GER GETS CCL O.K. ‘ uy NIN BC Low tact Pettenton ot the Irctornational Woodworkers of Ameries Diserlct Covacl eb : Vol. XXII, No. 19° ** Ist ISSUE, OCT. 1955 - VANCOUVER, B.C. > 5c PER CQ°Y MORRIS WARNS AGAINST “TIGHT TO WORK” LAWS Warning that the trade union movement of British Columbia would fight “tooth and nail’ in opposition to the “right to work” Jaws proposed by the B.C. Chamber of Commerce, was sounded by District President Joe Morris in a recent radio address. In a brief presented to the Provincial Cabinet, the repre- sentatives of the Chamber of Commerce had urged among other matters, “the right of each individual to elect and follow the yocation of his choice should be protected at all times. Therefore, the B.C. Chamber of Commerce strongly urges that some form of right to work legislation should be contained in British Columbia Industrial Legislation.” The senior body of organized business also asked for restric- tions of picketing during strike action. The IWA spokesman stated in part: Real Purpose Exposed “To understand the phrase properly, we must examine all that has occurred in the United States, where our own Union in Company with all CIO and AFL “unions is engaged in a fight against the type of State Legis- lation, which the Chamber would now introduce in Canada. The Taft-Hartley Act prohibits the ‘closed shop’, but allows the ‘union shop’ except where States adopt their own laws to ban it. The same interests which were responsible for the -Taft-Hartley Act have been active in persuad- ing the State Legislatures to supplement the anti-union pur- poses of the Federal law, by the introduction of statutes designed to stamp out the union shop, and, as a-matter of fact, in some states, to wipe out all forms of union security. The State of Utah was the 18th State recently to adopt a “right to work” law. The Kansas Leg- islature passed a similar Bill, but it was vetoed by the Governor, His reasons for the veto, have revealed that many of the leading employers have now realized that this legislation has boomeranged against them. The repeal of Jaws ‘passed in other States is now being considered in a num- ber of Legislatures. It is freely predicted that not only organiz- ed labor, but also the organized employers will ultimately unite to eliminate legislation that is quite obviously preventing the free and proper conduct of bar- gaining necessary to establish | LISTEN TO industrial stability. Right to Scab The term ‘right to work’ is a misnomer. It actually should be ‘the right to scab’. The employers who fayor such legislation pre- tend that they are motivated sole- ly by the desire to protect the |; democratic rights of each and every one of their employees. It is merely coincidental, they say, that the result finally achieved is the weakening of the bargaining | strength of the trade unions. See “MORRIS” Page 3 MOSHER WINS LAST CCL TERM TORONTO (CPA) — A. R. Mosher, President of the Cana- dian Congress of Labor since its foundation in 1940, was ac- claimed President for what will be the final term before the Congress as such goes out of existence at the CCL’s 15th an- nual convention here, The 74- year old CCL leader is also Honorary President of the Canadian Brotherhood of Rail- way Employees—a union which he helped form in 1908 and which he headed for 44 years. CCL Secretary-Treasurer Don- ald MacDonald also received un- animous support for his re- election for a fourth term. The Congress Vice-Presidents elected were: C. H. Millard, Can- adian Director, United ‘Steel- workers; George Burt, Canadian Director, United Auto Workers; Sol Spivak, Manager, Toronto Joint Board, Amalgamated Cloth- ing Workers; and Fred Dowling, Canadian Director of the United Packinghouse Workers. Mr. Dowling replaced former Vice- President Silby Barrett of the United Mineworkers, Executive Committee members elected were: John Brady, UAW; W. J. Smith, President of the CBRE; J. Harold Daoust, Cana- dian Director of the Textile Workers; R. J. Lamoureux, Un- ited Steelworkers; Harvey L. Ladd, Eastern Canadian Director, of the International Woodwork- ers; Henry Harm, Maritimes Re- gional Director of the CCL; Wil- liam Mahoney, United Steel- workers; and Neil Reimer, Cana- dian Director of the Oil, Chemi- cal and Atomie Workers, The new members of the Ex- ecutive Committee are Messrs. Lamoureux, Harm and Reimer. CCL MEET ACCLAIMS REUTHER The age of automation has brought the world to “the threshold of the second indus- trial revolution” and the labor movement must ensure that benefits of increased produc- tion are used to advance the well-being of all the people, ~ CIO President Walter P. Reu- ther told delegates to the 15th annual conyention of the Cana- dian Congress of Labor at the Royal York Hotel, Toronto. W. P. REUTHER The CIO leader, who received a rousing reception from the more than 900 delegates, said that techological advances in re- cent years had produced ma- chines which were substituting mechanical judgment for human judgment, Developments in auto- mation and similar fields would have an impact not only on the workers but also on the nation as