gw THE WESTERN CANADIAN ~ LUMBER THE WESTERN CANADIAN LUMBER WORKER 38,000 copies printed in this issue. Published once monthly as the official publication of the INTERNATIONAL WOODWORKERS OF AMERICA — Western Canadian Regional Council No. 1 Affiliated with AFL-CIO-CLC 2859 Commercial Drive, Vancouver, B.C. Phone 874-5261 Editor — Pat Kerr Business Manager — Fred Fieber Advertising Representatives — Elizabeth Spencer Associates Forwarded to every member of the IWA in Westérn Canada in accordance with convention decisions. xs? Subseription rate for non-members $2.00 per year. — On behalf of the officers and staff members of Regional Coun- cil No. 1, the Western Canadian Lumber Worker extends the Season’s Greetings to all IWA members and their families. The Union is not unmindful during this festive season that un- employment still threatens the welfare and security of many homes. With all the resources at its command, the IW A is fighting to secure immediate and adequate protection against this menace. The Christmas wish of the IWA stands as a re-dedication to _ the purpose of the Union to safe- guard the well-being of its mem- bers and their families. NATIONALIZATION OF UNIONS WON'T CURE LABOUR ILLS The following is an opinion by Professor Arthur Kruger, University of Toronto, expressed on CBC’s “Preview Commentary”. Professor Kruger is author of “Trade Unions and Collect- ive Bargaining in Canada”. * * * A WAVE of labour unrest combined with grow- ing uneasiness over American influence in Canada have once again raised the issue of international or American based unions. Canada is the only country in the world that has most of its organized labor force affiliated to unions based in another country. This is not new. As far back as 1911, almost 90% of all union members were in U.S. based unions. Since then, this proportion has never dropped below 50%. In recent years, over 70% of all Canadian union members belong to interna- tionals. Are these organizations good or are they undesirable for Canada? Are they the cause of the recent strike waye? Do they damage the Canadian economy? Are they the source of inflation? Would Canadian workers be better off in purely Canadian unions? if we find that most workers on strike be- leng to international unions, this does not nec- essarily imply that these unions are more mil- itant or more strike prone than purely Can- adian unions. After all, with most union mem- bers in these unions, most strikers will also be found in internationals. No one has been able to show any significant difference in strike in- cidence between national and_ international unions. * Some have charged that the presence of foreign-based unions is the cause of inter- union rivalry and jurisdictional strikes in Can- ada. The current stoppage in the Toronto build- industry is cited as an example of this. How- , similar disputes occur frequently in the -United States and Britain in the absence of " da: : s. i international unions fight for large, in- wage increases, so do domestic un- for the Canadian members in excess these members themselves are pre- id to fight for. In numerous cases, Can- nm members reject as en setile- are acceptable | §unerican . Rarely do international leaders impose . ing goals and strike decisions are controlled by the Canadians with American headquarters seldom intervening. Finally, there is the issue of whether Can- adian workers who belong to these. unions would be better off in all-Canadian unions. This is a difficult question to answer without some agreement on the criteria by which to measure well-being. However, it is worth noting that workers are able to withdraw from these unions but seldom do so. There is no evidence to indicate that more than a small minority of workers favour separation from their American organizations. Most Canadian workers feel that in balance the benefits of affiliation are far greater than the costs. Membership in the large American unions is considered useful in enhancing worker bar- gaining power, particularly vis-a-vis the large corporation which is often also an American subsidiary. In my opinion the debate on American unions in Canada focuses attention on irrelevant and misleading issues. There are important prob- lems in the labor market but they have little to do with whether or not labor organizations in Canada are affiliated to U.S. unions. We must seek to resolve such important issues as how to enhance the democratic pro- cesses of unions without destroying their ef- fectiveness. Or, how will we cope with work stoppages that create intolerable damage to society without destroying the free collective bargaining. This is particularly serious as pub- lic service workers turn to organization largely in all-Canadian unions. How can we prevent inflationary wage set- - tlements without generating intolerable levels of unemployment or destfoying the freedom of workers? This problem is central in all western nations. : What are we to do about intolerable in- equities generated in the labor market be- cause of gross inequality of bargaining power among various groups in the labor force? Doctors and plumbers wax as unorganized laundry and restaurant workers wane. These are the important issues in industrial relations. Nationalization of our unions will do nothing to resolve them. Focus on this phony issue deflects attention from them. The Editor: IT’S OUR PLEASURE, GAIL My name is Gail Bigelow and my dad is Ernie Bigelow, IWA, Local 1-85. I wrote a Christmas poem for my Grade 5 class and was wondering if you would like to print it in your union paper. I would be very pleased. Peace on Earth Good Will to Hungry Children of the World Christmas day is drawing near Children in Viet Nam tremble in fear, Asking why the kids in U.S. make a fuss Just because their daddys are shooting us, + They kill our chickens and burn our food A graveyard now where our church once stood. Oh! what man does in the name of peace On Christmas day he will have his feast, He will eat his turkey, drink his wine and beer And just sit and forget us over here, Our stocking will hang, not for a toy but food In a graveyard where our church once stood. Gail Bigelow, Age 10, R.R. No. 1, Port Alberni, B.C. TRAVEL TAX CRITICIZED IN HOUSE BY BARNETT IWA member Tom Barnett, the NDP-MP for Comox-Al- berni, has criticized the fed- eral government’s plan to in- crease the cost of air travel to individual passengers by a straight five per cent. Barnett argued in the House of Commons that sucha tax should only be applied to Class 1 service only and to apply it to Class 2 and 3 routes would be discriminatory for Cana- dians living in areas where no other mode of travel was available. He stated, these are the people, travelling in the smal- ler planes, who pay the high- est cost per mile. These are the people living around the coast of Vancouver Island and, indeed, in many other parts of Canada, including vir- tually the whole of the Cana- dian North who, if they are going to travel at all, have to travel by air because there is no other way to travel. Their problems with the high cost of travel are severe enough now. These are not the people who are going to use the high- cost facilities of airports de- signed for the supersonic jets and the jumbo jets; they con- sider themselves fortunate if they have a decent float of logs on to which they can climb down from their plane. If these people do use cross- country facilities and mainline carriers after arriving at Van- couver’s International Airport, they then join the general ranks of Canadians who travel by air, Barnett contends. A tax on air tickets sold by mainline carriers I might agree to. As the proposal stands I have registered, and will con- tinue to register, the strongest protest. As far as he can judge, the Government is not prepared to give heed to the arguments and objections which I and, indeed, quite a - number of other Members have raised. It appears, there- fore, that this new tax is like- ly to become part of the law of the land very shortly. Se EE SRE COMPANIONSHIP Pouce Coupe Pete says that the best companion for a hay ride is a grass widow. tbs ere