THE VOL 69 NO 14 CAN, : ; SN’ Official Publicat Dave C. Haggard Norm Rivard Wilf Mcintyre Joe da Costa Wade Fisher Mike Pisak David Tones Norman Garcia WORKER MARCH 2004 ion of the Industrial, Wood and Allied Workers of Canada EDITOR NATIONAL PRESIDENT FIRST VICE-PRESIDENT SECOND VICE-PRESIDENT THIRD VICE-PRESIDENT FOURTH VICE-PRESIDENT FIFTH VICE-PRESIDENT SECRETARY-TREASURER EDITORIAL BOARD Joe da Costa THIRD VICE-PRESIDENT Bob Matters PRESIDENT LOCAL 1-405 DIRECTORY TWA CANADA NATIONAL OFFICE 300-3920 Norland Avenue Burnaby, B.C. V5G 4K7 TEL (604) 683-1117 FAX (604) 688-6416 or FAX (604) 683-1265 For E-mail links check www.iwa.ca TWA CANADA NATIONAL OFFICE EASTERN CANADA 2088 Weston Rd. Toronto, Ont. M9N 1X4 TEL (416) 247-8628 FAX (416) 247-5893 WESTERN LOCALS LOCAL 1-80 351 Brae Rd. Duncan, B.C. VSL 3T9 TEL (250) 746-6131 FAX (250) 746-1012, LOCAL 1-85 4904 Montrose St. Port Alberni, B.C. V9Y 1M3 TEL (250) 724-0171 FAX (250) 724-2800 LOCAL 1-184 Ill0 Third Ave., West Prince Albert, Sask. S6V 563 TEL (306) 764-4202 FAX (306) 763-4922 LOCAL 1-207 4262 - SIA Street Edmonton, Alta. T6E 5V2 TEL (780) 463-9070 FAX (780) 461-5020 LOCAL 2171 301- 841 Cliffe Ave. Courtenay, B.C. VON 28 TEL (250) 334-3329 FAX (250) 334-2662 LOCAL 2171 SUB-LOCAL 2853 Commercial Dr. Vancouver, B.C, VSN 407 TEL (604) 874-0274 FAX (604) 874-8137 LOCAL 324 P.O. Box 1886 1416 Gordon Ave. The Pas, Man. R9A IL6 TEL (204) 623-3443 FAX (204) 623-5534 LOCAL 1-3567 202 - 9292 200th St. Langley, B.C. V1M 3A6 TEL (604) 513-1850 FAX (604) 513-1851 LOCAL 363 101, 391 - 4th St. Courtenay, B.C. V9N IG8 TEL (250) 334-3834 FAX (250) 334-2333 LOCAL 1-405 201 - {05 South Sth Ave. Cranbrook, B.C. VIC 2MI TEL (250) 426-4871 FAX (250) 426-2528 OF IWA OFFICES LOCAL 1-417 181 Vernon Avenue Kamloops, B.C. V2B 1L7 TEL (250) 554-3167 FAX (250) 554-3499 LOCAL 1-423 2040 Rutland Rd., North Kelowna, B,C. VIX 426 TEL (250) 491-1436 FAX (250) 491-1437 LOCAL 1-424 1777 - 3rd Ave. Prince George, B.C. V2L 367 TEL (250) 563-771 FAX (250) 563-0274 LOCAL 1-425 124C North 2nd Ave. Williams Lake, B.C. V2G 126 TEL (250) 398-8248 FAX (250) 398-6218 LOCAL 830 10 Bannerman Ave., Winnipeg, Man. R2W OW1 TEL (204) 586-1307 FAX (204) 586-8502 EASTERN LOCALS LOCAL 306 330 Pleasant St. Miramichi, N.B. E1V 1¥9 TEL (506) 624-9916 FAX (506) 622-1211 LOCAL 400 4795 Boulevard St. Charles Room A - 102 Pierrefonds, Que. HH 3C7 TEL (514) 620-1756 FAX (514) 620-4939 LOCAL 500 405 - 10th Street Hanover, Ont. N4N 1P7 TEL (519) 364-2229 FAX (519) 364-7064 LOCAL 700 2088 Weston Rd. Toronto, Ont. MSN 1X4 TEL (416) 248-6271 FAX (416) 247-5893 LOCAL 1000 P.O. Box 879 Fort Coulongé, Que. JOX 1VO TEL (819) 683-2143 FAX (819) 683-5653 LOCAL 1000 SUB -LOCAL 658 Boulevard Cecile Hawkesbury, Ont. P6C 529 TEL (613) 636-0014 FAX (613) 636-0014 LOCAL 2693 Lakehead Labour Centre 929 Ft. William Rd., Room 6 Thunder Bay, Ont. P7B 3A6 TEL (807) 345-9041 FAX (807-345-5169 LOCAL 2995 20 Riverside Dr. Kapuskasing, Ont. P5N 1A3 TEL (705) 335-2289 FAX (705) 335-5428 ae The company’s statement that its employees ‘have earned our appreciation and gratitude...’ is hard to take. Be aware of Weyerhaeuser’s smoke and mirrors statements on ‘restructuring’ Out here in Grande Cache, Weyerhaeuser has just done ina good part of the community, by permanently closing our mill. In June of last year, they told us they were going to “restructure.” They sure did. We've all been taught a lesson that we're disposable as the company has decided to keep its annual cut and throw 130 IWA members on the scrap heap. More than 150 logging and hauling jobs are history as two major contractors have already left town. Housing prices have dropped to less than half and businesses are closing. No matter how smart or fast we worked, the result was the same: managers smiling at us when we did a good job and then we got the pink slips. In my opinion, this morally bankrupt American multina- tional didn’t pull the plug because we didn’t make good profits - we just didn’t make them enough profits! The company’s statement that its employees “have earned our appreciation and gratitude, and it is our intent that they will be treated with dignity and respect through the tran- sition process” is hard to take. How are we, who are los- ing our homes, going to take that to the bank? I’d like to tell other Weyerhaeuser members out there, especially in Prince Albert, Sasakatchewan and other parts of the province, to keep an eye open for Weyco’s friendly letters on “restructuring.” “Restructuring” can be smoke and mirrors for putting entire groups of workers and families on breadlines. Be aware out there! RANDY SCODELLARO Weyerhaeuser Grande Cache, IWA Canada Local 1-207 Grande Cache, AB Bowater is