"i "WE DEMAND OUR SHARE" af . 4 "| !WA DELEGATES from the eight Coast Local Unions met in the Union’s Wages & : Contract Conference February 25-26-27, to draft the organization’s contract proposals THE WESTERN CANADIAN i= 7 $ for presentation to the employers March 16. AUTHORIZED AS SECOND CLASS MAIL, POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT, OTTAWA, AND FOR PAYMENT OF POSTAGE IN CASH. * VOL. XXXII, No. 4 ‘Message , By Jack Moore Regional President - ON hundred and twenty-five delegates elected by the eight Coast Local Unions studied the one hundred _ and sixty-five resolutions calling for changes to our Master Agreement and have adopted a sixteen point > program for our 1966 negotiations. The Negotiating Committee is now charged with the responsibility of achieving our objectives. — e The reaction to our proposals from the industry was « immediate when John Billings, president of Forest In- dustrial Relations, publicly labelled the decisions of our »” wage conference as exorbitant and far-reaching. A «> statement such as this is to be expected from spokesmen .* for the lumber industry but surprisingly it is a much milder statement than those made in past years when <; our demands were described as unrealistic or fantastic. The forest industry on the coast could meet each and every one of our proposals in full and still leave “ them enormous profits with which to expand and grow in a competitive capitalistic economy. Our Union be- * lieves that the wealth accumulated by a combination of + our natural forest wealth, coupled with the ability and “skills of the forest workers, should benefit our economy * and livelihood before consideration is given to investing » if outside the country where no appreciable benefits will 4» return to B.C. . As for our proposals being far-reaching, we agree. < Our proposals on portal-to-portal pay will establish a * far-reaching principle in our industry but this will work for better living and working standards in the future. Our proposals relating to technological change are also far-reaching in that we intend to take from the industry the exclusive rights of management to introduce new » machinery into the plants and indiscriminately lay off «workers and to replace this system with one which ald » protect the workers displaced by automation. The statements of Forest Industrial Relations that ne- then whe this year will be difficult is probably true, but when eo negotiations been anything but difficult? As chairman and spokesman for the Negotiating Committee | have the utmost confidence in each and . every member of that committee; but any Negotiating Committee is only as strong as the membership they rep- resent. It is ted responsibility of the rank and file to _ keep themselves informed of the issues and the progress r bees caged and to show the employer that indi- =, . and collectively the membership of the IWA pport the program laid down by the Wage Conference, pw are determined, come what may, to sub- . Sevir living standards and working VANCOUVER, B.C. 5c PER COPY cE SS? 2nd Issue Feb., 1966 DELEGATES ASK BIGGER BITE OF EMPLOYERS’ PIE WILL zAlziuzzzznzlQQAdLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL ddd LLL LLL LLL LALLA ALLL ULL VHLLULL ULLAL LLL LLL LLL ZI ULLAL DEMANDS Summarized 1.W.A. MEMBERS; As you have ordered through the Wages and Contract Conference, we will tell the Coast employers on March 16th that we demand: 1. A WAGE BOOST Fifty (50) cents an hour across the board for all. 2. PORTAL TO PORTAL PAY An eight and one half (8%) hour day for loggers from marshalling point back to marshalling point. 3. EXTRA SHIFT DIFFERENTIALS Fifteen (15) cents an hour more for afternoon shifts, twenty (20) cents an hour more for graveyard shifts (except short shifts). 4. LONGER VACATIONS WITH MORE PAY 3 weeks after 1 year with 842% pay 4 weeks after 5 years with 104% pay. 5 weeks after 10 years with 124% pay. 5. ONE CONTRACT FOR ALL No work to be farmed out unless under contract conditions. 6. NO STRIKEBREAKING No orders to handle “hot’’ goods or to pass through a recognized picket line. 7. SWING SHIFTS Swing shifts to be the rule in all operations. (Except graveyard shifts). 8. DOUBLE PAY FOR OVERTIME Doubled rates of pay for all present overtime work. 9. IMPROVED JOB SECURITY The right to negotiate crew adjustments to new pro- duction methods or machines. ANOTHER PAID STATUTORY HOLIDAY Boxing Day in the logging camps and at Easter time in the plants. SICK LEAVE Accumulated sick leave with pay. Zz 10. WILLE LL Ll. dL LLL LLL dob 11. See “DEMANDS”—Page 6 By Staff Reporter With firm and united deter- mination, 125 delegates from the eight coast local unions attending the Wages and Con- tract Conference in Vancou- ver February 25-26-27, laid down sixteen “musts” for the 1966 bargaining package. Top of the list was a wage demand for 50 cents an hour across the board in a one- year agreement. The economics of the coast lumber industry, as reported on. in full by International Research Director Walter Simcich, revealed that the record prosperity of the in- dustry had not been shared with the workers. Profits reported had reach- ed a height which had given seven large companies com- bined more than 200 million dollars profit a year since the last settlement. Production, shipments, or- ders on file and market pros- pects are also bredlnace rec- ords, the facts disclosed. An inescapable conclusion was that increased output per man hour, lowering labour costs per unit of production, had piled up phenomenal pro- fits for the employers. So great are these profits, that a story in the Fincsciat Post was headed: “The way money is pouring in from B.C. forests you’d think trees are made of gold.” Not overlooked during the conference was the fact that living costs have jumped to an all-time high in recent months. See “BITE”—Page 6