BCFL CO-ORDINATING PARLEY FEB. 3-4

Union joint action needed
to win gains for workers

By JACK

PHILLIPS

The British Columbia Federation of Labor will hold

a co-ordinating conference

in Vancouver on February |

3 and 4 for affiliates going into contract negotiations

this year.

It is almost five months
since the Federation in con-
vention decided to call this
conference, to develop ‘“max-
imum possible ‘co-drdination
in the pursuit -of contract ob-
jectives.”” When the decision
was made, it was widely un-
derstood that the meeting
would be held two months
later, in December. The delay
has been sharply criticised by
a number of unions and the
Vancouver Labor Council.

Since. the original decision
was made-to‘hold the rally, a
number of important con-
tracts have expired and. the
unions concerned: have - sub-
mitted their demands or indi-
cated what they will be. But
the bulk of B.C. unions whose
contracts expire. in 1962 have
not come up to bat. . This
means that the co-ordinating
conference can perform a use-
ful function, “if -it -issues -a
forthright call . for - struggle
against the hold-the-line pol-
iey of monopoly capital.

It should help the labor
movement to pick key targets
in collective. bargaining,
where the hold-the-line policy.
can best be. broken, . thus:
opening. a breach for other}:
unions. In. addition, a warn-
ing. should. be: issued;-on- the
dangers of long-term contracts
that could. werk. against the
interests of labor.

It should urge “militant
policies for more pay and the
shorter work week and for
an all-sided fight against the
permanent loss of jobs
through mechanization © and
automation, Above all, it
should pledge to the workers
of this province that the ‘full|
resources of the B.C. Federa-
tion will be thrown behind
any union thaf goes on strike
er is locked out.

The conference should crit-;

ically examine what has. been

done to move B.C. labor into|
work |
week. While a number of key |
unions have raised this issue}
in the past few years, there}

action for a shorter

has been no sustained, er
ralized campaign to win the
rank and file for the idea of |

a seven hour day. Too often, |

the demand for a seven hour
day has been used as a gim-
mick to extract a few minor
concessions at the bargaining

table. “In a number of plants}
that operate 24 hours a day,

and in some cases seven days
a week, workers ask how can
the shifts be properly man-
ned with a seven hour day?
In such cases, why not give
consideration to the sIx hour
day, with four shifts? The
pulp and paper industry, for
example; could well afford to
institute the six-hour day with
no loss in: take-home -pay.

If the I.W.A., representing

some 30,000 woodworkers,
comes to the conference and
asks full support in the event
it-decides to go all-out for the
35-hour week, it would be an
inspiring moment for the
workers in our province. If
such a pledge of support was
placed before the I.W.A. wage
policy conference of March
3-5, and if a clear lead .was
given, there would be over-
whelming support for the de-
mand of a seven-hour day in
the lumber . industry. The
financial reports of the major
companies in the industry
prove conclusively. that_they
ean well afford the seven-
hour day with no loss in
take-home pay.

Of the estimated 100,000
B.C. workers going into nego-|
tiations this year, less thaa
half belong” to unions affili-
ated’ to the B.C. Federation.
Three of -the largest unions,
Mine-Mill, _ Fishermen _,.and
Teamsters, . -are, not. in. the
CLC A number of key build-
ing trades unions are in the
C.L:C., but not in the B.C
Federation. Similarly the bulk
of the municipal employees,
new moving into negotiations,

they: belong to C.L:C. unions.

ig would be a disservice ‘fol.

| the working “class. if the. “con-

ference were to refuse to ad-
mit representatives from such
unions. “The common enemy
Of ‘all labor is monopoly cap-
\{tal. This enemy can be de-
feated, provided the full
weight of organized labor is
placed behind any union do-
| ing battle for contract im-
" provements,

If the house of an I.W.A.
member was on fire, he would

are not affiliates of the B‘C.|,
Federation of Labor,;-although |

not refuse help from a neigh-
;bor who belonged to the

Teamsters Union, or to Mine-
Mill. We must apply. the same
| spirit in fighting. the common
[enemy of all organized labor:
monopoly capital.

It is very easy to find points
of difference ‘between — this
union and. that. union, _par-
ticularly. where. problems. of
affiliation are involved.- But
we cannot afford to raise
these differences to the point
where they. stand in the way
of winning more pay, shorter
hours and job security for
tens of thousands of workers.

Pat O’Neal, Secretary-
Treasurer of the B.C. Federa-
tion .of- Labor, gave the Oc-
tober convention the impres-
sion that non-affiliated unions
would be permitted to send
observers to the co-ordinating
conference. Later, in a TV
appearance, he gave the op-
posite impression, It is to be
hoped that the delegates to
the .co-ordinating conference
will admit such observers and
accord them the right to par-
ticipate in the discussion.
There is no B.C. Federation
affiliate that can win a hard-
fought strike without ‘the. as-

affiliates. Similarly,- non-af-
filiates need the support of
B.C.. Federation unions: It’s
that simple! :

‘In 1961, monopoly - capital
was suceesSful.in
no-wage increase settlements
on the major unions that went
into negotiations.» No major:
headway = was -made-in. the
fight for. the .shorter. work
week. In the meantime, -pro-
ductivity and profits have
continued to rise, along with
the cost of living.

