12 THE WESTERN CANADIAN LUMBER WORKER THE WESTERN CANADIAN LUMBER WORKER 38,000 copies printed in this issue. Published twice monthly as the official publication of the INTERNATIONAL WOQDWORKERS OF AMERICA Western Canadian Regional Council No. 4 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 Western Canada in accordance with convention decisions. Subscription rate for non-members $2.00 per year. Authorized as Second Class Mail, Post. Office’ Department, and for payment of postage in cash. EES? EDITORIAL “THIRD PARTIES" ae throne speech in Victoria promised “important new legislation” on col- lective bargaining. We agree with Premier Bennett that much new legislation is needed—an end to the use of ex-parte injunctions is just one example. But at this stage we can only guess at what sort of legislation he has in mind. The press is speculating about the possi- bility of introducing compulsory arbitra- tion, but we suspect that the Socreds are too cagey to invite the chaos that would ensue from any further movement in that direction. The problem is of course that we have moved too far in that direction already. John Billings, president of Forest In- dustrial Relations Limited, made that very clear in his article for the “HiBaller,” a trade journal. (We rarely have the oppor- tunity to agree with Mr. Billings, so we should make the most of it.) The theme of Mr. Billings’ remarks is that industrial peace cannot be imposed from outside, that it can result only from labour and management entering vol- untarily into agreements. There are areas of disagreement be- tween labour and management where no third party and. no legislation can help. We do not agree, though it is gener- ally sugested that we should, that the existing division of returns between labour and management is fair. No ex- pertise or “neutral” third party can help _us with that disagreement. But sometimes we disagree about factual matters—the prosperity of an in- dustry, its capacity to compete in foreign or domestic markets, and so on. This is an area in which the govern- ment can be of great assistance. Mr. Billings suggests, and we agree, that the government can provide, at the request of either party, people who can give this kind of information in an in- dustrial dispute. The need for this kind of service was shown by the Industrial Inquiry Commis- sion into the current IWA dispute in the Interior. Mr. Justice Munroe was presented with conflicting testimony about conditions prevailing in.the U.S. Inland Empire, the Interior industry’s major competitor. OUT This conflict was crucial to the argu- ment, since the union’s position was that, inasmuch as the wages paid there were higher than those paid to B.C. coast workers, our demands for parity with the coast was modest. The employers contested this argument by citing a few carpenters’ contracts with wages that are substantially lower than those provided for by IWA contracts. ~Mr. Justice Munroe, as able and sin- cere as he was, had neither the time nor the resources to determine how signifi- cant these other contracts were in creat- ing the conditions under which the com- petitors had to operate. Even the two employer groups gave conflicting arguments; the Northern group argued that reliance on a single species was a disadvantage, while the Southern employers suggested that having to deal with a variety of species was a disad- vantage. If either of these two propositions were true and important, it would take a great deal of expert time to find which one was. Again neither the time nor the expertise was available. The government could provide neutral assessments of these factual arguments, and greatly facilitate the process of true negotiations by allowing the parties to focus their attention on the real areas of disagreement. But what should be of even more vital concern to the government in considering new legislation is the removal of existing impediments to genuine negotiations. Mr. Billings points cut that the 10-day rule makes it unwise for either employer or union to state their genuine position until those 10 days have elapsed. Thus, though the 10 days are supposed to provide time for negotiations, what they do in fact is provide 10 days in which both sides can “dig in.” Industrial disputes have to be solved at the bargaining table. All the legisla- tion that is needed is the kind that will get the parties to the bargaining table, in a mood fo settle the dispute, and with the facts that are required. Any additional participation by “third parties,” government or otherwise, will only provide further issues for the parties directly concerned to disagree about. LOCAL 1-118 SHOP STEWARDS' SEMINAR Local 1-118 IWA conduct- ed a highly successful Shop Stewards Seminar January 13, in Victoria. Thirty-nine -committeemen and shop stew- ards attended the one-day conference at which the du- ties of the shop steward in building the Union and en- forcing the contract were dis- cussed. The Local will be holding a similar seminar March 9, and attempts are now being made by the officers to have Walter Simcich, International director of research and edu- cation, in attendance. The Annual Shop Stew- ards’ banquet and dance, sponsored by the Local Un- ion in appreciation for the job done through the year by the stewards and committee- men, will be held February 17. Ron Roley, International president, will be the banquet speaker, | DON’T MIND YA LAGGIN’ A BIT. . . BUT DO YA GOTTA RIDE TH’ LINE OVER TH’ LOW SPOTS? THIS STRIKE DONATION .. . Mike Eva, Shop Steward for Local 115, Operating Engin- eers, and Union member Fred Trineer, met with officers of - Local 1-405, IWA in Cran- brook, Saturday, 13th Janu- ary, 1968 and donated $207.00 towards the strike. The money was collected from 22 members at the con- struction site of Crestbook Forest Industries Ltd.’s new pulp mill at Skookumchuck, B.C. The shop steward of Local 115 stated in part — “this donation should put an end to any suggestion that our Union is not supporting the IWA strike for parity. Our members get the same pay re- gardless of where they work, it’s about time that Wood- workers were treated on an equal basis with fellow work- ers on the coast. You can de- pend on us for any additional help you may need.” The money will be used for members requiring special as- sistance. ... RECEIVED WITH THANKS Mr. Mike Eva, Shop Steward, Local 115, IUOE., Skookumchuck, B.C. Dear Sir and Brother: On behalf of the Officers and Members of Local 1-405 IWA, I wish to express our deep appreciation for the gen- erous donation which we re- ceived from members of your Local Union at Skookum- chuck. This kind gesture on the part of your organization has contributed a great deal to the morale of our members. We have sent copies to all strike headquarters and the regional office, where the en- tire membership will be ad- vised of the donation. Thanking you once again, Iam, Fraternally yours, E. ATWOOD, Financial Secretary. eee. EEE] CHILDREN'S PARTY REMEMBERED The Editor: On behalf of the Shuswap IWA Ladies Auxiliary, I wish to thank the Union for its as- sistance in making our chil- dren’s Christmas party some- thing we will remember for years to come. Yours truly, RIA KERSSENS, Secretary, Ladies Auxiliary LIGHTER SIDE The NCO was checking over the selection of per- fumes at the local PX. Seek. ing to assist him, the salesgir] recommended one popular sats called Perh ’s_ calle erhaps,” said, ‘It’s $35 an ounse?” “n° The sergeant replied “Thirty-five dollars! For that price on’t want Pe I want Sure!” naps KK Kamloops Katie sa when a gal says see gongs boyish figure it’s usual] straight from the shoulder! :