ON HOW TO RUN A UNION

THE WESTERN CANADIAN LUMBER WORKER

FIJI WOODWORKER GETS HELP FROM LOCAL 1-85

Editor’s Note: The follow-
ing is a copy of a letter sent
by Sovosi Watisoko, national
secretary of the Fiji Timber
Employees Union in Fiji, to
Local 1-85 in Port Alberni,
seeking information on how to
run a union and negotiate bet-
ter wages and working condi-
tions. Local 1-85 financial sec-
retary Maurice Corbeil replied
to the request and a copy of
his letter is printed below.

Fiji Timber Employees
Union,
36 Edinburgh Drive,
Suva, Fiji Islands.
General Secretary,
Timber Workers Union,
c/o MacMillan & Bloedel,
Port Alberni, B.C.
Dear Sir:

Introducing myself: My
name is Naibuka Sovosi Wa-
tisoko, and that I am a Fijian
employed as the National Sec-
retary of the Fiji Timber Em-
ployees Union here in Fiji.

Our Union is one of the
youngest ones in the Colony.
It started last year, and am
seeking advice on how to run
a union, and also seeking af-
filiation to any world body of
timber unions, since, in my
opinion, Canada is the largest
timber industry in the world.

Unionism in Fiji is volun-
tary and we are at a stage of
recruiting. We have only man-
aged to have done one nego-
tiation of a term of one year,
and that we having another
negotiation in October this
year.

I hope that you will con-
sider my letter, and advise us
the ways to follow, to achieve
a better conditions of work,
and wages.

Yours faithfully,
(Signed) “W. N. Sovisi”.
Watisoko N. Sovisi,
National Secretary.

Mr. N. Sovosi Watisoko,

National Secretary

Fiji Timber Employees
Union, ,

36 Edinburgh Drive,

Suva, Fiji Islands.

Dear Sir and Brother:

Thank you for your letter
of July 3, 1968 in which you
request information from our
Union and assistance on how
to run a union.

At the outset, I am very
pleased to hear that you now
have a union of woodworkers
in the colony of Fiji Island
and wish to congratulate you
and your fellow workers for
this achievement.

_ Our union is called the In-
ternational Woodworkers of
America and has been in ex-
istence since 1937. We are an
international union with
membership in the United
States of America and Can-
ada. We have a total of ap-
proximately one hundred and
ten thousand members em-
ployed in logging, sawmills
and shingle mills, plywood
plants, particle board and
some paper board operations.
The Canadian membership
averages between forty-five
and fifty thousand members
while the American portion
would average between fifty-
five and sixty thousand mem-
bers.

Our union is a three-level
structure organization with
the top body being the Inter-
national with head office at
1622 North Lombard Street,
Portland, Oregon, U.S.A. The
International Union is divid-
ed into five Regions, three in
the United States and two in
Canada. Our Local Union is
part of Regional Council No.
1 which takes in all of West-
ern Canada. The Regional
Councils are the second level
of the structure.

The next level is the Local

Unions. In our own Regional
Council we have seventeen
Local Unions that can vary in
size from the smallest Local
of a few hundred members to
the largest Locals of approxi-
mately seven thousand mem-
bers. Our Local Union has
forty-five hundred members
and represents workers on
the West Coast of Vancouver
Island. So those are the three
levels—International, Region-
al Council and the Local
Union.

The Local Unions are au-
tonomous to make their own
decisions provided it is within
the framework of the Inter-

~ national and Regional Consti-

tutions and By-Laws.

The Local Union is usually
divided into -Sub-Locals. A
Sub-Local usually is one op-
eration and could vary from
a small group of people in a
small operation to a large op-
eration of one thousand or
more members. Our Local
Union has an _ Executive
Board composed of six elect-
ed Local Officers, a Warden
and a Conductor plus one re-
presentative from each of the
larger Sub-Locals which are
elected by the members of
that Sub-Local.

Our Local operates in the
following manner: The Offi-
cers first meet and discuss
problems and make recom-
mendations to the meetings of
the Executive Board. The
Executive Board then makes
a recommendation to a month-
ly general meeting; the meet-
ing then accepts or rejects the
recommendation of the Ex-
ecutive Board.

