10 B.C. LUMBER WORKER LOCAL 1-71 Cruisers Crew Aids Camps Value of the aid rendered camp organization by mem- bers of the staff of Local 1-71, IWA, making systematic calls on remote coast lumber camps from the Loggers’ Navy on cruise, was demonstrated recently at the camp of Giroday Logging Co., Redonda Bay. The grievances of the crew members had been brought re- peatedly to the attention of man- agement, but without any results. Upon arrival of the Loggers’ Navy crew, a camp meeting was ealled, and as usual, camp prob- lems were discussed. Complaints were heard that the electric light was inadequate, and that the crew had to make their own beds, light their own fires, and endure dirty bunkhouses. The Local Union organizers in- sisted upom and secured a con- ference with representatives of management without delay, and steps were immediately promised to remedy the matters under complaint. New Certification Won In Alberta New certification has been won by Local 1-207, IWA, Ed- monton, Alberta, according to word received this week from International Organizer, Mike Sekora, The operation certified is the Planermill in Blue Ridge, Al- hberta, operated by the Imperial Lumber Company Limited. The Local has already certified two other of the Company’s Plan- ermills situated at Barrhead and Marlboro, and are at the moment in negotiations with them. Permission is being sought by the Local to include the Blue Ridge plant in these negotiations. Mitchell D Communis IWA District Secretary-' teamed up with George Johns: to do battle with Wm. Rigby, ebates t Issue ‘Treasurer George Mitchell on of the Meatcutters’ Union Fishermen’s Union, and Sam Third, Street Railwaymen’s Union, to debate the subject of Communists i in trade unions, on Town Meeting in Cane ada recently. The IWA speaker said: The question before us this evening is one of deep concern to the whole trade union move- ment. Indeed, it is quite properly a matter of concern to the gen- eral public. For that reason, we welcome the opportunity to dis- euss it frankly on this public forum. The trade union moyve- ment is an integral part of our Social fabric, Anti-democratic policies in the trade unions could easily prove to be a focus of in- LUMBER WORKER L The B.C. cI Be a HON LIMITED fection for national ill-health on a disastrous scale. Freedom Maintained rade union policy with regard to the activities of the commun- ists within the trade unions can only be fairly determined in the light of principles accepted as basie by the free trade union movement. As it is a movement. which was founded in the strug- gle for our civil rights and liber- ties, it seeks to protect the rights of the individual in the free exer- cise of speech, worship, and as- sociation, When we combine in an organ- ized way to promote the welfare of our fellow-workers, we seek to maintain these rights, subject only to the declared good of the whole organization. As in every democratic cause, we expect in- dividual and sectional interests to be subordinated to the inter- ests of the whole. In no other way can our unions be properly and safely governed than by the free and untrammelled exercise of the will of the majority of the membership in the union. In our relations with govern- ment, we accept the principle of government by consent of the governed, and do not attempt to usurp or interfere unlawfully with the functions of established government. Whatever may be the imperfections of our present- day democracy, we firmly believe that only by the use of democra- tic means can we achieve the de- sired democratic result. The IWA Experience The history of the Interna- tional Woodworkers of America in B.C. furnishes the most out- standing contrast in this province between the attempted domina- tion of a Union by the commun- ists, and the results of a demo- cratic repudiation of the com- munists. The facts which I state here are a matter of public re- cord. Until October, 1948, our Union, the IWA, was largely controlled by men who gave their first loy- alty to the communist organiza- tion in Canada. It was made to appear that the Union supported policies which had been deter- mined from outside the Union, by the communist brain-trust. Labor-management relations in the B.C. lumber industry were manipulated to suit the aims of the communists. Funds were si- phoned off for purposes outside union functions. The result was unrest and rebellion in the ranks, and communist influence in the International Union was de- feated. Secession Attempted In a last-ditch effort to retain control of the B.C. District IWA, the largest and wealthiest in the International, the communists boldly moved, without the auth- ority of the membership, to dis- affiliate and form another Union, the WIUC.. This furnished them with the pretext to seize for the newly-formed Union, all the funds, records, and property be- longing to the District organiza- tion and the Local Unions. Their action was promptly re- pudiated by the membership. The acts of the communists in claim- ing ownership of IWA assets were declared unlawful in the courts, and they were forced to disgorge all that could be located. With no assets, no records, and a disorganized leadership, the PHONE TAtlow 7140 FOR DAILY HOME CARRIER DELIVERY (Janveg A Real Union Shop And No Mistake! No less than TEN unions work in harmonious association with the management of The Van- couver Sun to produce the daily issues of Western Canada’s leading newspaper that go into two out of three British Columbia homes, The Sun is happy to be a real Union Shop throughout, with agreeable relations with all its organized crafts and personnel. “BACHELOR’S DELIGHT” is this wonder-working machine in- stalled in Fashion Lounge Clothes Ltd., which can sew a button on before a person can take one puff on a cigarette. members of the IWA then re- built their Union on a fully de- mocratic basis, with safeguards which ensure that the administra- tion of their affairs is exclusively in their own hands. The Union Gained Today we have a larger and stronger Union, the largest in the province, Above all, we have an organization which possesses vastly greater vitality and deter- mination to fight for social pro- gress, We are free, as we were not free under communist domin- ation, to act, militantly if neces- sary, in ways considered desir- able by the membership. Out of this experience, we now say that Communists, or those who serve the communist policy in Canada, will never again be permitted to intrigue within our Union, to defeat the will of the majority. Within the Union, we expect each member to give his first loyalty to the Union and its declared policies. Our Constitution declares that the aims of Communism or Fas- cism are not compatible with the aims of the Union. It confers on a Local Union the right to bring to trial any member who acts in the name of the Union to place communist purposes before the Union policy as declared by the majority. The Inevitable Conclusion It is because of such exper- iences, that the labor bodies on this continent have disciplined unions acting in defiance of ma- jority rule. We have witnessed a decline in the welfare of the workers in Western Europe, where their interests have been entrusted to communist leader- ship and manipulated to serve the foreign policy of the Soviet Union. I ask you to note that wherever this has happened on a nation-wide scale, the nation’s affairs have been thrown into confusion, its progress has been vetarded to suit the immediate aims of the Soviet Union, seeking world domination. It is the stern lesson of ex- perience that causes me to state the conclusion that the vital in- terests of the workers in Canada, as entrusted to the unions, de- mand such firm adherence to de- mocratic principles, that never at any time, nor in any way, can the unions permit open or undercover interference by the communists. We cannot walk in two different directions at the same time. We choose to walk in the path of democracy, WATSON'S LUMBER: GLOVE. WATSON’S o. 326 LUMBER MITT Cut from new soft Tan Pearl Cowhide split leather. These mitts are reinforced with double-sewn thumb strap and wrist patch for added strength. A B.C. Product Union Made by JOHN WATSON LIMITED 127 EAST SECOND AVE. Vancouver, B.C. This ad Control VANCOUVER BREWERIES LIMITED on og nde ey Baa