Safety violations, discrimination sparks walkout It took workers a work stoppage and a strike vote to get their employer at Mainland Sawmill in Vancouver to sit down and discuss some serious issues affecting workers. In late November an IWA Local 1-217 crew walked off the job in pro- test of employer intimidation, lack of a proper safety program and equal opportunities for job promotion. After the firing of three workers, plant chairman Jim Parker, shop stew- ard Jim Uppal, and Safety Commit- tee member Surjit Mor, and the sus- pension of several others, the Local Union requested that IWA-CANADA president Jack Munro pull Mainland out of contract talks in B.C. After that was done, the union passed a vote to strike the mill. This move got instant attention from the employer who in turn lifted the firings and suspensions. The walkout was precipitated by the suspension of Joginder Sunner, a union safety committee representa- tive who was disciplined for refusing to take verbal abuse and intimidation from the employer. Brother Sunner and another mem- ber of the union’s part of the joint Safety Committee had expressed repeated concerns that the company was not living up to its responsibil- ities. For over 3 months the employer refused to act on recommendation of the joint safety committee and, at times, had unilaterally changed min- utes of safety meeting submitted to the WC.B. “The whole safety program had bro- ken down,” said plant chairman Jim Parker. “We, as workers, had some very serious concerns that were not being properly addressed.” The other major serious area of contention is job promotions and job training. MAINLAND » SAWMILLS © Fired and then reinstated at Mainland Sawmills in Vancouver were [WA-CANADA Local 1-217 members (I. to r.) Shop Steward Jim Uppal, Safety Committee member Surjit Mor, and Plant Chairman Jim Parker. The union felt that the employer has not been giving Indo-Canadians who work at the mill a fair shake as far as having the chance to become tradesmen and achieve higher rates of ay. e Although the workforce at Main- land is over 60% Indo-Canadian, none of them have received shots at a pro- motion in the trades or as supervisors. Local 1-217 president Gary Koba- yashi says that “even in today’s poor economic climate, employers cannot abuse and intimidate employees.” e FOXY’S GOIN! of in future years. G FISHING — Retiring Port Foxcroft (I.) accepted a graphite fly fishing rod and reel from the IWA‘s national first vice-president Gerry Stoney at a recent reception. On behalf of the Union, Stoney presented the gift which Brother Foxcroft says he will get lots of use out Alberni Local 1-85 President Earl EC lumber ban Continued from page three In regions like the B.C. interior, kiln drying is a well-established part of the manufacturing process. B.C. coast mills, however, face a much different picture. In that region, kiln is the exception rather than the rule and the industry has been slow to change. Part of the coast industry problem is cost driven; the industry is not convinced that, under current market conditions, customer in Europe will pay the extra cost for kiln dried lum- ber. As well, coastal mills are worried that many of the large size pieces (timbers, cants, flitches, etc.) that they ship green to Europe will not dry as easily as the 2 inch material shipped from the Interior. While the concerns on costs cannot be ignored, it is important to view the nematode and kiln drying issues as part of a larger and longer term mar- ket development strategy. The Euro- pean market for Canadian wood prod- ucts holds enormous potential and generally pays a premium for well- manufactured lumber. Although the current slump in demand has meant depressed prices, producers should concentrate on the longer-term pros- pects for kiln dried products in the EC. To ignore that opportunity not only puts the viability of many coast mills at risk, it severely undermines employment in a region that has already suffered too much from down time and mill closures. — Phillip Legg “There are a lot of employers out there who are trying to mistreat their workers,” says Kobayashi. “Employ- ees refuse to be treated badly in good or in bad economic times.” After the walkout and suspensions Mainland hired a crew of scab Pinker- ton guards to patrol the mill. Any worker who entered the mill gates was screened and, sometimes interrogated by company officials who were asking about the walkout. The labour relations crisis can only take a turn for the better when the employer addresses the serious issues at hand. To smooth over labour relations, Mainland has requested third pany help to resolve the issues. After a series of conversations with National President Jack Munro the employer asked retired Local 1-217 president Doug Evans, and also retired first vice-president Don Jantzen to help mediate the issues at hand. In the meantime any plans to strike the operation have been put on hold by the local union. Environmental accord a mistake says Editor: IWA members of all political persua- sions in resource dependent commu- nities are bitter over the signing of the environmental accord. The environmental groups who signed the accord are working to pre- serve “the remaining old growth Boreal Rain Forest” in B.C. These groups pretend to be strictly law- abiding citizens, while at the same time providing the support for radi- cals who block roads and prevent our members from going to work. The IWA must be clear on the issue. In British Columbia the issue is, “LOGGING OF OLD GROWTH.” The only acceptable answer for Greenpeace, Western Canada Wilder- ness Committee, Sierra Club and other such groups is no more logging a old growth. They claim “Not True”, ut it is. While claiming to be friends of the logger, they organize and support international campaigns to take away our jobs by stopping logging in old growth forests in BC. For the IWA to survive, the right to harvest timber must be tied directly to our jobs and our communities. This does not mean the breaking up of large tenure holders into a bunch of little operations, who would in all likelihood be non-union. What it does mean is the shifting of some of the responsibility for sustaining commu- nities to the tenure holder. Only by ensuring strong sustainable rural IWA member © Loggers’ local member Art Duhame. communities, can we hope to sustain a strong vibrant IWA. The IWA, in thinking that the posi- tion of those groups who’s actions and words say “NO LOGGING OF OLD GROWTH” is a starting point, have madea serious mistake. These groups have never compromised. They sim- ply used the union movement for a cheap media stunt, while turning their attention to the international arena to put our members out of work by stopping logging of old growth. Art Duhame Woss, B.C. Se 12/LUMBERWORKER/DECEMBER, 1991