Po --- 75 4 We Need a The I.W.A. has changed a lot over the years and now it’s time to I give our national newspaper a new name. So it’s a contest. If you are an I.W.A. CANADA member in good standing and you can think of Lumberworker, which reflects the national identity and diversity of our union, you can win a prize. No prize has been decided yet but it will be a good one!! NAME New Name iy A a new name for the LOCAL UNION AFFILIATE NUMBER i PLACE OF EMPLOYMENT CHOICE OF NEW NAME(S) FOR NEWSPAPER, Please mail entry to: i 1 i 1 1 1 1 I I 1 1 T Aopress AND PHONE I I I 1 1 I I 1 Harvey Arcand, National 1 1 1.W.A. CANADA, 500 - 1285 West Pender Street Vancouver, B.C. V6E 4B2 1 1 1 1 1 1 Second Vice President I 1 1 | sGauiA FRE GREEN FO LUMBER LMI fab. 2-90 PRS SEA SOMA FEE e Left to right are plant chair Glen Redmond and local business agent Saul Marques. Reman plant Continued from page sixteen can be removed from that area and given a modified job until they recover,” he said. Job safety breakdowns have been stressed and new employees are indoctrinated. “When a new employee starts we want to make sure that they are going to be properly taught their job and how to do it safely,” added Red- mond. Brother Marques, who is also the local union safety director and han- dles workers’ compensation claims, told the Lumberworker that the effort (to make a safer workplace) has been a long time in coming and the local union welcomes the initia- tive. “We have been trying to preach safety first for year and with MB’s new CEO Tom Stephens and his enlightenment towards health and safety, it’s great news,” he added. “Safety initiatives don’t always fil- ter down from parent companies to subsidiaries. Usually the big compa- nies leave the little places alone because they are smaller and don’t make as much profit.” ; “At first there was some skepti- cism about the new safety program but now the company has had a real legitimate open-door policy to address problems right away when they come up,” said Redmond. “When we were in collective bar- gaining with the company we also talked about health and safety issues,” said Brother Marques. “When asked the management to take a good look at where injuries occur and take action. They should look at the ergonomics of the work- place and everything. We don’t want any one of our members to be ina position that will cost them an injury.” About 42 workers are employed in the operation on a two shift a day, five day a week basis. There are two basic lines in the plant. A giant Holtec saw will take a whole load unit of lumber on a car- riage and cut or trim to length. It is, in effect, a huge chainsaw unit. The company has a sorting line that takes processes shipments of spruce, pine and fir from other mills and cuts them to specific lengths. Truss components and framing structures are common customer orders, of which over 80% are shipped to the United States. The company also has a similar plant that is roughly the same size in Fort Erie, which is, ironically, certified to the Canadian Autowork- ers union, the union for the Big Three in Windsor. Memorial service Continued from page seven was a skilled listener. “In all the years I watched Gerry chair meetings in conventions, I saw him listen to whoever was the speaker and to thank them and move on to the next speaker. Gerry felt it was never necessary to engage in debate from the chair. He reminded me that he was a facilitator.” “Gerry always has a sense of how far to let the meeting go before pulling people back to the topic,” added Lan- gan. “He always reminded me that it was the members’ meeting not his meeting.” Langan said that later she real- ized that Stoney pushed her to be active in the party and politics, and eventually into the presidency of the NDP of B.C. She said Stoney believed in his members and the believed in every- thing he undertook. “To me Gerry was a man of vision. Aman who wasn’t afraid to step out ahead and to lead. He believed women had a role in our party and in our movement — he encouraged that.” Reading a message from B.C. Pre- mier Glen Clark was Deputy Pre- mier Dan Miller. Wrote Clark: “From the beginning I was stuck by the fact that Gerry, no matter how great his person achievement or how powerful his elected position remained focused on the needs and aspirations of work- ing people. “From his earlier days as a shop steward to his final work on the Royal Commission on occupational health and safety, he was deter- mined to see justice done...” wrote Clark. “It is rare to find an individual whose contribution to the life of our province is acknowledged by all — both those who elected him to lead- ership and those he was elected to challenge — and Gerry was one of those people.” Making personal comments, Miller said Gerry was like many of the union activists in attendance — he spent a lot of time dealing with other people’s problems. “To me Gerry represented the very best of the kind of values that we all have in common. He was just a work- ing guy.” Written messages from federal NDP leader Alexa McDonough and Piers McDonald, NDP leader of the Yukon Territories government. Wrote McDonough: “As a long- time B.C. labour leader Gerry gave his time and energy in our collective pursuit of social justice.” She added that his passion for human rights and sense of living life to the fullest will keep help keep his memory alive. McDonald wrote that he and other members of the NDP caucus in the Yukon will re- member Stons as a good friend. Between 1985 and 1992, when the government of Tony Peni- kett was in power, he show- ed interest in the party, even though there were no mem- bers in the Yukon. McDon- ald wrote that Stoney could be “relied on for sup- port, friendship and good, solid advice.” Dave Barret said that Stoney lob- bied his NDP government of 1972- 1975 constantly. Stoney lobbied the NDP to make sure that there would be extended health care benefits for senior citi- zens and financial assistance for older persons. A “Mincom” bill passed under the NDP was the first of its kind in North America. “Gerry Stoney came to Victoria and presented his ideas, his issues and his demands — none of which held any personal benefit for him,” said Barrett. Barrett also said Stoney was a defender of secondary and univer- sity education and that he argued for a report that laid the foundation. for the first ambulance service in the province. “What have we learned from Gerry Stoney’s life? We’ve learned that social justice is the ideal motivation. “We've learned that selflessness, we've learned that dedication towards other human beings can get benefits and can get results. “Brother Stoney, I know where you are and I know what you’re doing. When the rest of us go to our reward we're going to have to go and fill out an I.W.A. card before we go through the doo: ¢Dave Barrett : a F3 H Unions prepare project in Chile The I.W.A. is working with the National Confederation of Forest Workers of Chile to establish an Education Centre in that country in the city of Concepcion. Renovations on the centre, which will provide accomodation, food and classroom space for CTF leaders, activists pane members, has already begun. In the fall, the I.W.A. will send representatives to Concepcion to neta the CTF structure course work in the areas of collective bargaining, organizing, health and safety and communications. The union’s International Solidar- ity Fund will be utilized along with additional funding from the Cana- dian International Development ency. In December of last year the union became the newest member of the Canadian Labour Congress’ Labour International Development Com- mittee. SS a RTI 20/LUMBERWORKER/JUNE, 1999