least seven (7) days before
‘such suspension.

{¢) No employee shall be sub-
ject to any penalties against his
application for membership: or
‘reinstatement, except as may
be provided for in the Interna-
tional Constitution as revise:
December, 1952, and in accord-
ance with the By-Laws of Local

1-424,

(d} The Company pledges, un-
dertakes and agrees that no em-
ployee being a member of the
Local Union, heretofore employ-
ed by the Company, or by any
other Company, shall be dis-
eriminated against or refused
employment by reason of such
employee having been involved
in the strike of members of the
Union immediately preceding the
signing of this agreement.

‘Any such employee, claiming
sto be aggrieved by reason of
refusal of employment, for the
reason aforesaid, may, within
thirty [30] days of such refusal,
demand in writing, addréssed to
the Local Union and the Com-
pany, that his grievance be
heard at a Joint meeting of the
officers of the Local Union and
the management of the Com-
pany. Such meeting shall be
held within ten 10) days of the
recelpt of the sald demand.

If no satisfactory settlement
is reached the matter shall be
dealt with by arbitration as
provided for in this Agreement.

Commenting on the above for-
mula, in a report to the Union,
District President Joe Morris
stated:

“Tt will be “noted that this
clause is similar to that now in-
corporated in the Coast master
contract with added protection
against discrimination. It will
also be noted that it eliminates
objectionable features of the
union security clause formerly
offered by the employers and ap-
proved by Judge Lord.

When this clause is considered
in connection with the other
changes in the contract it pro-
vides reasonable assurance, if
observed in good faith, that the
status of the Union in the indus-
try will enable the progressive
development of fully unionized
conditions on the job,”

The President also stated:

“In view of the costly nature
of the struggle, and the great
sacrifices made by the strikers, it
is important that we should now
correctly appraise the value to
the membership of the Union of
the gains, represented by these
revised contract terms.

The Strike Justified

No one can deny the fact, that
these gains would not have been
realized without strike action. At
the outset the employers were
adamant on the point that there
would be no improvement of con-
tract terms in any important re-
spect. Strike action was made
unavoidable when the employers
arbitrarily denied the employees
all opportunities for satisfactory
bargaining.

Tt was not until the employees
demonstrated over 102 days of
strike action, their determination
to gain recognition for legitimate
rights, that the employers capitu-
lated, and granted terms which
they could have agreed upon at
the outset.

Union Stronger

Another fact of major im-
portance is that out of the
1g nm in the Northern
Interior. The fight consolidat-
ed our ranks as nothing else
could possibly have done, It
ht home to thousands of

the value of trade

B.C. LUMBER WORKER

were almost completely at the
mercy of the employers and
their whims. Now they return
to work with self-respect, and
the knowledge that they haye
established their democratic
right to organize and bargain
collectively through the union
of their choice.

May Now Unionize

The terms now written into the
contract regarding union security
require that the status of the
Union be recognized where the
problems of the workers are con-
cerned. These terms mean that
with proper organization on the
job by the workers, they can
successfully and completely
unionize every operation affected.
This should eliminate much of
the former atmosphere of war-
fare, when the workers were
kept constantly battling for a
foothold for their organization.

From now on, we may expect
that our Union in that area will
grow in membership strength
and efficiency. This prospect is
most significant, when we con-
sider the industrial development
under way in that section of the
province.

Workable Contract

We also regard it is important
that the lumber workers in the
Northern Interior now have a
workable contract. Many of the
loopholes, which were previously
exploited by the employers, have
been repaired. They now have a
contract, which the workers can
police effectively, and with their
new attitude toward unionism,
we may expect that the better
policing of a better contract will
lead to important results.

As regards the terms of
settlement, considered as a
‘package deal”, I will not pre-
tend that it is all that was de-
manded or that could be desir-
ed. There afe many needs of
the lumber workers which still
require attention. It was the
best possible settlement under
the circumstances. ‘There was
no assurance that continued
strike action would improve the
settlement,

The terms of settlement
established after 102 days of
strike, and at a time when the
employers were aware that the
Union was prepared to continue
the fight, indicates how difficult
it has been to bring. the em-
ployers to consideration of any
concessions.

Major Issues Won

I wish to emphasize the fact
that the men are going back to
work with the conviction that the
struggle has been won on all
essential points in dispute. They
consider that they have won the
major issues, and that the foun-
dations have now been laid for
labor - management relations,
which will free them from the
victimization which they have
suffered in the past.

Certainly the employers have
good cause for their newly-
acquired respect for trade union-
ism, as represented by the IWA.
If the employers abandon their
distrust of the IWA, and take a
more up-to-date attitude toward
labor-management problems, we
may expect that greater indus-
trial stability may result in the
future,

Strikers Praised

The important gains made,
have been possible only because
of the magnificent struggle
waged by our members on the
picket line. I most sincerely
wish to pay my personal tri-
bute to their courage and self-
sacrifice, Although few of
them had had any previous ex-
perience in strikes, they quick-
ly grasped the issues at stake
and mastered the ability to or-
ganize strike strategy against
“great odds,

“STRIKE WON”

-Their fighting spirit and en-
durance presented a front,
which completely upset the or-
iginal calculations of the em-
ployers and proved unbeatable.
Our Union is under a great
debt to them for their valiant
defence of what had been a
vulnerable section of our or-
ganization.

