4 THE LUMBERWORKER - 50TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION/FROM SEPT. 1937 to SEPT. 1987

Company | Refuses
To Accept Ruling
Of Commissioner

As we go to press a short message
has been received from the secretary of
the Blubber Bay local that the men
have been forced to strike.

‘The message stated that Commission-
er McGeough, who had been at the
plant for some days, had reached an
amicable agreement with the men and
the officials of the company at Blubber
Bay. However, when the union commit-
tee attempted to open negotiations, the
head office of the company at Vancou-
ver, under Mr. Maw, flatly refused to
negotiate, setting aside the ruling of the
Conciliation Commissioner and the
agreement arrived at at the plant,
Commissioner McGeough, appointed by
the Labor Department to intervene in
the dispute at Blubber Bay, is still at
the plant endeavoring to effect a settle-
ment, as we go to press.

The workers at Blubber Bay, members
of Local 74, I.W.A., made application
for a commissioner about ten days ago,
following high-handed discrimination
against ‘the union men by the company.
COMPANY BREAKS AGREEMENT
The application for a commissioner is
a culmination of a series of unprovoked
attacks against the union members by
the company reaching .back over a
period of nearly a year. At different
times the men have been forced to take
strike action’ to make the company live
up to the agreement. Since the new act
was enforced the workers have patiently
complied with its provisions.

This is the second time Commissioner
McGeough has been called to the plant.
On an earlier occasion about a month’
ago he advised the men’s committee and
ruled that the company live up to the
agreement. No sooner was he out of
Blubber Bay, however, ‘than the com-
pany again pushed the agreement aside.
On the verge of strike, the men were
prevailed upon to again go through the
devious roads of the act.

This time again, it appears, after Mr.
MeGeough had reached a settlement with
the men and the management at the plant,
the Vancouver head office stepped in and

WELCOME,
:\ WOODWORKERS?

Blubber Bay On Strike!

Convention — From Page 2

Bradley, secretary of the council. Open-
ing with a review of the market condi-
tioris and mentioning the amount of busi-
ness done by the lumber operators, the
secretary went on to compare wage
levels with the apparent level of profits
to the operators, It was apparent, the
secretary’ said, the wages had not kept
pace wtih the rise in profits, He con-
trasted this condition with that existing
in the logging and lumbering centres of

threw out the agreement.

the United States, where due to their

Of The Ta

W VITHIN the last week two members
of Local 71 have received. a letter
from Ted Guherud, member of the local,
now with the Mac-Paps in Spain. From
these letters we print the following:

Albacete, Spain,
Dec. 29, 1937.

Dear Jack,—The last few days we have
been celebrating throughout Spain: the
victory of Teruel. This was a great vic-
tory. When we consider difficulties in-
yolyed in taking
a highly fortified
city, and mind
you, the troops
involved in this
action were new
troops as all the
shock troops
were out on rest.
So today we can
add some more
shock troops to
our Republic
Army.

We have been

Ted Gunerud

Fighting Ted Gunerud Tells

king Of Teruel

Front work. We also help the people,
that is, volunteer work, on roads, etc.

The winter has not been very severe
so far. We have been very fortunate;
very little snow so far. We had been ex-
pecting a big push by Franco, but our
Republican: forces turned the tables on
them by attacking Teruel which will
make it possible to further extend the
job of taking—. Of course this is what
we are all waiting for and want.

I wish to make this letter short, hop-
ing that you will extend my best regards
to all the boys in the camps. Wishing
them the best of luck in their fight for
trade union conditions and also my per-
sonal greetings to yourself and the boys
around the office.

Fraternally yours,

Ted.

Editor's Note:

Gunerud, a Norwegian Canadian,
was one of the IWA’s most vigorous
early organizers. This letter was from
Spain, where he was one of many
IWA members to serve with Canada’s
MAC PAPS, fighting Franco's fascists.

very busy the last month in between

organization the lumber workers have
much higher wage levels than are in ef-
fect in Canada.

REVIEWS PROGRESS

OF LOCAL UNIONS

‘Tracing the progress of the union as
a whole since the previous convention,
Bradley dealt wtih each: local separately.
Local 2788, in Vancouver, had’ made the
greatest progress from the point of view
of members recruited, while the central
sawmill local in Vancouver had been
active in organizing the sash and door
workers and in attempting to negotiate
a blanket agreement with uniform wage
scales for that industry.

He also déalt with the difficulties en-
countered by the two organizers sent into
the New Westminster district by the Dis-
trict Council earlier in the year. Intimida-
tion has ben rife throughout the district,
and particularly at Fraser Mills.

He also told of the difficulties en-
countered in re-establishing the shingle
weavers’ locals on the lower mainland.
Victoria, he said,,was a splendid example
of organization among the shingle
weavers, having 100 per cent organiza-
tion.

Bradley also mentioned the agreements
the union has entered into with logging
concerns.

MANY RESOLUTIONS

Presentation of the resolutions cgmmit-
tee report brought forward many pro-
posals for consideration. From the crew
of Morgan's Camp, Queen Charlotte
Islands, there was a resolution contain-
ing several points. This ‘resolution had
been referred to the District Council con-
vention from the conference of Local 2783,
Chief among the points embodied in the
resolution was the proposal that steps be
taken to improve the lot of men going to
jobs in the isolated logging camps on the
northern section of the B.C. coast, by
negotiating a concession from the com-

panies in the shape of help in meeting
the high transportation costs: The resolu-
tion specifically mentioned payment of
fare one way when a man stays on the
job three months, and payment of fare
both ways when a man stays eight months
or more; any man dismissed by the com-|
pany to receive his fare back to town.
The resolution was endorsed.

Another point in the resolution submit-
ted by Morgan's crew called for a ruling
by the Workmen’s Compensation Board
compelling operators of camps some dis-
tance from a’ hospital to provide fast,
modern transportation to facilitate re-
moval of injured to a point where they
could receive proper attention.

“B.C. LUMBER WORKER”

Considerable discussfon followed the in-
troduction of a resolution drawn up by
the staff of “The B.C. Lumber Worker”
calling for an assessment of one dollar a
year per member to finance the paper. The
resolutions committee recommended alter-
ing the original proposal for collecting the
dollar in two installments of fifty cents
each, suggesting as an alternative that
it be collected in four quarterly install-
ments,

The resolution was finally endorsed in
principle, the manner of collections being
left to the locals to decide.

Discussion on “The B.C. Lumber
Worker” following the business manager’s
report took up considerable time, and
many proposals were advanced for im-
provements in the general make-up. The
new editor, George Brown, was introduced
and welcomed by the delegates.

Elections of officers resulted in T. J.
Bradley being returned for a second term
as secretary, Jack Brown receiving the
highest number of votes for the post of
president. H. Petersen was elected as
vice-president.

—