+s - a 12 . THE WESTERN CANADIAN LUMBER WORKER THE WESTERN CANADIAN LUMBER i WORKER 38,000 copies printed in this issue. Published twice monthly as the official publication of the INTERNATIONAL WOQDWORKERS OF AMERICA Western Canadian Regional Council No. 1 Affiliated with AFL-C!I1O-CLC 2859 Commercial Drive, Vancouver, B.C. Phone 874-5261 Editor — Pat Kerr Business Manager — Fred Fieber Advertising Representatives — Elizabeth Spencer Associates Forwarded to every member of the IWA in Western Canada in accordance with convention decisions. Subscription rate for non-members $2.00 per year. Authorized as Second Class Mail, Post. Office Department, and for payment of postage in cash. >? EDITORIAL -BLR. CONFIRMS IWA SUSPICIONS A SNIDE attempt to undermine mem- bership confidence in the IWA Coast Negotiating Committee was elaborately featured in a recent F.I.R. “Newsletter.” Slyly distorted heads, outworn cliches and illustrations were artfully twisted to cre- ate the impression that the IWA negoti- ators were afraid to face the economic facts of life in the forest products industry. It was insinuated that IWA officials had "chickened out’ when confronted with F.I.R.- Social Credit collusion to erect an illusory facade for impartial and compre- hensive fact-finding during negotiations. Innuendo was substituted for the facts in the case. The featured “vacant chair” in ghostly outline conceals the trap set for the IWA. As portrayed in the “Newslet- ter,” John Billings and associates were quite obviously enraged that the IWA refused to be trapped as planned. As a preliminary to the 1968 coast negotiations, the “Newsletter” gave IWA members a foretaste of tactics to be prac- ticed during bargaining talks. F.I.R. was reviving the same old theme, “The IWA is ‘wholly irresponsible.” Bargaining in good faith was thrown out of the window. Labour Minister Peterson’s proposal that the parties should jointly establish and finance an “independent” statistical study followed closely on the release of the union’s 1968 demands. When later the minister offered to share the cost, he was extremely vague about the amount to which he committed himself. The Minister chose to ignore the exten- sive research already undertaken by the union and based entirely on official records. He by-passed the government's own Bureau of Economics and Statistics now equipped for the job. He knew while he made his proposals he was well aware of provisions in Bill 33, introduced in the legislature a few days later, and in which the mediation commission is given sweep- ing powers to lay bare all the facts in any dispute. It was apparent to the Negotiating Committee that any thoroughgoing en- quiry would require a staff of at least five experts and six months or a year to complete any satisfactory probe, starting from scratch. F.I.R., for obvious reasons, eagerly ac- cepted anything that would extend ne- gotiations into the winter months—a real FIR-lined trap yet. The main interest of F.I.R. during the discussion related to the limitations to be placed on matters under enquiry. No satisfactory assurance was given that all the cards would be laid on the table. The information, according to F.I.R., was to be highly selective. ’ The manner in which vital facts were to be hidden will be seen by contrasting the terms of reference as submitted by both parties. The F.I.R. proposed terms of reference were so obviously “loaded” that any agreement ensuring impartial fact-finding was well nigh made im- possible. Any examination of the contrasting terms of reference, published elsewhere in this issue, makes clear why the com- mittee refused to waste any time on an exercise in futility. lt will be remembered that private firms such as Canadian Forest Products Lid. have steadfastly refused any dis- closure of their profits. Large companies prepare monthly reports on the labour costs per unit of production which are classified as top secret. Care has been taken, in Bill 33, that all such information shall be treated as highly confidential, preventing leaks to competitors. Suppose the IWA Negotiating Commit- tee had risen to the bait. The union would still be negotiating for a 1968 contract in 1969, while the lumber workers’ needs would be swept under the rug. _ Mr. Billings, you underestimated the ~ ‘intelligence of the IWA negotiators. Now, you have also insulted the intelligence of the IWA members involved in the nego- tiations. There is no sale for your red herrings. : Compare terms of reference as pub- lished on page 11. er errr ne aaa WRITER TELLS SCAB ABOUT UNIONISM The Editor: Although I am not a mem- ber of the IWA nor am la logger, I do get the Lumber Worker every time it comes out, from friends. I am an old time trade unionist, so I know what the score is. I have here the Ist issue Feb./68 of the paper. I wish to comment on scab, Mr. Don Weller, Mechanic, em- ployed by K. P. Products at Avola, on page 3 of this Lum- ber Worker. It so happens that I am a Mechanic of long standing, and in order to be a good first class all around Mechanic one has to have brains, something that this ape seems to lack or he would not scab on himself, his wife and _kids or his fellow man. He would get on the picket line, not go through it. N. S. Cummings Box 855, Grand Forks, B.C. LR. NEWSLETTER 2 ‘HY JS'THIS CHAIR EMPrye SOCREDS SCORED ON CASH RESERVES The provincial government was castigated during the budget debate by Tom Berger, NDP-MLA, for hoarding cash reserves which could be used to alleviate the suffering of the 60,000 unem- ployed people in B.C. and the 10,000 old age pensioners. Berger in condemning the government stated 7.8 per- cent. of B.C.’s labour force is unemployed and yet no men- tion is made of this fact in the budget. He -went on to say that 75,000 people in the province are on social assistance and another 10,000 are old age pensioners and their plight is blithely overlooked. In calling on the govern- ment to combat the crisis he said: “This reserve is a surplus that belongs to the people. I don’t think they want the Premier to keep on hoarding it. The cash reserve stood at $111,872,000 at March 31st, 1967. The surplus for the first 9 months of the current fiscal year was $38,618,425, bring- ing the cash reserve to $150,- 490,425 at December 31, 1967. “We ought to be willing to put $100 million of our cash reserve to work. That will still leave us with $55 million in the kitty at the end of the current fiscal year (March 31, 1968) , and the surplus will, in the coming fiscal year, con- tinue to grow, to the point where it will have reached $130 million by March 31, 1969, even allowing for a crash program of expenditure of $100 million on social serv- ices and health services dur- ing this session.” : POLITICAL QUOTES Education Minister Peterson (S.C.): “Many foreign languages are taught in our schools including French and German.” Hall (NDP): “That’s a Freudian slip. I challenge your classification of French as a foreign language in Canada,” * * Tisdalle (S.C.): “I'm the only man here who spent some years of his life underground.” Macdonald (NDP): “You still haven’t seen the light.” * * Gardom (Lib.): “The government must get off its oars.” Barrett (NDP): “Get off their whats?” Gardom: “Oars, 0-a-r-s.” * * McGeer (Lib.): “During the budget speech I wondered who was taking the worst beating. . desks or the taxpayers of aorta . the government * Brothers (S.C.): who sits behind Recreation Minister Kiernan: “The Minister of Recreation has been trying to find a sasquatch.” Dowding (NDP): “Tell him to tun around,”