THE WESTERN CANADIAN LUMBER WORKER

1-367 OFFICERS’ REPORT

NEED STRESSED FOR MORE
EDUCATION AND SAFETY IN LOCAL

The 1968 annual meeting of
Local 1-367 was held in the
Legion Hall in Mission on
Saturday, September 28.
Guest speakers included Re-
gional President Jack Moore
and International 2nd Vice
President Keith Johnson. The
well-attended meeting was
followed by the first job stew-
ard banquet and dance ever
in the Local Union.

OFFICERS’ REPORT

The Officers of Local 1-367
of the International Wood-
workers of America in sub-
mitting this report to the
membership, wish to take this
opportunity to express our
sincere thanks to the active
members of the Local Union
and to express special thanks
to the committee members in
the many sub-locals for their
sincere efforts in policing the
contract and giving much of
their own time in processing
grievances, promoting safety
and making these operations
a better and safer place to
work.

We would also like to thank
the Regional Officers and staff

for their services and advice

over the past year, Because
of the geographical structure
of our Local Union and be-
cause of the small number of
members in such a large area,
it is hard for the business
agents to maintain a high
level of administration and
service to the membership of
the Local within the present
dues structure, every effort is
being made to organize the
unorganized within our Local
Union, with the view to en-
larging our membership to the
point that we will be able to
afford another business agent
on a full time basis to provide
better service to the members
in outlying areas like Hope
and Harrison Lake.

We feel there is a lot of

work to be done in the field.

of education and safety, and
if we can’t find a way to pro-
vide the finances for these
programs within our Local
structure, then greater de-
mands and utilization of Re-
gional facilities will have to
be used. We don’t believe that
members within one area
should be obligated to pay
higher dues to maintain pro-
per service solely because of
the geographical structure of
one Local in comparison to
other Locals and we believe
that if the International Wood-
workers of America are to be
fully successful in carrying
out the policy and responsi-
bilities of the organization as
outlined in Section 5 and Sec-
tion 6 of the Constitution it
will be necessary to give a lot
of consideration to changing
the structural makeup of our
Union in the very near future.
We would like to point out to
the membership that it is only
through their collective par-
ticipation and interest in the
affairs of this union, that these
things are likely to take place.

ORGANIZATION
Organization has been ex-
tremely difficult in the past
year patricularly because of

the lack of time available for
your business agents to spend
on it due to Industry contract
negotiations, but with the help
of Regional organizer Mike
Sekora and our own union
members the following opera-
tions were organized:

Watkins Logging

As reported in last year’s
annual report application for
certification was pending with
the Labour Relations Board,
it has been granted, negotia-
tions carried out, and the

~ standard West Coast Agree-

ment with all benefits is now
in effect.

Vedder Log and Shake

Again as reported last year
this operator refused to sign
an agreement after the opera-
tion burnt down, which de-
nied the employees a consider-
able amount of back pay, al-
though this agreement was
not signed a satisfactory ar-
rangement was concluded and
back pay secured for the em-
ployees.

Horne Marine Towing

Contract booming for Riv-
tow Marine on the Fraser
River west of Mission. Nego-
tiations are being carried out
at this time and there appears
to be no problems in securing
an agreement for this opera-
tion.

Herman Sawmills Ltd. — Log-
ging Division operating at
Hope, B.C

Many problems ‘are being

realized in getting this oper- -

ator to the bargaining table,
which I might say was fully
expected by your business
agents.

W & W Contracting Ltd. of
Sardis, B.C., contract road
builders, this operation builds
roads in numerous logging
operations within our Local.
At the time of writing this re-
port we are waiting for the
Labour Relations Board to
rule on Certification for this
Operation.

Chilson Logging Co. Ltd. —
cperating on Pitt Lake.

This operator on hearing
that his employees had signed
with the IWA, and this Local
had applied for certification
immediately began to harass
the crew by phone calls, shut-
ting down the operation, fir-
ing of employees and propos-
ing new rates of pay on a con-
tract basis in order to prevent
this operation from becoming
organized.

This Local has filed charges
against the employer with the
Labour Relations Board in ac-
cordance with the Labour Re-
lations Act, and certification
is pending the outccme of the
investigation by the Labour
Relations Board.

It is our hope that in the
forthecming year more time
can be spent on organizing,
with a view particularly to the
proposed new stud and chip-
per mill at North Bend which
will also include a logging
camp thirty miles from North
Bend and also the $150,000
Chip-Stud Mill proposed at
Hope.

STRIKES AND
WORK STOPPAGES

B.C. Forest Products,
Hammond Division

At the outset we wish to
congratulate the members at
the Hammond Division for
their militant stand in the 4%
day dispute with B.C. Forest
Products, and a special thanks
to the Plant Committee at the
Hammond Division who had
all the facts and figures read-
ily available to support our
points and arguments made
to the company at their head
office which ended in a satis-
factory conclusion to the
problems.

This dispute arose due to
the hiring and implementing
of recommendations by the
Alexander Proudfoot Co.
commonly known in the in-
dustry as the Chicago Gang-
sters, who through their so-
called efficiency program eli-
minated as many employees
as possible and doubled the
work load on those employees
left.

