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(RUSS R EL

:

NAWSON Miners Union, Local national, and its jurisdiction 564 upheld the frontier tradi- probably covers more ground

tion of the Yukon by becoming than any. :

the first local union to be organ- ized into Mine-Mill in the Can- adian Northwest. It is also the farthest north local of the Inter-

to operate in

ration with a

It was chartered August 1944, holdings of the

Yukon Consolidated .Gold Corpo- which,

virtual

OU eM EMOTE OE OC CME ETE Tr Te Tt) TTT fit fit ft ft Itt TT

monopoly of the Yukon placer fields, has nearly a dozen camps sprawled out in a fifty mile radius around Dawson.

This situation, and the fact that the placer mining is seas- onal, serves up some peculiar problems to*the local, which up to now has never failed to solve them with the resource and cour- age of traditional pioneers.

From April until November

One of the most active parties, the region will become one of the favored industrial and pro- ductive sections of the coun- try, =<

It’s a long time since Bob Henderson discovered gold on the creeks in 1896, and maybe

the black sand shows less color

than in ’98, But the mother

MM ee

Mine-Mill’s Yukon local

todes are still there, and the Yukon will yet be the source not only of gold ore, but of te more useful metals without which no civilization can ioe

©

survive. Nee @ Reprinted from The Union official organ of the Inte! national Union of Mine, Mill and Smeiter Workers. ;

the local has about 400 members, but for the rest of the year the mebership drops to around one- tenth that number while the Yukon holes up with the bears for the long Arctic night.

Former International repre- sentative ‘‘Wild Bill” Montgom- ery used: to service the local from Alaska, but it is now taken care of by International representa- tive Barney McGuire from his headquarters in Prince Rupert, B.C,

Placer mining today in the Yukon Territory has few of the romantic features attribut- ed to it by Robert Service and “the Trail of ’98’’ enthusiasts. It is hard, painful work in high-powered dredges, with thawing out machinery and all oe the panoply of big business. . :

The day of the individual plac- 3 A. tts AFTER THE GROUND is thawed then the dredging takes

er miner has almost set in this : : corner of the Far North. place. This is the final work in recovering the placer gold. Ten (10) dredges in all are in operation by the Yukon Gold

a i 3 ee Rey ee s

%

GROUND IS FIRST of all stripped of trees,

brush, ete., also the top soil, then the thawing process takes places. Thaw-

eit ing is done by % inch pipe and water. The pipes driven into vo the ground have a tempered point to enable breaking through large rocks. Pipes are driven by hand with a 25 pound hammer.

THE

es

The company takes full ad-

tt | TEE EEE TE TOE OY PEt dy WY Ta 0 1 . : - vantage of its monopoly, and can Mining Company. 4 3 FOR FISHING FACTS... . READ —.__= pull powerful strings in govern- dint a : ment circles at Ottawa to insure al = THE FISHERMAN = that its operations are not sub- i = : g ‘c , Ian = jected too much to the precau- : “Labor’s Voice in the Fishing Industry’’ = tions and restrictions that sur-- LABOR DAY GREETINGS 301 Powell St. - MArine 1829 - Vancouver, B.C. = T0Und mining in organized prov- jm Rm mmm ste a 6 * . Workmen’s Compensation ‘ SS é VANCOUVER’ DISTRICT aimendments’ were réeently B.C. District Union METAL & CHEMICAL WORKERS’ UNION =| fougnt. throush by the local : | oh as Local No. 289 which still leave much to be de- INTERNATIONAL UNION of ‘ : Sends tet D G ti +tOeAH sired when compared with Brit- 3 : er ends Lapor ay Greetings to ish Columbia, but are infinitely whet Ont PATER ane unas oe MINE, MILL & SMELTER WORKERS | — j rade Unions : : { prevailed betore. : ~ — sm miimnimirast PULOCO OOM OEE eMC Me MCE ne MPC ene Te The local, under the leader- : — : \ ‘ = ship of Mike Comadina, who FRATERNAL LABOR DAY GREETINGS = is also an alderman of Daw- ' Groen t , = son City, is demanding that YECIAD S19 From the = the Territorial Government ‘ 1 = : = stop the practice of bringing ALL TRADE U NIONISTS ~ = 2 = in surplus labor, and with Bob ‘ = Shipyard General Workers Federation Minet, executive member from ' a POUR Une hb tL Li Beach Creek, is pressing for from

¢

more observance of govern- ment sanitary measures, and for the inclusion in regulations of a first aid man in every a camp, such as is compulsory elsewhere in Canada.

SS _ LABOR DAY GREETINGS i ’ ~from

‘United Association of: Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and .- ' Pipefitting Industry e i of the United States and Canada Righ now the temperature in

| FOCAL UNION No. 170 Dawson will be hitting 90 de-

: j grees. Six months from now it 1 may be 60 to 80 below. During,

May, June and’ July the city has “ LOCAL 901 hut three monhs ottwienteni | NELSON & DISTRICT MINE & MILL ‘ WORKER’S UNION, MINE-MILL

compensate for this later.

land of contrast and extremes, The Union that represents the Miners throughout the West this city had 50,000 population Kootenay. SubLocals at Remac; Emerald; H. B. Mine; Ainsworth; Cork Province; Kootenay Florence; Whitewater; —

fifty years ago. Now it has a scant thousand. Zincton; Rossland and the Diamond Drillers at Salmo.

TRAIL & DISTRICT SMELTERWORKERS’ UNION, $.U.M. M. & S. W.

T

LABOR DAY GREETINGS a

from

West Coast Seamen’s Union (Canada)

Extends Labor Day Greetings To All Organized Labor and Friends

i MArine 4947 61 W. Cordova Goer ee Success to Organized Labour Everywhere p its own, and that with road pee, Fi facilities to “the Outside,” in 2=——=—=—=—=—=1OE=I0r omnor————0mor———s09 4 ; ° e : promoting which Local 564 is ‘ He ct te ; LABOR DAY GREETINGS Wee SUEUR EL 1 / LABOR DAY GREETINGS : Trade Union ALL WORKERS from Research Bureau \

from

Local No. 649

COPPER MOUNTAIN MINERS’ UNION

LABOR. CONSULTANTS

sends Labor Day Greetings

UNITED FISHERMEN and

———S$ -° =20&————=

sonore

UT Tee tt) At Tt

; ALLIED WORKERS’ UNION 339 W. PENDER o ‘HEADQUARTERS PA. 5831 Box 42 Copper Mountain, B.C. iM ; UTE TH Te Cr ty ar | MM et Tt aT ESIOr " (0) mt (0) mom = (0) == (0) mom ne) ed ; eg

PACIFIC TRIBUNE — AUGUST 29, 1952 — PAGE 10