Labour law changes required in
plan to organize tree planters

Unless the B.C. Provincial Govern-
ment changes some labour laws in the

ear future the Union’s plan to
organize tree planters and silviculture
workers will most likely prove to be
futile say IWA unionists.

Employer interference during certi-
fication drives has ruined organizing
efforts in the industry on the coast in
recent years as tree planters have
been intimidated from joining the
IWA.

TWA-Canada Local 1-71 has been in
the forefront of the organizing efforts
for the past several years and has
come upon some minimal successes in
organizing.

“We're going to keep chipping away
at it, but not in a big way until there's
labour law changes,” says Loggers’
Local 1-71 First Vice-President, Dar-
rel Wong. “If we can get the new NDP

Q2overmment to modify the labour leg-
islation with specific reference to
organizing rules then we'll be a lot
better off.” 5

In the spring of 1991 [WA National
Organizer Rick McRae, along with
Tom Chavez and Paul Wilkinson of
the Pacific Reforestation Workers’
Association, went out to organize
several units of tree planters in Local
1-71’s jurisdiction.

In 8 out of 8 organizing drives the
IWA had signed a solid majority of the
checkoff forms prior to a certification
vote at the Industrial Relations Coun-
cil. However, the union won certifica-
tion in only one instance.

“Tree planters work a tremendous
day and are subject to a lot of has-
sles,” says Brother McRae. “Employ-
ers use threats, coercion and chastise
workers who want to join the IWA.”

“We have to have more strength in
legislation to go in front of the provin-

cial Labour Board and put an end to
employer intimidation,” says Brother
Wong, who is echoing the labour
movement's call for reform to the infa-
zaps Industrial Relations Act (Bill

The Act permits employers to
openly interfere in organizing a cam-

ign and provides a 10 day period

tween the union’s application for a
vote and the actual time for a certifi-
cation vote. In that 10 day period the
employer has ample time to intimi-
date workers,

“If an employer interferes with the
union organizing campaign, we should
be granted automatic certification,”
says Wong. “If we don’t get some
labour law changes, then we're not
going to get very far.”

Former Local 1-71 organizer Bill
Owens, now a business agent, worked
on organizing tree planters in 1990.
He says that silvicultural contractors
are able to intimidate their employees
because “they have a captive work-
force.”

“Any legislation that allows employ-
ers to interfere so readily is so unfair
that the results of the check-off proce-
dure are corrupted,” says Brother
Owens. “Ruthless employers are able
to capitalize on the fear of these work-
ers and persuade them to do what
they would otherwise not do.”

More and more tree planters and
silvicultural workers are starting to
realize that they require protection on
the job.

“Tree planters have been out there
on their own and have felt alienated
from the rest of the forest industry,
sometime this is their own fault, and
sometime it is ours,” says Brother
McRae. “Many are starting to see
that their problems are getting
tougher to deal with.”

Some of the major concerns that
planters have are created by the low
bid system which awards tree plant-
ing contracts to the cheapest contrac-
tor, who in turn chisel away at their
workforce.

Many good planters suffer from
non-payment of the work they’ve done
and are penalized by unscrupulous
supervisors who lump them in with
less skilled workers.

Other issues like transportation
allowance, room and board, living out
allowances, sanitation and working
with hazardous chemicals can be
addressed at the bargaining table.

“Hopefully with a new government
in place we will also get changes to the
Forest Act which will ensure a higher
quality of contractor with trained
workers and then we can get away
from the unscrupulous way in which
the industry exploits workers,” says
McRae.

For over 5 years Brother Wong has
been speaking out at IWA Conven-
tions on the issue of organizing in the

Photo by Michael Weinert

“© Many tree planters suffer from non-payment of work, along with poor working,
living, and transportation conditions.

sector. Its been a frustration experi-
ence most of the time.

In many cases where tree planters
work in the coastal region, other IWA
members have ensured that the work
is done by planters who pay union
dues.

“The IWA’s reputation, for the most
part is built on service,” says Wong.
“We must ensure that we give some-
thing back to tree planters for their
dues money.”

Local 1-71 represent loggers on the
northern part of Vancouver Island
and the entire coastal region where
most of the organizing work has been
done.

