Local 1-3567 president Sonny Ghag. PHOTO BY NORMAN GARCIA = District 3 Director Steve Hunt was among speakers at the Northwest Hardwoods picket line in September when delegates from the Steelworkers-IWA Council conference visited striking members. Also on platform is WORKERS ON STRIKE at the Weyerhaeuser-owned Northwest Hardwoods operation in Delta, B.C. have been picketing since July 11. And Steelworkers Local 1-3567 members are dug in on their fight to reinstate job training provisions in their collective agreement — ones which respect seniority of crew members. At one point, on November 4, it appeared the union and Weyco were getting close to an agreement as local union president Sonny Ghag and sec- ond vice president Earl Graham made several visits to Sedro-Wooley, Washington to negotiate a deal. Later joined by District 3 director Steve Hunt and David Tones, assisitant to the direc- tor, a tentative agreement seemed pos- sible. The union agreed to some flexi- bility on temporary application of seniority to place workers on shifts, and agreed to a new job posting procedure. But the company reneged these STEELWORKERS and supporters gath- ered in Vancouver on December 7 to rally support for members of the Steelworkers Local 13567 on strike against Weyerhaeuser. BC butis not putting it back to work here by creating jobs or strengthening our com- munities,” said Steelworkers-IWA Counc president Norm Rivard. “Its time this company started benefiting its employees, their families and their communities, not justits owners.” While Steelworker members have been on strike at Weyco’s Northwest Hardwoods mill in Delta BC since July, the firm has shifted production to the US Pacific Northwest and refiused to reach an agreement. agreed-upon principles. “They told us they ‘changed their views,” says Brother Ghag. “We say they retreated from an agreement at the eleventh hour.” “Our people are dug in,” says Brother Graham. ‘They've been on the picket line for over 5 months and they are staying strong to fight this thing through.” Delegates to the first Steelworkers- IWA Council conference visited the picket line on September 22 to show support for their fellow members. International President Leo Gerard told the Northwest crew that the entire 650,000 member union is behind them. He also put their strug- gle into plain terms: seniority is secu- rity and security means the workers’ ability to take care of their families. “In our union, you’re never in this fight alone,” he said. “In our union we're in these battles together.” PHOTO BY NORMAN GARCIA = Weyerhaeuser workers leaflet in downtown Vancouver. “Obviously we have to crank up this campaign to impact Weyerhaeuser’s other B.C. operations, said Local 13567 president Sonny Ghag. “We are asking people in Vancouver for support and we will be call- ing for help from other communities with Dug in against Weyerhaeuser IWA Local 1-3567 members are determined to stay out until they get a fair deal at Northwest Hardwoods in Delta Steelworkers Canadian Director Ken Neumann told the strikers that the union is ramping up its corporate cam- paign against Weyerhaeuser and that the company must treat its people with dignity and decency. He also pledged the support of 250,000 Steelworkers in Canada. Steelworkers - IWA Council chair- man Norm Rivard said “they (Weyerhaeuser) think they can push our members around and we are not going to let them do that.” He thanked the delegates and the Steelworkers for their support. “This example, right here, is the very reason we merged with the Steelworkers.” Steelworkers District 3 Director Steven Hunt informed the crowd of a Steelworker motto: “We have a tradition in the Steelworkers. We're going to be here one day longer that the company can withstand...we’re going to show them (Weyerhaeuser) who we are!” Steelworkers leaflet Weyco office Weyerhaeuser operations, as well.” In spite of promises to invest in BC, noted Steel District 3 director Steve Hunt, Weyerhaeuser has not delivered. “They said if the Campbell government changed the Forest Act and timber harvesting regu- lations and if changes were made in their agreement with their employees, they would invest here. Well, they got what they wanted but we're still waiting.”Recent changes to forestlaws and regulations have given companies a free hand to close mills, contract out and reconfigure their timber- harvesting activities, Hunt noted, while the provincial government has rewritten the province's Forest Practices Code. A con- tract imposed on workers earlier this year allowed longer shifts and reduced over- time and travel-time. = Local 1-1000 members on line. Veneer crew struck versus accepting major concessions In late September, twenty-eight Local 1-1000 members had their last day on the picket line as their employer, Superior Hardwood Veneer, claimed bankruptcy. The crew was steadfast in resisting the employer's demands to gut the col- lective agreement of seniority provi- sions, vacations, stats and other benefits. The employer also wanted to change shift scheduling, modify _ OT provisions and take away atten- dance bonuses. “Quite frankly, from the onset, our members would have rather seen this company fold than suffer mistreatment and indignity on the job,” says Steelworkers Local 1- 1000 business agent John Goldthorp. Following the bankrupt- cy, the union assisting in expediting El claims for workers who could not find other jobs. The strike, which began on March 29, 2004 was solid- ly supported by the crew, who worked at the specialty plant on the Bathchewana First Nation’s Rankin Reserve, near Sault Ste. Marie. Since the closure the company’s American owner, who lives in Michigan and has another veneer plant in Ohio, has put bids on the plant's equipment, in order to piece it off and likely ship some to his U.S. operation. “I guess he'll try to get the concessions he could not get from our membership in Ontario,” says Brother Goldthorp. PHOTO BY REG SPENCER On the line in Holland Landing. Solidarity helps solve strike In November Local 1-500 members at the Inscape Systems office furniture plant in Holland Landing, Ontario struck for nine days. As both sides were dug in for a possibly protracted strike, the union got help in the form of international solidarity. The Washington D.C. - based International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers wrote company brass, saying it would cancel an order worth some $500,000. The letter caught the eye of the employer, who immediately got back to the table. The union negotiated wage and benefit improvements worth 3.2 per cent a year. The employer has also agreed to pay for eye exams and extended chiropractic treatments. 8 | THE ALLIED WORKER DECEMBER 2004