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THE WESTERN CANADIAN

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AUTHORIZED AS SECOND CLASS MAIL, POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT, OTTAWA, AND FOR PAYMENT OF POSTAGE IN CASH.

Vol. XXXIV, No. 2

FIRE DAMAGED DIESEL POWER UNIT which supplied electricity to the Hazelton
Sawmills is examined by Bill Wilson, financial secretary of Local 1-71 and Frank Stich,
IWA regional organizer. Damage to the power unit forced the Company to close the

VANCOUVER, B.C.

mill indefinitely and layoff its 225-man mill and woods crew.

HUGE POWER HOUSE at Crown Zellerbach’ _ Mat ;
Mills, is capable of generating enough electricity to provide lights for a city of ten

thousand people. Looking at one of the tur
safety director; Mike Major, Local 1
chairman, Plant Safety Committee. See pages 4-5

5c PER COPY

’s Building Materials Limited, Fraser

bine auxiliaries are Andy Smith, regional
-357 IWA safety director and Charlie Spooner,
for story and pictures of the operation.

S*

WORKER

2nd Issue
January, 1967

1-71 AIDS
COMMUNITY

The 5,000 residents of the

Hazeltons, in the Bulkley Val-
ley, can thank a number of
civic minded organizations in
the area and especially Local
1-71 IWA, for a quick reopen-
ing of the Hazelton Sawmills
which has been shut down for
the past month.

The Company is the largest
employer in the area with ap-
proximately 225 employees in
its mill and woods operation.
Its monthly payroll of $200,-
000 is the financial life blood
of the community.

In November 1966, the
Company was forced to sus-
pend its mill operations when
the crankshaft of the diesel
generating unit powering the
mill was damaged. (The Com-
pany is forced to generate its
own electricity because no
source of sufficient power is
available to it through the
B.C. Hydro.)

Following a short shut-
down, temporary repairs
were made with the aid of
power supplied by the B.C.
Hydro. .On December 31, an
interruption of the Hydro
power service to the mill’s
cooling pumps led to an over-
heating of the generator unit,
which resulted in costly
damage.

So severe was the damage
to the generating unit that the
mill was closed indefinitely.
The closure also curtailed the
Company’s logging operation
and the majority of the em-
ployees were laid off.

This was a drastic blow to
the whole community because
the months of January and
February are the top logging
months in the Hazeltons.

Local 1-71 — which holds

the certification for both the

mill and woods operation —
was informed of the layoffs.
President Ernie Freer; 2nd
vice-president Walter Kozij;
and financial secretary Bill
Wilson immediately left for

the area.

i]
1
if
;
1

Ce ee

ERNIE FREER

On arrival, Freer and his
fellow officers met with
Frank Stich, the IWA organ-
izer in the area, to discuss the
situation. Following this a
meeting was held with the
mill owner to find out what
aid was needed to get the
mill back in operation.

Freer then drafted a letter
to the Hon. R. Williston, Min-
ister of Lands and Forests,
pointing out the seriousness
of the problem to the com-
munity and requesting his
immediate assistance.

This letter was signed by a
number of the leaders in the

See “1-71”—Page 3

ROYAL CANADIAN LEGION BRANCH BANS IWA

By GRANT MACNEIL

The writer of the following
article, as the former Nation-
al Secretary of the Great War
Veterans’ Association, fore-
runner of the Royal Canadian
Legion, was one of the found-
7 of the Le th a

‘ogether wit, i agues
on the national executive of

- the GWVA be voluntarily

to the
Haig to
the Field Marshall's

tendered

A regrettable clash between
IWA organizers and the local
Post of the Royal Canadian
Legion in Chase, B.C. has re-
sulted in a sharp division of
community opinion. This clash
is all the more regrettable as
some Legion members in
Chase became involved in op-
position to the IWA, instigated
by employers. Such action
does not conform to the de-
clared policy of the Legion
and its Southern Interior or-
ganization.

It would be most unfortun-
ate for the Legion if the im-
pression gains ground that it
condones anti-labour activ-
ities. The bulk of its member-
ship is recruited from among

wage-earners, 43% unionized |

GRANT: MacNEIL.....

in B.C. The lofty ideals of
service and democracy cher-
ished by the Legion should
never be demeaned by anti-
democratic discrimination bas-
ed on uninformed prejudice.

In response to the request
of IWA members, employed
by Holding Forest Products
Ltd., the LWA ‘Organization
Department arranged an edu-
cational seminar to be held in
the Legion Hall, Chase, on
January 19 - 20. The sole pur-
pose of the seminar was to dis-
cuss trade union objectives in
the light of labour’s history.

I was instructed to attend in
order to lead a discussion on
trade union history. My plans

See “LEGION”—Page 3