THE WESTERN CANADIAN LUMBER WORKER 1st Issue Feb. 1965 OUR PURPOSES By WYMAN TRINEER President Local 1-357 TWA (Excerpts from an address before the Rotary Club, New Westminster, February 11, 1965) : E development of western democracy over the past two hundred years has made the trade union movement an integral part of our industrial life. The evidence of history clearly indicates that trade unions are here to stay. Suppress them or outlaw them, and chaos would result in our industrial relations. Encourage trade unions to function in service of their aims, and enormous advantages will result as our na- tional production expands. a E regard trade unions as one of the bulwarks of de- mocracy. Broadly, we accept the idea that everyone should have an equal chance for a reasonable development as individual human beings, irrespective of the accidents of birth and fortune. We have always prized the basic rights of freedom of speech and association and the ultimate value of men and women as individuals. These ideals of democracy underline trade union purposes. Of course, we are well aware that democracy is what it actually does, not always what it says. “TRADE UNIONS have been and are still necessary to promote the welfare of the workers. years, they have constantly waged the battle for the full en- joyment by the workers of the amenities of decent living. Without this collective action on the part of the workers, their interests would have been submerged, as they have been submerged in areas where workers have been denied the right to organize.” “a=RADE UNIONS maintain collective bargaining — the only democratic method known to stabilize labour-man- agement relations. “Collective bargaining is vitally necessary for the workers in this modern industrial complex. The average individual worker cannot bargain successfully on his own behalf. If he speaks for himself he is likely to get fired. The employer controls job opportunities by virtue of his rights of ownership. Without the regulatory influence of collective bargaining, employers can set the terms of employment according to their whims, and in the past many have done so without regard to humanitarian considerations.” “J BELIEVE that if we mutually determine to make collec- tive bargaining work, as it can and should, we will de- velop a system similar to that now found in Sweden. There, well-organized employers meet well-organized unions at the national level and mutually agree on standards which are regarded as essential for the national welfare. “g=R ADE UNIONS must now spearhead national coopera- tion to solve the problem of rapid technological change in industry. Technological change is now revolutionizing in- dustry with profound effects on the job security of the work- ers. Too many workers are being discarded as redundant and the old forms of job security are rapidly disappearing. E are not opposed to technological progress. That would be sheer folly. We ask only that technological progress in industry be so planned and managed that the greatest good will result for the greatest number. Unless our people as a whole can share in the rewards of the vastly increased productivity, our machinery of production will slow down again because of declining consumer demand. “IT IS surely incredible that we should now plan for more subsidized unemployment, such as now exists, as a way of life. We must plan full employment as the proper solution for many of the problems bred by technological unemploy- ment and which prove so costly to the taxpayer. “mattis recent report of the Economic Council of Canada states much of what the trade unions have been saying for years. We need to create another one and a half million jobs by 1970 or else. These new jobs will not appear by hap- penstance. We must have the type of economic planning that will make these new jobs possible. “Many of the problems caused by technological progress are beyond the scope of collective bargaining and require the genuine cooperation of labour, management and govern- ment, I suggest that the time has come for a public demand for action before it is too late.” Published twice monthly as the official publication of the ocm,: INTERNATIONAL WOODWORKERS OF AMERICA, Bassi Western Canadian Regional Council No. 1. Affiliated with AFL-ClO-CLC Phone 874-5261 Grant MacNeil MMIII 1 9 ... Fred_Fieber 2859 Commercial Drive, Vancouver, B.C. : as Seeond Class Mail, Post Office Department, Ottawa and ey payment of age in cash. - : epee 27,500 copies printed in this issue. Throughout the - PRESIDENT'S DESK ut No Cheers From Labour UR Union has good reason to be pleased with the results of the recent confer- ences arranged by the Regional Executive Board for the planermen, the plywood work- ers and the tradesmen. All three conferences were well attended ‘and fully representative of these sections of the indus- try. The discussions were fruitful and shed light on the problems of the workers concerned. All recommen- dations were immediately placed before the Regional Executive Board. Such conferences pro- vide a democratic ap- proach to the solution of problems which otherwise may become unduly controversial. The discussions pro- vide a means to obtain a consensus of opin- jon among those affected by the problems and encourage a pooling of opinion and information to lay the basis for united action. O cheers where heard from the trade union corner, when Premier W. A. C. Bennett celebrated his 12% years of Prem- iership with the leaders of the business com- munity. All -his achievements were loudly extolled by the employers which evidently proves that they are well satisfied with his shackles for organized labour. The record of his government’s labour legislation has provided little aid and comfort for the trade unions. Here it is. 1 952 — Premier Bennett forms a Social Credit Government. 195 4 — His government enacts Bill 28, substituting the Labour Rela- tions Act for the ICA Act. Over labour’s protest, greater powers are given the Minister of Labour to control trade unions and restrict strike action. The IWA is the target for harsh By JACK MOORE treatment and names the day of the Bill’s introduction “Black Thursday”. 1959 — Over trade union protests, the Legislature passed Bill 43, amending the Trade Unions Act to — be proven. being sued. 1959 ing rights. 1961 Limit picketing during a legal strike. Hold unions responsible for the actions of any of their members, until innocence can Make unions legal entities for purposes of — When faced with a strike of civil servants, the Social Credit government amends the Constitution Act, (Bill 123) to prevent strike action by banning picketing of all public buildings. Civil serv- ants are deprived of their collective bargain- — Bill 42, sponsored by the Social Credit government, prohibits trade union contributions from membership dues for political purposes. This Bill tightens the restrictions on trade unions, especially with regard to collective bargaining and strike action. The Minister of Labour gets the right to by-pass a union’s negotiating Committee and submit an offer from any source. i Loopholes placed in the Act, enable anti- . labour employers to evade responsibilities in regard to collective bargaining. Said the IWA, “No embarrassment for ignored. trade unions is considered by the Govern- ment as too great or too small in Bill 42”. 1952 = 1965 B.C. Federation of Labour on behalf of the trade unions in the province were invariably — Annual submis- sions made by the All submissions: made by the organized employers, during the same period were given consideration, and subtly introduced into labour legislation or in its administration. “Avoid Scrapheap!”’ When asked by the Van- couver Times, whether he agreed with a statement made some years ago by John L. Lewis, IWA Regional Presi- dent, Jack Moore, made the comment appearing below. The statement attributed to Lewis was: “Better to have one half million men working at good wages and high liv- ing standards than to have a million men living in poverty and degradation.” When interviewed the Re- gional President said: STATEMENT “The situation in which John L. Lewis made his state- ment is vastly different from that which obtains in this province’s basic forest prod- ucts industry. Mr. Lewis faced a sharp decline in the coal mining industry. The members of the IWA are working in an expanding in- dustry with an increasing world demand for its prod- ucts. “The B,C. lumber industry is undergoing rapid techno- logical change, quite as revo- lutionary as the moderniza- tion of the coal mines. The IWA believes that with proper adjustment to this technological change the pres- ent working force can be re- tained at productive and re- munerative employment. No member of the present work- ing force should be required to live in poverty and degra- dation because of redun- dancy. “While the technological change is under way, labour, management and government can co-operate in various ways to avoid an industrial serapheap for discarded workers. Work schedules can be reduced to spread the available employment. Train- ing for the new skills de- manded is now vital. Labour mobility must be aided to match skills with jobs. “Unless distribution of wage income is kept in balance with the vastly increased pro- ductivity, consumer demand on production will decline, thus causing. increased un- employment.” A draftee claimed exemp- tion on the grounds of poor eyesight — and brought his wife along to prove it. - Dca ‘FLY B.C. AIR LINES’ * "