6 z B.C. LUMBER WORKER

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[T is a distinct pleasure to follow the time-hon-

ored custom of our fraternity, and extend to all
fellow-workers, on behalf of the officers and mem-
bers of IWA District Council No. 1, most cordial
wishes for the good things of life in 1956.

I express this sentiment with optimism
because our Union is dedicated to the fulfillment
of this wish. The growth and achievement credit-
ed to the IWA. in 1955, is the best possible assur-
ance that it will serve the well-being of its
membership even more capably in the year ahead.

The first major event on our 1956 calendar
will be the annual District Convention. On that
occasion the Union will hear the details of its best
year in this province. :

_From the standpoint of membership strength
and prestige, our Union has reached its highest
point. The record of a dues-paying membership
in excess of 33,000 is the best possible evidence
that the Union has served the lumber workers well
in the past year. :

The contract settlement reached by negotiation
in 1955 will automatically bring to the workers in
the industry a wage increase of 5 cents an hour
across the board on June 15th, together with an
additional paid statutory holiday. :

Quite apart from the monetary gain, thus
secured by the Union, the two-year term for the
master contract will enable the IWA in this proy-
ince to devote all its energies in 1956 to the further
development of its organized strength.

The program to be outlined at the approaching
District Convention can be given continuous pro-
motion, without the usual seasonal interruption
of bargaining, with its inevitable preparations for
a struggle with the employers.

This period of respite from bargaining will be
utilized to the advantage of the lumber workers.
The changing needs of the times will suggest new
contract demands. It is necessary that due con-
sideration should be given such matters, and that
plans should be carefully laid in advance of their
presentation.

In recent years, the IWA has taken significant
strides forward in the sphere of trade union edu-
cation. This educational work has contributed
greatly to the growing vitality of the Union. It
has been reflected in the membership enlighten-
ment which has reinforced membership control of
the Union’s affairs. In 1956, we anticipate that
our educational program will command even
greater interest.

1956 will be a year in which the Union will ex-
tend its effort to organize the unorganized. In the

. Interior of the province, and in Alberta, we must
continue the campaign to protect a vulnerable
flank. Our work in the field of accident prevention
will also be expanded along similar lines.

Throughout the ranks of the IWA, the merger
of the American Federation of Labor with the
Congress of Industrial Organizations has been
welcomed with enthusiasm. The finalization of
the merger in Canada is awaited with eagerness
by our people for the same reasons. Labor unity
is pushing back the horizons of opportunity for
the attainment of labor’s ultimate objectives.

Unity will furnish the trade union movement
with greater strength in its economic offensive to
secure an equitable share of the wealth produced
by labor applied to the natural resources.

Unity will also enable the trade unions to com-
mand the better attention of employer-dominated
governments, in the shaping of saner legislation
dealing with the health and welfare of the
workers. ‘ 4

We may not only wish for ourselves but pre-
dict for ourselves a still more rapid march toward
our goal in 1956 than at any time in labor’s history.

JOE MORRIS, President,
IWA District Council No. 1

Lo

*Wou Too, Have a Big Year Ahead

Pending Merger
Betters Outlook .

By A. R. MOSHER
President, Canadian Congress of Labor

As we enter the New Year, we are all conscious of the
fact that relations between the free and democratic na-
tions and the Soviet bloc are still extremely serious, and
that comparatively little success has attended the efforts
to bring us closer to peace and goodwill in world-affairs.
We may take some pride, however, in the work which
Canada has been doing at the UnitedéNations, and we may
be grateful that our country is in an especially privileged

position in dealing with matters of this kind.

On the domestic scene, it is
heartening to note that the gen-
eral economic situation has im-
proved considerably during the
past year. From the standpoint
of industrial production, Canada
has made great strides, but there
are a number of depressed indus-
tries in which employment is be-
low that of last year, and the
continuing reduction in farm-
income has created a critical
situation, affecting the whole
economy of the nation.

Automation

Public attention has been
drawn recently to the great in-
crease in the adoption of auto-
matic machinery and other de-
vices, covering not only produc-
tion, but accounting and office
records and similar types of
work.

Automation has been adopted
in the automobile, petroleum, and
other industries, greatly increas-
ing production, and reducing the
number of employees involved in
particular processes. Insurance
companies, banks and other finan-
cial institutions have found that
automation greatly simplifies
their work, and it is obvious that
automation will be utilized on a
constantly-increasing scale.

The Labor movement does not
object to automation, but it does
insist that the benefits of increas-
ed production be distributed
equitably, and also that plans be
made for maintenance of employ-
ment and purchasing power.

Strength in Merger

Canadian workers are looking
forward in the New Year to the
merger of the Trades and Labor
Congress of Canada and the Ca-
nadian Congress of Labor, which
will become effective in April
next. The establishment of the
Canadian Labor Congress, with
a membership of over one mil-
lion workers, will enable the La-
bor movement to extend its orga-
nizing activities, and to bring
within its ranks the large num-
ber of workers in various fields
who are still unorganized.

The important work which has
been carried on for some years in

the field of research will be ex-
panded, and it is anticipated that
the legislative activities of the
new Congress will be much more
influential, in view of the fact
that it will be able to express the
views of such a large body of
Canadian citizens. Labor has be-
come an important national insti-
tution, and will be able under the
new set-up to play a larger role
in national affairs.

At the same time, Labor is
willing and anxious to cooperate
with other sections of the Cana-
dian people in every effort which
may be made to promote the gen-
eral welfare. We recognize that,
while Canada has made impres-
sive progress in a great many
respects, there is still much room
for improvement of standards of
living, for the protection of indi-
viduals against discrimination
and injustice, and for the build-
ing of a nation of which we all
may be proud,

The new national Labor body
which will be created early
next year should enable the
Labor movement to contribute
more fully and effectively than
in the past toward the attain-
ment of these objectives,

“Young man, how do I know

you aren’t marrying my daugh-
ter for my money?” f

“How do I know you won’t go

broke, sir? We're both taking a
chance.”

ey EE

Alex B. Macdonald

Barrister & Solicitor
Notary "Public

751 Granville Street
VANCOUVER, B.C,

Telephone TAtlow 6641

SOLICITOR TO THE 1, W. A.

CCL HOME
OPENED IN
OTTAWA

OTTAWA (CPA) — The
$230,000 white stone home of
the Canadian Congress of La-
bor was officially opened here
recently. In an address of wel-
come to the packed gathering —
of guests, CCL Secretary. ~
Treasurer Donald MacDonald
said that the new three-story
building will be the headquar-
ters of the Canadian Labor
Congress after the merger of ©
the CCL and TLC next April.

Among the distniguished visi-
tors to the opening ceremony
were Claude Jodoin, President of
the TLC, Mayor Charlotte Whit-
ton of Ottawa, Labor Minister
Milton Gregg, CCL Leader M. J.
Coldwell and members of the ex-

ecuitves of the CCL and TLC.

The packed board room of the
new building was a hive of at- ~
tivity as microphones, movie”
cameras and still cameras reeord-
ed the scene. About two hundred —
guests were present,

Mosher Painting

In addition to officially opening
the building, a portrait in oils of
the first and only CCL President,
A. R. Mosher, was unveiled. The
painting is by Eric Wesselow.

The CCL headquarters is on
Argyle Avenue in the shadow of
the National Museum and about

10 blocks south of the Parliament ~

Buildings,

A boy becomes a man when he
walks around a puddle instead of
through it.

Vn
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“OLD