Continued.

LUMBER

lumber

Oo Say a t prospec “The factors that have set coast lumbermen gnawing at their finger nails are largely man-made and, therefore, sub- ject to change. Some industry leaders have a speculative eye on the Pacific for future sale.” And the

this impor = Two busi- have recently adavo- sed trade wiih Red tric vipeeresidant "

given \ executive vice-president of B.C. Lum- ber Manufacturers’ Association in a speech at Portland.” Opening the door with solve the overni an expanding years to IWA ship as the sequently

Ri

to trade

: aoe ae People $s would operators’ lé

almost

unae

ope r

the

L€ > Increase.

final summary before conciliation board, IWA Morris accused

In a the president Joe the employers of “persistently

9

exaggerating the economic position of the industry and pointed to their unprecedented plans for expansion. “Why should the employees forego a wage increase to subsidize this

expansion?” he asked. The union is dem:

20 percent boost

rent basic’ rate ¢

30, one co. t

deta Situation wages, prof ] contain- red by Local his easy

riod 194

1957 IWA wa

inci again slipped, - this time to elever place. “In 1948,” says the brief,

“EWA labor got the same rate as labor at American Can. To- day it gets 30 cents less. In 1848, IWA labor got only 3 cents less per hour than ship- yard labor, today it gets 46 cents less. In 1948, IWA labor got 13 cents more per hour than labor at Consolidated Mining and Smelting; today it gets 9 cents less.”’ IWA tradesmen’s rates

ao not bdeal

ale aiso

comparison ,With Stry.

outside Indu For example,

lectricians 20 cents (CMS and Pulp and Paper) 40 cents (BCE, B.C. Telephone and shipy ); and 96 cents (con-

There’s a big market waiting in China.

{ hold true for machin- stationary en-

n iters and plumb- PROFITS: Company profits

ring

nailing

and operators are plants at an un- [ SpIs}no ur <1oUur (UOT}ONIYsS ployee.

-J9JJIp

oseM IeTWUIG ~“Arjsnp

nted_ rate, indicating ey have a great deal of con- fidence in_ their own future. In 1956 MacMillan and Bloe- del made $35.5 million profits before taxes — or $2,895 in profits before taxes per em- Plywoods, which in spectacular fash- a small beginning at the Second World an estimated net employee of $2,880 easured against the worth of the company f return is 61 per-

rate ol

In 1955 Rayonier’s profits be- were nearly $31 as ‘compared to $28 n 1954. After taxes, amounted to $16.4 and to $14.5 954. The figures in include Alaska Pine. Zell (the en-

taxe taxXeS

1955

llerbach a whole) made pro- re taxes of $77 million after ta , $44 million. >. Forest Products (which 9 new $38 million Crofton“into produc-

ring a

tion this year) made $5.7 mil- lion before taxes in 1956 and $3.2 million after taxes.

PRODUCTIVITY: Output of logs per man employed has inereased, 1945 to 1955, from 336,000 feet to 469,000 feet per man per year, despite a cut-in working hours.

Output of sawn lumber per production worker, 1945 .to 1955, increased from 138,500 feet to 171,800 feet, despite a reduction in working hours.

A comparison of many facts and figures indicates output per man -has’ been growing at the rate of five percent per year for the last decade.

MARKETS: “Tight money and the consequent slowdown in housing starts here and in the U.S. have hurt the lumber market,” writes Vancouver Sun financi al editor Bill Fletcher.

‘But the pulp and paper out- look is still good. It’s difficult not to expect that the lumber picture will eventually change for the better.

