¢ Pictured here are I.W.A. CANADA Local 700 members and repairmen Peter Wojdylo and Waldermar Wojdylo (1. to r.), proud of a newly recycled cable reel. Cable reel plant stabilizes hen I.W.A. CANADA Local 700 was in nego- tiations with Allin Cable Reels Ltd. over three years ago, the picture was unclear. Negotiations were bogged down as the company had a “For Sale” sign outside its Bowmanville, Ontario plant and was asking the union for conces- sions. “Things were pretty uncertain back then,” said local union presi- dent Ron Diotte in an interview with the Lumberworker. “The employer said that it wanted to cut costs and move closer to Toronto (Bowmanville is about a 1 hour drive east of Toronto, along the 401). We said that the collective agreement would stand and we wanted full severance pay if the company was to move.” It’s a good thing that the sever- ance pay language was in the collec- tive agreement, said Diotte, or oth- erwise the company may have shut the plant down. “We were very fortunate that the company decided to remain in Bow- manville and make more invest- ment in its plant,” said Diotte. “In the end we think it would have cost Whiskey barrels Continued from page thirteen our members will be used to make any necessary improvements.” “The safety issues that we are talking about are more housekeep- ing in nature and are not immedi- ately detrimental to the workers, but certain things should be done,” added Marques. “These are a hardy bunch of guys who can do any job. Most of them have quite a background in repair, cleaning and painting. Some of them do it as side businesses.” “They are ambitious workers who are capable of doing any necessary renovations. They have been main- taining the plant for the last 15-20 years,” said Marques. them more to move the operation.” The company has another plant in Bois Briand, Quebec. Local 700 is going into negotia- tions with the company in May of this and is coming off a three year agreement. “Since 1996, labour relations at the plant have improved,” added Brother Diotte. “There are very few grievances and when we do have a problem, it usually doesn’t take more than a phone call to fix things.” Whether that improvement in labour relations will translate into trouble-free negotiations remains to be seen. “We are looking forward to get- ting back to the bargaining table and negotiating some good pay and benefits improvements for the crew,” said the local union president. At the plant there are 40 union members on the seniority list, about 28 of whom were working when the Lumberworker visited the plant early last October. Allin produces both nailed wooden and plywood reels for customer in Canada and the United States. Those reel have numerous uses for the shipping of various typed of cables and wires including wire ropes, bare or insulated conductor ¢ Union member Riekie Raetson (foreground) and Kelly Dejager, put touches on small reels. ieee whose family produce: since 1938, said that at the manville plant Allin produces that range in sizes from 12” to 180” in the flange. > “We always have stock in certain sizes in anticipation of the cus- tomers’ orders,” said Mr. Hamelin. “So when they call up we can get uA order to them in a couple of lays.” e plant produces both new reels and refurbishes second-hand reels. Most recycled reels come from Cana- dian clients, while one-time use reels are usually made of lighter materials which are shipped out of the country. Some of the Sommpanyis key cus- tomers are Alcatel (formerly Canada Wire), Pirelli Cables, the British International Cable NCEE EgD) (for- merly Philips Cable), Northern Tele- com and Wire Rope Industries. The operation uses both hard- wood and softwood varieties such as Soro aspen, poplar and pine, which is the most common. Quality control in emphasized along the whole line of production as select woods are used without knots that will weaken the reels. There also must be no nails which protrude into the inside of the reels. When the workers recondition the reels, which includes cleaning, tight- ening, smoothing out rough edges and removing rusty metals, the final products can be used again and again. The company uses all new materials for the repairs. Kevin Eason, the I.W.A.’s plant chairman, who is employed in the painting department, said that the number of new reels which have left the plant painted has dropped in recent years, yet many of the Sepair ope require painting. ‘o decrease health and safet; risks, the company has put in a self contained paint tank, where the worker does all of the spraying with ventilation from the tank and respi- ratory protection, “The company has cooperated with the union in making the plant a safer place to work in,” said Diotte. “In other areas they seem to be reasonable and flexible, although like most employers, they like the flex their muscles every once ina while,” he added. ow ¢ Plant chair Kevin Eason in the painting area. 14/LUMBERWORKER/MARCH, 1999