shipping our livelihoods past us The strike at the Bowater plant in Ignace, Ontario is approaching it's seventeenth month. The members are going through another tough winter because of a company unwilling to negotiate a fair deal. Bowater's refusal to com- promise forced the membership out on the picket line. Bowater has built a state-of-the-art plant and promised this community jobs. However the price Bowater wanted the membership to pay was unreasonable at best. The com- munity was puzzled and disappointed as to why the strike started, but as details and tactics by Bowater came out it was easy to see the membership was getting a raw deal. I seems apparent this large American company doesn't care who it rolls over and at what cost to the community or the families of the members. Every day we stand and watch our livelihoods around our community being harvested and transported to the non unionized plant 270 km. away in Thunder Bay. To all of us this is a travesty of justice and just part of Bowater's tactics. On a brighter note the IWA Local 2693 recently organized the mill yard at the Thunder Bay plant. We welcome those members to the fold and hope this is the first step in organizing our sister mill. CLAY DEFEO Plant Chair, Bowater, IWA Canada Local 2693 Ignace, ON Grande Cache is losing many families Asaexemployee of the Weyerhaeuser Grande Cache mill who witnessed the last day on February 5, I still can’t believe people Tlived and worked with in this beautifull mountain town, who met every challenge as Weyco raised the bar higher, have been terminated. It’s an eery feeling to sea community lose its main industry and many longtime residents. This mill was created to help the town survive and now the opposite has happened. DEAN LOTT, Financial Secretary IWA Canada Local 1-207 Edmonton, AB => HOW TO GET GORDON CAMPBELUS ATTENTION. Throne speech ignores woodworkers The Liberal throne speech of February 10 did nothing to address problems because of the government's own Forestry Rivitalization Program. The Liberals have only increased the hardship and anxiety within forest families and communities. Large forest companies are building mega mills and are closing smaller opera- tions at our expense. In B.C. we can now brag that we export 80 per cent of the 2.1 million cubic meters of raw logs exported into the U.S.A. from Canada! Forest families in Barriere have been thrown into the streets while Tolko Industries transfers the wood to other areas. Truckers, contractors, and communities are feel- ing the impact while the government presses forward. The government is more concerned about the 2010 Olympics while forest jobs and families are not even on the radar screen, as Liberal MLA’s ignore us. WADE FISHER, President TERRY TATE, Financial Secretary IWA Canada Local 1-425, Williams Lake, BC Make Student WorkSafe Program a must In British Columbia, the Ministry of Education is current ly changing the curriculum for high school students with a new course called Planning to. This might be a step in the right direction, but it doesn’t go far enough. According to the Workers Compensation Board’s suggestions, the ministry should make the Student WorkSafe program a mandatory part of the Planning 10 curriculum. School kids need to find out about workplace haz- ards, hazards in specific industries and how to recog- nize them. Many are entering the workforce for the first time. The WorkSafe program includes learning modules on injury prevention, rights and responsi- bilities, personal protective equipment, back care, how to work with a safe attitude and detect hazards. I started work at age 16, working on weekends in cleanup at a sawmill while finishing high school. Then I worked in mill construction for 20 years before going back to the mills in maintenance as a millwright. Over the 33 years I have spent in the IWA, I've attended four funerals of co-workers killed on the job and have known hundreds more who are missing fingers or limbs or are suffering permanent disabilities. Seeing more workers hurt, especially the young, is an unacceptable waste. Young people must be protected — they are our future. They can be protected through education. That is why I, on behalf of our local, have written to the Minister of Education to insist the Student WorkSafe program be mandatory. We encourage other IWA locals and members to do the same. RICK WHITEFORD Business Agent, IWA Local 1-80 Duncan, BC Send us an e-mail (ngarcia@iwa.ca) or snail mail. Try to keep your letters to 75-100 words or less so we can fit more in. Tell us about what’s happening in your part of the country. We reserve the right to edit for brevity or omit submissions. 4 | THE ALLIED WORKER MARCH 2004