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° Brother Nowlin at his last National Convention in Saskatoon, October 1993.

Wayne Nowlin retires after 25
year as Local 1-405 president

One of the IWA’s longest standing
local union president’s is now well
into enjoying his retirement. Wayne
Nowlin, president of Local 1-405 in
south eastern British Columbia, went
into retirement following the local
union's annual delegated meeting in
mid-May of this year. Brother Nowlin
stepped down after serving as the lo-
cal’s president for 25 years.

He is known as one the most re-
spected members to hold office in the
union. Under his leadership, many
gains were made for not only the
members in his local but in the south-
ern interior region as well.

Brother Nowlin was first employed
in the industry starting in 1953 where
he worked at the Kootenay Forest
Products sawmill in Nelson.

At that time the union represent-
ing the workers was the Woodwork-
ers Industrial Union of Canada. The
sub-local union at KFP was the last
remnant of the communist dominat-
ed union that split away from the In-
ternational Woodworkers of
America in 1948 to form its own na-
tional union. The Kootenay Forest
Products plant remained in the
WIUC until 1956, when it rejoined
the IWA.

Brother Nowlin became active in lo-
cal union affairs in Nelson. In October
of 1968 he became president of the

_ Local union, following Brother Jack
Munro’s one month term of office.
was appointed third vice-presi-

‘Local 2693

Continued from page nine

“They don’t want to pay the proper
‘overtime for mechanics who travel
out of town to work at remote job
‘sites,” says Hanlon. “Some of the guys

ve to travel long distances to get

the bush camps. They should be
ly compensated.”

Aes

of the local union’s smaller em-

is MNT builders which has

en organized for about pom yee:
company is a busy employer 0!
15 workers, employing them in

dent of the Western Regional Council
of the IWA.

Wayne also served as a member of
the B.C. negotiating committee, a Re-
gional Executive Board member, and
member of the National Executive
Board of IWA-CANADA. He has also
been a member of numerous commit-
tees, including service as a trustee on
the joint IWA-Forest Industry pension
plan and, most recently, a member of
the IFLRA-IWA Joint Industrial Ad-
justment Planning Committee.

Brother Nowlin also served as Sec-
retary-Treasurer of the Nelson, Trail &
District Labour Council and spent 12
years a President of the East Koote-
nay and District Labour Council until
1987.

Wayne is regarded as one of the
union’s most principled members who
always took firm stands, even though
they might have been against the ma-
jority opinion of the day. He is also
known for being one of the resident
historians in the WA.

On May 14, 1994, prior to its annual
meeting, the Local union held a dinner
to honour Brother Nowlin. A number
of presentations were made to show
appreciation of his efforts on behalf of
working people.

We in the IWA all wish Wayne and
his wife Bernie many years of happi-
ness in retirement.

Wayne is succeeded as local union
president by form first-vice Bob Mat-
ters.

the custom cabinet and building com-
ponent industry.

The shop is a versatile and flexible
one which has landed contracts local-
ly and internationally because of its
skilled workforce and high quality
production.

The main line of products are wood
cabinets, industrial cabinets, and in-
dustrial woodwork for schools,
churches, and kitchens. $

Some of the company’s production
jobs have gone as far away as Toronto
and to the Mother Tuckers restaurant
chain in Chicago. One other big job in
recent memory was the boardroom
table for the Lakehead Board of Edu-

cation.

Union vice-pres. Joe Leclair

retires after active career

Brother Joe Leclair, 1st Vice-Presi-
dent of Local 1-3567, and one of IWA-
CANADA'S most well-known activisis
retired effective August Ist.

In his 27 years of dedicated service
to the IWA, and to Labour generally,
Joe became famous and most relied
upon for hard-nosed action when it
was needed. *

At the Zeidler strike in Edmonton,
where his efforts earned him recogni-
tion by the police, at “demos” at com-
pany headquarters and socred rallies,
and at countless picket lines, Joe was
always “front and centre.”

Brother Leclair learned his faithful
unionism and democratic socialism
from his parents.

“My Dad, Leon, went to work at
Fraser Mills in the mid thirties. The
union there had been pretty much
wiped out after the 1931 strike, so
Dad had to pay his dues ‘behind the
lumber pile.”

“He was a hard worker, a mill-
wright who broke his ass, but just hat-
ed the boss.”

“My mother agreed. So we were
CCF'ers pretty much at birth. Dad
once won a picture of Tommy Dou-
glas, and he put it up on the dining
room wall, replacing the Sacred
Heart.”

After leaving school in 1957, Joe
worked for a brief period at Fraser
Mills, then spent several years in the
Army, and in construction.

He returned to the Fraser Mills in
1967 and within one year was on the
committee, and elected Plant Chair-
man in 1970.

He was first elected as a Local Offi-
cer in 1974.

National President, Gerry Stoney
said “Joe and I worked together for
many years. Nobody was harder
working, or more faithful to the IWA,
or to working people generally. We
hope to see a lot of him, and we wish
him well in his retirement. But we will
all miss him.”

On October 25, a roast was held in
honour of Brother Leclair.

- Clay Perry

e Always on the front lines, Brother Leclair spoke here at 1989 rally against
UIC cutbacks.

Cabinet work takes time, effort, and
skill. The company relies on a core
group of experienced workers, many
of which have trained in the plant.

The employer does take inexperi-
enced workers too. For those who
have steady work and want to stay,
there is a four year apprenticeship
program set up in the collective agree-
ment. The industrial woodworker pro-
gram incorporates two terms of
schooling and practical experience for
the rest of the time.

The wages for beginners are in the
$8.00/hr. range and a fully ticketed
tradesman can earn over $17.00/hr.
Apprentices work at about 60-70% of
the fully accredited trades rate.

The current wage and benefits that
the employees enjoy are due to the
presence of the union.

“It’s a far cry from when we orga-
nized them,” says business agent
Lloyd Szkaley. “There was no job pro-
tection or benefits before the workers
joined the local.”

Brother Szkaley says that the local
union is becoming more interested in
organizing smaller bargaining units
like the one at MNT.

“You just don’t have the bigger
plants anymore,” he says. “The small-

er ones with 10, 20, and 30 workers
are popping up. Most of them are spe-
cialty operations like MNT.”

Some of the products that MNT pro-
duce are poplar core counter tops
with two laminates on them and lami-
nated wall panels on plywood or parti-
cle core.

In recent times MNT has begun to
use Weldwood’s LMC panelboard
which integrates waferboard, poplar
veneer and other hardwood overlay
veneers.

The strong and lightweight compos-
ite material, which is produced at an
IWA-CANADA certified Weldwood
Canada plant in Longlac, has been
successfully used at MNT in a variety
of applications.

Mill manager Bob Macleod says
that the LMC is a lot better than other
particle board materials. It is lower in
its core weight, has better holding
power on the edges, and requires less
passes on the finishing process.

The company is always in search of
new markets. Most buyers know
about it through word of mouth and
through local construction associa-
tions.

It competitors have plants in Mani-
toba and eastern Ontario.

LUMBERWORKER/NOVEMBER, 1994/11