c GE t a c ai} ce 5 r Wages, inflation, and a 15-million dollar lum to British Columbia lumber operators! The stalling of negotiations by the lumber operators during the IWA strike was primarily designed te “force” the hand of the Government and hoist the ceiling price on logs—and eventually all lumber. While the IWA won a six million dollar increase in wages, Mr. Howe gave the lumber barons a gift of fifteen million dollars. Director, Trade Union Research Bureau ext of a talk en Boilermakers’ By Bert Marcuse Union Program over CKWX, July 6, by Bert Marcuse, Director, Trade Union Research Bureau. A BOMB exploded over the United States last week with terrifying results — already the effects of this bomb are being felt here in Canada and the hopes for the future of hundreds of thousands of our people are being shattered to bits. That bomb was inflation. It was lit by big business and thrown right in the faces of the people of the Wnited States and Canada. it was thrown in the face of veterans seeking to realize’ even a few of the glib promises made them while they fought fascism abroad; it was flung at war workers who for five long years in Canada laid aside their claims for economic betterment. The bomb of inflation was thrown point blank at the general pub- lic, the white-collar worker and the smali business man whose meagre savings can be wiped out overnight. is out to make a killing again. Their cynical slogan is “Let’s get the gravy now—and the people be damn- ed!” Big business But price controls limit the amount of gravy. So in the United States with complete and ruthless disregard for the ex— pressed wishes of the vast ma- jority of her citizens, price con- trols have been swept aside. Big business will wallow in the gravy for a few months and then ride out the inevitable de- pression which will wipe out small fry competition and lower the living standards of the people—and hence—it is hoped by big business—make cheaper labor available, and incidentally, weaken the -power of labor’s organizations. é And make no mistake about it. We in Canada cannot escape the vicious spiral of inflation either. Already our price ceil- ings have succumbed to the pressure of big business. In steel, tobacco, textiles, furniture, lumber and other business where huge profits are being made, the lobbies of big business have ‘prevailed’ upon the government to ‘decontrol’ prices. The Vancouver Sun of July 5 quotes a cabinet minister, who Jacks the courage to reveal his Gwn identity. The article reads in part: “A cabinet minister told the British United Press that the Canadian govern- ment’s objective is to be pre- pared to hold the price line in the Dominion for a month. today If at the end of that time, order has not been restored in the U.S., the Canadian gov- ernment will have no alterna- tive, the minister said, to let- timg prices in Canada yield to the powerful economic forces exerted from south of the border.” A splendid prospect this? One month in which to draw our battle lines—one month in which to demonstrate that the people of Canada refuse to be party to a repetition of the hungry thirties. PACIFIC TRIBUNE — PAGE i2 PRICE INCREASES IN LUMBER Now let’s get down to brass tacks. — and, I warn you that what I am going to say is shocking and unbelievable—but true, nevertheless! Westerday’s mewspapers disclosed a state- ment by H. S. Irwin, chairman of the B.C. Loggers Association to the effect that during the past week log prices have been increased by from four to six dollars a thousand feet. This price increase was grant- €d by Reconstruction Minister 15 MILLION DOLLAR GIFT Now basing our figures on the 1944 production, the government hands the lumber operators an outright gift of approximately $15,000,000.00 per year. Moreover, the overall take- home pay of the B.C. wood- workers on the basis of a 44 hour and i15¢ wage increase will amount to an annual increase of about $6,000,000 in wages. Im other words the govern- ment has handed the B.C. lumber industry enough of money to pay all wage in- creases — with $9,000,000 left over! And don’t forget the fact that long before the IWA had pre- sented their wage demands the lumber industry had already re- ceived an increase of 8 percent in the price of lumber and 12 percent in the price of hard- wood flooring. “T-carry-a-union-card” Mitchell is “cooperative’ when he isn’t shouting “it’s illegal,” but it is left to Mr. C. D. Howe, minister of reconstruction, to give a real demon- stration of “‘cooperation—with the boss loggers. C. D. Howe just one week after Timber Controller D. D. Rosen- berry informed manufacturers that he could not assure them any price increases would be granted. Moreover, during that same week Finance Minister Tisley had also implied that it would not be necessary to grant price inereases to the lumber operators -to compensate them for the 15c wage increase they had had to pay lumberworkers. The truth is that the B.C. lumber industry could afford to pay this wage increase out of the huge profits made in the jlumber industry—and still retain ample profits. The IWA proved this beyond any measure ot doubt when -they showed 1945 net profits before taxes, of 3% million dollars for the H. R. MacMillan octopus, $1,683,000 for Canadian Western Lumber and sO on. And furthermore—te add in- sult to injury, chairman Irwin of the B.C. Loggers Association admits that lumber manufactur- ers who also own logging camps are relatively free from the problem of increased costs. Nat- urally, when Canadian White Pine or Alberni Plywoods own- ed by H. R.. MacMillan have to buy logs from Shawnigan