Ist Issue, November

B.C. LUMBER WORKER

FROM PAGE 1

“IWA Resists Coercion”

He said: “The IWA will not be
ambushed, as was attempted here,
and led to abandon the interests
of IWA members. This Union is
Pledged to uphold the’ principles
of industrial unionism’ as the
means by which we hope to at-
tain the betterment of the. cir-
cumstances of all the lumber
workers, This applies to all mem-
bers of the powerhouse crews, as
it does to those who work on the
edgers, planers and green chains.
In this situation we will hold
firm to our purpose.”

No Vision Shown

He claimed that the existing
unpleasantness could have been
avoided if the Operating Engin-
eers had had enough vision to re-
alize that the welfare of the
powerhouse crew members in
the lumber industry is part and
parcel of the welfare of all the
workers in the industry.

It would have been preferable,
he said, if the Operating Engin-
eers had given first attention to
the unorganized and neglected
engineers in the province, as any
fight on their behalf would have
won the good will and support of
the entire IWA membership.

He also said:

“It is with extreme regret that
I find myself compelled to dis-
cuss a deplorable situation, for
which the IWA has no direct re-
sponsibility, yet which has made
it necessary for the IWA to de-
fend its members against the
irresponsible actions of another
union, My regret is experienced
because another union has tried
to make it appear that the IWA
has deserted its traditional policy
of staunch support for the prin-
ciples of trade unionism and
especially those of industrial
unionism,

No. other union has ever
been given just cause for com-
plaint that we in the IWA have
ever failed to cooperate in any
struggle for the rights of
workers, when such coopera-
tion was sought, and the basis
laid for mutual action. The fact
is that we have not deserted
our traditional policy, and it is
for this reason that I have de-
cided to speak frankly about
our present relations with the
International Union of Operat-

Printers of
The B.C.
LUMBER WORKER

NOM 8

LIMITED

ing Engineers.
Where the Blame Rests

The present unfortunate situa-
tion exists for no other reason
than that the Operating Engin-
eers persisted throughout recent
years in attempts to gain separ-
ate certifications for small groups
of powerhouse workers in mills
where the engineers as well as
the majority of the workers were
already bargaining through the
IWA. The result of this policy,
pursued solely for selfish reasons,
was to set up small craft union
groups in the centre of groups of
IWA workers outnumbering them
70 to 1 and already bargaining
on an industrial union basis for
all the workers surrounding the
Operating Engineers’ handful in
each plant,

The intention was plain, and
we warned the Labor Relations
Board at that time of the prob-
able result. I describe the action
of the Operating Engineers as
selfish advisedly, because they
sought to gain special advantages
only for themselves, at the ex-
pense of the larger group. Their
policy in this regard has been
fully exposed in recent days.

The IWA Kept Faith

They might have had some ex-
cuse for this action had the IWA
neglected the interests of the
powerhouse crews, That our
Union has not done so is proven
by the fact that we still retain
the confidence of the majority of
the members of the powerhouse
crews throughout the industry,
for they now bargain through
the IWA. The International
Union of Operating Engineers,
after a prolonged and intensive
organizing campaign, obviously
designed to undermine the in-
dustry-wide bargaining of the
IWA, gained certifications in only
22 mills for approximately 171
men.

The IWA has kept faith with
the powerhouse crews ever
since the inception of the IWA.
While pursuing our general
policy of negotiating in good
faith for all the members in the
union on the basis of their
needs, we demanded recogni-
tion for the skills of all trades-
men, such as the engineers in
the powerhouses, that they
might command wage rates
fully comparable with those
Paid tradesmen in the adjacent
area, In the IWA we have al-

ways been deeply concerned
about the rights of minorities,
and I may safely claim that we
extended ourselves to secure
fair treatment for the power-
house crews. As a matter of
fact we got better treatment
for them than they could pos-
sibly have gained for them-
selves, for behind our demand
on their behalf we could place
the bargaining strength of our
entire membership.

On two separate occasions,
during the past eight years, we
haye bargained for them and
secured category increases over
and above the general rate in-
crease. We also stipulated that
they should benefit by the rate
increase negotiated in 1951,
which was so graduated that
the engineers profited more
than many on lower wage rates
in the industry.

It should not be overlooked, at
the same time, that the IWA
made certain that they also bene-
fited by IWA bargaining which
was successful in pioneering bet-
ter hours in the industry, im-
proved seniority provisions, a
liberalized vacation policy, paid
statutory holidays, and the right
of access to an effective griev-
ance procedure.

Majority Support for IWA

When these facts were fairly
stated to the powerhouse crews,
the majority of the engineers re-
mained loyal to the IWA, and
have since found no cause to re-
gret their decision. Others, how-
ever, were encouraged to believe
that by isolation from the IWA,
they might subject the employers
and the IWA to a squeeze play
that would get their own group
in the lumber industry as an ex-
clusive benefit a few ‘cents an
hour more than is currently paid
on the IWA scale.

