THE WESTERN CANADIAN LUMBER WORKER The Editor, Your editorial in the Septem- . ber/ October issue of The “Lumber Worker advocating a “two-price” system of market- ing lumber merits serious consideration by all parties concerned. In view of the excellent profit records, over the past two decades of the major forest industry conglomerates there can be made a good case for the proposition that the domestic customer has been over-char-- ged in the past. However valid this conten- tion might be the immediate problem is to get lumber sales up and IWA membership back at full employment. The tradi- tional economic reaction to falling sales and high inven- tories — lowering the selling price to stimulate sales and level off inventories — does not seem to be materializing in the present market situation. A ‘‘two-price’’ marketing system would enable the manufacturers to lower domestic prices while awaiting the resurgence of the export markets. A lower domestic price would undoubtedly in- crease housing starts, home repairs and improvements at the ‘‘do-it-yourself”’ level, and put lumber into a more com- petitive price range in those areas where lumber sub-. stitutes have made inroads in the market. Lower domestic prices would clean out surplus inventory quickly and revi- talize the -manufacturing facilities and bring the workers back to their jobs. The domestic consumer would -welcome a ‘“‘two-price”’ system that would give them lower prices. The Provincial Government should also wel- come the two-price system as a means of improving construc- tion starts and reducing unemployment even though the government should be pre- pared to accept lower stump- age rates on the cut sold at the lower price in the domestic market. The IWA would wel- come such a pricing system as it means the return to work of upwards of fifteen thousand members. The top manage- ment of the forest industry, however, has not welcomed the introduction of a_ two-price system and reacted with com- ments such as ‘‘it won’t work” and “‘it can’t be-done.”’ Such a negative reaction in the part of management is cer- tainly not justified by the his- toric facts of the industry. The high level of management expertise this industry has exhibited over the years can surely cope with a marketing situation involving primarily price. A management team that can plan, build, organize, and run profitably a complex, integrated forest products operation can hardly be taken seriously when it claims it could not solve a relatively simple marketing problem. Perhaps management does not want to find the two-price system as a workable alter- native to its’ present sales pro- blem. The two-price. system would quite probably, in the short run, result in lower pro- fits; but in the long run the increased sales volume and. resultant increased produc- tivity of the individual worker should enable the industry to quickly recapture the hand- some profit levels it has en- joyed over the last decade. Many countries have adopted the two-price system on commodities to insure a fair _price to the domestic con- sumer, and to help the primary producer to hedge against unpredictable world prices. It is time to look serious into this system as it applies to the marketing of the forest pro- B.C. ENJOYS RECREATION BOOM | A boom in community recreation facilities is taking place throughout British Columbia with the construction and completion of new projects and the renovation of many others. Under the Community Recreational Facilities Fund, administered by the Department of Recreation and Conservation, the provincial government provides a grant of one-third the cost of financing community recreation facilities sponsored by a municipality or non- profit cultural, ethnic or religious group. To date, 27.8 million dollars in grants have been allocated. The money is going to over 400 projects in 158 different communities. Bulk of the funding has been for ice rinks, curling rinks, swimming pools, and community halls. ducts manufactured in Canada. As management is not taking the initiative on this issue the union must be the one to research the possibilities and take the lead in selling this idea of a two-price system; to the benefit of the membership as well as the general public. Research at the school of business, University of Wes- tern Ontario, indicates that 12- hour shifts could prove popu- lar. They experimented at Uni- versity Hospital in London, Ontario, where the university is situated and came up with the 12-hour shift plan about which they have written a book called ‘‘Master Rotation for Shift Work.” The plan can be operated in any plant, they contend, but is particularly successful in those operating seven days a week. The trade union movement is adamantly opposed to regular 12-hour shifts because of the strain of long hours on the human system-and the danger to safety which can be invol- ved. The study doesn’t go along with this view, stating that three 12-hour days followed by two days off has shown bene- ficial results. In hospitals, they claim, levels of fatigue could be no greater, and sometimes significantly less, than with the 8-hour shift system. In addi- tion, there would be a reduc- tion in absenteeism, improve- ment in work schedules and employee morale. The Financial Times reports that Imperial Oil at its Winni- peg refinery originated the 12- hour day in 1970 and that, in - every case where the 12-hour shift is in effect, the idea came from the employees and none of them want to return to the 8- hour day. ° An aluminum fabricating company with three plants in Ontario has 12-hour shifts in its 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a- week operations. The em- . and other pressures towards compromising on second-best, Dayton’s makes no contribution. Z That is why Dayton’s loggers have won more world championships than any other boot ever made. % It has always been, and still is, the choice of the man who knows the best—and is prepared to pay for it. DAYTON SHOE MANUFACTURING CO. LTD. 2250 EAST HASTINGS STREET TELEPHONE 253-6671 VANCOUVER, B.C. ployees work three days and have four days off. What unions would go for is an 8-hour day four days a week, with three days off and no loss-in weekly pay. HIGHEST PRICE JUMP - Pushed by rising food prices, the Consumer Price Index moved ahead by 0.9 percent in October to reach a level 11.6 percent higher than a year ago. This was the biggest yearly increase in 24 years. Food prices increased 1.4 percent in October to 15.7 percent higher than October, 1973: Housing also increased by 0.9 percent to a level 10.3 percent above October of last year. The indexed "paeie family allowance payment will rise from $20 to $22.08 in January, while the old age security pay- ment will rise by $3.04 to $120.06 a month..The maxi- mum basic Canada Pension Plan benefit will increase from $108.58 to $119.87, and the maximum guaranteed income supplement (a means test pay- ment to pensioners) will in- crease from $82.08 to $84.21 for a single person. AGREEMENT SIGNED IWA members at Island Shake and Shingle in Lake Cowichan voted 75 - percent to accept a new one-year agreement. Jack Reiser, Local 1-80 3rd Vice-President and Chief Negotiator for the crew, said the acceptance of the new contract ends three months of negotiations. The old contract expired on June 15, 1974. The Company has been closed for some weeks due to the poor shingle market and as a result, a Mediation Officer was requested by the Union. Assisting Reiser in the contract talks was Jack Mumm, Local 1-80 2nd Vice- President and Plant Commit- teemen, Gary Hemeon and Mark Couturier. ; The new agreement includes increased wages, a dental plan, cost of living clause and improved vacations and Health & Welfare.