ses.

Former Ontario organizer
and local president passes on

On August 18 the IWA lost a good
friend and colleague when former
IWA Local 2-500 president and ex-
regional and national organizer
Harold Sachs died following a
lengthy and courageous battle with
cancer. Born in Hanover in 1932,
Brother Sachs started working at
Knecthel Furniture
in the early 50s,
which was one of
the mainstay
operations of IWA
Local 2-500. By the
mid-60s he
became a steward
and then plant
chair and was elected as the local
union leader in 1974. Harold was a
working president in the
southwestern Ontario local of 1,700
members, taking leaves of absences
to do union business. By 1978 he
was hired on as an IWA Region 2
representative to organize and assist
union negotiators when required. In
‘81 Harold became the assistant
organizing director for the
International, with responsibilities in
Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes.
In 1987 he turned to organizing for
the newly founded IWA-Canada, a
position he would hold until his
retirement in ‘98. “Harold was a
good organizer and a down-to-earth
person,” says former national vice
president and Region 2 president
Bill Pointon. “He organized more
people in Region Two, with the
exception of (former organizer) Jack
Horan, than anybody did.” Brother
Sachs is survived by wife Philis, two
sons, and five grandchildren.

Harold Sachs

= Brother Byers (r.) and Bruce Weber.

Local 500’s Dennis Byers
retires after decades of service
Union colleagues, friends and family
all gathered in Hanover on August
18 to pay tribute to Local 500 busi-
ness agent Dennis Byers who
served the local since 1985 when
the Regional Council of the
International Woodworkers of
America hired him out of Hanover
Kitchens. Present were Bruce Weber,
local president, national officers
Norm Rivard and Joe da Costa, local
members and national staffers and
others. “We thank Dennis for a great
working relationship over the
years,” says Weber. “I can’t think of
one argument we had. He did the
job for the IWA and he did it well.”
The entire union wishes Dennis and
his wife Ev well in the years ahead.

PHOTO BY TOM LOWE
= Former IWA national VP. Fred Miron, was seen here in ‘95 protesting the destructive policies of the Harris government.

FRED MIRON PLAYED A KEY ROLE IN THE FORMATION OF IWA CANADA IN 1987

He was a special Brother

HE WAS THE KIND OF GUY who could go into the
lunchrooms or go into the camps and meet with the
membership for hours on end. Thousands and thou-
sands of woodworkers and others knew and respected
him. On September 30 one the most revered former
IWA leaders, Brother Fred
Miron, died at the age of 67,
following a courageous battle
with cancer. Known all over
north and central Ontario and
beyond, where his stomping
grounds were for over four
decades, Brother Miron served
as a committee member, ser-
vice representative, union offi-
cer, local union president and
national union vice president.

Perhaps it was his experi-
ence as a service representa-
tive, solely responsible for over 2,500 members in 25
camps, in the mid-1960s where Fred developed the com-
mon touch. He was a working man’s rep all the way.

“Fred was a man who the membership responded to,”
says longtime friend and colleague Wilf McIntyre, the
IWA Canada’s national second vice president. “To a
large degree, it was our local membership’s faith in Fred
which helped lead us out of the Lumber and Sawmill
Workers Union (affiliated with the Brotherhood of
Carpenters and Joiners) and into the IWA in 1987.”
Locals 2693 (Thunder Bay) and Local 2995
(Kapuskasing) ratified the merger into the IWA that year
to give it the necessary strength it needed to complete its
formation as a national union.

Born in Fort William, Ontario in 1936, Fred spent his
youth in what is now know as Thunder Bay. He then
spent his formative years in the Beardmore-Geraldton
area and planted trees in high school. After working as
a clerk and jobbing it around, Fred hired on at a Domtar
contractor operation and joined the LSWU in 1959.

He would work as a logger, maintenance worker and
heavy equipment operator and witness many technolog-
ical changes, from horse logging, to feller-bunchers to
chipper/delimbers.

He was a member of the negotiating committee for
the LSWU which fought for the 40 hour week in 1963,
a year which saw the massacre at Reesor Siding where
three LSWU Local 2995 members were murdered and
eight wounded.

Brother Fred Miron

Brought on staff by then Local 2693 president Tulio
Mior in 1965, following his experience in northern
Ontario logging operations, Fred served in various exec-
utive positions until becoming president of the local
union in 1983. Brother Miron would be a leader in the
LSWU's 1978 strike against Boise-Cascade in Fort
Frances and Kenora, Ontario, a battle against
owner/operators owing their own equipment, that
began in July of 1978 and continued to October of 1980.

Fred was a national vice president of the Industrial,
Wood and Allied Workers from 1990 until his retire-
ment in early 1999.

"Fred made some of the most significant contribu-
tions that have ever been made to people in the forest
industry and the labour movement," added Brother
McIntyre. "He was a master negotiator, organizer and
motivator and was a progressive voice for workers and
communities. He was also highly regarded as a prag-
matic individual by many industry representatives and
government officials."

Local 2693 president Joe Hanlon commented that
Fred's contributions helped strengthen the trade union
movement in northern Ontario and Canada. "Brother
Miron never forgot where he came from and it was
reflected in his work and by the large amount of respect
that he gained through the years," said Hanlon.

On October 4 a memorial service was held for Fred at
the Lake Head Labour Centre where over 200 workers
showed up to pay their respect. Included were IWA
national president Dave Haggard, national first vice pres-
ident Norm Rivard, a former president of Local 2995 and
key leader during the 1987 merger, and Ontario
Federation of Labour president Wayne Samuelson.

Brother Miron was praised for his activism and con-
tributions to the national union, forest policy in Ontario,
the IWA’s reemergence as a player in the Ontario
Federation of Labour and many other achievements.

Fred will be affectionately remembered for his quick
wit and vast repertoire of jokes and tales, many which
were used to lighten up difficult situations and break up
the monotony of negotiations and officialdom.

Fred is survived by daughter Kerry Welsh, son
Stephen, and grandaughter Kylie. He will also be fondly
remembered by partner Sonja Poperechny. Donations
may be made to The Northern Cancer Research
Foundation — 290 Munro Street, Thunder Bay, Ontario
P7A 711 or The Lung Association — go1-1184 Roland
Street, Thunder Bay, Ontario P7B 5M4.

24 | THE ALLIED WORKER NOVEMBER 2003