You will note in the en-
closed red book called “Mas-
ter Agreement” that refer-
ence is made to committees.
Each Sub-Local has an elec-
ted Grievance Committee
and a Safety Committee. The
Safety Committee handles

safety problems in line with
Article XX on page 36 of the
Agreement. The Grievance
Committee handles other
types of grievances such as
working conditions, wages,
etc., in line with Article
XXII on page 37 of the en-
closed Agreement. If the Com-
mittee is not successful in re-
solving the problem it is then
referred to the Local Union
and if it is not satisfactorily
resolved at that level it can
be referred to Right of Refer-
ence or Arbitration as spelled
out in Article XXIII and
XXIV.

I am enclosing copies of
wage scales for logging, saw-
mills,) shingle mills and
plywood plants. Our last
Agreement was for a two-
year period which terminated
June 15, 1968. We are just
now in the process of com-
pleting negotiations on an-
other two-year Agreement
which provides for 18 cents
per hour increase effective
June 15, 1968 and another 18
cent increase effective June
15, 1969, plus improved vaca-
tions and other fringe bene-
fits. At the time of writing
this letter, we are still at-
tempting to negotiate with
our employers’ representa-
tives the vacation clause
which would provide for five
weeks vacation with pay after
twenty years of service.

The basic rate shown on
the enclosed wage scale as of
June 15, 1967 was $2.76 per
hour but would be as of June
15, 1968 $2.94 and $3.12 as of
June 15, 1969.

Our negotiations are con-
ducted on an area basis. We
are part of what is called the
“Coast Area” which takes in
nine Local Unions on the
Coast Region of British Col-

umbia. The nine Local Uni-
ons which elect one repre-
sentative to the Negotiating
Committee and two Regional
Officers form the Committee
of eleven men who conduct
negotiations on behalf of the
nine Local Unions with an
employer organization repre-
senting the majority of the
employers in the area.

I am also enclosing other
material for your information
one of which is a brochure
showing our new building
that was opened in March of
1966. We have five full-time
business agents servicing the
membership and three female
stenographers in the office.
Our dues structure is $5.00
per member per month, $1.00
of which goes into a Regional
Strike: Fund. Our initiation
fee for new members joining

the Union is $10.00.

I have sent copies of your
letter-and my answer to it to
our Regional Office in Van-
couver and International Of-
fice in Portland in the hope
that they would be able to
give you more information
with regards to your request
for information on affiliation
with any world body of tim-
ber unions.

Trusting this information
will be of some assistance to
you. Do not hesitate to con-
tact us again if. you require
further information.

Wishing you success in
your endeavour to establish
better wages and working
conditions, I remain,

Fraternally yours,
International
Woodworkers of
America,

Local 1-85.

M. J. Corbeil,
Financial Secretary.

to his employment.

ON THE LIGHTER SIDE
Sawmill Sue says her girl“

friend is a real Las Vegas
ee a Mech divoree
she feels like a new man,

* * *

Chokerman Charlie says
that the trouble with the av-

+

VACATION NOTICE

We are once again reminding IWA members going on
holidays to check their rights in determining vacations
with pay as provided for in the Coast Master Agreement.

Article XI — Vacations with pay — in Section 5 states:

“The following shall be considered as days actually
worked for determining vacations with pay for an em-
ployee after one (1) continuous year of employment:

“(a) Absence on Workmen’s Compensation up to a
period of one (1) year, provided the employee returns

“tb) Absence due to illness up to a period of one (1)
year, provided that the employee returns to his employ-
~The employer shall have the right to require a
from a qualified medical practitioner.

“(e) Any other absence duly approved by the em-
ver in writing shall be credited towards entitlement
nnual vacation, but time spent on such leaves of

shall not be counted in computing vacation pay.”

he finds greener pastures h
can’t climb the fence.
* * *

Then there was the canni-
bal who said, as he boxed his
son’s ears, “How many times
have I told you that it’s rude
to talk with someone in your
mouth!”

ae Dee Wea ay 2 ts Be wart

SEAFARERS’ UNION RAPS WHEAT. BOARD

The Canadian Wheat Board
has come under sharp criti-
cism from the Seafarers’ In-
ternational Union which
claims the board is denying
Canadian firms business in
favour of cheaper foreign

Leonard McLaughlin, SIU
president, said the union had

asked the wheat board to re-
serve grain traffic from the
Lakehead to Halifax for Can-

' According to Mr. McLaugh-
lin the board replied that it

would seek the best possible
return for western producers
and therefore would follow a
policy of hiring grain vessels
on a competitive basis.

Growth
Savings
Certificates
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