Wi > BU e At the Louis Creek operation, #2 line cut-off operator and Local 1-417 member Les Hajesz at work. Tolko mill switches to value-added approach at Louis Creek operation Where most forest industry employ- ers have been modernizing and laying off workers, the Tolko Group of-com- panies has resisted that trend for the past 10-15 years, says IWA Local 1- 417. The local union has three Tolko operations under certification in its jurisdiction. The Lumberworker got an opportu- nity to visit the Tolko Louis Creek op- eration in the community of Louis Creek about 30 miles north of Kam- loops up the North Thompson River Valley. The operation employs over 160 IWA members in producing high quality lumber products, some of which go to Japanese markets. An emphasis on quality versus qual- ity has helped mainitain the work- force. More hand and eyes are need on ys lumber to ensure quality con- trol. But the mill is no slouch either. It produces 240,000 board feet of spruce/pine/fir on an 8 hour shift and about 180,000 board feet of douglas fir on a regular shift as well.Today the mill is operating 24 hours a day on a five day a week basis. Local union financial secretary Joe Davies says that the Louis Creek oper- ation is like other Tolko operations because “it is fairly labour intensive, taking the wood down to a 1 inch product.” He compares the production and job to Weyerhaeuser’s sawmill in Kamloops. “In relationship the Weyerhaeuser mill pumps out 50% more wood vol- ume in dimension lumber and em- ploys less people than Louis Creek. Workers realize that and think that it is important that in small communi- ties such as Louis Creek, that employ- ers focus on creating and sustaining more jobs rather than eliminating them,” says Brother Davies. licensed weighman and bucker. the plant is sub-local union chairman Warren Oja who works as a logscaler, The mill have realized that the Japanese market is becoming increas- ingly important and now ships over 20% of total production to Japan with and official “JAS” stamp on it. The JAS stamp is applied to the lumber only after a rigorous inspection proce- dure. The Council of Forest Industries (COFI) has worked with Japanese lumber buyers to ensure that grading procedures meet Japanese standards. The lumber cut for Japan is cut to metric specifications and is planed. “J- Grade” lumber for Japan is of the best. quality without wane in the board and with the presence of a sapstain. Only white woods such as alpine fir, spruce and lodge pole pine are used for this grade. The company cuts fir, mostly for laminated beams and also for use on scaffolds. The mill is a one-line operation with a chip and canter which is fed by one loader. There are also three debarkers to handle the log flow. The mill has a new edger optimizer which has boosted lumber recovery, especially from fir which has more ta- per and is tougher to handle. It also has a J-bar sort system and an auto- mated stacker. The company has come to a realiza- tion that the saturation of traditional dimension lumber has made going into value added production a priority and it has been working on a plan to see that through. New log and lumber scanning equipment gets the most val- ue and highest recovery out of each log. Tolko is focussing on creating higher value products which provide more jobs For example a single log can yield not only 2 x 4’ s and 2 x 6’s for dimen- sion markets but laminars for beams, metric laminars for Japanese squares and 1 x 4’s for board markets. Workers are concerned about big logs being shipped out of the North Thompson region, says Brother Davies. Currently some of the best timber in the region bypasses the Louis Creek operation for the compa- ny’s mills in Merritt and Lavington. “Communities such as Louis Creek depend on long-term log supply and workers are rightfully concerned about where the wood in the area is going,” adds Davies. The local union bargains with Tolko independently as the company is not part of any employer association such as the Interior Forest Labour Rela- tions Association. Last year the local union had to serve strike notice against the compa- ny in on August 11 when negotiations reached a crossroads. Settlements were being ratified in the province’s coastal, northern, and southern interi- or regions while talks dragged on with Tolko. “We had served strike notice and were fairly close to a walkout,” says Brother Davies. “It’s a good thing that cooler heads prevailed.” The Louis Creek operation has been in the union since 1982 after a suc- cessful organizing campaign led by now plant chairman and executive board member Warren Oja. Other members of the union com- mittee at Louis Creek are Dan Huva, Art Taylor, Ernie Celesta, Russ Gate- house, Wes Lloyd and Larry Nysturuk. Local 1-3567 Continued from page fourteen when the former local 1-3567 certified workers at a plastic container plant in Pitt Meadows. In June of that year the local union won a 88% certification approval from the workers. A lengthy strike which began in September of that year and concluded eight months later saw workers get major inprovements in wages and benefits.” Esther DeAmicis, who works at the plant and is on the new organizing committee says that the IWA should continue to get the message out that it is not a union which represents just those in the forest industry. “We have to get the concept out of people's heads that the IWA stands for woodworkers,” say Sister DeAmicis. “We have seen in our plant how union membership can benefit workers.” Don White, from the Scott Cedar shake mill in Mission, says that the lo- cal must look for new contacts in the non-union sector and that the union’s reputation is well know in the local area, “Once the initial contact is made, we can start to do our work,” says Brother White. “It’s just getting those initial contacts that is some times dif- ficult.” The local wants the big certification for sure, but is willing to organize smaller units as well. In the past two years it has certified 15 bargaining units of less than 30 employees each. “We need the big certifications to help pay for the smaller ones,” says Brother White. “However we are firm in our belief that all workers should be represented by a union, no matter how small their bargaining units are.” “Workers out their in the communi- ties realize that in the WA we make good money,” say the organizing com- mittee’s vice-chairman Gerry Gower. “What is also good for us is that the majority of the workers out there wish they had a union job with more job security and better benefits.” Brother Ghag says that the local union intends to put more time and resources into organizing. Currently it is planning to do some trial advertis- ing in some of community papers in its local jurisdiction. The local has a specific fund which earmarks funds just for organizing. LUMBERWORKER/JUNE, 1995/15