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« I.W.A. CANADA Local 2693 members at picket line near the Nairn Centre operation outside of Espanola,

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Northern Ontario negotiations marred by
lengthy strike at Domtar logging camps

n northern Ontario two strikes

stand out in what is an other-

wise relatively peaceful year

for negotiations in the forest
industry. In Local 2693 and Local
2995, most pattern collective agree-
ments are being reached without
labour disputes.

Since January 17, 300 Local 2693
members at Domtar logging opera-
tions in the Upper and Lower Span-
ish Forest Licenses have been on
strike in effort to stop contracting
out of their jobs to non-union bush

operators.

“The collective agreement we have
in place with Domtar says that all
workers must be under a collective
agreements whether directly work-
ing for the company or any third
party agreement where wood is des-
tined to any Domtar operation or
any of the companies that negotiate
with the I.W.A.,” said local union
president Wilf McIntyre. We are on
strike to stop from giving that up.”

Domtar wants to introduce non-
union crews to haul to various mills
that it owns including the J.E. Mar-
tel mill in Chapleau, the McChes-
ney mill in Timmins, the Elk Lake
sawmill in Elk Lake, the Agawa
Forest Products mill in Sault Ste.
Marie, and the Gogama Forest Prod-
ucts mill in Gogama. The only place
that Domtar agrees to ship union
wood is to the Nairn Centre opera-
tion outside of Espanola.

Another issue is that the com-
pany wants to close down bunkhouse
facilities at the Ramsay Camp, north
of Sudbury and a portable camp in
the region. They also want to force
workers into commuter operations
out of Cartier or Gogama where
there are no accommodations.

“There are no rooms in nearby
communities for reasonable rates
for the workers and the crews are
getting farther and farther out in
the bush.

“We have to prevent the company
from forcing 13-15 hour days on the
crews,” said McIntyre. “We will be
on strike for a while yet to get this
company to back down.”

In mid-June 240 sawmill workers
at the Atikokan sawmill in Atikokan
voted 96% in favour of a strike to
halt the introducing of a six day
work schedule. The negotiating com-
mittee had the northern Ontario
pattern wage and benefit agree-
ment before they hit the bricks over
the six day work week.

“The Atikokan crew is cranked up
and are ready to take the employer
on,” said Brother McIntyre.

In Hudson, the union is seeking

conciliation in mid-July over the
same issues at MacKenzie Forest
Products. :

In March, Local 2995 settled two
collective agreements with Tembec
sawmills in Kirkland Lake and
Cochrane, getting the pattern agree-
ment of 2-1/2%, 2-1/2% and 3% and
benefits. The local also negotiated a
first-time extended health care ben-
efits package for the mills.

Elsewhere the local is kicking off
contract talks with the Norbord
Industries plywood plant in
Cochrane, the Columbia Forest
Products Levesque plywood and
particle division in Hearst, and is in
negotiations with MacMillan
Bloedel’s Chapleau Forest Products
in Chapleau where it will seek the
pattern agreement.

At the J.E. Martel mill in Chap-

pig
leau the local will be ho
collective

Photo by Tom Lowe

ering 100 workers.

“In our neck of the woods, I don’t
think a strike is necessary with
Abitibi, which we are unable to
meet at the table until August,
said Brother Roy.

But he does see problems shap-
ing up at Spruce Falls in Kapuskas-
ing where Tembec is pushing for
the contracting out of tree planting
and wants to force bushworkers to
become owner-operators. :

“Tembec is going to have a strike
if they don’t change their position,”
said Roy. “We told them already
that we are not going to sit down
and negotiate wages and benefits if
we are not going to have a job to go
to. We have to talk about the issues
on contractors and owner/operators
before we proceed any further.”

Of the five local agreements
attached to the ‘pale mill’s master
agreement in Kapuskasing, two
have already applied for concilia-
tion.

Local 2693 has also settled con-
tracts at Bowater bush operations,
both east and west of Thunder Bay.
On May 28, crews voted 63% in
favour of a six day work week at 10
hours a day which will average out
to 40 hours per week over a 3 week
rotation. The workers will always
have all Sundays off and at least
two consecutive days off.

Lamwood strikers attacked

On the morning of May 11, mem-
bers of the Industrial, Wood and
Allied Workers of Canada were ver-
bally threatened and had their vehi-
cle smashed and extensively dam-
aged by a sledge hammer swinging
employer.

Local 700 employees of Lamwood
Products (1990) Ltd., of Rexdale,
Ontario have been locked out since
April 8, 1999.

Five union members were peace-
fully protesting against the lock-out
in front of the home of company
owner Lavana Schwartz at 43 Old
Colony Drive in Toronto.

Despite the fact that the I.W.A.
members were on a public road in
front of the house, Ms. Schwartz’s
husband, Paul
Schwartz came
out and made
threatening com-
ments to them.

Mr. Schwartz
returned to his
house and came
back out with a
sledge hammer.
He verbally at-
tacked union or-
ganizer Ray Lew-
is, threatening to
break his knee
caps and then
began to pound on
Lewis’ car. Mr.
Schwartz’s violent
sledge hammer
attacks did about
$3,500 damages
to Lewis’ vehicle.

Metro Police
were called and
at least one
charge was laid
against Schwartz.
Frustrated by the
employer’s refu-
salto bargain in

good faith, the union protesters were
carrying signs with the messages;
Stop Unfair Labour Practices; I.W.A.
on Strike at Lamwood; Stop Dis-
crimination; Better Health and
Safety; and No Seniority Rights.

“Our members want a first con-
tract with this employer who is tak-
ing advantage of Mike Harris’ labour
laws to scab out the operation,” said
I.W.A. CANADA National Fourth
Vice President Norm Rivard.

“The employer wants total control
of seniority in the plant and does not
want to acknowledge some of the
most basic rights that workers in
Ontario have under the Employment
Standards Act.”

Workers at the lumber remanufac-

¢ Union organizer Ray Lewis’ windshields were smashed by an employer’s irate husband.
Behind car is Local 700 First Vice President Barb Noftall and Lamwood workers.

turing operation were certified to
1.W.A. CANADA Local 700 on August
18, 1998 and were seeking a first
contract at the time they were locked

out, only one day before the union

members were to go on strike.

The employer has used replace-
ment workers to keep the plant oper-
ating and refuses to resume negotia-
tions at the bargaining table. 3

“We hope that the courts will bring
the full weight of the law down on
this employer for these violently
aggressive actions against our mem-
bers,” commented Rivard.

“This type of behaviour cannot be
tolerated in the province of Ontario,”
he added.

12/LUMBERWORKER/JUNE, 1999