12 THE WESTERN CANADIAN LUMBER WORKER LABOUR NOT TO BLAME: HOUSING SCANDAL BARED BY VANCOUVER LABOUR COUNCIL The Vancouver and District Labour Council has complete- ly refuted employers’ claims that labour is responsible for high housing costs. The Council recently issued an attractive bulletin on hous- ing prepared by the Trade Union Research Bureau, which shows the real culprits are the land speculators and money lenders. According to the research bureau, a 1,200 square foot of “suinea pig” bungalow on a 33-foot lot on East Hastings ow costs ot anes basic price of $27,10 The bureau says that 18.2 per cent of this cost, or an, - 000, goes towards the land. A further 24.1 per cent, or $13,- 253 is eaten up by materials, services and profit. The remaining basic cost of $3,847, or seven per cent, goes towards the wage cost of the on site labor. But since most home buyers - years ago. have to rely on a government- backed National Housing Mortgage, the total cost climbs to $54,939, on a 10 per cent mortgage totalling $27,839 over 20 years. According to the bureau this is the cheapest housing price now available in the city for a standard sized bungalow. “In 1959,” says the research bureau, “the carpenters’ wage rate was $2.80 an hour gross, or $2.63 after income tax de- ductions. Thus it required 40 hours work to meet the monthly payment of $105.05 on a ‘guinea pig’ house. “By 1969, his wage rate had risen to $4.88 gross, or $4.15 after tax. But the monthly pavment on the same house had risen to $206.33. “So it now takes 50 hours’ pay to meet the monthly pay- ment. Therefore, in terms of ability to buy back his own product the carpenter is 20 per cent worse off than 10 ” The average price of a home in Vancouver has risen by 80 per cent in only 10 years, notes the bureau which uses figures supplied by the Great- er Vancouver Real Estate Board. “Believe it or ous it says, “the actual cost of building an identical 1,200 square feet bungalow, including w ages, materials, and even the con- tractor’s profits and overhead, increased by only 30 per cent. “The real increase has been in the cost of the land, which has gone up more than 175 per cent and interest, which has gone up more than 135 percent, during these past 10 years.’ The research bureau sug- gests that the city could stop inflation in land costs by leas- ing, rather than selling, its building lots and using exist- ing legislation for low cost housing with provincial and federal aid. INFLATION — WHY? 1 THE HOUSING SCANDAL INTEREST 50.7 "T “SS f; fn , ——— each ip pis ill «ssa MATERIALS LAND Re 20.1% 18.2% — Who profits from inflated housing prices? The cost of housing has risen out of all reason, but the carpenters, plumbers, electricians — and other workers who built the house have had nothing to do with it. The fact is that a carpenter's wages today will not buy him as much housing now as his wages would have bought him ten years ago — not by a long shot. The fiction that high wages are responsible for inflation is spread by employer groups, real estate interests, and finance corporations (including the government-spon- sored Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corp.) to divert attention from their own irresponsible speculation and profiteering. $ ' LOGGERS’ SPORTS SCHEDULE OF EVENTS Hight areas in B.C. have been awarded sanctions, by the Canadian Loggers’ Sports As- sociation (CANLOG) to stage loggers sports events in 1970. With the CANLOG sanc- tion goes the right to stage a Canadian Championship ‘event in loggers’ sports com- petition. Canadian Champion- ships will be held in the fol- lowing events in 1970, log birl- ing, axe throwing, hand buck- ing, spring board chop, power saw bucking, speed climbing, obstacle pole bucking. Six sites hosted Canadian Championship events last year as the sanctioning body for loggers’ sports. The aim of CANLOG is to bring a central organizational structure and safety standards to the sport. Ultimately the governing body expects to sanction events across Canada. Last year events were stag- ed at Woss Lake, Mission, Sooke, Port Hardy, Squamish and the Festival of Forestry at the Pacific National Exhi- bition. This year Terrace and Hope have been added to the list of CANLOG — sanction- ed events. Named to the CANLOG’s 1970 board of directors at its annual meeting Tuesday were: Mrs: Andrew Ceven, Esso Terry Burt, Squamish; W. D Moore, Festival of Forestry; Mario Caravetta, Pacific Na- tional Exhibition; Jube Wick- heim, Sooke; George Humes- ton, Port Hardy; Garry Payne, Woss Lake; Ken James, Hope; Bill Lloyd, Prince George and Larry Eckhardt, Vancouver. : SCHEDULE OF EVENTS St Location ates Reyra cee ee May 30-31 Woss Lake .. Di eee A ea June 6 WigSiOn oe June 27-28 Sooke == 2 July 11 Port Stee July 25 Seq i nisha —nnn ences August 1 Le Nationa Exhibition —._.. NO ee eve, 22 - Sept. 7 . September 13 Hope - HOUSTON DISTRICT COUNCIL DEFEND Editor’s note: The following news story and letter are reprinted from the “Houston Today.’ The story expresses the concern of the Houston District Coun- 2. . Al A letter was read at the re- cent meeting of the Houston District Council from two of the twenty men who will be faced with unemployment once the new mill starts oper- ation. The writers outlined their plight, that as a condition of employment in the new mill, membership in the IWA Lo- cal 1-424 -will be necessary. On grounds. of religious con- victions they are unable to sign a membership card of this particular union, and thus The Editor, eee Eedey: Dear Re: at editorial entitled “Voice Concern” and the News item under the heading “Council Concerned with Ob- jectors” in the March 11, 1970 issue of Houston Today. I wish to make the follow- ing comments. It was a great shock to read in your paper that the Houston Councilmen have written a letter to Pre- mier A. Bennett to change the Democratic Laws governing our Canadian way of life. It should be pointed out that Premier Bennett and his Social Credit Government were elected by a majority of the people in the province and that the IWA was granted Certification to bargain for S WRONG GROUP cil over the plight of twenty members of the Christian La- bour Association who will lose their jobs because they refuse on religious grounds to join the IWA which now has certi- fication for the new mill at Houston, three hundred miles north of Prince George. The letter is a reply from an IWA member at Houston to the Houston Council. COUNCIL MEETING will face loss of seniority and subsequent dismissal. The letter requested the help in any way possible of the elected body, as dismissal would cause hardships on the families involved, and that if unable to find alternate em- ployment, moving to other areas might be necessary. It also stated that most men involved have been long-time mill employees and residents of Houston. Council decided that to give IWA MEMBER the Bulkley Valley Forest In- dustry employees under the same democratic process. The Social Credit govern- ment passes legislation that all the people of the province don’t approve of and find some of it to be very objectionable, but they still have to abide by the legislation if they want to live in the province and re- main free citizens, The twenty men who object to joining the most democratic union in the province are no worse off than the thousands of people who object to the kind of legisla- tion passed by our govern- ment, Bill 33 for example. I have worked with these 20 workers here in Houston for nearly three years and know of their religious be- liefs. One is that they will not work on Sunday. The new direct assistance, within the laws of the province a letter should be sent to the Premier, Mr. W. A. C. Bennett indicat- ing that “although present laws cannot be changed over- night, something should be done to provide alternate em- ployment for these persons.” A copy of the letter is to be sent to MLA Cyril Shelford. Council expressed its con- cern over the plight of these twenty millworkers, conscien- tious objectors, and assur them of their sympathy. POINTS OUT mill complex is to operate on a 7-day continuous basis and should be an objectionableitem to these people but no mention is made of it in your paper. Possibly because it has a bear- ing on your political future. ese same people used to represent the employees of this Company in Houston and I have seen Canadians (my own son included) put out of their jobs in order to put their ~ church members to work. If this is the kind of legis- lation you and the Council- men wish to have enacted in British Columbia, I would suggest that none of the Coun- cilmen are worthy of the posi- tion they hold and should be removed at the earliest pos- — sible date. a submitted, WARD G. O'DINE Ke