¢ Pictured at a regional convention of the International Woodworkers of America in the late 1970’s were delegates eoraeergars) Local 1-71, Standing

Photo LW.A, Archives

(..to r.) are Walter Kozij, Bill Hutchison, Financial Secretary Bill Wilson, Bill Christine, Dwayne Pederson, Surinder Malhotra, Cliff Crouter, and Ernie

Welch. Sitting are John Smith, Local President Ben Thompson, Robert Pickering, Phil Jantz, Donna Lucke,

2171 Merger

Continued from page eleven

dent by noting his past links with
the Labour Progressive Party, which
was the name for the Communist
Party in the Fifties. The local
responded by reprinting the article

- in The Barker, accompanied by a
stinging rebuttal.

Such attempts to unseat Thomp-

son failed. He was repeatedly re-
elected until he chose to retire — he
also served as president of the Van-
couver Labour Council — and the
officers who served with him are
unanimous in their praise.

“Syd Thompson was a first-class
person to work with,” attests Doug
Evans. Now a third-term city coun-
cillor in Burnaby, Evans succeeded
Thompson as president of Local 217
and ran on the same slate for local
elections. “He was one of the finest
negotiators I’ve ever seen. He knew
when there was one cent left on the
table and he always got it,” says
Evans.

The local weathered its fair share
of strikes, including one that lasted
five years. It began in 1972 and tar-
geted MacMillan Bloedel shingle
mills over the issue of work hours.
“It was the first time we took on the
industry for 40 hours,” recalls Erich
Ewert. “There were no winners;
Mac Blo packed their bags and bug-
gered off.” But to avoid an escala-
tion of strike action, the industry
upped rates. “If nothing else, the
strike accomplished greater pay,”
says Ewert.

Among the locals key achieve-
ments, Ewert believes, was forcing
Vancouver Plywood to end a sexist
discrimination in the early Sixties.
“For the first time, women were
allowed to drive fork lifts. We argued
that if they’re good enough to drive
a goddamned car, they’re good
oe to drive a goddamned fork

Doug Evans recalls the 1986 strike
which lasted more than four and
one-half months. The issue was con-
tracting out. “Those members not
striking worked at mills that had
signed statements that they wouldn’t
contract out workers jobs,” he
relates. They contributed $5 a day

to the strike. Meanwhile, the com-
mittee in charge made sure that
local officers visited the picket lines
in the morning and afternoon each
day, says Evans.

At the end, “we got a contracting
out clause in the agreement,” Evans
notes. It paid other dividends, he
observes. “When you get into a strike,
it’s strange, but new people come to
the forefront. After the strike, the
local was that much stronger.”

In 1987 wheelchair athlete Rick
Hanson completed his world jour-
ney. The local responded by raising
$30,000 through wood and products
sales and a major banquet feature
then president Jack Munro an
Keith Bennett, then chair of Forest
Industrial Relations. The two
reversed roles in a hilarious skit
featuring Munro in a tuxedo, Ben-
nett in workers clothes and Jack
Webster as moderator.

The shrinking membership of the
Vancouver, mirrored in some other
1.W.A. locals, means the union has
had to diversify from its traditional

tional sectors. He particularly sees
the increase in home manufacturing
of forest products as ripe territory
for new members.

The two locals actually consid-
ered merging years ago, Evans
relates. But a change in executive
at Local 1-71 scotched the idea for
the time being. “Now it’s reached
the stage where they’re merged
together, and I think that’s good.

“There are good officers in both
local unions, and the combination of
the two will make the organization
that much stronger.”

Called the “Loggers’ Local,” 1-71
covers an immense territory, from
northern Vancouver Island over to
the Mainland, sweeping southward
to Howe Sound. The term is a bit of
misnomer: the local also represents
mill workers and those in enter-
prises as diverse as car dealerships,

° Long-time Local 217 activist Doug Evans, here pictured in late 1960’s,
was a former local president and stalwart of the I.W.A.

base in the forest industry, Ewert
observes. “We’ve been reaching out
to industries producing allied prod-
ucts, as well as cereal manufactur-
ing, custom glass glazing, distribu-
tor warehouses, rope manufacturing,
valet parking and souvenir manu-
facturing,” he notes. Evans agrees
and says the future of the union
depends on organizing in non-tradi-

home care and municipal rinks. It
maintains offices in Port McNeill,
the Queen Charlottes, Terrace, Pow-
ell River, Gibsons and Squamish.

“Were about 80 per cent logging,”
says former Local 1-71 President
Darrel Wong, now president of Local
2171. “Another 15 per cent is manu-
facturing and the remainder is non-
traditional.”

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George Robertson, and S. Thompson.

The local never originally set out
to diversify its ranks, Wong says.
“It’s just that the I.W.A. has a pres-
ence in the community, and when
those workers were looking for orga-
nization, they came to us.”

The local used to share space in
‘Vancouver with Local 217, but later
moved operations to Courtenay “to
be closer to the members,” says
Wong. Courtenay is not within Local

1-71’s boundaries, but many mem-
bers live in the area.

Merger discussions had been going
on and off for the past 15 years, he
relates. “There has been a conscious
decision to merge now while the
locals are still strong,” he relates.
Local 1-71 maintained some 400
agreements, with about 100 con-
tracts covering owner-operators. It’s
a constantly shifting terrain. “We'll
sign up three companies in a week,
and lose three the same week,” says
Wong.

Strength is what the merger is all
about, Wong asserts. It will mean
financial savings — “$80,000 to
$90,000 just in committee meet-
ings” — and organizationally. “We'll
be training staff to specialize in cer-
tain areas such as arbitrations, pro-
grams, benefits and education.

“We're hoping to be able to utilize
our members even more, and the
best way to do that is through edu-
cation.”

The leadership of Local 2171 is
structured to include fourth and
fifth vice-presidents, and the execu-
tive board includes a representative
from each of the 22 wards. The mem-
bership will consist almost 50/50 of
manufacturing and logging, Wong
notes.

Both the Vancouver and Courte-
nay offices will be retained, an
arrangement made easier by
advances in communications tech-
nology. “We have a direct link by
computer with the Vancouver office,”
Wong relates. “All sub-offices are on
the Internet, and well have an inter-
nal e-mail system.” Courtenay will
be the main office for Local 2171
business.

The merger involved several bylaw
changes and the resolution of staf-
fing issues. But members were well
informed of the process and locals
were advised on how to properly
submit resolutions, Wong relates.

“As a union we've got a good rep-
utation for service, honesty and
integrity. Hopefully we can get more
people interested and involved.”

a

AR MMBEBWORKER/MARCH, 1998