B.C. LUMBER WORKER

April 5, 1951

Spotlight On Three Labor Issues

] Labor Board Ordered To Re-hear Trail Case

Order of the Supreme Court of British Columbia, directed by Mr. Justice Clyne to the Labor Relations Board will compel a further hearing at an early date of the appli- cation of the United Steelworkers of America to be appointed as the bargaining authority for employees of the Consolidated Mining and Smelting Co. at Trail.

The order of the Court reads in part:

“,.. the said Labor Relations Board (B.C.) and the members thereof .-.. are hereby command- ed forthwith to hear and accord- ing to law make determination on representations from the said Local Union 4281 as to whether or not the said Board will re- consider its decision of the 6th day of May whereby it refused the application dated the 11th day of March . . . for certifica- tion as bargaining authority... .”

Board Pays Costs

The Court ordered costs for the action to be assessed against the Labor Relations Board, and paid to the Steelworkers Local Union.

Vote Preferable

In the reasons for his judg- ment, Mr. Justice Clyne stated in part:

I cannot refrain from obsery- ing in a case of this kind, where there is obvious rivalry between two unions, it would appear to have been wiser to have taken a properly super- vised vote by secret ballot in a democratic fashion so that the wishes of the workers could haye been ascertained without immediate pressure, instead of allowing what appears to have “been, a disorderly scramble to obtain signatures to mentber- ship cards... . °

“At the hearings held before the Board each rival union sought to convince the Board that it possessed a majority of the members of the unit of em- Ployees. It is difficult to

understand how this point could have been decided with judicial faitness and exacti- tude Without a vote, as appar- ently some employees signed membership cards in both unions and there does not ap- pear to haye been any means of deciding which union the employees truly desired to rep- resent them.

“It is obvious, however, that one of the main points of con- tention was as to whether cer- tain members of the unit of employees who had not paid an initiation fee or monthly dues were in fact members in good standing of the Steel- workers Union... . 2

“By judgment dated the 19th day of May, Mr. Justice Coady held that an employee may be- come a member in good stand-

ing in such union without payment of dues. ... “. 4. as such it was both

material and relevant to the issue before the Board.

“Whether or not the mem- bers of the Board took the same view of the law as Mr. Justice Coady, I do not know, as the Board did not see fit to elaborate its reasons for re- jecting the Steelworkers’ ap- plication. . . .

“In passing, it ‘should be ‘pointed out that Boards such as this, which are invested with very wide powers, would avoid the criticism of acting in an arbitrary and bureaucratic manner if they gave full reasons for their decisions.”

$ Capilano Dam Award Violates ‘ICA’ Act

Contravention of the ICA Act is alleged by CCL Unions in the concession proposed for the AFL Build- ing Trades Council in the contract awarded Gilpin- Nash Ltd. for the Capilano Dam.

The AFL body represented on}

the Greater Vancouver Water Board by Alderman Birt Show- ler fought the award of the con- tract to the lowest bidder, Gilpin- Nash Ltd., unless that firm agreed to sign Union agreements with the Council.

A resolution moved by Mayor Fred Hume proposed to grant this concession.

Objection Filed

Immediate objection was filed with the Board by the B.C. Federation of Labor. It was pointed out that the ICA Act re- strains employers from imposing any condition in a contract of employment which prevents any employee from exercising the right to belong to a union of his choice,

An instruction to the employer to sign an agreement with any one union in advance of the freely expressed choice of the employees in the bargaining unit would be in serious violation of the Act.

The prospect is that this clause is proper tad eo ae agreement reference will be made to the courts.

Operating Engineers

The situation is further com- ated, as the AFL Operating

had previously signed

@ master agreement with the As- sociation of Roadbuilders and Construction Contractors establishing conditions and wage

- rat those usually found the Build-

sulted in a contest between two influential AFL bodies.

