ITH its headquarters in Courtenay, B.C. IWA- CANADA Local 1-363 has its 1,200 members spread out over the east- ern and central portion of Vancouver Island. It has been an independent geographical local union since 1943 when it separated from its former parent Local 1-80. Today the Local has about 700 loggers, 300 sawmill workers and the rest of its members spread out amongst a number of diverse opera- tions. The bulk of 1-363’s membership lies in 3 MacMillan Bloedel logging oper- ations; 240 at Kelsey Bay Division, 160 at Menzies Bay and 150 at Eve River Division, all situated in Tree Farm Licence 39. Contract loggers who work at Menzies and Kelsey Bay are also signed up. The union also represents 70 log- gers at Fletcher Challenges’ Elk River Division (Camp 8) and a crew of 50 at the company’s Courtenay division. “Over the last decade or so we haven’t had the large fluctuations in membership because we didn’t have the big sawmills where major techno- logical change has put people out of © At Local 1-363's headquarters in Cour- tenay are (I. to r.) bookkeeper Yvonne Prain, Local President Sy Pederson, Financial Secretary Erik Eriksson, and Secretary Julie Wright. FUTURE OF UNION IS work,” says Sy Pederson, an ex-faller DIVERSIFICATION 5 at Menzies Bay who has held the local 0 u rte na Local The Comox Valley, Caneuey River union presidency since early 1987. area of Vancouver Island is strong union territory and most of the work- force in the logging and milling indus- try are organized so that doesn’t leave much room for expansion. Brother Pederson says he is opti- mistic that the local can hold its current level of membership if it holding its own changes. Distribution. In the service sector, the local resents 30 workers (recreation people and mechanics at Marc in Campbell River. WOOD GETS SHIPPED OUT OF TFL boomed all over the coast. © Scaler Terry Iriye walks off a cedar at MB's Menzies Bay log sort. The local has however, lost over 200 members from its logging divisions over recent years with the advent of grapple yarders, super-snorkels, hoe- chuckers and other technological In its other certifications the union represents truck drivers at Campbell River Trucking and Comox Valley rep- and maintenance) at the Comox Valley Sport Centre in Courtenay and 35 members at the Strathcona Gardens Recreation Centre in Campbell River. Also in the union are fifteen service Hy- lands Chev/Olds/Cadillac dealership MacMillan Bloedel’s massive TFL 89 sees an annual production of over 1.5 million cubic metres of old growth annually. The production from 1-363’s logging operations is barged and High quality fir and hemlock heads down Island to MB’s modern Che-. mainus Sawmill while the majority of wood is towed to either the company pulp and paper operations at Powell River, Harmac near Nanaimo or the Teakern Arm log sort near Powell River. Fletcher Challenge’s log production goes primarily to its Elk Falls pulp and paper and gang sawmill where the 24 inch and under sawlogs are processed. Other wood goes to F-C’s sort at Goliath Bay and other com- pany milling operations or other mills on the coast. VALUE ADDED JOBS NEEDED In relation to the amount of log production there is little manufactur- ing done in the community around the TFL and the local union would like to see more jobs created in the manufacturing sector. “There should be more payback to the community in the terms of jobs and a steady tax base,” says Erik Eriksson, the local union’s financial secretary and a former electrician at the Fields (Primex) sawmill in Courtenay. “More of the resource should be handled and processed in the nearby communities to create some of the stability which we need.” Local President Pederson says the IWA should continue to press for leg- islation requiring value added manu- facturing facilities. “In the 60’s we had 2 jobs for every 1,000 cubic metres of timber har- vested and now there’s not even one job per 1,000.” The local’s two milling operations, appear to be on steady ground at least for the time being. While other locals have suffered mill closures, shift cur- tailments and long periods of down time, 1-363’s operations have been running on a steady basis during the current recession. That’s true, to a large point, because both mills have begun to tap into the Japanese market and are not wholly dependent on the United States for its lumber sales. At the Raven Lumber sawmill in Campbell River the company is put- ting in new equipment to custom cut for the Japanese. Even though the company doesn’t have any of its own cutting permits, it has been innova- tive enough to survive on log transfer agreements, the open log markets and timber from private lands. It is also one of the few remaining mills left which cut 40 foot fir and hemlock timbers. Bit by bit, however, Raven is get- ting into the Japanese market and is switching its saws over to produce both merchantable and grain cut lumber. In Courtenay, the Fields sawmill is also cutting quality rather than quan- tity and is putting in a new edger optimizer to cut specifically for the Japanese market. In the past Fields has custom cut. mostly yellow cedar and has switched over to hemlock and fir. Its final grader has his export grading ticket and the quality control analyst is a union position as well. actively organizes. There are still a few small logging contractors operat- ing in the Johnstone Straits which are more difficult to organize but never- theless could benefit from IWA certification. The local is also looking at a cedar shake and shingle mill in Campbell River and chipping plant near Men- zies Bay. In tee near future the local will also be looking at organizin; workers in the service and retail sectors. © Before the Christmas shutdown grap- ple yarder hooktender Ron Watkins (I.) and chokerman Al Renaas take a pause at F-C’s Camp 8 division northwest of Camp- bell River. 6/LUMBERWORKER/DECEMBER, 1991