AS OTHERS VIEW
PPWC NEGOTIATIONS

1979 NEGOTIATIONS

The PROVINCE, July, 1979

Knock on woodworkers

workers of Canada can wring any more out of the forest industry

by rejecting contract proposals negotiated by two bigger unions.
PPWC members should remember that when they vote on their own
leaders’ recommendation for rejection.

The logic of the situation is overwhelming. The International
Woodworkers of America and the Canadian Paperworkers Union and
the wood products and pulp sections of the industry have bargained the
richest settlement in their history. It will cost the industry at least $300
million over the proposed two-year term.

Sure the industry can afford it. It’s having one of its most successful
periods, thanks to a cheaper Canadian dollar and strong markets for
both timber and pulp. Butit’s a package that is “economic” in the sense
that the industry has gone to the limit of affordability. Beyond those
numbers it would be in dangerous waters.

The IWA and the CPU have recognized the limits and readily admit
that it is a very rich package. At the height of the negotiations IWA
regional president Jack Munro made it clear he was not negotiating on
the basis of “windfall” profits being made by the companies as a result
of our cheaper dollar. He estimated those profits at about 15 per cent of
the total and he was not prepared to rely on a factor that would
disappear over the life of the contract if the dollar were to recover its
value.

What he wanted the industry to do and what the industry itself
wanted to do with that windfall money was to modernize plant and
equipment so that, if and when the Canadian dollar reached closer to
par with the American standard, the industry would be in a position to

1981 NEGOTIATIONS

[verte is absolutely no chance that the Pulp, Paper and Wood-

be competitive through improved productivity. Simply put, even
though this will be an expensive settlement, the IWA and the CPU
believe it would be silly to try to kill the goose that has laid the golden
egg.

Ifthe PPWC were to reject the proposals, it would be forced to go back
to the industry in the hope of bargaining better terms. The other two
unions would not let the industry do so. In effect, the PPWC would be
bargaining against the IWA and the CPU that, in numbers, far
outweigh it.

Alternatively, the industry would have to offer the other two any
improvements it would give the PPWC. That simply isn’t realistic. It
would be a case of a small union dictating terms not only to the
industry but tothe IWA-CPU. The industry’s stance can’t be other than
a determination that no union will assert a right to better treatment
than the others.

The effect of that policy is to limit the opportunity for the smaller
PPWC to bargain its own contract in isolation from the others. The
other two are, of course, constrained by the same principle. But
certainly the IWA, as by far the largest union involved, must carry
more weight in the negotiations than the PPWC. And hard as it may be
to take, the PPWC doesn’t really have any alternative but to follow.

The PPWC says the industry is riding a high tide and all the union
wants to do is get the best deal it can. The other two unons, with the
same obligation, have already decided they have negotiated the best
deal they can. It’s a matter of judgment, of course. But in this case it’s
also a matter of whose judgment should prevail. The answer to that
question is obvious.

The KAMLOOPS NEWS, Monday, August 31, 1981

PPWC on a path of self-destruction

With the recent settlement of the
larger Forest Industry Unions, namely
the International Woodworkers of
America (IWA) and the Canadian
Paperworkers’ Union (CPU), many
people in B.C. are now breathing a sigh
of relief. After all, forestry is the main
lifeblood of B.C.

One should pause a moment to ex-
amine the recent forest industry strike.
In the first place, the IWA got hung up
on the industry's refusal to bargain a
master province-wide contract with the

Jim KELLY

ON LABOR

trade union movement in this province.
Yet they are still out on strike on what
appears to be a losing cause. Is it
because some of the PPWC leadership
are trying to justify their existence by
attempting to play one-upmanship with
the IWA? Could it be the PPWC just
don't have the type of guts of Jack
Munro or Art Gruntman to face their
membership and tell it like it really is?
The IWA ratification votes showed
that the members generally understood
their situation. It certainly doesn’t take

IWA. This was resolved before the
strike by an agreement from the forest
industry. to enter into talks on a
province-wide agreement, but they
would not do this until the next round of
negotiations,

The IWA had achieved at this point
one of their most pursued objectives,
but would not realize it until two years
down the road.

That, in fact, was the real victory in
the IWA negotiations. The second issue,
of course, was economic issues.
Members of the giant union like all
workers were feeling the bite of infla-
tion and demanded a good economic
agreement.

The Forest Industry were in an ideal
position to tell the Union to go stuff it,
namely because the market for many of
the products was way down. In fact the
Forest Industry were prepared to keep

the Unions out on strike for at least a
couple of months.

This was proven by the fact that even
after ratification of the new pact, many
mills remained closed or workers laid
off or placed on short work weeks.
Hardly a good bargaining position to be
in with 60,000 Wood Industry Workers
walking the picket line.

It’s here where one watches the ac-
tions of the union leaders to see in what
direction they will lead their member-
ship. Jack Munro, Regional President
of the IWA, wasted no time in getting
the Forest Industry back to the
bargaining table. I'm sure he also lean-
ed on the Labor Relations Board to
work out a formula to get the two
smaller unions back to the table.
because talks did resume at approx-
imately the same time for all three
striking Unions.

Munro's move to resume talks and

get a settlement sand certainly the
union did not achieve as much as they
would have liked to get: averted a long
losing battle and turned deteat ‘nto vic-
tory.

Art Gruntman. President of tre Cana-
dian Paperworkers’ Union led his
members in the same direction

Now the smallest of the three unions
still has their 5.500 members out on
strike over whal appears to be minor
issues, and local union autonomy

The Pulp and Paper Workers Union.
PPWC. 1s leading their members on a
course of self-destruct. Maybe !t would
be better to say their leadership Is real-
ly non-existent and because of no
leadership. mob rule has taken over

It stands to reason that the PF’WC has
many good intelligent members in their
union who can take their place with any
trade unionist. after all they werk in an
industry that’s the backbone of the

too much common sense to know if
you're not hurting your employer on the
picket line you are losing your strike.
Then we have PPWC Vice President,
Jim Sloan, suggesting secondary
picketing is a possibility. In other
words, Sloan is suggesting he may
picket down IWA and CPU members
almost in the same breath the PPWC
threatens to raid the two larger unions.
Jack Munro termed that threat as
“cannibalistic’’ snd said. “Our union
doesn't like cannibalism and working
people have enough problems with
higher mortgage rates and inflation.

It seems to me the PPWC may end up
seeing their own members consider
signing cards in other unions. In fact.
their present course of action tends to
make the PPWC the union most likely
to be raided rather than to do the
raiding.

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