This year IWA-CANADA delegates called for a spe-
cial Environment and Jobs Conference to deal with
a number of important issues. The national conven-
tion delegates passed a motion directing the union
to hold a conference that will:

° develop a program for industry environmental
committees,

° develop a program to effectively publicize and
promote the union forest policy,

¢ develop means and ways of educating the pub-
lic on the forest industry,

° develop a program to maximize employment
while adhering to strict environmental standards.

Brother Joe Leclair, first vice-president of Local
1-3567 said it is important to consider that “if there
are going to be Environmental Committees in the
plants and in the camps, that we have to ensure that
the time to deal with those committees ought to be
paid for by the employer.”

e During the debate from resolutions committee seated are (1. to r.) Second National Vice-President
Fred Miron, Fourth National Vice-President Harvey Arcand, Local 1-405 First Vice-President Bob
Matters and Local 1-85’s First Vice-President Larry Rewakowsky.

Union adopts numerous policies

JOBS AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES - the union de-
mands that the federal and provincial governments
develop and create programs which will enhance
and preserve good paying union forestry jobs and
create community stability.

EMPLOYMENT LEVELS - the IWA will lobby the B.C.
government to ensure that manufacturing jobs must
‘be part of the conditions when giving out any li-
cense to cut timber. i

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES - the IWA should make a
concentrated effort to have input into all environ-
mental issues in B.C. that will have an effect on the
membership.

BRITISH COLUMBIA ENVIRONMENTAL NETWORK - IWA-
CANADA will petition the B.C. government to stop
funding of the Network.

TRAINING PROGRAMS - the union will lobby govern-
ments to initiate training programs and upgrading
of the work force before layoffs occur.

LAND DEFERRALS - the IWA is mandated to lobby the
B.C. government to return deferred areas to the
working forest and Jet CORE address its mandate
without loss of jobs.

FUND FOR DISPLACED WORKERS - the union will de-
mand that provincial and federal governments es-
tablish a fund to train displaced workers for
meaningful employment, not work for welfare.

COMPENSATION FOR JOB LOSS IN FOREST INDUSTRY -
IWA-CANADA will lobby all Ministers of Forests in
Canada to provide for full compensation for union
members in the logging and manufacturing sectors
who lose their jobs because-of government deci-
sions.

LAY-OFFS AND PLANT CLOSURES - the union will meet
all Forest Ministers in Canada to discuss removal of
timber allocations to companies that close their
manufacturing facilities and reallocate timber to
companies prepared to manufacture in Canada.

MERGER WITH OTHER UNIONS - the National Officers
are directed to explore merger possibilities with
smaller, compatible unions.

LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTIONS

FULL EMPLOYMENT - the union:demands that the fed-
eral government pursue a policy of full employment
with guarantees of good wage rates, job security,
and access to collective bargaining for all Canadian
workers. K 5

UIC AND VACATION PAY - the union will lobby the fed-
eral government to amend the UIC Act so that vaca-
tion pay does not disqualify a person from weeks of
entitlement to UIC benefits.

UIC PREMIUMS FOR EMPLOYERS - the federal govern-
ment will be lobbied by the union to make compa-
nies take responsibility for laid off workers and be
assessed a percentage over and above normal UIC
premiums for each laid off worker.

ANTI-SCAB LEGISLATION - in Saskatchewan IWA-
CANADA will demand anti-scab legislation.

LABOUR LAWS - the union will continue to lobby all
provincial governments to improve labour legisla-
tion and impose penalties on employers who use in-
timidation or threats of closure.

ARBITRATION IN ONTARIO - IWA-CANADA will lobby
the Ontario Ministry of Labour to set reasonable
rates for arbitrators in the province.

RIGHT TO WORK LEGISLATION - the union is instructed
to take all necessary steps to defeat right to work
legislation and its supporters.
SILVICULTURE/INTENSIVE FORESTRY STANDARDS - IwA
will lobby all governments to enact legislation re-
quiring proper standards and training for silvicul-
ture and intensive forestry work. This should allow
local resource community workers to have training
and job opportunities.

on jobs and environmental issues

aes

° Dave Mullett

e Kevin Hopton

Brother Leclair said that (every local union) is be-
ing saturated with committees and its the same peo-
ple doing all of the work.

Dave Mullett a Local 1-71 delegate from vac
ver Island, said that the Interfor - IWA-CANADA joint
environmental program where he works is going
well. As such, Brother Mullett and other employees

at Interfor have received training.

“Interfor took the initiative to be the only compa-
ny that sent unionized personnel to the training ses-
sion for coastal fish-forestry guidelines,” says
Mullett. Being trained in the guidelines, Brother
Mullett put on courses up and down the coast. Of
1150 employees employed in the Interfor camps and
logging operations, over 50% have received training.

The IWA-Interfor program allows workers to
cease work if they think something is environmen-
tally unsound.

“It is a major step for a logging company to take.
It has not been negotiated. It was put forward by a
steering committee that looks after the environmen-
tal program.”

“Hopefully this (training efforts) will take some
of the wind out of the preservationists’ cause ... “
said Mullett. “. . . we understand that we can’t con-
tinue logging the way we have in the past. Our prac- _
tices have to change. But we also can’t preserve the
whole of the forest. We need some of it to work
with.” c

Gary Kobayashi, president of Local 1-217, whose
local submitted the resolution, said that its especial-
ly important for the union to deal with ways of max-
imizing employment.

“The importance of us as an organization having a
conference is that we are in a position of knowing
where the jobs are, whether it be in intensive forest
management, whether it be in adding value to wood
products. But I certainly think the industry isn’t go-
ing to create more jobs voluntarily.”

“... I think what our government needs right now,
is they need a blueprint, a blueprint from us th:
shows the way of how we.as woodworkers c:
both do our jobs better, more environmentally
sound, and also create jobs at the same time,” said
Brother Kobayashi.

“I don’t want to see the industry get to the point
where there’s going to be 2,000 of us doing a hell of
a good job environmentally but that all there's going
to be,” added the speaker. “We've got to start get-
ting more out of the logs we cut.”

Local 1-363’s Kevin Hopton said sometime envi-
ronmental committees in camp fall apart: He said
that environmental concerns should be in the con-

tract and that those issues should be taken to griev-
ance.

BANKRUPTCY LEGISLATION - the union will lobby the
B.C. government to pass legislation that will giv
workers coverage if companies go into bankrupicy
MEDICAL AND EXTENDED HEALTH COVERAGE - the
union will lobby all governments to provide all pen-
sioners age 55 and over with free coverage for med-

ical service plans and extended health care
coverage.

MEDICAL CARE CERTIFICATES - the National IWA offi-
cers will press for legislation which stipulates that
those requesting medical certificates will pay for
them or have their costs reimbursed by medical
plans.

MEDICAL TRAVEL COSTS - the union will approach the
B.C. government for 100% coverage for people who

need to travel to referral centres for medical aid.

10/LUMBERWORKER/DECEMBER, 1993