4 B.C. LUMBER WORKER ae EDITORIAL Well Done! BY any yardstick, the proceedings of the 17th Annual District Convention brought increased prestige to the IWA in British Columbia. The conduct of the convention in disposing of an impressive agenda was more efficient and busi- ness-like than the majority of the many conven- tions which each year attract public attention in the Coast city. : The delegates were intent on the business which brought them to the assembly, and faith- fully met their heavy responsibilities through long weary hours of discussion. The accomplishments of the convention were noteworthy. Out of the work of the convention -committees, and the convention officers, the dele- gates shaped a program of action that staked out another important stage of the Union’s progress. The outlook and work of the convention was in this sense truly constructive and positive. The spirit of the convention was commend- able. The sturdy commonsense of the lumber workers finds its best expression in the demo- cratic traditions of the Union. The attitude of the convention was realistic without any loss of the altruism and generous outlook which has always been characteristic of woodworkers. IWA members have learned much of the art of blending independence of thought and speech with loyalty to majority decisions. It was this technique which piloted the delegates through contentious issues toward unity of purpose, and service of: the common good. Convention action now makes possible a num- ber of important predictions for the ensuing year. 4 IWA organization will grow in strength and efficiency because of the plans well and truly laid, and the determination which inspired the plan- ning. Education will be the handmaiden to this growth. Contract conditions will again be improved. The forces mobilized by the Union, and in evi- dence at the convention cannot fail to make headway. . The influence of the IWA will compel action by the Legislature to enact more just and equit- able legislation for the workers of British Columbia. Better Laws - Required | harsh language employed by the IWA Dis- trict- Convention in condemning recent deci- sions of the Labor Relations Board was fully justified by the evidence before the delegates. Unquestionably, the Board has been guilty of malfeasance in office in a degree that requires drastic action by the Legislature now in session. There is no hope of stability-in labor-manage- ment relations across the province, now that the workers have discovered that a government agency, presumed to be impartial, is prepared to condone barefaced chicanery in the interests of the employers. . ; The situation requires more than denuncia- tion. Matters are rapidly moving to a crisis in respect of labor legislation awaiting amendment in Victoria, Action to support the joint trade union com- mittee in demanding just labor legislation is the only means by which the Union may gain redress for the wrongs suffered. : alia i Ae ge JEKYLL & HYDE %. Your Space Boys! Readers Vein! CAMP CONDITIONS EXPOSED The Editor: You will have noticed in Sat- urday’s “Sun” of the 13th of Feb- ruary, a report of Dr. H. M. Brown, provincial health officer, on the unsanitary state of the camps in this district. Quite so, but if my memory is correct, the Doctor has been health officer for a long time. Why the previous neglect on his part? Why no prosecutions? One would certainly like to know what camps escaped denun- ciation on the part of the sud- denly efficient health officer. Cer- tainly one of them can’t be Gis- come, where dogs use the pump barrel at the village well, and surface drainage has no difficulty in arriving in the well water. One would search in vain for some system of garbage disposal from around the houses and shacks. No disinfectant is applied at intervals to the privies. I suggest the union undertake to clean up the camps by putting on its own health inspector,’ or inspectors. Anyway this idea should be given out for publica- tion in the dailies. It should be good publicity for the IWA, and at the same time put some gin- ger into government health de- partment, Since tried their damndest to make the Union a disreputable mob, who failed to observe law, the oppor- tunity is here, and a very good one, to show up the operators as an irresponsible body which fails to observe the laws of the prov- ince, and a- very vulgar one at that, and very ignorant of basie health requirements. IWA Member. the lumber operators Holst Concurs The Editor: The IWA concurs in the con- templated action that is. to be taken by the Health authorities concerning the unsanitary condi- tions in which woodworkers are living in camps surrounding Prince George and outside dis- trict, For years now the union has done everything to have these camps comply with the regula- tions of the Health Department to make them fit for people to live in. The unsanitary conditions in these camps reflects not only on the morale of the woodworkers but endangers their safety and health as well. Since coming to this area I have been amazed at the type of accommodation being supplied to the woodworkers in various op- erations, unsanitary conditions and overcrowded bunkhouses, are a menace to the health and well being of the workers and a detri- ment to the employer. The union will co-operate in every manner possible to see that steps are taken to bring all camps up to the specified regula- tions of the Health Department. International Organizer. e Jack Holst, “Shall I boil the missionary?” asked the cannibal cook. The cannibal chief was horri- fied. - “Boil him!” he exclaimed. “Don’t do that; he’s a friar.” Annual Wage Pro OTTAWA (CPA)—Introduction of the guaranteed an- nual wage would force employers to greater stabilization in production and would “redirect the social cost of at least some unemployment to where it originates or can be con- trolled—the employer,” the Research Department of the CCL notes in a recent report on the GAW. The trade union goal of guar- anteed income is tied to that of steady work, notes the study; and the GAW ‘would lead to “some levelling out of the employment peaks and valleys which are char- acteristic of a good many indus- tries”. Many causes of unemploy- ment are often “directly with- in the control of management,” the study said. Material short- ages or over-production, in- adequate knowledge of market- ing and poor administration were among the preventable causes of layoffs attributed to management. “If employers had to pay for the idleness ANS which resulted from their own social irresponsibility, it is al- together likely that there would be fewer workers out of work as a result of such causes.” The annual wage is an import- ant part of a “rounded program” for. lasting prosperity and better labor-management relations, the CCL researchers noted. Also needed are minimum wage laws, social insurance, public works, a housing program elimination of combines, and a long-range pro- gram of foreign trade. Above all, government should accept its responsibility for adopting and fits All maintaining a full employment All Benefit policy. Both shareholders and employ- ees benefit from the industrial stabilization resulting from plan- ned production, says the study. SOLICITOR TO THE LW. A. On DIAMONDS, JEWELRY, SILVERWARE, FURS AND ALL VALUABLES Immediate Cash! No Red Tapet Unredeemed Diamonds for Sale B. C. COLLATERAL LOAN BROKERS LTD. 77 EAST HASTINGS, Cer. COLUMBIA PAcit