The Daily Alaska empire., 1948-05-07
Meeting of Fact Finding Committee, Called by Mayor HendricksOn, at
 I:30 P. NJ, April 30,s ,sl948

MT. Charles W. Carter, Chairman
 MT. Thomas J. Moore
 MT. Arthur H. Walther
 MT. J. Newmarker
 MT. E. E. Ninnis
 Carter. The object of this meet ing is to try to get the different angles on this dispute between the Longshoremen and the Juneau Spruce and see what can be done to straighten it out.
 eMr. Hawkins of the Juneau Spruce appoints MT Card to speak for his company
 Card: l will have to give you the complete story. To begin with, the Juneau Spruce purchased the plant Of the Juneau Lumber Mills on May | l947 There is now no connec- ton between them and the new management. We purchased their assets but nothing else, no con- tracts. lumber or other. The repre- sentatives of the Juneau Spruce met
 
 representatives or labor and arrang- ed a contract with IVA. Local No. 27l. accepting them as the sole bar gaining agency for the employees of the Juneau Spruce. This was new contract and replaced the con- tract which had existed between the Juneau Lumber Mills and Local 271. MT. Hawkins asked me to come up and wind up negotiations on the new contract with the Union. About the beginning of July, l947 the longshoremen's union demanded that two longshoremen be hired to pull carrier blocks when loading for commercial steamship companies. When shipping to Anchorage and other points in Alaska, the lumber was delivered alongside and Who- ever loaded was paid by the steam ship. The union wanted two long shoremen to pull carrier blocks Mr. Hawkins wrote and asked for ad- vice. AS the longshoremen down be- low do this themselves l told MT. Hawkins to ignore them for two req sons: CD Local 271 was our bar gaining agent and (2) we had no reason to hire longshoremen to do that work for us. I arrived October 23rd and that afternoon MT. Ford and MT. Burgo and MT. McCamp came and notified us that they were representatives and demanded that we sign contract. I asked them to prove their representation and they had none. I advised them that we were bargaining with Local 27l and would not bargain with any one else representing our employees. They started out and MT. McCamp said-"What about the two men we sent down?" I said we did not pay them and only paid the man we hired. We never paid them.
 Just before I reached Juneau a company scow was placed alongside the dock and lumber was loaded aboard by mill employees. This lum- her was sent to Tacoma and un- loaded by longshoremen in Tacoma. When it reached there it belonged to the purchaser and not to the Juneau Spruce.
 The longshoremen indicated that they were going to make an issue Of that. On October 23rd and Novem- Der 3rd we asked about their posi- ton on that. They were uncertain. The secretary wired IVA. head quarters and asked what the local union should do. I did not see the telegram or the answer. They told me they were advised to go ahead and load barges and not give the jurisdiction to another union The contract with Local M 271 was sign ed on November 3, 1947 and in that contract they were recognized as the sole bargain agent for all en- ployees, excluding superintendents, foremen and office help.
 At the time we purchased the plant, at the request of the Army engineers who wanted reputable company to come in and take over the business with the understanding that they would take every stick of lumber we could cut in the next five years, we were assured of plenty of work. After we took over the en- gineers' orders ceased. We had to ship to the States. The only way we could meet prices was by shipping on our own barges; the steamship company's rates were too high. Sc we had to get our own barges and tugs to get lumber down to the market at a price which would com pete. We made an agreement with the Local M 27l Thirty some thou sand feet of lumber was sent to Prince Rupert and was loaded here by the employees. Then the long, shoremen advised that they wanted the job of loading these barges. MT Hawkins keeps in close touch with Coos Bay on these matters. We have continually advised him to make nc agreement with the longshoremen as our contract is like the other ones in the lumber industry, tc make only one contract.
 Their demand would make it nee essary for us to fire some of oul ennlovees and hire longshoremen