hal ° : 5 , } ei Uj Ver Sittin cmtianiinie 2 cael ae) alae » n Ye ‘ tet ‘ \ | i? Ist Issue Feb., 1961 WESTERN CANADIAN LUMBER WORKER Assembly Hears Plea New Party Increases \ National Committee The National Committee for the New Party has increased its membership from twenty to twenty-five in order to provide repre- This committee is charged with the responsibility of launching and pro- moting the New Party, as set forth in the resolutions of the CCF and the Canadian Labour Congress. Joe Morris, ‘a member of the Com- mittee from British Columbia and Vice-President of the Congress, stated that he welcomed the additions to the committees. “These appointments provide defi- nite evidence of the broadly-based appeal of the New Party. We desire all truly progressive Canadians in our ranks, who seek to build a better democracy,” he said. Further appointments are expected soon to provide representation for Quebec New Party Clubs, co-opera- tors and farmers in Western Canada. The following are brief biographi- cal sketches of the new committee- men. WALTER PITMAN, M.P. (New Party — Peterborough) — The first New Party candidate to be elected to public office. At 31, Mr. Pitman has already made his mark in the House of Commons. He is a history teacher by profession. WALTER KONTAK, Antigonish, N.S. — Professor Kontak is a pro- fessor of political science at St. Francis Xavier University and is the _ sentation for farmers and liberally-minded supporters of the party. nominee of the conference of inde- pendents for the New Party held in the Maritimes. He is 40 years old. WALTER YOUNG, Toronto — Mr. Young, at present on leave of absence from the University of Mani- toba, is pursuing his political science studies at the University of Toronto. He is a nominee of the Toronto group of independent liberal-minded sup- porters of the New Party, and is 33 years old. SAM BOWMAN, Elora, Ontario —Mr. Bowman is a past president of the Ontario Farmers’ Union and is well-known and highly regarded in the Ontario farm movement. He is appointed to the National Committee as an individual representing Ontario farmers. Mr. Bowman is 36. REV. W. EDGAR MULLEN, Calgary, Alberta — Mr. Mullen has taken a leading part in the organiza- tion of support for the New Party among independent liberal-minded people in Alberta. He is chairman of the Board of Evangelism and Social Service of the Alberta Presbytery of the United Church of Canada and a vice-chairman of the Canadian Mental Health Association. Mr. Mullen is 40 years old. Wage Survey Shows Newfoundland Workers Badly Under Paid ST. JOHN’S—Some 2,000 workers in and around St. John’s are getting rates of pay ranging from $14 to $20 a week, according to a minimum-wage survey by the Newfoundland Federation of Labour. Only full-time employees are in-f cluded in the figures, which are being compiled to support federation de- -mands for higher minimum wages, now set at 35 cents an hour for women and 50 cents for men. The results of the survey were published 4 in a recent issue of the St. John’s Examiner, the labour-backed weekly newspaper in Newfoundland. Long Hours Factory workers, shop and restaur- ant workers, and service station em- ployees were interviewed. It was found in some cases that rates were actually below the minimum, and that hours were often longer than is per- mitted by law. In one of the Government's “new industries,”"’ a so-called textile mill which, the Federation says, is actu- ally a sweat-shop for making shirts and other garments, the highest wage paid on the assembly line was found to be $17 per week. Some of the workers live as far away as Foxtrap, 20 miles from the plant, and have to commute by bus at a cost of $4 per week, leaving them net earnings before deductions of $13. Out of this they have to buy their mid-day meal at “Joey’s can- teen” run by the company. Conditions in some of the other “new industries” are described as only “slightly better” than those in the shirt factory. 50c Per Hour Unskilled women workers are the worst sufferers, the Federation found, but discovered that several hundred male employees are also working for rates of 50 cents an hour and less. Many service stations employ men for $20 a week and even lower. In one service station the average rate worked out’ to 44 cents an hour, When a complaint was made to the Department of Labour, all but two of the employees were fired, and new men hired on condition that they keep their mouths shut. The Federation also found service station employees working up to 60 hours a week not only without over- time (as required by law) but even without straight time for the extra hours. Wide variation was discovered in wages paid to gas pump atten- dants: all the way from $15 to $60 a week. Hash slingers are even worse off than the grease monkeys. Restaurant employees reported that they regu- larly work 40 to 48 hours per week for wages ranging from $14 to $18. No Tipping How important are tips? They aren’t, Except at hotels, there is al- most