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THE WESTERN CANADIAN LUMBER WORKER -

VW

-USE THESE FACTS

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The employers say that the IWA demands are not real-

' jstic. The Union says that the industry was never better able

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to meet the demands. It is the year when the employers are

able to provide living and working standards for lumber

workers that meet present-day requirements for families in the average community.

The following facts prove that the industry was never in better shape to share more generously with the workers.

‘ PRODUCTION

Last year, the coast lumber industry produced 3.30 billion poard feet of lumber. This is the highest production record in the history of the industry. Production was seven per

_ cent higher than the previous year and will be higher next

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year. SHIPMENTS

The coast lumber industry shipped 3.36 billion board feet of lumber last year. This is another record high for the in- dustry. Actually, the employers shipped more lumber than they produced.

INVENTORIES

The inventory of logs in the water is lower than usual.

ORDER FILE

On January 1, 1964, orders on file totalled 642.2 million poard feet. This is the best record for ten years. Orders on file represent an excess over ten weeks of production. The employers are now filling orders for June and July shipments to the Atlantic seaboard.

PRICES Prices for lumber, plywood and shingles have all risen between six and twelve per cent.

* CHIP PRODUCTION

Pulp chip deliveries to pulp mills in 1963 were 24% higher than in 1962.

PLYWOOD The production and shipments of plywood is now at an

- all time high and will follow the upward trend next year.

] 85% of plywood production is sold in the Canadian market -

* with little competition.

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« estimated

PROFITS

Four large companies grossed $114.9 million in 1962. (The 1963 statements are not yet available to the Union, but quart- erly reports indicate a still greater swing upward). It is that the total gross profits for all companies, both private and public, in 1962 was $135 million.

B.C. Forest Products Ltd. almost doubled its profits in

* its 1963 fiscal year, according to press reports. This indicates

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the upward trend of profit-making. Other companies did equally well or better. It may be estimated that all companies, both private and

|_| public, grossed in excess of $300 million profits in two years. | $ PREMIUM

The employers continue to enjoy the advantage of the devaluated Canadian dollar in relation to the American dol- lar. The exchange situation has added millions to the employ- ers’ profits. On every dollar’s worth of lumber sold in the _ United States and paid for in American funds the employers _ make around seven cents extra.

_ PRODUCTIVITY

The output per man hour has increased substantially. Consequently the labor costs in producing 1000 board feet of lumber has likewise decreased. The increased output is partially due to the new technology, displacing workers, and partially to the speed-up, which often demands that one man should do the work formerly performed by two.

Loggers reported at the Wages and Contract Conference that one logging division, which formerly employed 1000

~~ loggers now produces more logs with 500 loggers. The huge

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mobile equipment has wiped out whole classifications of workers in the woods.

The employers make their money from the natural re- sources of the province. They should therefore accept a greater measure of social responsibility. They can do this by increasing wages and thus stimulating business activities with the increased buying power in the hands of the lumber work- ers. The lumber industry is the major basic industry in the province, and furnishes over fifty per cent of the income which sustains business activity.

These employers can also meet their social responsibility by meeting the Union’s demands regarding overtime and an- nual vacations, and thus keep the displacement of workers ' down to a minimum.

The employers claim that they should hang onto their

_ huge profits in order to undertake further capital expansion.

means that they expect the workers to continue to sub-

sidize capital expansion out of low wages. But, they have

already increased their net worth enormously and piled up huge profits at the same time.

Note the following from the Financial Post, Jan. 4, 1964.:

“A $1,000 investment in the shares of MacMillan, Bloedel

and Powell River Ltd. (then H. R. MacMillan Export) in

1947 would be worth $11,960 today and income from dividends would total $3,368 for a 16-year investment performance of . OUTLOOK. MB

th re) & PR shares currently trade at { and sell at 14 times estimated earnings of $1.80 to yield 3.9% ... At the current price of $25% the shares con-

tinue to appear attractive for capital appreciation over the _ medium to long term.”

JUNE LING CHAN, winner of the $250.00 IWA (New Westminster) Credit Union Scholarship. June is attend- ing the University of British Columbia where she is major- ing in home economics.

GORDON WERSCHLER, Grade 10 student at the Vin- cent Massey Junior High School and an Essay Contest winner of $50.00 in shares in the IWA (New Westminster) Credit Union.

CAROL POPP, Grade 11 student at the Queen Eliza- beth High School and an Essay Contest winner of $50.00 in shares in the IWA (New Westminster) Credit Union.

