THE WESTERN CANADIAN LUMBER WORKER

LOCAL 1-417 ANNUAL

DELEGATED MEETING

from page 5

He stated that Bob was equal to the task but without
more money to help out, his job would be extremely
difficult. ;

Munro also discussed the problems of organiz-
ing the unorganized and stated that this was the
most important problem facing the Union today. Too
few people in British Columbia realized, he said,
that unorganized woodworkers in Saskatchewan and
Manitoba were clearing as little as $15 and $20 for

two weeks while working under the most primitive
sanitary and safety conditions.

He pointed out that the better organized the
woodworking industry became, the easier it would
be to win the wage increases we were entitled to,
and the only way to do this was to concentrate by

every means possible to get these workers into

the IWA.

The other speakers brought fraternal greetings
from their respective Locals and wished the dele-
gates well in their deliberations. ;

The four Officers’ recommendations received
unanimous support from the delegates. They recom-
mended that a third business agent be maintained
on the payroll; that the appointment of Sonny Alex-
andre and Kevin Kelly as business agents be ap-
proved; and that the Local Union continue to support
the political action programmes of the B.C. Federa-
_ tion of Labour and the Canadian Labour Congress.

Other resolutions approved by the meeting called
for: :

© The federal government to abolish the practice
of forcing old age pensioners to pay income tax on
their pensions.

© Pay cheques to be delivered to employees in
sealed envelopes.

© The federal government remove the 11% tax

on building material.

A number of other resolutions dealing with such
items as holiday pay, shorter hours, statutory holi-
days, travel time, etc., were approved and referred
to the next Interior Wages and Contract Conference.

The comprehensive Officers’ Report commended
the militancy of the membership during last year’s

Southern Interior strike. It stated, “The seven and _

one-half months struggle by the members will go
a long way towards obtaining decent contract settle-
ments in future years.”

The B.C. Federation of Labour was also praised
for the excellent job it was doing in combatting the
compulsory features of Bill 33. The Report added
that the Local Union was actively supporting the
Federation’s policy on this matter.

In the Political Education section of the Report,
the Officers tossed bouquets to’: NDP-MLA’s Bill
Hartley and Bill King for their assistance during the
Interior strike. At the same time brickbats were
thrown at Social Credit MLA’s P. A. Gaglardi and
Willis Jefcoat for their obvious collusion with man-
agement and their anti-union attitude during the
‘strike.

The Report, after reference to the Regional
Council elections, noted that the finances of the
Region were at a low ebb due to the greater servic-
ing it was being called on to do for the Local Unions.
lt suggested that a per capita tax increase would
be necessary for the Region to do the required job
for the organization.

One of the highlights in the Report dealt with
the subject of unions having International ties. This
section stated in full:

“We are reaching the stage in history where our
International Union’s structure is becoming more
and more important in the lives of every Wood-
worker. While some narrow-minded unionists are
talking about unions on a nationalistic basis the
|.W.A. is talking about strengthening its international
ties. One of the main reasons that this thinking

See “ANNUAL DELEGATED MEET” page 8

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