e At the manufacturing and reman facility Local 500 members (1. to r.) Bill Hellyer, Roy Burt, and Steve Hardman do a combination of jobs. Log home operation makes progress with Local 500 It’s the kind of small place where they’ve always needed a union. At one time they would go 4-5 years without an increase in pay. That changed in 1993 when I.W.A. orga- ¢ Bill Hellyer puts a white cedar log through a tongue and groove router. nizer Harold Sachs organized a small group of workers at the Brough and Wicher log cabin and truss oper- ations into Local 500. The tiny operation is situated on Georgian Bay right at the gateway to the Bruce Peninsula in southern Ontario. With a population of about 2,300, Wiarton is predominately a farming and cottage community with a number of small manufactur- ing industries. “The union organized the plant and has negotiated wage and bene- fit increases in most years of the collective agreements — now the crew (of 6-7 workers) is getting paid in the $12.00 - $13.00 range which is a big improvement from before our local came on the scene,” says Local 500 president Bruce Weber. Earlier this year the union renewed a one year agreement. “It’s kind of a funny way of doing business. Until this year, we would fax our demands to owner Allan Wichar (who has since sold off part of the company to other investors). He would look them over and then give us back an answer withina day or two,” says local business agent Dennis Byers. “It’s really an old way of doing things. Mr. Wichar would do his own thing. He doesn’t have a lot of faith in faweers and most times he accepted our propos- als in good faith.” Although most of the company’s current business is in truss build- ing, the older part of the operation produces quality, custom-built log homes. It also produces tongue and. groove V-match stock and 2” x 4” and 2” x 6” cedar decking. The company purchases white cedar logs which are native to south- ern Ontario. It lets the logs sit until the bark loosens up and is peeled off by hand, a process that allows the natural wood preserver in the bark seep into the wood. Ten inch and nine inch logs are ont of a log home office are (1. to yr.) Allan Wichar and I.W.A. Local 500 business agent Dennis Byers. LUMBERWORKER/DECEMBER, 2000/39 rough lathed. After they dry they are planed to get rid of checks in the wood. The various log pieces, varying in lengths from 4’ to 12’ are put through a triple tongue and groover. Foam is stapled to the tongue and groove joint, providing an air tight fit. This produces a “Scandinavian” type log. In olden days they would use plaster or moss as a sealer. The logs are treated with varathane, sanded and then recoated with varathane. - “Over in Scandinavia they use a smaller log (than 9-10 inches) way up past the Arctic Circle,” said owner Allan Wichar, in an October, 1998 interview with the Lumberworker. Mr. Wichar says the plant used to manufacture log homes out of red pine until the mid-1980’s but switched to white cedar as it is a better material to build with. A stand of trees will mature in about 60 years and grows thick. “Cedar gives a nice finish,” says union chairman Roy Burt. “They look great when they are all done up.” __ Log homes are so useful because they are an excellent means of retain- ing heat. In fact they are more heat efficient than a regular house. Most log homes have either a wood fire- place or stove or an electric heating system. The company sells ready-to- assemble kits with tongue and groove flooring. It can produce up to and over 20 homes a year but in recent years, especially during the 90’s, the mar- ket has not been as robust. Now they produce less than 10 a year. Sales to Japanese customers in recent years have added a new client base. ¢ On the truss side are (I. to r.) Ted Arnold and Charlie Thomas. “There’s not many of us that run out of things to do,” says Bill Hellyer, union vice-chairman. “Everybody has got something to do to keep them busy either on the truss side or the log and lumber side.” The workers are multi-skilled. For instance Bill runs the sticker, the planer, the log lathe and the tongue and groover. He’ll set up planer knives and also drive the fork or a truck. “Whatever you work on you look after,” says Brother Burt. In the truss plant which was built in 1988 (the log plant was built in 1979), the workers can put together roof trusses of up to 60’ in length. The crew operates a cut-off saw which pre-cuts for a press table that put out products starting at 20’ in length. It's a good place to work says Burt. He and others are trying to build the union up. “Some guys think you don’t need a union but when there’s a raise you don’t see them turn it down,” he says. “The union has helped us get more money and better benefits.”