i i. de jee e OL. SEE T THESE PLIB INSPECTORS of Local 1-288, IWA, sat from 1:30 in the afternoon to 7:30 in the evening in an attempt to Board Rules In Favour Of 1-184 An Arbitration Board has ruled that employees of the Domtar Construction Materi- als Limited, Saskatoon, must be paid for all statutory holi- days The employees, members of Local 1-184, IWA, Saskat- chewan, had been denied holiday pay by the Company for days they were not sched- uled to work. The Union immediately pressed for an Arbitration Board hearing. The Board in handing down its decision stated: “All employees represented by the Union on March 19, 1963, are entitled to holiday pay under Article XV, re- gardless of whether they might have been required to work on a holiday or not. This right extends back to April 1, 1961, and through the entire period of the cur- rent agreement. The Com- pany will pay wages properly = WA Loggers’ NAAT ITF 5550 Fraser Street, Vancouver, B.C. Music by: JOE ROSE ORCHESTRA — PRIZES — @ SOMETHING WET @ LOGGING BOOTS i F Dave Boddy’s Employment Dayton Shoe Manufacturing & Service Co. Ltd. Bi @ ROUND TRIP PASS BETWEEN @ LOGGING BOOTS ; CAMP NEAREST B.C. AIR- — w. J. Heads Boot Factory LINES BASE — CLASS 3 @ WOOL CRUISER COAT bab cae are = Jones Tent & Awning Ltd. B.C. Air Lines Limited @® MEN’S WRIST WATCH @ TRANSISTOR RADIO Madill Sales Lid. = a = B.C. Forest Products Ltd. = © TRANSISTOR RADIO = opecen Collierigs Resources = td. = @ GLADSTONE SUITCASE - Canadian Forest Products Ltd. @ MEN’S WITTNAUER WRIST- WATCH Crown Zellerbach Canada Ltd. @ SONY TR 75 TRANSISTOR MacMillan, Bloedel & Powell River Limited ® LOGGING BOOTS Pierre Paris & Sons Lid. @ CLOCK - RADIO Rayonier Canada (B.C.) Ltd. Sponsored by LOCAL 1-71 1.W.A. Fri, Dec. 27, 1963 DANCING 9 - 1 iron out the problems affecting their Local Union during their Annual Meeting November 23, in Nanaimo. accrued or to accrue.” TICKETS $1.00 _ PM MT HMNTATT SRT RCT CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11 Communist Stranglehold Ended to hire and fire organizers and approve all expenditures incurred by them. Adolph Germer, with a nation-wide reputation as an able and fearless trade union leader gained with the United Mine Workers and as CIO director in New York State, was named by the CIO as director of organization for the IWA. Germer commenced his duties in June 1940, and. swung vigorously into action on organization plans. He was largely instrumental in persuading the IWA membership to ap- prove the special assessment by giving assurance of CIO aid. In con- sultation with the International officers he proceeded to appoint a staff of organizers, assigning and directing their duties. It was at this point that he encountered interference by the pro-communist International officers. They insisted upon the appointment of their confederates, includ- ing some notorious pro-communists on the Executive Board and others proposed by their supporters. Organizers appointed by Germer on merit or on the recommendation of anti-communist districts were vic- iously attacked. When the pro-communist group failed to intimidate Germer, they demanded his dismissal. In direct violation of the ClO- IWA agreement they openly challenged his appointments of organizers and approval of expenditure. Germer was publicly accused of un- warranted interference in the Union’s negotiations and of failure to prosecute organization successfully. The dispute was aired in the daily and Communist labor press to create the impression that Germer had been ousted. Columbia River District locals appealed to the courts alleging that funds raised from the organization assessment had been improperly diverted for administration purposes. A “rump” session of ant-communist delegates, who claimed to represent 70 per cent of the dues-paying members, met after the Ab- erdeen convention. The International officers were charged with creat- ing dissension by attempts to purge staff members opposing commun-. ism and of displaying rank discrimination against members not in accord with the dictates of the administration. Again, a direct appeal was made to the CIO President for intervention. “to correct the internal strife created by the destructive activities of the above-mentioned of- ficers, activities which not only endanger the future success of effective organization but the very existence of the IWA.” The CIO appointed a committee of inquiry, comprised of S. Dal- rymple, chairman, J. C. Lewis and Reid Robinson. Hearings were held January and February, 1941, and were attended by representatives of both factions. The 2,000-page transcript of the proceedings gives a revealing insight into the state of affairs within the IWA at that time. Charges against Germer were pressed by the pro-communist International officers but the evidence given by their witnesses was vague and inconclusive. These officers made little headway in their > eross-examination of defense witnesses and resorted to disorderly interruptions, insinuating partiality on the part of the Committee members. Germer was vindicated in his loyalty to the ClO-IWA agree- ment and in his firm stand for integrity of administration. He re- mained in office. Some startling facts were disclosed at this inquiry. The IWA was in debt to the ClO for more than $50,000. It also had other large out- standing debts. A fictitious membership claim of 100,000 proved to have declined to a dues-paying 19,000. Inflated or padded per capita tax reports to the ClO were supported by worthless promissory notes. Financial statements had concealed the true facts. Later, the Interna- tional Trustees condemned these financial manipulations as “wholly irresponsible.” The ClO Committee of Inquiry heard sensational evidence of arbitrary pro-communist interference with local union self-government and the Germer-appointed organizers. The situation reported in the Longview area was one such under review. Here, Germer’s organizers had won four elections in the strategic Weyerhaeuser and Long-Bell operations with a 2,094-1-022 vote, recapturing a former AFL strong- hold. When the Germer organizers first appeared on the scene they were flatly denied cooperation by the entrenched pro-administration officials in the Longview local. Nothing would be done to help them, it was said, until Germer was fired. The organizers were involved in fist fights when they asked for the privilege of consulting with the local executive board. Their plans to revive interest in the local union were rejected. New members, signed-up by them, were refused initia- tion to prevent any danger of the overthrow of pro-communist control of the local union. Finally, an exasperated membership deposed the President and abolished the office of Business Agent, then held by the Financial Secretary, an ardent administration supporter. This official, displaying a gun, refused to vacate his office or submit his accounts for audit until a court order was issued. The action taken by the In- ternational officers was to name a pro-communist District Council of- ficial as director, in effect, arbitrarily placing the local union under International administration. The deteriorating situation was ably placed before the delegates at the Aberdeen 1940 International convention by the late Worth Lowery. His recommendations prepared the membership for the action taken at the Everett convention the following year. The working ar- rangements with the CIO led to the appointment of a Committee of Four on which the anti-communists were represented by A, F. Hartung, President of the Columbia River District Council and Ed McSorley, Board member from the same District Council. The five major recommenda- tions of this committee, obviously demanded. by the membership, laid the basis for far-reaching consitutional reforms. The nature of these reforms and subsequent development in the B.C. District Council, then controlled by pro-communists, will be out- lined in the next installment. (TO BE CONTINUED)