THE VOlL 69 NO Official Publication of the IWA Council of the United Steelworkers of Norman Garcia EDITOR EDITORIAL BOARD ALLIED RIK 4 DECEMBER 2004 wit America The Allied Worker 300-3920 Norland Ave Burnaby, B.C. V5G 4K7 Joe da Costa USWA -|IWA COUNCIL OFFICER Bob Matters PRESIDENT LOCAL 1-405 DIRECTORY OF IWA COUNCIL-AFFILATED USWA OFFICES USWA —IWA COUNCIL 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 USWA 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. V9L 313 TEL (250) 746-6131 FAX (250) 746-012 LOCAL 1-85 4904 Montrose St. Port Alberni, B.C. VY 1M3 TEL (250) 724-0171 FAX (250) 724-2800 LOCAL 1-184 {10 Third Ave., West Prince Albert, Sask. S6V 563 TEL (306) 764-4202 FAX (306) 763-4922 LOCAL 1-207 4262 - SIA Street Edmonton, Alta. 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PSN 1A3 TEL (705) 335-2289 FAX (705) 335-5428 ELETTE Steelworkers’ efforts to change Canada’s bankruptcy laws are needed by workers I am, or, I was, a millworker at a Skeena Cellulose operation, the BC Liberals’ whipping boy of the province’s northwest. The company is now in the final stages of bankruptcy proceedings with the chances of it operating being slim to none. The mill I worked at in Terrace was profitable in good and bad times for fifteen years. In 2002 the Liberal government sold the compa- ny back to the original owners for pennies on the dollar. The owners proceeded to sell two smaller sawmills, tim- ber and other assets before declaring bankruptcy again to escape paying taxes, severance, holiday pay and other monies owed. The owners will get their investment back plus a good deal more while the workers will get nothing. That’s because of how our bankruptcy laws work. While the details of this bankruptcy affecting us may be different, the results aren’t. Last year there were over 8,800 bankruptcies in Canada, of which about 800 were in the manufacturing sector. Workers lost wages, earned holiday pay, severance pay and had their pensions reduced. This borders on the criminal! In October of this year I was pleased to go to Ottawa (see articles pages one and fifteen) at the request of the Steelworkers to join a campaign called “Workers First” - to change the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act. Our union’s effort is to do just that — put workers first! Thirteen people went to Ottawa and teamed up to talk with MP’s from all parties, asking them to support a pri- vate member's bill that would put workers first in line. We had good initial results and need to do more. We need to remind all those MP’s of the importance of this legislation and convince those who don’t support it to changes their mind. This kind of campaign is what a union and its members must be involved in to make effective change. We encourage all members to phone or write their MP to tell them — put Workers First! ALLAN CHESTERMAN Local 1-2171 Terrace, BC Industry mergers create more uncertainty Up in our neck of the woods, in northern British Columbia, the rate of consolidation in the forest indus- try under the Gordon Campbell Liberals has been absolutely mind-boggling. Canfor bought out Slocan and West Fraser has moved in on Weldwood. Everything the industry has had on its wish list has gone the way the companies wanted them to go with very few exceptions. The Federal Competition Bureau says that West Fraser must sell-off Babine Forest Products in Burns Lake, where they are 50 per cent owners and the non-union Decker Lake sawmill in Burns Lake. In the Quesnel TSA they have to let go of 75,000 cubic meters annually. With Canfor, the bureau is saying the Fort St. James mill must be sold. What the competition bureau is doing is token in nature. It does- n't really care about what happens to workers or to manipulation of the marketplace. It is only appearing to be doing something. The real culprits allowing such massive industry consolidation and the building of super mills are the BC Liberals under Campbell. In our local the big companies are getting bigger and they will easily be able swallow the independents in the future. This is why it is important for us to be politically active in the May, 2005 provincial election. If workers don’t vote out the Campbell government we will get more of the same. FRANK EVERITT President, Local 1-424 Prince George, BC Weut SEE ABOUT THAT! We't TAKE IT To THE WTO AND WE'LL WIN 52 THIS ONE Too! “This kind of campaign is what a union and its members must be involved in to make effective change.” 1 DON'T THINK WE Action must be taken following deaths on highways in B.C. Interior In the past two months there have been two hor- tific deaths on icy public highways in our local” union, which have directly affected our members and communities. In mid-October, a 59-year old nearly retired member from the Weldwood 100 Mile mill was instantly killed when an oncoming SUV and trailer hit him head on - on the 103 Mile Hill. Then in mid-December the wife of one of our members at Parallel Forest Products in Williams Lake was hit by a logging truck after hitting black ice on Highway 20. We have written our Local MLA Walt Cobb to do something about the appalling conditions of our highways. We have called on Cobb to get the Minister of Highways to review the contract of the Interior Roads company and fully investigate the circumstances of the acci- dent. Driving conditions have deteriorated and action must be taken now. NORM PREVOST Safety Director, Local 1-425 Williams Lake, BC Long-term solution for truckers is to join our union and push for legislative changes This November and December our local union was con- fronted with a hot potato issue. Before the freeze-up, non-union log and lumber haulers, from Hearst to Cochrane, took action to protest for higher hauling rates from the forest companies. They rallied together under an association known as the “Truckers Voice.” That group is run by an individual who offers consulting ser vices. We agree that the truckers all deserve better ral and conditions of work, whether they are considered as dependent or independent contractors. Under Ontario's labour laws, so-called ‘dependent’ operators can join a union while ‘independents’ can’t. To us they are all dependent contractors whether the truckers are run by owner/operators or they hire drivers to work for them. These truckers picketed our mills — in Timmins, Cochrane, Hearst and Oppasatika. Some companies got injunctions to remove them. Our union even offered to mediate the dispute with Tembec. Fortunately the tense situation was resolved on December 1 and 12. The Steelworkers say that if these truckers are really serious about solving long-term issues, they should join our union and fight the good fight for justice in the work place. If they don’t join they will be banging their heads; against the wall for years to come. Also, they should join with us to push for the essential legislative changes need- ed to help all truck drivers organize in Ontario, whether or not they depend on the forest industry. GUY BOURGOUIN, President Local 1-2995 Kapuskasing, ON Send us an e-mail (ngarcia@uswa.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. DECEMBER 2004.