“As part of the United Steelworkers of America, our members will have more services and more programs to call upon.” — Norm Rivard, National President, [WA Canada justice — because too much of the government apparatus, too much of the corpo- rate apparatus and financial apparatus is tilted in their (corporations’) favour and you can no longer win a strike just on the picket line...” IWA national first vice president Wilf McIntyre says the merger will give IWA members, as part of the Steelworkers, a powerful lobbying voice in both Ottawa and Washington (USWA has paid lobbyists in both capitals), especially when it comes to issues like the Canada-U.S. softwood lumber battle. National IWA secretary-treasuer David Tones says that, like the IWA itself, the Steelworkers have a tradition of educating the membership at all levels. Across Canada, the USWA have over 100 trained local union instructors with over 20 dif- ferent courses from basic job steward training to WCB advocacy. The Steelworkers standard dues formula calls for 2 cents per member per hour to be paid into edu- cating the membership. “As part of the United Steelworkers of America, our members will have more services and more programs to call upon,” says Brother Rivard. “That’s what it’s all about.” The Steelworkers also have an international strike fund which has close to $150 million USD — allowing its membership to take on major, costly battles if necessary. ‘ The Steelworkers, which are one of the most respected affiliates of the Canadian Labour Congress and the American Federation of Labour-Congress of Industrial Organizations, have launched into a “strategic alliance” with PACE ( Paper, Allied- Industrial, Chemical and Energy International Union). That alliance is seeing a sharing of knowledge and resources and a coordination of activities and programs including collective bargaining, organizing, legislative and political action, etc, with a view towards possibly merging PACE, which has some 175,000 members in the forest industry sector alone, into the Steelworkers in the future. PACE has over 40 Weyerhaueser units in the United States alone. “If we can join with the Steelworkers, and actively work to broaden the USWA = Pictured during talks were, I. to r., IWA financial-secretary David Tones, IWA first vice-president Wilf McIntyre, USWA International president Leo Gerard, and IWA president Norm Rivard. to include PACE, then we will be able to put some serious international pressure on Weyerhaeuser in the future,” says Brother McIntyre. “That’s where we have to go with these big multinationals in the years ahead. One union fighting a major multinational in one country is no longer effective.” “This merger, in addition to increasing services to our members, is a response to the fact that more and more corporate mergers are making employers stronger and unions weaker,” adds Brother Rivard. “We have to get bigger and stronger to take on these multinationals. The alternative is to become isolated and get picked off by the majors.” one big and strong union nited Steelworkers’ National rector Ken Neumann says the tenta~ ve merger agreement between the st and the IWA is a win-win ‘both unions, and would be a historic ding of two of Canada’s most impor- tant labour organizations. _ Steelworkers have a lot of experience ying politicians on issues such rade,” Neumann said. “Our legislative ce in Ottawa is a new and valuable or our current membership and with the IWA can only mean = USWA Canadian Director Ken Neumann, seen with Local 1-3567 ee SE Arerbers president Sonny Ghag. n said any merged union’s are no substitute for continuing to utilize ‘agenda must include the fight for open organizing talent within both organiza~ tions to reach aut to more non-union workers. ‘to making resolu- “Our union's have complementary softwood dispute strengths in different parts of the coun- and Canada a priority,” try,” Neumann said. “Our solidarity is ae already on display in New Brunswick, ‘rooted in landmark strug~ where Steelworkers have pledged their early part of ‘support for IWA strikers at a local dairy. said the “Employers are going to begin to under- stand that when they take on the IWA, they are taking on the strength of two organizations committed to supporting ‘each other over the long term.” ‘said he looks uestions IWA members Gerard to push wood councils LEO GERARD, international president of the United Steelworkers of America, is quick to point out that his union is a product of numerous mergers (see article page one) and has brought workers together to deal with common issues across national border lines, in numer- ous sectors of the economy. Being one of the most influential trade unions in North America, the USWA unites workers in Canada, the United States, Mexico and, also, several Caribbean nations. Steel also participates in three sectoral global Councils: the World Rubber Council, the World Aluminum Council and the World Mining Council, which bring together trade unionists from the Western Hemisphere, Europe and Asia. The World Rubber Council, in which the USWA plays a leading role, is cur- rently gearing up for a battle against Bridgestone/Firestone to head-off the company’s attempt to dump cheap Chinese tires on the global market, dis- placing unionized workers in developed countries. “If you don’t fight back, you lose,” says Brother Gerard. “If we get into a fight, I can’t guarantee we'll win, but if we don’t, I can guarantee we'll lose.” It’s that kind of fighting spirit that the Steelworkers bring to the IWA and their battles against giant forest companies like Weyerhaeuser. The USWA works to set up first North American, hemispher- ic and then global industrial councils. In its proposed merger with the IWA in Canada, the wood products sector will have some 55,000 workers in the prima- ty, secondary and tertiary } forest products industries. Starting in April of this year, the USWA and PACE (the Paper, Allied- Industrial, Chemical and Energy Workers Industrial Union) embarked on a “Strategic Alliance,” an effort to share information and services with a view to a possible merger within two years (see article this page). Gerard says forest industry workers can be better served by forming strategic alliances and strategies to take on global powers like Weyco, International Paper and Louisiana Pacific. “I think we can put something together that will benefit workers in Canada, the United States and elsewhere,” he said. “It’s time that we combine our resources and strategies to bargain issues like investment in plants, guaranteed production, guaran- teed employment and that capital is rein- vested in the forest industry. If we don’t take on the multinationals and get these kinds of things into our agreements, the future will be bleak for workers every- where.” Leo Gerard JUNE 2004 THE ALLIED WORKER | 13