with Greenpeace on the Vancouver waterfront. I.W.A. members clash with Greenpeace in fight back against ‘eco-terrorists’ he I.W.A. and Greenpeace met head on in late June and early July when union members from forest prod- ucts manufacturing plants and logging operations in the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley gave the multi-national environmental organi- zation a huge dose of its own medi- on June 28 workers set up an infor- mation picket line on the Vancouver Harbour Authority Main Street Dock, near the Greenpeace icebreaker “Arc- tic Sunrise,” which is playing an essential role in the organization’s international boycott campaign against B.C. forest products. On July 2 union members sur- rounded the icebreaker and the small- er Greenpeace vessel (the “Moby Dick”) with boom sticks, prohibiting their departure from Vancouver. ‘Two days later, assisted by Van- couver Ports Police, both the Moby Dick and the Arctic Sunrise fled into approaching darkness. The icebreak- er Tet without a ship pilot, as required by law. Pilots refused to cross the union picket line which was supported by members of the International Long- shoremen’s and Warehousemen’s Union, the United Fisherman and Allied Workers Union and other affil- iates of the B.C. Federation of Labour. “We're not surprised that Green- peace decided to take illegal means to get out of the Port of Vancouver as required by law,” said Haggard. “That kind of illegal action is par for the course with this pepe aOR. ‘The stand-off, which lasted almost a week, received high profile coverage in the provincial and national media, as I.W.A. members struck back at Greenpeace, using the very tactics that Greenpeace is famous for. “Greenpeace wasn’t too goddamn happy about what we did to hold them on the docks in Vancouver,” said I.W.A. CANADA National Presi- dent Dave Haggard. “They are a bunch of ites who blockade our members from going to work and then they scream when we do the same thing to them.” sea pu penne notiviata stopped I.W.A. Local 1-71 members from going to work on Roderick Island on June 6. ‘Then on June 11, they chained them- selves to logging equipment and plocked a logging road on King Island, preventing union members from going to work for 13 days before being arrest- ed by RCMP. Local 1-71 President Darrel Wong said that “it is an absolute outrage that it took the RCMP as long as it did to clear the logging roads at King Island.” He suggested that the police form a special team to get future block- aders out of the woods. e The union had members on the dock 24 hours a day. “T think the people of B.C. have to make a decision whether or not they want a huge environmental organiza- tion threatening working people and their communities,” said Wong. As a result of the I.W.A.’s direct actions, there was an overwhelming show of public support for the union’s cause. The union’s national and local offices were flooded with calls of sup- port and financial donations to be used in the fight back against Green- peace. “Greenpeace spent the last month or so putting our members out of work, so we thought we would put them out of work,” said Brother Hag- gard. “These characters come gallop- ing along, some of them paid and some of them on summer holidays, just to try to put our people on the readlines. Greenpeace’s blockades and boycott are totally irresponsible and it is high time that they took some repercussions for their actions.” The I.W.A. said it would have dia- logue with Greenpeace pending pay- ment for lost wages of I.W.A. Local 1- 71 members who were blockaded. The Local union has filed legal suit inst Greenpeace for the lost wages of its members. “We are going to hit back at Green- every chance we can get,” added aggard. “Their organization has a e I.W.A. CANADA National President Dave Haggard fields media questions during the union’s confrontation holier-than-thou attitude where they think they can go around staging media stunts which throw our mem- bers out of work and do damage to the forest industry. They are trying to undermine the very fabric of British Columbia.” The union president said the Green- peace has had more than its fair share of chances to participate in legitimate debates over land-use during the past several years and has neglected to do so. “Now they are committing acts of economic terrorism against the peo- ple of British Columbia,” he said. The decision to carry out an inter- national boycott against B.C. forest products was made in Amsterdam by 32 Greenpeace leaders in November of last year. As part of that campaign, Greenpeace has counselled its mem- bers and supporters to commit illegal activities. It has requested that 5,000 compa- nies around the world cease purchas- ing B.C. forest products which account for annual sales of almost $16 billion. About 300,000 British Columbians, rely, directly or indirectly on the industry for their livelihoods. The multi-national organization is also calling for a halt to all logging activity on the Central Coast region of the province (which it has unilater- ally named the “Great Bear Rainfor- est”) and the set aside of 45% of B.C.’s land mass. Greenpeace spokesperson Tzepo- rah Berman said that a shutdown of all old growth logging on the Central Coast Region would cause the loss of only some 300 direct jobs. The unions says that between 6,000-7,000 direct jobs would be lost in logging, log transport, sawmills, manufacturing plants and other jobs in the forest sector. In addition, thou- sands of spin-off jobs would be elimi- nated. Brian Harder, one of Local 1-3567’s key organizers of the actions taken on the Vancouver waterfront, said that “a boycott of B.C. forest products would cause extreme job losses and hardship for our members and trau- matic dislocation for the many com- munities that are dependent on the industry.” “Greenpeace isn’t offering any solutions for British Columbians,” said Harder. “They are only interest- ed in spreading sensationalistic untruths about the industry in our province so they can fund-raise on the international stage. And the by- product of that is economic terrorism against the people of this province.” As of press time, donations to the union’s “Fight Back for Forest Jobs” Campaign were rolling in. Haggard said that public dona- tions will be used to take on Green- peace “wherever their anti-worker and anti-forest industry campaign rears its ugly head.” “Every time Greenpeace looks over its shoulder, the I.W.A. will be there ready to take action,” he said. Haggard said the union will be requesting assistance from trade unions in foreign countries including American, European and Australian affiliate of the IFBWW. “We have an interesting story to tell our affiliate unions about the anti-worker activities of Greenpeace, which we think will have a signifi- cant impact on their activities all over the world.” ACTION IN SQUAMISH Local 1-71 was under the gun again in the Squamish area as union mem- bers joined community supporters in defending logging activity in Tree Farm Licence 38. Since June 19, coali- tion activists have set up their own version of “block the blockaders” at the 24-1/2 mile mark of the valley’s logging road - this time to keep radi- cal environmentalists out. Ken Bayers, Local 1-71’s Third Vice President, said that the radical environmental group PATH (People Against Threatened Habitat), which has little support in Squamish, has plans to use the cover of a research station as a training ground for acts of civil disobedience against loggers. PATH has joined with the Western Canada Wilderness Committee in calling for the complete preservation of a 260,000 hectare old growth for- est, of which about 20% has already been set aside for permanent protec- tion. At stake are over 110 direct log- ging jobs for I.W.A. members and 190 jobs in the Interfor Squamish Lum- ber sawmill in Squamish. “We've had a lot of community sup- port from union members, the Cham- ber of Commerce, and friends and families of people in the area,” said LW.A. member Rob Otto. All people entering the valley have been requested to sign a petition to, B.C. Premier Glen Clark, which calls for the payment of lost wages and benefits to workers by persons liable of blockading roads and for the depor- tation of any foreign national involved in an illegal blockade. FIGHT BACK FOR FOREST JOBS! Have you had enough of the illegal blockade activities of Greenpeace and other radical environmental groups? Are you tired of their unre- lenting attacks on the forest industry and the working people of B.C.? Give Greenpeace a piece of your mind and support I.W.A. members and other concerned British Columbians who are fighting back. Support I.W.A. CANADA’S ‘FIGHT BACK FOR FOREST JOBS!’ fund by making a donation. Please Call: 1-888-963-2000 9:00a.m.-5:00p.m. Mon. - Fri. PST on god LUMBERWORKER/JULY 1997/3