, Ae eo : al so ene rere ee © ~ are sa ote oN ' ¢ Rew hE ee U.S. ARMY’S spruce production division moved into Northwest forests during World War I, when the government became concerned over production of spruce for airplane construc- tion. Men wearing the familiar peaker hats of the 1917 Army worked alongside regular loggers on this operation. —Int. Woodworker ont Same? IT ALL BOILS DOWN TO A QUESTION or KNOW HOW .-. and Pierre Paris & Sons have KNOWN HOW for nearly 60 years. It was then, and still is now, the finest logging boot that money can buy. PIERRE PAI , 51 West Hast Vancouver 3, ra Pisgaeest Family Teamwork in Gra MORE POWER PER POUND! 35% Mere POWER 34% Mere CUTTING CAPACITY in the All- 700 SOLD & SERVICED BY TOP MECHANICS AT waewem Western Pioneer Chain Saw Sales Sere. chain saw 328 Carrall Street Vancouver 4, B.C. ey, ualit Vesa FREE PARKING Right Next Door to Our Building, at Cordova & Carrall Sts. THE WESTERN CANADIAN LUMBER WORKER CONTINUED FROM PAGEZ ——~—=~—™s “STRIKE ACTION” - Interference by state authorities made the situation even more tense. Workers willing to return to work were guaranteed protection by the state police in W ton and Oregon. National Guardsmen were d to a number of points, virtually placing the strikers under martial law. Troops with fixed bayonets, state police and company strong-arm men with clubs and tear gas dispersed the pickets. In the later stages of the strike, court Injunctions gave sweeping powers to restrain all picketing. One pretext for the use of armed force was the employers’ claim that the strike was Communist- inspired, This was sheer nonsense. Fewer than one per cent of the strikers could be described as Communists. Hundreds of strikers were beaten and jailed. It is impossible here to give an adequate description of the magnificent struggle waged by the strikers in face of the ruthless action taken by the employers and the authorities. Amazing solidarity was shown at all points. The violence reported was the outcome of provocation by company thugs, for the strikers exercised remarkable restraint under the circumstances. The battle was fought by the strikers as strenuously in the smaller operations as in the larger ones, where events were more spectacular. This abbreviated account of the struggle cannot fairly single out for praise any particular group. The day was won by mass picketing, of which the most remarkable demonstration was seen in Aberdeen, stronghold of the Northwest Joint Strike Committee. An attempt to open mills in that area was defeated by a picket line of more than 2,000 workers. : More. than 6,000 persons — workers, wives, children and sympathizers — marched from Aberdeen to Ho- | quiam and back, in protest against the use of force to break the strike. Scenes such as this were duplicated at other points on a scale made possible by the circum- stances. Toward the end of July, the strike had lost much of its original strength by reason of the pressures exerted on the strikers. Nevertheless, when peace was finally restored the gains made were significant for the whole industry. Unionization of the lumber industry came to be gen- erally accepted, although an industry-wide agreement was not secured. The eight-hour day with a base rate of 50 cents an hour was temporarily accepted by the strik- ers out of necessity. The widespread response to the strike call and the mass support of. the strike shocked the employers and opened the way to more important concessions. Unfortunately, leadership of Carpenter of- fizials, unfamiliar with the requirements of lumber work- ers, led to serious inter-union dissension to be examined in a later installment. An important outcome of the 1935 strike was that it fired the spirit of workers in British Columbia, as well as in the Midwest and Southern States. The struggle in - these areas took on new life though scenes of cruel and bloody oppression were common. Not until later did the lumber workers in British Columbia gain legal protection of their rights under provincial law. The loggers had fought strikes repeatedly to gain. union recognition and spearheaded political action to gain laws with provisions offering the equival- ent of those in the Wagner Act. The plight of the lumber workers organization in British Columbia caused an appeal to be made in 1936 to the local unions in the United States. A Brotherhood official investigated and reported that the newly-formed District Council was operating with an annual revenue of less than $400. Key officials were performing their work without pay by working nine days a month on municipal relief projects. Organizers were reported to have sold their cars and homes to gain funds for organ- izing purposes. Extremely low wages, it was reported, enabled the B.C. lumber industry to operate at full capacity while lumber production was being curtailed. in the United States. The dangers of this situation brought American and Canadian lumber workers into the closer working relationship which emerged after the 1935 _ strike. The great strike of 1935 ushered in a new era for trade. unionism in the lumber industry. The advantages gained by the woodworkers in this period were never eradicated. Thereafter woodworkers in the West moved boldly forward to still more impressive achievements. (TO BE CONTINUED)