no tipping in Newfoundland. Average earnings from this source: $3.25 a week. Starting wage for shop girls is not much higher: $15 to $16 in most unorganized stores, while male em- ployees go behind the counter for as little as $20. “There must be an immediate in- crease in the minimum wage, and enforcement machinery to see that minimum wages are really paid,” L. J. Dobbin, Eastern Vice-President of the Federation, told THE EXAM- INER. “At present anyone getting less than minimum wages has no re- course except to go to the police, and then has little or no protection against being fired.” Minimum wages in Newfoundland compare badly with those in other parts of North America, Even in the cities of the Maritime Provinces fe- male workers are guaranteed wages considerably higher than here (Hali- fax and Sydney, for example: $21.60 a week) though the cost of living is approximately 20 per cent lower than in Newfoundland. Legislative Brief Mr. Dobbin said that revised mini- mum wages will be a major item in the legislative brief which the Feder- ation is to present to the Govern- ment within the next few days. : Af Last! I do not believe that we should insist that anyone who is not with us is against us. tificates approved by nicate with § _ THE INDUSTRIAL FIRST AID 152 West Hastings Street a E, —Dean Rusk, United States Secretary of States. | POPU INSTRUCTION IN INDUSTRIAL FIRST AID available through Correspondence Courses leading ta Industrial First Aid Cer- : the Workmen’s in Duncan, B.C., will start early in January, ICFTU Hits Salazar's Regime BRUSSELS—The sensational seizure of the Portuguese vessel ~ “Santa Maria” by a group of opponents of the Salazar dicta- torship has thrown into vivid relief the anomaly of the con- tinued existence in Europe of a regime as thoroughly reaction- ary as that of Franco, and similarily supported by a number of democratic governments of the free world, the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions has declared. The coup staged by the opponents of the Portuguese dictator has given striking confirmation of the existence of a strong movement of revolt against the iniquity of the Salazar re- gime, the ICFTU said. Attention Called The ICFTU has on repeated: occa- sions called attention to the oppres- sive nature of this regime, not only in Portugal itself, but also in Portu- guese African colonies. i “Neither in Portugal nor in its African colonies do the people enjoy any normal democratic rights. Free trade unions — one of the basic pre- requisites of a democratic society — are non-existent, while in the Portu- guese African colonies forced labour is currently practised,” according to ICFTU sources. Time Has Come The ICFTU believes that the time has now come for the democratic peoples, and in particular for the world’s free trade unionists, to awaken to the need for supporting the democratic opposition to this cruel and oppressive regime and to help speed the advent of freedom both in Portugal and in its African posses- sions, the statement said. More than 50,000,000 free unionists are affiliated to the ICFTU. These items were gleaned from the files of the B.C. Lum- ber Workers February Ist issue, 1951. In the nominations for IWA District Officers, the following names appeared on the ballot for membership voting: For District President: J. Stewart Alsbury, Local 1-357 (unopposed). For District 1st Vice-presi- dent: Tom Bradley, Local 1-217, and Joe Morris, Local 1-80. For District 2nd Vice-presi- dent: Stuart M. Hodgson, Local 1-217, and Carl Mertz, Local 1-217. For District 3rd Vice-presi- dent: Fred Fieber, Local 1-71 (unopposed). For Secretary - Treasurer: George H. Mitchell, Local 1-357 (unopposed). For Six-Year Trustee: Andy Good, Local 1-217, and Roy Whittle, Local 1-118. * * * Cranbrook Local 1-405, IWA, announces that its offices have been moved to a new location and are now situated in the Cran- brook Block, No. 5 Baker St., opposite the Armouries. * * * Determination to reduce the accident frequency rate in logging and sawmill operations marked the attitude of the delegates attending the 14th IWA District Convention in Victoria, Resolu- tions on various phases of the IWA Safety programme were adopted, and approval was given to the appointment of a full-time Safety Director, finances permit- ting. Detroit, Ala., is the smallest incor- porated municipality in the state. Its Jation is 76. Compensation Board of B.C. Classes For further information commu- ATTENDANTS ASSN. OF B.C. Vancouver 3, B.C. For Unemployed Army VICTORIA: Members of the official Opposition in the Legis- lature have forced the Assembly to give greater attention to the problem of unemployment than had been originally intended. The plight of the jobless has been stated almost daily since the Legislature was opened on January 26 by His Honour, the. Lieu- tenant-Governor. The Speech from the Throne — written by Premier Bennett for His Honour — had made passing refer- ence to employment in seventy-two words out of three thousand. Despite the pomp and ceremony of the opening, Opposition Leader Strachan moved that the subject of unemployment be given precedence over other matters in consideration of His Honour’s Speech. His am- ending motion was defeated. Amendment Moved When Bob Strachan rose to take part in the debate he moved a fur- ther amendment. This stated in part— “This Legislature regrets that the Speech from the Throne gave no in- dication that the Government: is aware of the serious unemployment ” situation in our province .. .”