i t i | Prince George Settlement Levels Interior Conditions Vol. XXII, No. 14 <> ™ And ISSUE, JULY 1954 - VANCOUVER, BC. > 5c PER COPY NEW HOME OF LOCAL ie Hartung Scores | N.W. Operators | | | | | i i Immediately following a meeting between the North- west Regional Negotiating Committee IWA and the Fir Operator Groups with the Federal Conciliator in Portland recently, International President Hartung made a scathing statement regarding the attitude of the operators and made a public plea for justice. [30's Home Debt-Free In August All financial obligations in- curred in connection with the building of an IWA Headquar- ters for Local 1-80 IWA in Dunean will be wiped out be- fore the end of August, it was reported to the membership meeting recently by George Smythe, Building Committee Chairman. The total cost of erecting and equipping the premises occupied by the Local Union earlier in the year has approximated $40,000, it was estimated, The erection of this attractive- ly-designed building was financed from a Building Fund, launched See “1-80” 2 WHAT'S INSIDE The proceedings were described in the strike bulletin as follows: “The spokesman for the Oper- ators handed the Conciliation Service a letter stating that they were unwilling to meet again un- til the Union is ready to sign the current, agreement without change. Their letter also stated that individual Operators would meet with the Union only for the pur- See “HARTUNG” Page 3 Lockout Enters 3rd Week Locked-out bakery work- ers were still locked-out by the master bakers, as at the beginning of the third week of open conflict prospects loomed for a long and bitter struggle. It became obvious that the em- ployers, who had previously com- mitted themselves to a lock-out policy, intended to risk every- thing rather than retract their threats against the Union. Both parties to the dispute appeared to be preparing for a fight to the finish. See “LOCK-OUT” Page 2 | |tial improvement on these terms. Policy Committee Urges Acceptance Decision of the IWA Di In Vote istrict Policy Committee on July 16 to recommend acceptance of the settlement terms outlined during bargaining talks for the Northern Interior resulted in immediate preparations for a vote by the IWA members affected who reside mainly in the Prince George area. At that time tabulation and announcement of the vote was expected during the The views of the District Policy Committee were presented to the membership in the following terms: Committee’s Statement After weeks of determined bargaining with the Northern In- terior lumber operators, the IWA District Negotiating Committee reports its belief that the con- tract improvements listed below are the best obtainable, either through bargaining or concilia- tion procedures. As these proposed terms of set- tlement “level up” wages and working conditions under the Northern Interior contract with those under the Southern Interior contract, it is unlikely that a Conciliation Officer or Board would recommend any substan- After careful consideration of all points of view, the District Policy Committee agrees with this opinion, and now requests the IWA members in the North- ern Interior to indicate their wishes in the matter by vote. The members of the Policy Committee are aware that the proposed conditions of settlement are not as good as the Union desired. In the light of all the facts, however, they have reached the conclusion that it is in the best interests of the membership to settle on the basis indicated. The proposed settlement terms, here outlined, represent substan- tial gains, long sought by the membership. The Committee must, therefore, place the choice frankly before the membership, with a recommendation for ac- ceptance, based on the belief that this proposed settlement now would be in their best interests. A settlement is possible im- mediately on the basis of the following changes in the North- ern Interior master contract: 1. Duration of Agreement Provision that the term of last week of July. agreement shall be for two years, commencing September 1, 1954. This enables the progressive introduction of a number of con- tract improvements over the period, and terminates the North- ern and Southern contracts on the same date—August 81, 1956. 2. General Wage Increase Provision for an across-the- board wage increase of 144 cents an ‘hour, effective September 1, 1954, and an additional across- the-board wage increase of 3 cents an hour effective September 1, 1955. The base rates so established will be: September 1, 1954....$1.87 an hr. September 1, 1956....$1.40 an hr. This wage adjustment will equalize the base rates in the Northern and Southern Interior. The operators indicated, that, for obvious reasons, they would not agree to a wage scale in the Northern Interior higher than now set for the Southern Interior. 3. Forty-hour Work Week Provision for the establishment of the forty-hour work week ef- fective September 1, 1955, on similar conditions to those now contained in the coast master contract. The period of one year was insisted upon by the operators in order to plan for the necessary changes in production schedules, which will provide the workers with two consecutive days of rest in each week. The salaries paid monthly- rated employees will be adjusted under an agreed-upon formula, to enable them to benefit equally with hourly-rated employees. 4. Statutory Holidays Provision for three paid statu- tory holidays, to be made effec- tive as follows: . During the period September 1, 1954, to August 31, 1955, and See “SETTLEMENT” Page 3 TORONTO Green Gold-CJOR LISTEN TO 7.00 p.m. ¢ Thursday § 7.05 p.m. Saturday CKNW :CJAV 6.30 p.m. Thursday