oodworkers

amstrung by

By MAURICE RUSH

There is rising discontent

among loggers and’ millwork-

ers over failure of leaders of the International. Woodworkers

of America, B.C. District, to t
. increase.

This growing wave

ake action for an overall wage
of dissatisfaction may well

come to the fore at the coming quarterly IWA district coun-
cil meeting in Vancouver on July 14, although TWA leaders
are trying to divert it by raising sectional demands and

adjustments in working conditions.

Behind the rising militancy is
the realization in camps and mills
that the February settlement, which
granted only a basic nine cént in-
crease as of June, 1951, and saddled
workers with the escalator clause,
fell far short of meeting their
needs. «

On every’ side woodworkers see
other unions winning big wage in-
creases, such as the carpenters who
won, 32 cents and now have a basic
rate of $2 per hour; shipyard work-
ers whose victory amounts to $54
more, per month; the big gains al-

ready offered to pulp and paper

workers. oe ;

While prices and profits are ad-
vancing with seven-league boots,
woodworkers find themselves tied
to a contract which freezes wages
until June, 1952, and which, only
grants them a cost of living bonus
once every six months. /Woodwork-
ers are now realizing that the
promise of the right-wing leaders
last February, that the settlement
would “beat any wage freeze” and
that “rising living costs will no
longer depress the purchasing
power of IWA wages” was false
and misleading.

‘Woodworkers are coming: to
agree with the position taken by
progressives at the time of the
settlement, which was that the
new contract was actually a wage
freeze for one and one-half years,
that the basic nine-cent increase
was not enough, and that any
idea that the escalator clause
would protect the workers against
rising cost of living would prove
to be false. :

_ The escalator clause which was

written into the woodworking in-

dustry for the first time last Feb-
ruary has always been strongly
opposed by militant workers. Es-
ealators are usually asked for by

4

the employer, especially during pe-
riods when big-profits are being
made and prices rising, because
the boss sees in them an oppor-
tunity to tie the workers down to
a harmless arrangement. The
Trotskyite and right-wing leaders
of the IWA have supported an es-
calator clause for years and they
fell right in line with the boss log-
gers’ proposition this year to the
detriment of the woodworkers.
The escalator clause falsely gives
the appearance of protecting. work-
ers’ living standards automatically
and without struggle, and is aimed
at lulling the militancy of the work-
ers. But apart from that there
are two other main reasons why

the escalator doesn’t meet the
needs of the workers. is
First, because the _ escalator
clause establishes the principle

that workers cannot improve their
basic living standards during the
life of a contract which in most
cases is extended to two years or
more. In the case of the IWA
it is one and one-half years. For
the IWA it has meant a wage
freeze at a time. when super-pro-
fits are being made, when higher
taxes and rising prices are the
order of the day, and when the
possibilities of winning big wage
gains are good.

Second, being based on the go-
vernment’s cost of living index,
the escalator can only lead to a
steady worsening of living stand-
ards. Everyone knows that the
cost of living is more than double
what it was before the war. Some
articles are two and three times
higher in price than they were in
1939, yet the cost of living index
shows an increase of only 82 per-|
cent. Obviously an escalator bas-
ed on a rigged cost of living index
won't protect workers against the

‘escalator’ clause

fails fo reflect real living costs.

high cost of ‘living.

The way things stand at pres-
ent, woodworkers have only to
look forward to a cost of living

- bonus payable this July and an-

other payable in January, 1952.

Only 50 MP’s

as amendments passed

On July 1 the journal of the CBC International told a claimed 100,000

House

TORONTO

listeners in

14 countries: “The enjoyment by Canadians of certain baste freedoms is a jealously pre-

served legacy. ...

They include freedom of speech, of: worship, of movement, of assembly

and of the press, freedom from arbitrary arrest, freedom of choice respecting political
parties and freedom’ of enterprise and private property.”

But, in the week before, the St.
Laurent government had steam-
rollered through parliament a se-
ries of amendments to the laws of
Canada which are a very danger-
ous, fascist menace to every Can-
adian citizen and organization, di-
rected against the whole body and
eontent of Canadian democracy,
against everybody and anyone who
in any degree disagrees with, cri-
ticizes or opposes the policies of
the St. Laurent government.

Moreover, as the most influential
newspaper of Canadian big busi-
_ ness, the Montreal Gazette, admitt-

ed on May 1: ;

“The new legislation . .. is be-
ing introduced here at the request
of the U.S. government.” :

In the debate in the House of
Commons, several MP’s were forc-
ed to admit that Garson’s amend-
ments are most serious body blows
against Canada’s liberties. ;

Stanley Knowles (CCF, Winni-
peg North Centre) speaking on the
amendment that defines treason,
declared: pene

“Tt seems to me that along with
our responsibility to devise laws
that protect the security of the
state we also have the responsibil-
ity to see to it that we do not

whittle away our civil liberties. It
seems to me one of the civil liber-
ties we must protect is the right
to discuss the policies of this na-
tion even in relation to any war in
which we might be engaged.

