e Sy Pederson

Workers need help
against AAC cutbacks

IWA-CANADA doesn't want any government to
take active forest lands out of production without
having alternative employment plans in place for
displaced workers. The issue is a burning one that
came up for discussion and debate again at this
year's convention.

Jeff Broughton, a delegate from Port Alberni Lo-
cal 1-85, said there is over 30% of the forest land
base in his local union that is up for grabs by vari-
ous groups.

.."We want jobs for the people, we don't want
promises of jobs for the people," said Brother
Broughton. "We want these jobs for the communi-
ties and people in place before any more land with-
drawals."

Darrel Wong, President of the Loggers! Local 1-
71, said his local is under the gun for land with-
drawals and reduced annual allowable cuts on the
B.C. Coast and Islands.

"We've had 34% (AAC) withdrawals on the mid-
coast, 24% on the Sunshine Coast, 18% out of the
Sewell TSA in 91 and another 18% coming out (of
Sewell TSA) in 1995. And if it continues in the direc-
tion that we're headed, we certainly have some ma-
jor problems."

Brother Wong said Local 1-71 and other local
unions have been to Victoria to ask the government
for commitments and that it looks like the NDP gov-
ernment is going to force the industry to sit down
with the IWA to try and deal with annual allowable
cut levels and employment."

Local 1-363 President, Sy Pederson said that
workers in the Tsitika Valley on the east coast of
Vancouver Island are concerned that the govern-
ment hasn't given assurances or guarantees that
jobs won't be lost by the current logging deferral of
the Lower Tsitika Valley, which if allowed to contin-
ue would remove 27% of the land base.

Brother Pederson said that instead of begging the

vate sector to look after us in creating jobs, pub-

ic sector investment over the long-term can create
jobs in value-added sectors.

Dave Haggard, President of Local 1-85 told dele-
gates that "there are people that are running around
this province without any consideration for the peo-

that are consistently and continually losing their
jn the forest industry." 4

Brother Haggard said that it's wrong that lands
are withdrawn without putting economic programs
in place to assist long term residents in rural areas.

SR

Besse kn os

¢ Dave Haggard

° Dave Mullett

° Frank Everitt

Union’s forest policy headed
in right direction say members

A lot of IWA-CANADA members are concerned
that we must continue to get our forest policy up
and running, and debate at this year's convention
showed that unionists are interested in participating
in getting our message out there in the workplace
and in the public eye.

Delegates passed a motion, referred to the Na-
tional Executive Board, which calls for an "IWA-
CANADA" Environment and Jobs Conference which
will deal with the following issues:

¢ developing a program for implementing envi-
ronmental committees.

e developing ways and means of educating the
public on the importance of the forest industry.

developing a program to maximize employment
while adhering to strict environmental standards.

Local 1-71 delegate Dave Mullet said the confer-
ence is a good idea because "we have to change our
attitude in the woods." s

Brother Mullet and his union Brothers have been
involved in the initial stages of a joint IWA-CANADA -
Interfor environmental initiative which began this
past fall.

Although he says "the company wants the envi-
ronmental committees to help them keep them
AAC," Mullet believes the program will help maxi-
mize the utilization of wood. Mullet also feels that a
better job can be done in educating the public about
forest practices.

In the past year he drove a tour bus for Interfor
and realized that a lot of the public don't know what
logging is all about.

Local 1-71 Business Agent Murray Cantelon said
that environmental concerns must continue to be
addressed.

He told delegates that "the only way that we can
get an action plan is to get people together from the
various locals and treat this issue every bit as seri-
ously as we treat the issues of safety, contract de-
mands and policy resolutions."

Brother Gary Kobayashi, president of Local 1-217,
which submitted the resolution, said his local has
had good response in educating members of the
labour movement and the provincial NDP at various
convention displays in the last year.

"I guess the message that has come through in all
our efforts has been that once people understand
what the IWA's message is, once they understand
that our message is different than the industry's...

then they start to accept and they understand that
the IWA has the right message."

Kobayashi added..."once we have this conference
and once we decide to have a common route to go
in spreading our message, I think we will be suc-
cessful in turning attitudes around in this province
and in this country."

Local 1-71 president Darrel Wong complimented
the IWA's National Environmental Department for
putting together some quality information.

"There's a lot of work to be done out there and if
we can get more input and get a lot more communi-
cation between all of the people on all of the staff of
the local unions, perhaps we can accomplish more
than what we are today."

"We've got a good forest policy. One of the things
we have to do is try to get more involvement," said
Courtenay, B.C. Local 1-363 president, Sy Pederson.
"We've got a message that's independent from in-
dustry... here's an opportunity to identify the IWA-
CANADA position and involve our rank and file and
some delegates."

Dave Haggard of Port Alberni, Local 1-85 and a
member of the National Forest Environment Com-
mittee said that an environment conference "would
probably be one of the most important conferences
that we could hold" and that proper discussion must
go into the planning of such a get together. Consid-
eration must be given as to whether a national con-
ference or a province-by-province format would be
better.

Haggard said such a conference needs the direc-
tion of the National Executive Board. He said that
the conference should accomplish what it sets out
to do.

Bob Freer of Local 1-71 commended the union's
environmental department on doing a fine job and
working very hard. He also said that forestry and
environmental issues are "some of the biggest is-
sues, if it's not the biggest issue that we're going to
be facing in the next 10 years and we have to come
out with a game plan."

Brother Everitt reminded delegates that in B.C.,
in the last set of negotiations, the union negotiated
contract language, which specifies that environ-
ment committees shall be set up in logging shows
and milling operations.

The resolution was passed and referred to the Na-
tional Executive Board for action.

ge

"Before we take one more single square inch of
our land base and our forest base out of production
we have to have an economic plan in place that
deals with the people that are (left) standing and
are going to lose their goddamn jobs."

Brother Haggard also said that there are compa-
nies out there that are using the issue of land with-
drawals to make deeper cuts to the workplace than
are necessary,

Delegate Bob Freer from Local 1-71 said that IWA
members are losing jobs through no fault of their
own and there has to be planning for human needs.

"There's got to be socio-economic solutions put
in place before our people start falling off the cliff,
because right now our people are falling off the
cliff," said Brother Freer. "There's nothing there,
there's no safety net, there's nothing socially or eco-
nomically there at all to protect them."

Gary Kobayashi of Vancouver Local 1-217 said
IWA members from the manufacturing sector must
support the resolution.

"For every logger that loses their job because of
restrictions in AAC's, or withdrawal of land, forest
lands, we probably lose three manufacturing jobs."

Brother Kobayashi said in Local 1-217 there aren't
any sawmills that operate two shifts, twelve months

a year. In fact, he said most members work 8-10
months a year.

"Part of the solution of creating jobs is through
better logging, intensive forest management, and

adding value to lumber," said Kobayashi.

The resolution was forwarded to all federations
of labour and the New Democratic party govern-
ments across Canada.

LUMBERWORKER/DECEMBER, 1992/11