OLLOWING the woodworkers’ big strike of 1946, which sparked the gréatest wage struggles Canadian workers have ever calducted, it was hoped that there would be an end, at least for some time, to open warfare be- tween industry and labor. It was hoped that, having witnessed these demonstrations of the workers’ determination to main- tain the Canadian standard of living, of which the govern- ment boasts abroad, the big industrialists and their govern- ment would heed the warning they conveyed. It was hoped that they would make provision, in cooperation with the _ Powerless People, for fulfilment of years of the war, promises given during the long These hopes were soon shattered. With a cunning that ©verlooked no angle for weakening labor and dividing the People, the men who are big business in our country, set out to rob the people of their eco- nomic gains and to curtail, if not destroy, the democratic means by which they had won them. pacmovel of price controls, so geet the People’s savings would vanish in the high cost of living and reappear in the fabulous Prefits reported by big business, Was one of the first steps taken. . is was followed by repres- ve legislation, designed to crip- Ple the unions and make them Seis to fight back against a acks which would take om their members the right to _ 2% decent standard of living. Peat labor has not been blind hese designs, and_ neither have the thousands of Whose Ss 0 men Bae Collective strength is la- econ The trade unions have ception, and the IWA is no ex- Shtghi - With the added mem- Pea it gained through last ee ao rusele it is now in a ads ip r Position to counter the Ployers union-busting plans. an entes to the tenth annual te aep ion of the IWA and later ae Wages and contracts con- Aaa Saw what was happening: aA set. about designing a pro- Pa Which would meet the ds of the workers and the People generally. i bee Program they drew up call- ee first for increased wages, 20 ars an hour across-the-board, + Stribute consumer purchas- & Power and maintain a rea- ee balanicee between what ti can produce and what we can Shah The union is not unaware. bis e fact that unless this condi- mae is obtained we are headed Share eon: It is also fully being ® of the fact that exorbi- Profits will speed us into dha: depression, for it is profits a Cena off the buying power the e Bie thereby creating Satie ulled crisis of over-pro- tee union’s wage demand is 5a “cea arbitrary figure pluck- ie the sky to make catchy aha ns and stir the member- P to struggle.” The figure is scientifically ar- Meh based on two main con- Rots ons—the need of the abilit ts in the industry and the mand of the industry to pay. *Tices have soared to the point, Ree Workers must strain. thelr Eanes to reach for them. Ask 4,» housewife what happens to 1 me no further for the answer. a is there any question of the ity of the industry to pay 3 What the workers, through their Maloa, are demanding. 25 look at the financial reports Some of the companies will Sive the answer, Canadian West- ite Lumber Company increased 5 asad surplus’ in 1946 over iy 122 percent; H. R. Mc- 1) Bier ’ esc a oe Yi l VE a i @ They couldn't gag Paul Robeson by Harry Fistell _. | - @ = ‘Madeleine Parent is here’ by Frank Arnold __ Weekly cheque and you need | JPIGB | Hitec fsauin ole \, ae Ard itl ae Millan Export Ccmpany upped its by 111 percent; B.C. Pulp and Paper increased its ‘take-away’ pay by 96 percent, These are only a few instances, but they show that industry can certainly pay the increase asked and stay profitably in business. HE IWA’s second major de- mand is for a reduction in the hours of work to “eight in any one day and forty in any one week.” And again the de- mand is not only reasonable—it is a necessity. It is no secret that even today in Canada we are faced with a growing unemployment situation. The high-sounding plans the gov- ernment had for full employ- ment have not materialized and it is time to take steps to divide ‘the available work amcng those who are willing and able. _ This, of course, is important to the workers because they know that when there is a re- serve of manpower available to employers it has an immediate effect on the living standards of all. But the most outstanding and the most reasonable argument in favor of the shorter work week is the increase in the workers’ productivity. In the logging and lumbering industry of British Columbia man-hour productivity increased by an average of eight percent in 1946 over 1945. : The benefits of this increased output are now going into the pockets of the employers and swelling their profits, The union realizes that the standard, of living can only be ' bettered as a result of increased productivity, but unless. the workers get the returns in fair measure, increased productivity has little to offer in the way of better conditions, ; The only reasonable solution is periodically - to shorten the hours of work in proportion to the increase in efficiency. In British Columbia’s lumber indus- try this adjustment is long over- due. @ HE IWA’s third main request this year is that a benefit fund be established out of the profits of the industry.