& Safety Task Force e PAGES 10-11 THE ALLIED VOL. 67 NO. 3 DEC 2002 NEWS FROM THE INDUSTRIAL, OOD AND ALLIED WORKERS OF CANADA Union urges Liberals not to bust up or privatize BC Rail assets DON’T DO IT say the IWA. Don’t Privatize or dismantle BC Rail. At this year’s convention the union sent a loud and clear message to the B.C. Liberals to back off of their plans to sell off and bust up the Crown cor- poration, which was created by the province as a public trust. Under Liberal rule BC Rail has already decided to discontinue pas- senger service between North Vanocouyer and Prince George. It is also consider selling off, leasing or halting sections of the railway in order to move into real estate and other non-railway development. “The Liberals are out to lunch on BC Rail,” says national IWA president Dave Haggard. “They are pulling the tug out from underneath communi- ties that helped build this province. Once BC Rail is gone or busted up then many of the economic underpin- nings that developed our communi- ties around the province will be ruined. It’s especially important to save the rail lines that haul lumber from our mills to southern markets and the longhores on the B.C. Coast.” IWA Local 1-424 president Fred Carroll says the crown corporation is vital to survival of many communities in the province's Interior regions and was a co-signatory to an emergecy res- olution at the convention along with Local 1-425 president Wade Fisher of Williams Lake and Local 1-417 presi- dent Joe Davies of Kamloops. “For a (Liberal) government that supposedly prides itself on its busi- ness savvy, the sell-off of BC Rail is about the most senseless thing they could do,” says Brother Carroll. The resolution says that the IWA will work with communities and other concerned groups and citizens of the province to mount a campaign to ensure that valuable passenger and rail services are maintained for the benefit of all communities and their citizens. In early July over 400 maintenance of way workers at BC Rail, from the Lower Mainland to the north, joined the IWA. Many of their jobs are at stake with the Liberals’ plans. = On December 5, retiring first national vp Neil Menard swore in national IWA officers. L . to right are fifth vp Sonny Ghag, third vp Wilf McIntyre, secretary-treasurer David Tones, president Dave Haggard, first vp Harvey Arcand, second vp Norm Rivard, and fourth vp Joe da Costa. Sixty-Five years marked This year’s national convention saw the IWA celebrate 65 years of history in Canada as it prepares for the inevitable battles that lay ahead | chee another occasion to celebrate the IWA’s illustrious history as this year’s convention in Richmond marked 65 years of the union’s activities in Canada. Between Septembers 23-26, over 190 delegates and officers got together to reflect on the IWA’s past and plan for the inevitable struggles that lay ahead. “Tt was another good convention,” says national union president Dave Haggard. “It was an opportunity to bring us all together as a national organization and debate the policies and programs that will lead us into the future.” During the convention, delegates viewed a 31 minute video on the IWA’s history which illustrates how the organization’s strong roots in building solidarity, democracy and taking political action paved the way to forming the IWA and holding it together in difficult times. “We've seen tough times before and we are seeing them again,” says Brother Haggard. “We have always been able to pull together to con- front whatever problem has needed to be dealt with and deal with friends and foes alike.” A major focus of the convention dealt with issues related to the softwood lumber dispute between Canada and the U.S. As usual there was major debate on legisla- tive, safety, policy and constitutional resolu- tions. For highlights and photos, see pages eight- een to twenty-three. UNION JOINS THE INDUSTRY AND GOVERNMENT TO PRESSURE FEDS IWA pension bridging plan not there yet THE IWA CONTNUES ITS EFFORTS to lobby the federal government to assist workers in the cur- rent lumber battle. Unemployment for union mem- bers hit over 6,000 in mid-October and is climbing as more mills are closing (see story page three). At the centre of the IWA’s efforts is the demand for assistance for pension plan bridging across Canada — something left out of federal Natural Resources Minister Herb Dhaliwal’s softwood aid package announced on October 8. The measures, including the extension of Employment Insurance benefits, missed the mark, according to national IWA president Dave Haggard. “A lot of the pro- grams work in other industries and in certain cen- tres but they don’t cut in in our rural industry across the country.” The IWA is emphasizing federal assistance for pension bridging, which is essential to assist older workers retire with dignity, creating room for a younger members to stay working. For example, an infusion of $150 million into the IWA-Forest Industry Pension Plan, would help 3,000 workers over 55 years old retire. Younger workers would remain in forest-dependent communities and build future competitiveness. On October 9 in Ottawa Brother Haggard, accom- panied by B.C. Minister of Forests Mike de Jong and industry leaders, met with Deputy Prime Minister John Manley who said he understood the impor- tance of pension bridging and would support a real- location of previously announced funding at the Cabinet level. Since then the union has met with and received the support of other ministers and MPs but has not yet got a committment to take it back to cabinet. “We're getting good support from the B.C. govern- ment in our demands but we still need to see some concrete commitments at the federal level,” says Brother Haggard. “We've got government, industry and labour all pulling together on the issue and it would be a mistake to not take advantage of that.”