B.C. LUMBER WORKER ‘

2nd Issue, July

between per family average

for her ingenuity in making

ack of Dominion Stores Ltd.,

Too Low For B.C.

By MORDEN LAZARUS
A Canadian industrialist has pointed out the disparity

wages in the United States

and Canada, and has given the Canadian housewife credit

ends meet.

“The Canadian housewife”, president T. G. McCorm-

told an American Marketing

Assn. conference at Harvard University, “in trying to
~ maintain a standard of living for her family comparable
to that of the wealthier U.S.A., has become the shrewdest

purchasing agent in the world”.

The grocery-chain head stat-
ed that the Canadian house-
wife has a thousand dollars a
year less to spend than her
counterpart in the United
States ... a per family ay-
erage of $4,284 compared with

$5,274.
The Canadian family is also
somewhat larger — an average

of 3.8 members compared with
3.6, so that the Canadian house-
wife has more mouths to feed
and more clothes to buy. At the
same time she pays more for
many commodities such as home
appliances due to tariffs and
higher distribution costs in a
smaller market.
Good Managers

“How the Canadian housewife
stretches her small income, in the
face of higher prices,” adds Mr.
McCormack, “and still manages
to do a good job of keeping up
with the U.S. Joneses, is a lesson
in good management.”

The Canadian housewife shops
for value and is skeptical of gim-
micks.

“I see nothing wrong in trying
to keep up with the wealthier
Joneses if that means striving to
offset natural disadvantages by
greater efficiency and harder
work, and that is what Canadians
have done in many fields,” con-
cluded the Dominion Stores presi-
dent.

While praising the Canadian
homemaker for her ability to
maintain a good standard of liv-
ing on a relatively small income,
it might be well to take a look at
cost-of-living figures for an aver-
age family of five based on to-
day’s prices.

The following table is based on
the Toronto Welfare Council’s
“Guide to Family Spending” pub-
lished in 1949, revised in 1952 —
and with the figures updated to
April 1958:

SUBSISTENCE FAMILY BUDGET — TORONTO
For a Minimum Level of Health and Self-respect

BUDGET ITEMS

Food .
Clothing
Clothing upkeep
Personal Care
Transportation
Recreation, education, ete.
Rent ..
Household Operation
Health Services:
Blue Cross standard ward.
P.S.L Blue Plan
Life Insurance
Health Supplies .
House Furnishings

TOTAL MONTHLY REQUIREMENT

WE!

EKLY REQUIREMENT

Prices Prices
April 1952 April 1958
(per mo.) (per mo.)

$ 96.03 $101.12
39.86 38.90
4.06 4.53
479 5.35
5.82 6.50
21.46 23.95
. 52.00 59.90
- 19.14 19.89
2.75 5.30
6.25 7.50
- 2.50 2.50
: 31 335,
. 10.00 10.39
$264.79 $286.18
61.16 66.09

This is a minimum budget with
no allowances for luxuries or
savings. The absolute minimum
for subsistence living is calcu-
lated at $66.09 a week. Average
weekly earnings in Canada were
$67.02 at April 1st (40.4 hours
at $1.659 an hour); in construc-
tion $72.24 (40.4 hours at $1.788) ;
in services $40.23 (40.4 hours at
.996).

| DENTAL
PLATES

bidden Dr. R. Llewellyn Douglas
(Old Doc) from announcing
publicly thet he is willing and
eble to provide top quality,
guaranteed dente! plates at
only $40 per plate.

Dr. R. Llewellyn Douglas

712 Robson St. Vancouver 1, B.C,
(Corer of Granville)
MUtuel 1-4022

The best the average house-
wife can do is provide a mini-
mum standard, unless several
members of the family are work-
ing and/or the family has other
sources of income.

Housing Item Too Low

The average figure for rent,
$59.90 a month, is ridiculously
low. No good accommodation is
available in industrial centres at
anything near this price. A more
accurate figure for adequate ac-
commodation would be $85 a
month. Since most families can
not afford this amount, they prob-
ably have to live in overcrowded
circumstances.

The food allowance for a fam-
ily of five is also inadequate, as
are transportation, health sup-
plies and house furnishings. If
these below-par figures are in-
ereased to the point where they
provide not just a “minimum
standard,” but an adequate stan-
dard of living, the average in-

come for a family of five would | ;

have to be at least $80 a week.

Not even in Ontario and B.C.
where the average industrial
wage is highest does the average
wage reach this level. In other
provinces the average is far be-
low. We are bound to agree with
the Dominion Store head that
the Canadian housewife must run
her household with exemplary
efficiency and economy.

The importance of. the cost
of shelter in the family budget
has not been given enough at-
tention. Union submissions be-
ing presented to conciliation
board hearings are using the
basic minimum wage require-
ments prepared by the Toronto
Welfare Council, and this fig-
ure adjusted April 1958 shows
that a family of five needs
$66.09 a week for nothing more
than food, clothing, shelter and
sickness insurance. The allow-
ance for ‘shelter is $59.90 a
month,

This shelter allowance alone
proves that the minimum budget
is inadequate to the point of be-
ing ridiculous. No good accom-
modation for families is available
in the industrial centres of Can-
ada at anything near $60 a
month. Moreover the newer
homes in the low-cost brackets
are in suburban areas which
makes the transportation allow-
ance of $6.50 a month quite ab-
surd.

