B.C. LUMBER WORKER 4 Labour Day, 1955 By JOE MORRIS a President, District Council No. 1 LABOUR Day, 1955, marks the opening of a new era for the workers on this continent. It has special significance for those who harvest the wealth of the forests. From this day onward, the strength of organized labor can be exerted to its utmost extent and with its maximum vigor. The decisions reached at the recent IWA In- ternational Convention correspond with this fore- cast, for warm approval was given plans leading to organic unity both as between the national bodies and in the lumber industry. Through long years of struggle, those workers who have pinned their faith on the awakening of the working class to its real power, have longed for this day. The mergers in the United States and Canada now give definite promise of labor’s attainment of its declared objectives. Recognition in all quarters, that the. trade unions have a common purpose in building orga- nization has resulted in the realization that this common purpose can be served with success only by the pooling of organizational resources, and experience in one common effort. The AFL-CIO and TLC-CCL mergers will suc- ceed. They will succeed because they fulfill the aims of trade union organization. They will suc- ceed, because they will immediately demonstrate to the workers, that organized labor has the power as well as the right to demand social justice. It was once said, “If the trumpet give an un- certain sound, who shall prepare himself for battle?” On Labor Day, 1955, we know that there will no longer be any uncertain note in labor’s trumpet call to greater achievements. Modern Trends LET any thoughtful member of the IWA examine the record of the recent IWA International Convention, and he must quickly decide that un- less he keeps pace with rapidly moving develop- ments, he will be in worse plight than Rip Van Winkle. The man who lets his thinking get stuck in any rut made in the last ten years, will wake up a few years hence and find that the trade union movement has passed him by and over another horizon. Contracts for the guaranteed annual wage or lay-off payments have now been secured by other unions. The pioneering done by the UAW and the USWA in this field has altered the thinking on both sides of the bargaining tables in mass pro- duction industries. Soon the IWA will be com- pelled to give this question careful consideration. The advent of automation in industry, likely to find accelerated application, from now on pre- sents other problems. The convention officers foresaw that the Union must be prepared for ad- . justment to radical changes in the employment rights of its members. : The Union must keep abreast of these chang- ing conditions in the- industrial world, or go under. ' That Union whose members are determined to prepare themselves to grapple with these prob- lems well in advance, and intelligently, will sur- mount all obstacles. But, they must get down to business without delay. Changes Vital SOME IWA members may have felt dismayed when they first glimpsed the ballot which asked for decisions on sixteen proposed constitutional amendments. One explanation can be made which should reassure them that the Union is not going ab- surdly legalistic. These proposed amendments represent the voiced desire of the membership to bring the constitution into a more realistic con- formity with changing trends on the labor front. The Constitution exists to serve the member- ship needs. If at any point it is found to be un- wieldy, and likely to retard efficiency, prompt attention should be given to necessary changes. It must be kept shining and bright, to maintain the Union’s ability to function with readiness in the interests of the members. A further assurance should be given that the Convention carefully safeguarded the member- ship right to control the Union’s affairs. The changes do not wipe out the democratic tradition of the IWA, but make the principles of democ- racy more workable. Botkin Forcasts Powerful Merger Strong hint that discussions at the International level contemplate a merger between the IWA and the Pulp and Sulphite Workers and the Papermakers, as well as other unions concrned with woodworking processes, was given by International Secretary, William Botkin, during a recent radio address in Vancouver. cosiibilities’ beigrs GREREaTS The speaker envisioned the | Possibilities | before trade tremendous power which would rest in the hands of the members forming the large organization which would dominate the labor scene in British Columbia. He said in part: “I think it is important to note, as it gives evidence of the genuine desire of the IWA to ac- complish complete organic unity, that. the International Executive Board has expressed approval of the establishment of a new union to embrace the workers in all logging, sawmill, plywood, shingle, pulp and paper, furniture and like operations processing wood, or its by-products. As a matter of fact we have engaged in preliminary discus- sions with the officers of other international unions concerned, especially the Lumber and Saw- mill Workers, now a division of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners. You should know that discussions with the Pulp and Sulphite Workers and Paper- makers are now definitely con- templated. But, I must stress the fact that all these discussions are preliminary, and are taking place in co-operation with the top-ranking officers of the AFL and the CIO. No final decision will be made, and no plan will be placed into effect, until our mem- bers are given the unrestricted right to sanction any merger agreement, We are proceeding with these discussions in the confident be- lief that the members of the IWA desire to follow the lead given in the recent statements of Walter Reuther, CIO President, and George Meany, AFL President, wherein they point to the great union movement, through unity of action and purpose. Brighter Future When we think of the situa- tion in British Columbia, we should consider the potential increase in trade union strength, and the greater like- lihood that we may achieve the trade union objectives, if, for instance, the IWA and the Pulp and Sulphite Workers, and Papermakers, as well as all woodworkers, unite in one com- bined effort. The obstacles that may pre- sent themselves in the way of such unity are insignificant when compared with the guar- antee, which we can thus se- cure for ourselves, of * far reaching benefits for the work- ers of this province. Kroll Reveals Formula “On one hand we have a Big _ Mink Administration in Wash- ington, giving away everything that’s not nailed down and some of the things that are, “And on the other hand we have a Big Business Republican party in the states trying to nail labor to the cross so that they can’t do anything about it. “I wonder if that’s the formula President Eisenhower had in mind when he told his fellow Republicans in Washington a few weeks ago that if they followed the right policies they could get’ elected forever.” —Excerpt from a speech by Jack Kroll, Director, CIO Politleal Action Committee, to Convention of International Woodworkers of Amerien (CIO) at Milwaukee, is. Basic Accident Prevention, 130 West Hastings Street INSTRUCTION IN INDUSTRIAL FIRST AID available through Correspondence Courses leading to Industrial First Ald Certificates approved by the Workmen's Compensation Board of B.C. Also Correspondence Course in Timekeeping and THE INDUSTRIAL FIRST AID ATTENDANTS ASSN. 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