false oes, Sale Vol. XXV, No. 15 GS" 1st ISSUE, AUGUST 1958 - VANCOUVER, B.C. Sc PER COPY Editorial The Choice EMBERS of the IWA District Policy Com- mittee have made no pretence that they are delighted over the terms of the settlement which they now recommend to IWA members in the coast Local Unions. Neither have they any occasion for apology. They are well aware that their own disap- pointment will be shared by the members of the Union, who have pinned high hopes on this year’s negotiations. Notwithstanding these uncomfort- able considerations, the Union’s negotiators were required to acknowledge their responsibility to- ward the membership of the Union, and declare their honest appraisal of the situation in its bear- ing on the well-being of the workers in the indus- try, to-morrow as well as to-day. The recommendation for acceptance of the Sloan formula represented a stern choice on the part of the Committee’s members between two alternative courses of action. The same stern choice must now be made by each individual mem- ber in the referendum balloting. This is the choice. Shall the Union now take strike action, as au- thorized earlier, or shall it accept the terms of an eight-month truce? The same considerations, which were examined by the Committee, both pro and con, should now be weighed carefully by each individual voting member. The Union has exhausted all the possibilities of obtaining its other demands through negotiation. An employer-dominated majority of a Concilia- tion Board went all the way with the employers in See “CHOICE” Page 3 Survey Used To Smear Unions Widespread distribution by the Vancouver Board of Trade of statistics compiled from a survey conducted to de- termine the public attitude toward labour and labour’s de- mands has caused trade union officials some soul-searching and has prompted them to re-examine and expand their plans for more satisfactory public relations. ‘The survey was made by West- ern Surveys-Research Ltd., and covered 507 persons in the Greater Vancouver and Victoria areas. Persons interviewed were from the following categories: manual workers, clerical workers, retired WHAT'S INSIDE widows, etc. employees, self-em- ployed persons, households with ong member of a trade union, and households without a member of a trade union. The number interviewed in- cluded 263 men, and 244 women. Anti-Labour Device Criticism levelled at the methods employed suggested that many of the questions were “loaded”; that the coverage was too small to yield conclusive results regarding public opinion; and that many of the persons interviewed could not possibly be informed regarding the questions asked. See “SURVEY” Page 2 Long Fight Waged Main reason for the exten- sion of the Union’s timetable for negotiations this year, was explained as being due mainly to precautions necessary to satisfy public opinion sub- jected to an intensive propa- ganda campaign of misrepre- sentation, said Associate Re- search Director Joe Miya- zawa in a recent radio ad- dress. He outlined in chronological or- der, with dates, the sequence of developments from the commence- ment of negotiations on March 17th, as follows: “It will be remembered that bargaining talks with the employ- ers commenced March 17th, When these proved fruitless application for the services of a Conciliation Officer was made on April 3rd. “During the period, April 14th to April 18th, discussions con- ducted by the Conciliation Offi- cer, Mr. Reg. Clements, failed to establish any basis of settlement. Accordingly, the appointment of a Conciliation Board was recom- mended. Board Appointed May 15 “The Conciliation Board com- menced its hearings on May 15th, with Dean George S. Allen, De- partment of Forestry University of British Columbia, as Chairman. It should be noted here that Dean Allen had- had no previous ex- perience in the conciliation of in- dustrial disputes. ps “The Board concluded its open hearings on June 2nd, after both parties had submitted extensive evidence and argument supporting their respective points of view. “The members of the Board were unable to agree, and on June 18th the Chairman, and the em- ployers’ representative, filed a majority report with the Depart- ment of Labour. Bob Smeal, the Union’s nominee on the Board filed a minority report. The Dis- trict Policy Committee met im- mediately, and staff members were called into conference on June 19th to expedite arrangements for a membership referendum. “The Policy Committee recom- mended rejection of the majority report not only because it pro- posed to freeze wages for a year but also because it proposed to weaken existing contract terms. Supervised Vote “The Union’s referendum was completed by June 25th, and re- turned a majority of 82% for re- See “FIGHT” Page 2 Pi COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS ACCEPTANCE SLOAN SETTLEMENT Keke ook Riek © oe Voting To Decide Choice; Approval Or Long Strike kK kk ok ke IWA members in coast Local Unions were confronted with a difficult choice, August 17th, when the members of the District Policy Committee submitted to them a formula for settlement of the dispute in the coast lumber industry, recommended by Commissioner the Hon. Gordon M. Sloan. Unmistakably, the choice lay between acceptance of the Sloan formula, or strike action. The formula for settlement, the acceptance of which was recommended unanimously by the members of the Dis- trict Policy Committee, proposed improved contract condi- tions substantially as demanded by the Union earlier, but was silent on the matter of a wage increase. Voting in the membership ref- erendum commenced immediately on the question, “Are you in fa- vour of accepting the Sloan for- mula as a settlement of 1958 ne- gotiations?” If a majority vote is given in the affirmative the Union will have the opportunity to discard the terms outlined in the majority report of the Concili- ation Board, and win a better con- tract instead of a worse, minus a wage increase. Returns from the membership referendum must be tabulated and reported to the District Policy Committee not later than August 25th. Prevailing sentiment as ex- pressed at the membership mect- ings indicated that few were will- ing to throw away the improved contract conditions for the risky alternative of winning a few cents on the hour after a bitter strike. The Policy Committee members stated that in their opinion, Com- missioner Sloan’s formula con- tained all that could be obtained through mediation under the cir- cumstances, The opinion expressed by many prominent members of the Union was to the effect that the Union would gain by signing a contract with improved working conditions this year. “It must be remem- bered,” they said, “that next year’s negotiations commence less than eight months from now.” The terms of the settlement for- mula as released by Commission- er Sloan are as follows: For One Year The 1957 Master Agreement to remain in full force and effect during the 1958 contract year and to date from June 15, 1958 with the following re- visions and additions thereto: Bargaining Agency 1. THAT Article I, Sec. 1 be amended to provide that the issue of whether or not per- sons are employees within the bargaining units is to be made “watchmen” from Sec, 1 (d) and adding the word “watch- men” to Sec. 3 (B). Watchmen employed in log- ging camps or sawmills where operations are suspended as provided for in Minimum Wage Order No. 1 (1955) shall continue to be excepted from Article V, Sec. 1. Statement As instructed by the Un- ion’s membership, the IWA District Policy and Negotiat- ing Committees have con- tinuously persevered in an ef- fort to secure a reasonable settlement of the dispute with ‘the coast lumber operators by peaceful means and thereby avoid the necessity of strike action. This led to the appointment by the Provincial Government of Forestry Advisor, the Hon, Gordon M. Sloan as a Royal Commissioner, to undertake mediation of the dispute. After a two-weeks enquiry into the issues in dispute, Com- missioner Sloan has now pro- posed a formula of settle- ment which in his judgment offers the best contract terms obtainable through his media- tion. The terms of the pro- posed settlement are set forth herein. The District Policy Com- mittee Members unanimous- ly recommend that the mem- bers of the Coast Local Un- ions accept his formula of settlement as in their opinion it provides a reasonable basis for settlement under the pres- ent circumstances, Statutory Holidays 4. THAT Article VIII, Sec. 3 be amended to provide that, subject to the other require- subject to grievance proce- dure and in the event of fail- ure to reach a satisfactory settlement, it shall be dealt with by arbitration as set forth in Article XX Sec. 1. Hours of Work 2. THAT Article V, Sec. 1 be amended by deleting the phrase “towboatmen” from subsection (d) and substitut- ing therefor the following “employees on tugboats as de- fined in Male and Female Minimum Wage Order No. 1 1955)”. 3. THAT Article V be further amended by deleting the word ments of the Section, an em- ployee may qualify for statu- tory holiday pay if he works one day before the holiday and one day after the holiday providing the said two days fall within a sixty (60) calen- dar day period. Vacations With Pay 5. THAT Article IX be amend- ed to provide that time spent on leave of absence for rea- sons other than illness or Workmen’s Compensation shall not be counted in the computation of vacation pay. See “SETTLEMENT” Page 3 LISTEN TO Green Gold-CJOR 7:00 Thursday p.m. our>p> CKPG-Ist & 3rd Thurs., 6:00 p. CKEK-Thurs., 8:15-8:30 p.m.