© Local 1-80's elected Safety Council members are (L. tor.) Allen Lundgren, Local Safety Director Ross Davies, Kathy Malmqvist, and John Little. Each fulfills a specific function on the Safety Council. Island Local gives Health and Safety program top billing jand safety program to work ef- fectively is never an easy task for a union. It takes careful planning, commitment, and cooperation for a proper program to succeed. Fortunately for IWA-CANADA Local 1-80 on Southern Vancouver Island, those elements have all been in place for a number of years and the union membership has benefited greatly. “Almost consistently every year, half of our manufacturing plants are usually in the top 8 or 9 of the Council of Forest Industries’ list of plants with the best safety records,” says Ross Davies, the Local Union’s full- time safety director for the past 17 years. “In the logging sector, our Local has a record which is second to none in the province with respect to fatals and injuries.” There's good reason for the success of Local 1-80’s OH&S program, which is considered to be a leader by many parts of the IWA. “Our safety committees get special treatment from the Local Union,” says John Little, a member of Local 1-80’s Safety Council and Executive Board. “There is a commitment from the executives and the membership to make safety a priority as money and time are put into the pigeram Local 1-80 elects a Safety Council every two years which assists the OH&S program’s coordination. On the Safety Council are Kathy Malmkvist, a lumber grader/edger- operator from MacMillan Bloedel’s emainus sawmill, Allen Lundgren, a faller from Fletcher Challenge’s Port Renfrew Division, John Little, a fork- lift driver from Doman Industries’ Nanaimo Mill, and Safety Director, Ross Davies. ‘The Safety Council has worked hard to put some of the best education and ining programs together that are available to union members. aus of this has been mands alot easier b; ie cooperation of employers within the eal Union. Over the years Local 1-80 has built enough credibility up with companies that it is able to run some successful pro- — the cooperation of em- Gz: an occupational health Since the early 1950’s the Local Union has employed a full-time safety director who is completely separated from business agent duties. In 1952 the IWA Regional Council in Vancou- ver hired John T. Atkinson from Local 1-80 to, in fact, become the first union in Canada to have a full-time safety director. Brother Davies and his fellow Safety Council members are an expe- rienced group of unionists who know the ins and outs of the industry, and understand the frustrations of get- ting a proper occupational health and safety program underway. Over the years the Local Union’s membership has been very active and most programs coordinated by the Safety Council have been well attend- ed. Brother Davies said he’s really seen interest in occupational health and safety take off in the past 8-9 years. Each Safety Council member has developed an area of expertise or inter- est which has added to the Union’s pro, g Sister Malmkvist takes responsi- bility for training safety committees in the Local. A 1982 graduate of the Malispina College Safety Instructors Training Course, Sister Malmkvist has utilized the expertise gained at the College to train Safety Commit- tees throughout the Local Union. Malmkvist is often requested by employers to put on “train the trainer” seminars. She instructs both manage- ment and Union members of accident prevention committees. To do this the Local Union has worked out agreements where MB will release her to train committees in other plants and in other companies’ operations. During her seminars Sis- ter Malmkvist instructs on topics such as accident causation and prevention. Brother Allen Lundgren is the Local Union’s instructor on chainsaw safety. He puts on a chainsaw “safety awareness” course which is a 1 to 3 hour seminar on the basics of power- saw maintenance and wood cutting. Brother Lundgren has put instruc- tive courses on in a large number of logging operations and most manu- facturing plants. When Lundgren goes to put on his seminars the companies put up expenses and his wages and, there- fore, it is of no cost to the Local Union. Each year Local 1-80, the industry, and the WCB sponsor a South Island logging safety course where there are usually turnouts of between 90 to 130 people. The conferences have touched on just about every health and safety issue in west coast logging. “These conferences have really opened up the lines of communica- tions between workers, the companies and the WCB officials,” says Brother Davies. Last year union loggers on North Vancouver Island held their first safety conference based on the same ae gM or model as the Local 1-80 Southern Island one. In the manufacturing sector, the Local Union encourages “open-house” days whereby one company will invite 2 people (one management and one union) from each plant in Local 1-80 to attend a one-day safety tour and meeting. The Local gets excellent participa- tion from employers like MacMillan Bloedel, Fletcher Challenge, Doman Industries, and CPFP. The host plant pays for the meals and wages are picked up by each participating divi- sion. This program has also recently been extended to the logging sector. During the “open-houses” the par- ticipants look at all areas in the saw- mills and share solutions over safety problems. Brother Little says that the Local’s safety meetings are well attended. “Participation is extremely good,” says Little. “Anything that we put on where people have to donate time is well received.” On a bi-monthly basis the union sponsors some type of specific pro- gram for the members, usually held on a Saturday. Such topics as mill lock-out procedures, committee edu- cation, and employee family assis- tance programs (EFAP) usually take up the agenda. Bill Bolton, a faller and safety com- mittee chairman at FC’s Port Renfrew Division, says that the Local Union demands high standards in occupa- tional health and safety and is very supportive of having a full-time safety director. Brother Little draws attention to the fact that Local 1-80 puts money towards safety as a priority. There are occasional hot spots that flare up which require special atten- tion. “If we've got a problem with a particular employer, then we usually have it out right there and then,” says Davies. The Union’s long-term credibility has allowed it to have a good audience with employers. As for the future in OH&S, Local 1-80 is a strong supporter of such protective language written into col- lective agreements. “Right now we have a reasonably good relationship with management and the WCB, but times can change quickly,” says Brother Lundgren. “It’s important to have occupational health and safety language in the master agreement as a backup system.” Photo by Allen Lundgren © Local 1-80 has one of the most experienced work forces and best safety records in the IWA. Here welder Jim Perreaux puts the grinder on a grapple. LUMBERWORKER/ AUGUST, 1991/7