2 B. c. LUMBER WORKER 2nd Issue, F.1.R. Memo On Wage Order 4 Irks 1-71 IWA Intepretation placed upon Wage Order No. 4, (Cook and Bunkhouse occupation in unorganized territory) and recently placed in circulation by Forest Industrial Rela- tions Ltd., has aroused a’heated protest from Local 1-71, IWA, on the ground that it represents an attempt to de- prive the employees affected of established contract rights. “MUST PLAN NOW FOR AUTOMATION” Revolutionary changes to follow in the wake of auto- mation will affect life in the home and in the community quite as much as in the factory, declared IWA District President Joe Morris when he appeared on a panel dealing with the subject of automation, at a recent session of the Women’s School for Citizenship, in Hotel Vancouver. Members of the panel were: _ The warning has been issued that the master contract provi- sions stand in this regard, and that nothing in the Wage Order No. 4, 2 minimum wage provi- sion, should be construed as min- imizing a previously negotiated contract provision. We're Not Fooled - As one official stated: “No 7- page memorandum, wrapped up in artfully phrased legalistic language can fool us into forfeit- ing rights that are essential for those in cookhouse or bunkhouse employment. If they are allowed to whittle down contract provis- sion in this way for one category, they'll soon be gouging other categories.” The contract provisions on which the Local Union is mak- ing its stand, read as follows: Article XW—Vacations With Pay Section 2: (a) Cookhouse and Bunkhouse Em- ployees in unorganized territory will receive one (1) week's vaca- tion with pay after six (6) month's continuous service; provided that such Employees shall not be en- titled to more than two (2) weeks’ vacation with pay in any one (1) year. Article XU1—Hours of Work Section 2: (a) It is agreed that time worked by Cookhouse and Bunkhouse Em- ployees shall be computed on a daily basis. (b) Cookbouse and Bunkhouse Em- ployees shall be entitled to one (1) day off in seven (7) to be taken weekly if practicable, otherwise at a time qutually agreeable; pro- vided that all accumulated leave shall be given in full at least once every three (3) months. In the event of a Camp closing down, or where an Employee has accumu- lated leave and his service is term- inated through no fault of his own, and he has worked the seven (7) days during the week, the Employee will be paid one-half a day's pay for each day's credit accumulated, The main feautres of the argu- ment advanced by the Local Union in opposing the views of the legal expert advising FIR, is that the Union is not required to forego conditions already negoti- ated, which are better than those set forth in a minimum wage order, It is stated that the Local Union will continue to protest the effort to so confuse the situation, that contract rights are swept away. Facts are now available to show that the effect of the in- terpretation, where accepted by the employers is to destroy ar- rangements established. Camp committees are advised to read the contract provisions carefully in this respect and to state a grievance under the con- tract when changes are at- tempted as advised in the legal memorandum. In the Englewood Camps, Ca- nadian Forest Products Ltd., the Wage Order was seized upon as a pretext to by-pass the Union in consulting the employees re- garding alternatives. Without reference to the Union, a memorandum was posted, stating that a choice should be made regarding alter- natives resulting from the issu- ance of Wage Order No. 4. The management undertook to. con- duct a vote on whether the cook- house crews preferred to work the 5% day week by working five days one week and six the follow- ing week, or straight time for five months and then take ac- cumulated leave. The Local Union officials have stressed the fact that all such matters are properly matters upon which the employees should express their views through the established bargaining agency. DELEGATES ELECTED Local 1-80, IWA delegates elected to attend the Merger Con- vention of the B.C. Federation and the Trade Union Congress, Noy. 15-16-17, in Vancouver, are Ed. Linder, Stan Heys, Jocko Colwell, George Smythe, Lawrence Johnston, Joe Morris, Stan- Jey Abercrombie, Albert L. Smith, W. T. Morgan, Ross Davis, Humphrey Butler, Robert Bouchard. DUNCAN BUSINESS GUIDE ‘THE COWICHAN LEADER Published Every Thursday “The Voice of Cowichan District” DUNCAN, B.C. LOUTET AGENCIES LTD. INSURANCE AND REAL ESTATE J, Lindsay Loutet Gordon R, Loutet 131 Jubilee St. Duncan S. Shore Road Lake Cowichan ANEY BUSINESS GUIDE “ESQUIRE” MEN’S WEAR (Graham Mowatt) Complete Stock of Work and Dress Clothing “THE STORE WITH THE POPULAR BRANDS’ BRITISH COLUMBIA HANEY LADYSMITH BUSINESS GUIDE~ CARLSON'S TAXI Ladysmith, B.C. Phone 222 or 5 Professor H. C. Wilkinson, Dept. of Commerce, UBC; Dr. Frank Noakes, Dept. of Electrical En- gineering, UBC; Mr. Norman Pa- quette, president, Stevenson and Kellogg, and President Morris. All members of the panel agreed that the advent of auto- mation was at hand, and that it would enormously increase pro- ductivity. Not all the speakers were in agreement with President Morris that planning should not be undertaken to offset any seri- ous dislocation. of employment opportunities for the workers. The IWA official described au- tomation as being on the nation’s doorstep at the present moment, and as challenging the people of Canada: to use the “new power with proper social and moral re- sponsibility”. He said in part: “The changes to follow in the wake of automation will affect life in the home, in the commun- ity, quite as much as it will affect conditions of employment in the factory. Ultimately, we will be required to make far-reaching ad- justments in the fields of labor- management relations, education, and legislation. “These adjustments will, in turn have a vital bearing on such matters as employment of wo- men, standards of living in our homes, security of income for the family, and the education of our children. “I suggest that women, whether devoted to earning a liv- ing .or