B.C. LUMBER WORKER From Page 3 President's Message of District No. 1 to that province. This District of the WA has proven that in Alberta organization in the camps and mills, hitherto consid- ered impossible, is not only urgently needed, but is organizationally possible. Our campaign in Alberta came to a head with the recent successful strike action in the operations of the Imperial Lumber Co. Ltd. Unreasonable employer resistance has now been over- come, so that wages and working conditions have un- dergone substantial improvement. This new contract pattern established by the IWA for lumber operations in Alberta will soon require and get upward revision, but in the meantime, the Union has rendered an indis- pensable service to Alberta lumber workers. In this we have also established another bridgehead in our pro- gram of Western Canada expansion to provide essen- aa bulwarks against employer importation of cheap labor. All other phases of our Union’s activities have been stimulated by the merger. We may be proud of the fact that the IWA in this District had a major part in completion of merger plans at the provincial and local levels, No effort was’ made in this to dominate the unified organizations by virtue of our Union’s greater numerical strength. The full value of these new dimensions in the total trade union effort of B.C. will be more fully realized as the events of 1957 unfold. The impetus given by the merger to expansion of organization has been felt in every section of the con- tinent, and has opened up new avenues for the IWA to reach unexplored corners of the Western lumber industry. Questions of jurisdictional conflict may now be more readily resolved, enabling us to direct our energies to more constructive endeayor. Preliminary discussions with other unions whose members are employed in processing wood products, have been productive of wholesome results, although no finalization of merger plans have yet been prepared for submission to the membership of the unions con- cerned. The expression of intention made through the preliminary conferences was an important and definite advance in 1956. Our educational program during the past year con- tinued to inject new vigor into the democratic proced- ures of trade union administration. The merger made possible a combined effort in the conduct of educational institutes, that gave them superior quality, and met wtih the enthusiastic approval of a larger number of participating trade unionists. An important feature of this program was the at- tention given to the subject of automation. A portion of the panel discussions were presented on TV, and on the radio networks, indicating widespread public in- terest. It may be claimed that the IWA in this proy- ince has spearheaded trade union exploration of this vitally important subject. Every day of 1956, the promotion of safety was up- held by IWA members on the job. Safety Week, 1956, was given the loyal co-operation of the IWA, and proved to be a success in our industry. Unfortunate developments during the latter part of the year reveal the need for a clearer definition of employer responsi- bility, and a sound basis for labor-management co- operation. In broad outline, I have sketched the developments of the past year which furnish a background for pros- pects of the year ahead. We are ready to move forward. It will be a great year for the IWA. It will be a great year, because we have great things to do, and greater resources to do them with. Within the next month we will join with all the other unions in the province, under the auspices of ‘the merged Federation of Labor, and place our legislative demands before the Provincial Government. Our Union has major issues at stake in this. This year we can drive for our legislative objectives with greater force, and with some assurance that the united presentation will get more consideration than won by our divided forces in former years. In February our District Convention will assemble and lay the basis for the work of another convention year, principally the strategy of this year’s negotia- tions. ‘ Our preparations for these negotiations, which are expected to open in March, can be made with greater care and effectiveness than ever before, The major objectives will be determined by the representatives of the membership, through the Local Unions. No forecast of these demands should now be made by the Union’s officers. I can only say that we are fully in- formed regarding the wage patterns which are being established in other industries, and we will not deviate from the tradition of our Union, that employment in the lumber industry deserves as high rewards as in any other industry. ere “RESOLUTIONS Q BETTER Sccial Peeranen ° CREATE INTERNATIONAL Goop WILL BUT TO MILITATE AGAINST DICTATOR SHOE OPRRESSION * TAKE A BIGGER ROLE IN A ITY AFFAIRS: With Your Help The increased efficiency and wider scope of the or- ganizational plans now being developed in co-operation with the International Union, envision a more complete coverage of the lumber industry in the province. We are about to move into operations in all sections, where hitherto special types of opposition kept the IWA inactive. We may confidently expect great advances in the Alberta organization. Across Canada, there may be seen the definite prospect of spectacular expansion. Surprises of this nature are in store for our Union’s membership. Recent top-level conferences of the AFL-CIO and the Canadian Labour Congress indicate that our edu- cational program will be given fresh impetus, and an increased tempo. Our merged organization at the national and provincial levels will enable us to tap much greater reservoirs of training skills and educational experience. Our Union’s members will be enabled to profit in this regard to a much greater extent than ever before, and thus build with greater surety for their own betterment. My statements on these aspects of our Union’s development are not idle prophecies. They rest on achievements made to date, and are the logical out- come of these achievements. Only a great folly on our own part could possibly arrest this progress during 1957. I am confident that the lumber workers in this province are now fully aware of the possibilities for their better living to be gained by collective action through our Union. I am confident that they will not be diverted from their goal, either by irrelevant issues or employer deceptions, and opposition. I am confident that they realize the great strength of the trade union movement, and will use that strength with responsibility to build happier homes in our own land, and peace in the world at large. It is with this confidence that I wish every single member of the IWA a Happy and Prosperous New Year. Your Space, Boys! Pierce. Thinks convention in the main, was dis- posed to suspect anything that looked like political infiltration or intervention.” I have no wish to discuss the exception referred to, that is an- other subject, but how does it come about that any delegate, all through the convention, should “discreetly” keep silent. Must we not presume that all delegates are elected to participate in de- bate if they are so disposed. Does your reporter mean that when a trade unionist becomes an MLA or an MP he is suspected at a labor council or conyention and anything he says must necessar- ily savour of “infiltration or in- tervention”, In other words, he must say nothing for fear of showing his political bias. If it is best that he only “listens attentively”, then he shouldn’t be a delegate. He can listen quite well as a visitor in- stead of doing a delegate with voice out of a chance to sit in at the convention. I recall that Eamon Park, Charlie Millard, and many other trade unionists were once mem- bers of the Ontario Legislature, but I have yet to learn that they were advised to restrain them- selves at conyentions. When trade unionists are el- ected to Parliament, their value to us in that particular field is greatly enhanced, miore especi- ally when about 75 percent of our convention and council busi- ness is political. Yours fraternally, W. J. PIERCE 3681 Nanaimo Street. ATTEND YOUR UNION MEETINGS / MLA'S Should Have Rights The Editor: The B.C. Lumber Worker is a bright paper, broad in its out- look, and usually transmits to its readers a militancy without straining to excesses. I am not a regular reader, but the occa- sional copy comes my way. Your Noy. 1 issue gives good coverage of the B.C. Federation of Labour Convention, but some of your “Roving Reporter’s Im- pressions” are, in my opinion, off the beam, and call for friendly but serious criticism. Reporter writes: “Four MLA’s and one member of the House of Commons were on the floor, With one exception they discreetly kept debating silence and listened attentively. In this they did them- Seagram's V.0. » Seagram's Golden Gin selves no harm as working-class Political representatives, for the This advertisement is not published or displayed by the Liquor Control Board or by the Government of British Columbia