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e Log hauling contractors and their drivers have turned to the IWA after West Fraser Timber Mills forced concessions in hauling rates.

B.C. interior local takes on major battle to
represent dependent contractor truckers

The IWA is currently in an ongoing
fight to represent the interests of
workers in the trucking sector of the
logging industry. IWA-CANADA, Local
1-425 (Williams Lake) is currently
caught up in a costly and time con-
suming effort to bring back interior
log truck drivers into the union.

Log truck drivers and loggers in
general have not been unionized in
the interior of B.C. to any appreciable
extent since the late 1970's when the
industry contracted the work out to
non-union owner/operators.

Today, years later, these non-union
owners and owner operators have
come to the IWA to ask the union to
be their bargaining agent before a
major forest company in the Cari-
boo/Chilcotin region of B.C.

The local union has been embroiled
in Labour Board and Provincial Court
battles in order to legally represent
the truck owners and owner/opera-
tors who are fighting for their job
security with West Fraser Timber
Mills Ltd., which has a sawmill and
planer facility in Williams Lake.

The truckers are fighting back
against arbitrary concessions in haul-
ing rates that have been imposed by
West Fraser. Also at issue is West
Fraser's plan to cut the truckers out
of the picture by awarding hauling
contracts to stump to dump contrac-
tors, thereby breaking long-standing
seniority agreements with the truck-
ers.

Local 1-425 president Brian
Symmes says the local is in a real
scrap and that West Fraser is pulling
out all the stops to keep the truckers
on their knees.

“West Fraser is one of the most
hard nosed anti-union companies to
deal with,” says Brother Symmes. “We
in the union are fortunate because the

truckers are a solidly united bunch of
people who are willing to fight back.”

As log hauling rates have been
slashed by the parent company West
Fraser, the drivers are getting bowled
over as their take home pay has
dropped significantly. Some drivers
are now clearing as little as $10-
$14/nour for a 12-16 hour day.

Enough is enough and now the
truck owners and drivers, many of
who have never been in the union
before, are seeking help from the IWA.
And the union has been careful and
deliberate in its response.

“Initially some of the drivers came
to us said ‘look we’re getting the
screws put to us - can the IWA help us
out,’ says Wade Fisher, financial-sec-
retary of the local union. “Now if we
would have tried to certify the drivers
only, it would not have done any good
because the owners haven't got the
ability to pay.”

“By going to another level of con-
tractor, who has no means of getting
at the big cheque book, we would be
wasting our time,” says Brother Fish-
er. “These big companies in Williams
Lake will put a guy out of business
right now. They wouldn’t even think
twice about it.”

In the Williams Lake area West
Fraser Timber, Weldwood Canada,
Fletcher Challenge Canada, Lignum
Ltd. and Jacobson Brothers all use
non-union trucking firms or
owner/operators to get their wood
supply. Basically the companies can
dictate the truck hauling rates.

One trucking firm owner, who wish-
es to remain anonymous told the
Lumberworker: “When you negotiate
from a point of weakness . . . that’s
exactly the kind of an agreement you
are going to have. When both sides
are dealing from a point of strength

you're not going to come out with
everything you want . . . but (you can
get) a fair agreement on both sides of
the table.”

After the spring weather break up
in 1992 West Fraser held its negotia-
tions with Williams Lake truckers and
told them they were going to quit
direct payment for the hauling.
Instead West Fraser would contract
the hauling to the stump to dump log-
gers.

This would be a violation of long
standing agreements so the owners
reacted strongly and West Fraser
backed off a bit.

Because the truckers continued to
feel threatened by West Fraser, they
approached the IWA in September of
1992 to seek the union’s support as
their official bargaining agency.

From that time on the union’s com-
munications to West Fraser were basi-
cally ignored.

“West Fraser didn’t want the IWA in
the picture at all,” says Brother Fish-
er. “They systematically ignored our
efforts to talk to them in a reasonable
way.”

In addition that company tried to
divide the truckers from taking collec-
tive action.

“They tried to get the truckers in
one-on-one situations, but they stuck
together,” says Brother Symmes.
“They are a very solid group.”

“West Fraser has resisted our every
attempt to get the certification togeth-
er,” adds Brother Fisher. “I think both
sides can negotiate an agreement
which everyone could be happy with.
We're looking for job security, and a
decent living for the drivers and the
owners as well. .. it’s that simple.” _

Last year the IWA started to assist
the truckers in a process of commer-
cial arbitration against West Fraser

through the court system. Then in
early December of last year the union
applied for certification of the owners
and owner/operators under the for-
mer labour laws of the Industrial Rela-
tions Council. The then Industrial
Relations Council told the IWA that
the certification was not legal.

Under the former labour legislation
the owner/operator truckers were not
classified as dependent contractors.
They were classified as independent
contractors which could not be union-
ized.

When the New Democratic Party
government of B.C. put new labour
legislation into place in January of
this year the IWA resigned the truck-
ers to check-off forms and re-applied
for certification.

This time around, with new labour
law changes, most of the truckers
were deemed as dependent contrac-
tors. Most of the truck owners and
owner operators are now seen as
dependent contractors because they
receive the majority of their income
and either service or drive their trucks
for a great extent.

“Even though the company (West
Fraser) would like to think these guys
are independent businessmen, they
are dependent contractors, complete-
ly at the mercy of West Fraser for
their pay cheques,” says Fisher.

The new Labour Relations Board is
going slow in its processing of the
case and in establishing just which of
if all of the truckers can be in the IWA
bargaining unit.

“The Board has told us that this is a
trend-setter in the province of B.C. in
labour Jaw and will be for quite some
time to come,” says Symmes. “They
want to take the time and make sure

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6/LUMBERWORKERNUNE, 1993