E largest and most powerful corporati lumber jndustry, MacMillan, Bloedel and Powell River Ltd., has deliberately declared war on the IWA. No other interpretation can be placed on the vin- dictive manner in which the Company demanded the right to prosecute Local 1-85 IWA, Port Alberni and forty-eight boom men. The right to prosecute was de- manded after the dispute had been settled. It was undertaken in circumstances which placed the Local Union at a decided disadvantage. The announced pur- pose was to “teach the men a lesson.” There is good ground for the suspicion that the actual purpose is to destroy the trade union rights of the Company employees, by use of economic power. The autocratic and arrogant treatment of the organized workers in job relations has confirmed this belief. Callous disregard of employees’ interests was shown by the Company in the circumstances surrounding the closure of the BCM plant in New Westminster. ‘Little warning of the closure was given either to the Union or the employees. The plant equipment has been transported to the Harmac Division but the major- ity of the workers affected were scrapped with little or no consideration. The prospect that IWA certification in the new sawmill, likely to employ 400 workers, may be opposed, caused the convention to request a con- ference with the Pulp, Sulphite and Papermill Workers. As evidently the Company’s program of integra- tion may cause other mill closures, the Company’s at- titude toward employees with long service calls for defence of employment opportunities for a large number of lumber workers. Only blind arrogance accounts for the Company’s total indifference toward the welfare of its employees and its responsibility to consider the public interest. Labour's distrust of any ruthless dictatorship will bring a day of reckoning. The Company's huge profits are based on the exploitation of the natural wealth of the province. If it fails to meet its responsibilities toward employees and the public, legislative curbs on its eco- nomic power will become a major political issue in British Columbia. In this respect, organized labour will have a potent influence. The sentiment which prevailed at the Regional Con- vention was that if the Company wants a fight it will get it. It is realized that the Company has put the Union on the defence of membership rights. The day is long past when even a large and powerful corporation may successfully bludgeon employees into submission to dic- tates which destroy freedom of association and the in- dividual worker's self-respect. Next Task @ ceNizee labour in British Columbia will grappie with vitally important issues at the approaching convention of the B.C. Federation of Labour. The paramount issue will be the development of a program of action to deal with mounting unemploy- ment and the rapidly accelerating displacement of work- ers in many industries by the trend toward automation. Earlier this year, a conference under the auspices of the Federation considered co-ordination of negotia- tions to achieve purposes held in common. The inevita- bility of reduced hours of work was then recognized. Due to employer opposition, little headway was made. Negotiating battles mainly centred around wages. The AFL-CIO has launched a campaign for the 7- hour day and the 5-day week. The achievement, of this objective will require a well-organized and vigorous campaign on the part of the entire labour movement. Structural and technological changes in industry, now throwing thousands of workers on the scrapheap, point fo only one conclusion. Trade union pressure must be exerted to create more job opportunities. Reduced hours of work, without reduction in take-home pay, is one way to spread the available employment. The employers’ arguments against such proposals fall to the ground when it is realized that such adjust- ments to various stages of the Industrial Revolution have always been necessary for the public well-being. More people and employers today enjoy greater prosperity because the trade unions forced the adoption of the 40-hour week instead of the 70-hour week. The campaign to win the 7-hour day will be a battle as fierce as the one which gained the 8-hour day. It will demand an all-out and co-ordinated effort by all the affiliates of the Canadian Labour Congress. Bee “The Worst Scabbing”’ The Editor: As one of the common people who is interested in the activities and well-being of the IWA, I take exception to those members of the Union who oppose support of the New Democratic Party. The NDP is the only political party in Canada working for the interest of the common man. Most unionists disregarded poli- tical action a few years ago. Union matters and politics didn’t mix—so they believed. The ma- jority of unionists here in B.C. quickly learned the folly of re- maining politically indifferent fol- lowing the passage of Bills 42 and 43 by the anti-labour Social Credit government. Unfortunately not every union member learned the lesson. There are certain elements still demanding the right to vote for those parties whose sole aim is the perpetuation of the excess profit system. I hold that this is the worst kind of scabbing and should be dealt with accordingly. Think it over. Old Soc. One Man’s Gratitude The Editor: I am one of those who never tried to understand what the Union can do for the 'members. Here is what the Union did for rae. I was working at Pacific Veneer for a short time and was hurt on the job. I was supposed to get compensation for my in- jury but failed to attend to the matter and almost lost my case. Fortunately, the Union came to my aid immediately and my com- pensation claim was granted. It is wise to build up your Union. Get to know what it stands for and what it can do for you. I would like to thank Brother Wyman Trineer of Local 1-357, IWA, New Westminster, for his very able help in settling my claim. Yours truly, Nestor Storoschuk LOOK FOR THIS TAG It is your guarantee of the finest leather work gloves made for your job — see them at your local dealers. JOHN WATSON LTD. 127 2nd Ave. East, Vanc., B.C. Prime reasons for the exodus: pr cOr (1) homebound women are the last untapped reservoir of un- specialized brainpower; (2) women have more time for in- tensive retraining to fill the many technical jobs growing York University’s Graduate School of Business, most wo- no men are available, filling vacuums rather than stealing seats. —The Insider's Newsletter Publication date of the next issue of the WESTERN CANA- | DIAN LUMBER WORKER is November 1. Deadline for ad copy | is October 18, and for news copy October 19. | Kote UM be PUBLISHED TWICE MONTHLY ON THE FIRST AND THIRD THURSDAYS BY International Woodworkers of America (AFL-CIO-CLC) Regional Council No. 1 Editor . . . Grant MacNeil REGIONAL OFFICERS: President). 3.-uale cont iss Ist Vice-President 2nd Vice-President .. ‘3rd Vice-President .. Secretary-Treasurer . International Board Members Tack Holst Address all communications to FRED FIEBER, Secretary-Treasurer 2859 Commercial Drive, Vancouver, B.C. TR 4-5261 -2 Subscription Rates 0.00... $2.00 per annum Advertising Representative _.........G. A. Spencer Authorized as Second Class Mail, Post Office Dept., Ottawa, and for Payment of Postage in Cash. 27.500 COPIES PRINTED IN THIS ISSUE “Wily Canadien Chain Saw is RELIABLE, FAST CUTTING EASY 10 HANDLE” That’s the word from Kevin Carlyle of Corryong, Australia. Mr. Carlyle is just one of the many people who have taken the time to write and tell us what a great job the Canadien 270 is doing for them. From the United States, John McCrory, a respected logger in the Pacific Northwest (the largest Jogging area in the world today) is using the 270 as well as the gear drive 271 with a 50 inch bar. He fells and bucks 50,000 board feet a day, claims he hasn’t had-a minute of downtime since he started using the Canadien. And in Nova Scotia, Paul Ernest Yorke got a Canadien 270 in June, 1961. Up to the time he wrote us, nine months later, he had lost no pro- duction time through saw failure. His only expense — a new chain! From Vermont, Australia to Vermont, U.S.A., it’s the same story. Men who know chain saws best — men who cut trees for a living — all agree that this is the saw. Why don’t you get a Canadien, the saw that gives you an honest day’s work! POWER MACHINERY a division of BRISTOL AERO-INDUSTRIES LIMITED Vancouver Airport — Vancouver, British Columbia, Phone 278-5111 men move into jobs for which —