THE PAS, MANITOBA — Since
Repap Enterprise Inc. took over the
Crown Corporation, Manitoba For-
estry Resources (Manfor) early last
year, IWA-CANADA Local 1-324 work-
ers at the company’s sawmill and
bush operations have been working
fairly steady.

A two week shutdown earlier this
year and a planned 6 week shutdown
for vacation and inventory in July will
mean partial wage loss for the local
union's 125 sawmill workers and 150
bush workers.

When Repap took over Manfor it
acquired the logging rights to 104,000
square kilometres of bush land in
Northern Manitoba which increases
its annual allowable cut to 3,240,000
cubic metres (of which 840,000 cubic
metres comes from hardwood forest).

Over 800 steady jobs presently rely
on Repap’s proper administration of
forest lands.

At present the sawmill workers
have been told that the plant will
operate from 2 to 5 years minimum
until Repap receives a go ahead from
the Manitoba government to approve
of its $1 billion planned pulp mill
expansions.

Plant Chairman Albert Bouchard
says those IWA members in the saw-
mills and bush operations prior to
May 4, 1989, when Repap officially
moved in, will get a shot at jobs in a
proposed Phase 2 bleached Kraft pulp
mill beside the present pulp mill next
door to the sawmill complex.

However Repap won't build Phase
2 or start work on a Phase 1 project,
expanding the present supercraft mill,
until all plans for expansion and envi-
ronmental aspects of Repap’s activi-
ties are approved by the provincial
government.

Since 1969 Manfor operated the
pulp and sawmill complex near this
northern city until the Repap take-
over.

According to local President Jim
Anderson, much of the problem in
Manfor’s operation of the sawmill was
of management’s inconsistent ap-
proach to salary problems.

© Log loader outside Repap sawmill. In distance is the company’s pulp mill, slated for
modernization.

Life of sawmill
remains uncertain

The sawmill complex covers a huge
area of 12.5 acres under one roof. It’s
two shifts can produce up to 500,000
finished board feet per day, process-
ing logs from 4 inches up to 18 inches
in butt diameter.

Brother Anderson says the mill’s
designers made a big mistake by lim-
iting the sawlog intake to 18 inches
maximum. The company is currently
wasting the large logs by splitting
them and chipping the pieces for the
pulp operation.

The sawmill has 2 debarkers, 2
slashers and scanners and 2 sawlines;
an 8 foot stud line and a 16 foot saw.
All production is dry kilned and
planed before shipments to markets

in the U.S., Southern Manitoba, Sas-
katchewan and Ontario.

So far Repap has been good on its
word to maintain current employment
levels.

A good apprenticeship program is
in place to take production workers
off the floor and put them though
millwright and electrician training.
Repap has introduced 6 apprentices
from production jobs since taking
over.

However the company plans to
introduce technological change to its
bush operations in the near future.
Mechanical harvesters, which could
introduce an owner-operator situation
for the local union 'will affect the union
membership.

Repap has said that those affected
by technological change will be given
an option of early retirement, sever-
ance pay, or an option of employment
in the company’s lumber or pulp and
paper operations.

“They have assured us that any-
body affected by change will not be
cast by the wayside,” says Anderson.

Should the company’s expansion
plans gain government approval, ©
Brother Anderson says there could be
a gain of up to 600 jobs in woodlands
operations.

Repap’s planned expansion will
have a direct impact on 15-20 commu-
nities and a further indirect impact on
at least a dozen other communities in
Northern Manitoba.

__ The company has held public meet-
ings to explain its 5 year management
plan.

The huge proposed pulp and paper
expansion has raised concerns over
environmental impacts, employment
opportunities, and forestry option for
communities in the north.

Although Repap operations are the
backbone of The Pas’ economy, farm-
ing and trapping are important sec-
tors that contribute to the economy.

© Planer trim saw operator Don Pich.

Manitoba delegates
fight interest rates, GST

THE PAS, MANITOBA — At this
year’s nineteenth annual delegated
meeting, IWA-CANADA Local 1-324
members voted to maintain the resis-
tance against destructive policies of
the federal government.

Twenty-three delegates and local
executive members were on hand to
support a resolution calling on all
communities to declare themselves as
GST free zones.

Delegates discussed the resolution
which said that most of workers’
incomes already go to governments in
some form of taxes. The resolution
also call on the community of The Pas
to refuse to collect or pay the GST
which is scheduled to take effect in
January of 1991.

Member of Parliament Rod Murphy
(NDP-Churchill) addressed the dele-
gates on the GST and told them it
would have a devastating affect on
working people in the North who
already pay extra high prices for daily
necessities. Murphy said the Liberals
are doing little to oppose the GST and
doubts that they would scrap it should
they gain power in Ottawa.

Local union officials expressed fears
that the federal government will try
to take away the northern tax allow-
ance, which has already been taken
away for the Thompson area in the
province.

rake Ss &
© Local 1-324 President Jim Anderson

Some concern was also expressed
over the possible imposition of wage
controls by Ottawa.

The delegates also called for a cap-
ping of interest rates at 8%. Local
Union President Jim Anderson said
the economy of Manitoba is placing
extra hardships on forestry workers

while mortgage companies and banks
are recording record profits.

A resolution calling for the banning
of scabs during a strike or lockout was
also passed unanimously. The local
experienced a lockout situation for
over 6 weeks at the Wescana Inn in
late 1989 and early January, 1990
when a few scabs were brought in by
the employer. However overwhelming
support from the local community
resulted in an effective boycott of the
Wescana.

Delegates were also informed that
an Employment and Family Assis-
tance Program and Assessment and
Referral Centre is scheduled to open
on or before September this year.
National Second Vice-President Neil
Menard played a key role in getting
Repap’s financial commitment to the
program.

Brother Menard was also on hand
at the LADM to update the delegates
on the national union and conduct
local union nominations.

Northwood

closes Shelley
Mill

SHELLEY, B.C. — Northwood Pulp
and Timber Ltd. has decided to shut-
down its old dimension sawmill here
about five miles north of Prince
George and move production to its
other operations. At present a crew is
working on the planer to catch up
with the rough-sawn lumber which
should be cleared up by mid-August.

Sixty-seven IWA Local 1-424 mem-
bers will lose their jobs at the mill
which has operated on a scaled down
version since the fall of 1988.

The Shelley mill operated since the
mid 1920's when it was a much smaller
operation. Two fires, in 1951 and in
1961 caused rebuilding of the mill and
no great deal of modernization has
taken place since then.

It produced about 100,000 board
feet per shift which is low by today’s
standards. The mill’s double circular

head rig is one of the last of its kind.

Lowest seniority in the plant is
over 10 years on the payroll. The
closure announcement came in Nov-
ember of 1989.

Local 1-424 has negotiated with
Northwood to get jobs for some of the
laid off Shelley workers at the compa-
ny’s new $11 million chipping facility
which is being built on at its Prince
George sawmill.

The Shelley sawmill was closed,
according to the company, because of
lack of timber supply. Several years
ago the company lost 5% of its timber
base to Small Business and had to
augment its timber supply by pur-
chase from private lands.

The mill cut spruce, pine and fir,
many of which were large logs cut for
speciality orders. Sixty percent of the
mills production was kiln dried before
planing.

Much of the mill's rough saw tim-
ber went up to 24 feet in length for
export purposes.

The timber that went to Shelley
will now be channelled to Northwood’s
Upper Fraser and Prince George
operations. See picture Page 13

el

12/LUMBERWORKER/JULY, 1990