At the Canadian Labour Congress convention in Vancouver in May were (1. to right) Leonel Soto of the Confederation of Chilean Forest Worker, translator Ismael Mascayano, Carlos Lopez (President of the Chilean union), and the I.W.A.'s Clay Perry. Chilean forest union officials pay a return solidarity visit to 1.W.A. CANADA members International trade union solidarity got a big boost in May when I.W.A. CANADA played host to visitors from the Confederation of Chilean Forest Workers for two weeks. Carlos Lopez, President of the na- tional union and Leonel Soto, a presi- dent of a local union paid a visit orga- nized with generous assistance of the Canadian Labour Congress. Anna Nitaslowski of the C.L.C.'s In- ternational Affairs department and Rick Jackson, former director of that department, played essential roles in making the visit possible. Both Chilean unionists arrived in Vancouver to attend the 40th annual convention of the C.L.C. and met with several affiliate officers and unionists during the first two days of the con- vention. ¢ On their first day in Vancouver the Chilean brothers went on a tour of Canfor’s Eburne Sawmill Division in Vancouver and were impressed by the plant low accident rates. In Chile about 16% of workers go on lost time accidents each year and workers com- pensation is so low that they cannot support themselves and have to re- main working while injured. Local 217 Business Agent Harry Bains conducted the Eburne tour which saw the visitors meet separate- ly with union workers and remark about how in Canada, there is not the heavy handed supervision that Chilean workers face on a daily basis. In the evening the delegation met for dinner with members of the I.W.A. National Executive Board members including National President Gerry Stoney, National Second Vice Presi- dent Fred Miron, Local 1-80 President Bill Routley, Local 1-85 President Dave Haggard, Local 1-2995 President Norm Rivard, the I.W.A.’s Clay Perry “and interpreter Mario Lee. During the informal meeting Broth- er Stoney expressed his understand- ing of a need to work with Chilean forest workers and keep lines of com- munication open between organiza- tions. He also said that the union is continuing to pressure the Canadian government during it bilateral talks with the Chilean government to in- clude the protection of workers and the rights to freely organize into trade unions into any future trade agree- ment between the two countries. Brother Clay Perry accompanied the visitors to the various events. Per- ry was in Chile in the fall of 1995 as a visitor to the Chilean union. He coor- &/LUMBERWORKER/JUNE, 1996 dinated the return visit from them. “] think that the visits were impor- tant to give both I.W.A. members and the Chilean reps a better understand- ing of each other,” comments Perry. “We have never been very active on the international scene before this.” “T hope this will be the beginning of an on-going relationship of how we can work to protect our standards here in Canada and assist Chileans who deserve help on solidarity grounds.” On the second day of their visit, Brothers Lopez and Soto were accom- panied to a meeting with then Labour Minister Penny Priddy and Deputy Minister of Labour Don Cott. Ms. Priddy said the provincial gov- ernment would pressure the federal government to remind the Chilean government that the improvement of labour rights in that country are fundamentally important. Priddy also said that she would bring up the issue of increasing the minimum wage in Chile which is now about $150.00/month based on a 48 hour work week. On the following day the delegation met with Noel Schacter, an official within the Ministry of Employment and Investment who committed to taking the issues of Chilean workers to higher level in the B.C. government. In the evening the visitors attended an international solidarity night at the C.L.C. convention and were intro- duced by Clay Perry to those in atten- dance. Next on the tour was a visit to the Interfor Western Whitewood sawmill in New Westminster in the company of Local 1-3567 President Dave Tones. The Chileans were impressed by the high level of lumber production in the operation and the high degree of fibre utilization. Following that they headed to Local 1-80 on Vancouver Island where Local union First Vice President Carmen Rocco toured them through MacMil- lan Bloedel’s Nanaimo Lakes Division. The MB crew has a high degree of au- tonomy and basically runs the show itself without much management pres- ence. A long-line logging side was visited at a show in a higher elevation. Fol- lowing that the tour went to a small logging operation in a second growth stand near Mesachee Lake. On the weekend the Chileans met for breakfast on a Saturday with then Minister of Forests Dennis Streifel (now Minister of Social Services) and exchanged points of view with him. Local 1-3567 Third Vice President Bar- ry King set up the meeting with Streifel and later took them out fish- ing on the Fraser River where Brother Lopez hooked a small sturgeon. Later the entourage stopped on a island for some moose meat that Brother King cooked up. In the evening Brothers Lopez and Soto met an addressed a Chilean- Canadian group at the Chilean Co-op in Vancouver, where they stayed dur- ing their visit to the city. They an- swered several questions about their homeland. The following morning the tour headed up to Kamloops to meet with Local 1-417 officials. Local union Pres- ident Kevin Kelly, First Vice President Doug Pockett, and Financial Secre- tary Joe Davies spoke to the Chilean through interpreter Ismael Mascayano in order to exchange experiences and information. Then the tour headed off to Cran- brook in southeastern B.C. where they went on a tour of a Crestbrook Industries logging operation set up by Local 1-405 President Bob Matters. Executive Board member Jorma Pu- uponen accompanied them to the op- eration where they saw a mini-tour show doing selective long-line logging on a steep hill. Later they toured a sil- vicultural operation. The last B.C. worksite the visitors went to the Crestbrook Forest Indus- tries pulp mill in Skookumchuck. The tour then continued on to Dray- ton Valley Alberta where it went through the Weyerhauser OSB plant. and sawmill. Since both operations were down for maintenance, the Chileans got an opportunity to look at the equipment close up. Present were Local 1-207 President Mike Pisak and union members Phil Crittendon from OSB and Gerald Lien from the mill side. In Edmonton the delegation met with Local 207 Financial Secretary Bob DeLeeuw and later went out to visit a picket line at Finning tractors where the International Association of Machinists were on strike. Brother Lopez spoke with the strik- ers and offered his solidarity on be- half of Chilean workers. Finning has a large presence in Chile, especially in the forestry and mining equipment sectors. On the final part of their tour Lopez and Soto met with Audrey McCorma- ck, President of the Alberta Federa- tion of Labour and Executive Board member Ramon Antipan, who sits on the AFL's international solidarity com- mittee. e During a swing through southeastern B.C. sie Sin oh pe Local 1-405 Executive Board member Jorma Puuponen (left) accompanied the delegation to a tour of the Crestbrook Forest Industries pulp mill in Skookumchuck.