~STRIKE-

ON

Three of the remaining strikers were (left to right) Dino Smith, Carl Davignon, and Clarence Penner. The compa-

ny refused to negotiate at any time in good faith with the union.

Longest dispute in [WA history winds up
as union calls off strike in Slave Lake

IWA-CANADA'’s longest strike in his-
tory has finally come to an end. On
January 15, 38 remaining strikers for-
mally withdrew their demands to sig-
nify that strike action against Zeidler
Forest Industries in Slave Lake, Alber-
tais over.

The infamous strike began on April
11, 1986 when union members refused
to give in to Zeidler’s demands to gut
their contract and force wage conces-
sions. The strike began on a con-
frontational note as the RCMP took
action almost immediately to break
the strike.

Not once were we
questioned why we
were out so long. The
union supported us
wholeheartedly and
Sor this we are very
thankful.

— Mike Pisak,
President Local 1-207

The workers who went on strike
are members of IWA-CANADA Local 1-
207, which represents unionized
woodworkers in the province of Al-
berta. Throughout the strike the com-
pany refused to meet with the IWA
and continued to run the plywood ve-
neer plant with scabs.

The union found it impossible to
conduct an effective strike in the face

of court injunctions limiting the num-
ber and activities of striking workers.
At no time did the government of Al-
berta come to the aid of striking
workers. Alberta is an anti-union
province with an anti-labour Conserv-
ative government in power.

The union also conducted a strike
against the Zeidler plywood plant in
Edmonton which lasted almost five
years before the Alberta Labour Rela-
tions Board allowed a vote in which
the scabs decertified the union. That
vote took place in February of last
year.

After the IWA called off the Slave
Lake strike, the company agreed to
take back the union members who
had not retired, quit, or been terminat-
ed by Zeidler. Of those eligable to re-
turn to work, twelve employees
returned to the job.

The Slave Lake and Edmonton
strikes have cost the union more than
$10 million in terms of strike pay and
legal fees.

In both cases the company refused
to meet with the union to bargain in
good faith and continued to use the
protection of the state to herd scabs
under the endorsement of the govern-
ment.

“In both Zeidler strikes our hands
were tied. In Alberta if an employer
wants to scab out an operation then it
will receive the full protection of the
government and its police force,” says
Local 1-207 president Mike Pisak.
“We tried everything possible to bring
the strikes to honorable conclusions.
However it is clear that Zeidler does
not want organized labour in their op-
erations and that in Alberta the rights
of organized labour are repressed
when it comes to taking job action.”

“We can be very proud that our
members lasted so long in such the
grueling strike at Slave Lake,” com-
ments Brother Pisak. “However in the
end there is nothing that can be done
to make Zeidler deal with us in an
open and honest manner. If we stayed
on strike against the company longer
then there would be nothing we could
do to get an even break as long as
there is a right-wing Conservative gov-
ernment in power.”

Joe Martha, union chairman at the
Slave Lake picket line said that the
union members tried their best
that the workers said it was time
pack it up. ee

He also says that Alberta is
province where the government and
employers are out to wipe out work-
ers’ rights. Not once did the govern-
ment come to the assistance of the
union in either of the Zeidler
despite numerous attempt by the IWA
to seek the government's help in find-
ing a solution.

“I imagine that if the company had
not been able to scab out the strikes
and had suffered financially then the
government would have intervened in
a hurry,” adds Brother Pisak. “But
when we were suffering because of
the use of scabs the government did
absolutely nothing. The government
wouldn't lift a finger to help us.”

The strikers endured harsh winter
and summer conditions and never left
their picketing stations in both
strikes. They maintained a high level
of morale even in the most difficult
times.

In an interview with the Lwmber-
worker in the summer of 1993, Joe
Martha said the province of Alberta is
like Chile or Brazil where the govern-
ment in trying to wipe out the rights
of workers.

“Why would they take all the people
who have helped build up Zeidler for
years and kick them out, replacing
them with scabs, and smashing all of
their rights,” said Brother Martha.

Workers at the Slave Lake opera-

: tion struck because they refused to

accept a $2.00/hr. wage cut, a drop in
benefits, or a different pension plan,

Throughout the strike the Local I-
207 members received excellent sup-
port from the IWA membership,

“Not once were we questioned as to
why we were out for so long,” say lo-
cal union president Pisak. “The union
supported us wholeheartedly and for
this we are very thankful.”

Brother Martha say that there isn’t
any other union in the world who
would support workers in such a long
and difficult struggle.

The Zeidler strikers in both Slave
Lake and Edmonton received contin-
ued support from the Alberta Federa-
tion of Labour and the Canadian
Labour Congress. The AFL and its af-
filiates were instrumental in helping
stage various rallies and events in sup-
port of IWA-CANADA members. The
Canadian Labour Congress helped
produce a special video and television
commercials to publicize the strikes.

“We recieved support from all cor-
ners of the labour movement,” says
Brother Pisak.

i WA

eAt the union picket shack in the winter of late 1989. Left to right are Lo-
cal 1-207 president Mike Pisak, strike supporter Gerda Martha, and plant
chairman Joe Martha

8/LUMBERWORKER/APRIL, 1994