ee ae : PS P. L. [. B. MEN Members and officers of Local 1-288, IWA, claim that they are now fighting for the maintenance of proper stan- dards of grading for B.C. lumber intended for export. Rigid protection for the use of the registered grade stamp has become their chief de- mand as they engage in con- ciliation proceedings with E. P. Fisher, Conciliation Officer in charge. The leasing of the stamp by use for untrained personnel is vigorously op- posed as a menace to B.C. lumber export prospects and the professional qualifications demanded by the Pacific Lumber Inspection Bureau. The evidence accumulated by the Local Union officers points conclusively to abuses by unscrupulous lumber ex- porters using the stamp to sell lumber inferior to the grade stamp indicated. This development has mys- tified the entire lumber in- dustry. The Pacific Lumber Inspection Bureau is the cre- ation of the lumber companies as a non-profit organization. Hitherto the strictest rules for grading have been en- forced to maintain an excel- ROD BEATON President lent reputation for the stand- ards of B.C. lumber exports. The integrity of PLIB inspec- tors has never been question- ed. The grade stamp on B.C. lumber has been accepted as proof of the grade in the world’s markets and lumber prices have been set accord- ingly. The mystery arises because Via Ladd ss Lud Lda dldddleddd died ddd ddd LLL LLL LLL LLL of the apparent disposition of the Bureau to permit a lower- : ing of standards. Certainly, it is not to the advantage of the large exporters, say the PLIB inspectors. They sus- pect that the smaller Interior operators desire to unload some of their inferior grades in a manner that will capture top prices in a booming mar- ket. These more unscrupu- lous exporters are prepared, they say, to take a chance on the claims which are already mounting. Onlookers find it a strange happenstance that the em- ployees must fight to protect the interests of the large com- panies. It is noteworthy that the inspectors take a fierce pride in standards of inspec- tion which have stood the test of time. The PLIB ‘inspectors are also demanding an increase in wages equivalent to the wage demands of the IWA in the recent coast negotiations. This will mean an increase across the board of seventy cents an hour (to include the mooted tradesmen’s increase). Under the proposed new scale wages will be as follows: y Ke “Welcome to Port Alberni’ A sign recently placed on the highway leading into the strike-bound Alberni Val- ley must have made all who read it do some sober thinking. It read: ty LLL LLL LLL LLL LLL LLL “Welcome to the beautiful Alberni Valle Bloedel and Powell River Limited.” Obviously it bothered the government as highway department officials had it re- moved shortly after it was put up. ULLAL Ld Led LLL LLL LLL LLL LLL LLL LLL LLL Jones Appointed New M.S.A. Director Appointment of Mr. H. Wyndham Jones to the posi- tion of Executive Director and Secretary - Treasurer of Medical Services Association was announced by Fred Fie- ber, President of M.S.A. and IWA Regional Council Sec- retary-Treasurer. At the same time Mr. Fie- ber announced with regret the retirement of Mr. A. L. McLellan, for reasons of health, from the top posts of the medical service plan. Mr. McLellan, who has served in the same capacity for the past twenty-three years, will con- tinue to serve M.S.A. as a consultant. Mr. Fieber noted that dur- ing the time of Mr, McLel- lan’s direction of the admin-_ istration of M.S.A., the plan ikigitididblabsdhgn Quote “| remember Ross telling me the secret of politics,” says an old friend, “He used to speak on almost W every subject that came up | at (Moose Jaw) Council. WL Lid He said you didn’t have to N Creelman. grew to a membership of well over half a million. Mr. Jones, who will take over the positions vacated by Mr. McLellan, has been As- sistant Executive Director of M.S.A. for eigheen years. He was educated in Vancouver, and has been active in a number of organizations re- lated to his work, including the Trans Canada Medical Plans and the Western Con- ference of Prepaid Medical Care Plans — an internation- al organization. Ross Installs Auxiliary Officers Paul Ross, 2nd Vice-Presi- dent of Local 1-80, IWA, in- stalled the following newly elected Ladies Auxiliary of- ficers of the Local Union in Duncan. President, Sister Wright. Vice-Pres., Sister Juben- ding Sec Ss ordi retary, Sister Semchuk. Financial Secretary, Sister Alldred. Warden, Sister Powers. Conductor, Sister Hancock. Three-year Trustee, Sister Anderson. Two-year Trustee, Abercrombie. One-year Trustee, Sister Sister ha eS eee y, owned and operated by MacMillan, LMM ddd “LL SICK LIST Sisters J. McMichael, Y. -Daly, Sophie Rosen and Lilly Rebeyka of the L.A. of Local 1-357, IWA, visited the following patients in. the Royal Columbian