B.C. LUMBER WORKER 2nd Issue, September From time to time, The publish “flash-backs” on sc trade on the they In this Issue we working-class of Britaln in 1842, during th ) a WORKERS’ STRUGGLE Unions Fought — This Slavery . Lumber Worker proposes fo f historical’ importance In history as reported by reputable writers, or based lcture of the conditions of the arly beginnings of trade unlonism, as described by Arthur Bryant, In “English Sage In May, 1842, four men — Southwood Smith, a doctor, Tho- ~ mas Tooke an economist, and R. J, Saunders and Leonard Horner, factory inspectors — published a document which profoundly troubled the conscience of Eng- land. It was called the First Re- port of the Children’s Employ- ment Commission. It dealt with the conditions of labor of children and young per- sons working in coal mines. The commission had been set up two years before by Lord Melbourne’s government, largely through the pertinacity of Lord Ashley, an inconveniently well-connected young Tory (Lord Palmerston’s son-in-law). Everybody knew that the con- ditions of life and labor in the new factory towns of the north and midlands, until now a remote, barren and little visited part of the country, were of a rough and primitive character. There had always been rough and primitive Englishmen, and in these smoky and unsavory dis- tricts they were undoubtedly on the increase. It was part of the price that had to be paid for the nation’s growing wealth. But the revela- tions of the Commissioners’ pages took the country by surprise. From this document it appear- ed that the employment of chil- dren of seven or eight years old in coal mines was almost uni- versal. 7-Year-Olds at Work In some pits they began work at a still earlier age: a case was eyen recorded of a child of three. Some were employed as “trappers”, others for push- ing or drawing coal trucks along the pit tunnels. A trapper, who operated the ventilation doors on which the safety of the mines depended, would often spend as many as 16 hours a day crouching in solitude in a small dark hole. “Although this employment seareely deserves the name of labor,” ran the Commission’s re- port, “yet as the children engaged in it are commonly excluded from light and are always without companions, it would, were it not for the passing and repassing of the coal carriages, amount to solitary confinement of the worst order.” Harnessed Like Dogs Those who drew the trucks were “harnessed like dogs in a go-cart” and crawled on all- fours down passages in some places only 18 inches © high. Other children worked at the pumps in the under-bottom of SLEEPING BAGS $8.95 Two bags for $16.95. New Army type bag. Olive drab heavy covering, Fully wool and cotton batt filling. Zipper side closing. Inner lining is warm flannel Kasha. Size 32”x76”. Plump pillow is attached, NYLON SLEEPING BAGS 100% WATER REPELLENT 76”, Guaranteed nylon water- Mt material, Snag and tear construction. 100” zipper open- i as a double size blanket. 1 Woolbatt filled. Suitable the pits, standing ankle deep in water for 12 hours. One who was cited, only six years of age, carried or dragged half a hundredweight every day up a distance equiva- lent to the height of St. Paul’s Cathedral. What struck the conscience of early. Victorian England with especial horror was the fact that girls as well as boys were em- ployed in these tasks. \Naked to the waist, and with chains drawn between their legs, the future mothers of English- men crawled on all-fours down tunnels under the earth drawing Egyptian burdens. Women, Infirm Cripples Women by the age of 30 were old and infirm cripples. Such labor, degrading all who engaged in it, was often accompanied by debauchery and sickening cruelty: one witness before the Commis- sion described how he had seen a boy beaten with a pick-axe. Lord Ashley in a speech in the Commons mentioned an- other whose master was in the habit of thrashing him with a stick through which a nail had been driven: the child’s back and loins were beaten to a jelly, his arm was broken and his head covered with the mark of old wounds. To add to its horrors the Report was illus- trated with pictures. Highest Profits Reported Crown Zellerbach, one of the giants of the lumber industry, had its “best year” in history for the year ending April 30, accord- ing to company officials. The company issued nearly $14 million in dividends to stockhold- ers, or about $1000 for every one of its 17,110 employees, who were paid a total of $79,679,000. Many of the employees are Woodworker union members on strike in the Northwest, Net profits after taxes of $30.9 million were near $27 million, up 22.6 percent from the preceding year. P.N.E. TROPHY for the best float in the Labor Day parade to District President Joe Morris, by P.N.E. President John Moffitt. is presented Union New Tactic NEW YORK (CPA)—When a clothing company left the New York area and scuttled off to a low-wage area in the southern States, the union went right after it. Now the runaway will have to compete with a union employer in his new location. The International Ladies’ Gar- ment Workers’ Union is building a $40,000 factory at Appomattox, Virgina, to compete with a chil- dren’s. wear factory which had escaped its union obligations in New York, The factory will be leased by the ILGWU to a New York company that will operate| under union conditions and offer jobs to strikers at the runaway plant at higher wages than ob- tained at the struck plant. | ‘After five years, the lessee will have the opportunity of purchas- ing the plant at its original cost, with the possibility that rent will be credited towards the purchase price at the end of the period. Oppose Runaways David Dubinsky, President of ILGWU, notes: “Some firms go south because they need more output, want to be close to ex- panding sales markets or have other bona fide reasons. The union has no quarrel with those who go with no purpose to break down established union standards, but we do oppose those bargain hunters whose sole aim is to un- dermine and destroy. A Luchy Break ' “By building this plant, we will Beats not only relieve the union of the necessity for paying strike bene- fits of $6,000 a week but we will provide decent employment for Southern workers and make a permanent contribution to the welfare of the Appomattox com- munity.” BIRTHDAY GIFTS WON NEW HAVEN, CONN. (CPA) —The New Haven Clock Co. will give every union member a pres- ent on his or her birthday as a result of'a new contract signed here recently between the Retail, Wholesale and Department Stores Union and the company. RWISU was seeking an addi- tional paid holiday to bring the annual total up to eight. In lieu of the extra holiday, which the compnay said would put it out of line with other plants in the area, the new contract provides for a gift of $10 to every em- ployee on their birthday. new exfra power new optional MCW light weight LE.L’s PIONEER MODEL PH @ twin cylinder high-speed production chain‘ saw. chain speed Broken glasses are often a lucky break for eyes handicapped by an obsolete lens prescription. Since human eyes change with use, abuse and age +++ + periodic eye examinations are necessary to detect any need for lens correction. Don’t wait for broken glasses to give your eyes the break they optometrist, . Abramson & Acllenbeng ; Optometrists 734 GRANVILLE STREET MA, 0928 MA, 2948 | Ground Floor — Vancouver Block deserve. Schedule regular check-ups by your. 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