HISTORY OF THE |.W.A. Union reorganizes in B.C. and northern Ontario Article by Clay Perry PART VIII Left wing fades as union turns itself towards social democracy In our last article, we dealt with the abrupt change in Canadian forest indus- try leadership, from members of the Cana- dian communist movement to advocates of generally social democratic unionism. he particular events and casts of characters in both B.C. and Northern Ontario were unique and provide worthwhile lessons for all trade unionists. But it is perhaps even more impor- tant to place them in the context of the western world’s post-war labour history, for it is in that larger scene that the most important lessons lie.” The loss of the I.W.A., and later of Northern Ontario’s Lumber and Saw, was a serious blow to Communist labour organization in Canada, and a major victory for the Leadership of the Canadian Congress of Labour and the C.C.F, but it was part of a much larger North Ameri- can drama that made the overall results inevitable. lead oe ¢ In early 1950's, the International Woodworker of America’s B.C. District One was headed by Presi- ‘UBC Special Collections dent Stewart Alsbury (second from right). To his right is Secretary Treasurer George Mitchell and to his left is then vice president Joe Morris. In both the U.S. and Canada, the largest prizes, occasioning the most heated struggles, were the United Auto Workers and United Electrical Workers. In B.C. and Northern Ontario, the fight between “Mine-Mill” and the United Steelworkers of America over mine and smelter unions was central, and involved some of Canadian Labour's more colourful charac- ters. H. Landon Ladd, who was to play a key role in the I.W.A.’s organizing of Newfound- land’s loggers, began as a Mine-Mill activist, then switched to the Canadian Congress of Labour and finally to the I.W.A., where he led the Eastern Canadian Region for many years. But the contest between communist and social democratic labour leaders was in turn only a part of a much larger post-war drama, a process not unlike a giant set of negotiations CSKEC. AL oe PHI 6 9 Bs) NDpY's Theres, union that never really got established. ¢ Harold Pritchett (left) long-time I.W.A. leader sp’ between labour on the one hand and capitalism on the other, which yielded the so-called “post- war consensus.” We will leave that story for future articles. In Northern Ontario, after officers of the International Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners placed the three locals under trustee- ship in 1951, and deposed the top communist leaders - Bruce Magnuson, A.T. Hill, Harry Raketti, Jack Quinn, Marc Leclerc and Harry Timchishin - there was an attempt, similar to the one in B.C., to set up an independent, left- wing rival organization, the Canadian Union of Woodworkers. But, again as in B.C., it soon became clear that was hopeless. The commu- nist leaders had as little success with provin- Continued on page twenty-seven 26/LUMBERWORKER/DECEMBER, 1997