF Comox-Alberni) told Par- liament. Speaking in the Throne Speech debate, the B.C, member pointed up the interdependence of the welfare of people in one part of Canada to people in other parts.