“Big compar*:s are getting bigger; many small companies are getting smaller, but that’s the trend all over the world. However, with bigness comes more diversification. More and better utilization of our forest resources a

The IWA Local 1-217 brief believes the slump in lumber buying in Canada and the US. is due to “tight money” poli-

Council won t oppose B.C Electric appeal

Vancouver!

and manufactured Mrs. Effie Jones,

Ci:y Council won’t oppose the B.C. Electric’s sal from a Public Utilities Commission order on amortiza- gas plants.

president of Civic Reform Association,

had urged the city to fight the B.C. Electric appeal for a

higher mantled gas

interest rate on its dis- plant than had en allowed by the PUC. Instead, city eouncil passed a motion “that the PUC be ad- the corporation coun- the Vancouver City looks to the commis- safeguard the interest

or tne consumer

>. Electric is attempt-

ing to increase its rate of in- terest and city council should have fought the case in the interests of Vancouver citiz- ens,” Mrs. Jones said this week. “Failure of council «to oppose the B.C. Electric demonstrates once again the close relation- ship between the BCE and the Non-Partisan-dominated coun- OTL.

two governments. there has been “a r sales to

cies of the

In addition,

drastic fall in lumbe

Britain.

Long term market prospects are good, however. These three factors assure an expanding market in ‘the future:

@ The prospective growth of population and living stan- dards in Canada and the U.S

@ The development of new products and new uses for

wood, $

® The potential, and as yet undeveloped, world mar- ket.

“Several of the most popu- lous countries in the world consume, per capita, less than one percent of the wood used by Canadians and Americans,” says the IWA report.

“Consumption of India and China are not disclosed in Un- ited Nations statistics, but it is known from other sources that India uses about one percent of Canada’s per capita con- sumption. China’s five year plan “target for 1957 timber production (20 million cubic metres) indicates that on a per capita basis she does not use more than one-twentieth of the lumber that Canada uses... .”

Citing House-building targ- ets in India and China, the report points out that. they would have to import large

quantities of lumber, and con- cludes: “In the particular case of

China, the indications are that trade of sizeable dimensions could commence whenever normal trade relations are est- ablished.

“In the case of the remain- der of Asia, although the pace of development is slower than in China, the ultimate objec- tives are the same, and the need for housing is bottom- less.

“There can be no room for pessimism about the long range future of the markets for lum- ber in these circumstances.”

The facts are clear. The depression in lumber is a tem- porary one. Long term pros- pects ares bright. And IWA members are entitled to, and should fight for, a substantial

wage boost this year.

Morgan to speak at Nanaimo

NANAIMO, B.C.

Nigel Morgan, LPP provin-

cial leader, will speak briefly on federal election issues at a concert here Sunday, June 2, beginning at 6 p.m. Site of the affair is the Nanaimo Riv- er Bridge at Cedar (in case of rain, the will

River Hall).

Folk singer Perry Friedman will be one of the guest ar-

tists. There will also be a weiner roast for children and other entertainment.

The LPP in Nanaimo is not |

sponsoring a-federal election candidate but has issued “an appeal-to voters in the riding to re-elect the CCF sitting member, Colin Cameron.

“While recognizing a num- ber of political differences be- tween his party and ours,” says the LPP leaflet, “we support

Cameron in this election be-—

cause of his stand on the key issues — elimination of H- bomb warfare and tests, dis- armament by all countries, op- position to German rearma- ment, recognition of China, pensions -and people’s needs, public ownership of the Col- umbia, and national health in- surance.”

LPP campaigns in support of Barnett

COURTENAY, B.C.

In Comox-Alberni constitu-

ancy the LPP is distributing

leaflets in support of the sit- Tom Bat-.

ting CCF member, nett.

“In giving our support t0 Barnett we note with appre ciation that he was one of thé 12 courageous members in the House of Commons who refus- ed to sanction the placing 0 arms once again in the hands of the German stooges of mon opoly capitalism, and that he tried to have old age pen sions raised to $75 per month without a means test,” say® the leaflet. “He took a good |

stand on the gas pipeline dea! |

and a number of other impo!” tant issues.”

Union will sponsor all-candidate meet

Spokesmen for all political parties. have. been. invit to address an election rally Wednesday, June 5 at 8 p.m in Pender Auditorium.

At the all-party meetings sponsored by Marine Work ers Union, speakers will b® asked to state their positio? on ending. H-tests. and_ thé”

|

concert-meeting | take place in the Chase |

af

question of a Canadian met |

chant marine.

MAY 31, 1957 — PACIFIC TRIBUNE—PAGE &

~