¢ IWA-CANADA President Jack Munro sat down with (I. to r.) B.C. NDP Leader Mike Harcourt, Native Leader George Watts, and

Environmental Leader Colleen McCrory in mid-June to endorse the NDP’s “Environment and Jobs Accord.”

IWA joins accord with NDP
natives, environmentalists

VANCOUVER, B.C. — IWA-CANADA
has joined with the Nuu Chah Nulth
Tribal Council, and environmentalist
groups to endorse the New Demo-
cratic Party of British Columbia’s
“Environment and Jobs Accord”
which is designed to resolve the prov-
ince’s land-use conflicts.

At a news conference held here on
June 14, IWA-CANADA’s National
President Jack Munro endorsed the
new accord which has three major
objectives:
© creation of economic stability for

forest communities and forest work-
ers through new job creation in value-
added and secondary manufacturing
industries and improved intensive
silviculture.
© a doubling of B.C.’s unique park &
wilderness areas from 6 to 12% and
legal protection of those areas.
© settlement of outstanding Aborigi-
nal land claims to benefit all British
Columbians.

Brother Munro said that doubling
the park and wilderness areas will not
necessarily mean that an additional

6% of lands set aside will come from
working forest lands.

“The real problem is that we don’t
have proper forest management,” said
Brother Munro. “Everybody is get-
ting sick and tired of this valley by
valley decision-making. You can’t run
a forest industry like that.”

The union president was referring
to the Socred government's decision
on splitting the Carmanah Valley, on
the west coast of Vancouver Island, to
create a park and further study log-
ging impacts.

The caucus of the NDP has vowed
to oppose the Socred’s Carmanah
Pacific Park Act (Bill 28) which will
be introduced to the provincial legis-
lature in the near future.

NDP leader Mike Harcourt termed
the Carmanah bill as “arbitrary and
litical” in nature and said the
ocred proposal is not meant to create
a park but rather create battles
between Aboriginal peoples, environ-
mental activists, and woodworkers.

George Watts, Nuu Chah Nulth
Tribal Council Chairman, said that
“we prefer to sit down and negotiate
(land-claims) or the only alternative
is to use the courts.”

Mr. Watts said there is a mistaken
assumption that IWA members and
pulp workers will lose jobs when they
deal with Aboriginal peoples or
environmentalists.

Colleen McCrory, founding Co-or-
dinator of the Canadian Future For-
est Alliance, agreed that confronta-
tion is being created by the Social
Credit government and that land
claims, creation of additional wilder-
ness areas, value added forest indus
try employment generation, and!
proper forest management all need to
be seriously examined by those who
will partake in the Accord should an
NDP government come to power.

An NDP government would plan to
undertake an immediate province-
wide inventory of forest resource to
recognize their ecological, economic,
and cultural values. A time limited
system of negotiations would deter-
mine what public forest lands should
be set aside and what should be dedi-
cated to the working forest.

A regionally based land-use plan-
ning framework would be established
which will involve forest users and
other affected parties.

An environment-job accord will
most importantly, provide compensa-
tion of forest workers for any job
losses and will stimulate local employ-
ment initiatives, in new timber trades,
intensive silviculture and labour
adjustment programs.

Mr. Harcourt said that British
Columbians are being shortchanged
and are not receiving full value for the
logs that are being cut now. He also
said that an NDP government will
link access of companies to forest
lands with job creation.

Union pays tribute to long-time President ®

William Schumaker retires after
30 years of service to the IWA

KELOWNA, B.C. — Delegates and
speakers to the 18th Annual Dele-
gated Meeting on Local 1-423 here on
May 4 and 5 took turns in thanking
outgoing President Bill Schumaker
for his over 30 years of service to the
IWA.

Brother Schumaker turned the
gavel over to Troi Caldwell who will
succeed him as president.

At the LADM were visitors from
various local unions in IWA-CANADA.

IWA-CANADA President Jack
Munro praised Schumaker for his ded-
ication to the betterment of working
people.

“There isn’t a woodworker in North
America today that somehow isn't
better off due to the efforts of men like
Bill Schumaker,” said Munro.

Brother Munro said that Schumaker
was a cornerstone of the International
Executive Board of the International

Woodworkers of America.
Brother Schumaker, who served as
local president for 30 years, was on
staff at Local 1-423 for 28% years.

He first joined the Regional Execu-
tive Board in 1967 and played a major
role in coordinating a major strike
that year which resulted in wage par-
ity for Interior locals with the B.C.
coast. : 2

As a union activist Brother Schu-
maker helped organize some 20 opera-
tions in local boundaries over the
years.

Under his leadership the local union
never refused once to support a refer-
endum ballot calling for more money
or help for the IWA.

Brother Munro also said that the
outgoing local union leader played a
key role in the formation of an inde-
pendent Canadian Union for the IWA.

Also bringing messages of congrat-
ulations and thanks to Brother
Schumaker were Doug Evans, him-
self a retiring union president from
Vancouver Local 1-217.

Longtime union ally and friend
Wayne Nowlin, President of Local
1-405 was on hand along with Local
1-417 President Kevin Kelly to bid

Brother Schumaker happy retirement
and tell some good stories about
things that happened over the years.

Other guests included Port Alberni
Local 1-85 President Earl Foxcroft,
Financial Secretary Dan Clements,
representing Duncan Local 1-80, Bob

1-405 President Wayne Nowlin at retirement

DeLeeuw, Financial Secretary from
Alberta Local 1-207, and Edith Skiber
from Local 1-405.

Several guests, Dell Welder and
former Local 1-405 president Art
Danstrom were also on hand to wish
him all the best.

16/LUMBERWORKER/JULY, 1990