IWACONVENTIONO1

° Bob Freer, Local 2171

Logging Vs.

The national union was directed to consolidate
existing research to show the economic impact
of the forest industry versus the tourism
industry. For far too long, tourism has been
touted as a viable replacement for forest industry
activity and union members want to be armed
with the facts to take on their critics.

Marty Gibbons of Local 1-417 said his wife
runs a bed and breakfast facility which brings
in “just a mere pittance” of about $3,000 per
year.

_ He wants to challenge the greens on the
issue. :
“We've tried their little ‘get out of logging
thing’ and well, — $3,000 just wouldn’t cut it
for me.” raed
Local 2171’s Bob Freer said the resolution is

“I think one of the things that’s happened
over a long period of time, probably 15 or 20
years, is that there’s a misconception out there
that resource jobs can be replaced with tourist
jobs,” said Freer. :

In 1987 Brother Freer was in the Queen
_ Charlottes following the closure of logging at
: ell Island and Ane creation of the South
oresby Park. The federal minister of
environment said $10 million would be spent in
the community of Sandspit to build a new
: and marina. Working Beebe were told
would be jobs galore related to tourism.

150 I.W.A. members lost their jobs.
tourism jobs haven’t appeared like the
romised. The community of Sandspit’s
tion is about 200, down from 900 in

° Reading out the resolutions for the legislative committee were (1. to r.) Local 2171’s Bob Freer and

Local 1-184’s Stephen Lamothe.

e Sylvester Kiepak, Local 2693

tourism

“They can’t even hardly keep the schools
open up there anymore,” said Freer. “I mean,
we've seen this in many areas before.”

Al Plamondon of Local 1-405 said following
land-use processes in the Slocan Valley greens
said there would be 1,000 new jobs and millions
of dollars of tourism-related economic activity
in the valley.

“Nobody up there got any tourist jobs,” he
said. “Now they’re (the greens) up there fighting
Slocan and Slocan Lumber...trying to take
away the timber...”

Plamondon said it’s important for the union
to fight the greens with the hard facts.

‘Gary Kobayashi of Local 2171 said the
resolutions committee discussed the fact that
there is also information out there. The B.C.
Forest Alliance conducted a partial study, as
did Price Waterhouse. He said there have been
impact studies done in various regions of the
province.

“It’s a matter of pulling this information
together,” said Kobayashi.

sylvester Kiepak of Local 2693 said union
members need to do their own informal study
as well.

“Just ask the person next to you how much
money he makes in an hour, and when you
guys go out, talk to anybody from the tourist
industry and ask them how much they make an
hour,” he said. “And right now you’re gonna
find out what is the most important — the
tourist industry or the forest industry. We
know where the real money is.” @

Leg. resolutions
checked off
by delegates

VALUE-ADDED MANUFACTURING - the union
endorsed a resolution calling on provincial
overnments to enact legislation that would
orce all tenure or timber license holders to
create jobs through producing value-added
wood products.

SUCCESSORSHIP RIGHTS - the union will lobby
the B.C. government to pass legislation making

it mandatory that the current collective~
agreement be applied to any new contractor

and include successorship rights to protect

existing employees.

CONTRACTORS ON UNION SITES - the I.W.A. will
lobby ministers of labour to set up a joint
committee with participation of the ministries
and the union to study and establish fair and
equitable amendments to all labour codes that
would address the issue of contractors and sub-
contractors on union sites in all provinces.

SECTORAL BARGAINING - the B.C. government
will be lobbied to provide for sectoral bargaining
in the B.C. Labour Relations Code.

HIRING PRACTICES - the union will demand all
rovincial governments introduce and enforce
aws preventing employers from enquiring

about past WCB claims on application forms,

using WCB file information for reasons other
than claims appeal purposes, and denying
employment on the basis of past WCB claims.

FARM WORKERS - I.W.A. Canada will lobby the
provincial government to cover farm workers
under the Employment Standards Act.

NON-CULPABLE DISCHARGE - the union will
ressure the CLC and provincial federations of
abour to pursue a challenge to the legality

and/or constitutionality of non-culpable

determinations.

REDUCTION OF RETIREMENT AGE - the federal
government will be lobbied to change the
Canadian Pension Plan to allow the age of
entitlement to be reduced from 65 to 60 with
full federal pension benefits.

TECH CHANGE TAX - the I.W.A. will lobby the
appropriate agencies not to tax any Tech Change
monies awarded to our members who lose their
jobs due to technological change.

TAX ON RETIREES - delegates passed a motion
calling for the union to lobby governments
through the CLC and the federations of labour,
to not tax pension income that is below the

continued on page twenty-six

LUMBERWORKER/DECEMBER 2001/25