Slocan mill
takes look at
ergonomics

After participating in a three day
course on Piguep lace ergonomics,
management and worker represen-
tatives at the Radium Forest Prod-
ucts (Slocan Group of Companies)
mill in Radium Hot Springs, B.C.
are slowly making changes in the
epee.

In June of this year, IVA member
Mike Fraser and the company’s per-
sonnel and safety supervisor Louis
McSheffree were instructed by
ergonomics specialists from B.C.
Research in an effort sponsored by
the IWA Forest Industry Safety and
Health Research and Education
Fund (SAFER).

7 Both individuals found the
fonomics course, instructed by
udy Village and Julia Rylands of
B.C. Research, to be a valuable
experience which opened up their
eyes to some practical changes that
may be made to make the work-
lace more efficient, safer, and pro-
luctive.

The SAFER sponsored program
focused on ergonomics awareness in
the work place with a special
fearhasis on forestry and logging
Bu wood manufacturing opera-

ms.

The IWA’s Mike Fraser, safety
chairman in the operation, says the
course was a good one and thanks

the SAFER for putting it on.

“The course gave me an insight
into things I didn’t realize before,”

s Brother Fraser, “In particular

e are certain jobs that should be

igned for the worker and not for
the machine.”

Changes may come, but workers
shouldn’t expect them too fast, adds

er.

“One of the things we have to
Tealize with Slocan is that ergonom-
ies is a whole new ball game to
them (employers) too,” says Brother
Fraser. “tn my view there has to be

an ongoing process of educating
th management and workers.
Things will not change overnight.”

The popany’s Louis McSheffree

Says that Slocan is serious about
_ making changes in the workplace
__ that are more ergonomically correct.

“We have a few areas in the

wmill that are identified for
ergonomic changes,” Mr. McShef-

free told the Lumberworker during
‘tour through the operation.
About 133 IWA members work in
_ the mill on a 2 x 8 hour shift basis
Manufacturing dimension and
‘machine stress-rated lumber. It
cuts mostly lodge pole pins and dry
_ interior douglas Ee ‘otal annual
duction capacity 0
000,000 finished board feet, so
a high speed mill with a busy
force. An 8 hour shift averages
000 board feet ae fir and 225,00
spruce, pine and fir,
e mill Beaeeline in stress test-
lumber which goes through a
ries of rolls that examine. each
for stress. Each piece of lum-
marked for its strength capac-

puepieees on “J”

lium also
e Japanese mar-

t. 17 pa pearance
+ atopy The J grade includes
nd 2x 4’s and 2 x 8's split
4’s which have a good

mnomi-

° Company is talking about putting in drop gate on reman line to get rid of “Swede puller” tire system. Pictured
are operators Ian Brown (I.) and Bill Wingert (r.)

Hanover Ontario furniture plant shuts down

After several knockdowns over
the past 5-6 years, it looks like
another furniture plant has been
knocked out for good. In the south-
ern Ontario community of Hanover,
about 200 km northwest of Toronto,
160 IWA-CANADA, Local 1-500
members learned that their employ-
er, North American Furniture
Group Inc., will be going into
receivership.

The bad news came on October 2
when the Ontario Development Cor-
poration, (ODC) a provincial crown
entity with a major stake in the
plant, announced that it was
pulling out for good.

Formerly known as Sitar les
furniture, the IWA operation had
been on the rocks since late 1989
when markets for its production
began to drop. The company with
two plant sites, suffered a closure in
OMEEEEE 1991. After a restructuring
agreement involving the ODC, the

lant opened up under the name of
Benner Case Goods in mid-Janu-
ary 1992. But from that time on
things have not gone well until the
final closure. :

The closure is a devastating blow
for the community of Hanover, with
a population of about 7,000.

“There’s not many jobs to go to
anymore,” says sub-! local union sec-
retary and local union executive
poard member Brad Sprague who
has worked there for the past 11
years. <

The plant has been closed since
duly of this year and peoirdiag to
Brother Sprague, many skilled
workers have picked up and left.
Since its reopening last year the
company has not provided steady
em) iepede for the majority of its

workers

“We've looked at every possible
way of keeping the plant going,”

says Local 1-500 president Bruce
Weber. “But with the ODC refusing
to pump more money (it has spent
$2.2 million so far) and lack of fund-
ing to purchase raw materials, the
writing is on the wall.”

With declining tariffs and in-
creased competition from low wage
U.S. competitors the furniture, cabi-
net, furniture blanks, and case
goods industries have been clob-
bered tremendously since the sign-
ing of the Canada-U.S. free trade
agreement in 1989.

“It seems that the only ones in
the business that are struggling to
survive free trade are the private,
family run operations,” says Broth-
er Weber. “Anyone else is moving to
the U.S. or Mexico or simply closing
down operations and walking
away.”

At one time in the past the com-
munity of Hanover had over 1200
IWA members. That was in the
1970’s when Peppler furniture,
Hanover Kitchens, Knetchel’s Fur-
niture and Heinzman Piano were
operating.

Today only Hanover Kitchens
remains open - and just barely with
less than 70 full-time IWA members
working.

The plant has been on the town
site for over 100 years. About 15
years ago it opened a more modern
finishing plant.

In the late 80’s and early 90’s
some additional technological
changes were made to the opera-
tions. However whatever changes
happened were too little too late.

Brother Sprague says that work-
ers bent over backwards to keep the
plant operating but the manage-
ment was less than forthright on
many occasions when dealing with
the workforce.

Workers often volunteered to
work 2 or 3 day weeks and short
hours as well.

“There’s no way you can feed a
family on 2 days of work a week,”
says Sprague.

“A lot of workers who could have
possibly found other jobs were
asked to stay around because of
their skills and expertise.”

During the final year and a half
management tried to play games
like arbitrarily taking away bonus
systems and not paying all the ben-
efits the union had agreed to.

In the end the Ontario govern-
ment’s wage protection program
ensured that each worker got
$5,000 on closure notice in the sum-
mer.

However the federal unemploy-
ment commission has grabbed the
compensation payments away from
workers who have received U.I. pay-
ments. Some workers have had to
repay up to $200/month of provin-
cial wage protection benefits to fed-
eral U.I. program.

“The wage protection legislation
was a oa idea when it was intro-
duced by the Bob Rae’ government
in 1991,” says Brother Weber. “But
now all it amounts to is a transfer
of money from the provincial to the
federal government.

There is still a glimmer of hope in
some peoples’ eyes that the plant
may reopen some day in some other
shape or form. 3

But the receiver is looking to liq-
uidate the plant and the union has
done about all it can do.

“In the furniture business when a
plant is down too long, then pur-
chasers look to alternate suppliers,”
adds Brother Weber. “It’s a tragedy
to see the operations go down for

good.”

LUMBERWORKER/NOVEMBER, 1993/9