SO, WHAT BUSINESS ARE THEY IN, ANYWAY? On the eastern part of Vancouver Island major forest companies are flipping their private lands for real estate projects, and the IWA is get- ting very concerned. FEATURE PAGE 8 Dump the deal IWA joins Ottawa protest against bad trade policies n May 15 more than one hundred IWA-CANADA members joined with over 60,000 others at a rally in Ottawa to demonstrate against the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and other destructive policies of the Federal government. Union members from four IWA locals took busses and cars to the event which was coordinated through the Action Canada Network and the Canadian Labour Congress. The local unions participating were Local 1-500, 1-700, 1-1000, and 1-2693. Fred Miron, second National vice- president of IWA-CANADA, who was in attendance said the rally was a large success and that the labour move- ment has spoken clearly. “The message was free trade and how it’s costing us jobs,” Brother Miron told the Lumberworker. “The Mulroney government has to know that we are serious about getting rid of them in the next federal election.” Over a thousand bus loads of peo- ple were parked for miles around the parliament buildings and crowds gath- ered to hear speaker after speaker denounce the NAFTA. Bob White, president of the Canadi- an Labour Congress put the blame for free trade and its resulting job loss squarely on the shoulder of the Con- servative government. “We're here to say goodbye, Brian, goodbye,” said Brother White. Also speaking were Maude Barlow of the Council of Canadians and rep- resentatives from the Action Canada Network and the National Action Committee and the Status of Women. IWA members were in attendance to show concern over the effects the current free trade agreement with the U.S. and the proposed NAFTA be- tween the U.S.A., Canada and Mexico. Brother Miron said that IWA work- ers have certainly felt the effects of the free trade agreement. “It's practically decimated the furni- ture industry,” said Brother Miron. “It (the FTA) took tariffs off not in a 10 year period like most other industries, but in five years.” The IWA also attributes many per- manent mill closures to the inflated, warped, high interest rate policies of 1989-1991, which jolted the Canadian dollar and resulted in permanent clo- sures in IWA sawmill, plywood plants, corrugated and box plants, and furni- =a i ture plants.” “We've been hard hit by these shut- downs the last 4 or 5 years and we think the government is responsible in large part for our loss of jobs,” said Miron. Today over 1.5 million Canadians are officially unemployed according to Statistics Canada. The real number is higher when taking into considera- tion people on welfare and those who have stopped looking for work. IWA delegates came a long way to add their voices to the protest. A bus of IWA members came from the MacMillan Bathurst Inc. corrugated plant in Etobicoke. Local 1-2693 mem- bers joined a bus load of delegates e° IWA members from four Ontario locals joined 60,000 others on May 15. Photo courtesy Local 1-2693 oe ‘ from the Thunder Bay and District Labour Council. The Local 1-500 delegates from south-western Ontario had a special hat made up which reads, “IWA- CANADA SAYS NO TO NAFTA.” Brother Miron says the event was success because it was well orga- nized. The Canadian Labour Congress and the Ontario Federation of Labour coordinated themselves with each union and followed up prior to May 15. The Action Canada Network did a good job of organizing as well. It coor- dinated two caravans to raise aware- ness. One left the Maritimes in late April and another caravan left B.C. over a month prior to the event. TRUSSWORTHY UNION MEMBERS - at the B. W. Baerg Truss Manufacturing plant in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan IWA Local 1-184 members cut and assemble wood products which are sold all over Canada. L to R are Dan Bueckert, Ben Freisen, Joe Froese, Kelly Doell, Bruce Slasynski, Dave Tutka, Claude Magotiaux, Pete Giesbrecht, and Ted Friesen. See story pg. 10. i EL