Pole plant
in IWA for
over 30 years

There are not a lot of IWA members
working there but it’s a good bunch to
have in the IWA, says Local 1-417 pres-
ident Kevin Kelly, when talking about
the B.J. Carney and Company Ltd.
pole yard situated in Sicamous, B.C.
about 160 km. west of Kamloops not
far off the Trans-Canada highway.

For over three decades a handful of

union workers have been working for-

the company in producing log poles
which are sold all over Canada and
the U.S. Today B.J. Carney employees
7 IWA members in its Sicamous opera-
tion which processes cedar and lodge-
pole pine poles for various uses, most
of which are for utility purposes such
as hydro or telephone systems.

Brother Kelly says that he can’t
remember a major grievance that has
arisen there and that its a solid union
operation which always has backed
the union 100% during contract talks.

The employer has been a good one
too. A full member of the Interior
Forest Labour Relations Association,
B.J. Carney has been in compliance
with the collective agreement without
any significant problems.

The company first began in 1905
when it was known as B.J. Carney and
in 1952 the company was split into
two separate companies, with the
Canadian operations becoming a cor-
poration known as B.J. Carney & Co.
Ltd.

General Manager (Jack) Herman
says the company is in a very compet-
itive market, especially in competing
for timber supply.

The outfit gets its wood from a
number of suppliers including
sawmills, timber quota holders, and
private forest land owners. The major-

¢ Local 1-417 member Dick Armstrong does maintenance work on the pole peeler which produces 30,000-35,000 poles per
year.

ity of the company’s wood comes
from the Revelstoke Forest District
and the Salmon Arm Forest District
where both cedar and lodge pole pine
are harvested. Douglas fir is also used
from time to time.

Close to 50% of the timber used is
second growth and most of that is
cedar. Cedar makes the longest poles

¢ Scaler David Hays measures up fresh bucked cedar pole.

(up to 120 feet) and lodge pole pine is
used for the shorter lengths.

According to lead hand and IWA
member Lyle Herman, the supplier is
normally paid when the company sees
what it can get out of the log. The
company is very particular as to what
will make a pole.

In the U.S. there are strict regula-
tions governing the use of pole tim-
bers, including regulations over the
size of growth rings in second-growth
trees. The company is very fussy
about the poles since 65% of its busi-
ness is spread throughout the U.S.
with various utility companies.

The company has a log buyer which
goes to a mill site or logging claim to
scout out the best deals. Since quality
is such an issue, there is a lengthy
culling out process.

Mr. Herman says that the plant has
a lot of trouble getting lodge pole pine
to fit its specifications. He says that,
even if a stand of lodge pole pine is
sufficient lengthwise for poles, then if
only 10% of them meet final specifica-
tions then the company is doing o.k.

Poles are classified by grade quality
(Grades 1-7) and by length. The mini-
mum butt size is in the 10-11 inch
range while the top can have as nar-
row a taper as 5 inches says Mr.
Harmanson.

The operation produces between
30-35,000 poles per year. All of the
lodge pole pine is treated with pen-
tachlorophenol wood preservatives

under thermal pressure treatment.
Some cedar is also chemical treated
full length while the rest is only treat-
ed at the butt ends.

The poles can’t have too much
sweep over the length or they will be
rejected. This is determined by
stretching a tape from the mid point
of the groundline to the mid point of
the top. If there is daylight between
the pole and the tape then either the
butt end or the top is chopped back.

There are also specifications on spi-
ral grain as well. Too much spiral will
yield a weaker pole.

During the harvesting the potential
poles must be handled with care.
Brother Herman says that cable and
grapple yarder systems bruise and
damage a lot of logs which could oth-
erwise be poles. Cedar is especially
easy to damage when it is green.
Because roadside landings are getting
smaller there is even more damage to
wood.

When the log hits the yard it goes
through a pole peeler machine. Then
the pole is inspected for length, taped,
bucked and scaled. The log is then fin-
ished with a “log wizard” plaining
knife system on the end of a chain-
saw.

Although cedar and lodge pole pine
are the mainstay species, in the mid-
1970's the company, during timber
shortages, did process hemlock poles
with success. Most of these went to
Saskatchewan for utility purposes.

Weyerhaeuser

Continued from page thirteen

Of course eliminating of the isocy-
nates altogether is the desired solu-
tion for the IWA says Rushton. All of
the industry is not on the liquid resin
but Weyerhaeuser says it uses isocy-
nates to speed up production.

The Occupational Health and Safety
Branch of the Ministry of Labour has
sent an inspector in to pronounce the
plant’s air quality as o.k.

“Maybe air quality will be good for
one day but we need constant moni-
toring while these chemicals are float-
ing around in the air,” says Rushton.

The Alberta Workers’ Compen-
sation Board has compensated one
millwright from the plant who has
been sensitized to the chemicals.

Meanwhile another workers’ compen-
sation claim is pending.

“We have had to deal with some
major issues concerning workers’
compensation or weekly indemnity
that workers should be receiving
when they have had to leave the job
because they have been affected by
the chemicals,” says Rushton. “These
are major problems that have to be
dealt with.”

Local 1-207 Financial Secretary Bob
DeLeeuw says he is also optimistic
that the newly formed joint health and
safety committee can work positively
to wrestle with the serious issues.

“Since the workers joined our local
in the spring of 1990 we have resolved
a number of issues with Weyer-
haeuser,” adds Brother DeLeeuw. “I
believe we can resolve these current
issues in a cooperative manner as
well.”

14/LUMBERWORKER/SEPTEMBER, 1993