4 a | Silicosis, Canada’s most terrible picture By GLEN OSBORNE Vice-President, Local 271, Braelorne, B.C. . -. mot included in the mine operators’ phoney propaganda SOA TT Tc - THE BRAELORNE STORY! FOR THE OPERATORS FIFTEEN MILLION DOLLARS IN DIVIDENDS FOR THE ORIGINAL CREW IN THE MINE IN 1932 1914¢ An Hour And Death By Silicosis And Accident! HERE IS THE STORY IN PICTURES, IT IS COMMON TO ALL HARDROCK MINERS: SEE AND REALIZE WHY THESE MEN ARE STRIKING FOR A DECENT LIVING STANDARD © long as the Interna- tional Union of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers remains in British Colum- bia the spirit of Joe Hill will always live. Miners are -one Of the most exploited sections of the working peo- ple and this is more true in the Province of British Columbia than it is any- where else.‘ For years the British Colum- bia miners have worked under the most intolerable conditions where wages and living condi- tions in company-owned towns were intolerable. The miner not only was bound hand and foot to the company at work but his family bought their foodctuffs and clothing from the company- owned stores. DIED FROM SILIcosis | _DIED FROM SILICOSIS = SILICOSIS PENSION Drive for wages qe the ITUMMSW is con- \ ¢ i ducting a drive for higher wages and better conditions in the mining camps of the BC region. In Braelorne the miners Gave undergone every form of exploitation and company dis- erimination for years. We are demanding higher wages, vaca- tions with pay, union security and a number of other conces- sions. We are entitled to make these gains but from past ex- perience they are not going to be given to us without a fight. We have repeatedly gone after the provincial and federal governments on the matter of the miner’s health. Despite the fact that British Columbia has the most advanced compensa-— tion laws of any province many miners still find that they can mot get any compensation be- -cause of governmental neglect in treating victims of silicosis, as suffers of a dreaded dis- ease that should be treated in the same manner as cancer or tuberculosis. In the Braelorne mining area the miners are not only fight- ing for their union wage de mands and better conditions but are putting the spotlight on the danger of silicosis. DIED FROM SILICOSIS — DIED FROM SILICOSIS SILICOSIS PENSION = = == DIED FROM SILICOSIS eas : Sa == DIED FROM SILICOSIS SILICOSIS PENSION DIED IN MINE ACCIDENT DIED FROM SILICOSIS DIED FROM SILICOSIS IED FROM SILICOSIS, CRIPPLED IN MINE ACCIDENT DIED FROM SILICOSIS DIED FROM SILICOSIS DIED FROM SILICOSIS SILICOSIS PENSION A Dreaded silicosis VERY SICK FROM SELICOSIS : USTIN TAYLOR who is 2 big British Columbia capi- talist with some interest in the east, not only does not suffer from. silicosis but also helps the Blair Gordons and the Charlie Dunnings actively to : campaign against any sgovern- 3 mental reforms along this line. And it is not only a question of higher wages the miners are concerned about but also the : problem of housing. Anyone who has travelled through those mining camps knows that the hovels and shacks most Miners live in are a disgrace and a blot on the landscape. ‘ The union is organizing 4 great crusade not only to tm- i prove the working conditions and standard of wages for the Miners but also to build every Mining community into some- thing worthy of living in and to raiwe a family. ~The striking, workers of Braelorne are not only fighting eRe z es z ae These are the men wro are condemned by the Department of Mines to work a 48-hour week while the law make 44 hours the maximum work week for all B.C. labor working in sunshine and fresh air. Give us your moral support and financial support. : 79V2c AN HOUR IS NOT ENOUGH — THE OPERATORS CAN PAY MORE Register Your Protest-- Write The Minister Of Mines, Victoria B.C. District Union — International Union of Mine, Mill and Sme:ter Workers 717 HOLDEN BUILDING, VANCOUVER, B.C. Uo RR For years the miners of British Columbia have fought for compensation laws which would provide aid to iner s : a5 : Hundreds of miners have contracted this disease and many have been “leaded up” in the ms ines. After ONE tae pone Silicosis. they find the dismissal slip when, due to illness, they are unable to continue. The International Union of Mine, Mill and Smolee Tone ers in B.C. is fighting every day to see that miners’ health is safeguarded and that legislation is put on the books that protect he a when they contract silicosis. Se aa miners fall a victim more often However, the miners union, bia are up against the strong- for themselves and their fami- lies but also setting a pattern On which miners and their fami- lies may live with a reasonable measure of security. Fight for compensation sia has always been difficult actually to find out how Many Miners have died or been knocked out of -work because of Silicosis but the facts are that PACIFIC TRIBUNE — PAGE 11 te silicosis than anything else. For years our unions have fought to have bodies recognize as a compensable disease. But they have refused and in many cases told it was not silicosis, that governmental silicosis in any event the miner did not get it in that particular mine, and so on. taking its lessons from the past is taking up both its legisla- tive and economic program and fighting for them. Fighting to make every mining town a place fit for heroes to live in. And we intend to do it. The miners of British Colum- est array of forces in the coun- try and every fight has to be fought to a finish. Since 1943 we have made great strides union organization. strike at Braelorne a reflection of the fighting de- Sires of the miners and their rebellion against years The present bearable working conditions. We stand as one workers in with the steel, rubber and auto. We intend to fight not only for higher wages and bet- ter working but to Fut an end once and for all to the terrible housing, health ana other social conditions conditions must live under. miners FRIDAY, OCTOBER 11, 1946