a ee B.C. LUMBER WORKER 2nd Issue, October IMPRESSIONS OF LOCAL 1-71 By IWA ROVING REPORTER Only by the use of a helicopter could anybody tour all the operations under the wing of Local 1-71, IWA, in one continuous journey. Then only by hopping in and out of innumerable coves and inlets, from the mainland to islands, and up and down craggy mountainsides, would it be possible to secure a composite picture of the most unique trade union organization in the Dominion. Indeed, there are shrewd trade ia unionists who are prepared to | 500 Miles in Extent bet a week's wages that, prob-| The task entrusted to this unit ably, sooner rather than later,|of the IWA is the linking to- ies Tdedl Union will be operating | 8¢ther into one Local Union of ee |groups of loggers scattered its own nireraft. It would be the |, oughout remote and isolated obvious answer for the extra-| spots along five hundred miles of ordinary problems of the orga-! mountainous, and deeply indent- nization in this Local Union, | ed coast line. Five full-time offi- provided, of course, that it could | cials are constantly on the move be financed, throughout this district, by plane, Use, Abuse and Age Inadequate glasses can cause headaches. eyes change with use, abuse and age. A thorough examination by your optometrist will detect any need for a change in your present lens prescrip- Your tion. Your precious eyes merit the professional care, technical skills and the finest scientific in- struments offered by optometrists. Abramson & Hollenberg OPTOMETRISTS 734 GRANVILLE STREET MA, 0928 MA, 2948 Ground Floor — Vancouver Block GOOD REASONS FOR BUYING AN I.E... PIGNEER * You cut more wood * It requires less maintenance Ask ony logger across North America . . . he'll tell you I.E.L. Pioneer chain saws cut faster end have less repairs than ny other chain sow! There are 3 different |. Pioneer saws. One of them will suit your job exactly, See them use them... buy them... ‘at the dealer in your town. %* LLEL. Portable Fire Pumps Loge Vancouver Island Distributors: IRA BECKER & SONS, 25 Comox Rd., Nanaimo. B.C. Distributors: PURVES RITCHIE LTD., 845 Burrard St., Vancouver, INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING LTD., 503 E, Pender St., Vancouver. Monufactured by INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING LIMITED Fpiecte send matlLEL. Wercturs ind the nome ef neorest decler. Tome. Bj type of or f]|look of the loggers themselves. | They know and appreciate the value of union or | throughout the labor history of || tor making for success ||| persistence with which the Local || Union has doggedly projected the steamship dnd cruiser, and even |so are only able to make infre- | quent visits to service the Union's membership. They haye been heard to declare in expressive language that the lot of a union organizer anywhere else in the world must be a sinecure in com- parison. “Add to these transportation problems the additional problem of organizing men many of whom are constantly on the move. This is not solely due to the “itching foot”, so often attributed to the logging fraternity. The plain fact is that the move- ments of loggers, up and down -the coast, are largely determined by their employment conditions. Camps are always opening and closing, expanding or cutting production, for a variety of rea- sons, and the men must travel to and from the operations where work is to be found. Each year finds conimercial timber more difficult to reach. A Major Headache The result is a constant head- ache for the Local Union’s offi- cials. Time and again, special attention will be given to get a camp IWA organization running smoothly and efficiently, Inevit ably, or so it seems to the or- ganizer, just as a tip-top orga- | nization is functioninig nicely, a shut-down occurs. When the | camp reopens, much of the work of organization must be under ‘taken afresh, This requires the ganization which can "provide a quick replacement wherever a gap occurs. Despite these dificulties, the | | organization throughout Coast logging camps has an amazing strength and vitality. this is, of course, due to the out- | | the province, have been renown- ed for staunch adherence to trade union principles. The other fac- in. this | continued ion and | | | on is » the yanizal IWA into the camps by laborious and direct contact. | Unique in Canada | | This Local Union is probably the only trade union in Canada | which owns and operates a se | going cru The “Loggers | Navy” is a famous craft on the B.C. coast, and carries the IWA message into remote points that otherwise would be almost totally | inaccessible, The crew members manning | the ship lead “double lives”, At | sea, they must be navigator: deekhands, and cooks. When tied | up at a logging camp, they must | |funetion as organizers, sceretar- | lies, library administrators, sup-| clerks, speakers, movie pro- and photographers, The new members of this Lo- cal Union, to ensure a full demo- | Much of | | SEA-GOING UNION ™ LOGGERS’ NAVY moored to a logging camp wharf at Minstrel Island, near Knight Inlet. SKIPPER KEN GARBUTT, in the wheel-house of the Loggers’ Navy, during a run down Johnson Straits. cratic administration of the’ airs, sought and secured official approval for a plan of member- ship representation adapted to the peculiar conditions with which they are confronted. Democratic Plan | tional Union. | The general plan is to decen-| Today, the outstanding char- tralize, as far possible the | acteristie which has been main- work of the Local Union through | ly responsible for building a Sub-Locals, established in the | strong and thriving Local Union major camps. These Sub-Locals | under trying handicaps, is the accorded well-balanced rep- | loyalty of the loggers to the idea sentation at the annual general | of one union throughout the en- becomes aj tire lumber industry, and the ; described | conviction, based on experience, a convention. This convention | that the idea is greatly to the clects a representative Executive | advantage of themselves and: all Board, which supervises adminis- | the workers'in the industry. tration between conventions. af- | officers of that-day. This Local Union for many years exhibited the scars of the attempt made by the former LPP-Communist leadership to Separate them from the Interna- Y meeting, which thus delegate body, and This plan has proved more demoeratie than ‘the so-called| Re pectable ? membership meetings, held in : : Vancouver prior to 1948, and| WASHINGTON (CPA) — It is not very often that delegates to union conventions claim that their organization has grown too re- spectable, but that is what hap- which were attended mainly by those whose attendance was made possible by the LPP-Communist pened, according to the CIO HEAD’S Champion of All Lightweight News, at the 46th Annual Con- vention of the International Itin- erant Workers’ Union. The ILWU, better known as the Hoboes of America, heard the complaint from some delegates that their organization, founc at Cincinnati in 1908, had grown too respectable. They all agreed, however, on the basic member- ship. requirement that: “A hobo will work; a tramp won't; and a bum can’t.” Alex B. Macdonald Barrister & Solicitor LIGHT CRUISER Caulked Boots © Fedsoring) High Carbon Steel Oil Tempered Boot Caulks FOR SURE GRIP Another Favorite . ... HEAD’S famous “SAFETY TOE BOOTS” for Mill Workers Notary Public 751 Granville Street VANCOUVER, B.C. W. J. HEAD BOOT 21 East Hastings St. (PA. 4844) “HEADS YOU WIN" Telephone TAtlow 6641 SOLICITOR TO THE 1. W. A. FACTORY LIMITED Vancouver, BC