Ss (@ BENEFITS AND PROGRAMS OUR RECOGNITION of the importance of retum to work programs and the requirement of a proper response to the "Duty to Accommodate" under human rights was addressed in 1996 by our former organiza- ion. At the TWA Canada National Convention that year delegates ratified the "National Retum to Work ABOUT YOUR COVERAGE BY GERRY SMITH Policy” as a template for local unions to use in develop- ing their own RTW programs and policies. The need was recognized for development ofa train- ing course addressing both requirements of the “Duty to Accommodate" and the principles of Disability Management to ensure that our members understood the law and were equipped to promote disability man- agementin their worksites. With ongoing pressure from Ls union, most of the larger employers set up Disability lanagement committees with varying levels of success. The success of these committees depended upon the programs being joint, voluntary, confidential, and even- handed. Employers found that employees were happier, suffered from fewer and shorter absences, and their dis- ability related costs decreased. Today the penny has finally dropped: employers have bought into early intervention and disability management. When the Joint Trustees of the Southern Interior Health and Welfare Trust decided to go to market for a new plan provider, the "request for proposals" identified case man- agement as a requirement. The winning proposal includ- ed adjudication by B.C. Life and case management through Columbia Health Services. This new service model has provided a system which includes early inter- yention on an optional basis to provide expedited imaging and surgery, when appropriate, while maintaining a strict level of confidentiality for our members. Speedy adjudica- tion and early intervention has provided our members with the opportunity to get needed treatment and rehabili- tation without long delays. Our members are asked to complete an anonymous evaluation questionnaire after they return to work to provide feedback to the Trustees. The return rate has been 96% with an average score of 4.5 out of a possible 5. The program has been well-received. In other short term plans, the WA-FI LTD Plan's voca- tional rehabilitation counselors are available to provide Industry now keener on disability management early intervention, support and counseling during a mem- ber's recovery and rehab in the 26 week STD period. This model provides a seamless transition from the short term disability program into the long term plan. Our short term. and long term disability plans are using early intervention by the LTD vocational rehabilitation consultants to assist our disabled sisters and brothers to obtain medical or reha- bilitation services without delay and provide the knowledge required to demystify the recovery process. Canfor has been a strong supporter of disability man- agement in the past and following their merger with Slocan Forest Products, went to market with their com- bined health benefits package. The quality of the "Disability Management" component of the various poten- tial service providers was one of the important criteria used to measure the successful bid. Our union has a history of promoting early intervention and joint disability management because it is the right thing to do for our members and their families. The fact that employers have discovered that disability manage- ment and early intervention actually adds to their bottom line has promoted this new "enlightened" approach. Gerry Smith is a Steelworkers Staff Representative Union builds power to take on Weyerhaeuser AS PART OF THE commitment to take on the Weyerhaeuser corporation the Steelworkers are giving local union activists the tools to participate in the cor- porate campaign against the multination- al forest giant. Thirty-two representatives from Weyco operations and nine Steelworker local unions in Western Canada took part in a three day training session on how to build power in the union for the battles that lay ahead. The session took place at the Steelworkers District 3 training facility in Burnaby between December 5-7. Ken Neumann, the union’s National Director, was on hand to speak to the delegates about the corporate campaign — one which the union will be taking KenNeumann to the shop floor, to PHOTOS BY NORMAN GARCIA = In early December the Steelworkers held a ‘Building Power’ course with Weyerhaeuser activists from local union investors and to consumers. “It’s a new day as far as Weyerhaeuser is concerned,” said Brother Neumann. “We will only suc- ceed if we take action and we're going to directly to our members on the shop floor to do that as well.” “Whether it’s taking the company on over its exporting of raw logs, contracting out of union work or its regressive drug testing policy, Weyerhaeuser needs to know that we are taking them on,” added Neumann. District 3 Director Steve Hunt told the class _ participants that the union has to continue to build in the plants and camps as locals pre- for collective Hunt bargaining. He also cal unions have to do an improved of communicating internally and operations across western Canada. among each other throughout the District. “Weyerhaeuser has a total disre- gard for workers,” said Hunt. “We need to understand how our adversary operates and communication is a vital part any fightback campaign.” Roger Falconer, head of the Steelworkers’ Organizing and Strategic 9 Campaigns at the Canadian office, said that the course | provides the tools to live up to campaign objectives. “The fundamental thing - that Weyerhaeuser Roger Falconer has to understand is that they don’t own or control our membership,” he said. Brother Falconer put the struggle in straightforward terms: “We need to force Weyerhaeuser to do things. And we need to prepare a course of action that will allow us to communicate with our mem- bers like we never have before.” The course’s two main instructors, assisted by Brother Falconer and Mike Piche, from the national organizing department, were Melinda Newhouse and Mike Zielinski from the union’s international office in Pittsburgh. Brother Zielinski, a community and union organizer for more than 20 years, has worked for the Steelworkers on strate- gic campaigns, taking on such giants as Kaiser Aluminum and US Steel. “We're it,” said Zielinski. “We're the ones that have to put pressure on these multinationals and put on pressure on the build-up to negotiations.” Sister Newhouse, told the participants “there is no blueprint for taking on a com- pany or an employer - our relations with them are different.” She added that it is li Melissa Newhouse and Mike Zielinkski important to consensus build for a strong foundation. A corporate campaign which took on Alcoa, for instance, worked with twenty- eight different local unions. “We need to work together at all levels to build a strong foundation,” she added. The course includes how to build strategies and tactics and create a cam- paign timeline. DECEMBER THE ALLIED WORKER | 21. h