Kootenay CORE

continued on page three

The West Kootenay sector repre-
sentatives did agree to a transitional
strategy that would ensure that no
land-use designations will be enacted
without transitional measures in
place; it also assures workers that
they would receive their full current
wages and benefits during retraining
for new employment. But B.C. govern-
ment representative Ken Baker would
not commit provincial funding for the
retraining funding.

“Without that assurance, we can’t
commit to any land-use plan that puts
our people out of work,” Ulley coun-
tered. “We certainly won’t agree to
any protection of forest land above
the 12 percent regional guideline” set
by the provincial government for the
Kootenay-Boundary area.

The two “benchmarks” would bring
West Kootenay protected areas to 12.9
and 21.5 percent of the total land
base, respectively.

No official is saying
what the government
will put in place to
off-set job loss in the
forest industry

Ulley pointed out that in West
Kootenay, conservation representa-
tives’ demands were particularly un-
reasonable: “I don’t think some of
these people really care at all about
workers, their families or their com-
munities. Neither of the benchmarks
are very realistic in terms of job loss -
I don’t really know why we've wasted
our time trying to negotiate with these
folks.”

Forest worker representatives in
West Kootenay include members of
IWA Locals 1-405, 1-417 and 1-423.
They plan to submit recommenda-
tions to CORE commissioner Owen
now that the talks have ended.

In East Kootenay, the negotiations
came closer to agreement but still
failed to reach consensus on designa-
tions for some 15 crucial mapping
polygons. The issue was whether or
not to allow timber harvesting in
those areas, subject to the Forest
Practices Code plus stringent special
management guidelines, or to protect
them.

Under special management, the dis-
puted mapping units would produce
modest job loss on top of the Forest
Practice Code and TSR’s predicted
impact of about 250 direct forest sec-
tor jobs. With protection, 250 and 300
direct jobs would likely be sacrificed.

Again, provincial government repre-
sentative Baker would not commit to
funding of an agreed-on transition
strategy, beyond the benefits likely to
flow into the region as a result of the
government’s recently announced
Forest Renewal B.C. Plan.

In spite of Baker’s assurance that
“the government is saying ‘yes’ to
funding transition,” neither he nor
other provincial officials could say
how much funding or what kinds of
projects would be available to offset
Job loss likely to spring from CORE’s
plan.

Forest workers’ representatives
also expressed dissatisfaction with
the actions of government staff as-
signed to the CORE Table when over
their objections they compiled an
analysis of the degree to which negoti-
ated outcomes met or failed to meet
the objectives of the protected Area
Strategy.

“We're in the business of negotiat-

ing a land-use strategy, not providing
bookends for the government or the
Commission. Let us negotiate what
we think is fair without a yardstick to
measure protection,” one forest work-
er rep urged government technical
staff.
Forest workers’ fears that the gov-
ernment’s analysis would impede a
settlement appeared bourne out when
conservation sectors increased their
demands for protection in the final
round of negotiations. Discussions be-
tween forest workers and conserva-
tion groups, aimed to persuading
environmentalists to moderate their
demands, also proved fruitless.

As in West Kootenay, forest em-
ployment reps - drawn from IWA-
CANADA Local 1-405 and the Pulp,
Paper and Woodworkers of Canada -
will submit independent recommen-
dations to Owen.

= member and landing bucker Brad Pelton touches up saw at
en Industries operation near Kitchener, B.C.

° Mrs. Gale Arneson has been in a courageous battle to get the truth out
about her husband's death for over a year.

Millwright’s death
Continued from page 13

“It whimpers and cowers in a dark
corner of the Labor department.
Afraid to prosecute. Afraid to strike
back at corporations that contribute
to a death. Death on the job. Afraid to
hold corporations accountable and re-
sponsible.”

In late November of 1993, she met
with 13 of Marvin's fellow workers.

Despite violation of
the Alberta OH&S
Act there has been no
charges brought
against the
Slave Lake Pulp
Corporation

Together they looked at the accident
investigation report.

Section 4 of the report says accord-
ing to Slave Lake Pulp and employees,
it was the company and the workers’
decision the use the log loader for the
crucial lift.

However the workers disagree with
the report. They told Gale that it was
not their decision to use the Butt-N-
Top crane.

The report says that the Broderund
crane could have been used to com-
plete the job. But the workers pointed
out a discrepancy. They say it couldn’t
have been used because it had limited
lifting capability with the unstable ter-
rain that was caused because of the
heavy rains.

With all of this information Gale
and her son Derek met with the
province's Assistant Deputy Minister
of Labor George Pheasey in late No-
vember 1993 to dispute areas of the
fatality report. Her intention was to
dispute areas of the fatality report
that are not accurate.

Mr. Pheasy said he would review
the report and get back to the family
in two weeks. He didn’t. Instead Gale
had to call the ADM'’s office to get him
on the phone.

Pheasy told her that he met with
company Officials to discuss and audit
of the company and its health and
safety program. Pheasy said that the
company is making improvements
and that there are no grounds for
prosecution.

Pheasy said he never promised that
he would check the accuracy of the
report or contradictions that had
arisen.

So today Gale Arneson and her fam-
ily fight for justice and are seeking
prosecution of those responsible for
the negligence that caused the death
of her husband. It has often been a
lonely fight. But it has been made eas-
ier by the support of the IWA and oth-
ers in the labour movement.

Gale knows the important of the
trade union movement and has com-
municated this to her sons.

In her articles Gale wrote about her
conversations with her two sons.

“People think they never need a
union until they are in trouble. Look
at the employees of Slave Lake Pulp
Corporation,” she wrote. “They are
afraid to openly support us. Why? Be-
cause they are a non-unionized mill.
They are intimidated. Let this be a les-
son to you.”

MORE IN NEXT ISSUE

CORRECTION

The Evans Forest Products
articles on page 18 of the April
18, 1994 edition of the Lumber-
worker was incorrectly head-
lined. IWA-CANADA Local
1-405 wishes it to be corrected.

Some workers paluntary
agreed to a temporary wage de-
feral and IWA-CANADA Local
1-405 was not involved in those
workers’ decisions.

The Lumberworker regrets
any confusion caused.

LUMBERWORKER/JUNE, 1994/15