EDITORIAL

Labour Looks

OB security is a top-priority problem for members of the IWA. It
is linked with the problem of job opportunities. Job security means

much more than the right to get and hold any kind of job. It includes
the right to a job for which the worker qualifies, the right to continuous
employment, and the right to seek improved living standards.

_ Job security depends in a large degree on the strength and
-freedom of the Union to negotiate successfully for better wages and
conditions. Without the right to take collective action under modern
conditions, the individual worker is helpless.

Law-making is an important factor in job security. The Labour
Relations Act determines the degree of government intervention in a
union’s negotiations. This power of intervention can either help or
hinder freedom of collective bargaining according to its basis. In
British Columbia, Social Credit laws providing for intervention have
been framed with an employer bias. The opportunity to bargain for
and secure job security is severely limited.

Law-making deals with another important aspect of job security. -

Laws are necessary to protect the rights of individuals and to penalize
those who violate such rights. In many respects the law defines the
rights of the individual.

‘In the industrial world, laws have evolved which are intended
to surround the worker with conditions of social security. As a result
we have an Hours of Work Act intended to protect the workers against
excessive hours of toil. We have legislation dealing with such matters
as payment of wages, minimum wages, accident compensation, un-
employment insurance and standards of health on the job. All of
these are necessary for the enjoyment of job security because job
security is under constant attack by the employers.

Because of numerous threats to job security resulting from leg-
islative neglect or legislative attack, the decisions of the B.C. Legis-
lature in its next session become of vital interest to workers. The
Legislature can either improve or weaken job security in a number
of ways.

It is obvious that chronic mass unemployment is the No. 1 threat.

With more and more jobless workers scrambling for available
jobs, bargaining strength is weakened. Unemployment mushrooms
as it lowers consumer demand on production, and the market for
goods and services shrinks.

The B.C. Legislature has the power to ease the province’s unem-
ployment by increased spending on projects which provide the maxi-
mum immediate employment. Many opportunities to do so have
been ignored.

to Victoric

The trend toward automation is also threatening joh security

under present circumstances. Changed production

out whole categories of workers and throwing them on the scrap-—

The B.C. Legislature is required to join in a general national
effort to cope with the problems of automation. One im
would be to sponsor better planning in advance of technological
change and a better system of re-training for the new jobs now
opening. It must change the climate for this revolutionary change, and
drop the attitude which regards workers as expendable under auto-
mation.

Organized labour in this province has presented. the provincial
government with a long list of needs requiring legislative attention.
By far the greater number of these demands indicate gross neglect of
social problems confronting the workers. Such matters as hours of
work, minimum wages and general employment safeguards urgently
require attention.

As indicated, the preservation of job security requires law-making
by the Legislature. It requires political decisions expressed in concrete
legislation, not vague promises.

Political decisions are gained only through political action. At
present, the organized employers can influence these political decisions
more than the organized workers. Unless. the organized workers
develop effective political action, this situation will continue, and
conditions of job security will once more be neglected.

The first and most obvious form of political action is through a
united effort to convince the Legislature and the public that a number
of political decisions are necessary to maintain job security. The con-
structive proposals made by organized labour must be heard and
supported on the floor of the Legislature.

If this effort fails, by reason of the opposing influence of the
employing interests, at least labour’s point of view will have been
stated in a bid for public support.

The most effective pressure that can be exerted on a legislative
body is that which results from the knowledge that organized labour
is prepared to vote for an alternative and more just government.

All the factors mentioned make the proceedings of the Legis-

lature which opens on January 24 of extreme importance to the
workers of the province.

Political action by the workers, in its most effective form, is
essential to get the right political decisions.

