FROM PAGE ONE THE WESTERN CANADIAN LUMBER WORKER “IMPERIAL OIL PRODUCTS 'HOT'” the oil companies in B.C. and was calling the shots for the other five companies in the strike. If labour could force Imperial Oil to negotiate through the boycott, a direct confrontation with the other companies could be avoided and would also prevent the government attempting to set- tle the issue by use of com- pulsory arbitration under Bill 33. In pressing this point home the Federation stated in a release to organized labour in part: “In the present oil industry dispute, we deplore the irre- sponsibility shown to date by the huge oil cartels who have refused to bargain in good faith. Recognizing that the full implementation of our hot products policy would bring industry to a standstill and adversely affect many British Columbians, the Executive Council of the Federation has unanimously decided to im- plement only a limited version of our policy. Since Imperial Oil has been the leader in the employers’ refusal to bargain in good faith, we are declaring Imperial Oil products hot and asking members of affiliated unions.to refuse to handle Imperial Oil products. a EL ee FROM PAGE ONE “VOTE TO STAY OFF JOB" name of the minister for veri- fication of his story. He re- fused to comply with the re- quest and was given a one- day suspension. Two days af- ter returning to work he was indefinitely suspended. The Committee charged that the suspension was in re- taliation for the Local Union’s ban on all overtime produc- tion work. A number of long-standing grievances were also cited by the Committee ranging from demands by the Company for . workers to get hair cuts to its intimidation of female em- ployees. At the start of the meet- ing, the Local officers while voicing sympathy with the members, warned that their action was illegal under the terms of the agreement and advised them to return to work. When this advice proved fruitless, the officers stated that they would attempt to mediate the dispute as quick- ly as possible with the Com- pany. They also warned that this might take some time due to the Company’s position that no talks would be held until the crew returned to the job. Le eS ee eT LOCAL 1-367 RESOLVING SUB-CONTRACTING PROBLEM By E. WOOD Financial Secre Local 1-367 This Local Union is at pres- ent engaged in a drive to or- ganize all Contractors, Sub- Contractors, and Labour Con- tractors into the IWA. As long as these contrac- tors are permitted to operate outside the Union there is a threat to all our members who are at present working in certified operations. There is always a possibility that their jobs will be contracted out and no guarantee they will be kept on or retain seniority. Many of these contractors are working alongside IWA mem- bers dumping in certified Un- ion booming grounds and carrying on operations for companies who we have un- der certification. This would not be tolerated by any other Union, allowing non-union men to be employed in Union operations and we will not accept it either. NORTH ISLAND DORMITORY Port McNeill Applications for residence in the North Island Dormitory for eligible students who will be enrolling in Grades XII, XI or X at North Island Secondary School in September 1969 will be accepted immedi- ately. Applications received after 12th July will be considered as they are received providing accommo- dation is still available. Applications for residence for students who will be enrolling in Grades IX or VIII may be made now, but such applications will not be considered until after 15th July, Boarding fees are $45.00 per month for students resident Monday through Friday. Students resident during weekends will be charged $5.00 per weekend in addition to monthly boarding fees. Application forms are obtainable from: Secretary-Treasurer, School District No. 85, Box 90, Port Hardy, B.C. Completed applications, which must be accom- panied by one month’s boarding fee, should be mailed to that address. Cheques and Money Orders are to be made pay- able to: “School District No. 85.” For conditions of residence and other information apply to: The Administrator, North Island Dormitory, Box 165, Port McNeill, B.C, Telephone 956-3624 In most cases these work- ers have no job security, MSA Health and Welfare, they lack seniority rights and have an accident frequency rate far in excess of the Industry aver- age. This means these people are working under sub-stand- ard conditions and being hurt unnecessarily and we can no longer allow this situation to exist. It is lowering the work- ing conditions in the Forest Industry, and our members’ jobs are at stake. At present one of the major companies in our Local Union has 13 contractors, not includ- ing sub-contractors in its op- eration. They are engaged in yarding, loading, falling and log hauling. We are attempting to re- solve this situation, one com- pany at a time, and have had two meetings with the above Company. They have agreed to sign up all Labour con- tractors and not interfere with our organizing in any way. As a result we are