~ IW.A. Archives During Newfoundland strike, support from all over Canada flowed in for picketing I.W.A. mem History of the I.W.A. Continued from page twelve wants to move away with us, we will have a meeting outside, and we will start the rolling of the International Woodworkers of America; we are not buying any unions, we have won this convention fair and square, and we are here to stay and we are going to build a union in New- foundland for the loggers. And that’s precisely what we did. “But the company refused us the right, the right of our representatives to meet with the LonEers. (So) We walked through to the camps and our people went thirty, forty, fifty, and one of them went seventy two miles on foot...we. hired airplanes and landed our people in. We had our own snowmobiles and we hired a schooner to go around the island. “The I.W.A. campaign was probably one of the most intensive organizing drives that has ever been put on in any part of any province of this country. We even opened up our own unemployment insur- ance office and our workman’s compensa- tion office. We found that many workers had not got their unemployment insur- ance...But we set our own up, and within a short period of time we had collected over three million dollars from the Federal Government back unemployment insur- ance that belonged to those workers. We collected compensation claims, sent work- ers all the way to Toronto who were injured and couldn’t get the medical care here for rehabilitation.” Sees, In June of 1957, the I.W.A. made its first application for certification, which was rejected by the Labour Relations Board on the grounds that the application had to be from Locals. But ing was to stop the organizing drive. Within a Boni a referendum ballot had been passed by Local unions across North America, _ establishing a special “Newfoundland Section’ in the Constitution, and the loggers resigned ‘under the new structure. The Labour Board ordered a vote, which the union won by 86.4%, no such ‘and the I,W.A. was certified for loggers working for the Anglo Newfoundland Development Com- }) and Bowaters. s But it had been a challenging task. The com- bers. Pictured with some of the donations received are the Ontario Federation of Labour’s Chris Everson (left) and H. Landon Ladd in the background. pany had denied the I.W.A. access to its camps, and removed I.W.A. ads from newspapers. Ladd responded by hiring a plane and parachuting organizers into the camps, a measure that cost the union some Newfoundland public and labour support. Millworkers, who could have provided crucial support remained aloof and sometimes even actively opposed the I.W.A. But the orga- nization had to get union cards signed by log- gers, and that seemed the only way left. And in those terms, the hard-nosed campaign was suc- cessful. But the loggers’ overwhelming support for the I.W.A. simply hardened the company’s determination to rid itself of these new mili- tants. Accustomed to the compliant “Associa- tion” - twenty five years earlier, Thompson had been given a car and driver by the employer, and declared himself “forever grateful” for that - and facing the difficult markets of the 1957 recession, the company responded to the union’s demands by demanding a decrease in wages. As events were to prove, the company’s posi- tion was not inspired by the union’s demands - a 25 cent wage increase, a reduction in the work week from 60 hours to 44, and some very moderate proposals for improving the deplorable camp conditions. When negotiations broke down, the dispute was referred to a Conciliation Board, which unanimously recommended an immediate three cent wage increase, with an additional two cents after a year, a gradual reduction in the work week to 54 hours, 2% . vacation pay, and some vague promises to improve camp conditions. The union accepted these disappointing recommendations. Ladd wanted to build and consolidate the union’s position, and he knew that would be easier without a strike. But so did the company. - The AND wanted a strike; they had stockpiled pulpwood, and made plans for strike breakers. But they got more than they bargained for. This from Bill Gillespie’s “A Class Act:” “... for the first time, their union was treating them (the loggers) like they mattered. The I.W.A. held a convention at which democrati- cally elected delegates told the union negotia- tors what they wanted in their contract. It was a far cry from the days of Joe Thompson. So when the loggers headed into the strike they possessed a growing sense of confidence in themselves and a faith in their leadership.” he union organized a magnificent strike. Hank Skimmer responded to the hostile Newfoundland media with a blizzard of pamphlets, news releases, and radio bits delivered by Ladd. Organizers, Jack McCool and Jeff Hall somehow got into the camps, and won over the loggers. And while much of the public remained hostile to the union, some cru- cial community support was won. A notable example was 66 year old Annie Noel, who gave up her house for as many as 100 picketing log- gers a day. After the strike, the grateful loggers built her a new two-bedroom house.” Welfare committees were set up in each log- ging town. With the majority of the five mem- bers being women, Ladd said, “I told (organiz- ers) as I have told people since that more strikes are lost in the kitchen than on the picket line.” Gillespie again: “Tt was a decision that brought a total family commitment to the strike and i the men were taken away to jail, (a total of 202 charges were laid against I.W.A. loggers) sup- plied the picket lines with some of the most mil- itant recruits...Every day the loggers watched as the police escorted strike-breakers across the picket line. There was plenty of verbal abuse but little violence ...five weeks into the strike the R.C.M.P. officer in charge of policing the picket lines reported that the lack of violence was ‘one of the better aspects of the strike’...Grad- ually, though, signs began to appear that the loggers were winning. The strike breakers began to leave the camps. The woodpile at the mill was diminishing...Very early in the strike the Newfoundland Federation of Labour aban- doned its neutrality and began defending the I.W.A. in the press and organizing financial support. Unions from all over Newfoundland Continued on page fourteen 7O BREAK WOODWORKERS PROTEST USE OF MY. BESTWooD STRIKE ;LWACAEL-C1O- IN NEWFOUNDLAND ¢ In New Orleans, Louisiana, international solidarity for the I.W.A. strikers was strong as members of the Seafarers International Union refused to unload a ship of newsprint manufactured by the Anglo-Newfoundland Development Company mill in Grand Falls, Newfoundland. LUMBERWORKER/JUNE, 1998/13 later, as many of IW.A. Archives