They carried out their concilia-
tion proceedings with full infor-
mation regarding the terms of
the two-year contract signed by
the IWA, which does not termi-
nate until 1957. They carried
their bargaining to a strike vote,
which authorized strike action in
16 plants. Subsequently, they or-
dered strike action in these
plants, again without consulting
the IWA members who were
vitally concerned. The whole in-
tention, evidently, was to use the
strike weapon in this instance in
such a way that workers without
any voice in the decision would

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,

PHONE TAtlow 7140
FOR DAILY HOME

V

be expected to bear the burden of
the fight, without strike pay, and
without any possible expectation
of gaining anything out of the
struggle except the severe penal-
ties now provided for such a
breach of their contract under
the law.

IWA Members Victimized

7 As a strike situation loomed,
the whole question was thorough-
ly discussed in District Executive
Board meetings of the IWA,
where delegates are seated from
all IWA Local Unions. The rep-
resentatives of the. workers in
the plants likely to be affected
reported that they had been in-
structed very bluntly to avoid
any involvement in strike action,
called in any such irresponsible
manner and which would ulti-
mately work grave injury to the
majority of the workers.

I must explain here that
these same IWA workers have
never yet flinched at the pros-
pect of a struggle on the picket
lines, but in this instance they
could see very clearly that they
were likely to be victimized for
the gain of a few men, and at
the same time be expected to
sacrifice the bargaining posi-
tion for which they had already
made great sacrifices,

There was only one decision to
make. Our Union decided to
stand clear of the dispute be-
tween the Operating Engineers
and their employers. Engineers
in 16 mills were due for strike
action, but the number placed on
their own picket lines would not
exceed 150. On the other hand
the number of IWA workers,
which the Operating Engineers
hoped to involve would exceed
8000.

If the Operating Engineers
chose to go on strike, and picket
the employers’ powerhouses we
regarded such action as strictly
their own business. They were
entitled to picket only the job,
for which they held certification.
After careful consideration of the
issues involved and widespread
consultation throughout the Lo-
eal Unions we requested our
members to report for work as
usual after the strike deadline set
by the Operating Engineers and
to work if steam was provided
for their work. 3

It rested entirely with the Op-
erating Engineers to make their
strike effective against their em-
ployrs. Our members would not
be placed under outside coercion
to fight the strike action of the
Operating Engineers with no
other result in view than the
destruction of their own union.
The Operating Engineers should
have known better, when at vari-
ous points they attempted, quite
improperly, to picket the IWA
job, for IWA members are proud
of their independence, and are
not prone to allow themselves to
be dictated to in this highanded
fashion by any outside group.

i False Rumors

Many false and unfounded ru-
mors have been placed in cireu-
lation, intended to damage the
IWA, because the Operating En-
gineers in their own right were
unable to make the strike effec-

tive. Their strategy, unfortunate-
ly was ill-timed and ill-conceived.
If they meet with failure, it can
only be because they have not
followed the well established pro-
cedures laid down in the trade
union movement, when one union
is expected to go to the aid of
another union. Their tactics in
this instance would, if accepted
by the trade union movement,
completely destroy the existing
basis for mutual aid, when a
struggle is precarious,

The fact is that when the chips
were down, many of their own
members saw ‘the folly of plot-
ting harm for IWA workers, and
decided to return to work, ignor-
ing the strike call of their own
union, and revealing a lack of
confidence in the judgment of
their officials, Three large opera-
tions where a strike vote had
been won by the Operating En-
gineers, continued production
with a full complement of mem-
bers from that Union. There are
ten other plants where produc-
tion is now proceeding at full
blast, with Operating Engineers
in the powerhouses. Only four
plants are seriously effected, and
these are operating on a partial
production schedule. I wish to
stress the fact that all these re-
sults came about without any
action against the Operating En-
gineers by the IWA. Our only
role in this situation was to give
strict attention to our own busi-
ness. We felt we should be allow-
ed to honor our agreement with
the employers without unwar-
ranted interference, and our
Union offered no interference
with the Operating Engineers.

False Pretences

I feel that we have the right
to question the professions of the
Operating Engineers’ officials re-
garding the purposes of this
strike on the basis of events at
the plant of Hunting-Mervitt,
Canadian Forest Products Ltd.,
Vancouver. At this plant the offi-
cers of the International Union of
Operating Engineers deliberately
issued permits to the shingle
workers to cross their own picket
lines,

The shingle mill workers,
certified to the Lumber and
Sawmill Workers section of the
Carpenters and Joiners Bro-
therhood, are now working be-
hind the picket lines of the
Operating Engineers. No one
can possibly justify such pre-
tence. The striking union is
lending itself to this farce,
and attempting to smear IWA
workers, for also keeping their
contract terms, where no picket
line can be legitimately estab-
lished, To make matters worse,
the same officials issued per-
mits to this company which
would enable them to use air
compressors without question
to operate certain types of
machinery, if steam should not
be available. This reveals that
their strike plans were more
concerned to embarrass and
damage the IW, as they offer-
ed every protection to AFL
workers, doing that which they
‘say the IWA workers should
not do.”

HILTON

Special Rates For Loggers

DAILY, WEEKLY AND MONTHLY

Overnight or for a long stay, head for the
Hilton Hotel! Half block east of Woodwards.

Over 150 fully re-furnished rooms.
Drop in anytime for an evening of comfort and relaxation.

50 W. CORDOVA ST., VANCOUVER

HOTEL

PHONE PAcific 8351