THE WESTE

Vol. XXXI, No. 2

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RN CANADIAN

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Incorporating Jha @.C, Lumberworher Official Publication of the Iaterwational Wesdewerkers of r¥mertea Regional Council No. 1

Go to th’ union meetin’s?.. . . | wouldn’t miss ‘em .

JOE MADDEN, well-known
and highly popular President
of Local 1-357, IWA, New
Westminster, is leaving the

Union to go into business for
himself. Joe joined the IWA

in 1945 following his dis-.

charge from the Royal Cana-
dian Navy where he spent
five years on active service.
His first post in the Union
was at Pacific Veneer where
he was Plant Chairman. In
1948 he became an Interna-
tional Organizer and spent the
next few years organizing on
Vancouver Island and in East-

VANCOUVER, B.C.

Joe Madden Leaves Union
After 18 Years Service

ern Canada. During this period
he was a Vice-President of
his Local Union. In 1953, he
was elected President of
Local 1-357, and has retained
that office ever since. He was
also elected 1st Wice-Presi-
dent of the District Council
for one term and has twice
been elected International
Board Member. The officers
of the Regional Council, the
officers of Local 1-357, and
his many friends both in and
out of the Union wish Joe
every success in his new
venture,

5c PER COPY

2nd issue
January, 1964

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. . gives me a night away from the old lady!

JOE MADDEN

A boatsman at heart, Joe,
after eighteen years with the
union, is leaving to operate

his own marina on Vancouver
Island.

ENLNUULULCUUULU US

Coast area negotiatons.

the Conference.

LUNN

Srl NUN

A
Unity Stressed at Meet
Of Coast Local Officers

Officers of eight coast local unions met at Woodwork-
ers’ House in Vancouver on January 15th to discuss a
unified approach for coming coast negotiations in a meet-
ing sparked by a request from Local 1-85.

Frank discussion by all concerned during the meeting
brought out a number of useful points which will be of
value during the Wages and Contract Conference and

Majority opinion of coast local officers was that inter-
union problems should be confined to our own house.

Regional officers were pleased that the majority of
local officers indicated their desire to work together dur-
ing coming coast. negotiations in the interests of the
membership, who need substantial improvements in
wages, hours and working conditions.

Following the Wages and Contract Conference a fur-
ther meeting of coast local officers will be held to discuss
implementation of the negotiating program adopted by

UCT ss

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QUAL

INTC

Orion Bowman Strikers

The four-month-old strike
waged by members of Local
1-367, IWA, at the Orion
Bowman & Sons. Sawmill at
Chilliwack, has ended in a
major victory for the Union.
The Company has signed the
Standard Coast Agreement
and agreed to give the crew
all other benefits sought by
them prior to the strike.

The Company has also
signed a memorandum of
agreement to withdraw all
legal action pertaining to the
strike.

Officers of Local 1-367
stated that the militancy dis-
played by the crew was un-
doubtedly the key factor in
winning the strike and the
settlement was a tremendous
break-through for the Union
in the Fraser Valley.

The Local Union was
awarded certification of the
Company last spring after the
crew approached the Union
to organize them. The Plant
was struck last October 7,
following the Company’s re-

Win Major Victory

fusal to sign a collective
agreement. Wages paid to
the crew at that time aver-
aged $1.60 an hour.

The crew was able to bring
production to a standstill dur- .
ing the length of the strike
even though the Company
attempted to intimidate them
in every manner. This in-
cluded the threat of injunc-
tions and police action.

The only operation now on
strike in. the Regional Coun-
cil is at Grande Prairie, Al-
berta, where the planer mill
employees of the North Cana-
dian Forest Products Com-
pany are striking for better
wages and working condi-
tions.

This strike has been in ef-
fect since August 1963, and
the Company has refused to
budge from its original posi-
tion. The strikers, members
of Local 1-207, IWA, are
holding ‘firm and are being
assisted financially by the Re-
gional Strike Fund and other
Local Union donations.

IT RAMI ATAU UCONN UIUC TRU

IWA DOCUMENTARY — PART 9

Union Strength Won Many Victories in ‘Fringe Benetits

un
Waar do I get out of it?”

The answer to this question from the individual who first works
under an IWA agreement has been the test of IWA bargaining since
the 1937 beginning. The Union’s struggle to win bargaining rights has
always had one main purpose in view — a satisfactory answer to
this question. Every woodworker, from
the moment he is told that an IWA con-
tract regulates the conditions of his em-
ployment, is rightfully interested in how
it affects his personal working life.

When he first lists the benefits pro-
vided by the contract, it must be appar-
ent that they are available to him only
because of the Union’s effort, These bene-
fits are his as a matter of right because
of the demands placed on the employer

by his fellow-workers over a period of
years. The benefits already built into his
job conditions did not and could not re-
sult from his personal representations.
Neither were they bestowed on him by

WHAT’S

INSIDE
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| Harmac

_ Report - - 11
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SINUS

the employer's philanthropy. They were paid for in the past by
members of the Union.

Knowledge of the circumstances which made contract benefits
immediately available is an advantage to any woodworker. These
circumstances made the contract what it was on first acquaintance. For
this reason, some of the circumstances have been outlined in this
Documentary. The agreement, however, can never be regarded as
a static definition of relations with the employer. Item by item, it
developed out of a long series of negotiations. It is a continuing life
which will bring changes demanded by changing conditions. It is in
the light of these facts that the question, posed at the outset, must
now be answered.

Any woodworker, examining the agreement as he should, will
quickly realize that it is his contract! Through membership in the
Union, he has a voice in its enforcement and further improvement.
By majority decision of the workers in his bargaining unit, the Union
acts as his legal bargaining agent. By majority decision, the agree-
ment can be changed to introduce amendments as negotiated through
collective action. From the earliest beginning of its collective bargain-
ing, the IWA has made certain that its negotiations should express
the will of the members concerned. The agreement is not an invitation
of the Union’s officials, but represents the needs of the workers for

See “UNION STRENGTH WON VICTORIES” — Page 6