¢ Greeting Brother Gonzalez was Local 2693 president Wilf McIntyre and a group of striking workers from Industrial Hardwoods, in Thunder Bay. President of Chilean forest workers confederation visits |.W.A. locals union members from four locals across Canada had the privilege of hosting the president of the National Confederation of Forest Workers of Chile (CTF) in September and Octo- ber of 2000. CTF president Jorge Gonzalez, who attended and was a guest speaker at the union’s annual convention n Vancouver, was in Canada from September 20 to Octo- ber 13. He paid visits to I.W.A. CANADA Local 2693 (Thunder Bay), Local 363 (Courtenay), Local 1-424 (Prince George) and Local 1-207 (Edmon- ton). The visits provided Brother Gonzalez with an overview of the diversity of local unions within the LW.A. The I.W.A. and the CTF kicked- off an international solidarity pro- ject in 1999 and began operating an education centre in Concepcion, Chile in March of this year. Both unions have been participating in the structuring, composition and delivery of education courses for CTF activists. Gonzalez’s visit to Canada was a further step at forging links between the national trade union bodies. The CTF is a confederation of individual local unions in the south- ern forest region of Chile while the I.W.A. CANADA is one national union with certifications in seven provinces. Most of the I.W.A. certifi- cations remain in the traditional forest sector. “What I have confirmed during my visit is the common bond that we all have as workers in the forest industry — the common problems and issues we share,” said Gonzalez in an interview with the Lumber- worker. “You in the IW.A. have been successful in evolving into a national structure that represents the inter- ests of all its members. There are many things we can learn from the 1.W.A. in how to advance our com- mon interests.” National I.W.A. president Dave Haggard, who greeted Gonzalez at the national convention, said his visit was of particular importance to the union. “Where compaiiero Jorge and the CTF say they can learn from us, we can also learn from the experience of Chilean workers,” said Haggard. “In many ways the CTF and its affil- iate unions are living through a his- tory that our union lived 40 and 50 years ago — in fighting for the most basic right to represent workers. We must learn to never forget the struggle that the I.W.A. has been through and can only look at the experiences that the CTF is having to remind ourselves that working people in all parts of the world are entitled to basic rights and have the right to go to work with respect and dignity from their employers.” NORTHERN ONTARIO LOCAL Gonzalez’ first stop was Local 2693 where he met with local union staff and members and visited two ill i: Gonzalez joined (1. to Outside the Primex sawmill in Courtenay, Brother j r.) Local 3683's Sy Pederson, Victor Ruiz and Bill Windram. operations. Accompanied by local union member Rolando Quintul, he visited the Avenor woodlands opera- tion approximately 130km west of Thunder Bay. There he saw modern feller bunchers in action, grapple skidders hauling wood to roadside and debarker/chipper machines pro- cessing logs for the pulp and paper industry. The next day he toured the Atikokan Forest Products sawmill in Atikokan, a high-tech, high-speed operation owned by Buchanan For- est Products. “In Canada you have advanced technology but in Chile some of our sawmills and logging operations are not so different,” said Gonzalez. “But the big difference is in the mis- erable wages and salaries that work- ers are paid.” Chilean forest workers are paid between $1 - $2.00 per hour and then have numerous deductions taken off their cheques: health care premiums, social services taxes and other charges. There’s not much left for the benefit of the worker. By law workers must be paid over- time after 48 hours, a practice that rarely takes place. Sixty to 70 hour work weeks are not uncommon as the low wages necessitate longer shifts in the mills and logging sec- tor. National fifth vice president and Local 2693 president Wilf McIntyre said Gonzalez’s visit was good expo- sure for his local union. “The discussions we had about working conditions, about rates of ay, about safety, about economics ‘or working people and about poli- tics were important ones to have and I am sure that the relationshi between our two organizations will 8 E < 8 3 < develop more in the future,” said McIntyre. Local first vice president Joe Han- lon said Gonzalez’s visit with strik- ers from the Industrial Hardwoods plant in the city of Thunder Bay was a valuable exposure for the vis- itor. There he met Brother Eduardo Belda, a Peruvian Canadian who acted as interpreter. Workers at the Thunder Bay value-added operation have been on strike since November of last year against a very anti- union employer that wants conces- sions from the I.W.A. “Jorge could clearly see that here in Canada we have difficulty with some employers,” said Brother Han- lon. “Without an adequate national strike fund there’s no way our union could fight back for so long.” Gonzalez told the Lumberworker that the CTF, which has 43 affiliate unions and has grown to about 6,200 members in recent months is expe- riencing difficulties. Taking strike action in Chile is a rare occurrence at best. The CTF has no central strike fund and individual union strike funds don’t last very long. VANCOUVER ISLAND LOCAL Following Gonzalez’s stay at the national convention, he went to Local 363 where he visited bush operations at Weyerhaeuser Canada’s Kelsey Bay Division. Accompanied by local president Sy Pederson, and local union mem- ber and interpreter Victor Ruiz, Gonzalez saw several operations including a grapple yarder, a heli- copter logging show, and fallers working near a road building opera- tion. He also visited the company’s log dump at Menzies Bay. e was also taken to Primex For- est Product’s dimension sawmill in Courtenay where most lumber is produced for the Japanese market. Then local first vice president Bill Windram, who works at the mill, accompanied the tour. One evening Brother Gonzalez met with a dozen members from Local 363’s executive board and had dinner and spoke with them. “I thought it was a great opportu- nity to have direct contact with a worker representative from another country,” said local union president Sy Pederson. “Our members who talked with Jorge have gained a greater understanding that there is a bigger picture out there as far as the global marketplace and what the global workforce is confronting. They talked about issues that all working people are concerned about like wages and working conditions, health and safety, workers compen- sation, unemployment insurance, medical care and hospitals and the cost and quality of education for their children.” NORTHERN B.C. LOCAL Gonzalez paid a brief visit to Local 1-424 in Prince George where he was accompanied by local union member Alfredo Espinoza, a Chilean Continued on page thirty-six i i ¢ At the convention Gonzalez met with Local 1-424’s Fred Carroll, and national fourth V.P. Norm Rivard. LUMBERWORKER/DECEMBER, 2000/35