Support Appreciated

I should also take this occasion
to express appreciation of the
generous support accorded the
strikers throughout the IWA
ranks at the Coast, and on the
part of our affiliated unions. The
strikers themselves desire that,
on their behalf I should make
known their gratitude. Without
this support, their ability to fight
would have been quickly under-
mined. This message of appre-
ciation applies not only to the
financial donations made to the
strike fund, but also to the gen-
erous support given the Christ-
mas Fund and the appeal for
winter clothing. Out of this mu-
tual aid has grown a greater
solidarity in the service of our
fraternity. This brings forcibly
to our attention the fact that the
strike in the Southern Interior is
not yet settled, and that we must
continue our aid to those still on
the picket lines.”

From Page 1

“Blasts”

and in Canada with the TLC,

Mr. Bens gave his personal
views as follows: "It would seem
that public opinion is sympa-
thetic to the granting of this
charter because it is a known
fact that the AFL is based on
the principle that you must first
be a citizen and secondly a
trade unionist.”

Said the district secretary:

“Every trade unionist will rec-
ognize what lies behind this state
ment. It actually means that an
AFL union is attempting to or-
ganize a scab-herding move to
break a‘strike at the behest of
the employer. I have no hesita-
tion in condemning the action of
this AFL representative as being
the most contemptible in the
records of trade unionism.

“It is a flagrant betrayal of his
fellow-workers, and a gross viola-
tion of the no-raiding agreement
recently accepted by the AFL.
The trade union movement will
call for a day of reckoning
against men who are proven
guilty of playing the employers’
strike-breaking game under the
guise of trade unionism. I’m
glad to say that the majority of
the workers in Creston have em-
phatically repudiated this be-
trayal.”

CODE
REVISION
STUDIED

OTTAWA .(CPA) — The long
expected appointment of a spe-
cial committee to consider cer-
tain aspects of Canada’s Criminal
Code revision has been announced
by Justice Minister Garson.

The special joint committee of
the Senate and Commons will in-
clude 17 M.P.s to be named early
in the new year. It will “inquire
into and report upon” possible
amendments to the Criminal Code
relating to capital punishment,
corporal punishment and lot-
teries,

FROM PAGE 1

“PROBE” se

course, charge full fare and berth
for this type of accommodations.
Protests Futile

I have, on many occasions, pro-
tested to the Union Steamships
Company and got nothing but the
run-around. In some instances,
the company refunded an amount
which they claim constitutes the
price of the berth, but in asking
the company to discontinue the
practice of charging for services
not given, they, of course, re-
fused.

In making quite an extensive
investigation into the company’s
right to do this, 1 have been ad-
vised by our attorney that it
would be necessary to contact
your Department and the Cana-

dian’ Maritime Commission to get
regulations governing this com-
pany’s actions.

I suggest that your Depart-
ment conduct a complete and a
thorough investigation into this
abuse by Union Steamships Co.,
and that the loggers of British
Columbia be extended the same
courtesy as the rest of the people
in our society.

Mr. Tom Barnett, M.P. for the
Comox-Alberni Riding, will be
given a copy of this letter ,and I
will ask him to contact you when
he returns to Ottawa, to explain
more fully to you the urgent
need for this investigation. Many
of the logging camps affected are
in Mr. Barnett’s Riding.”

Local 1-71 Urges

Immigration Plan -

More effective regulation of
immigration has been urged by
Local-1-71 IWA in representa-
tions made to the Federal Goy-
ernment. It was submitted at
the request of the convention
of the Loggers’ Local that a
pronounced trend toward in-
creasing unemployment is now
being aggravated by an influx
of new Canadians.

It was pointed out that employ-
ers frequently seek to take ad-
vantage of immigration by hir-
ing new arrivals in preference to
those who have already gained
experience in the industry.

Seasonal conditions in logging,
it was explained, make it diffi-
cult for loggers to maintain con-
tinuous employment in any one
camp, and therefore expose them
to displacement by newcomers in
the industry. Workers in the
lumber industry are the first to
suffer as a result of unplanned
immigration.

The Minister of Citizenship was
requested to take such action as
would be necessary to prevent
serious aggravation of unemploy-
ment and to direct new arrivals
to those sections of industry
where an actual shortage of labor
might be evident.

Miners Win

U.I.C. .

OTTAWA (CPA)—The fed-
eral government has backed
down on its decision not to
grant unemployment insurance
benefits to 350 miners who
were laid off when the Pay-
master Gold Mine at Timmins
closed down December 17.

Labor Minister Gregg an-
nounced that Unemployment In-
surance Commission had revers-
ed its decision that the miners
had been “locked-out” as the re-
sult of a labor dispute and were
therefore not eligible for benefit.
The altered decision had been
arrived at, he said, on the basis
of new evidence.

“The new facts submitted by

enefits

Mr, Russell (Toronto claims of-
ficer who investigated) indicate
that the mine closed because of
economic conditions and the pre-
vious decision has therefore been
rescinded and the claims of the
employees of the Paymaster Mine
have been allowed,” said the
Minister.

The investigation followed an
appeal against the Unemploy-

‘ment Insurance Commission’s

first decision by the United Steel-
workers, whose members were
involved. The union denied that
there was an industrial dispute
with the company and the com-
pany stated that it was suspend-
ing operations for economic
yeasons.

labor

always gets
a square deal...

The Province

The Vancouver Province is 100% Union Produced