ae 1W.A. CANADA WOMEN GET TOGETHER FOR FIRST NATIONAL CONFERENCE Fifty-five women from across Canada gathered in Vancou- ver, B.C. in mid-March to dis- cuss issues that affect barri- ers to participation and other important topics. PAGES 8-9 y Agee ale v3 ¢ 1.W.A. CANADA NATIONAL PRESIDENT DAVE HAGGARD (x.) spoke up for the B.C. government’s announcement of the Jobs and Timber Accord on June 19. To his right is NDP Premier Glen Clark. Announcement was made in Prince George. Union greets announcement of the B.C. government’s Jobs and Timber Accord t was dubbed as the one of the largest announcements ever made by a government in Cana- da. On June 19, B.C. Premier Glen Clark was flanked by 1.W.A. CANADA National President Dave Haggard, officials from other unions, forest company executives and civic politicians to present the Jobs and Timber Accord. The announcement was made at the J.D. Little tree nursery in Prince George, certified to I.W.A. CANADA Local 1-424. At the heart of the Accord is the intended creation of 22,400 direct, new jobs and another 17,400 spin-off jobs, by the year 2001. Of the direct jobs, 6,500 will come from secondary industry and small business, 5,000 will come from renewing the forests, 5,900 will come from forest compa- nies creating new jobs and 3,000 should arise from newly negotiated work arrangements. Another 2,000 etd will originate from rehabilitating streams damaged by past forest practices under a funding arrange- ‘ment with Fisheries Renewal B.C. In exchange for the industry’s co- operation the government says it may free up another 5-6 million cubic meters of annual allowable cut on crown lands. The government has also streamlined provisions of the Forest Practices Code, offered assis- tance to employers who create new jobs by reducing overtime, and chan- neled Forest Renewal B.C. money to ground-level operations, creating long-awaited enhanced silvicultural jobs that will be linked to displaced forest workers. In an interview with the Lumber- worker, Brother Haggard said that the Accord is on paper only and that it will be a large challenge for all par- ties to make it work. “Many parts of the Jobs and Tim- ber Accord are based on co-operation between the government and indus- try, with the three forest industry unions (the I.W.A., the Communica- tions, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada and the Pulp, Paper and Woodworkers of Canada) playing important roles,” he said. “We are under no illusion that it was extreme- 1 pug for the government to get ie industry to agree to anything and that it will take a helluva lot of work to make all of this function for the benefit of working people.” “One of the most significant parts of the Accord for us is that it endeay- ors to create full-time, stable jobs from which our displaced members can support their families and com- munities,” said Haggard. “We are very pleased to see that Forest Renew- al B.C. money will finally go into cre- ating real jobs that will be offered to displaced workers.” Most significantly for the I.W.A. is the creation of a new Forest Worker Agency that will employ 5,000 work- ers in enhanced silvicultural projects. On the coastal region the I.W.A. will negotiate, with industry, the collec- tive agreement provisions for those workers. In the different Interior regions of the province, the I.W.A. will bargain, with employers, how the Agency will operate. FRBC will pump at least $300 mil- lion a year into enhanced silvicul- ture, watershed restoration projects, training programs, recreation pro- jects, doing resource inventories and various other projects. The long-term jobs will be estab- lished via multi-year agreements that employ permanent work crews. “Up until now FRBC has largely missed the target as far as creating sustainable jobs,” said Haggard. “We think the Accord turns that around and says that now there has to be good-paying jobs which can provide a Continued on page two talks reach crucial phase Negotiations with forest industry employers in British Columbia are in a crucial phase as this issue of the Lumberworker goes to press. During the first week of July, the 1.W.A.’s Provincial Negotiating Com- mittee (PNC) was driving to finalize a framework for negotiations with Forest Industrial Relations (FIR), the employer association on the Coastal region of B.C. So far the union has forced the industry to back off on its call for a five year agreement, moving toa three year framework instead. “We told the industry, plain and clear, that there was no way we would sign a five year deal — that’s just ridiculous,” said National President Dave Haggard, chairman of the PNC. “The forest industry is a cyclical one and just because the employers are crying poverty now doesn’t mean they won't be raking in large profits a year or two from now.” One major move that the union has made at the bargaining table is getting the industry to retreat on its attempts to claw back pension contri- butions once the I.W.A - Forest Indus- try pension plan is fully funded. “There's no chance that we will let the employers try to take away con- tributions from the plan. They must keep their mitts off of it,” added Hag- gard. “The I.W.A. has fought for 25 years to get the plan up toa state where pension levels can provide decent retirement benefits for our members. We intend to guard the plan to make sure it is healthy for the future.” One major bone of contention is some concessions that the industry still has on the table. “The committee was not given a mandate to go backwards, so the industry has to wipe the table of any concessions before we get down to the nitty gritty,” said Haggard. “If we are to avoid a strike vote, the companies have to act fast.” The union has called for percent- age wage increases in all three years. As of press time, the industry is offer- ing nothing in the first year, and increases in the second and third year based on the industry’s “ability to pay.” ‘Based on the ability to pay” is something that is pretty air-fairy,” said ard. “I don’t think our mem- bers can exactly take that to the bank when they seek a Joan or a mortgage.” “We want money on the table — no’ this floating idea of sharing profits down the road,” he added. Haggard said that most of the Continued on page two ’ LUMBERWORKERMULY 1997/1