“T can think of excellent speech-
Les made by the Secretary of State
for External Affairs (Lester B.
Pearson) which might make him
subject to a charge of treason. He
has gone out and said that we can-
not defeat communism by military
means.”

Angus MacInnis (CCF, Vancou-
ver East) declared:

“T am amazed at the lack of
concern about the principle of this
bill . . . I seeeno reason why they
should not lay over until the fall
session.

“Surely if we have to adopt the
suppressive laws of dictatorship to
preserve democracy, then we have
lost democracy . . . I think we are
embarking» on really dangerous

ground.”
MacInnis warned that : these
amendments were introduced

“when we are living on the verge
of hysteria.” = eae

Knowles emphasized: “We have
not had anything like it before in

our Canadian Criminal Code.” ;

John Diefenbaker (PC, Lake
Centre) said:

“Its implications are very dan-
gerous ...I know of no case in
four or five hundred years’ inter-
pretation of the law of- treason
that goes as far as this amend-
ment. Is there within the British

Commonwealth or in the United

States. anything approaching this
amendment?” :
At the crucial, June 25 second
reading of the fascist-like Bill:
891 introduced by Justice Min-
ister S. S. Garson, only about 50
of the 262 members of parlia-
ment were present! Over 200
MP’s were busy somewhere elsa
when the most important laws
atfecting 14 million Canadians
were being dealt with! ee
It is significant that the St. Laur-
ent government, at the request of
the U.S. government, introduced
these amendments in the very

week when every patriotic Can-|

adiah was praying, hoping and
anxious that the shooting be halt-
ed in Korea. Right when people
of good will in every land fervent-
ly hoped that cease-fire in Korea

would lead towards world peace.

-

The woodworkers, who produced $408,371,000 of lumber last year,

demands for wage increases by an agreement binding their earnings to a cost of living

to its wage contract} including —
-\the expiry date thereof. However, ‘
we believe that every opportunity E. J. Pie FSON we
Sey . , >

Jions to raise the question of sub-

*

wage drive,

are hampered in thet”
‘index W

their agreements did not provide
for wage negotiations. Among —
these were shipyard workers, wine
Mill at Trail and Kimberley, l0¢
of United Steel Workers, pulp 2”
paper workers. ‘ pated
The entire experience of the U2
ions in B. C. during the last fe¥
weeks proves that substantial wase
gains can be won if workers .
united and determined in their de
mands. Until now the biggest gag
in British Columbia’s wage move —
ment is the absence of the 37,0".
member IWA in the fight—haviP®
been eliminated by the inadequal®
February settlement. r . fe
The IWA cannot continue es
stand apart from this wage mov@
ment., IWA leaders will be on
pelled to heed the voice of theif
rank-and-file, and open the COP
tract for an overall and substa?
tial wage increase. ; if

In the meantime TWA workers,
who formerly set the pace for
wage gains in B. C., now trail
behind other unions because of
the bad settlement in February
and (fie failure of TWA leaders
to join the present wage drive...

IWA right-wing leaders are hid-
ing behind the sanctity of the
agreement to justify their inaction
on wages. But they can’t con-
tinue for long to do that in the
face of rhounting rank and file
pressure. Even Pat Conroy, CCL
secretary treasurer, recently. had
to bow to such pressure when he
said: ae

“The Congress (Canadian Con-
gress of Labor) and its unions
have no option but to go after sub-
stantial wage increases as soon as
this. is possible. The Congress is
aware that each union has its own
peculiar conditions with respect

should be taken advantage of by

our affiliated and. chartered un- (Naturopathic Physician)

Hours 10;00. a.m. to 5:00 p.m |.
Phones, Office PA. 9713; ~

- Res.; FAir. 1679-R
Room 204, Ford Bldg.

stantial wage increases with the
employers who are parties to their
wage contracts. ; :

“It may be expected that em- 198 E, Hastings Vancouver |
ployers will raise the question of|- _ - —
the inviolability and the sanctity of _———

the contract, but it is a fact that
many of these employers are con-
tinuing to raise the price of com-
modities during the life of the}
contract and which are bought by
the workers of Canada who pro-
duce them. In this way employers
are compelling the wage earners
to pay more money for the com-|
modities they require while jn
the whole wages remain static,”
Woodworkers recall the fact that
earlier this year many B. C. un-
ions won wage increases, although

SAWDUST |
FA. 0242 |
FA. 7663 |

UNION FUELS LID |

STANTON, MUNRO & DEAN _
- Barristers - Solicitors - Notaries

SUITE 515 FORD BUILDING 193 E. HASTINGS |
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‘ MARINE 5746 2

PACIFIC TRIBUNE — JULY: 6, 1951 — PAGE?”

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