. Under the rules of the house, an amendment must take the form indi- cated. Private members cannot initi- ate legislation requiring financial. pro- vision. The motion was defeated 31-20. The Leader of the Opposition de- voted the major part of his speech to what he termed the areas of action in the immediate future. He pressed for the implementation of the programme proposed earlier by the CCF and the B.C. Federation of Labour. One factor, which he stated could not be ignored was that as an econ- omy we have developed the ability to produce more goods with fewer people. The speaker complained that we have encouraged a dual standard with regard to participation in the productive life of the community. The average worker has a “guilt complex” if he finds himself unem- ployed; others can spend six months of the year in faraway pleasure re- sorts without a single twinge of con- science. CCF speakers who followed their house. leader during the first week all stressed the need for- immediate action to relieve unemployment dis- tress. These were, John Squire M.L.A. (Alberni); Jim Rhodes M.L.A. (Delta); Alex Macdonald M.L.A. (Vancouver - East); Tony Gargrave M.L.A. (MacKenzie); and Ran Harding M.L.A. (Kaslo-Slocan). Whats New For You MEDICAL diagnosis methods may gain from new ultra-sound image camera which “looks” into human body without use of X-rays. Devel- oped by a U.K. doctor and an elec- tronics engineer, the unit operates on very high frequency sound waves. It may have uses in industry too, for non-destructive testing of métals and other materials, for examining weld- ing techniques. * x * POWDER application to surface of water reservoir means up to 50% less evaporation, developers of new ma- chine say. The unit processes hexa- decanol into fine powder which is blown through a tube out of a moving boat. Powder floats on water surface to form thin film, reducing water evaporation. * * x TROUBLE getting your barbecue hot? A ‘quickie hot-pot” is designed for fast lighting without mess, manu- facturer says. It’s an electrical char- coal lighter — about coffee pot size — which is filled with charcoal and plug- ged into electrical outlet. After 10 minutes, red glowing coals should be ready to dump into barbecue. * je ee od FINE WOOD of your desk is visible with clear protective mat, made of transparent plastic. Mat is made with even edges which are ground, beveled and polished — allowing mat to lie flat and smooth. Claims maker: It’s able to take abuse that would shatter glass tops. * * * PROFITABLE return trip is pos- sible with new convertible auto-carry- ing trailer. It can haul four cars from factory to dealers, then be converted in 10 minutes for return with dry package freight. Conversion involves moving the runners for the second tier of cars to the ceiling of van and folding bottom runners on the trailer’s floor. * * * DICE game for kindergarten helps young learners gain familiarity with numbers. It consists of a magnetic “goose board” and noiseless dice tray. Dice are thrown by teacher, the re- sults posted on the numbered board by shifting goose-shaped cubes. Pur- pose: Link the learning of numbers to situations that child can see and understand. * * * GO-ANYWHERE scooter is de- signed for mountain climbers, natural- ists, others who travel outdoors. in rugged terrain. Lightweight (108 Ib.) and sure-footed, it has top speed of 5 mph. There are no springs, you ride on axles. Steel mesh covers all work- ing portion of rear end. It climbs steep slopes and can take shallow streams in stride. Sick List King’s Daughters Sisters Irene Alldred and Isabel Pepin of the LA Local 1-80, IWA., visited the tollow- ing patients in the King’s Daughters Hos- pital February 3, distributing candy, cigar- ettes and copies of the Western Canadian Lumber Worker. Mrs. Summer (Sr.), Lake Cowichan; Mrs. A. Fisk, Lake Cowichan; Mrs. B. Paddie, Lake Cowichan; Mrs, P. LeBlanc, Duncan; Mrs. F. Underwood, Youbou; Mrs, F, Johmy, Duncan; Mrs. A. E. Webb, Dun- can; Mrs. Neibergal (Sr.), Lake Cowichan; Caroline Bourdages, Youbou; Nels Olsen, Lake Cowichan; S, Trefanier, Camp No. 3; Ted Clark, Gordon River; Mr. W. Turko, Mesachie Lake; Mr. W. Hasanen, Camp No. 6; Mr. L. Ross, Lake Cowichan; Mr. M. Kaspers, Duncan; Mr. Jerry James, Duncan; Mr. A. McCarther, Honeymoon Bay; Mrs. N. Pickard, Duncan; Mrs, Campbell, Cowi- chan Station; Mrs. N. Stewart, Duncan; Mrs. J. N. Groeneweld, Chemainus. 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