Gordon Landriault.

¢ At Local 1-324’s headquarters in The Pas, are local union president Jim Anderson, secretary Laurie Palosaari, and trustee

Local 1-324 covers entire province
with a dedicated union membership

ut in the wild bushlands and

prairies of Manitoba, the IWA

is alive and kicking and is

doing the job of representing

workers in the province's for-
est industry. With its headquarters in
The Pas Manitoba, IWA-CANADA Local
1-324 represents about 500 workers
spread out all over the province (See
map).

The local union received its charter
from the former IWA (International
Woodworkers of America) in 1969
when the industry expanded in The
Pas area. Prior to ’69 all Manitoba IWA
business was handled out by repre-
sentatives from IWA Local 1-184 in
Saskatchewan.

In 1970 former IWA president Jack
Munro and Art Friske negotiated the
first contract for Local 1-324 at the
then Churchill Forest Products
sawmill site in The Pas. Years later
the mill was bought out by the govern-
ment and became Manitoba Forestry
Resources (MANFOR). In 1989 the
crown corporation’s assets were pur-
chased by Repap Enterprises which
now largely controls the province’s
forests.

REPAP MAJOR EMPLOYER

The local union has about 300 of its
500 members working for Repap.
Approximately 150 IWAers work in the
sawmill in The Pas and the other half
are situated at various company and
contact logging and hauling opera-
tions. The logging operations are in
the Cranberry Flin-Flon (Kississing)
region, the Moose Lake region,
Thompson-Wabowden (Nelson River)
aud the Swan River area south of The
as.

During the past year the company
has been phasing out its conventional
cut, skid and slash operations in the
woodlands and has been introducing
roadside chippers in its logging opera-
tions to increase efficiency. Now
whole stems are being debarked,
delimbed and chipped at roadside.

The resulting effects have been lay-
offs and a reshuffling of the work
force as some loggers have been
retrained on harvesting equipment, or
have taken their air brake endorse-
ments to obtain Class 1 Licences
enabling them to drive chip vans.
Some workers have been transferred
into the Repap sawmill.

The new roadside chippers have
boosted Repap’s capacity to supply
chips for its kraft pulp and paper mill
in The Pas. But the loggers have suf-
fered layoffs and the sawmill workers
are concerned about getting a depend-
able supply of sawlogs to continue
operating for more than 8 months per
year.

Repap is currently planning to
increase its pulp production with a
new pulp milling facility in The Pas.
Now the plans are in various stages of
environmental review.

When the new mill starts up it was
expected to export raw pulp across
the U.S. border to Repap’s fine paper
mill in Kimberly, Wisconsin. This is
the largest coated paper mill in the
US.

Jim Anderson, president of Local 1-
324, and himself a former millwright
at the sawmill in The Pas, says work-
ers are concerned that Repap is going
to concentrate entirely on the pulp
end of its operations and drop its
sawmill at some point in the future.

"sm

br in the
1980 when over
their dues. Back
afford two full tim: ers:
retary. Now the local
Anderson on staff along
tary Laurie Lier 8 mn

There's a lot of ground to
the local union, which has
cations in 10 different areas.
is spread out from The Pas in
to Thompson in the north,
nipeg in the South. ‘

In addition to the sawmill and.
ging operations, Local 1-324 repr
sents tree planters and Cl
workers who plant on
management licence. All the
planters who plant on the comp
FML are signed up to the union
matically when they go to work.
Article page ten). The tree pl
season is usually early May to
July.

The local union holds ce
in other areas as well, both in a
side the forest industry.

It represents workers at Roblin
est Products, a small wood
and treatment plant about I
south of The Pas. (See story page 13),
The plant produces treated lumber,
posts, poles, and other products.

The union holds certification at
Prendiville Wood Preservers in Neep-
awa about 110 miles west of Win-
nipeg, where the workers treat wood
products with weather and pest resis-_
tant chemicals.

Local 1-324, also services workers
at Perimeter Lumber, a small hard-
wood lumber remanufacturing plant
on the outskirts of Winnipeg. This
company mainly deals in specialty
woods (ie. maple, birch, ash, etc.).

The plants at Roblin, Neepawa and
Winnipeg depend on, in at least part
of the lumber in The Pas that is pro-
duced from Repap’s mill.

Outside the forest industry the
union represent 50 full-time worker
at the Wescana Inn Hotel facilities in
The Pas. That bargaining unit h t
been in the IWA since the mid-1970's_
and remains as strong as ever. Local
1-324 hold many of its negotiations
and functions on the hotel’s premises.

The other non-forest related ind
try certified to 1-324 is the Fripp Fibt
Form plastic food container plant it
Winnipeg. Unfortunately, the marke!
for plastic foam egg trays has di
and the plant is being disassemb!
now. Thirty IVA members have
Hest and it looks like they won't

ack.

|S
8/LUMBERWORKER/MARCH, 1993