Northern Ontario member killed in particle board plant

IN A JUST A SPLIT-SECOND ata
northern Ontario particle board plant, a
Local 1-2995 member lost his life in a
terrible accident. While working alone
on July 1, Brother Steve Brunet was
adjusting a belt on a particle board board
Press. Suddenly he was struck by an
incoming sheet of board and was then
crushed by the press.

The fatality, which occurred at the
Columbia Forest Products Ltd. hard-
wood plywood plant sent shock waves
throughout the community and the local
union. Steve, a hardworking family man
and father of two young sons, was very
well respected in the community of

Hearst. “This accident has really hit our
members hard,” says local union presi-
dent Guy Bourgouin. “It is a tragedy for
his family, the community and our
union. Our sincerest condolences go to
Steve’s wife, children, family and
friends.”

The Ontario Ministry of Labour (MoL)
filed six orders on the company. Two
were stop work orders designed to make
other orders adhered to. The MoL
demanded: that Columbia have its
equipment testing by a professional
engineer and submit a report to the min-
istry; the company install proper lockout
control switches or control mechanisms

on the press; the
employer ensure
that all workers fol-
low lockout proce-
dures; and the
company ensure
}| that workers that
| must have access to
hazardous _loca-
tions be provided
with proper training.

Local 1-2995 safety director Jacques
Jean says Columbia is working with the
union to better the conditions for work-
ers who work alone. The local is pushing
for a “buddy system” to be implemented.

Steve Brunet

“We're calling for more safety mea-
sures to ensure that this doesn’t happen
again,” says Brother Jean. “We would
like to see the company have someone
doing routine checks on maintenance
and repair workers when they are work-
ing on or near a machine.” The system
in place at the time of Brother Brunet’s
accident has been changed.

Brother Bourgouin says workers in the
all operations must have proper training
and supervision. “Our members should
also not be hesitant to exercise their right
to refuse unsafe work,” he adds. “In our
local we are revamping our safety pro-
gram and we will emphasize this.”

USWA and PACE to
work with IWA Council

Prior to merger with the Steelworkers
the three unions held a meeting
to initiate a North American strategy

IN AN HISTORIC initiative to com-
bine their joint forces to combat the
growing influence of the
Weyerhaeuser Corporation in Canada
and the United States, representatives
from the Industrial, Wood and Allied
Workers of Canada, the United
Steelworkers of
America
(USWA) and the
Paper, Allied-
Industrial,
Chemical and
Energy Workers
International
Union (PACE)
met on July 26,
at the IWA’s
national office
in Burnaby, to
begin to put together a North
American strategy to confront the glob-
al giant over a number of issues affect-
ing workers.

The strategy involves developing a
system of communications between
the unions and their members, in addi-
tion to holding a North American
Conference early next year to put
together a comprehensive strategic
approach to collective bargaining,
enforcing collective agreements and
organizing non-union Weyco opera-
tions in on the continent.

“Qur three unions are sending a
message to employers in the forest sec-
tor — that we are together in our fight
for fairness and dignity for working
people, our families and communi-
ties,” said Ken Neumann, the
steelworkers’ Canadian Director. “This
kind of strategy allows us to share
Q ion and take action in a uni-
fied way to get the attention of and get

Ken Neumann

action from global corporations like
Weyerhaeuser.”

“OUR THREE UNIONS ARE
SENDING A MESSAGE TO
EMPLOYERS IN THE FOREST
SECTOR - THAT WE ARE
TOGETHER IN OUR FIGHT ” -
KEN NEUMANN, USWA
CANADIAN DIRECTOR

Then IWA Canada national first vice
president Wilf McIntyre said union
members are “fed-up with
Weyerhaeuser’s continual attacks on
our working conditions and on our
union.” He added that “with this new
alliance, we are taking our fight with
this company to a new level.

PHOTO BY NORMAN GARCIA

= On June 26, a historic meeting took place at the IWA’s Burnaby headquarters
when the USWA, PACE and the IWA launched into talks to deal with Weyerhaeuser.

Local union
presidents and
represenatives
from IWA locals
with Weyco certs
were present at
the historic ses-
sion. Brother
McIntyre says
that, in the com-
ing months, the
unions will be

Wilf Mcintyre

holding a series of regional meetings to
get input from the membership
employed by Weyerhaeuser.”

The IWA’s locals represent about
3,200 Weyerhaeuser members across
Canada.

Interfor mill closure draws union’s ire

In early September, Interfor announced
the permanent closure of its Squamish
Lumber division sawmill. The move drew
loud criticisism from the Steelworkers’
Region 3 Director
Steve Hunt. “Now
with light at the end
of the tunnel on the
(Canada - U.S.) soft-
wood issue, we have
Interfor once again

gos” (Weyerhaeuser and TimberWest)
have acheived their goals of receiving
reduced government regulations on the
harvesting and pricing of timber and now
have a more flexible collective agreement.
“Now they are sending their profits
south,” he says. “They just bought three
sawmills in the U.S. Pacific Northwest,
while they are abandoning the workers
and people of Squamish. It’s a shame and
it’s all happening under Liberal forest poli-
cy changes that allow them to get away
with it.”

Local 2174 president Darrel Wong, whose
local represents the Squamish crew, says
Interfor’s move is “outrageous.” “They

make their money on the coast of B.C.,

they promise investment here, and the

_ first place they go is the United States. It’s
betrayal to workers and the province.”

PACE vice pres-
ident and region-
al director Jerry
Johnston said “we
know, and our
members know,
that if a company
like Weyerhaeuser
can take us on sep-
arately, it won't be
Jerry Johnston a os aa
there and everywhere.” He added that by
launching a North American strategy
“this just isn’t a signal to Weyerhaeuser,
it’s a signal to all forest product compa-
nies operating in North America that we
are united.” PACE and the USWA, of
which the IWA Council is now part of,
has over 15,000 Weyco employees in
North America.

On September 8, the TWA Council of
the Steelworkers launched an organiz-
ing blitz at four non-union Weyco
plants — its pulp mill and lumber facili-
ties in Grande Prairie, Alberta; an OSB
plant in Wawa, Ontario and the compa-
nies Trus Joist TimberStrand LSL Plant
in Kenora, Ontario.

“We are not only coordinating our
bargaining and contract enforcement
strategies, but we are also concentrat-
ing on bringing in non-union
Weyerhaeuser operations into the
Steelworkers,” says IWA Council chair
Norm Rivard. “We can not allow
Weyerhaeuser to keep workers divided
in order to push down our wages and
working conditions. We are taking this
new level.”

SEPTEMBER 2004 THE ALLIED WORKER T 3