Brazing on carbide tips with silver solder at Western Saws Ltd.’s operation is Local 1-423 member Stan Nery.

Union workers produce finest quality saws
in Penticton, British Columbia operation

LW.A. CANADA saw filers in the
forest industry should be aware that
there is a unionized shop where they
can get their saws. In Penticton, B.C.
there is the only I.W.A. certified saw
blade manufacturer in Canada.

That operation, Western Saws Ltd.
was organized over two years ago by
Kelowna Local 1-423. There are up to
and over 20 union workers employed
at the plant, which manufactures the
saws from scratch.

Verne McGregor, Financial Secre-
tary of Local 1-423, who organized the
plant, says he would like to see more
I.W.A. operations buy from the local
operation.

“There’s a lot of our members who
are filers who make decisions on
where to get their saws,” says Brother
McGregor. “They should be aware
that this is a place where they can or-
der the best quality saws and, at the
same time, support union members.”

In January of 1994, 9 of 13 workers
in the plant signed union cards and
started their membership in the I.W.A.
In the first contract the union raised
the base rate from around $9.50/nr. to
$11.00/hr. for entry level work. The
top rates of $15.00/hr. are paid to ma-
chinists and the laser operator.

Since going union, the workers
have made other advances, says plant
chairman Chris Hope. In addition to
improvements in wages the workers

now have job security and a proper
seniority list. Before the I.W.A. ar-
rived, job promotions were based on
favoritism rather than seniority and
competency.

On March 14 the local union negoti-
ated a second agreement which will
expire at the end of March, 1999. Ne-
gotiations began in early February of
this year and wrapped up after only
four meetings with the company.

The members accepted the contract
by a vote of 11-2.

“We were happy to get a collective
agreement before the expiry date of
the contract,” says Local 1-423 Busi-
ness Agent Dave Briscoe who sat as
spokesperson on the union negotiat-
ing committee with Brother Chris
Hope.

One of the major advances was the
reorganization of the grouping for
wages. Some jobs which are not ap-
prenticeship positions but that do re-
quire training, received boosts in pay.

Other job categories such as ma-
chinist millwright, saw hammerman,
and automatic grinder operators, un-
derwent wage adjustments.

The agreement calls for 8-1/2%
wage increases. Also included for the
first time are shift differentials of 30
cents an hour for afternoons and 40
cents an hour on graveyard shifts.

The company is also paying an addi-
tional 1/2% into a jointly funded regis-

Nisga’a land deal

Continued from page eleven

the Nisga’a with control or direct
ownership of approximately 2,000
square kilometres in the Nass Valley.
As well, the provincial government
has agreed to provide the Nisga’a with
close to 150,000 cubic meters of exist-
ing forest licenses.

¢ The control and access to the for-
est resource will be phased-in to en-
sure a minimum of disruption to local
contractors. As well, existing regula-
tions such as Forest Practices Code
and silvicultural obligations will be
maintained on all lands that are part
of the agreement.

e The federal government has
agreed to provide approximately $200
million in cash settlements for the
Nisga’a. The money, which will be
paid out over an extended period, will
help stimulate economic development.
in the region.

Reaction from P.N.C. members indi-
cated there are some concerns about.

the impact of land claims. While local
union presidents were supportive of
the Nisga’a representatives’ hard work
and accomplishment in concluding
the agreement in principle, they em-
phasized how important it is that the
good will outlined in the agreement be
followed up with some immediate ac-
tions that indicate the Nisga’a’s com-
mitment to maintaining jobs and sta-
bility for non-native interests in their
traditional territory.

P.N.C. members also stressed the
importance of having Nisga’a repre-
sentatives communicate the details of
their agreement throughout the
province. The concern voiced by
many at the session was that without
a comprehensive communications ef-
fort, the achievement recorded by the
Nisga’a would be scuttled by right-
wing interests who are not interested
in resolving the land claims issue.

P.N.C. members also acknowledged
that there could be a positive impact
from this pace-setter settlement if im-
plementation of the agreement is
carefully balanced.

tered retirement plan.

Improvements in contract language
will see that workers now have the
option of collecting holiday pay at the
time they take their vacations. There
have also been minor changes to the
grievance and arbitration procedures.

Another key issue resolved was that
of better protection against contract-
ing and sub-contracting out. Now the
employer will not be able to hire any
outside workers if the work will result
in the loss of full time positions held
by regular employees or result in the
lowering of pay, except where justi-
fied by special circumstances. The
company has also agreed to hire back
laid off workers before any jobs are
contracted or sub-contracted out.

The company and the union have
also agreed that the plant will ensure
that there will be qualified first aid at-
tendants on hand in accordance with
Workers Compensation Board regula-
tions.

Western Saws has been a decent.
place to work for most of the union
members who work year round. The
employment levels fluctuate with the
markets but most of the workers are
employed year round.

The plant purchases modified plate
steel from Japan or Germany and then
laser cuts the saws to specifications.
A new laser machine, introduced to
the operation in early 1994 is comput-

er controlled to cut within 1000ths of
an inch.

The laser cut saws are then sence
to Vancouver where they are heat
treated for additional tensile strength.

After getting the oversize material
back the saws are then ground down
to customer specifications with a ro-
tary surface grinder, .

The saw is then benched to make it
completely flat. A stretch roller then
compresses the steel to put additional
tension to the customers’ specifica-
tions. With good heat treatment and
grinding an average saw takes about
15 minutes to bench.

The saw’s recesses are then ground
and carbide tips are hand brazed with
silver solder. After that the carbide
tips are ground on the face, sides and
top. The carbide tip is ground to with
1-2/1000ths of an inch tolerance.

Mike Weckel, General Manager in
the plant, says that the company
prides itself on its highly skilled work-
force which produces precision prod-
ucts.

“When the mills run guided saws,
there can’t be any lumps or variances
because the saw will rub a guide,
heating the saws up and bending a
saw over,” he says. “Then a whole
rack of saws will go.”

Mr. Weckel says that the mill uses
only cadmium free silver solder which
eliminates certain health risks for the
workers. Cadmium exposure has been
linked to lung disease and kidney
damage.

Brother Hope says that safety con-
ditions in the plant have improved and
are getting better and that manage-
ment promptly addresses any com-
plaints that workers have.

The Workers Compensation Board
routinely check out levels of cobalt
and chromium in the operation. All of
the automatic saw grinding machines
have wet grind systems and the manu-
al machines have suction systems. Mr.
Weckel says that in the future most of
them are likely to be enclosed as well.

The company has customers in
British Columbia, Alberta and in the
U.S. market in the states of Washing-
ton, Oregon, Idaho and Montana.

Mr.Weckel says that the company’s
future depends on gaining more mar-
ket share as there are not as many
mills around as there use to be.

In addition to manufacturing a full
line of carbide tipped saws (from 3” to
48”) the company can source the larg-
er cut-off saws (72” - 80”).

“Once the saws go to the mills we
don’t see them back,” says Weckel.
“Most mills have their own filing
rooms and will retip the saws them-
selves.”

However Western Saws does do
maintenance re-tipping and grinding
for small mills that don’t have their
own equipment.

The company also offers other
items that go in sawmills and planer
mills such as grinding wheels, planer
knives, specialty saws (i.e. slabber
saws) and specialty tools.

e Machinist and surface grinder Rob Selsing with a rack of saws after they have
been laser cut from plate steel.

16/LUMBERWORKER/JUNE, 1996