6 z B.C. LUMBER WORKER

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[T is a distinct pleasure to follow the time-hon-

ored custom of our fraternity, and extend to all fellow-workers, on behalf of the officers and mem- bers of IWA District Council No. 1, most cordial wishes for the good things of life in 1956.

I express this sentiment with optimism because our Union is dedicated to the fulfillment of this wish. The growth and achievement credit- ed to the IWA. in 1955, is the best possible assur- ance that it will serve the well-being of its membership even more capably in the year ahead.

The first major event on our 1956 calendar will be the annual District Convention. On that occasion the Union will hear the details of its best year in this province. :

_From the standpoint of membership strength and prestige, our Union has reached its highest point. The record of a dues-paying membership in excess of 33,000 is the best possible evidence that the Union has served the lumber workers well in the past year. :

The contract settlement reached by negotiation in 1955 will automatically bring to the workers in the industry a wage increase of 5 cents an hour across the board on June 15th, together with an additional paid statutory holiday. :

Quite apart from the monetary gain, thus secured by the Union, the two-year term for the master contract will enable the IWA in this proy- ince to devote all its energies in 1956 to the further development of its organized strength.

The program to be outlined at the approaching District Convention can be given continuous pro- motion, without the usual seasonal interruption of bargaining, with its inevitable preparations for a struggle with the employers.

This period of respite from bargaining will be utilized to the advantage of the lumber workers. The changing needs of the times will suggest new contract demands. It is necessary that due con- sideration should be given such matters, and that plans should be carefully laid in advance of their presentation.

In recent years, the IWA has taken significant strides forward in the sphere of trade union edu- cation. This educational work has contributed greatly to the growing vitality of the Union. It has been reflected in the membership enlighten- ment which has reinforced membership control of the Union’s affairs. In 1956, we anticipate that our educational program will command even greater interest.

1956 will be a year in which the Union will ex- tend its effort to organize the unorganized. In the

. Interior of the province, and in Alberta, we must continue the campaign to protect a vulnerable flank. Our work in the field of accident prevention will also be expanded along similar lines.

Throughout the ranks of the IWA, the merger of the American Federation of Labor with the Congress of Industrial Organizations has been welcomed with enthusiasm. The finalization of the merger in Canada is awaited with eagerness by our people for the same reasons. Labor unity is pushing back the horizons of opportunity for the attainment of labor’s ultimate objectives.

Unity will furnish the trade union movement with greater strength in its economic offensive to secure an equitable share of the wealth produced by labor applied to the natural resources.

Unity will also enable the trade unions to com- mand the better attention of employer-dominated governments, in the shaping of saner legislation dealing with the health and welfare of the workers. ‘ 4

We may not only wish for ourselves but pre- dict for ourselves a still more rapid march toward our goal in 1956 than at any time in labor’s history.

JOE MORRIS, President, IWA District Council No. 1

Lo

*Wou Too, Have a Big Year Ahead

Pending Merger Betters Outlook .

By A. R. MOSHER President, Canadian Congress of Labor

As we enter the New Year, we are all conscious of the fact that relations between the free and democratic na- tions and the Soviet bloc are still extremely serious, and that comparatively little success has attended the efforts to bring us closer to peace and goodwill in world-affairs. We may take some pride, however, in the work which Canada has been doing at the UnitedéNations, and we may be grateful that our country is in an especially privileged

position in dealing with matters of this kind.

On the domestic scene, it is heartening to note that the gen- eral economic situation has im- proved considerably during the past year. From the standpoint of industrial production, Canada has made great strides, but there are a number of depressed indus- tries in which employment is be- low that of last year, and the continuing reduction in farm- income has created a critical situation, affecting the whole economy of the nation.

Automation

Public attention has been drawn recently to the great in- crease in the adoption of auto- matic machinery and other de- vices, covering not only produc- tion, but accounting and office records and similar types of work.

Automation has been adopted in the automobile, petroleum, and other industries, greatly increas- ing production, and reducing the number of employees involved in particular processes. Insurance companies, banks and other finan- cial institutions have found that automation greatly simplifies their work, and it is obvious that automation will be utilized on a constantly-increasing scale.

The Labor movement does not object to automation, but it does insist that the benefits of increas- ed production be distributed equitably, and also that plans be made for maintenance of employ- ment and purchasing power.

Strength in Merger

Canadian workers are looking forward in the New Year to the merger of the Trades and Labor Congress of Canada and the Ca- nadian Congress of Labor, which will become effective in April next. The establishment of the Canadian Labor Congress, with a membership of over one mil- lion workers, will enable the La- bor movement to extend its orga- nizing activities, and to bring within its ranks the large num- ber of workers in various fields who are still unorganized.

The important work which has been carried on for some years in

the field of research will be ex- panded, and it is anticipated that the legislative activities of the new Congress will be much more influential, in view of the fact that it will be able to express the views of such a large body of Canadian citizens. Labor has be- come an important national insti- tution, and will be able under the new set-up to play a larger role in national affairs.

At the same time, Labor is willing and anxious to cooperate with other sections of the Cana- dian people in every effort which may be made to promote the gen- eral welfare. We recognize that, while Canada has made impres- sive progress in a great many respects, there is still much room for improvement of standards of living, for the protection of indi- viduals against discrimination and injustice, and for the build- ing of a nation of which we all may be proud,

The new national Labor body which will be created early next year should enable the Labor movement to contribute more fully and effectively than in the past toward the attain- ment of these objectives,

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ey EE

Alex B. Macdonald

Barrister & Solicitor Notary "Public

751 Granville Street VANCOUVER, B.C,

Telephone TAtlow 6641

SOLICITOR TO THE 1, W. A.

CCL HOME OPENED IN OTTAWA

OTTAWA (CPA) — The $230,000 white stone home of the Canadian Congress of La- bor was officially opened here recently. In an address of wel- come to the packed gathering — of guests, CCL Secretary. ~ Treasurer Donald MacDonald said that the new three-story building will be the headquar- ters of the Canadian Labor Congress after the merger of © the CCL and TLC next April.

Among the distniguished visi- tors to the opening ceremony were Claude Jodoin, President of the TLC, Mayor Charlotte Whit- ton of Ottawa, Labor Minister Milton Gregg, CCL Leader M. J. Coldwell and members of the ex-

ecuitves of the CCL and TLC.

The packed board room of the new building was a hive of at- ~ tivity as microphones, movie” cameras and still cameras reeord- ed the scene. About two hundred — guests were present,

Mosher Painting

In addition to officially opening the building, a portrait in oils of the first and only CCL President, A. R. Mosher, was unveiled. The painting is by Eric Wesselow.

The CCL headquarters is on Argyle Avenue in the shadow of the National Museum and about

10 blocks south of the Parliament ~

Buildings,

A boy becomes a man when he walks around a puddle instead of through it.

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