The co-ordinating confer-

‘+ ence of February 3 and 4 can

signalise a turning point. It
can give the signal for a unit-
ed and successful counter-

offensive by organized labor.

“The pulp and paper,

year.”

| This trend was kept
industry. The Dominion
|| Ottawa recently released

__ Boe eS
Booming profits
The past year has been a booming year—for

profits that is. An example was the announcement
in the daily press January 24 by Crown Zellerbach
Canda Ltd. The announcement read:

pany reported record earnings of $9.4 million last
year (1961) compared with $8.7 million the previous

corporation profits. Here are some examples before

taxes:
Industry _ 8rd qtr.’60 3rd qtr. 61
in mill. of $ in mill. of $
Mining, oil wells, quarrying fees. 2 109
Wood products =.= _ == ee 17 20
Paper products 2 59 67
Petroleum coal products ________ 23 28
Wholesale trade 2:22. is: 57 64
TOTAL ALL INDUSTRIES _-__823 914

lumber and plywood com-

up throughout Canadian
Bureau of Statistics in
its report on quarterly

‘hour wage. increase. -

sistance of one or more. non: |.

imposing}

| minster local this week went

| wages” yet, but ‘these. work-

an insignificant thing like eating!”

“Our country is facing a critical period and you. ha about

unions, representing 110,000

wages. ,

The railway non-ops have
met lay-off problems, spring-
ng from mechanization and
automation in their industry,
with a demand that the labor
force. be frozen at the 1961
level.

In addition-to this, the rail
unions. are- asking- 22c an

rater wad ° @

“Here is how the situation
shapes -up for bargaining with),
other’ B:C. unions:

e Lumber—Close ‘to. 25,000
coast and. ‘Vancouver : Island
loggers and mill workers
are involved. | A- wage. and!
policy Srikebensts is “slated
for’ March 3-5°in Wantouver. |
Vancoiver “Bocal® "F917, the}
‘Targest™ local? iit thé TWA, is,
pushing for shorter hours and
improved ‘conditions and ap-}
pears to have the support of
many other locals:in this de-
mand. The. big New West-

-on record for a 20c wage in-
crease. Both loggers. and
millworkers are insisting on
strengthening the contract to
protect them against -speed-
up and chiselling on condi-
tions.

@ Building Trades — A
joint wage conference of
building trades unions held
January 16 showed that the
majority of the building
trades. unions were asking
for the seven hour day and
a wage increase which would
offset the weekly pay cut.

Unfortunately. the set up
in the building trades finds!
each union meeting the same!
employers separately. To
compensate for this weakness
the building trades have set,
up a committee of eight to
correlate negotiations, and,
there is general agreement
that no union will sign with-
out: first clearing it through
‘the committee.

@ Pulp and*Paper -— 8,000
upcoast pulp. workers and
papermakers.. enter negotia-
tions around May. No policy
has been worked... out. on

ers signed last year for a no

Major unions enter |
1962 contract talks |

By WILLIAM STEWART
Paced by the 15 Canadian non-operating . railway

in B.C. are swinging into negotiations this year with
substntial demands for shorter hours and_ increased.

-ence on Feb.

wage increase agreement

workers, most major unions ©

with some fringe benefits.
Word around the industry in-
dicates a firm feeling ‘for a
substantial. pay ‘hike “this
year. :

@ Mining—The big -event
is bargaining between “the
Mine Mill and Smelter Werk-
ers Union and Consolidated
Mining and Smelting at Trail
and Kimberley where--more |
than 5,000 workers “are .in-
volved.

The union is icnunoie 10°
per cent across the: board:and
preliminary negotiations‘have -
already taken place ‘and:are
scheduled to: resume’ shortly.

© Civic Employees — De-
mands by. Vancouver » “civic
' workers - range from 10c. an
hour by the outside-workers
to 9 per cent proposed ‘by the.
|Policemen’s Union. In addi-—
tion, civic workers “in “most
major municipalities -in “B.C.
will “be “at the. bargaining
table and, as Vancouver:-de-
mands usually have a-mark-
ed influences on other pro: -
vincial points, itis “likely
that similar proposals.will be
adopted throughout. B.C.

e@ Fishing — All 8,000:B.C.
Fishermen will face the em-
ployer across the bargaining:
table this year. The Shore-
workers and Tendermen con-
tract talks are slated for
Feb. 15, with a wage confer- ~
8-9;
talks open around April 1
with herring coming up in
the fall.

Tendermen demands are
likely to centre around pro-
posals for wage increases,
more time off, and control
over their hous of work.

Shoreworkers, wages and
statutory holidays. :

Both salmon and herring
will likely demand improve-
ments in fish prices with im-
provements in agreements re-
lated to bonusing.

On February. 3-4 in Var
couver a wage. co-ordinating
conference, called by the
B.C. Federation of-.Labor,
will convene where all these
demands plus many others —
being advanced: by. unions en-
tering. negotiations will. be ..
thrown into the hopper. _

February 2, 1962—PACIFIC TRIBUNE—Page 6.

salmon