All the allowances for food,
clothing, shelter, transportation,
health supplies and house fur-
nishings are understated. But
what is the use of upgrading the
minimum standard when the av-
erage industrial wage in Ontario
is only $69.85 a week.

The average family needs at
least $75 to $100 a month to ob-
tain adequate housing today. But
this would be from $25 to $50 a
month more than such a family
can really afford. What is the
answer?

A book just published by Dr.
Albert Rose, professor of social
science at the University of Tor-
onto, provides it .’. . public hous-
ing. Canada lags so far behind
most other western countries in
the public housing field that to-
day we can foint to only one
full-scale public housing develop-
ment in all of Canada.

Tariffs Urged

ST. HYACINTHE (CPA) —
President Rene Gosselin of the
8,000-member National Catholic
Textile Federation told his
umion’s convention here that
the federal government should
raise tariffs and introduce stric-
ter enforcement of anti-dump-
ing laws to aid the textile

WS G
<8)
o

i
a
°

§
FEWER
THERE

LOGGERS’ AND LUMBERMEN’S CHOICE
For Over 35 Years

Watson's Leather

JOHN WATSON LTD.

industry.
5)

Gloves

Union Made by

VANCOUVER, B.C.

ARE OUR WAGES ADEQUATE?
Ont. Standards

Other Budgets
Up-Graded

In publishing the family budgets which appear below and
in an accompanying article, the Editors of the B.C. Lumber

Worker are well aware that such tabulations are usually con-
troversial. This is largely due to the fact that family require-

ments vary.

These tables, however, represent
a sincere effort to establish basic
requirements for subsistence liy-
ing.

As such information is useful in
union activities on behalf of the
members, advice with regard to
errors or omissions would be ap-
preciated. It should be borne in
mind that costs of living in Tor-
onto and some of the American
cities are rated as being relatively
higher than Vancouver,

These tables, however, repre-
sent a sincere effort to establish
basic requirements for subsist-
ence living.

U.S. Government Budget

(1) The government—the U.S.
Labor Department—has calculat-
ed a City Worker’s Family Budg-
et to show how much is needed
for what it calls a “modest but
adequate” standard of living.
This caleulation was last made
in October 1951, but if those
figures are brought roughly up
to date by adjusting for changes
in price and federal taxes since
then, they show that:

At least $4,656 a year must

be earned by a worker to sup-
port a family (wife and 2
children) on a “modest but
adequate” standard of living in
an American city in the Spring
of 1958.

This means at least $90 a
week, $2.25 an hour, assuming
a 40-hour week and a full 52
weeks of employment through
the year.

New York Budget

(2) A group of private com-
munity organizations through
the Community Council of Great-
er New York, has prepared a
Family Budget Standard for the
New York City area for the
guidance of social and health
agencies.

It shows that, as of October
1957, at least $4,545 a year or
$87.50 every week was needed
by a 4-person family (worker,
wife and 2 children) in the
New York area “to maintain
onrrent standards of adequate
consumption at low cost.”

(3) A university group, the

Heller Committee of the Univer-

LL ____
FAMILY BUDGET STANDARD

Of The Community Council of Greater New York
October, 1957

Total cost
Food
Clothing -
Housing .
Transportation
Medical care
Personal care
Recreation, communications,

education, tobacco
Life insurance .
Union dues
Gifts, miscellaneous

Taxes (income, OASI, disability)

Necessary Necessary

Weekly Annual
Income Income
$87.40 $4,545
29.31 1,524
9.25 481
19.99 1,039
3.13 163
5.22 271
2.06 107
5.19 270
1.35 70
RG) 39
2.29 119
8.86 461

‘Income needed by 4-person family—worker and wife (both
under 40), boy of 13, girl of 8—to meet “cost-of-living requirements
in New York City” in October, 1957. The definition of this budget
standard states that it provides for “a representative list of annual
purchases sufficient to maintain current standards of adequate con-

sumption at low cost.”

sity of California, estimates
each year the amount of annual
income necessary for a “com-
monly accepted” standard of liv-
ing in the San Francisco area.
The Heller Budget reports
that at least $5,832 a year is
needed as of September 1957
for a wage earner (with a
wife and 2 children) to afford
all those things which are part
of a “commonly accepted”
standard of living in the San
Francisco area. On a weekly
basis this means $112 each
week of the year.

Alex B) Macdonald

Barrister & Solicitor
Notary Public

204 Holden Bldg.
16 East Hastings St.

VANCOUVER 4, B.C.

MU 4-6641 - 4621 - 4939

SOLICITOR TO THE 1. W. A.

;

Airlines
Affiliate

OTTAWA (CPA)—The Can-
adian Air Line Flight Attend-
ants’ Association has yoted 91
per cent in favor of affiliation
with the Canadian Labor Con-
gress, according to CLC sec-
retary-treasurer Donald Mac-
Donald, and has formally ap-
plied for affiliation.

The application, presented by
president Miss Ollie Pleinis of
Vancouver, will be placed before
the CLC Executive Council meet-
ing here August 19-21, Mr. Mac-
Donald said.

Listen to

GREEN GOLD

GOR, THURS. 7 P. Mm.

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