Contract demands Continued from page two PARENTAL LEAVE - the contract must be changed to grant “parental leave” rather than just “maternity leave.” DUAL BENEFIT COVERAGE - the union demands dual coverage for Spouses who both work under cover- age with the I.W.A. - Forest Industry extended health benefits and dental plans. EXTENDED HEALTH BENEFITS = the whole benefits package must have more coverage in the areas of clinical psychologists, corrective lens- es, physiotherapists and massage practicioners, speech therapists, ac- cupunture, custom-made orthopaedic shoes and orthotics, hearing aids, chi- ropractics and naturopathic physi- cians, prescription stockings and drug prescription reimbursement. GRADUATED RETIREMENT - the union demands provisions in master agreements to allow workers over 55 to work reduced hours while main- taining full benefits. LIFE INSURANCE AND ACCI- DENTAL DEATH AND DISMEM- BERMENT - the demand is that both be increased to $100,000. WEEKLY INDEMNITY INSUR- ANCE - the union demands that the waiting period be eliminated, weekly benefits be increased, laser surgery be included under surgery, and all bene- fits cheques be mailed to employees. DENTAL PLAN - the union will try to get 100% dental coverage for plans A, B, and C at no cost to members. PENSION PLAN - the pension trustees are directed to draft compre- hensive plans for when the I.W.A. - Forest Industry pension plan is fully funded. CONTRACTING OUT - the union demands that there be no contracting out of any work without the agree- ment of IL.W.A. SILVICULTURE ~ all silvicultural work must be made available to laid- off union members. BANKING OF OVERTIME - all pro- duction and maintenace overtime must be banked and all banked over- time must be taken as time off. Over- time agreements must be established in each operation to cover how and by who the OT will be alloted. LEAVE OF ABSENCE FOR UNION BUSINESS - the union will demand that employers grant leave of absence to employees who are appointed or elected to union office and that the union reps will have 30 calendar days to return to work after leaving their jobs with the union. EHB FOR RETIREES - the union will demand a full benefit package for retired L.W.A. members. PENSION BRIDGING - the union demands bridging provisions from employees 55 or older who are perma- nently laid-off and that employers be National I.W.A. President Dave Haggard told delegates that union will negotiate a fair and just settlement for all re- gions of the province. To his right is First V.P Neil Menard and to his left is Third V.P. Dave Tones. held responsible for funding any lia- bility created by those provisions. LONG TERM DISABILITY - em- ployers should increase their portion of the funding of the LTD plan to pay monthly benefits of $2,000 and sup- port a meaningful rehab program. SAFER FUNDING - contributions to this fund should be increased from the current level to fund projects. SAFETY EQUIPMENT - the indus- try will be told that all safety and work attire must be supplied and paid for by the employer. EDUCATION FUND - the union de- mands that the employers pay into an education fund, five cents per month- ly payroll hours per employee and submit this payment along with dues to the local union. The following Coast area demands were passed by the delegates: PLANER MAINTENANCE CATE- GORIES - the union will call for the inclusion of these positions in the agreement with FIR. TRUCK DRIVERS RATE - logging truck operators should be bumped up two pay categories to Group 13. HELI-LOGGING - the standard log- ging wage scale supplement must in- clude defined heli-logging categories for the first time. SCALER EXPENSES - union scalers who are required to travel must have a payment schedule cover- ing room and board expenses. The following is a list of the demands tailored for the northern interior. ELECTRICAL TECHNICIANS — certified electrical technician cate- gories and rates of pay should be es- tablished, along with training for ex- isting electricians who are required to work on such advanced technolo- gies. PRODUCTION EMPLOYEE LAY- OFF — the union demands that a laid- off regular production employee be considered a production worker dur- ing the lay-off period and receive time and a half for weekend work. WORKING FOREMEN - the union demands a new section to read that employees outside the bargaining unit will not perform bargaining unit work. CHARGEHANDS - the union de- mands that the category of charge- hand be removed from the agreement. VACATIONS - all accrued vacations must be taken. GENERAL UNION MEETINGS — the I.W.A. demands that employees be given time off to attend full union membership meetings in the opera- tion at least once a year. RELIEF SUPERVISORS - the posi- tion of relief supervisor must be rec- ognized as a management position and there should be no accumulation of seniority while the job is being per- formed. STAGGERED COFFEE AND LUNCH BREAKS - employees must be allowed to meet and enjoy their lunches together so that they can dis- cuss issues and concems and enhance LW.A. solidarity. UNION DUES - the union wants a section in the master agreement to make the employer responsible for paying back dues, fees and assess- ments if the company fails to comply with the collective agreement. GRAVEYARD SHIFT LENGTH - all graveyard shifts must be 6-1/2 hours in length with 8 hours pay. The conference gave nods of ap- proval to the following resolutions which will be included in master agreement talks in the southern interi- or. 6 FOREST TECHNICIANS - the union demands that forestry techni- cian categories be revised and re- moved from the logging wage scale to be re-classified as trades and appren- tices. OFFICE STAFF BASE RATE - the southern interior master agreement must pay the same base rate for office staffers as for other workers. OVERTIME AGREEMENTS - local unions and the company must meet to negotiate overtime agreements. JOB POSTINGS - a provision in the collective agreement will be called for that will allow a worker to bid down- ward or across. TEMPORARY SUPERVISORS - the union demands that temporary super- visors can be used only for a period of up to 60 days without a loss of seniori- ty and that any part of a day for work as a supervisor be counted as a full day. As in the north, there are southern interior region demands governing electrical technicians, working fore- men, chargehands, vacations, week- end work for laid-off employees, pay for union meetings, dues and assess- ment collection. Pension and LTD plans need some adjustments At the B.C. wage and contract con- ference National Fourth Vice Presi- dent Harvey Arcand conducted an in- formation and education session on the state of the I.W.A. - Forest Indus- try Pension Plan and the jointly ad- ministered Long Term Disability Plan. In short, the pension plan is doing better with current rates of contribu- tions and investment returns while the LTD plan needs some work. Brother Arcand said ue in ie aster agreement negotiations, the IWA. should push for full funding of the pension plan which now has over $1.54 billion dollars in assets. In the Continued on page nineteen Harvey Arcand, right, National Fourth V.P. and trustee on both the I.W.A.-Forest Industry Pension and LTD plans, gave delegates an overview on the state of both benefit programs. LUMBERWORKER/APRIL 1997/3