THE WESTERN CANADIAN LUMBER WORKER < as the official publication of the INTERNATIONAL WOODWORKERS OF AMERICA Western Canadian Regional Council No. } Affiliated with AFL-ClO-CLC 2859 Commercial Drive, Vancouver, B.C. Phone 874-5261 F Advertising Representatives—Elizabeth Spencer Associates y member of the [WA in Western Canada in accordance with convention decisions. Subscription rate for non-members $2.00 per year. = E lengthy Sproat Lake fallers dispute which was deliberately promoted by MacMillan Bloedel, is another classic example of how the major forest giants in B.C. are prepared to jeopardize the safety of their employees for the sake of the almighty dollar. MacMillan Bloedel, in a move which politely could only be termed blind stupidity, ordered their Sproat Lake division fallers to cease felling trees by the falling procedure proven safest over the years. Suspected purpose of the move was to save money by cutting back on the size of the crew. The order provoked a two-month walk out of the fallers and eventually shut down the operation throwing 400 other loggers out of work. This penny- pinching foolishness cost the Company weeks of production and also the respect of its loggers. ANY OF us have been feeling in- creasingly satisfied over the past few years that we have provided some enlightened social legislation good enough to take care of the less fortunate of our brothers — our sick, aged, needy and handicapped brothers. To believe this — to believe that these people are adequately cared for, that they have a fair share of Canada's growing affluence — is to deceive ourselves. Over one-million Canadians live in sub-standard housing. 860,392 of the 1,720,128 old people who receive the Guaranteed Income Supplement need the full amount of $55 — and the entire monthly income of a single old person with no other means come to a $135.00. How far can you go on that? Over 2-million souls rely on some form of social assistance. So much for our “affluent society.” Maybe we want to | Fortunately, the dispute was recently settled through the common-sense approach of WCB Chairman Cyril White. His solution was to order the fallers to use their own discretion on the job. It's too bad top management can’t learn from Mr. White’s willingness to reason, for undoubtedly his handling of the problem will do much to improve the stature of the WCB in the eyes of B.C. loggers. As Local 1-85 President Earl Foxcroft pointed out, safety to the faller is a highly personal matter and no amount of threats will move him if he believes his life is in jeopardy. The sooner management learns this the sooner industrial peace will come to the forest industry. Until that time, walk- outs over unsafe conditions will continue and IWA officials will back such job eet action to the hilt. Ea Ga oe ; sree deceive ourselves. Maybe the truth is not in us. It is certainly not a pretty picture to face up to. There is one bright spot. In our community we have local voluntary agencies making a vital contribution to people in need; their work often makes the difference between mere existence and a decent life. They help families . through the difficulties of desertion or divorce; the blind and handicapped discover a new self-respect with new- gained skills; accident victims receive free blood and skilled first-aid. All this regardless of ability to pay. We are doing something. Our United Appeal is doing a lot. They could do a lot more if we all faced up to our respon- sibilities. Canada is not Utopia — not yet, anyway. This month we could bring Utopia a little nearer. Give your fair share — the United Way. that excl ‘communists from membership does not break the law. — The A new Canadian union led by a former Clerks’ organizer, Thomas Rees, was trying to supplant the Clerks at an Ot- tawa-area department store. Canadian Mer- ing Employees’ Union claimed the RCIA’s ban against communists dis- criminates against a person because of his ‘‘creed.”’ The board ruled that “creed” generally means a set of religious beliefs. The Clerks’ constitution bars members and supporters of ‘‘a communist or Fascist party or similar organizations, having as its purpose to overthrow the government of the United States or of Canada, by force or violence .. .” The law means ‘‘religious”’ beliefs, said the board, whereas communism and fascism ‘‘are more in the nature of political movements or parties.” Accepting any other definition of creed, the board ruled, would mean a union would have to admit persons ‘‘violently opposed to all the objects of the union” since the organization could not discriminate against anyone, SEPTEMBER, 1971 Well you go right back an’ tell yer old lady her son-in- law — ‘Old Boozer’ — already has been approached by two breweries concerning ‘word to mouth’ ad- vertising! REPORT BACKS LABOR ON TERMINATION LAWS Workers ‘“‘can make good use’’ of advance notice of lay- offs to find new jobs, a major study of a branch-plant closure concludes. Academics from the University of Western Ontario studied the 340 hourly-paid workers who were told in February, 1969, by Kelvinator of Canada Ltd. that the ap- pliance- plant would close forever. They got five months’ notice, an extraordinary amount of warning. The report of the Task Force on Labor Relations, the so- called Woods Report com- missioned by the federal government, recommended three years ago that workers be given a minimum of six months’ notice of ‘significant labor displacement.” The researchers found that long notice cost Kelvinator little since the company Maintained efficient production till the end of the phase out. But the academics, Bernard Portis~and Michael Suys, blamed Kelvinator for not using the time to best in- terests of the workers. The company, a subsidiary of U.S.-based White Consolidated Industries Inc., of Cleveland, Ohio, refused to co-operate with Canada Manpower of- ficials in finding new jobs for the laid off employees. (At the same time, however, the company used Manpower to get replacements for workers who left before the closure.) Severance on the average was only $420 a worker, who on the average had 15 years’ experience with Kelvinator. Only 26 per cent left before the shutdown, and 53 per cent had applied for at least one new job before the closing, the study found. (Forty-nine per cent said they were ‘“com- pletely surprised’ by the announcement of the plant closure.) Re-employment — prospects were not favourable, say the academics, because the workers were mostly over 40, had little education and were semi-skilled. Many were immigrants. One month after the shut- down, 43 percent — nearly half the work force — had found jobs, but two-thirds took a pay > cut. Age more than education, say the researchers, affects the kinds of jobs the workers found. The authors of the study found it ‘‘remarkable’’ that so many had work so soon after the closure. Except for Manpower’s help and some assistance from their union, Local 27 of the United Auto Workers, “were largely on their own,” say the researchers. The conclusions of the study — that most workers made “some use” of the advance notice — support organized labor’s campaign for ter- mination laws. Six provinces, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland, require em- ployers to give individual workers notice. Ontario and Quebec require special advance notice in the event of mass lay-offs. The yet- to-become-law federal labor code amendments introduced in June by minister Bryce Mackasey also require notice of mass lay-offs. Ontario law requires notice up to 16 weeks for lay-offs of 500 or more employees. Quebec up to 16 weeks for 300 or more Individuals are entitled to at least a week’s written notice, generally, if they have worked three months. LE ee) REAL CROOK Sam the machinery salesman says his drinking buddy is so crooked that even the wool he pulls over your eyes is 50 percent synthetic. the workers °