Keep It Up! BRITISH Columbia woodworkers have, through their Local Unions, responded generously to the appeal made by the IWA International for financial support in aid of the [WA strikers and their families in the Pacific Northwest States. More than $15,000 has already been forwarded to the International Officials to be distributed through the special relief machinery recently set up ‘to assist the distressed District and Local Union organizations. This action may or may not sound impressive, according to one’s point of view and financial per- spective. The fact must be faced that, however generous $15,000 may sound, it is not nearly enough to meet the desperate need. The sums made available through the Local Unions should be supplemented as much as pos- sible by the continued contributions of individual « members, until the fight across the line is won. The strike is passing into its most. serious stage, with the IWA members fighting grimly but with indaunted courage and determination. They are betting their futures on the outcome; we can more easily back the fight with all our spare cash and it is the least we can do. ‘ Labor Marches ‘THE Labor Councils in the Vancouver area, both TLC aud CCL, deserve great credit for the effort made to organize an impressive Labor Day parade. It should be noted that this is one of the few cities in the Dominion, where such joint action on a successful basis has been made possible. The trade unionists responsible for this effort (and IWA officials are very much to the fore in this) have not forgotten the origin of Labor Day. The observance of Labor Day was originally proposed by a carpenter, Peter J. McGuire, one of the main figures in the formation of the American Federation of Labor. f He conceived the idea that one day should be set aside as a tribute to the worth and dignity of labor, and unquestionably he associated this with the struggle, then under way, for a reduced work- ing day. The public as well as the employers need this reminder that the trade unions are “big business” and that they are here to stay as the ever-watchful guardians of the workers’ standards of living and general well-being. Organized labor is on the march, so this may well be portrayed concretely by the marching workers on Labor Day. Prepare Now! ‘THIS month will see:the Convention of the Cana- dian Congress of Labor in Toronto, at which the IWA will play a more important part than ever before. This statement is not made on the basis of inside information or because of revelations seen in our crystal ball. It is the logical and inevitable ‘result of the growing influence of the IWA in Canadian trade union circles. This growing influ- ence derives mainly from the manner in which the IWA has upheld trade union principles in the successful conduct of its affairs. : This places all the greater responsibility on the IWA delegates who will wear the CCL convention badge in Toronto. They, can make a major con- tribution, out of their IWA experience, to the le eeEmet of trade union policies in the Federal eld. The B.C. contingent of woodworkers, if now instructed by their Local Unions, can wield a great influence on legislation to be introduced into Parliament. : For this task, the necessary preparation must now be made in the Local Unions before the de- parture of the delegates. | and better contract than we have What Our HE FINDS OUTLOOK GOOD IN PRINCE GEORGE LOCAL the present time in this province | without too many difficulties there despite the protests of organized are still certain operators who labor towards this vicious piece delight in breaking the contract The Editor: It is now.seven months since we concluded a period of a three- month strike which will go down in history as the “Battle of Planer Mill Row”. It was indeed a hard battle but | the hardship which many of us endured was worth it for it ce- | mented us together into.a body Jof determined fighters and | brought us clos : together as friends and neighbors. Good Contract The beginning of next month we shall be working under a new | and revised contract. At the be-} ginning a lot of us were leery of a long term contract but after} scrutinizing it closely it is a good ever had. Would we have held out for ; higher gains, it is doubtful if a/ | of legislation. yi jis attempting | one way or another. One satisfaction that we have! So therefore I advise every ‘at the provincial government | member of the IWA to endeavor igvelactetl four years and| to live up to his obligation and that I hope in 1957 organized la-| to do his utmost to help us fight bor in this area will join hands| in our struggle for a decent liv- with all labor bodies throughout | ing for ourselves and the future B.C. to defeat the present anti-| generations to come. labor Socred administration which| _ One other item of interest— hard enough to| Brother Ralph Laker was hospi- shackle our hands and put us| talized just lately due to an acci- back in the era of the hungry | dent. Let’s wish him a speedy thirties. recovery. Also Brother Art Ne- ‘ gard of Giscome has been in the Officers Praised | hospital with a sore back. Let's In regards Union activities, our | hope that these Brothers recover Business Agent, Howard Webb,| speedily that we may see them and Jacob Holst, our Interna-| in our midst once again. tional Representative, are doing| | a tremendous job. But their task! is indeed an unthankful one, so it is up to us here, to give them Conciliation Board would have| every possible assistance in re- given us’that much under the|gards the policing of our new new Labor Law, which exists at | contract, for despite a settlement! In closing 1 wish to thank our Negotiating Committee for their sincere and tremendous efforts of bringing about a decent and fair settlement, for us people in the North. J. “Carl” Mueller. TLC Endorses Pact Another step toward unity between Canada’s top labor bodies was taken in Regina recently, when the Trades and Labor Congress endorsed a no-raiding agreement with the Canadian Congress of Labor. The pact, a history-making one | for Canadian labor, is yet to be approved by the CCL but is, ex+ pected to get the signature of| the Congress at its national con- vention in Toronto late next month. Binds Both Bodies ‘As approved almost unani- mously by 650 TLC convention delegates, it would bind the two central labor bodies—the TLC with 580,000 members and the CCL with 375,000—not to do any membership raiding ‘among the members directly chartered to them and would apply influence on autonomous unions against raiding. Hammered out in recent weeks by top officers of the two con- gresses, the armistice follows along the lines of a peace treaty signed earlier this year between ANS the American Federation of La- bor:and the Congress of Indus- trial Organizations, the United States counterparts of the TLC and CCL. Procedures Set It sets up procedures for iron- ing out jurisdictional disputes be- tween unions of each congress, with the final decision as between any two unions going to an um- pire chosen jointly by officers of | the two congresses, ‘ For individual unions apart from congress-chartered ones, in-| cluding the big international groups, the pact would Beers operative only when the union itself signs. it. S Most of the autonomous unions in the TLC have indi- cated they go along with. the no-raid agreement. The two major dissenters — among the TLC’s largest unions—are the carpenters union and the team- sters union, which also refused to join the AFL-CIO liaison in the U.S. Carpenters Dissent The carpenters, with about 40,- 000 members, constitute the TLC’s second largest union, fol- lowing behind president Percy R. Bengough’s 52,000 machinists, who will sign up. 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