CONVENTION

e IWA-CANADA President Gerry Stoney gives
opening address to union delegates. To his left is
Terry Smith, National Secretary-Treasurer.

‘Public beginning to understand forest issues’ — Stoney

Ithough most of his opening address to

IWA-CANADA’s seventh constitutional

convention held in Saskatoon,

Saskatchewan between October 4-7, and

hosted by Local 1-184, 1-207, 1-324 and 1-
830, concerned the October 25 federal election, Na-
tional Union President Gerry Stoney did also
address some other important issues for workers in
the forest industry.

In addition to addressing the union’s 185 dele-
gates and officials on the IWA’s support for the New
Democrats, Brother Stoney also addressed the is-
sues of the growing power of preservationists who
want to shut down the forest industry.

“In our own industry business as usual has had a
bleak spin of its own. Too often it has meant the
loss of thousands of jobs to plant closures, down-
sizing, and technological change,” said Brother
Stoney. “But while plant closures and moderniza-
tion were wiping out jobs at one end, preservation-
ists and blockaders have been busy at the other.”

“With their hyped-up language about sacred old-
growth forests and endangered species, well-heeled

internationally bankrolled organizations have
spread fear and hysteria about forestry and forests,”
said Stoney. “We hear cries for the preservation of
wilderness but never hear the cost in jobs, tax dol-
lars, or export earnings.”

Brother Stoney said that most of these organiza-
tions, which are headquartered in the U.S., preach
American interests under the guise of conservation.
They enjoy millions of dollars in tax-free donations
and are staffed and bankrolled by rich corporations
and individuals “who know nothing and care not at
all about forest workers in remote parts of Canada.”

The union president said their impact has been
massive.

“In the past few years we have seen the Valhalla,
South Moresby Park, Clayoquot Sound, the Car-
manah, all involve massive removals from the work-
ing forests, with no compensation for job loss, no
support for laid-off, no retraining opportunities, and
no jobs to go to. Now we hear about future plans
for the preservation lobby: the Kitlope, the interior
watersheds, protection of spotted owls and the mar-
bled murrelet, save the white pine, save the red
pine, and on and on.”

Stoney said the public is beginning to understand
the additional costs of removals.

“They (the public) are beginning to demand sci-
entific explanations instead of emotional appeals
and they are beginning to demand an end to block-
ades and a start to negotiations around some of
these issues.”

“Forest workers are starting to stand up. We are
mobilizing in our communities, we are explaining
our position and correcting misinformation. We are
handling blockades with patience and with original-
ity, but we've just about had enough. We can’t han-
dle any more unwarranted removals from the forest
land base based on half truths or misinformation.”

Stoney added, “the forest industry is the back-
bone of most of the communities you delegates rep-
resent. We know that, and the public is beginning to
understand that, and the preservationists and block-
aders better learn that because to play with it is
over. We are not prepared to give up our jobs and
our livelihoods and our communities. The work
may be different but we will be doing it in the fu-
ture.”

Time to put a stop
to forest takeaways
Say union members

The most urgent call coming from the IWA these
days is that there must be an end put to the further
withdrawal of working forests. All over the country
and especially in B.C., workers are facing the harsh
reality that their jobs are being eliminated due to
takeaways from the working forest.

Dave Haggard, president of IWA Local 1-85 (Port
Alberni) said that “we can no longer afford to lose
any more land base with the number of jobs that we
have lost over the last 10 years.”

Brother Haggard said that the current B.C. gov-
ernment is a more caring one in some ways but “on

the other hand they chug along as they’re doing
what they think that they have to do, trying to ap-

q

A\

° Dave Haggard

pease all the people . . . and taking away cut on
lands that we can no longer afford to lose.”
Haggard, who represents union woodworkers in
the Clayoquot Sound, says a third of the area sits in
park, He also said new fish/forestry guidelines, bio-

¢ Mitch Van Dale

° Gary Kobayashi

diversity guidelines, and aesthetic guidelines will
further take away from annual allowable cuts.
The local union president said “we need the land

Continued on next page

6/LUMBERWORKER/DECEMBER, 1993