¢ National fourth vice president Norm Rivard, is pictured here at the union’s national office in Weston, Ontario.

Harold Sachs

Continued from page thirty-three

1986. After that he become a national
union organizer in 1987.

Harold started organizing as a vol-
unteer in the early days. His first
successful drive was the Premier
Casket plant in Mount Forest, a town
which had no hint ofa union. For sev-
eral years and campaigns, his wife
Philis would assist, and help out
wherever possible.

Over the decades Harold has run
so many campaigns that he lost
count. And he helped extend the ben-
efits of unionism to thousands of
workers.

“I really liked organizing and ser-
vicing the plants,” he said. Later on
the union made a decision to give the
responsibility for negotiating to non-
organizers.

The largest campaign he worked
on was in 1980 when the union
worked six months to certify the
Munroe Shock Absorber plant in
Owen Sound which had between 800-
900 people. Unfortunately the union
lost by 76 votes.

One other plant, Pannil Veneer in
Kitchener, was certified in 1995.
Harold established his first contacts
there in 1978.

Harold sees today’s organizers
operating under some very tough
conditions in Ontario — some of the
‘same conditions that he encountered
early in his career.

“We had the same trouble back
then,” he said. The labour laws per-
mitted open employer interference
and there were lots of firings of work-
ers who wanted to join the union.

“We had to fight every time and
came up against a lot of petitions that
were driven by the boss,” he said.
“You had to stay with it and let the
company do everything it was going
to do first before you went in for the
vote. You had to win them over so
they would be solidly behind the
union to stick it out for a first con-
tract which was often hard to get.”

Harold is taking it a lot easier
these days and lives in Guelph with
his wife. He moved there 6 years ago
to be closer to the national office in
Toronto. He has two sons and five
grandchildren. <

He likes fishing and Moose hunt-
ing and heads up north of Longlac to
a hideaway to do both when he can.

Rivard adapts to new
job in Ontario office

After former Local 2995 president
Norm Rivard moved to the national
office in Toronto, his successor
Damien Roy took to the job like moose
to a swamp. When Rivard moved to
Toronto he took to the job like a deer
in the headlights.

“The biggest change of all for me was
getting used to the traffic down here,”
laughed Brother Rivard during an
interview with the Lumberworker. “It
never occurred to me how bad the traf-
fic could be. Up in Kapuskasing the
streets can get busy when the (Spruce
Falls) mill lets out at the end of the
day. Here in Toronto it’s busy all day
and it only gets worse in the later
afternoon!”

Not only has the traffic been a busy
challenge, but taking on new respon-
sibilities as the I.W.A. national fourth
vice president have kept the former
northern Ontarian very busy.

After moving into his new job in Jan-
uary of 1999 Rivard spent the first cou-
ple of months familiarizing himself
with his new surroundings and get-
ting more familiar with Locals 700,
500 and 1000 in central and southern
Ontario.

Shortly after, the fluently-bilingual
Rivard began to work with Local 700
and national officers and staff to come
up with a new plan to reorganize the
Toronto local.

“It’s been a challenging time just to
get myself familiarized with the south-
ern part of the province and Eastern
Canada,” said Rivard. “Each area has
its own unique membership and local
characteristics.”

Rivard said that most of his work
focuses on administering the Toronto
office, lending support to local unions,
and promoting the union’s organizing
and growth strategy.

“Our local unions in the province of
Ontario. have really bought into the
1.W.A.’s overall plan of buildin;
strength in numbers,” said Rivard.
“Right now we are approaching 10,000

members in the province of Ontario —

alone.”

With the recent opening of a union
organizing office in Miramichi, New
Brunswick, Rivard said the union is

becoming even better known in the
Maritimes.

Rivard sees the biggest potential for
organizing in the jurisdiction of Local
700. Reorganization plans are under-
way. In January of 2000 the union’s
national organizing fund will bring
one and possibly two organizers in the
Toronto area. There is a population of
over 4 million people in the local
union’s jurisdiction.

“We have to gear things up in the
Toronto area. There is huge potential
in this part of the country,” said
Rivard.

Local 700’s 19 certifications and
close to 800 members provide more
than enough work for president Ron
Diotte.

In recent months the local has

gained over 100 new members with

expansion of workforces at former

Loeb stores (a No Frills store in Coul-

mee a sor and a Dominion
in Ajax).

Inthe past yearit has also organized
and negotiated a collective ent
for 40 employees at Sauder Industries,
a warehousing facility in Toronto.

“I don’t envy Brother Diotte’s work
load. This is a to riod of transi-
tion for Local 700. We have to build the
membership and when that happens
the local union should be able to hire
more staff and branch out on it’s own.

Rivard is assisting Local 700 where
he can. He is the spokesperson on
negotiations for the newly organized
Roma Mouldings, a Toronto plant that
was organized this summer and is
heading negotiations with Wilson
Transport.

In the province of Quebec Rivard
also sees potential for union growth
over the long term but more resources
will have to be dedicated.

“There are many non-union plants
in Quebec or plants with independent
associations that require strong union
representation,” said Rivard. ere’s
lots of sawmills with 50-100 workers
that are out there all the way from the
Trois Rivieres, and the Grand Mere
region north to La Tuque in La
Mauricie Region. There are also work-
ers in the eastern part of the province
that are potential members.”

Rivard said that the separatist
movement in Quebec has lost steam.
Polls released on November 21 show
that scarcely 41% of the population
supports another referendum on the
issue.

“What we have to accept as Canadi-
ans and as trade unionists is that the
province of Quebecis a distinct society,
especially in rural areas where it is
almost entirely French speaking,” said
Rivard.

“I don’t see any problem with the
LW.A. CANADA fitting into Quebec,
we already have five certifications in
the province (being serviced by Local
1000) and there are other uni

unions like—
_the CEP and the Sicelworkers operat-

ing in the province on a large scale.
One is a national union and the other
is an international.”

In Local 2995, for decades the union
has represented bush workers who
work for Abitibi Consolidated that
commute to and from their homes in
the La Sarre region in Quebec. Rivard
suggests that the union look at what it
is pa in New Brunswick as a possi-
ble model for Quebec.

“In New Brunswick we are making
a concrete.commitment with a new
office and I think that’s something our
union can consider for Quebec over
time,” he added.

At the Weston office are (1. to r.) director of arbitration services Bob Navar-

~2 hes

retta, Brother Rivard, secretary Ania Kilinski, assistant bookkeeper/secre-
tary Diane Bellaire and organizing co-ordinator Mike Hunter.

34/LUMBERWORKER/DECEMBER, 1999