Fort Plywood Workers Seek Strike Vote

Fifty employees of the Fort Plywood and Lumber Co. Ltd., Fort Macleod, Al- berta, are now compelled to ask for a government- supervised strike vote, it is reported by Regional Ist Vice-President Jack Mac- Kenzie. Local 1-206, IWA, acting for the employees, had demanded an across- the-board wage increase of 25 cents an hour to bring the base rate up to $1.55 an hour.

A Conciliation: Board re- commended a wage increase of 15 cents an hour for the next contract year. This was accepted by the em- ployees and rejected by the Company.

It is anticipated that the strike vote will be held on or about March 19.

PAUL PARTA, a long-time member of Local 1-80, TWA, never missed a Union meet- ing until he retired from work. Now 83 years of age, Mr. Parta is enjoying his re- maining years at his home in Ladysmith where he still takes an active interest in IWA affairs.

ARMY PAY?

In 1961-62, the army un- dertook a special militia training program, recruiting 90,000 men for six-week courses.

Each needed a medical check at the start and the end of the course. The doc- tors who made the checks earned up to $400 a day.

—from Toronto Telegram

| False Evidence Given

Board Reinstates Man Fired at Englewood

The ruthless dismissal of an IWA member by camp ad- ministrator MacIntosh, Engle- wood Division, Canadian For- est Products Ltd., was set right by an Arbitration Board recently, which found that a gross injustice had been per- petrated. Regional Secretary- Treasurer Fred Fieber ap- peared for Local 1-71, IWA and Percy Lawson, former CLC representative, served as the nominee of the Union on the Board. The majority award was made by Chairman C. R. J. Skatfield and Law- son, with T. E. H. Ellis, Q.C., the company nominee, dis- senting.

The arbitration proceedings were followed with close in- terest by coast loggers who have formed their own opin- ions about the company of- ficials involved. Victor Hein, a cookhouse flunkey, failed to report for work on Octo- ber 13, 1963, because of ill- ness. It was established by Fieber that the grievor had made at least two. distinct at- tempts to- notify the head

cook of his predicament. The first aid man was out of camp, and those entrusted with the message for the head cook failed to transmit it.

Management attempted to discredit Hein’s former em- ployment record, but in this the Board declared that Mac- Intosh’s evidence was “eva- sive and unsatisfactory” and not to be believed.

The callous attitude of the camp administrator was also made clear in Fieber’s pre- sentation. MacIntosh had made no attempt to check out the facts before he offhand- edly dismissed Hein. One reason given for Hein’s dis- missal was that he failed to apologize for his absence from duty due to illness.

The Board was satisfied that the Union’s representa- tive had brought out the truth of the circumstances, and that, by inference, false evi- dence had been given against the grievor. The Board stated, “there is no justification for the dismissal”.

nadian Lumber Worker.

KING’S DAUGHTERS

n an Neilson, Lake C

CHEMAINUS HOSPITAL Mr. Edward Everts, Chemainus; Mrs. Olga Turok, Chemainus; Mrs. Fred Lawes Chemainus.

NANAIMO HOSPITAL

Mr. Toby Farrell, RR No. 1, Wel- jingteny Mr. Otto Harms, Kelsey ay.

LADYSMITH HOSPITAL e Jackson, Ladysmith; pads ering

ith; Mrs. smith; Mrs Caroline Twentyman, Ladysmith Mrs. Ronald Lind, Quatsino; rs. nm, Gabriolas Mrs.

adysmith; .

: Theodore Geernaert, Ladysmith.

Duncan L.A. Officers

Following are the names of the newly elected officers of the IWA Ladies Sub-Auxil- iary in Duncan who were in- stalled by Ed Linder, Finan- cial Secretary of Local 1-80, IWA.

President, Sister Ada M. Mitchel; Vice-President, Sis- ter P. James; Financial Sec- retary, Sister Helen Lamant; Recording Secretary, Sister V. Cunningham; Warden Sis- ter Doreen Clements; Con- ductor, Sister Bea James; 1- Year Trustee, Sister M. Sace; 2-Year Trustee, Sister Lynn McDonald; 3 Year Trustee, Elnore Mulholland; Sunshine Committee, Inez Taylor, Lunch Committee, Pauline Jones.

peeme meteorecie ey Canadian wheat exports and flour in the first five months of the year begun August 1 total 255,100,000 bushels against 144,000,000 a year ago. ;