“4 B.C. LUMBER WORKER FROM PAGE 1 | “Morris Warns Against ‘Right To Work’ Laws” They haye not been able to conceal the fact, that those who are now most keenly sponsoring the rights of the employee, are the same employers who have always most bitterly opposed ev- ery single one of the democratic rights now guaranteed to their employees under collective bar- gaining procedures. We have long ‘ago grown accustomed to this sort of double talk. Union Shop General The Chamber of Commerce should realize the facts as shown by a recent survey of Jabor - management contracts. The survey dealt with 1700 major agreements, governing conditions for nearly 7,500,000 workers. Two-thirds of these contracts contain provisions for a union shop. Four out of five workers are under contracts which proyide some require- These facts are taken from of- ficial government records. Another fact is overlooked when the Chamber asks that the union shop be prohibited by law. The union shop agreements which are now commonplace, were ne- gotiated in the process of free bargaining between the unions and the employers, despite every conceivable legal handicap that could be devised. The union shop contracts were signed by both labor and management after they had reached the conclusion that such contracts would be mutually advantageous. I suspect that the B.C. Cham- ber of Commerce would find it difficult to justify to the workers of this province their proposition, that the union shop which hither- to has been subject to free nego- tiation, should now be prohibited by force of law. They say, in ef- ment for union membership. fect, that the employer who »»”m Noon) a ¢ (eRRRRKKKKKKKKK Enjoy Silver Spring Ale, a free bodied hearty ALE, made famous down through the centuries, It’s the kiss of the hops that makes it a favourite everywhere. SPRI agrees with the Union regarding the union shop may not exercise his right to enter freely into a contract accordingly. Freedom ys. Compulsion They request that it be a sub- ject of forbidden discussion on the part of a union when engaged in bargaining with the employ- ers, If the Chamber succeeds in persuading the Government to ac- cept this form of legal -compul- sion next session, we may expect that in the following year they will suggest that every union should be prohibited under the law from asking for a wage in- crease above the present mini- mum wage thus making a com- plete mockery of free bargaining. We might also suggest, that if the employers believe in writing such coercive principles into the law, the trade unions would be justified in exercising their political influence to se- cure legislation which would compel the employers by force of law to accept certain speci- fied demands of labor. It’s a *poor rule that doesn’t work both ways. Individual Freedom Protected Now at this point the mem- bers of the Chamber of Com- merce might be expected to state that they are merely interested in protecting the right of an em- ployee to elect and follow his choice of a vocation. They do not always add, that they desire to enforce this right by the elimina- tion of all forms of the union shop. They forget that under prevailing conditions of employ- ment, the worker is often com- pelled to forego other civil rights, Certainly, when he accepts em- ployment with any member of the Chamber, he must accept the terms of employment as dictated by the employer (subject only to such modifications as may be secured by his Union.) His only real alternative to the acceptance of employment under such con- ditions is starvation or social assistance. Because the employer through his rights of ownership controls the condtions of employment, he is able to invoke the gravest com- pulsion of all—hunger. I mention this point to show that employers in the Chamber may not success- fully pose as being quite as righteous and pure in their pro- fessions as they would have us believe. Let us now look at the ques- tion from the trade union point of view. It will be seen that the unions of this proy- ince, when seeking the union shop, are not proposing any violation of any democratic principle. They are not even at- tempting to go as far as the lawyers, doctors, dentists, ar- chitects, chartered accountants and other professions that now enjoy the much more restrict- tive closed shop conditions, un- der protection of the law. The truth is that a union seeking the union shop has, as its main motive, the protection of democratic procedures vital to the workers’ welfare. Freedom in Hiring Let us first of'all be clear that under union shop condtiions there is no restriction upon the em- ployer to hire whom he pleases. It must also be said that a work- er seeking employment where union shop conditions prevail, is so advised, and may freely elect to accept or reject such employ- ment. The Chamber states that it favors the principle of collective bargaining. It is surely only just that collective bargaining should be conducted with due regard to the democratic procedures. Un- der the law, the Union is_ first selected as the bargaining agency by a majority vote of the em- ployees within the bargaining unit. When the Unioin bargains for the employees, it is required to bargain for all employees, wheth- er they are members of the Union or not. When a contract is signed the Union is held respons- ible for the adherence to the terms of the contract on the part of all employees in the unit, whether they are members of the Union or not. Democratic Procedure It is also true that any bene- fits which result from the Union’s bargaining are shared by all workers in the bargaining unit whether they are members of the Union or not. It is therefore logical, and in the interests of common justice, to all concerned, that all workers in the bargain- ing unit committed to the Union’s\ bargaining by majority vote, should thereupon exercise a voice in all decisions made by the Union on their behalf. The ~ only way that this can be done is through membership in the Union. : It is also consistent with the practice of democracy, as found in our communities, that each worker sharing in the benefits should also share in the responsi- bilities and obligations which are attached. This is in essence the trade union conception of the purposes of the union shop. They are purposes which have never been found in ‘contradiction to sound principles of harmonious labor - management relations, as experience has shown. It is my duty to warn all trade unionists that the pro- posal of the B.C. Chamber of Commerce conceals another weapon designed to prevent free and effective bargaining by trade unions, whose record has shown a more genuine in-- terest in democratic principles than any group of employers. 2 Million Members Assured TORONTO (CPA)—A pre- diction that the membership of the Canadian Labor Congress —to be formed next year “through the merger of the TLC and the CCL—will reach two million within ten years, was made by a union official who is expected to be prominent in the new united labor body. Donald MacDonald, Secre- tary-Treasurer of the Canadian Congress of Labor, told dele- gates to the CCL National Political Action Conference that “the task of organizing one million workers within the new organization during the next ten years should be a re- latively simple one.” The initial membership of the CLC is expected to be around 1,000,000 as a result of the amalgamation of the 600,- 000-member Trades and Labor Congress and the 400,000- member Canadian Congress of Labor. LOCAL 1-80 OCT. 23rd Meeting of Local 1-80, IWA, will be held in the IWA Hall, Duncan, October 23rd at 10:30 a.m. Business. will include elec- tion of delegates to the B.C. Federation of Labor Conyen- tion. SAN FRANCISCO — TAILORS — LOAN MONEY ON Suits, Overcoats, etc. Loggers’ Boots, Sleeping Bags, Suitscases, Radios, Watches and Rings Expert Watch Repairing UNREDEEMED Suits and Caulk Boots For Sale MAIL ORDER 52 West Hastings Street VANCOUVER, B.C.