VENT

HIGHLIGHTS

¢ Garfield Lamb

e Jack McLeman

Union renews its call for
banning all log exports

At this year’s convention the union once again
passed a resolution calling for the provincial and
federal governments to ban the export of all raw
logs and cants. The union also called for the con-
tinuation of publicity campaigns to educate the
public on the devastating effects of log and cant
exports.

Gordie McRae of Vancouver Local 1-217 said
that the B.C. government has done some things to
shut down the exports but that not enough has
been done yet. He said that some sawmills in the
Lower Mainland of the province rely on log sup-
plies from Vancouver Island and the Queen Char-
lotte Islands and that there are mills in the Lower
Mainland that cut cants only.

“The cant thing hasn’t been around that long but
now the company is beginning to realize that...if
we can’t send (export) logs then we'll get them off
our backs by sending out cants,” said Brother
McRae. “But the cants that are leaving are not just
the run of the mill cants. Those cants are the best.
The clears and the flitches...go overseas to be re-
manufactured into value added.”

Brother McRae criticized the industry for
terming cants as value added material and that all
the know-how to add value to logs is in Canada.

Local 1-71 delegate Dave Mullet criticized the in-
dustry for its high grading tactics in past years
which he said was very wasteful. He criticized pre-
sent day logging practices as well for leaving too
much waste and said that there have been logs left
behind where non-union contractors come into a
claim and cut good wood out of logs that union
crews have been directed to leave behind.

Jack McLeman of Port Alberni Local 1-85 said
that his employer, MacMillan Bloedel, asked work-
ers to cut some experimental cants at its cedar
mill with the commitment that there would be
more manufacturing of the wood after a market
was established in Korea. But this did not happen.
MB went through the experimental marketing
phase and then starting shipping the cedar over to
the Terminal Forest Products Mainland sawmill di-
vision which cant the logs and shipped them over-
seas,

Local 1-217 delegate Jim Parker, who worked at

¢ Local 1-85 first vice Larry Rewakowsky (1.) and Local 1-207 financial secretary Bob DeLeeuw represent-

ed the Resolutions Committee.

Convention delegates unanimously adopt
and renew union policies submitted

MERGER WITH OTHER UNIONS - the convention has
directed the national officers to explore merger
possibilites with smaller, compatible unions.
CONSTRUCTION AGREEMENTS - the National union
will form a committee to deal with issues affecting
the construction industry including a dues struc-
ture sharing process between local unions and a
province-wide bargaining strategy.

WOOD FIBRE - Along with Williams Lake Local 1-
425, the National union will insist that the B.C.
government legislate the prevention of the export
of wood chips out of the province.

INCREASED JOBS IN THE INDUSTRY - the union will
lobby all provincial governments to pressure the
forest industry to increase in secondary manufac-
turing to create more jobs.

FOREST RENEWAL JOBS - the union will pressure
the provincial government of the Forest Jobs Com-
misioner that new jobs created as the result of for-
est renewal funding be given to displaced IWA
bargaining unit members affected by job loss.
JOBS AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES - the IWA de-
mands that the federal and provincial govern-
ments develop and create programs which will
enhance and preserve good paying union jobs and
create community stability.

RESOURCE OPPORTUNITIES - the union will lobby all
provincial governments to ensure that tenure (i.e.
tourism, forestry, mining, grazing) be improved to
include performance-based incentives to increase
benefits to the owners, the local citizens, and the
provinces.

SILVICULTURE PROGRAMS - IWA-CANADA will lob-
by for more jobs in silviculture and secondary in-
dustry in all provinces.

ANNUAL ALLOWABLE CUT - the union demands that
the B.C. government form a committee with IWA
members to establish the minimum number of
workers required per annual cubic metre of wood
cut.

COMMITTEE ON RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT - in
B.C. the union will lobby the government not to
set aside any additional forest based land until a
multiple account analysis has been completed and
the results tabulated for the whole province.
CHURN CREEK - the union will lobby the federal
government to drop its proposal for Churn Creek

Park unless it has the full consent of the people of
the Cariboo Region is B.C.

LOCAL UNION ISSUES - the National IWA officers, in
consultation with the local unions, should develop
ways and means to address local issues prior to
negatiations.

PROPOSED B.C. PARKS - the union will write a letter

to the Central Okanagan Regional District to ob-
ject to the removal of 30,000 hectares from the dis-

trict which would have a serious impact on forest
industry jobs.

CIVIC ELECTIONS - the IWA calls upon all local
unions to support labour candidates and those
that support organized labour in municipal elec-
tions.

DISPUTE RESOLUTION - 2 sub-committee will be ap-

pointed to investigate alternative dispute resolu-

tion techniques for IWA operations.

SAFER FUND - the IWA-CANADA SAFER Council

members have been directed to steer the fund to-

wards projects related to research and education

specific hazards in the workplace.

TREATMENT CENTRES - the convention calls upon

all provincial governments to build treatment facil-
ities for people with alcohol, chemical, and other
dependencies.

PAID EDUCATIONAL LEAVE - the union will endeay-
our to negotiate paid educational leave in all col-
lective agreements.

SHORTER WORK WEEK - the convention urged the
National union to set up a campaign to promote
the merits of a shorter work week with no loss in

pay.

OVERTIME POLICY - the union will pressure provin-
cial governments for a worker's right to refuse
overtime and not classify that practice as job ac-
tion.

ENVIRONMENTAL COMMITTEES - the union will de-
velop standards and make available training infor-
mation to plant and camp committees and press
the forest industry to ensure that the committees
are utilized.

UNION LABEL - the union encourages all of its mem-
bers to buy Canadian union-made products and to
look for the Canadian-made label on all purchased
products wherever necessary.

the Mainland Sawmill as a sawyer, said that MB is
also shipping out high grade lumber to S&R a non-
union sawmill in Surrey, B.C. where it is canted
before exporting.

Brother Parker said that current export rule say
that companies can export cants up to a 310
square inch cross-section.

“The simple way of being able to fix this prob-
lem...is that we have to get after the government to
reduce that allowable cross-section,” said Parker.
“Tt has to be brought down drastically. It shouldn't
be brought down all at one shot; it should be
brought down in increments.”

“We know that these companies have got plans,

if that happens, that they will do more production
work, more processing of that wood if that cross-
section is brought down. But they're not going to
do it unless they're forced to do it.”

Ron Derbyshire and Garfield Lamb of Williams
Lake, B.C. Local 1-425 both rose to support the
resolution. Brother Derbyshire said that mills in
the Cariboo region are at risk of curtailing opera-
tions as the price of fibre is climbing as outside
bidders are going after the region’s wood supply.

Brother Lamb said that the mills are also at risk
of losing fibre as wood is exported out of the re-
gion and is being used for the pulp and paper in-
dustry.

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10/LUMBERWORKER/DECEMBER, 1994