¢ Plant chairman and Local 1-3567 Executive Board Member Les Veale speaks to millworkers prior to the open-

ing of the SET facility.

IWA links with MacMillan Bloedel to establish
on-site skill and education training center

As the work force ages and the
pace of technological and other
changes accelerate, many of workers
are finding out that they need skills
upgrading in certain areas. Others
simply feel that their level of formal
education needs to be upgraded just
to assist them in a changing world.

Fortunately IWA-CANADA mem-
bers, along with MacMillan Bloedel,
are starting up a new pilot program to
see how much can be done to assist
workers from both the union and the
company in grappling with upgrading
in the skills areas.

On May 26 Local 1-3567 members at
MacBlo’s New Westminster Lumber
Division participated in a ribbon cut-
ting ceremony to open a new Skills
Enhancement Training program
(SET) which has been set up on the
mill site. Starting this month, both
hourly and salaried employees will be
eligible to participate in the SET pro-
gram.

The skills enhancement training ar-
eas will include communications, lan-
guage skills, writing, reading, math,
and computers. Employees will be
given the opportunity to upgrade
skills, develop new ones, and even go
on to complete their education in a
high school equivalency test.

Most of this training will be offered
in a special trailer unit that has been
put on company property. The work-
ers will get a chance to learn on their
way to and from work. For those that
need more hours, community educa-

tion services will be made available.

Les Veale, plant chairman at the op-
eration, and Local Union Executive
Board member, says that the union
and the company have been working
away at setting up the program for
about 18 months and that finally
things are coming together. Even
though it is only a pilot project, there
are great expectation that the SET
program will go great lengths to assist
workers.

Brother Veale said that a grievance
in the plant a couple of years ago,
which involved an employee’s
communications skills and new tech-
nology pointed to the need for com-
munications training. Since that time
the union and the company have put
their efforts towards dealing with the
root of communications skills prob-
lems.

Both parties hired an expert to do a
needs analysis which revealed that
“everybody is concerned about tech
change and wants to learn about com-
puters,” says Brother Veale. He also
said that a significant number of the
workers in the 250-300 person opera-
tion have not completed their high
school and would like to do so for
their own benefit.

The facilities and supplies are all
supplied to the workers free of charge.
The lion’s share of the funding comes
from MacMillan Bloedel and both the
federal and provincial governments
have chipped in a major portion of the
funding for the first year.

e At the new computer learning center are Local 1-3567 members, 1. to r.,
Harji Athwal, Aldo Loro, and Greg Gannon.

The training will be on company
time if what the employee is learning
is of direct benefit to the company. If
the training is of partial benefit to
both the individual and the company,
then the company will pay for half the
time spent in he classroom. If the ben-
efit is to the worker only, then they
have to learn on their own time.

Brother Veale says that, in the early
stages, there is an interest level of
about 25-30% among IWA members.
That's a good sign. If the program gets
overloaded then it will have to be ad-
ministered on a seniority basis with a
waiting list for people who want to at-
tend.

There is considerable enthusiasm
present.

Aldo Loro, a union member who
drives a loader in the plant says that
he is interested in computer training.
He figures that he will need computer
knowledge for the job in the future
and for other uses as well.

“In the future computer skills will
be critical,” says Brother Loro. “A lot
of these jobs (in the plant) don’t have
computers at all. If we don’t do it
(skills upgrading) here, a lot of guys
like myself are not going to be moti-
vated to learn it outside.”

Brother Loro has a daughter in
Grade One who is already learning

about computers. He jokingly says
that “if I don’t learn about computers
she will be teaching me about them.”

Dave Tones, president of Local 1-
3567, says that the SET program is a
home-grown product of the sub-local
operation, but that eventually the lo-
cal would like to see similar programs
in other local union operations.

“The concept that you allow people
to upgrade at their own speed is
tremendous,” says Brother Tones.
“Because our membership works
shifts, they need the flexibility to
learn at their own rate and they can
do so in the company of their own
peers.”

Dwayne Leskewitch, an industrial
relations specialist with MacMillan
Bloedel, says the program is keeping a
low profile at first.

“We want to see success before
anybody comes and asks us ques-
tions,” he says. “Before people can
learn from us we want to make sure
that we've got something to show
them.”

In an address at the ribbon cutting
ceremony Mr. Leskewitch told the em-
ployees that “we really owe you, as a
corporation, to make this place a bet-
ter place to work.”

He says the SET program will teach
skills that will contribute to individual
growth and that the skills learned will
be transferable outside.

Bill Adams, the company’s vice-
president for the coast region says the
program in New Westminster is not
necessarily a sign that bigger pro-
grams will be coming in the future. He
also says that the SET program is a re-
sponse to “what we see as a need to
improve skills sets and enhance an in-
dividual’s ability to participate and
contribute more to their workplace.”

Tracy Defoe, a consultant hired by
the SET program, will also be an in-
structor for the course at times. She
says that the program will respect the
desires of the workers and provide ac-
cess to educational services if they
can’t be provided to workers on the
site.

“If we can’t provide the education
service then we will try our best to
find someone who can,” says Ms. De-
foe.

Other courses can be taken through
correspondence courses, private tu-
toring, open learning agencies and
other institutions.

Ms. Defoe says that most of the
course work will be provided on site
in the SET trailer, or in the communi-
ty nearby.

Christine Garlick-Griffin, an instruc-
tor for the program, will be available
to cover a broad range of subjects.
She will do general upgrading, math
and communication skills and possi-
bly some instruction for Grade 12
equivalency examinations.

Slocan mill

Continued from page fourteen

company would have a realistic com-
mitment to maintaining the local envi-
ronment.”

Along with Brother Barry Scannell,
Delpuppo sits on the Slocan Valley
Watershed Alliance which is a strong
environmental group with a focus on
protecting domestic sources of water.

Brother Scannell, who is a former
plant chairman, has been and remains
involved in a number of committees
and issues in the region.

He says that workers are concerned
that with the potential shortfalls of
timber in the future, that more must
be done to create jobs in the forest in-
dustry economy. One way to do that is
to get some labour intensive value-
added jobs. The company has done a
good jobs introducing technology to
boost lumber recovery and now needs
to get more value out of that old
growth timber.

Tt currently produces a very high
quality cedar paneling product which
demands a good price in the market.

As such, Scannell says that the work-
ers are plugged right into the concept
of quality control and there is a lot of
awareness around such issues.

The mill also sells premium kiln-
dried fir lumber which is exported to
Japan.

“The Japanese are really concerned
about appearance says Scannell. “If
there’s anything that affects the lum-
ber’s appearance, even a little grease
from a chain, we'll pull it out.”

“A lot of guys on the floor are tuned
into that. They put a little extra effort
into things. They understand that
when the customers buy from us, we
work - it’s that simple.”

But in exchange he says that the
company should look deeper into
markets.

“They (the Japanese) are taking this
stuff to their country and cutting it
into mouldings,” he adds. “We could
do that work right here quite easily.”

“I think that we have got some good
things happening with the provincial
government in which it recognizes the
timber supply crunch about to hit all
over the province,” says Scannell. “We
are going to have to more to the wood
in the future than just shipping it
across the border or overseas.”

16/LUMBERWORKERJJUNE, 1994