4 CONVENT HIGHLIGHTS ©“ ION e Panel members, 1. to r., were Local 1000 president Joe da Costa, Local 1-80’s Brian Butler, Local 1- 425 president Wade Fisher, and Gary Will of the International Association of Machinists. : Panel says take care of new members following successful union drives This year, like last, the convention heard from a panel on the topic of organizing. Present on the panel were the International Association of Machinist’s Administrative Assistant for Organizing Gary Will, Local 1-425 President Wade Fisher, Local 1-80 organizer Brian But- ler and Local 1000 President Joe da Costa. The speakers addressed problems that come up after a certification is made. Brother Will told the delegates that to orga- nize, you have to have a game plan which is refined after every drive. The IAM, which organized 18,000 workers at United Airlines in the past year, had a lot of pressure put on it to provide service to the new members. It almost doubled the size of the new district which provided logistical problems in that there were 165 new workplaces to service. He said that a union should prepare to get its staffing in place and that workers want to know what is going on right away. “Remember, when you organize in big units, make sure that the local or the district or who- ever services them has enough staff after you do it...” he added. During their organizing campaigns, the IAM tries to send organizers to each individual’s house to explain the benefits of unionism. After a few days of meetings they hold mass meetings on the weekend and look for 65% support. If it doesn’t materialize, they back off and move on to other campaigns. Brother Fisher, who served as the union’s national organizing coordinator in western Canada, said that the union tried a blitz pro- am in northern Alberta at the Tolko, High Prairie oriented strandboard plant where the organizers met all the employees of a mill in two days. Ye said the drive, although not successful, was successful in that those who were contacted and did not support the union were not hostile. “J think they stood us in pretty good standing to go back there in time and take another crack at it,” he said. Fisher also said that it is important to coor- dinate drives between local unions when deal- ing with large outfits. *] think it’s crucial that when we go after a company, we go after that company in every local union it exists in, because that spreads _ their resources to fight us over a whole bunch of places and it allows us a chance to get in at some of the plants.” The I.W.A. was successful in getting three bargaining units at Ainsworth Forest Products in such a campaign. Fisher said that after Ainsworth was certi- fied, a bargaining council was formed and the national union helped out. All three locals sat in on negotiations at the same time and the membership benefited by receiving the same communications materials about contract talks. “We need a coordinated approach to bargain- ing when we get these people certified,” said Fisher. “I think it’s a necessity if we are going to continue to be successful organizing.” Brian Butler said that in the reman sector there is a younger workforce to organize which feels distant from conventional forest industry workers in larger mill and bush operations. His local union formed a reman council so the mem- bership in those plants can relate their common issues and problems and develop common strategies and goals. “They feel involved with the local. In turn, that obviously gives some security to the local that those people are obviously feeling well rep- resented,” said Butler. He also said that it is important for organiz- ers not to make false impressions that a first contract will be acheived soon. “A lot of time, that’s not the case, so those false hopes shouldn’t be given...” he added. Brother da Costa that when the union is suc- cessful it must educate and communicate. In Local 1000 they give a short organizing course to the organizing committee inside the plant to let them know what the union is all about. He said that the union has to especially edu- cate the younger workforces that don’t know what the union is all about. The local trains the bargaining committee on its rights and the steward’s rights and respon- sibilities. “We're to the point now that we’re training every chairperson of sub-locals to be educators and eventually every steward within the local to be educators. That’s were it’s important -- right down at the ground level, right down in the lunchroom. “They need to belong to something, to belong to an organization that believes in them and encourages them and gives them the tools to become better members of society and activists within their communities,” said Brother da Costa. In a discussion period, Local 2171 organizer Bob Turner said that it is important not to have make promises. “The only thing I can promise is that at the end of the day, they'll be better off than they will be not being in the union,” he said. “I never com- pare contracts or show them wages scales or any of that kind of stuff. And I think that’s part of the reason why in our local, that over the last three, four or five years, that we’ve had one decert.” ° Mike Pisak e Fred Carroll Delegates debate organizing report After the national organizing report was received, there was considerable debate on the topic of organizing. Speakers congratulated the national union on the report and brought up some important points. Alberta Local 207 President Mike Pisak said the union website has been a positive organizing tool and that his local has received various con- tacts through it. On one occasion Local 1000 pres- ident Joe da Costa made a successful e-mail referral which led to a positive lead in Alberta. Pisak asked other I.W.A. locals with Weldwood certifications to support an organizing campaign at the company’s mill in Strachan. Three man- agement employees made up a four-page docu- ment interfering in Local 1-207’s campaign which tells various lies about the union’s consti- tution and make some wild comparison ofa union and non-union environment. Such interference is allowed in Alberta. Local 1-424 President Fred Carroll said that his local has had some difficulty getting first col- lective agreements in non-traditional certifica- tions. “We're to the point of sitting down and trying to negotiate collective agreements...and what happens is that companies are stretching out the negotiations. They’re working on the crew all the time..(and) when we have to take an agreement to the membership in that operation, we can’t get them to accept it...” “I don’t know if this tactic has started to seep into other parts of B.C. yet, but watch out, it might be coming, especially with small certifica- tions,” said Carroll. Local 2693 executive board members and orga- nizer Manny Ranger told the convention that the local lost a campaign at MacMillan Bloedel’s ori- ented strandboard plant in Wawa, when the labour relations board split the vote into two Continued on page twenty-two SSS SS SS SS EEE] LUMBERWORKER/DECEMBER, 1999/17