COAST PARITY ACHIEVED IN CELGAR BREAKTHROUGH [2 September 1, 1969. The terms of the recommended agreement are: 1. An immediate wage increase of 34c an hour. 2. A further increase of 10c plus the Coast increase for 1968, effective January 1, 1969. for 1969 effective September 1, 1969. : These terms will provide complete base-rate— - parity. include: At a meeting concluded late on January 4, the ~ Negotiating Committees of Locals 1-405 and 1-417 agreed to recommend a Celgar proposal which provides for parity with Coast woodworkers by 3. A further increase of 6c plus the Coast increase : Additional improvements to earlier offers @ Premium rates for second and third shifts raised to 10c immediately. @ Straight time for loggers’ travel time to apply in excess of 912 hours, effective immediately. @ Annual vacation pay to be raised to 612% and weeks. 1969. 842% for 5 and 20 years service, effective September 1, @® Weekly indemnity provision of the Health and Welfare plan will be $50 per week for 39 @ Other provisions, relating to paid statutory holidays, technological change, first aid at- tendants, training programs, etc., will be as recommended in the Munroe Report. finished by January 9, 1968. Balloting on the proposal is expected to be “ THE WESTERN CANADIAN LUMBER AUTHORIZED AS SECOND CLASS MAIL, POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT, OTTAWA, AND FOR PAYMENT OF POSTAGE IN CASH. - WORKER - Vol. XXXVI, No. 24 VANCOUVER, B.C. MESSAGE By J. A. MOORE Regional President . 1968 it would appear, is going to be a trying year - # for the labour movement in Canada. It is - already certain economic forces in the country and cer- tain government spokesmen are propounding the theory that in order to combat inflationary trends in the econ- omy, working people should not expect wage increases - .of any significance in 1968. It seems odd that whenever the economists start . worrying about inflation, governments invariably look to the working man to bear the brunt of decelerating the economy. Not only has the cost of living skyrocketed during the past year and is expected to continue its up- . - ward trend but the federal government has raised the income taxes on working men and women as well as putting additional taxes on liquor, beer and cigarettes. _ These taxes will further cut into the living conditions of - workers in this nation, and the only method that work- - ers have to keep abreast of this erosion of their purchas- + - jng power is to go to the bargaining table and wrest. .~- from their employers bigger wage cheques. - If the government were serious in looking at the - causes of inflationary trends they would do something - about the extraordinary high interest rates being charged for homes, which are desperately needed, or taking a ~ Jook at curtailing the tremendous profits of the large _ companies in this country, . These two items: excess profits and high interest - rates as well as overburdening taxes, are much more | - responsible for inflationary trends than wages which are paid to workers. . As we enter 1968, woodworkers in the southern in- ‘ + of the gains made in their previous contract wiped out n get a fairer and more equitable share of the i thus ensuring another year of prosperity 5c PER COPY STRIKERS WIN LOG BOOM BATTLE The 12th day of December, 1967, will be remembered as <>’ one of the blackest days in the history of labour-manage- ASSESSMENT APPROVED IWA members in Western Canada have voted to approve the special strike fund assess- ment of $5.00 a month to com- mence January 1, 1968, and to continue for a period of the same duration as the In- terior IWA strike. The report of the Regional Tabulating Committee was accepted by the Regional Ex- ecutive Board. The referendum was held under authority of the An- nual Regional Convention in September. It was then unan- imously -recommended that the assessment be avproved in order to maintain the strike fund at a level commensurate with anticipated needs. The increased assessment will be paid directly into the Regional strike fund. The vote, conducted by secret ballot, was “Yes” 11,- 173, “No” 7,825, spoiled 97. 2nd Issue December, 1967 ment relations in the City of Nelson, B.C. Last October 3rd members of Local 1-405 IWA, legally struck their employer, Koote- nay Forest Products. Ltd., which is a division of the Eddy Match Company Ltd. This company employs ap- proximately 350 workers in a sawmill operation and a sheathing plywood plant on the bank of the Kootenay River in the City of Nelson. At the beginning of the strike the company attempted to hide its two tugboats along the Kootenay river for the obvious purpose of boom- ing and/or towing of logs, See “STRIKES” — Page 3 REGIONAL PRESIDENT JACK MOORE and Regional Ist Vice-President Jack MacKenzie spent considerable time in the Southern Interior of British Columbia during the month of December, speaking to Sub-local and Local 1WA membership meetings. Both report that membership morale is extremely high and that public opinion is swing- ing in favour of the [WA due to the membership’s publicity campaigns in the various areas. Local Union's Publicity Committees are constantly on the alert and are forever impressing on the newspapers and the communities, the basic justification for “Equal Work For Equal Pay.” Pic- tured are the Celgar employees in Castlegar gathered in a mass meeting on “pay day,” December 8, 1967. The members at this meeting unanimously went on record: “reiterating their complete and unqualified confidence in the IWA Southern Interior Negotiating Committee and authorizing said committee to continue its efforts through every honourable means possible to bring the management of Celgar to the bargaining table in an effort to finalize an agreement satisfactory to the membership.” The IWA Wages and Con- tract Conference has been called for February 23-24, at Woodworkers’ House in Van- couver. Purpose of the con- ference is to set the demands of the Coast woodworkers in this year’s negotiations which open three months prior to the expiration date of the present contract June 14. Approximately 130 dele- gates will attend from the Coast locals to support their resolutions dealing with the contract changes desired. The agenda of the two-day conference provides for con- Sideration of al] proposals from all sections of the indus- try. The necessary informa- tion relating to the economic position of the industry wil] be provided to the delegates by Walter Simcich, the Inter- national director of research and education.