These political decisions will add to or subtract from each work-
er’s job security.

a ee

SEVENTH ANNUAL CONVENTION of the Alberta Federation of Labour held recently in Calgary, Al-

berta. Séated at centre table (front) are members of Local 1-207, |WA. In group are (left) Henry Frolick,
Harry Fisher, Keith Johnson, Benney Ouellette. On right are William Graham, Gerhard Schwarz, William

Sulack, Arne Christensen.

i]

Publication date of the next issue of the WESTERN CANADIAN

LUMBER WORKER is January 24. Deadline for ad copy is

January 10, and for news copy January 11.
THE WESTERN CANADIAN

Published Twice Monthly on the First and Third Thursdays by
INTERNATIONAL WOODWORKERS OF AMERICA
(AFL-C1IO-CLC) Regional Council No. 1

Editor . . . Grant MacNeil
REGIONAL OFFICERS:
President ......_. sis re. <8

Ist Vice-President = ee

2nd Vice-President ~~. =

8rd Vice-President ..-_-_. a
Secretary-Treasurer —..._..___________------
International Board Members -._—-

Address all communications to:
FRED FIEBER, Secretary-Treasurer
2859 Commercial Drive, Vancouver, B.C.

TR. 4-5261 - 2

Subscription Rates —....-_----— $2.00 per_annum
Advertising Representative —....... G. A. Spencer

Authorized as Second Class Mail, Post Office Dept., Ottawa,
i and for Payment of Postage in Cash.

>’

.. Jack Moore
Jack MacKenzie
Jack Holst
.. Bob Ross

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27,500 COPIES PRINTED IN THIS ISSUE

UMUC

“Democracy s
published in 1962 (a month
before the Cuban crisis):
“We can hardly mar-
shal world opinion
against Russian and
Chinese armed interven-
tion in this hemisphere
when we practice armed
intervention along their
borders. Our position in
Turkey, Iran, and Pakis-
tan is to Russia what
Russian air or missile
bases in Cuba and Mex-
ico or in Canada would
be to us. If we can make
military bases there,
Russia can here.”

Manifesto”

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Letters to the Editor

Writers Score M.B.P.R.,
Communist Party Tactics

Recently employees of
MacMillan, Bloedel and Pow-
ell River Limited, and pre-
sumably all plants and camps
received in the mail a letter
from the company, complain-
ing that the ‘Western Cana-
dian Lumber Worker’ had er-
roneously reported that the
Maximum Penalty had been
asked for in court in regard to
the boommen’s case in Port
Alberni. Also that the com-
pany was accused of adopting
a ‘Vengeful Attitude.’

As I recall, several weeks
prior to the trial date, J. V.
Clyne stated publicly that the
Company did not seek retri-
bution.

This same statement cou-
pled with the assertion that
the boommen should be

found guilty to establish a-

matter of principle was pre-
sented to the court.

Having considerable ex-
perience with this company
and others, I would like to
make a few observations on
the case, and the letter in par-
ticular.

Basically, this fight devel-
oped through a commitment
or understanding from a de-
puty Personnel Manager

which was reneged by some
Plant Product official.

The boom crew and com-
mitee, with other stewards,
See “M.B.P.R.”—Page 6

My husband and I attended
the Loggers’ Ball of Local 1-
71, IWA, on December 28,
1962, held in the Mount
Pleasant Legion Branch 177.

During the course of the
evening we were approached
about the purchasing of tick-
ets for another “Loggers”
dance at the Swedish Hall on
Hastings Street on January 3,
1963. I just glanced at the
tickets. and read the heading,
“Loggers Xmas Social,” in
quite large print, and never
bothered to read the smaller
print underneath.

We assumed it would be a
dance, perhaps smaller, but
similar to the Loggers’ Ball,
so I wrote our names on the
tickets and my husband
bought them.

We arrived at the hall Jan-
uary 3, at approximately 9:45
p.m., and there was a film
about Russia being shown.
Considering even the few
minutes we stayed, it was
quite obvious that the head-

ing on the tickets should have ©

read “Communist Xmas So-
cial,” and as a mater of fact

at a later date, I was told -

that’s what it really was.

I feel it is extremely detri-
mental to the reputation of
Local 1-71, and all of the IWA
members, to have tickets such

as that sold and bought at an i

IWA function or event.
See “COMMIES”—Page 6