B.C. LUMBER WORKER

Beevers condemnation of
the Social Credit Govern-
ment for the enactment of
pak No, 123 & 43 contained
in the report of the Standing
islative Committee (E. P.
Connor, Chairman) was
animously approved by the
delegates attending the 4th
Annual Convention of the
B.C. Federation of Labour.
“Said the Committee,”
As long as these laws re-
main on the Statute Books
of British Columbia, the
freedoms and civil liberties
of organized- workers are
threatened.”
The report first reviewed the
circumstances leading up to the
passage of Bill 123, which was
aimed at the Government em-
ployees, Legal opinion had been
obtained, it was stated, to the
effect that the Bill could not be
successfully challenged in the
ourts, as it was within the pur-
@:: of provincial authority,
The effect of the Bill has been,
stated the report, —
“Provincial Government

em-

ployees are therefore; — (1)
Denied their civil right to bargain
collectively, (2) Denied their
- civil right to pursue peaceful
picketing in support of strike
action.”

Rights Violated

Your Committee would draw
attention to the Universal De-
claration of Human Rights, is-
sued by the Gerneral Assembly
of the United Nations on Decem-
ber 10, 1949, and in particular the
following;

(4) Everyone has the right
to form and to join trade unions
for the protection of his in-
terests.”

Article 7. All are equal be-
fore the law, and are entitled
without any discrimination to
equal protection of the law.
All are entitled to equal pro-
tection against any discrimin-
ation in violation of this De-
claration and against any incite-
ment to such discrimination.

ee erinient Scored
er Anti-Labour Bills

“and suggests that Bill 123 is
discriminatory, and therefore
represents a negation of the
Universal Declaration of
Human Rights.”

Repeal Bill 43

The Committee reported that
the passage of Bill 43 in the
Legislature was the result of the
Pressure exercised by powerful
lobbies of the Chamber of Com-
merce, the Board of Trade, and
the Canadian Manufacturers’ As-
sociation.

Representations made by organ-
ized labour, when the Bill was
before the House proved quite
fruitless, as Ministers of the
Government had already dis-
closed their anti-labour prejudices,

The report. continued; —

“The Act (The Trade union
Act — Bill 43) places severe re-
strictions on the Trade Union
movement of British Columbia
by, — (1) Disallowing inform-
ation and sympathy picketing,
(2) Assuming unions guilty until
proven innocent, (3) Restricting
Organization, (4) Making unions
subject to damage suits, and, (5)
Limiting the rights of organized
labour to freedom of assembly
and freedom of speech.”

Conciliation Discarded
The report continued a review
of the circumstances which fol-
lowed the enactment of the Bill,

and stated:

Since its passage a noticeable
change has taken place in the
attitude of management. Em-
ployers are less interested in
attempting to resolve disputes
at the bargaining table, know-
ing they can easily secure in-
junctions and involve unions in
expensive court action.

“To date the Act has cost
unions in British Columbia several
thousands of dollars in legal fees
and court costs. The original in-
junction against the Iron Workers
Local 97 was issued under, the
provisions of Bill 43. It was used
in many of the injunctions secured
by employers during the IWA
strike.

The damage suit against the
Federation during the Northland
strike was also obtained under
the Bill and damage suits are still
pending against several unions in
British Columbia in connection
with Bill 43.” :

“The indications are that em-
ployers will use this legislation
on every occasion that presents
itself to weaken the labour move-
ment in British Columbia, Dele-
gates should note that despite the
protestations of Government. and
Management spokesment that Bill
43 is- not restrictive, the Honour-
able Justice Thorson, -of the
Exchequer court of Canada is in
complete agreement with the
viewpoint of Labour on this
legislation.

He stated, and we quote:
“The B.C. Trade Union Act

(Bill 43) is unduly restrictive.
It limits the rights of organ-
ized labour to free assembly and
free speech.”

First Steps Only

It is the desire of your Com-
mittee to bring to the attention
of all concerned that to their
knowledge in no free country
does legislation exist which pro-
hibits the rights of organized
workers to engage -in peaceful
picketing in support of strike
action,

‘Your Committee wish to warn
the Delegates that these two
Acts are the first steps in an
all-out attempt to destroy the
effectiveness of organized
Tabour.”

Employer groups are demanding
further restrictive legislation —
“right-to-work” laws, and “labour
courts” are now their demands.

Your Committee recommends
that every delegate bring the
subject matter of this Report to
the attention of fellow trade
unionists, their families and
friends, for as long as these
laws remain on the Statute
Books of British Columbia the

freedoms and civil liberties of

Organized Workers are threa-

tened.

