leven Years | In the early days of woodworkers’ organization in British Columbia, union agreements were unknown. Employers refused to grant union recognition and the organizers were usually chased out of camp, if dis- covered. In isolated cases loggers would walk off the job in protest against conditions, wages and discrimina- tion. Settlements, after such job action, was usually achieved on the basis of an understanding with the individual employers. The central organization relied on reports. from the camps or the field organizers to record the prevailing scale of wages. Not only did lack of uniformity prevail, but the records regarding such matters for the early period of organization are incomplete. 19 3 6 In an attempt to stabilize wage rates, a conference held ™\ at Cowichan Lake in 1936 approved a wage scale, which was exactly one dollar a day higher than any scale authorized by the B.C. Loggers’ Association. By deducting a dollar a day from the proposed scale, it is indi- ‘cated that the general scale of wages paid in 1936 was as follows: Per Day Per Day Baker (board included) -...-....... $4.00 Engineer (locomotive) ._....... 6.50 Bedimake tates eco oe ee 3.25 Fallers and buckers (minimum) .. 5.00 Blacksrniitin sso o i ee cs as 6.00 Fireman (donkey) _-.__- = 3.70 Blacksmith’s helper -..-..---.-..-..- 4.00 Fireman (locomotive) ......- 4.50 Head boom man ..-..---.-.------------- 5.00 FileriG8.'setss) (i 2s. see 5.75 Boom man: tees 4.50 Filer i@second)) tae Suri oe es =i 5.70 Head brakeman __-....--.-_-__-- 6.00 Eitsizcidiuiman = i oe 3.25 Second brakeman =... 4.50 BIO Ke yates a ae ey eral 3.25 Bulleoc kiss mii Sings eee ne 3.25 Gas (experts eos eee 5.75 Bunk and stakemaker —_2..__- 3.50 Grading crew ss2 = ee 3.50 Gar aKMOCKe nce ose a) ait sk 4.90 Handy man (spare engineer). 6.00 Car knocker (helper) —......- 3.70 Hook*tendery 222 ok hee uh es 6.50 (Ci icieSichs Sin. RE a tee 4.25 lg rigger a ieee 2 0) eae a 7.00 Ghokerman 2 2 i 4.00 Saceinyel ieee 5.00 Cook (with board) _.._._____. 6.00 Pevernnia firs = eetea abe ne ea 6.00 Cook, second (with board) _.... 3.50 loader (Ghead))- = 6.00 DishWasie rhs shee = set Selo 3.25 Foaclera(@Seconc)) same ne 4.25 DUnipemane: =i steerer ee 4.00 lonely (Ginlitel))) — 3.75 Engineer Cunit) 8 hrs. 6.00 PlWiaoy sy Inavslq) ¢ ee ee 4.50 Engineer (cold deck) 8 hrs. ____. 5.75 Riggingers |!" cee eee 5.00 Engineer (rigging up) 8 hrs. _-. 5.00 Rigging-up man ~ _---------------- 4.00 oe ~-- Union An estimate made of the woodworkers employed was: logging camps 10,000, mills 7,000. On a vote, 447 voted to continue the strike, 299 voted against. After three months, the strike was settled with a wage gain of 50 cents a day. No union recognition was granted. li was the biggest wage increase up to that time. The loggers returned ts work but were far from satisfied. Again the Union appealed for them to re- main in the camps and organize before taking further action. Many strikers were left high and. dry and to assist them the loggers assessed themselves ONE DOLLAR A DAY. Due to lack of organization, the mill workers gained only « few cents a day. 193 7 Membership in the Union increased and new Locals were reported at Port Alberni, Cowichan Lake and Courtenay. Men were reported as working on an infamous green chain at Port Alberni for 50 cents an hour under intolerable conditions and faulty equipment. Great difficulty was experienced in making any wage increase stick, for no general agreement existed, and no legal pro- tection was available. The first Union agreement reported was between the District Council LSWU and Vanderhoof and Johnson, Crofton, a firm which cut cedar for a shingle mill at Tacoma. The agreement stipulated. that the union should be recognized as the bargaining agent, that the hours of work should be 48 hours a week with an eight-hour day, and with overtime at the rate of one and one-half after 48 hours, and on Sundays, New Year's Day, Christmas Day, and Christmas Eve. The minimum wage was to be 50 cents per hour. A safety committee elected by the employees would be recognized. In a short period, three other agreements were signed, on the basis that the employer would pay the highest rates prevailing in the industry. The sawmills were