Message from the President

Let's tell them to stop
bashing the unemployed

IWA-CANADA members should
do themselves a favour. They
should get out a pen and piece of
paper and, even if they have never
done anything like it in the past
and don’t intend ever to do any-
thing like it in the future, write to
Mulroney, or to the nearest Tory
M.P. and tell them to stop bashing
the unemployed.

First, they get Bank of Canada,
Governor Crow, to ensure that lots
of Canadian workers, especially
forest industry workers, get laid
off, and stay that way for a long
time. That’s what high interest
rates do, and make no mistake
about it, that is what they are
designed to do, and as they all

know, forest industry workers will
be hit first and hardest and long-
est.

Then they produce the Wilson
budget, to make sure that fewer of
the victims will be unable to get
UIC. benefits, and that those who
do will get less.

And then De Grandpre makes

his recommendations about how
to deal with workers who lose their
jobs as a consequence of the
so-called “Free Trade” agreement.
Victims of that agreement should
not get any special help, he says,
because that would create “two
classes of unemployed.”

What kind of nonsense is that?
There are two classes of unem-
ployed in this country. One is the
result of “ordinary” market condi-
tions, too many goods, wanted by
too few buyers. The other class is
unemployed as a direct result of a
political act, the negotiating by
Canadian officials of a “Free
Trade” agreement with the U.S.

According to De Grandpre, it is
O.K for the Federal Government. to
negotiate a trade deal with a for-
eign nation, a deal which benefits
some Canadians and greatly in-
jures others. But it would be wrong
to divert some of the gains made
by the deal’s beneficiaries to those
who are injured. That would re-
quire taxing the beneficiaries, and

by Jack Munro

that, says millionaire De Grand-
pre, must not be contemplated.
Talk about your “two classes”!!!
Another scandal that lies under
this orgy of selfishness is the mat-
ter of democracy. The theory is
that Canadians are supposed to go
to the polls, and, equipped with a
full knowledge of what the various
parties want to do by way of gov-
erning the country, make our
informed choice. That is how the
immense power of government is
supposed to be legitimized. Gov-
ernments can tax you, or send you
to war, or to jail. A lot of power.
Justified, we are assured, because
we gave our “informed consent”.
But the Tories did not tell us in
their election campaign that they
were going to create more unem-
ployed by a vicious monetary pol-
icy, then add to the misery of the
unemployed and their families by
tearing the guts out of UIC.
benefits.
And they did not tell us that
they were going.to deny help to

those thrown out of work by “Free
Trade”. In fact, they told us the
exact opposite. “Free Trade” was
supposed to help us sustain such
social programs such as U.IC.,
remember?

And if there were a few victims,
why, assistance programs would
be marshalled to help. Remember
that?

You may be inclined to think
some cynical thought about politi-
cians, and let it go at that. But you
should not.

There is a very fundamental
issue at stake here. Power exer-
cised without the electorates in-
formed consent is illegitimate
power.

Write Mulroney a letter. Tell
him that it is clear that he does not
know anything about being unem-
ployed. Then tell him that a little
of that experience can be arranged.

Forestry and Environment
Department functioning

The September 1988 National Con-
vention adopted a resolution creating
a National Committee on Forestry
and Environment to be chaired by
Vice-President Roger Stanyer.

Included in the new committee are
Fred Miron (Local 1-2693), Warren
Ulley (Local 1-71), Klaus Offerman
(Local 1-405), Dave Haggard (Local
1-85), Clay Perry and Claire Dan-
sereau (National Office).

The members are responsible for
making specific recommendations to
National and Local Union Officers
with respect to many of the issues
faced by IWA members in their dual
roles of forestry workers and citizens.

The convention also resolved that a
new department, “Forestry and Envi-
ronment” be formed and that Brother
Clay Perry be assigned to that depart-
ment. The committee and the depart-
ment are designed to assist the offi-
cers in addressing forestry and en-
vironmental issues.

To date, these two groups are
updating the union's forest policy,
they have written briefs in prepara-
tion for meetings between government
and our National Officers and they
have provided the National Executive
Board with an analysis of the most
recent B.C. Forest Service Five-Year
Plan.

Forestry workers in the Province of
British Columbia, and in the rest of
the country, are currently facing a

rash of lay-offs because of misman-
aged forests. For example, 425
Fletcher-Challenge workers were let
go in one move on Vancouver Island
and another 125 Canadian Pacific For-
est Product workers are about to lose
their gainful employment. The union
needs to pressure government to

4/LUMBERWORKER/JUNE, 1989

reverse this trend and to make it live
up to the fact that forests are to be
utilized for job creation, not just for
multi-national profits.

Land-use decisions are being made
by players and by factors in the global
economy. Because of this, it is now
imperative that some mechanism be
developed that allows the voice of
organized labour and the workers of
this country to be heard in these
decisions. The Forestry Committee
and Department aim to assist the

Noveau comité
et department
= forestrie et environment

par Claire Danserau
Le Congrés National de Septembre
1988 a adopté une résolution donnant
formation a un nouveau comité sur la
foresterie et l’environment. Le comité
sera présidé par le Vice-Président, Mr.
Roger Stanyer.

Fred Miron (Local 1-2693), Warren
Ulley (Local 1-71), Klaus Offermann

© Claire Danserau, Forestry and Environment planner at IWA-Canada.

union in formulating its voice and in
helping to ensure that the voice is
heard.

Should any Local require assistance
with Forest and Environmental Pol-
icy issues, please contact Clay Perry
or Claire Dansereau at the National
Office.

(Local 1-405), Clay Perry et Claire
Dansereau (Bureau. National) sont
membres du nouveau groupe.

Le Congrés a aussi résolu qu’un
nouveau département “Foresterie et
Environment” soit formé et que Clay
Perry y soit délégué. Le comité et le

département ont pour but d’assister
les Officiers face aux questions forest-
iéres et environmentales.

A date, le deux groupes travaillent
sur la politique forestiére du IWA-
CANADA, ils ont préparé des notes et
informations pour des réunions entre
le syndicat et le gouvernement et ils
ont préparé une analyse du ‘Plan de
Travail pour les Cinq Prochaines
Années’ du gouvernement de la Col-
ombie-Britannique.

Les employés en foresterie sont en
danger de perdre leur emploi partout
au Canada. En Colombie-Britannique,
425 employés de ‘Fletcher-Challenge’
sont maintenant chomeur et 125
travailleurs de ‘Canadian Pacific For-
est Products’ vont bientét les joindre.
Le syndicat doit pouvoir convaincre
le gouvernement que l’utilization des
forests doit étre principalement pour
employer les Canadiens et non seule-
ment pour créer des profits pour les
compagnies multi-nationales.

Les décisions concernant l’utiliza-
tion de la terre et forests sont faites en
tenant compte des facteurs écono-
mique internationales. Donec, il est
maintenant plus important que ja-
mais que la voix syndicale se fasse
entendre par ceux qui font ces dé-
cisions. Le comité et le département
de Foresterie et Environment ont
l'intention d’assister le syndicat a se
faire non-seulement entendre, mais
écouter.

Si vous avez des questions con-
cernant la foresterie ou l’environment
n’hésitez pas de contacter Clay Perry
ou Claire Dansereau au bureau Na-
tional 4 Vancouver.

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