having considerable success in sign- ing up the owner operators and contractors, we hope to resolve the problem in this Way as our members are ex- tremely concerned over the situation. If we can maintain the same co-operation with the other companies in our Local we hope to have the situation un- der control by the year end. THE TRIANGLE FIRE If the Union had had its way, we would have been safe...” On March 25, 1911, 154 workers, mostly young girls, died in a fire at the Triangle Waist Company. The com- pany was located on the eighth, ninth and tenth floors of a New York City factory building. This company and many other shirtwaist companies had defeated the Union in a long strike prior to the tragedy which shocked the country. This is the story of one girl who escaped, Rosey Safran, as told to a newspaper Reporter. , “... [heard somebody cry ‘Fire!’ I left everything and ran for the door on the Washington Place side. The door was locked and immediately there was a great jam of girls before it. The fire was on the other side, driving us away from the only door that the bosses had left open for us to use in going in or out. They had the doors locked all : the time. [| “The fire had started on our floor, and quick as I had been in getting to the Washington Place door, the flames | were already blazing fiercely and spreading fast. If we i = ee ee ae = couldn’t get out we would all be roasted alive. The locked door that blocked us was half of wood; the upper half was thick glass. Some girls were screaming, some were beating the door with their fists, some were trying to tear it open | . -. Someone broke out the glass part of the door with something ‘hard and heavy — I suppose the head of a machine — and I climbed or was pulled through the broken glass and ran downstairs to the sixth floor, where someone took me down to the street. “I got out to the street and watched the upper floors burning, and the girls hanging by their hands and then dropping as the fire reached up to them. There they were dead on the sidewalk. It was an awful, awful sight, especially to me who had so many friends among the girls a young men who were being roasted alive or dashed to death... “One girl jumped from the ninth floor and her clothing caught in a hook that stuck out from the wall on the eighth. The fire burned through her clothing and she fell to the sidewalk and was killed. Another girl fell from the eighth to the sixth floor when a hook supporting a sign caught her clothes and held her. She smashed the window of the sixth floor with her fist and got into the shop and went down to the street, saving herself. “I was in the great shirtwaist strike that lasted thirteen weeks. I was one of the pickets and was arrested and fined several times. The union paid my fines. Our bosses won and we went back to the Triangle Waist Company as an open shop having nothing to do with the union. But we strikers who were taken back stayed in the union, for it is our friend. If the union had had its way we would have been safe in spite of the fire, for two of the union’s demands were adequate fire escapes on factory buildings and open doors giving free access from factories to the street. The bosses defeated us and we didn’t get the open doors or the large fire escapes, and so our friends are dead and relatives are tearing their hair.” a eRe i 3s > aa FEDERATION'S LIQUOR BRIEF eas 2 Als Se a ee Among the highlights of the B.C. Federation of Labour’s brief to the Royal Commis- sion studying B.C.’s liquor laws were proposals to re- duce the legal drinking age to 19, a seven-day opening of licensed premises, extension of hours of sale from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., and to 2:00 a.m. on Sunday, sale of beer at sports events and drinks by the glass in hotel rooms, and the licensing of pubs, tav- erns and cocktail lounges without limiting such pre- mises to hotels. The Federation also pro- posed the prohibition on elec- tion day sale be lifted, that liquor advertising regulations FALLERS' MEET JULY 5 A Fallers’ Conference has been called by the Regional Council for July 5, in the CCF Hall, Nanaimo. The basis of representation has been set by the Regional Executive Board at two of- ficers from each Local Union and a minimum of two fallers from each local. Scalers’ representatives have also been invited to attend. be reviewed and that the bur- den of proof of age be lifted from waiters and vendors and placed on the underage drink- er. SS ee) M-B DONATES FLOAT LOGS Thanks to the generosity of MacMillan - Bloedel, the children attending this year’s sessions of the Children’s Ju- bilee Summer Camp at Orlo- mah Beach on Indian Arm, will be assured of having first rate diving and boating floats. Regional President Jack Moore, at the request of the Vancouver & District Labour Council approached the Com- pany to donate logs for the floats. Mr. H. R. Chisholm, Vice- President of logging, was high- ly cooperative and immedi- ately complied wtih the re. quest. The Company also donated the necessary lumber for the floats.