the weak spot in the organization at that time. For a period the Union exerted pressure on the employers by encouraging a boycott on Canadian lumber by organized labour in the United States. Loggers at Pioneer Timber Co. in March 1937 struck to secure better wages, and settled when the rate for buckers was set at $4.40 per day, with corresponding adjustments for other categories. At that time it was agreed that fallers and buckers would receive 55 cents a thousand and 60 cents if they finished the quarter. Englewood Camp, Wood and English, demanded and secured a wage adjustment through determined organization although the camp’s organizers had been ejected. The Union had been driven. out of Fraser Mills in 1932 and a So a = ; => 77OM | oe rs © 1 ee terete ne ns ee neem nee sn een een eee Section foreman. IS Signalman ce oS oe ee Speederman (10 hrs.) _......... 4,50 Steel Gang: 35 fet eae 3.50 Steel foreman: 20. a Tang Many? cig peas ere Track walker’ 07 Te bas 3.50 Unitook mari 202. (a ee Woodbucker ~ ~:sCO3OD Week's work to be 48 hours; train Weoodspilitter: i. le ee ee crews 60 hours. . Warctimanis 20 sa! ae ee Overtime at rate of one and one-half. The above scale has interest today because of the disappear- ance of a number of classifications as new logging methods were introduced. . Upon approval of the scale, talk of strike to enforce same became general. It became necessary for the Union to appeal to the loggers fo remain in camp and organize first. For the first time, the Union considered an industry-wide strike. The operators immediately pro- ceeded to organize company unions. In taking any strike action, the Union was without any legislative protection. In May 1936, an industry-wide strike call brought out seven logging camps, eleven shingle mills, and one sawmill. Camps 3 and 6, Youbou, led the walk-out. The issues presented by the loggers were: Union recognition, union agreements, and discussion of the proposed wage scale. The strategy was developed of striking the key camps and mills. Toward the end of May the strike broadened to include four more logging camps, Comox Lake, Bonwick Island, Cracroft Island and Sproat Lake. The Provincial Government declared itself quite openly on the side of the employers, alleging that the workers were being coerced into membership in the Lumber and Sawmill Workers’ Union. The strike forced the B.C. Loggers’ Association to set a new scale, but considerably below the one proposed by the Union. Unusual features of the strike, unheard of up to that time, were the use of airplanes by the employers to shower leaflets over the camps and the use by the Union of a radio broadcast, sponsored by the Palace Hotel, Empire Inn and Angeles Hotel. And MN ok “WE VOTE FOR A STRIKE” campaign to organize in 1937 resulted in the firing of 100 men sus- pected of union activity. A spy system was used by the employers, and reports of that time indicate that police prowler cars swept through Maillardville at night and peered through windows with flashlights to rout any attempted. union meetings in private homes. News of the progress made in negotiations in the United States aggravated the situation in British Columbia; 3,000 employees of Weyerhaeuser Co. secured a base rate of 81 cents an hour. The Union fought the bonus system for loggers, and found that many operations were paying far below scale. As organization grew in the mills, wages were upped. A wage scale repored for the Eburne Sawmill, in April 1937, was as follows: Head ‘sawyer 6 ae $1.10 Marker (green chain) -... 45 Auto airimimenr = 8 rae -60 Crane: crew | eee ee .40 Ecigermiant: 25 ee ae .70 Boom: «2.5. to 0 ee ee .40 RESaW 22s 632 es aa 50 Dry. kiln: 206 ree ae .38 ASI =) 1 (=| ype eats Goa sche ie ONDE INE 45 Sizer chain 23 .30 Carrier driver 222) ea 45 Conveyors. See ee eee Oe On or about this time some mills demanded and secured an in- crease of 22 cents an hour. A strike policy was not then advocated as in the view of the’ Union the 1936 strike had been a mistake — no real gains were consolidated, and few new members were secured, Because of the blacklist, the policy was adopted of establishing a large group of delegates in individual camps to make intimidation difficult, (Continued on Page O)