@ Northern Ontario Local strengthens N March of 1987 two local union bodies, formerly affiliated with the Lumber and Sawmill Workers Union (of the United Carpenter and Joiners of America) officially merged into IWA-CANADA. One of those locals was Local 1-2995 which brought 2,800 members into IWA-CANADA and strengthened the union’s presence in Northeastern Ontario. The other LSWU Affiliate to merge with the IWA was Local 1-2693 which represents Northwestern Ontario, with its headquarters in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Union Locals heard that the IWA was going to establish a national union and the lines of communication were opened up. Powe heard nothing but good things about the strength of the IWA,” says local president Norman Rivard. “Many of our members had worked in IWA operations out west and had been left with definite impressions.” The local union employs three full time staffers; President Norman Rivard; First Vice-president Damien Roy; and Financial Secretary Marcel Lacroix. All three act as business agents in servicing the local. LOCAL 1-2995 NORTHEASTERN ONTARIO o Hearst oHornepayne © Chapleau LAKE KAPUSKASING © Smooth Rock Falls © Cochrane Iroquois Falls © Timmins Kirkland Lake o tion by Ingrid Rice SUPERIOR Local 1-2995 represents workers in 25 different certifications in plywood mills, sawmills and bush operations. The local also has particleboard plants, a sawmill waste conversion facility, two supermarkets, and a co-operative store. Also represented are employees of the Hearst and Dis- trict Association for the Mentally Handicapped. Since 1944 the Carpenters & Join- ers represented forest workers in the north. By the mid 1960s Local 1-2995 had close to 5,000 members when bush operations employed many workers in hand falling and horse logging operations. In early June of this year the local adopted the full constitution of TWA -CANADA after nearly a three year adjustment period into the national union. hen: Prior to joining the IWA the Carpenters-Joiners affiliation was not properly serving the members. The Brotherhood had no strike fund for Local 1-2995 and every dispute posed concern for the local as it had to scramble for money and other support to maintain picket lines. In 1980 the UBCJ was thrown out of the Canadian Labour Congress in a dispute with the Building Trades. A CLC affiliate, the Canadian Paper- workers Union started raiding LSWU operations in the north shortly thereafter. By 1986 the two northern Ontario © Putting the bands on lifts of lumber inside a box-ear are (1.) Jim Morgan and Bill Froud at the Normick-Perron opera- tion in Cochrane. © Above: Although boundaries have yet to be finalized, the local covers a large area of the province. ¢ Dropping into the lunch room at Levesque Plywood Ltd.'s plant in Hearst is Local President Norman Rivard (standing). NORTHERN ONTARIO DISTRICT COUNCIL Along with Local 1-2693, the Kapuskasing Local participates in the Northern Ontario District Council. It is a holdover organization from the LSWU days when the northern Ontario locals banded together to coordinate bargaining in the north. Before each round of bargaining 3 separate wage and contract confer- ences are set up in the plywood, saw- mill, and bush sectors. Delegates from union operations attend to hash out their demands. The local affiliates then try to get similar length pattern agreements to keep the employers on a level playing field. Pattern Agreements establish wage conditions, benefit packages and main contract language. FRANCOPHONE MEMBERSHIP Like in most towns and cities in Northern Ontario, the members in Local 1-2995 are largely bilingual. On the workplace floor and in the bush, and around the union office, French is the language that is spoken most a often. At the turn of the century thou- sands of French-Canadians went to work in the harsh climatic conditions and rugged bushlands of Northern Ontario. Even today some bush work- ers come from across the Quebec bor- der to work within Ontario. At Abitibi- Price’s bush camp #34 north of Coch- rane, 95% of the workforce comes from La Sarre, Quebec, which is about a three hour drive from camp. In Hearst, where the local has four major operations, about 90% of the members speak French and in Kapus- kasing up to 60% are bilingual. Every two years the local holds its bienniel meeting and conducts all discussion in both languages. The collective agreements are also translated into both languages following negotia- tions. BOUNDARIES AND OPERATIONS Local 1-2995 maintains its head- quarter in Kapuskasing which is about 300 miles north of North Bay, Ontario. Its northern most operation is a logging operation for United Saw- mills, which is situated about 60 miles north of Hearst. Its southern most operation is in New Liskeard, where Rexwood Prod- ucts runs a particleboard plant. The two Northern Ontario locals are in the process of finalizing their boundaries which border on Local 1-1000 in North Central Ontario. (See map for basic outline of Local 1-2995’s jurisdiction). One of the local’s most impressive operations is the newly modernized Malette Lumber in Timmins, about 50 miles south of Kapuskasing. A $15 million modernization pro- gram completed early this year has made the dimension mill into a top lumber and wood chip producer. Like the Malette plant most of the local mills utilize pine and spruce species. However at Levesque Ply- wood in Hearst, high quality poplar plywood is manufactured. Near the Levesque plywood plant are the company’s particleboard man- ufacturing plant and Melamine over- lay hot press machine. Melamine is a resin impregnated paper which is applied to the particle- board surface to produce a special smooth hard surface that can be used for furniture and kitchen cabinets. Poplar is selectively cut from a mixture of public and private timber on forests largely allotted to the Spruce Falls Power and Paper Co. Ltd. which has a huge pulp and news- print plant in Kapuskasing. Although the pulp mill is repre- sented by the CPU, Spruce Falls bush workers are in,the IWA. In the winter time up to 300 union bush workers are on the job when the freeze-up makes it easier to cut and skid in the boggy, muddy bush country. Wood hauling is done mostly between December through February when the logging roads in the bush are frozen. Continued on Page 14 LUMBERWORKER/JULY, 1990/7