e I.W.A CANADA national president Gerry Stoney told conference that forest
renewal is an opportunity to show the public that problems can be fixed.

Responsibility for forest
renewal must be shared
by all says union leader

At a conference on the topic of New
and Evolving Work in the forest indus-
try, held in Vancouver on June 14 and
15, .W.A. CANADA president Gerry
Stoney reflected the union’s concern
over action and support for Forest Re-
newal B.C.(FRBC).

Speaking to a room of 90 confer-
ence delegates, invited by the Western
Wood Products Forum, the national
union president expressed deep-felt
concerns about the direction of the
forest renewal program.

Brother Stoney was a member of
the Forest Sector Strategy Committee
which played a key role in the cre-
ation of FRBC in April of 1994. The
committee was appointed by the

provincial government to draft a long-
term industrial strategy for the indus-
try and the province.

“From and I.W.A. perspective, we
saw good value in the renewal con-
cept. We saw investments in the for-
est resource as something of an insur-
ance policy against a declining AAC
(annual allowable cut),” said Stoney.
“Make the right investments in the
land, make that land more productive

Forest renewal.
offers a chance to
do things the union
has talked about
Sor years

and that helps shore-up some of our
current problems in terms of timber
supply. In fact, if we target the right
areas, that renewal plan would help
us justify higher harvest levels in the
future.”

Stoney told the conference that the
union supported the FRBC program
because it also saw a way to create
additional employment for crews that
were not working all year around or,
in some-case, provide full time and al-
ternative employment to what work-
ers had been doing originally.

Unfortunately what was contem-
plated in terms of the FRBC plan and
what has taken place in the wood to-
day are some place apart, commented
Brother Stoney.

He said that all parties attending the
conference; government, management
and labour, bear part of the responsi-

6/LUMBERWORKER/AUGUST, 1995

bility for the slow start of FRBC to get
up and running.

“It’s true that Forest Renewal as a
crown corporation has been slow out
of the starting gate. And it’s true that
government departments like the Min-
istry of Forests or the Ministry of En-
vironment have been overly bureau-
cratic in terms of ensuring that proper
launch of FRBC and it’s true that
some major forest companies have
been stubborn ... about getting on
board with renewal proposals ...” said
the speaker.

He also said the union has had
problems ensuring that forest renewal
as a concept gets properly translated
into action on the ground.

“The renewal concept in an enor-
mous opportunity for this industry,”
said Stoney. “It’s an opportunity to
show the public of this province that
we have the ability to identify prob-
lems areas and fix them. Not stand
around and point fingers, but honestly
roll-up our sleeves and put together
an agreement that addresses every-
body’s needs.”

Stoney said that the forest industry
is in a crunch stage in terms of mar-
kets at this point in time, with lumber
prices slumping and some mill operat-
ing at marginal levels at best.
Nonetheless he said that the industry
and labour must work together to sup-
port FRBC. He said there are some big
expectations for the program.

The I.W.A. membership and indus-
try employees want to work in an in-
dustry that they have defended
against numerous public attacks.
They want to continue to earn a good
standard of living. é

Stoney said that the government of
the future, regardless of political affili-
ation, will be looking at the results of
what FRBC has done and will be ask-
ing if the money could be better spent
elsewhere.

“The general public is going to ask
some tough questions about how ef-
fectively we manage our own prob-
lems and it they are not convinced
that we have them under control,
their confidence is us will start to
slide,” added the union president.
“For an industry that depends on a
public resource for its future, any de-
cline in public confidence is bad news
in the long run.”

“We have an opportunity, through
an initiative like forest renewal, to put
into practice all of the good things
that we have talked about for years,”
he added.

Union expresses concerns
over new work programs

The union has some real concerns
about where the 1994 agreement on
New and Evolving Work is going and
some union leaders expressed those
concerns at the conference.

Darrel Wong, president of Loggers
Local 1-71 said that the industry
should not forget that it has a commit-
ment to search for New and Evolving
Work, whether or not that work
comes from proposals associated with
Forest Renewal B.C.

He said that the collective agree-
ment negotiated between the union
and the industry last year provides a
contractual commitment to look for
new jobs in the industry for union
members.

“Many employers are saying that
‘we're not going to do anything with
that (commitment) until ("RBC) mon-
ey is available,” said Brother Wong.
“That is wrong. The collective agree-
ment is separate from FRBC and
there’s an obligation and responsibili-
ty to live up to that agreement.”

“The down side is that is we don’t
do it, we have all got some serious
problems in 1997 negotiations.”

Bill Routley, president of Duncan
Local 1-80 pointed out that in his local
about 65% of the land base is private
land, and therefore not eligible for
FRBC projects. ‘

He says that companies operating
on crown land must be sensitive to
the needs of workers who log on pri-
vate lands and work to accommodate
these workers.

Brother Routley said different com-
panies must work together to facili-
tate a cross-over from private to pub-
lic lands.

Terry Smith, national financial sec-
retary said that the collective agree-
ment says that I.W.A. members must
get the first shot at new jobs. He said
that FRBC projects and other busi-

ness opportunities are where jobs will
arise from in the operations.

Smith said that the contractual
agreement spells out that both parties
must sit down together at the plant
and camp level to discuss new em-
ployment opportunities and that
“there has to be justification why
work can't be done by existing
crews.”

Brother Smith sits on the New and
Evolving Work Steering Committee
which has traveled throughout the
province to educate workers and
management about the agreement.
Every I.W.A. plant and camp should
have a manual on the agreement
which include instruction on how to
handle disputes should they arise.
There are 30 people on a special Dis-
putes Resolution Committee.

Port Alberni Local 1-85 president
Dave Haggard, told the conference the
industry has to move fast to insure
that long-term plans are put in place
to increase the annual allowable cut.

“We in the I.W.A. have been trying
to increase our employment levels
and the industry has been trying to in-
crease its AAC,” said Brother Hag-
gard. “If we look at what’s only going
to happen tomorrow then we will fail
in our endeavor. If we look at what is
going to happen over the next 10-20
years, in the future of the forest indus-

try, then I believe we'll start to find
solutions.”

Haggard warned against cheap
labour strategies, especially when it
comes to using Native workers. He
said that industry should not have its
site on creating $10-$12 jobs. He said
that the industry needs to create jobs
within the union’s structure and that it
should not negotiate lower wages
with Native bands.

¢ Each local union in the province sent delegates to participate in the confer-

ence and workshops.

Forest renewal slow to get off
the ground says chairman

Former I.W.A. CANADA national of-
ficer Roger Stanyer was on hand at
the conference on New and Evolving
Work to inform delegates about some
of the issues that Forest Renewal B.C.
(FRBC) is facing. Stanyer, who is the
Chairman of the crown corporation,
was frank with those in attendance.

He said that FRBC now has about
1,100 separate proposals in front of it
for evaluation - everything from small
applications to comprehensive appli-
cation worth over $53 million over a
multi-year period.

“You can’t plan silviculture for one
year. You have to plan for the rotation
of the forest,” he said.

“We have not yet decided on a good
delivery system for Forest Renewal,”
said Stanyer. “There is a lot of conjec-
ture around the province on what it
should be.”

Whereas most government run pro-
grams are budgeted and run on a year-
to-year basis, FRBC is breaking that
mould and is designed to allocate
funding for multi-year programs.

Continued on page seven