12 B.C. LUMBER WORKER 2nd Issue, June United Action To Defeat Employers’ Attack Urged Greater unification of strategy on the part of all trade unions is now imperative in defence of bas trade union tights against the employers’ attack, warned District Presi- dent Joe Morris, when he addressed the First Biennial Con- vention of the Hospitals Employees’ Union, Local 180, in Penticton recently. The speaker said in part: The Pattern of Attack “The offensive against Labour is being developed on a continent- wide basis. We are told that it has been five years in the mak- ing. Strikes have been created. Many of them of an abortive na- ture and’ the offensive has been to a large degree successful, The storm centre at present is in Washington, D.C.; soon it will hit us here with greater in- tensity. “I have conventions attended the recent of the Industrial Union Department, AFL-CIO, at Washington, D.C., the AFL-CIO Atlantic City, the Canadian La- hour Congress at Winnipeg, as well as our own conventions here. “On each occasion top-flight trade union leaders have warned of the developing attack. I am one who claims that in our prov- ince their warnings have not been heeded as they should have been. As a movement, we have not strengthened our defences as we should have done. We have not developed the necessary unifica- tion of strategy. United Strategy Imperative “Because of this our united opponents among the employ- ing interests are finding it too easy to pick us off one by one. The unity of action for which we merged in the Congress and in the B.C, Federation of La- bour, must now be expressed in a unified and more broadly based campaign of action in defence of Labour’s rights, and to win greater social security and the economic benefits that we need. “At the present time, the offi- cers of the AFL-CIO are before bour Sub-Committee of the Senate appealing against ic curbs, against drastic changes in the Labour Law, in- corporated in a number of pro- posed restrictive measures before the Senate, “What is the AFL-CIO fighting for now? Mainly, the right to develop and maintain its own code of ethical practices, already applied with sweeping results against labour racketeers, inst of being subjected to Union- busting legislation. The argu- ments of the Unions run this way. Punish All Crooks “The great majority of Trade Union members and their Offi- cers are not crooks. The major- ity must not be punished be- cause of the sins of the few. It would be just as criminal to adopt laws which would punish those who are victims of the DENTAL oe 40) de Soest ? The Dental Association has for- bidden Dr, R. Llewellyn Douglas (Old Doc) from announcing ublicly that he is willing and eble to provide top quality, guaranteed dental plates ot only $40 per plate. Dr. R. Llewellyn Douglas m2 ashe St. Vancouver 1, B.C. (Corner of Granville) crooks, by stripping their Unions of all rights and pow- ers, as it would be to adopt laws to punish those people who are not crooks! “Unions cannot be stripped of all rights and powers. At present, the self-regulatory steps’ which Labour has taken are sufficient, if not obstructed by government interference, and would prove far more effective than any legisla~ tion for this purpose. “I think all of us realize that for every crooked Trade Union leader, “selling out” the workers, there is at least one crooked busi- hess man, “Tf there were no crooked business men, there would be no crooked Trade Union leaders. If no business man was pre- pared to’ “pay off”, no Union leader would be prepared to “sell out.” “If we move against crooks, let us move against the crooks in business as well as in the Unions. Let us move against the crooks on both sides. “In Canada, the organized em- ployers are capitalizing unfairly on the battle under way in Washing- ton. Everyone knows Canadian Trade Unions are singularly free from corruption. Yet the employ- ers have seized upon an unemploy- ment situation to further step up their offensive against Trade Unions. “We now hear on all sides that labour disputes are entirely due to the dictatorial powers of cor- rupt American Labour leaders. The truth is being concealed about the autonomy exercised by the Canadian section of the Trade Union movement. “The Press play up the view of Corporation Executives, and play down the findings of the Gordon Commission, which stated in its report to Parliament that in no instance could they find any in- dication that strikes were ordered by International Officers from across the line. “Our experience contradicts the claim that Union leaders are likely to call strikes against the will of their membership. The Union of- ficial who calls a strike against the desires of the membership will have a very short career in Can- ada. 2 “We hear the same phony pitch in Canada, as in the United States, about “right-to-work” laws, In the last report of the AFL-CIO, there are eighteen States with “right-to- work” laws, but in twenty-two other States the Trade Unions were successful in defeating the proposal.’ In one State after an- other at the present time Labour is organizing successfully to secure repeals, “Right to Work” “The true purpose of the so- called “right to work” laws is to weaken Unions and reduce the effectiveness of collective bargain- ing. The fact is that the workers on both sides of the line do want union security, and have favored Union Shop ‘agreements. “The enemies of the Unions haye, therefore, found it neces- sary to resort to gross misrepre- sentation, and half truths. It is particularly obnoxious that they should take advantage of a di: tressing unemployment situation. “The slogan ‘the right to work’ is designed to appeal to the man who is seeking work. The truth is that this vicious campaign does not guarantee a single worker the right to work, only the right to scab. “Those business interests which are expending so much effort and not a little money on the campaign against La- bour, would do the country a vastly greater good if they joined with us in an honest-to- God movement to provide for every Canadian worker a de- cent well-paying job. National Policy “We must establish the truth in the minds of our friends and neighbours, that collective bar- gaining is the best way, the demo- cratic way, to settle our differ- ences with management. “Collective bargaining to be ef- fective should not be compelled by law, but should provide for a reasonable method of decision by free people, both management and workers, as a matter of free choice. “While the AFL-CIO is now fighting a proposed ban on strike picketting at Washington, D we in the CLC must meet the same purposes in different dis- guise. In various forms, the em- ployers’ organization is suggesting in all provinces the necessity of establishing government control of unions. They propose such measures as compulsory arbitra- tion, intended, of course, to de- prive us of all right to strike. “In our own negotiations the Lumber Operators had the nerve to demand that the IWA, the big- gest Union in Western Canada, should be incorporated under the Societies Act. “At first we thought they were playing games, that this was prob- ably a bargaining “gimmick”, but when they went to a Conciliation Board they’ presented a carefully developed argument on the sub- ject for the Conciliation Board now in session, In one sentence in this brief they complained about the difficulty of reaching Trade Union funds when in their opinion a Union should be pen- alized. Union Funds Eyed “What right have they to say that the law will assess funds of our Union? They went on to talk about illegal strikes, where opera- tors weren’t living up to contract. We had about five of these ‘so- called’ cases last year, in Bri Columbia. “In an industry that covers so Alberni Dis! New Westminster CREDIT UNION DIRECTORY IWA Credit Unions and other Credit Unions supported by IWA Local Unions in B.C. Credit Union, 209 Argyle Street, Port Alberni IWA 1-217 Savings, Broadway & Quebec Streets, Vancouver 10 IWA (N.W.) Credit Union, Room 21, 774 Columbia Street, Local 1-118, IWA (Victoria), 904 Gordon Street, Victoria Chemainus & District Credit Union, Box 299, Chemainus Lake Cowichan and District Credit Union, Lake Cowichan, B.C. Courtenay Credit Union, Box 952 Courtenay Duncan & District Credit Union, Box 1717, Duncan Prince George & District, 1046-4th Avenue, Princo George _ Naneimo & District Credit Union, 499 Wallace St., Nanaimo Phoset MUtuel 124022 a Yefcome DE | ELEGATES “BIENNIAL CONVENTION DISTRICT PRESIDENT, Joe Morris addressing the 1st Biennial Convention of the Hospital Employees’ Union, Local 180, June 6th, in Penticton. many thousand operations, is that bad? And because these people have the guts to get up and walk out are we going to have some legal machinery that allows bosses to get at Union funds? “Is that the kind of democracy we want? Or is it the kind of pseudo - dictatorship that they want? “The Deadly Sin” pparently it is quite all right for anemployer to use the eco- nomic power based on his rights of ownership of the tools of pro- duction, and deprive men of jobs, but it is a deadly sin in their opinion for a Union to exercise their right to withhold their la- bour when confronted with intol- erable conditions of employment. “To maintain the position which we have established after struggle by the workers of the present and the workers ‘of the past, we must take action not only on the economic field but upon the political field. To maintain the position we are in, not because employers want- ed us to be there, but after years and generations of strug- gle. The things we have today are the result of the sacrifices of the past. The things of to- morrow will be the result of the sacrifices of today. New Opportunities “Tf the industrial workers and the working farmers were placed position through a more distribution of income in a equitable See “UNITED ACTION” Page 14 From Page 11 - “Interior have been subject to annual re- of Work Act, but are not regarded jon. On numerous occasions such revisions have been made, with beneficial results to all con- cerned, “The great advantage of this procedure is that time can be taken to make a study of the rate struc- ture as it affects special classifi cations, with the purpose of elim- inating inequities. It is usually impossible to gain proper consid- eration of these details during broad negotiations because of time limitations. “These revisions are especially important in an industry such as the lumber industry, as many skilled tradesmen are required, such as carpenters, millwrights, eiectricians and machinists. “Only through such revisions can their wage sates be adjusted to the rate which prevails in the area, and their skills as journey- men tradesmen retained for the lumber industry. The same prin- ciple applies to those who, through years of experience, and diligent application have ac- quired the skills for specialized work, Bargaining Unit Work “In the demand that work in the bargaining unit be done only by rhembers of that unit, the Union is‘ desirous of ending the practice of assigning work to persons in a supervisory capacity. “When the certification is granted, those engaged in the op- eration are divided into two groups, employees engaged in production and maintenance work, and those representing manage- ment in a supervisory capacity. “Only too often, management decides without consultation with the Union, to pass along work normally performed by production workers to foremen. “This has been a constant source of friction, especially under conditions of increasing unemploy- ment. As a matter of fact, it leads to trouble, when we find that such persons are covered by the Hours as employees under the Labour Relations Act. They are thus placed under the protection of the agreement in one respect, while not being required to remain mem- bers of the bargaining unit. Seniority “One addition is demanded this year with regard to the seniority provisions of the contract. We are pressing for recognition of the principle of seniority in the mat- ter of promotion. “This can only be done, by ac- ceptance of our proposal which is that all vacancies be posted for a reasonable period. In this way, all employees are assured that their qualifications for promotion on the basis of length of service, will be considered fairly. The result will be better labour-management re- lations and improved morale among the employees. Medical Services “One further point should be mentioned here. We are asking for an industry-wide medical ser- vices plan on a 50-50 contributory basis. Individual operators have feund it so advantageous to en- able their employees to have medi- cal coverage that in many ins- tances they have entered into ar- rangements with such agencies as the MSA, ‘he assurance of medical cov- erage in case of illness is a great boon and lifts ffom the employees the burden of worry with regard to medical services. Otherwise, employees are often burdened with heavy debts. “Still more important is the fact, that with medical cover- age, illness is usually dealt with when the symptoms first appear, and is not neglected because of the fear of expense. This pre- vents unnecessary and pro- longed illness and has proved to be an important aid in preserv- ing the health of workers. A healthy work force is a great asset to the industry and to the community as well.”