to homemaking, have equally good reasons to investi- gate the possibilities and prob- lems of automation as the scien- tists, the. production managers, and the trade unionists. They have just as much at stake. Definition of Automation “At this point, I suggest that we should take some care with our definition of automation. With some of its features we are already familiar. We are accus- tomed to the increasing use of automatic devices, in our homes and in industry. However, I sub- mit that our discussion here will be more fruitful, if we recognize that automation, as the term is now accepted, is a great deal more than increased tempo of mechanization. “One familiar definition ten- dered by the scientists is as fol- lows: ‘Automation is the substitu- tion of mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic, electrical, and elec- tronic devices for human or- gans of observation, decision, and effort, so as to increase productivity, control quality, and reduce costs.’ “In the light of this definition, I submit that automation is much more than invention. It removes and improves upon almost every human element, with the excep- tion of judgment. It is the wide- spread acceptance and usage of basic principles of automatic op- eration and control. “Tt is usually found convenient to consider this definition under three main sub-divisions: Feed- back Automation, Detroit Auto- mation and Computer Aptoma- tion. “ Feed-Back Automation “Certain types of automation are based on what is often called ‘automatic feed - back control’. This is something different than the familiar engineering princi- ples. It has grown out of the war- time experience in electronics and communication engineering, “Tt is mechanization, in the sense that the controls are me- chanical, but we have here a new kind of machine, The old ma- chines had to be controlled and regulated by human beings, at every stage. The new machines control and regulate themselves. “The thermostat in common use in our homes is an example of automation. Once you have set it at the temperature you want, you can forget about it. If the temperature in the house falls below,-or rises above the desired point, that fact makes the instru- ment start or stop the furnace. “Oven Sentinel” “General Controls Co. has de- veloped a new device for the au- tomatic roasting of meats, which is now being installed on a new model kitchen range. The device looks like a meat thermometer, with a metal-covered cord. The cord plugs into a connection in the oven wall. You simply plunge the stainless steel probe into the meat, set the dial and up the cord. The ‘oven sentinel’ then takes over. “Tf attached to a clock, you can leave the house with complete confidence that at the desired time the meat will start to roast, and that when roasted to the de- gree desired, the oven will be turned off. When you return home, the roast is hot and ready to serve. The ‘oven sentinel’ has relieved you, not only of manual HEAD’S LIGHT CRUISER Champion of All Lightweight @ Caulked Boots @ Featariog High Carbon Steel Oil >) Tempered Boot Caulks FOR SURE GRIP Another Favorite HEAD’S famous “SAFETY TOE BOOTS” for Mill Workers 21 East Hastings St. W. J. HEAD BOOT FACTORY LIMITED (PA, 4844) “HEADS YOU WIN” Vancouver, B.C, inspection, but also of a certain degree of mental effort, “Controls are being applied to almost every phase of home en- gincering. ‘The ordinary coffee pot becomes an automatic coffee- maker and the old frying pan is transformed into a temperature. controlled automatic skillet, “One company reports that half of its $60-million a year yol- ume is going into controls for home appliances. “Another large corporation, which began operating in 1885, now produces more than 9,000 different types of electric, pneu- matic, and electronic controls, Domestic gadgets that run other gadgets are now a $300-milion a year business. Modernized Housekeeping “The housewife who once went about her household duties with no instrument more complicated than a broom and dustcloth, and then later turned over her duties to a maid, must now be capable of understanding and manipulat- ing a battery of appliances, if she is to take advantage of this mod- ern trend. The housemaid is being joined in limbo by others whose jobs have been passed on to the users of electronic or mechanical controls. “The housewife will find auto- mation at many points in those services which enter into home management, The super-markets are installing automatic wrap- ping machines, one of which will wrap 40 packages of meat a min- ute, or other commodities at the rate of 25 packages a minute, after selection, “The system of making up or- ders now quite frequently seen in modern food warehouses will be seen in the super market of to- morrow. Weighing and pricing will be done automatically. Vege- tables can now be bagged auto- matically at the rate of ten bags a minute, compared to one a min- ute when done by hand. “When payment is made by cheque, a new machine wil auto- matically microfilm the cheque, and at the same time photograph the casher of the cheque from the waist up. For many of these pro- cesses the controls will be dir- ected by an electronic supervisor _ at a central panel, The New Market “If we think of automation as it may be applied to processes with which we are all familiar, it becomes easier to project our vis- ion into the application to more complicated industrial processes. I have another reason for men- tioning the application of auto- mation to home use. I believe that this trend which can do so much to lighten the drudgery found in so many homes, and brighten our living environment, is much to be desired. We should demand that science serve us in this way. “Whether increased leisure time for the housewife is good or See “AUTOMATION” Page 10 The Dental Association has for- bidden Dr. R. Llewellyn Douglas {Old Doc) from announcing publicly that he is willing and able to provide top quality, guaranteed dental plates af only $40 per plate. Dr. R. Llewellyn Douglas 712 Robson St, Vancouver 1, B.C (Corner of Granville) Phone: PAcific 4022 i h