Speakers pay tribute
continued from page ten.

by the entire labour movement,”
said Brother Ghag.

A three minute commemorative
video was played on a giant screen
with images of Terry at various

s of his career.

peaker Bob Parkinson, from the
Community Savings Credit Union,
said Terry was passionate in his
beliefs, and that although he showed
a gruff and loud exterior at times
“behind it all there was a caring
and a compassionate heart.”

Terry’s 33 year membership in
the credit union, 20 of which he
served as the president or
chairperson, was unparalleled.

“I could probably count on one
hand the number of meetings Terry
missed,” said Mr. Parkinson. “He
was committed and proud of his
credit union and always made
himself available.”

“Whenever Terry stood up for
anything, people took notice,” said
Parkinson who said that he was
consistent, fair, passionate and
never wavering.

CUPE B.C. secretary treasurer
Colleen Jordan met Terry 15 years
ago and received valuable advice
from Terry — “some solicited and
other not.”

She humorously remarked about
his frugality, mentioning that “it
took me five years to get him to pay
for lunch!”

On behalf of CUPE B.C. president
Barry O’Neill, she brought
condolences and appreciation to
Terry’s family Baa friends “for
sharing Terry with all of us and the
labour movement and with the
community.”

“Terry loved life, he loved good
things. He loved good times and he
loved good people,” she added.

National I.W.A. president Dave
Haggard told the service that it was

m honour to talk about a friend”
and shared some memories including
a fishing trip and golf games.

Haggard never golfed before he
became a national officer and hit
the fairway with Terry.

“T still don’t know how to golf well,
but I know how to score well,” he
said to audience laughter.

Haggard said they had a good

working relationship.

“It got so good with the industry
that all I had to do was threaten
them with Terry Smith and (he)
was able to resolve most issues,” he
said. On one trip Terry resolved 21
issues in a day and a half.

“He always had a smile and a joke
and the work he did was second to
none,” said the I.W.A. president.
“He wasn’t afraid to tackle any
challenge, to give you advice whether
you wanted it or not and usually it
was good advice.”

Haggard said that Terry always
spoke about his family and how

roud he was about his son and

aughter and told them they must
should feel proud about his love for
them and his love for the trade union
movement.

Ross Stryvoke, a friend of Terry’s
both at and away from work, recalled
various parts of Brother Smith’s life
from his early years to recent ones.

He referred to Terry as a motivator
and a delegator who was ready to
give advice and ready to help. Mr.
Stryvoke said Terry “was ready to
impart wisdom, an accomplished
negotiator, an orator and an
instigator.”

“He was a voice for the little guy,”
he said, dedicated to community,
the union and his family.

“We knew that Smith was very
good at driving an issue into a
settlement if there was one possible,”
he said.

“Forest Industrial Relations had
a lot of time for Terry Smith. He
pressed his case hard, he did it well
— too well quite often,” he added.

“Smith never acted or expected
any credit for anything that he
helped anybody with,” he said. “He
never called anyone down to my
knowledge.”

Former national officer and Local
1-80 president Roger Stanyer was
on hand to make a few recollections.
He first met Terry in 1973 when
rate revision was being put into
sawmills.

“I remember being particularly
impressed with his no nonsense
style with the employer...” said
Stanyer.

They often travelled together.

“He knew everybody in town. It
didn’t matter whether it was in
Toronto, Ottawa, Vancouver or
Terrace or wherever it might be,

{og 1am $|

e At the memorial service for Terry Smith, daughter Joanne spoke to the

gathering, accompanied by her brother Mike.

Terry could be counted on,” he said.

Stanyer noted that Terry picked
up a saying from an individual at a
logging camp out of Gold River.
Many times he would start out with:
“Well, boys - how are ya doing
today?... or Well, boys, I’ll tell you
what I’m gonna do for yal...”

Stanyer added that Terry was a
peacemaker that could not stand
divisions in the I.W.A. and who was
extremely loyal to officers and the
organization.

“Most of all Terry wanted to make
sure that we got along well and we
got along better. I think there can
be no higher tribute paid to anybody.
He left a good mark on this world.
He did things right. He did them for
the right reasons. I think that we
can all be proud of Terry.”

Mervyn Van Steinburg of the
United Way of the Lower Mainland
said Brother Smith cemented the
union representative program for
the organization.

Following the 1986 strike in B.C.,
Smith was key in spearheading the
1987 campaign drive which saw
both union and corporate donations
come in.

Van Steinberg said that Terry
was key in helping form the
guidelines for the Campaign Labour
Committee.

In 1991 he receive the Joe Morris

Award recognizing outstanding
effort by a local trade union member
to improve community services.
From 1986 to 1990 he chaired the
Campaign Labour Committee.

“Terry exemplified, from my
perspective, labour’s involvement in
the community,” he said, and took
the labour agenda forward.

“You can spend a 100 years on
this planet and never really do
anything,” he added. “Terry spent a
short period of time.and leaves an
incredible legacy for his community
and his union.”

Two of Terry’s children, Joanne
and Mike Smith, stood before the
crowd to express the sentiments of
the family.

“It’s become very clear over the
past few days how he (Terry) was
appreciated...and touched so many
people,” said Joanne.

“Because of him we learned that.
race, religion, colour, and sexual
preference did not matter and that
everyone is equal,” he said.

Many times when the family
holidayed, and when Terry would
see a picket line, he’d get out of the
car to chat with workers.

Joanne said “we knew family was
important to him.”

“Whenever we needed a word of
advice, we could always count on
him,” she said. o

Brother

eomith

in 1.W.A.
for over
37 years

Terry Smith first started working
at the Tahsis Company in June of
1964, on the west coast of Vancouver
Island and was a member of I.W.A.
Local 1-85. Like most young men,
he didn’t particularly know much

about what unions where about.

But he did recall, in a June 1999

3 interview with long time I.W.A.

a

historian Clay Perry, going toa
union meeting one time where then
Local 1-85 Walter Allen spoke and

he came away imp: o
In 1964 he hired on for weekend
shift work at the Canfor Pacific
Veneer Division in New
Westminster. By 1967 he was on
full time at the seven day a week
operation of some 1000 men and
one of the biggest operations

at the time.

in the inion
% One of the big issues of the day

Photo by Dan Keeton Pacific Tribune Collection

e Seen here with union members at Berry Point in Vancouver to protest the export of raw logs was Brother
Smith, then president of New Westminster Local 1-357 in 1982.

was establishing optional weekend
work for workers on the job from
Monday to Friday. Competitive sub-
local and local union politics saw
spirited debates over issues like
hours of work, seniority and job
postings and full representation for
‘women in the workplace.

Women activists like Verna
Ledger and Marge Storm worked at
Canfor and were active on safety
and plant committees.

Smith recalled that “we had
a pretty good group there,” and
that the union achieved many

breakthroughs including Getting rid
of the time punch clock and
establishing the right for women to
work in any job in the plant.

At one point in time provincial
laws prohibited women from jobs
where the worker had to lift over 35
pounds. Sister Ledger and other
women organized on the issue and
eventually saw the law overturned.

Until 1966 women were still
working for less. One day women in
the day wildcatted and paraded
around the issue of one women being
replaced by a male on her core layer

LUMBERWORKER/NOVEMBER 2001/11

job. They shut the operation down
tight.

“Shortly after that then it was
agreed that women could have a
right to any job in the mill,” recalled
Terry.

“It was really good having women
in the plant from the perspective of
fighting about the contract was
different,” he said. “When it came to
money, women probably understand
the family budget pro ably better
than most men did.’

continued on page twenty