fd vy thewestern canadian 34,000 copies printed in this issue lumber worker Published once monthly as the official publication of the INTERNATIONAL WOODWORKERS OF AMERICA Western Canadian Regional Council No. 4 Affiliated with AFL-CI0-CLC 5th Floor, 1285 West Pender Street, Vancouver, B.C. VGE 4B2 Phone 683-1117 Editor—Patrick S. Kerr Business Manager—Wyman Trineer Forwarded to every member of the IWA in Western Canada in accordance with convention decisions. Subscription rate for non-members $2.00 per year. EDITORIAL ELEGATES to the IWA’s 45th Annual Convention started the proceedings in fine style with a 200-finger salute to Trudeau. He and the Liberal party that he leads richly deserve it. It was under previous Liberal regimes that Canada lost control over its strategic industries, and set the ground-work for the annual hemorrhage of billions of dollars in dividends, flowing south to the U.S., depressing the Canadian dollar and providing the capital for low- wage ventures elsewhere in the world. It is the present Liberal regime that has resolved that, through a combination of larcenous interest rates, low-wage policies, and regressive taxes, Canadian wage- earners should now absorb the full cost of past Liberal blundering. But while finger salutes and a lot of other things have to be done and redone to assure Trudeau that the Canadian forestry industry worker is alive and kicking, we must never lose sight of another, and equally grave, threat to Canadian labour. That is that in the intensity of our anger with Trudeau we will allow another Conservative “Diefenbaker sweep”, under Clark or some new leader. Make no mistake about it. The PC’s are at least as determined and ruthless an opponent of our interests as the Liberals are. In this Parliament, they have voted support for the Government 69 times, predominantly on economic issues. The Monetarist assault on your job, your house, your bargaining power and your health is planned and led by Gerald Bouey, Governor of the Bank of Canada. Bouey’s most enthusiastic ally and public apologist is none other than the walking Newfie Joke, Crosbie, chief PC economic guru, and, like Pierre, a millionaire. We are right to salute Trudeau, and to keep a wary eye on him. But let’s keep the other wary eye on the “Progressive” Conservatives. OFFICE WORKERS THANK IWA BY SHARRON HILL LOCAL 1-424 IWA On December 23, 1982 we Office Workers at Weldwood in Quesnel will be celebrating our Second Anniversary of the Contract signing. In recognition of this event, we would like to share our good feelings and update all IWA members as to the advan- tages this Union has given us. Our number one achievement has been that of a Voice ... a freedom not many clerical people share. The Grievance Proce- dure has opened avenues of rights that we’d been struggling for for years as individuals and only ran up against closed doors. Now the Company has a contract to honour, posting agreements to follow and an imme- diate grievance anytime they try to circum- vent our Collective Agreement. Another major plus was Seniority Rights (something unheard of for office staff) and although it has been a difficult principal for even some of our members to swallow (because they only knew favoritism before) the Company must lay off people in order of least Seniority first. They can no longer indiscriminately terminate people for feeble excuses ... and they cannot fill a job from the outside until it has been posted for us in the Bargaining Unit. We’re winning! and we’re grateful to share rights that Union members take for granted, but we have never had. Better wages of course, was another major gain and not won easily. The chart below indicates where we were in May ’80, our first settlement in ’81 and how we’re finishing in 1982. We’re proud of the gains the IWA has won for us and we celebrate being part of the Union we belong in. Your support has gone a long way to making our lives freer. WELDWOOD OFFICE STAFF $ PER HOUR Group Job 1 Jr. Clerk 2 No Jobs 3 Receptionists Statistics Clerk Personnel Clerk Accounts Payable Accounting Clerk Payroll Clerk Sr. Clerk, Planner Draftsperson Mini-Computer Operator Storekeepers Sr. Payroll Clerk dr. Accountant Purchasing Agent SC OA AM A June ’80 June’81 June’82 5.34 9.40 10.90 6.16 10.46 11.96 6.38 10.46 11.96 7.25 10.46 11.96 6.38 10.46 11.96 7.28 11.13 12.63 7.35 11.13 12.63 7.35 11.48 12.98 8.61 12.68 14.33 Red Circled 8.30 11.88 13.43 9.43 12.36 13.97 8.90 13.16 14.88 8.90 13.16 14.88 10.29 18.74 15.53 FIRST IWA PRESIDENT PASSES Harold Pritchett, the first IWA Interna- tional president, passed away August 10th, in Vancouver, at age 78. A shingle weaver by trade, Pritchett joined the AFL Shingle Weavers Union in 1925. A few years later he was elected president but his militancy soon resulted in AFL president William Green placing the local under trusteeship and expelling Pritchett. He then joined the Lumber Workers Industrial Union which was being revived by the left-wing Workers Unity League. In 1931 he took charge of his local in the famous Fraser Mills strike and was success- ful in winning wage increases for the crew after two and one half months strike. Unfortunately, Pritchett was rewarded for his militancy by being fired by the com- pany. In 1984 he became vice-president of the LWIU which later amalgamated with the Carpenters Union. Pritchett was elected president of the Coast District Council. When in 1936, the Carpenters refused to give financial help to the lumber workers in the bitter industry-wide strike, or allow them autonomous status within the Carpen- ter’s Union, the members pulled out of the AFL and formed the International Wood- workers of America. The new union received strong support and financial aid from the Committees of Industrial Organization (CIO), and Prit- chett was elected president. In the early forties, he was refused permis- sion by the American government to enter the States because of his Communist affilia- tion. This forced him to relinquish his post as international president. However, he was elected president of [WA District No. 1, now Regional Council No. 1. In 1948 he attempted to lead the Canadian section out of the IWA and form a new union, the Woodworkers Industrial Union. This attempt backfired when the majority of the members remained with the IWA. Pritchett was barred from the IWA for his action and was never allowed to rejoin. He then returned to his old job as ashingle weaver until his retirement. Regional president Jack Munro was one of many who paid tribute to Harold Prit- chett at the service held in Vancouver. The following are Munro’s remarks: “All present and past members of the [WA are saddened by the news of the passing of Brother Harold Pritchett. “He was our founding International president. “During the 1930’s he and a handful of others, with immense courage and strength of purpose and against massive odds, built the foundation of an organization which has greatly benefited all IWA members in particular and Canadian workers in general. “The later events which separated us cannot now obscure his great contribution to labour to diminish in the slightest our profound obligation to his memory.” 4/Lumber Worker/November, 1982