Lake or Northwest Bay Logging also owned by H. R. MacMiljan, an inerease in price for logs can hardly harm H.R. MacMillan, who in effect only pays the in- crease to himself, This all adds up to an at- tempt on the part of big busi- ness to it appear that must be tied This is and make Wage increases up to price vicious increases. propaganda pletely false. com- Wage increases can be granted without raising prices. That is the case in the lum- ber industry in B.C. It was the case in Steel and Autos in the United States where govern- ment fact finding boards found that wage increases could be granted without price in- creases. Nevertheless, through powerful lobbies the respec- tive manufacturers were able te pressure the government into granting price increases. “(No wonder Chester Bowles of OPA resigned!) And no wonder the people of the United States and Canada, too, are preparing for a buyer’s strike as the only counter- measure to big business’ deter- mination to wreck our living standards. zi Real wages, that is the pur- chasing power of -the workers of Canada, have, because of the increased cost of living, an in- erease far from adequately re- flected in the Dominion Bureau of Statistics’ cost of living in- dex, remained virtually station- ery. In some cases, as for ex- ample the hard rock miners of B.C., the real wages appear to be even lower today than they were in 1939. One of the most widely spread distortions about the present price situation has been that the Wage inecreaseS are largely re- sponsible for current price in- creases. This falsehood has been extensively circulated especially by anti-labor quarters. This falsehood is now being used as 2 new touchstone to justify at- tacks upon organized labor by those who have always sought labor’s destruction. Wage rises have not caused the price rises, and a number of important facts make that clear. Practically all of the sub- Stantial price rises have occur- red in commodities where wages are no appreciable factor. The prices of commodities as a whole rose in advance of wage rates and the prices which have advanced most are for articles least affected by wage costs. ~ Co “profits for those who Higures from official sources show that the greatest rises in prices have taken place in the commodities in which labor cost is the least factor. ah Higher wages mean a higher standard of living for working people. Higher “prices on the cther hand mean no such thing. . A ceiling on wages means a ceiling on a man’s standard- of living. A ceiling on wages in a period of rising prices means the lowering of the Jevel of liv- ing of Canadians. : B.C. LUMBER OPERATORS ‘VERY COOPERATIVE” Finally, let Howe himself, me quote Mr. who yesterday Said the B.C. lumber operators were, and I quote: “very coop- erative.” No wonder they were co-operative—they had just been handed a $15,000,000 plum?! But listen te what Minister Howe stated in Parliament in April, 1945: “The need for price control and other anti-inflationary measurers will not disappear with the end of the European war.” Has Mr. Howe and our gov-— ernment reneged on this stand or are they willing to fight on the side of.the people in de fense of our living standards? The people of Canada must show big business and the goy— ernment that they will not tol- erate their phoney line that wage increases justify price in-- creases. On the contrary we- must start the fight today for: adequate purchasing power for: the people of this country —. and reasonable—not fantastic. seek ta destroy our future. Which side are you on Mr. Howe—profitmad big business or the people of Canada? Support the Trade Unions in their fight against inflation, and for the retention of price con- trol. Write your MP. tonight and demand that.he take im- mediate steps to protect your Standard of living. ufacturers Association for workers: 27,000 workers, Ca i IWA District Council urges + ‘a tight lid’ on price controls tors, as exemplified in the pressure lobby of the Lumber Man- increased prices for logs, plans to have the price control removed in Canada, there- by increasing their profits at the expense of the living stan- dards of the Canadian people, and 4 WHEREAS they have been successful to the extent of raising prices on logs to the extent of from $5.00 to $8.00 per thousand feet, and attempting to place the blame for increased prices on the raise in wages obtained by the IWA wood- THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that we con- demn monopoly interests, and especially the lumber operators in B.C., for their action in trying to get price @ + controls removed, and hereby state that the increased log prices are wholly unwarranted, as shown by our union in our analysis of the industry’s ability te pay the full demand of 25c per hour increase in wages without affecting their normal profits; AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Dis- ; trict One, IWA, quarterly council meeting, assembled > on the 7th of July and representing 14 local unions and request the Federal Government to keep a tight lid on price controls in the interests of the Canadian people’s living standards; AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we : commend the Federal Government for their action in making more lumber available for building and recon- Struction in Canada, by cutting down on the quota of lumber and logs allowed to be exported to the USA, and request that this kind of action be further ex- tended, thereby making more goods availabie for Can- adians and the necessary building of needed homes for veterans and all other workers. : —~ 2- lumber and