Hospital from April 14 to June 8, distributing candy, cigarettes and copies of Western Canadian Lum- ber Worker. George Stampher, Rayonier (N.W.); C. Moore, Flavelle Cedar; M. Sage; Geo. Barry; Gordon Laughington, Can. Forest Products; William War- awa; Joe Gallina, Rayonier (N.W.); Fred Blake, Crown Zellerbach; Joseph Dorgan, Douglas Plywood; M. Sorenson; H. Dewar, retired; H. Blair, Westminster Shook Mills; James Lawrence, Flavelle Cedar; Jerry LaFleur, Timber Plywood Div.; S. A. Ballentyne, Crown Zellerbach; Manuel Madeiros, Flavelle Cedar; Roy Calbick, Douglas Plywood; J. Spenst, Kelowna; H. Griffin, Haney; R. J. Stewart, Walden Bros.; John Lazaroff, Port Alberni; Paul neau; L. Van Poele, retired; J. R. Carpenter, McMillan, Bloedel; Harold Kitchell, Can. White Pine; Frank Trent, former member; Geo. Fleming, Rayonier (N.W.); Joe Chev- alier, Flavelle Cedar; Jack Bekker, Rayonier (N.W.); Charles Dliegon, Industrial Mill Service; Robert Ram- say, Timber Plywood Div.; Roland Bon- Perron, Rayonier. (N.W.); Steve Bourgeois, Pacific Veneer; Rai Na- har, Rayonier (N.W.); John Lactin, Crown Zellerbach; Otto Christenson, Mill & Timber Products; M. Tropi- ano, Stoneback Construction; Wm. Reynolds, Caine Bros., Prince George; M. Haradja, Timberland Lumber; B. Cobb, Pacific Veneer; Bro. Orr, Crown Zellerbach; Bey Timberland Lumber; , Fillinger, Lebrandi, Pacific Veneer; Wm. Ton- saker, Rayonier (N.W.); E. Banst, Pacific Pine; G. Newshane, Can. White Pine; Bro. Wigness, J. & M. Shingle; S. Tkachuk, Anderson Bros.; Charles Davis, Crown Zellerbach; Lee Palmer, Fraser Mills (retired); J. Kuthaway, Bay Lumber; Peter Chodachek, Pacific Veneer. Railway car loadings for the first four months of 1964 total 1,201,584 or nearly 15 per cent more than a year ago. Grain, iron ore and build- ing materials contributed to the heavier traffic. Department store sales rose 9.4 per cent in March to $125,492.00 from a year ear]- ier and sales have increased by 12.6 per cent to $349,291,- 000 for the first three months of the year. } { THE WESTERN CANADIAN LUMBER WORKER CHECK GRADING ABUSES RON GRANT Financial Secretary Per Hr Steady Inspectors ___.. $3.37 Borrowed Inspectors __. $3.37 Per Day _ Transient Inspectors __. $28.69 An additional increase of 15 cents an hour in the differ- ential for the second shift and 10 cents an hour for the graveyard shift is also de- manded. The demands stipulate that 2nd Issue June, 1964 inspectors shall be competent and qualified and that new men hired shall be required to hold diplomas from recog- nized Lumber Manufacturers’ Associations. A more liberal vacations- with-pay policy is demanded in line with the demands made by the IWA in the coast negotiations. oO 5 Other demands relate to : competency and seniority, ac- | cumulated sick leave and a number of technical improve- ments in conditions of em- ployment for inspectors. The PLIB inspectors have already negotiated a retire- ment pension program but now ask for improvements in the Health and Welfare pro- gram, which is incorporated with the FIR Health and Welfare program of the coast lumber industry. A satisfactory settlement of the PLIB dispute is of intense interest to the IWA at large. PLIB inspectors are on duty in nearly all important IWA- certified operations and any - open conflict would have seri- ous repercussions in the Union’s. labour - management relations. CHALLENGE Unsafe Bridge Causes Loggers To Lose Jobs © A telegram sent to P. H. Gaglardi, Minister of High- ways, June 17, by Jack Mun- ro, Business Agent of Local 1- 405, IWA, charged that sev- enty loggers employed by the Kootenay Forest Products Limited have been laid off work because of the high- ways department failure to maintain provincial bridges in the Nelson area. Munro made the charge after a loaded logging truck plunged fifteen feet into the swollen Lardeau River when the Howser bridge collapsed. The driver fortunately es- caped with minor injuries. The bridge was a main route for logging trucks, Mun- ro reported, and the highways department had been repeat- edly warned that it needed repairing. He was also highly critical of their lack of interest in the safety of those using pro- vincial bridges. “It’s a well-known fact a local logging company had to drive piles under a highway bridge in the same area last year which likely prevented the same type of accident happening,” he said. So far he has heard noth- ing from Mr. Gaglardi and with the bridge out, the laid- off loggers will remain out of work until the Company can find new areas to log. He said this was a bad break for some of them who had onlv returned to work in June following a four-month layoff. Wheat flour exports in Feb- ruary of 2,917,000 hundred- weight, compared with 787,- 000 hundredweight last year, © ‘reflect Russian purchases for herself and Communist allies including Cuba. 4