#3

B.C. COMMUNITY JOINS
LOGGERS T0 DEFEND
AGAINST GREEN RADICALS

This summer Local 1-71
members and other forest
industry supporters in
Squamish ‘blockaded the
blockaders’ to defend
logging activity in Tree Farm
Licence No. 38.

SEE PAGE 6

“<

OF

SLOCAN
VALLEY ows

ke *

e THE I.W.A. STRUCK BACK at anti-logging protestors from the Slocan Valley in July when unionists confronted

them at a misinformation campaign in Vancouver. Local 1-405 President Bob Matters (right) took on a protestor

who said he witnessed destructive logging activity by I.W.A. members when, in fact, he later admitted he hadn’t.

¥or more details, see story on page fourteen.

B.C. membership accepts new
contract in province-wide vote

he I.W.A. has successfully

negotiated and ratified

new collective agreements

with forest industry

employers in B.C. On
September 12, National President
and Provincial Negotiating Chair-
man Dave Haggard announced that
78.5% of the I-W.A. members who
voted in the province-wide ballot
supported the memorandum of
agreement between the union and
employers.

“I think that we’re in good shape
going into the next year of the col-
lective agreement,” said Brother
Haggard in an interview with the
Lumberworker. “We managed to get
a very good collective agreement
considering the economic circum-
stances in the industry. We’ve got
wage increases in each of three

ears, made some headway in the
Went department, and broke
some new ground.”

“We never gave up one inch of
territory to an industry that came
into negotiations with the idea that
it was going to force concessions on
us,” said Haggard. “Our (negotiat-
ing) committees on the Coast and
the Northern and Southern Interiors
did a lot to get us there.”

The union targeted Forest
Industrial Relations (F.I.R.), the
employer association on the Coast
for the pattern agreement. It kicked
off negotiations on May 6 and stayed
at the table week after week until

August 1, 1997.

Then the PNC split up and went
to the Southern Interior and
Northern Interior to negotiate the
pattern agreement.

National Third Vice President
Dave Tones headed the union nego-
tiating team in the south which sat
across from the Interior Forest
Labour Relations Association. On
August 8 a tentative agreement was
reached between the employer asso-
ciation and I.W.A. CANADA Locals
1-423 and 1-405.

Local 1-417 did not sign the agree-

¢ ILW.A. National President Dave Haggard (left) fields media questions, on

ment as it decided to pull Slocan
Forest Products out of master nego-
tiations because the employer would
not agree to resolve some serious
local issues. At press time there are
no collective agreements with Slocan
operations in Valemont and Vavenby.

In the Northern Interior National
Fourth Vice President Harvey
Arcand chaired the union negotiat-
ing committee that got an agree-
ment with the Council of Northern
Interior Forest Employment Re-

Continued on page two

[.W.A. joins |
OFL actions
against Harris

On July 28, the I.W.A. participat-
ed in an emergency convention of
the Ontario Federation of Labour —
the first one in the federation’s 40
year history. I.W.A. local unions in
Ontario joined nearly 2,400 affili-
ates and guests to form a plan of
action against Bill 136 (The Public
Service Transition Stability Act).

The ultra right-wing Conservative
government of Mike Harris is radi-
cally restructuring municipal gov-
ernments, hospitals, and school
boards and vows to use Bill 136 to
force public sector unions into accept-
ing job losses and concessions in
their collective agreements.

Two central parts of the bill, the
Public Sector Disputes Resolution
Act and the Public Sector Labour
Relations Act will take away labour
rights. Under Bill 136 the provincial
government will prohibit strikes for
at least a one year period beginning
in January of 1998 while it forces
hospital closures, school board merg-

ers and municipal mergers.

The Harris government wants to
give an appointed Commissioner
the absolute power to rewrite collec-
tive agreements. In a letter to
Conservative Labour Minister
Elizabeth Witmer, Ontario Feder-
ation of Labour President Gord
Wilson, charged that Bill 136 will,
at the request of an employer, uni-
laterally determine issues of wages,
benefits, job security, seniority and
other issues which are normally
freely bargained between unions
and employers.

Continued on page three

Thunder Bay to
host convention

One hundred and eighty nine del-
egates are expected at this year’s
11th Constitutional Convention to be
heldin Thunder Bay, Ontario between
September 29 - October 2, 1997.

The welcoming address will be
given by Local 2693 President Wilf
McIntyre on behalf of I.W.A. locals in
Ontario.

I.W.A. CANADA National Pres-
ident Dave Haggard will give his
address on the first day. The sched-
uled speaker on Monday afternoon is
Randall Rice, President of the
Woodworker District Lodge W-2 of
the LAM.

Speakers during day two will be
Rod Kelty, Administrative Assistant
of the I.A.M. and Gord Wilson,
President of the Ontario Federation
of Labour.

CLC President Bob White and
B.C. Forests Minister Dave Zirnhelt
will speak on October 1. The sched-
uled speakers for the convention’s
last day are Ontario NDP Leader
Howard Hampton and Manitoba

the agreement was reached on August 1, following the announcement of a tentative agreement on the Coast. NDP Leader Gary Doer.

PSST ERAT EEE,

LUMBERWORKER/SEPTEMBER 1997/1