ist Issue April, 1964 SUI HUNTUUUNEUAUNOSOUGUNASEAGUOOSEUGUOEOEOGOOOGEOAOOGOEOOOEOGEOGOEGAOOGQOAOUGUEOGUOGOEOGEUOOEOOEOGUEUGOEOAUOOOOGUEOGOOGUEASEUAUOGOEO OOOOH TLEE Ui] 1010000000000 0U00ULHNSNORSOUOUOUUEOLGEGOOEGOOOLOUNUGEGEOOAOOUOUOUOUOUUEOEOEOEGEGOUUOUOUOUOUOUOUOUOUAE OEE THE WESTERN CANADIAN LUMBER WORKER A LOW WAGE SCANDAL The International Woodworkers of America directs public attention to the low wages and poor working conditions in Southern Alberta lumber operations. The Union is forced to the conclusion that the organized employers are determined to depress wage levels for woodworkers. This has now become a scandal. Due to the attitude of the employers, the Alberta collective bargaining procedures have failed to gain just treatment for woodworkers who have protested. The resulting unrest has led to two strike situations. The employees of Blairmore Sawmills Ltd., Blairmore, Alberta, have been on strike since March 9. The employees of Fort Plywood & Lumber Co. Lid., Fort Macleod, have ‘post- poned a legal strike deadline to allow an opportunity for mediation. This is the first stage of a struggle that will continue until their circumstances are bettered. On behalf of the employees involved, the IWA presents the following facts: were paid a base rate of $1.32Y2 an hour. They requested a wage increase of 25 cents an hour. A Conciliation Board recommended an in- crease of seven cents an hour over two years. This majority award was rejected by the employees in a government supervised vote. Under government supervision they voted to take strike action by secret ballot. Their picket lines have closed down the Company’s main operations. ? Co. Ltd., Fort Macleod, were paid a base @ rate of $1.40 an hour. They requested an increase of 25 cents an hour. A Conciliation Board 1 The employees of Blairmore Sawmills Ltd. @ The employees of Fort Plywood and Lumber - recommended a series of increases to bring the base rate up to $1.55 an hour, July 1, 1964; seven paid statutory holidays and MSI coverage on a fifty-fifty © basis. The Company rejected the majority award which was accepted by the employees. A govern- ment supervised strike vote was requested and re- corded a decisive majority of the employees in favor of. strike action. proof of financial inability to pay the pro- @ posed wage increase. The employees per- form work at $1.32Y2 an hour, comparable with the work performed by British Columbia workers, only 25 miles distant across the provincial boundary, for a base rate of $1.89 an hour. The Blairmore workers process the same grades of lumber from the same species for the same market. The payment of low wages provides the employer with a profit advan- tage in the domestic and U.S. markets at the expense of the employees. 3 Blairmore Sawmills Ltd. gave no satisfactory and finishes plywood from sheets of veneer 4 Fort Plywood & Lumber Co. Ltd. assembles @ peeled from logs in British Columbia mills. B.C. workers are paid a base rate of $1.89 an hour for the initial processing; Fort Macleod workers are paid a base rate of only $1.40 an hour for the finishing stage. below the average weekly earnings in Cana- @ = dian manufacturing. A survey made of com- modity prices has disclosed that the costs of living in the area are higher than for the higher-paid British Columbia lumber workers. Surveys made by family welfare agencies have shown that the annual take- home pay is dangerously below the standards re- quired for decent family living. 5 and profits are at an all-time high in the @ lumber industry. The industry was never in better shape to meet the legitimate demands of the lumber workers. 5 The wages paid in these operations are well Production, shipments, orders on file, prices interest. The migration of poorly paid skilled @ workers to higher wage areas will retard the development of the Alberta lumber industry. Experi- ence has shown that the family buying power de- rived from adequate wages stimulates business activ- ity in the surrounding communities. 7 Sub-standard wages are not in the public cumstances described above, only because strike action is now the only remaining alter- native method of protest. The employers control the employment opportunities by right of ownership. When denied satisfactory employment conditions, workers must exercise their legal civil right to with- hold their labour until fair conditions are established. The right to strike is the equalizing factor for workers in an industrial dispute, but is-invoked by the Union only as a last resort. As the employers have failed to take advantage of opportunities for mediation in these and other disputes in the lumber industry, the [WA proposes to the Alberta Provincial Government the appointment of a Commission of Inquiry. Labour unrest in the Alberta lumber industry has reached the point where a full and impartial investigation should be made. This advertisement is published by the Western Canadian Regional Council of the International Woodworkers of America, AFL-CIO-CLC, 2859 Commercial Drive, Vancouver, B.C. HOCLUAOUUEUUEOOOOOUEOOEOEECEOEOEEOOOEOEOOOEOOOEOEOEO AAA AEENUEEEOAETEOEEESEEAPEEE TEETER EEE The Union supports strike action in the cir- HITTITE all