The resolution called for a
minimum fine of $2,000 for first
offences, with a maximum of
$10,000 or one year in jail.
Supporters of the resolution
Stated that the fines now levied
Were farcial, and placed no re-
“straint on wealthy corporations,
many of whom persist in flagrant
iolations of the Labour Relations
~~ Act,

_. The resolution was opposed by

TWA Regional Secretary-Treas-
urer, George Mitchell, who con
"tended that it would lead to the
imposition of similar fines upon
unions,

The text of the resolution was
as follows:
WHEREAS it has been estab-
lished by law in the Province of
British Columbia that a person or
persons may join the union cf
their choice, and
_ WHEREAS the prime objective
of the trade union movement is
the organizing of the unorganized
so that they too may have the
benefits obtained by collective
bargaining, and
WHEREAS the law provides
that no employer or no person
‘ing on behalf of an employer
interfere with the formation

New Penalties Sought
For Unfair Practices

Demand for fines up to $10,000 on employees guilty of
unfair labour practices was made at the convention of the
B.C. Federation of Labour recently.

WHEREAS during the past
year, our Union has encountered
employer interference in almost
every instance of organization of
retail employees,

THEREFORE BE IT RE-
SOLVED THAT the Federation
demand that the Provincial Gov-
ernment at the next sitting of the
Legislature amend the section of
the Labour Relations Act dealing
with Unfair Labour Practises to
include, any employer or em-
ployer’s agent convicted of an un-

fair labour practice shall be sub-
ject to a minimum fine not to ex-
ceed $200 for the first offence and
a maximum fine of $8,000 or one
year in prison on subsequent con-
victions of unfair labour charges.

Oil Heaters
Dangerous

If you use a pottable oil
space heater in your home, re~

member that it represents a
definite fire hazard. It should
be set absolutely level and
should not be carried around
from room to room while
burning. Changes in draft are
liable to cause explosion. Can-
ada’s fire services hope that
just as soon as you can you
will dispense with it in favor
of a more permanent type of

heating unit.

New Westminster.

CREDIT UNION DIRECTORY

IWA Credit Unions and other Credit Unions

supported by IWA Local Unions in B.C.
Alberni District Credit Union, 209 Argyle Street, Port Alberni
IWA 1-217 Sayings, Broadway & Quebec Streets, Vancouyed 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 229, 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, Prince George
Nanaimo & District Credit Union, 499 Wallace St., Nanaimo
Ladysmith & District Credit Union, Box 154 Ladysmith, B.C.

a trade union, and

se

labour movement,

URGENT NEED of organized labour to develop and present a sound pro-
gramme to offset the employer-inspired propaganda directed against the
ussed by IWA President, Joe Morris, left, and

Canadian Labour Congress President, Claude Jodoin, during the B.C.
Federation of Labour Convention, in Vancouver.

Canadian Locals Told.
To Ignore U.S. Order

Canadian branches of international unions have been ad-
vised by the CLC to disregard U.S. labor laws. CLC vice-
president Stanley Knowles said that “any Canadian local
resisting (orders to comply with U.S. laws) have our full

support.”

The question arose when Cana-
dian locals of the International
Brotherhood of Teamsters were
asked to comply with sections of
the new U.S. Labour Control Act
regarding the right of local offi-
cials to hold office.

Extend Laws

‘The U.S. government shoud
not seek to extend the application
of its law to Canadian locals,” Mr.
Knowles said. “For the sake of
Canadian-American relations, it
should take a look at this, fast.”

The Teamsters so far were the
only Canadian branches to receive
orders of compliance. Teamste=
officials. were asked to sign affi-
davits swearing that they did not
contravene “section 504” of the
U.S. law.

Up To Locals

A CLC source said the problera
becomes complicated if the order
comes from the head office of the
international, as opposed to the
U.S. Department of Justice. “ia
that case, it’s up to the locals to
determine their own course cf
action.” the source told CPA.

CLC officials are reported to
feel that only some unions in
Canada wil be pressured to sign
the affidavits, as the U.S. govern-
ment is not concerned with all
unions in the States.

The Principle

‘There is no question of inability
to comply with the U.S. law,”
another CLC official said, “It’s the
principle of the thing.”

The law bars from office any
one who is or has been a Com-
munist or who has a criminal re-
cord. The Teamsters, thrown out
of the AFL-CIO for racketeering,
have a relatively clean record in
Canada and are still affiliated to
the CLC.

“Canadian unions operate under
Canadian laws, bad as those may
be,” the CLC source said. “We
have enough ‘trouble defeating
anti-union legislation in this coun-
try without having to comply with
restrictive laws that American
business has foisted on our
brothers to the south.”

If amendments to international
constitutions are considered by
the Americans, Canadian branches
may have to seek special exem;
tions. The Brotherhood of Loc
motive Firemen and Enginemen
provided a precedent this summer
when a special constitutional
amendment was passed at the
brotherhood’s convention enab-
ling Canadian locals only to par~
ticipate in political activity.

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