B.C. LUMBER WORKER

May 21, 1953

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PAPER MAKERS TURN TO IWA_

_ One thousand workers in the Howard Smith Paper _ Mills, Cornwall, Ont., have declared their lack of confi-

The IWA-CIO commenced its campaign in Cornwall after re- ceiving numerous requests from workers at the Howard Smith plant for assistance in building an aggressive industrial union local. The requests of the How- ard Smith Paperworkers for liberation from the old AFL Union came shortly before the Canadian Congress of Labor as- signed the IWA the job of uni- fying the Forest Product Work- ers of Canada, including wood, pulp and paper, into one large union, capable of protecting the workers’ interests.

Challenge Accepted

The IWA accepted this chal- lenge and has launched its drive to bring unity into the ranks of all workers in the Forest Indus- tries and its by-products. The necessity for this move can be seen in negotiations now going on between the Pulp & Paper

dence in their former AFL bargaining agency, and have

turned to the IWA. An application has been made by them | to the Ontario Labor Relations Board for- establishment

of bargaining rights through the IWA.

Companies and the AFL.

The Companies are requesting a wage cut in an industry which has and is reaping them millions of dolars in -profits. Only one strong union can fend off the’ wage cutting demands of the operators.

CCL - CIO Leads

The GIO and the CCL through industrial unionism have led th parade for Canadian workers i the great industrial units in Ca- nada. For all of Canada’s major industries including Steel, Auto, | Packing, Textile, Rubber and Coal are under the banner of the | CIO and the CCL.

The workers in the last great section of Canada’s industry, the Forest Products, including pulp and paper workers, are now tumn- ing to the IWA to duplicate the achievements of other great CIO and CCL Industrial Unions.

CCL SPEEDS F.E.P. BILL

Firm stand of the Canadian Congress of Labor against all forms of racial or religious discrimination was made explicit in a statement made by CCL Secretary-Treasurer Donald MacDonald when, by special arrangements, his voice was heard over the IWA Green Gold radio program,

May 14.

“These are busy days in Ottawa. Parliament has been rushing to complete its business before the coronation and a number of bills have been referred to special committees of the Commons for detailed study. That is a custom- ary practice. The committees meet in a more informal atmos- phere than prevails in the House of Commons and they are able to take evidence and listen to the views of people and organiza- tions outside parliament.

Legislation Watched

It is part of the responsibility of the Canadian Congress of La- bor as a central labor organiza- tion, to watch the proceedings of these committees, and recently we have made representation to the Industrial Relations Commit- tee on two bills which are of con- siderable interest and importance to both organized labor and the general public.

One of these deals with Fair Employment Practices and is de- signed to combat the discrimina- tion against individuals because of their race, color or creed. The

other bill has to do with check off of union dues.

FEP Bill

The Fair Employment Praec- tices Bill is sponsored by the government and was introduced in the House of Commons by the Minister of Labor, the Hon. Mil- ton Gregg. We, in the Canadian Congress of Labor, are stréngly in support of the principle of this bill. A free and democratic labor movement is traditionally oppos- ed to discrimination.

The constitution of our orga- nization states our position in these words ‘The Canadian Con- gress of Labor stands unequivoc- ably, the equality of treatment, regardless of race, creed or color, and recommends to all affiliated organizations that they oppose discrimination on these grounds wherever it may appear.’ As a matter of fact, this bill which is now before parliament, prohibits discrimination by Unions as well as by employers. We certainly have no objection to this because

Moy 29th.

Ist Vice-President 2nd Vice-President Brd_ Vi oer a 8 -Treasure International Board Member

Publication date of the next issue of the B.C. LUMBER WORKER is June 4th. Deadline for ad copy is May 28th and for news copy

PUBLISHED TWICE MONTHLY BY INTERNATIONAL: WOODWORKERS OF AMERICA (Cl0-CCL) B.C. DISTRICT COUNCIL No. 1, <=>

DISTRICT OFFICERS:

“ Address all communications to GHORGE H. MITCHELL, Secretary-Treasurer 45 Kingsway - Phone FAirmont 8807-8 Vancouver, B.C.

Authorized as Second Class Mail, Pest Office Dept., Ottawa 24,000 COPIHS PRINTED IN THIS ISSUE

J. Stewart Alsbury

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Feo

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Illustrated is the Cruiser’s |. Stag of pure virgin wool in mackinaw or kersey. Mackinaw plaids are either red and black; green and black, or blue and black.

pack pocket in back, which

These are two of the

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Notice the four large pockets in front, and the large

feature of both mackinaw and kersey garments, Brand” clothing obtainable from your commissary

Made in Vancouver, B. C., by Jones Tent & Awning Ltd., they are designed through careful study of the needs and desires of B.C. workmen.

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opens at both sides... a

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we have nothing to fear from it.

Deserves Support

We believe that the measure is one which deserves the whole- hearted support of parliament, and of the Canadian people as a whole. It provides penalties to be imposed on those who are found to be practising discrimi- nation to the provisions of the bill.

Unfair Practices

Now we have no illusions that the compulsory sections of this bill will suddenly reform employ- ers who may be inclined to practice discrimination. But we do think that having a specific law, supplemented by educational activities, will do much to im- prove the situation. Canada is a country of many peoples, whose joint effort makes our land what it is. Yet we all know that there is still a tendency perhaps not as strong as it once was, but there js still a tendency to place em- phasis on groups of people be- cause of their nationality, their color or their religion.

These discriminatory practices differ in various parts of the country. In some places for in- stance, the fact that one is French-Canadian may be a seri- ous handicap to say the least, in obtaining a job. In another sec- tion there may be bitterness against anyone who is a Jew. In some places the fact that the man or woman is of dark skin places very definite restrictions on the contribution he or she can make to society.

Prejudice Fought Such practices are, of course,

contrary to our democratic be-

liefs and to the basic philosophy of Christianity. We, in the labor movement have fought against these prejudices for many years. The Ganadian Congress of Labor and the Trades and Labor Gon- gress of Canada have worked jointly to meet this problem. So it is natural that we welcome the government sponsorship of this bill, We do feel, however, and ve pointed this out to the com- mittee, that in some respects the original bill needs strengthening.

We are anxious to see that definite provision be made for an education program to accompany the law and widen its acceptance. We feel that a serious weakness of the original measure is the failure to specifically prohibit the use of employment application forms which include questions about the racial origin, creed, color or nationality of the person looking for work.

OTTAWA — If the ratio of police to the population is any guide, British Columbia must be a rough place while Prince Ed- ward Islanders are comparative angels.

D.B.S. reports that at last count the ratio of police per 1000 population was highest in British Columbia at 2.8 and lowest in

B.C. RATED TOUGH

Prince Edward Island at 0.9.

Newfoundland had the second highest ratio at 2.5 followed by Alberta with 2.0, Ontario with 1.9, Quebec with 1.5, New Bruns- wick with 1.3, Manitoba with 1.2, Nova Scotia with 1.1, and Sas- katchewan with 1.0, The national average was 1.7 policemen for every 1,000 people.

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