It was also emphasized by B. C. Federation of Labor officials that 75 percent of the work on the dam does not involve the building trades and is actually a field of heavy construction in which a CCL Union, Operating Engineers, Local 16, has made considerable headway. §

The contention of the CCL Unions is that the disputed clause in the contract be amended so that it merely requires the company to sign union agree- ments; leaving choice of a bar- ing agency to the employees.

AID FOR S-E ASIA

CCL national secretary Pat Conroy believes that it would be a good investment for Canadian locals to help provide funds for leadership training in unions in South East Asid,

He made thi8 point when he announced the ‘opening of the compaign, in line with the CCL decision at the 10th convention in September to help workers in India, Pakistan, Taba’ Indo- China and Malaya,

“Let's deal. with the threat of Communism to free peoples by action, not just words,” said Con- voy.

The ICFTU have already estab- ished an office in Singapore, and

2 300,000 Signatures Wanted By Apr. 12

Call to action has been issued by the B.C. Federation of Labor to all B.C. trade unions affiliated with the CCL to rally in support of a monster petition for repeal of the Hospital Insurance Act amendments or a provincial gen- eral'election. Similar action is te be recommended to all

AFL unions.

Here is the call of the Federation:

To All Affiliated Unions

Organized labor in British Columbia has accepted the re- sponsibility of providing the agency through which the citi-

ganizing Shop Steward’s meet-

ings, then we suggest you immediately contact the other unions in that area to organize

zens of the province can voice| Work parties to get these peti-

their objections to the manner in

which the Provincial Cabinet and | the Legislature have: dealt with |

the Hospital Insurance Act. Time is short.

probably prorogue April 15th.

sary that we have the petitions signed and returned to the Fede- ration office or those points on the Island where a collecting agency has set up sometime be- fore April 12th. It is also neces- sary, if we are to do a proper job, that we have at least three hundred thousand signatures to the petitions. For we make the following sugges- tions:

On receipt of this lett contact your Shop Stew: and Executive Members and, if situated in Vancouver and dis- trict, have them attend without fail the meeting called for Thurs- day evening, April 5th, in the Boilermakers’ Hall, at 8:00 p.m. In other parts of the province if there is not a Labor Council or other organization already or-

soon

: please

tions signed.

)We must or- | ganize fast. The Legislature will | after | It is therefore neces- |

that reason |

Following are some suggestions for carrying out this work:

Have everyone in the plants and shops sign the petitions.

Attend all meetings where there is the probability of a large gathering of people, and haye them sign the petition.

On the week-end have people on the street corners and at any business thoroughfare where there is a probability of people congregating.

Actively encourage support from any other group of citi- zen bodies who are willing to work with you on this matter.

It is the intention of the Federation, when the petitions are gathered in, to have a dele- gation proceed to Victoria and present them to the Legislature. This is our opportunity. Let us carry it out to the fullest degree!

Trusting that we will have your fullest co-operation, I am,

Your fraternally, George Home, Secretary-Treasurer.

The petition, which conforms

IMMIGRANTS REQUIRE PROTECTION

In a report to the Greater Van- couver and Lower Mainland Labor Council, President Lloyd Whalen, Local 1-217, IWA, stated that a number of recent immi- grants to this country have been found in serious distress.

In certain instances, injui had been sustained, causing ther loss of employment. They were unable to secure Unemployment Insurance as insufficient contribu- tions had been made. Thus they were deprived of income from any source.

The Council delegates sus- tained his view that the Federal Government should guarantee

lsecurity for those in this plight

until they qualify for Unemploy-

ment Insurance benefits.

to the formula prescribed for petitions under the rules of the Legislature, reads: .

The Petition of the Under- signed humbly sheweth:

That while we recognize th need far an adequate hospital

insurance program for the people of British Columbia, the additional premiums and. co- insurance proposals, as’ adopt- ed at this session of the Legis- lature place an impossible financial burden on many thousands of our citizens,

Therefore we urge the Legis- lature to withdraw. the ’provi- sions for additional payments, or alternatively, to place the question before the electorate of British Columbia.

and your petitioners in duty bound will ever pray.

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