There are over 1,500 tree planters
who work on Vancouver Island each

year alone, and between 10-12,000
planters who plant annually across
the province, the majority of which
are in the interior regions.

Local 1-71 has developed, with the
help of now retired National first-vice
president, Bob Blanchard, a draft con-
tract to cover tree planters and silvi-
cultural workers and has consulted
with workers to modify the contract a
number of times.

Wong says the union will cqntinue
to seek input and develop contract
language which will protect workers
on a coast wide regional basis. If that
is achieved, he says the union will look
towards the development of province
wide bargaining strategies and collec-
tive agreements.

IWA-CANADA calls for some major
changes in Ontario labour laws

:

IWA-CANADA members have called
for significant changes in Ontario's
Labour Relations Act. In January,
before government officials in Tim-
mins, Ontario, the Northern Ontario
District (NODC) the joint representa-
tive body of IWA Locals 1-2693 in
Thunder Bay and 1-2995 in Kapus-
kasing, presented 19 recommenda-
tions for labour law changes.

A discussion paper on proposed
Dainces labour was released in
____ November of 1991 by Labour Minis-
ter Bob MacKenzie, himself a former
organizer with the United Steelwork-
ers of America.

Since that time the NDP govern-
ment has been heavily criticized by
employer groups including 42 indus-
try associations. The discussion paper
suggests that there should be new
terms to prohibit the use of scabs and
restrict the employers’ right to inter-
fere during organizing drives.

At the hearing, Norman Rivard,
president of Local 1-2995, on behalf of
the NODC said: “Many business exec-
utives are complaining that the pro-
posed changes are too radical and
have gone too far. We believe that they
are so badly out of date that they have
not gone far enough...”

Rivard said that-most of the
changes proposed by the IWA were
proposed through different measures
such as resolutions sent to the Ontario
Federation of Labour as far back as
the early 60's.

Most importantly, the NODC wants
changes to get a legal provision sim-
ilar to the Quebec Labour Code in
dealing with timber limits. The [WA
suggests that the Ontario govern-
ment should make sure, from a labour
relations point of view, that the licen-
see on public land should have respon-
sibility for all of those engaged in the

logging operations.

High on the list of recommenda-
tions was the statement that the
OLRB should “prohibit and make
unlawful the employment of profes-
sional strikebreakers in place of
employees in a labour dispute.” In
total the IWA made 4 specific recom-
mendations against the use of scabs
in strike situations.

The IWA is calling for protection of
employee benefits during a strike or
lockout and that employers continue
benefit coverage where the union says
the employer and employee share of
the relaxant premiums.

Such similar protection exists in
other jurisdictions, such as Alberta,
Newfoundland and Manitoba.

During a strike, the IWA says that
the employer should have no right to
discipline or dismiss an employee for
strike related conduct, but rather if
charges are laid the courts can deal
with any problems. In addition, the
union feels that when a strike is over,
all workers should be returned to work
on the basis of seniority and job skills.

Other IWA recommendations in-
clude the following:

First Collective Agreement - no
decertification vote should be allowed
if employer delays for first year in
violation of the Act.

Contract Voting - no vote should be

forced upon the members without the
union’s endorsement.

Organizing Union organizers
should be allowed to enter company
property on coffee breaks, as long as
they don’t interfere with operations of
company.

Petitions - employer petitions
against union should be banned and

_ Certification votes should be held with

35% support of non-union workers.

LRB panels — the Labour Relations
Board should have panels established
in different areas of the province to
improve service.

Health and Safety — the Union
wants the right to strike during the
term of the collective agreement on
issues of health and safety until such
time as there is a full certified workers
program throughout the province.

The government's discussion paper
mentions that Ontario Labour Rela-
tions Act is restrictive in terms of
giving opportunities to organize. The
Rae government hopes “to remove
unnecessary obstacles to employees
who are seeking access to alles
bargaining” by providing faster Board
processes to deal with complaints dur-
ing organizing, allow organizing activ-
ity in public places, and make more
information available during organiz-
ing campaigns.

LUMBERWORKER/APRIL, 1992/15