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34,000 copies printed in this issue

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Published as the offi Western Canadian Reg

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lumber worker

! publication of the INTERNATIONAL WOODWORKERS OF AMERICA Council No. 1

Affiliated with AFL-CIO-CLC.

Sth Floor, 1285 West Pender Street, Vancouver, B.C. V6E 4B2 Phone 683-1117

Editor — Clay Perry

Busine:

Manager — G. A. Stoney

Forwarded to every member of the IWA in Western Canada in accordance with convention decisions. Subscription rate for non-members $2.00 per year.

PRESIDENT’S CORNER

J. J. Munro, Regional President

IT IS A HARD THING TO SAY, BUT IWA members should grit their teeth and refuse to cross those crazy pulp- workers’ crazy picket lines. No union and no labour movement can live with a policy of members respecting only those lines that they are in agreement with.

But you can’t say that without saying at the same time that Dear God those are crazy, crazy picket lines. A union that has suffered terribly from long, traumatic layoffs bites the bullet and signs an agreement that is the best it can do, given the shape of the industry and the inability of their membership to endure a long strike.

Two other much smaller unions, with a combined membership of less than one-third of the first one, unions that have suffered much less from layoffs, decide that they will ignore the wishes of the vast majority of the industry’s workers, and beat the first unions set- tlement by picketing out that first union’s membership. .

God knows how this lunacy will end. But one thing is.sure. Those who con- ceived and executed this lunacy will bear the responsibility for the damage done to this movement’s most valuable weapon — the picket line.

SIGN EDUCATION PETITION

We, the undersigned, want to express our concern and dismay at the state to which higher education in this province is being reduced,

The B.C. government is refusing to. pass on the 20% increase (some $84 million) in

additional federal grants for post-secondary education made available under the Estab- lished Programs Financing arrangements, diverting these to other purposes instead. It has drastically cut back the amount of money available for student aid, and ensured that spiralling fees will keep stu- dent enrolment rates in B.C. among the lowest for Canada. It has placed the concept of academic tenure in jeopardy, and threa- tened the autonomy of B.C. universities and colleges. One institution has already been slated to close — David Thompson’s Univer- sity Centre in Nelson.

We therefore urge the federal government to consider imposing the same sanctions against provincial governments that divert funds from higher education as the new Canada Health Act proposes to do with governments that allow extra-billing. The maintenance of a quality university and college system in this country, accessible to the largest possible number of students, is at stake.

Name

Occupation

Please write your MLA and MP to express your concerns about financial cutbacks in Higher Education.

Frederick Chairman, Burbidge Canadian Pacific William President, Stinson Canadian Pacific BRAC C.P. Rail Member Clerk

IAM C.P.

Member Machinist

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FAMILY LIVING STANDARDS

DROP

For the second year in a row family incomes failed to keep pace with inflation.

In 1982 (latest available) average family income in Canada rose 6% per cent to $32,435 but, after taking the consumer price increase of 10.8 per cent into account, real family income dropped 4 per cent — the fourth drop in the past six years. Without exception, family living standards were lowered in every province as real incomes dropped from coast to coast.

Families headed by women were much worse off last year, on two counts, than male-headed families. First, their average income at $17,923 was close to doubled by male-headed families who had incomes averaging $34,230. Second, families headed by women experienced a real income drop of 11 per cent compared with a 3 per cent decrease for those families headed by men.

CANADIAN POVERTY

In 1982, the number of families and unattached persons living in poverty in Canada rose drastically.

According to Statistics Canada’s low- income lines, 912,000 families and more than one million unattached individuals live in poverty.

The incidence of poverty jumped in just one year from 14.7 per cent of the population to 16.8 per cent — swelling the ranks of the poor to over 4 million.

Sources: Information in this bulletin is based on data from Statistics Canada.

THE PAY-OFF

1982 Contributions to Policital Parties |

Canadian Pacific Ltd. Noranda

Royal Bank

SUDDENLY AMERICA WAS

HIS MARINES To DIE IN FAR-OFF

STANDING TALL 0)... wo cosr Te RuNTon cso 0

1981 1982 Increase %

$456,307 $531,417 $75,110 16.5 235,771 319,621 83,850 35.6 13,728 15,375 1,647 12.0 22,360 25,043 2,683 12.0 Liberals Conservatives

$50,000 $50,000

$21,415 . $21,500

$30,300 $30,000

BILLIONS IN. 2 “, THE MAKING

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4/Lumber Worker/Spring, 1984