THE WESTERN CANADIAN LUMBER WORKER

RIGHT-TO-WORK LAW

NEW THREAT TO B.C. LABOUR

UNIONS

By GEORGE McKNIGHT Port Alberni Alderman

and Member of Local 1-85, IWA

The AIB has effectively re- moved the hard-won and ne- cessary right to free collective bargaining. -

Right-to-Work Legislation would almost make a free trade union an illegal or- ganization.

This is the new threat posed by the adoption of the “Right To Employment’’ and “Restriction of Union . Picketing’’ legislation re- quested by the majority of the Union of B.C. Municipalities Convention on September 17th in Vancouver.

GEORGE McKNIGHT

RIGHT OF EMPLOYMENT

WHEREAS it is not the in- tent of this resolution to ex- clude from a trade union the right to enter into a written contract with an employer for the employment of union mem- bers exclusively;

AND WHEREAS it is felt that no union member should object to his fellow worker, who may not be a union mem- ber, having the basic right to work;

AND WHEREAS there are many cases where union mem-

OFFICE STU DY ' ‘PROPOSED |

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The Convention has ordered the Regional officers to con- duct a feasibility study into relocating the present Regional offices.

Proponents of the move argued that the’ present building, “Woodworkers” House”, is already too small to take care of the present of- ficers and staff and action should be taken on a move before prices climbed out of sight. :

The officers are to submit the results of their feasibility study to the next Regional Convention with recom- mendations concerning property acquisition, building costs and relocation.

_ bers have withdrawn their ser-

vices from an employer, which has resulted in other em- ployees, in other places of em- ployment, being affected to the

degree that many of such em- . ‘ployees have, of necessity,

left the area and relocated their

families at considerable ex- pense;

AND WHEREAS the checks and balances which affect our labour market in some cases appear to have broken down and in our competitive economy we will all suffer should the position of the un- organized worker and small

businessman not be recognized ~

and protected: THEREFORE BE IT

RESOLVED that no person

shall be denied the opportunity

- toobtain or retainemployment -

because of non-membership in a labour organization, nor shall the Province or any subdivi- sion thereof, or any corpora-

’ tion, individual or association

of any kind, enter into any agreement, written or oral, which excludes any person from employment or continua- tion of employment because of non-membership in a labour organization;

AND FURTHER BE IT RE- SOLVED that the Provincial Government be requested to amend the necessary Provin- cial Statutes in order to protect the rights of any person because of non-membership in a labour organization.

The Vernon Resolution No. 62 carried a recommendation from the Executive to reject. The restriction of picketing Resolution, No. 64, carried a recommendation of adoption. Both were adopted by a vote of about 127 for, and 108 against. Thus, the employers’ spokes- men have succeeded in creating a situation where, by passing such legislation the Provincial Government would be responding to a “‘request’’__ by the U.B.C.M. It is clear that this was the situation they wanted to create.

In Port Alberni, both the City

Council and the Regional Dis- trict Board have ‘‘by majority vote’’ disassociated them- selves from these Resolutions and written to the Executive of the U.B.C.M. protesting the fact that these anti-labour Re- solutions were even included in sections of the Resolution Book which were up for debate at the Convention. ,

Two sections in the Resolu- tion Book contained resolutions submitted to the Convention which were not included for de- bate ‘“‘by decision of the Execu- tive.” The question arises — Why did the Executive include these three anti-labour Resolu- tions for debate? Obviously they wanted the debate and the decision which carried. even though they had recommended rejection of Resolution No. 62.

WHAT CAN WE DO? If we become active, we can do as the Emergency Resolu-

tion adopted at the I.W.A. Con- .

vention suggests. (This Emer-

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MEMBERS OF THE IWA LADIES AUXILIARIES who held their convention in conjunction with the Regional Convention. During their two-day meet they reported on the activities of their respective auxiliaries, heard from a guest speaker, and visited the |!WA-Carling O'Keefe Loggging. Museum at Shannon Falls near Squamish.

gency Resolution is reported elsewhere in this issue of the Lumber Worker.)

Thus we can confront a great number of City Councils and Regional District Board all over B.C. and fight to have them do as was done in Port Alberni — disassociate them- selves from the decision of the U.B.C.M. majority and protest to the Executive the inclusion of these Resolutions in the Con- vention debate.

There is not one problem facing the municipalities of B.C. which would be solved by the passage of such legislation as these resolutions contain. This was not their aim. The majority at the Convention had blood in their eye and were out to ‘‘get the Unions.”’

Such problems as _ rising taxes on property, interest rates, services to the people, a better deal for the people in the cities, towns, etc. were not ad- vanced one iota by such resolu- tions. The majority of the dele- gates were not really worried about such real problems. They want to return to the days of the 1930’s and ‘“‘put labour in its place.”

Our emergency resolution, if acted upon, would put some of these two-bit politicians in their place, defeat them and

MEMBER OF THE LEGISLATIVE COMM Mike Kokura (1-85), R. Thompson (1-118 Christensen (1-207), Garth Brown (1-217), D R. W. Prentice (1-363), Erik Wood (1-367), Oner (1-423), Gerhard Wolfram (1-424),

replace them with fair-minded men and women able and ready to serve the needs of the people of B.C. Municipalities and at the same time defend the rights and the interests of the working people and their families, by far the majority in every Municipality and Re- gional District in B.C.

We, the I.W.A. members, with our families, along with all our fellow trade union members and other working people are a powerful force. We have been too lackadaisical and have not used that power now. The situation demands we

stand up and take our rightful place.

Nomination day is Monday, October 25th. Let us see to it that every Alderman, Mayor, or Regional District Member who is in support of this anti- labour stand is opposed and de- feated in the elections in November.

Nothing less will suffice.

Nothing more is needed ex- cept our campaign to elect our people and our turnout on elec- tion day to do the job. Keep

B.C. free of ‘Right-to-Work Laws.”’

Such laws have crippled labour in the Southern United

- States. We dare not let it hap-

pen here.

Calling Crown Life In- surance a rotten outfit, delegates to the Regional Convention demanded that the Regional Executive Board submit the Union’s Health & Welfare Plan out to bid to other insurance companies.

Speaker after. speaker charged Crown Life officials with deliberately creating hardships for IWA members entitled to Health & Welfare coverage.

They cited instance after instance where the Company unjustly refused claims without investigation and

treated the claiments like dogs.

In calling for the Plan to be submitted to other companies, the Convention stated that this was the only way Crown Life’s. monopoly and bring this Company to task for its rotten treatment of IWA members.

ITTEE. Duane Petersen (1-71) H. Friesen iat ), R. Carter (1-184),

Ed Leaming (1-206), A

onald D. Parker (1-324), Marge Storm (1- 357), Don Davidson (1-405), Kevin Kelly (1-417), Bill

to’ break.