a whole. “For the first time in the his- tory of human civilization, man- kind has the opportunity to mast- er his physical environment. Ignorance, poverty and hunger can no longer be justified be- cause we have the tools and me- thods to avoid them,” he said. INSTITUTES OCT. 29-30 Weekend Institutes con- ducted by the Canadian Con- gress of Labor will be held simultaneously in Vancouver, Victoria, and Nanaimo, Octo- ber 29th and 30th. The courses are mainly those on the subjects: Shop Stewards’ Duties, Trade Union History, and Workers’ Economics. Each course will provide an advanced class for those who have previous- ly undergone training on the = subject. ATTEND YOUR UNION MEETINGS / ww & FEEL pars Unanimous Convention Vote Seals TLC-CCL Unity Plan XM | MoM MM I The formation of a new 1,000,000-member Canadian Labor Congress was assured when delegates to the- 15th annual convention of the Canadian Congress of Labor gave unanimous approval to the merger of the CCL with the Trades and Labor Congress of Canada. Immediately fol- lowing the vote, convention delegates heard Claude Jodoin, President of the TLC and probable head of the new united labor body in an address to the convention. The TLC 1955 convention, held last May in Windsor, Ontario, approved the merger terms by unanimous décision. The’ merger convention of the two Congresses is scheduled to take place ‘here in April, 1956. CCL Secretary-Treasurer Don- ald MacDonald, introducing the unity proposal, noted that since the foundation of the CCL in 1940 there had been attempts at eliminating “the real and arti- ficial causes” of labor disunity. It had become increasingly evi- dent to the Canadian labor move- ment that it could not play its proper role in Canada or in the world while it remained divided, he said. Integration Assured The Unity Committee of the two labor Congresses had -ap- proached the question of a labor merger “as equals” and its mem- bers had met in a spirit of “mu- tual trust and respect,” the CCL official said. As a result of the Unity Committee’s deliberations, the integration of “each and every; affiliate of both Congres- ses had been not only recognized but guaranteed.” MacDonald warned that the foundation of the new Canadian Labor Congress would not create “a magie panacea” for all labor's D. MacDONALD troubles, but he stated that. the merger agreement would provide “a vehicle which will carry us into the new house of labor”. The new Canadian ‘house of labor’ would be better equipped to un- dertake the tremendous job of organizing the 3,000,000 Cana- dian workers who are not union See “MERGER” Page 2 IWA Board Puts Onus On IUOE Statement recently issued under authority of the IWA District Executive Board, dealing with the activities of the International Operating Engineers in 22 plants in which the IWA holds the bargaining rights for the ma- jority of the workers, has placed the onus for any undue friction squarely on the shoulders of the employers and the invading union. As this publication went to press, no information was avail- able regarding the intentions of the Operating Engineers who had gained a vote authorizing strike action in some plants. The IWA top-level District authority was at some pains to prove that the present situation had been foreseen, when the En- gineers had pressed for the cer- tification of power-house crews, ordinarily serviced by the IWA. The IWA warnings had been ig- nored, it was stated, because the organizers of the operating En- gineers were insistent upon their purely selfish aims. Minority Rule The present difficult situation has been precipitated by the En- gineers, acting’on behalf of only 171 mensin 22 plants, where the IWA members number over 8500. Alarm was expressed by the IWA in all quarters that so many of their members might be ex- pected to “hit the bricks” at the behest of a union, which has nev- er even pretended to be friendly to the IWA. If the Operating Engineers had their way, they said thousands of IWA members would be unemployed, without strike assistance, or Unemploy- ment Insurance benefits. In the statement, the IWA Dis- trict Executive Board upheld the position traditionally taken by the IWA, no strike action with- out a referendum vote of the members affected. It was also pointed out that the IWA is now certified to bargain for sixty percent of the power- house crews in the lumber in- dustry. These members, it was stated, have shown confidence in the IWA, because their rates have been advanced by the IWA a total of $1.03 an hour, since 1946, a period when the base rate in the industry rose 71% cents. The power-house crews, under IWA bargaining benefitted 811% certs an hour more than base rate workers. This has been done in accordance with IWA policy to secure prevailing rates for Skilled tradesmen. The IWA is prepared, it was declared, to place the entire re- sources of the $2,000 member union behind the bargaining needs of the power-house crews, during their negotiations con- ducted on an industry-wide scale. Oh 7.00 p.m. 4 CKNW 7.05 pan. Sat., CJAV 630 p.m. Thur, Thursday § CKPG - Ist and 3rd Thursday - 6 p.m.