DISTRICT PRESIDENT’S

MESSAGE
TO THE UNION

To AIIWA Members: ~

THAT the employers may have no opportunity
to sow seeds of distrust or uneasiness in the minds
of the lumber workers represented by this Union, I
wish to speak frankly with regard to the present

stage of negotiations for a revised coast master
contract. :

On the District Negotiating Committee, we
spent almost a month in an effort to reach an agree-
ment with the employers’ representatives. We
could make no satisfactory headway. It was ob-
viously foolish to spend more time in bargaining
talks during which the employers would-make no
move toward settlement.

We were compelled to request the appointment
of a Conciliation Officer. The employers indicated
that they were opposed to every IWA demand, and

that actually they desired to weaken established
contract provisions,

A Conciliation Officer has been appointed. We
are now engaged in discussing all the issues in-
volved with the employers, under the direction of
that officer. The purpose is to discover where agree-
ment may be possible. We are renewing our de-
mands, as outlined for us by the Union at the
Wages and Contract Conference.

At the time of writing, all that can be reported
is that these discussions are proceeding. We can
also say, that the members of the Committee are
standing with determination on the demands for-
mulated by the Union.

It should be understood that we are required
to discuss a wide variety of proposals and counter-
proposals in the process of bargaining under the
direction of a Conciliation Officer. While these
exchanges are being made in an effort to keep the
discussions moving in the. direction of a possible
settlement, neither party may be ready to admit

that any stated proposal is likely to be completely
acceptable.

It must therefore be apparent that no public
statement can be issued which describes these ex-
changes, until something concrete emerges.

As we say on the job, “‘there’s nothing to get
our teeth into,” until after some time goes by.

We must follow the Union’s instructions, not
only with respect to the demands, but also with
respect to the strategy of bargaining. We are ex-
pected to utilize every opportunity presenting any
promise at this stage of a satisfactory agreement.

Only the person who is totally unfamiliar with
bargaining procedures would expect us to abandon
the use of logic, and rely entirely upon threatening
language. It is clearly our responsibility to bar-
‘gain with determined persistence, ‘until we are
compelled to propose harsher measures.

It is unfortunate that the employers in the
lumber industry cannot break away from their
traditional methods of bargaining. They have

grown accustomed to saying ‘‘No”’ to everything’

proposed by the Union, until under pressure they
must finally and in grudging fashion most reluct-
antly concede some points.

It is not possible now to predict, if and when
we must present our case to a Conciliation “Board.
These discussions may last for a longer period, and
then again the Conciliation Officer may suddenly
decide that his mediation efforts will not bear
fruit, and end this phase of conciliation abruptly.

This makes two points abundantly clear. -

The Union, as a whole, must exert all the pres-
sure possible at each and every stage of these neg-

LS

Cole

Ee

otiations to bring the bargaining to a satisfactory
conclusion in a revised agreement.

The Union must get in readiness for any even-
tuality. We may have to fight this out before a
Conciliation Board. We may have to take all the
steps that often follow in logical sequence upon the
usual recommendations of a Conciliation Board.

In short, the employers have forced us into a
dispute. It is the kind of dispute that we must
fight to win. If we can win it at the bargaining
able we'll keep up this verbal battle till a settle-
ment can be recommended. Otherwise, we must
prepare to fight with other weapons at our dis-

posal. cd

Joe’ Morris
Chairman, IWA District Negotiating Committee.

CONTINUED FROM LAST ISSUW

GAW SUCCEEDS

A number of GAW plans in
the U.S. are now well established
and the following examples in-
dicate the variations in four of the
most widely known:

Some Examples

GEORGE A. HORMEL &
COMPANY, meat packers of Au-
stin, Minn., introduced the GAW
in 1931. The plan, which is now
included in the collective agree-
ment with the Packinghouse
Workers (CIO-CCL), guarantees
a weekly wage of 38 times the em-
ployee’s hourly rate—for 52 weeks
in the year. Any hours worked in
excess of an average of 38 a week
are paid for at the end of the
year.

Employer

“Mr. Hormel is convinced
that the company has benefit-
ed in numerous directions from
the annual wage plan. Ef-
ficiency of the workers has
been increased substantially
and their earnings have gone
up... The Hormel plan also
shows that company manage-
ment and officials of an in-
ternational ‘union can work
out a stabilization scheme and
operate it successfully.”—Gu-
arantee of Work and Wages
by Professor Joseph L. Snider.

Employee

“The fact that today 87 per
cent of the homes in Austin
are owned by their occupants
is undoubtedly one of the dir-
ect results of the annual wage
plan, The employee can safe-
ly go into debt because he
knows his work and pay will
be steady. The same is true
in buying cars, home appli-
ances, other things. Because
the worker’s employment,has
been stabilized, merchants ob-
viously regard him as a good
credit risk.” — Statement by
William Enright, employee of
the Hormel Packing Com-

pany, Austin, Minn., quoted
in Ottawa Citizen, March 15,
1955.

PROCTER & GAMBLE SOAP
COMPANY guarantees a 40-hour,
48-week period of employment
for all its 14,000 workers with two
or more years seniority. The
guaranteed period is, however, re-
duced by vacation, sickness and
other time loss from work. Proc-
ter & Gamble introduced the GAW
in 1923,

“I do not think there is
anything peculiar to the soap
business that makes such a
plan more adaptable to it than

Alex B. Macdonald

Barrister & Solicitor
Notary Public

751 Gronyille Street
VANCOUVER, B.C,

Telephone TAtlow 6641"

SOLICITOR TO THE 1.

to any other industries”.—
William Cooper Procter who
introduced the GAW to Proc-
ter & Gamble Co. (Guaran-
teed Wage Plans in the Un-
ited States—U.S. Department
of Labor 1947.)

THE NUNN-BUSH SHOE
COMPANY in Milwaukee guar-
antees its employees 52 pay
cheques a year. The amount of
pay varies according to the value
of production of the plant and ad-
justment is made every four weeks
on the basis of that production.
Nunn-Bush has operated the plan
since 1935. Thus it may be seen
that no set blueprint has been laid
down for the GAW—nor for that
matter—is it likely that any one
plan would suit the circumstances
prevailing in every industry.

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