THE WESTERN CANADIAN LUMBER WORKER

“WHEN THE RICH GET RICHER"

The following letter was
submitted to the Kamloops
Daily Sentinel for publication
and also to the Lumber
Worker. Mr. Walker is a mem-
ber of Local 1-417 IWA in the
Clearwater district.

Editor,

Kamloops Daily Sentinel

Kamloops, B.C.

Dear Sir:

Three front page editorials
in your Tuesday, April 23,
edition actually make little
sense by themselves. They
are:

IWA Striker Fired From Jan-
itor’s Job.

Peterson Tells Workers ‘If
Offer Refused IWA Goes
Alone,’ and

Study Pay Offer Carefully,
Woodworkers are Urged.

In the last article Mr. H..

B. Simpson, chairman of the
Interior Forest Labour Re-
Iations asks the workers to
consider only the benefits of
$2.94 per hour to terminate
August 31, 1970, while the
previous article claims, “Mr.
Sherlock’s intervention, au-
thorized by the government
at the Union’s request” is a
distortion of the actual truth.
They leave what they call a
credibility gap in Washing-
ton. In other words, what is
said by Mr. Peterson, the gov-
ernment representative, and
Mr. Simpson are fabrications
of the truth.

For instance, was it not the
legislature that ordered the
two parties to meet until set-
tlement was derived? And
was not Mr. Sherlock’s ap-
pointment arbitrarily made by
the government although the
Union probably was con-
sulted and did agree to his
appointment as a conciliator.
The truth?

What are the real benefits
of Mr. Sherlock’s offer? In
actual fact the IWA southern
membership is taking a vote
on a reworded Northern IWA
settlement some seven months
later because some learned
men hope that this period of
time is sufficient to break the
picketers’ morale, hearts, or
pocketbooks. Financial diffi-
culties may change some
votes, but I heard one em-
ployee, a bush worker, say
that he changed his vote from

“ves” to “no” because the
northern IWA members at
least got back pay, but no-
body in the south would un-
der the new settlement pro-
posal, and he would be
damned if after seven months
he would go back to work for
the same unreasonable offer,
or less.

Businessmen have gone
bankrupt, workers have lost
income, savings, and some
possessions while Mr. Simp-
son and associates in larger
concerns enjoy prosperity.
Weyerhaeuser experiences the
highest percent and profit in
its recorded history for the
first quarter of 1968 while its
three interior mills are closed.
Yes, these short term losses
are by individuals, not large
companies. Our government
watches as the monopolies
they give out in the forest in-
dustry grow larger. They will
always be profitable as long
as employees’ salaries pay for
technological changes.

Employees and Unions
recognize the necessity of
many of the technological
changes, but we would expect
that those who benefit. by
these changes should show
more responsibility for those
that they put out of work as
these unemployed often have
sacrificed, in wages, the cost
of putting them out of work.
Have Unions a reason for be-
ing militant as automation is

forced down their throats-

without compensation for
their members?

The B.C. government has,
to date, implemented a home
owner’s grant to relieve the
land owner of taxes and many
roads have been built to ex-
pand the economy of the
country as they subsidize
transportation costs. How-
ever, although transportation
and wages are major ingredi-
ents of production costs it is
unreasonable for the govern-
ment to interfere, on the side
of the employer, to get low
wages to subsidize an indus-
try for which they grant the
monopoly with their Forest
Management Licences.

When the rich get richer
and the poor get poorer the
gulf produced eventually pro-
duces a social revolution and

SAFETY COUNCIL OFFERS
$100 SAFETY BURSARY

The British Columbia Safe-
ty Council is offering a $100
bursary for a person interest-
ed in attending the Supervis-
ors’ Training Course in In-
dustrial Accident Prevention,
and who is unable to go due
to financial reasons.

The Course, sponsored by
the Council, is being held
June 2nd to 7th, at the Uni-
versity of British Columbia.

The bursary, called the
Arthur Francis Bursary, af-
ter the popular former Direc-
ior of Accident Prevention
for the Workmen’s Compen-
cation Board, was established

by the Occupational Section
a the Council.

The $100 will cover all ex-
penses except transportation
for the five-day live-in course.

Those interested in apply-
ing should contact the B.C.
Safety Council, 1186 Nicola
Street, Vancouver 5, B.C., or
phone 684-8835.

NOT ART

“And this,” said the dis-

agreeable old gentleman, “I
suppose is one of those hid-
eous caricatures you call
‘modern art’.”

“No sir,” replied the art
dealer, “that’s just a mirror.”

the fall of a government, par-
ticularly as the numbers of
the poor increase and the
numbers of the rich decrease
while wealth grows. What if
the advertising revenue for
the Kamloops Daily Sentinel
does not grow with the popu-
lation increase due to the fact
that the small businessman
and the service worker can-
not survive on the depressed
wage of the woodworker? The
present government interven-
tion by Mr. Peterson may ic
successful for the moment for
the employer. However, if the
poor woodworker can de-
throne the present govern-
ment in its interior stronghold
and prevent the gulf between
the rich and poor from be-
coming larger, he may yet
save some of us from a pos-
sible bloody revolution later.
Coast operators paying
larger wages have been grow-
ing for years on trees almost
exactly the same size as we
are logging in the interior,
now. The companies can well
afford what Celgar has in a
contract now.
Yours truly,
LEWIS E. WALKER

VALUE ADDED PER PRODUCTION MAN-HOUR

WHO CAUSES INFLATION?

we

VALUE ADDED PER PRODUCTION
MAN-HOUR $1.10

WAGE
INCREASE

SOURCE: DOMINION BUREAU OF STATISTICS

* “Value Added” means the extra value added to raw material
by some factor. In this case, it refers to the increase in value
that is added by I.W.A. labour.

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