Through the militant stand

of this crew, the plant com-

mittee and the help of Re-
gional President Jack Moore
and 2nd Vice President Del
Pratt we were able to gain
job protection and rate pro-
tection for many of the em-
ployees in this Plant.

Rate protection commonly
known as “red circuling” as
was obtained at this plant is
the first ever introduced in
the sawmilling section of our
industry, and we feel is a
great gain for the IWA as a
whole by bringing to the com-
pany the realization that they
too have a responsibility to
their employees and not the
right to reduce an employee’s
earnings by automation and
the elimination of his job.

For this we can thank the
500 plus members at the
Hammond Division for their
militant stand with B.C. For-
est Products Ltd.

A job well done.

ARBITRATION

The Local was involved in
one Arbitration case last year
with Canadian Forest Prod-
ucts Ltd., Stave Lake Cedar
Division, involving four shake
packers, who after many years
on the job were removed be-
cause the Company said they

could not perform the job to-

the company’s satisfaction,
after the company had added
to the work load.

The Company used every
method possible to postpone
the Arbitration hearing in
order to find some people who
would perform the job and
its new duties regardless of
the quality of work per-

‘formed.

Three sittings of the Arbi-
tration Board were necessary
to give evidence before the
Arbitration Board could give
their decision. The Arbitration
Board finally stated that the
dispute was a matter for in-
terpretation of the Coast
Master Agreement of which
they had no right to do. As
there is no interpretor at the
present time to carry this out
the matter must be held in

OFFICERS of Local 1-367 IWA, Haney, during the Local’s

Annual Meeting September 28, at

Mission. Group left,

Jim Allison, 1st Vice-President; Cy Godfrey, President;

Maurice Nordblad, Financial Secretary; Eric

ood, 2nd

Vice-President. Shown in the background are the two
guest speakers, Keith Johnson, International 2nd Vice-
President, and Jack Moore, Regional President.

abeyance until an interpretor
is appointed.
SAFETY

Our Safety Director having
left the industry for other en-
deavors, your officers feel
they should comment on last
year’s safety record in our
local.

It is with regret that we
must report four fatalities in
our Local for the year 1967-

968.

Two fatalities at Canadian
Forest Products Ltd., Harri-
son Mills, one log truck driver
went over a 450 foot embank-
ment, and a mechanic’s helper
was crushed between the gan-
try and the heal boom of a
track loader.

One fatality at Canadian
Forest Products Ltd., Hunter
Creek at Hope, a steel tower
engineer who was crushed by
a runaway log striking the
operator.

One fatality at Whonnock
Lumber at Hope, a choker-
man was crushed by a rolling
log that was fouled in the
lines.

A considerable amount of
serious accidents and crip-
pling injuries have also oc-
curred in the past year. .

We cannot put the full
blame for safety on manage-
ment alone, we have our part
to play also, but from reports
received in the Local office
from our safety committee
members indicates that the in-
terest in safety by manage-
‘ment is continually declining
and their attitude to an active
and conscientious safety pro-
gram is related only as it
effects production.

Our new Saiety Director
and everyone of us in the in-
dustry in the coming year
must make the employer rea-
lize that safety is as impor-
tant to us as wages and work-
ing conditions and that an
active safety program must be
upheld in every operation for
the benefit of all.

RATE REVISIONS

The negotiating of new rate
revisions has taken up con-
siderable time in the past
year with the result that
many inadequate job rates
have been revised in prepara-
tion for the Signing of the
1968-1969 Coast Master
Agreement.

W.C.B.
_ Last year was no exception
in the amount of Workmen’s
Compensation claims requir-
ing attention by your Local
Officers, and under the pres-
ent policies of the Workmen’s
Compensation Board it would

_ dent of the Haney Local — © ©
position —
former

and to return to his i Ee:

appear that these problems
will multiply in the year to
come.

We would again urge all
our members to report all in-
juries to first aid regardless
of the nature or apparent seri-
ousness, it is the only way you
can establish a Workmen’s
Compensation claim, in the
event you are unable to con-
tinue working.

U.I.C.

Unemployment Insurance
claims cause many problems
for our membership particu-
larly in the winter months.
The mail strike and the new
mailing system instituted by
the Unemployment Insurance
Commission also caused many
problems which would not
normally occur. We believe
that the new mailing system
will be beneficial to our mem-
bership as they do not have
to report in person to the Un-
employment Insurance Com-
mission office thus saving time
and expense on the part of
the individual. The problems
created by the new mailing
system should be worked out
to everyone’s advantage in
time.

IN CONCLUSION

There are many more
things, some routine and many
unexpected that could be re-
ported on, we have tried to
give you some of the high-
lights as to the work done
this year and what must be
done in the future.

This being the year of nomi-
nation and election of officers,

h the

we recognize that, wit

Local Union President not

running for top office, there
will be changes in the man-
agement of the Local Union
and changes in the people who
are paid as full time business-
agents. Being a democratic
organization, we realize there
will be active interest among

our membership in running”

for office this year and to

of you with ambitions, we €X- —
tend our best wishes and sit- —

cere co-operation upon your
election to office.

REGIONAL PRESIDENT ;
Jack Moore express
feelings of regret with the

cision of Cy Godfrey —

vacate his fulltime

job in the industry.
Moore discussed the Pro?-
lems that faced the IWA im
the B.C. Interior and dea
specifically with y

See “REPORT”—P: