al i Ser. | THE WESTERN CANADIAN LUMBER WORKER FROM PAGE 1 "UNIONS MERGE" “Two ancient and strong unions now become one.” The amalgamation follows a January announcement by the parent unions in the Unit- ed States that they will merge and a no-raiding agree- ment between the Canadian branches, promulgated in February. The amalgamation already had been formally approved by Steel at a recent conven- tion and Mine-Mill officials have no doubt it would be accepted at the smaller un- ion’s June 23 convention in Winnipeg. A referendum on the amal- gamation issue will be held in all Mine-Mill locals. The agreement ends one of the toughest wars in Cana- FROM PAGE 1 "COPE" ing the citizens of B.C. is a strong indication of how they have lost touch of the situa- tion, and why they were so susceptible to the strong and critical campaign of the NDP group in the House. The Socred governments’ incredible decision to post- pone action on the vital and urgent need for compensa- tion legislation stands as an object lesson as to why trade unionists are determined to bring the NDP to power. Make sure your union sup- ports the “Dollars for COPE” program. —The Labour Statesman One on!! When a fighting white- water steelhead hits, brace yourself for battle. Pound-for-pound you're tangling with one of the world's fightingest fish. dian labour history, an ex- pensive, often-violent feud which made serious inroads into Mine-Mill’s relatively small treasury. Mine-Mill was thrown out of the old Canadian Congress of Labor in 1949 on the tech- nical grounds that its officers publicly abused CCL officials. The CCL’s action followed eviction of Mine-Mill’s parent body from the Congress of Industrial Organizations in the U.S. on grounds of alleged Communist domination, a charge the miners have al- ways denied. Mine-Mill in Canada never gained entry to the Canadian Labor Congress, a situation which left it open to raids by CLC affiliates. Steel already includes most iron ore miners in Canada, the majority of basic steel employees, all aluminum and asbestos workers outside Quebec and a number of foundrymen and metal fabri- cating workers. The merged union will unite more than 54,000 employees in Canadian non-ferrous min- ing, smelting and refining — about 90 per cent of the work- ers in that field. foo a | LIGHTER SIDE Marriage teaches you loyal- ty, tolerance, understanding, perseverance and a lot of other things you wouldn’t need if you’d stayed single. KK Oo. If only we could earn 1967 wages, have 1925 prices and pay 1915 taxes, we would be sitting pretty. MacMILLAN BLOEDEL'S TRUE PROFITS By MAURICE CORBEIL Financial Secretary Local 1-85 The Annual Report of Mac- Millan Bloedel states that the Company’s increase in net earnings for 1966 over 1965 only amounted to 4.6%. SOURCES OF WORKING CAPITAL ING Hearn gS etne 5 eek ne ema ie SN ee Non-cash charges in arriving at net earnings: Depreciation, depletion and amortization Ofglogeing roads) = 2 Se SA Ns oe eee Deferred income taxes _..... The above figures show that the working capital generated from operations in 1966 was increased by $14.1 million over 1965, or an increase of 18.3%. In his report, Mr. Clyne states the following: ‘Direct negotiations failed to achieve labour agreements and ulti- mately Mr. Justice Nemetz, the Industrial Inquiry Com- missioner appointed by the Provincial Government, made recommendations from which very onerous terms resulted, radically affecting the scale of wages and salaries in British Columbia. It is estimated that the settlement will have the effect of increasing the total wage costs of the forest in- dustry in the Province, in- cluding pulp and paper, by $20 million in the first year and a further $20 million in the second year.” We fail to see why Mr. Clyne and his associates show so much concern over negot- iation settlements and wages MAURICE CORBEIL paid to their hourly employ- ees. The Company report shows that the total wages, Page 35 of the official Com- pany Report shows the fol- lowing figures: 1966 1965 $42,460,618 $40,594,282 28,340,222 23,976,158 20,081,412 12,206,993 $90,882,252 $76,777,433 salaries and employee bene- fits (including the high execu- tive salaries and fringe bene- fits) amount to less than one- quarter of the total Company income. Mr. Clyne is com- plaining about the cost of the 1966 negotiation settlement . .. we can only say to Mr. Clyne that as a Trade Union we are proud of the fact that at least an aditional $40 mil- lion will be distributed amongst the workers in the forest products industry who will in turn spend it in the community in which they work and live, thereby con- tributing to the economy of the communities and the province | as a whole. We feel that ex- cessive profits distributed to the workers, in the form of wage increases, is far more beneficial to the economy of this province than to allow excessive profits to be invest- ed outside of the province in low wage areas. Pe oe A aN a SUE SST TS AUTO WORKERS OK AFL-CIO PULLOUT United Auto Worker dele- gates have given their inter- national executive board the power to withdraw the 1.4 million members from the AFL-CIO. Steelhead country is a man’s country, rugged and UAW president Walter Reuther claimed that only five of the more than 3,000 delegates attending the spe- cial convention called to de- cide the issue opposed the proposal to withdraw. Reuther earlied char g ed that the AFL-CIO had devel- oped “an acute case of hard- ening of the arteries” under the leadership of its president George Meany. Great trophy? remote. But it can reward novice or expert with the Then celebrate with a thirst-quenching finest fishing thrill of B.C.’s action-packed outdoors. Lucky Lager’s a beld breed of beer; man- sized; slow-brewed; a big beer in the West- ern tradition. Grab yourself a Lucky and savour a flavour as big as all outdoors. Soe pels Oe glass of Lucky Lager. Give Yourself a LUCKY BREAK