2 ° WAGE HIKE OVERDUE UNION a BOARD Vol. XXIV, No. 9 a Ist ISSUE, MAY 1957 - VANCOUVER, B.C. Ss 5c PER COPY BOARD | HEARS ISSUES nced M: 1st in ae augpute anes the IWA and the Coast ite man is a former anne Cans, Mr. Gordon Wis- Weta with Mr. on the eas Board are Bob Smeal, Union member, and ae management's Tr. Wismer Spokesman Joe Morris Chief spokesman for the Union was ae Eeeridene Joe Mor- is, Chai ie Ne holiday carey —— WHAT'S INSIDE Page ak kk * kk * Employers’ Policy Makes Showdown Now Inevitable RRM HM MH comprehensive brief submitted to the Conciliation Board, the [WA District g factor in settlement. ae deciding factor, it was declared, would be the atti- fs ae of the workers on the The eae was ee “We recognize that our demands this year represent a hefty kage, but arate ee the employ: e mbers are to keep their rightful place in the economy of the province. e no apology ir Because of ¢! how: r membership formulated these demands ene aware of the economic condi- Our tions of the industry. the! The Union’s argument that the smut sate fully seed rested mainly on the following bas’ “1. The cost-of- vine as increased About AV, % since our Jast negotia . Productivity Py “the industry has increased substantially. 3. Other wage settlements have outstripped the The Em ployers can meet the Union’s demands for the following reasons: of profits are as high or above those of other i in tust 2. Utilization oe material that was for -3. Labour cost of Speratiie. i in asta ion to sales, has decreased in recent years due to automation and utlization as well as to the fact that wage adjust- ments in the lumber industry have been exceedingly interests i in companies involved in these Pein are paying 12 to 1 I ‘acific scales here are completely IMPROVED PROSPECTS SHOWI “Notwithstanding the difficulties Aiea. the industry during the latter part of 1956, the uti look as we commence these hearings, shows improve aso thi ngs as the jelosing. of the Suez Canal an nd e U.K.’s decision to dispose of some of its lumber aecael, ae eit the ‘tight money’ policy ex- es all left me con- civtons still exist but ae a lesser Ge eck ane indications e that most of them are on the of being Besa b The Suez is opening and the cost of ship bottoms is returning to more normal levels. ‘he U.K. is fast cleaning out its stockpile and there is ae reason to believe that they will import more lumber this year than last and that 1958 sho Canada assuming its rightful place in the U.K. market. States aad more ney is beginning to show up for home constru This is their program and w tiate for them they knew full well what responsibiligies these demands carried with m.”’ n they handed if to us to nego- homes that consume more neha; ie iatanae high Jevel of as shopping centres, schools, hospitals, etc.; and the huge highway construction program in the United Stat nomic trend in Canada, as it affects these phases of the national economy, reveals improvements with those in the United States. A ean gives pasmance of continu- ing buoyancy in business activ: ST OF LIVING RistNa Because’all other sector: e Canadian economy are still on an: upwart eae ihe cost of living con- tinues to rise and other workers continue to receive substantial wage increases and other benefits in col- entire labor market stability. Turnover has increased tremendously in this industry — it always has been high. Not too many years ago the wage scale of workers in ae Tanabe industry was tops for this Province. Since this industry is still the major one in the region it was proper that it should set the ee sae pace. WAGE RATES BELOW PATT! late years, and especially in the yt ae or three pears) the whole picture aad changed. Today w ve just have not my an . Anytime the earning power of 30,000 workers in a relat pie concentrated area falls consid- erable Felon other wage scales and especially when those 3 0,000 economic sector of our society, we are heading for real trouble. ‘Workers in the lumber industry cannot afford to underwrite the increased prosperity of workers in other industries by settling for any more nickel puege increases whil other ers in Canada in rece veers has been 919) mens, a more, year in and year ea DEFERRED We would remind everyone at this stage in our presentation that in 1954, when ‘the overall economy of as on the verge of tottering, the IWA, of its own volition, decided to forego a wages increase in the interest of not setting aa ee any force that might upset the economic! stal of the Province. Other While it fe) ery i ikely that we will see a million industries at time se not doing very well but homes built in the United States ae year, there ar © ey still gave wage increases to their workers and other in housing start: subsequently HS onan began to ‘all again. In 1954 These are: home repair, expected to rea a figure of “WAGE HIKE” Page Listen: 10. Green Gold-CJ0 Thursday 7:00 p.ii. + CJAV = 6:30 p.m. Thursday o CKPG = Ist and 3rd Thursday - 6 p.m.