PHOTO BY BRUCE FROST = Local 2693 president Joe Hanlon (third from left) and other officers were present to celebrate end of the strike. Tearing down the shack! IWA Local 2693 members at Bowater Ignace ratify agreement afier nearly 20 months on the line THEY COULDN’T WAIT to tear apart their picket shack as a symbol that one, long, tough strike came to an end. On April 2 IWA Local 2693 members from the Bowater Ignace sawmill in northwestern Ontario had a little fiesta. They even set up a bar- beque and had some refreshments to celebrate their victory. They got together with local union reps to disassemble and burn up their picket shack which had been in place for nearly 20 months! On March 28, over go per cent of the workers voted to accept a collec- tive agreement, following the bitter strike against a giant U.S.-based company. After getting back to the bargain- ing table with the help of mediator Roger Brideau, marathon bargaining sessions on March 22 - 24 led toa memorandum of agreement on the morning of March 24. At the table for the union were Local 2693 presi- dent Joe Hanlon, plant chair Clay Defeo and local financial-secretary Bruce Frost. “We're glad this strike came to a successful conclusion,” says Brother Hanlon. “We got the company to back off its major demands of sched- uling work any way it wants, con- tracting out the yard work to non- union workers and underpaying the workers.” Wage increases won by the IWA, will see union members get between $3.50 to $6.50 an hour increases by the end of the contract which expires on March 31, 2008. Workers who were on the seniority list in 2002 will receive a $1000 signing bonus effective June 1, 2004 “Those kind of wage increases will help us bring the workers up towards industry standards,” says Brother Hanlon. Workers will get to vote on what alternate shift they are employed on. There is the standard five-days-a- week, 8 hour a day model and a six zo hour day model, where workers average four tens per week on a rotat- ing basis. Bowater agreed that the yard con- tractor will be IWA, via a voluntary certification. Workers inside the mill will be able to go to the yard based on seniority and have up to one year to decide whether they want to stay with the contractor. They would get their full seniority and vacation pay, etc. Of the more than 50 workers who went on strike, between 35-40 are being called back to work. Brother Frost expressed both opti- mism and relief at the settlement and return to work. “It was a helluva battle,” he says. “Our members fought a good fight. They protested, they stood solid on the picket line, and they stuck to their guns and believed they would prevail. It all paid off.” In late January of this year, the striking members were joined by supporters to leaflet logging trucks and motorists outside the Bowater pulp and paper complex in Thunder Bay. They pointed out that good sawlogs, many loads of which should have gone to the sawmill in Ignace, were being chipped by the company. Such wasteful practices and growing community pressure helped bring the company back to the table, says Brother Frost. Newly-elected Ignace mayor Hugh Broughton went over and above what a regular politician does to get the sides talking together. Plant chair Clay Defeo says that Mr. Broughton played a leading role in the community and spoke out for loggers, millworkers and businesses that were being affected. “He (Broughton) did a good job in getting the ball rolling,” says Brother Defeo. Ignace is a northwestern Ontario community of less than 2,000 inhab- itants that mostly depends on forestry, rail service, natural gas transmission and tourism. The strike, which began in August 2002, had a major affect on the communi- ty. After Bowater bought the mill from a local businessman and ploughed over $25 million into upgrading the facilities. It is a state- of-the art stud mill. The operation is built to handle tree length logs that measure 14 inches and under. It is a highly effi- cient chip and saw set-up which has high wood utlization standards. Brother Defeo says that rising lum- ber prices likely played an important factor, as well, in getting the company back to the table. He also said that it’s likely that Bowater’s shareholder were upset that the strike dragged on so long, after the company had invest- ed so much money in the upgrade. The dispute was a showdown between the local union and the largest pulp and paper company in the world, which controls some 8 mil- lion hectares of forest lands in north- western Ontario and another 24 mil- lion hectares in Quebec and other provinces. The company employs about 450 Local 2693 members in company and contractor jobs. “It was a bitter dispute that people won't forget for a long time,” says Brother Hanlon. “But the main task at hand is to get our people back on the job and the plant working in an efficient and safe manner. Our peo- ple want to work and support their families and community.” PHOTO BY JOHN GOLDTHORP = IWA members hit the bricks to beat back a list of concessions. Local 1000 members strike at Superior Hardwood veneer On March 29 thirty-two IWA Canada Local 1000 members at Superior Hardwood Veneer walked off the job when the employer refused to take concessions off the table. Workers at the specialty plant, which is situ- ated on the Bathchewana First Nation‘s Rankin Reserve, near Sault Ste. Marie, confronted two scabs on the second day of the dispute. The scabs came out of the mill after only a few hours. At first the employer wanted a one-year rollover, freezing wages and benefits, which was refused by a 100 per cent vote. Then the boss tried to change shift sched- uling, modify overtime provisions and take away an attendance bonus. “The crew said no to concessions,” says local union secretary John Goldthorp, who heads the IWA negotiating committee along with plant chair Darwin Richard. “The employer has misjudged the resolve of our members to take job action for a fair deal.” Workers also want an increase to shift differentials in the event of two shift or three shift variations. PHOTO COURTESY IWA LOCAL 700 = IWA members walked out in Steeltown. Local 700 members settle after lock out at Hy and Zel’s On April 23 the newly-organized crew at the Hy and Zel’s in Hamilton Mountain were locked out after the boss offered a one per cent increase over 6 months and attempted to take away part of earned vacations for those with 10-17 years seniority. ‘Twenty-four IWA Local 700 mem- bers hit the bricks. The employer brought in two van loads containing 14 scabs which the picketers resist- ed. That dropped to one van with 4 scabs. On May 12, workers turned down an employer's offer by a vote of 23-1. A settlement was reached for all three Hy and Zel’s operations on May 20 (see local union news page 7). On May 27 the one year deal was ratified, which give a two per cent wage increase and pre- serves holidays. 8 | {THE ALLIED WORKER: JUNE 2004.