LOCAL 1-184 CALLS FOR FORESTRY AGENCY Delegates to the 21st Annual Delegated Meeting of Local 1-184 IWA, Saskatchewan, held May 24 in Prince Albert, unanimously approved a resolution proposed by Local president Bud Massey which called for the Saskatchewan government to establish a comprehensive forestry agency. The new agency would be known as the Saskatchewan Forestry Service and would assume responsibility for forest manage- ment, reforestation, and allocation, forest protection, forestry research and planning, and forest land use. The resolution also suggested that the private sector as well as the provincial and federal governments commit the substan- tial financial resources necessary to increase reforesting and guarantee forestry related jobs. The delegates also approved a number of other resolutions, seven By-Law changes, the Officers’ Report and heard from the guest speakers. Neil Menard, Regional second vice- president, congratulated Bud Massey for his resolution on forestry and stated that the IWA in the past few years has done more to activate interest in our acute forestry problems than any other organization in Canada. He credited Les Harding, the Union’s forester, for generating a good deal of this interest through his hard work and dedication to the subject. He then gave the delegates a short report on what was taking place in other areas of the Regional Council. Regional third vice-president Ernie Clarke discussed how the current high interest rates were affecting employment in the forest industry. He stated that economists were optimistic that the employment picture would improve later in the year and that this feeling prevailed in the Regional Council. He concluded his remarks by saying that while the Local had experienced a difficult year, it had accomplished a number of good things, notable among them being the Woodlands Enterprises agreement. The Officers’ Report scored the Sask- atchewan forest companies for laying off their employees in such large numbers at the first signs of a market turndown after enjoying exceptional profits last year. The Report suggested that these companies were projecting poor corporate images and should be severely censured for their action. The Report congratulated the Woodlands Enterprises’ negotiating committee for achieving the best contract package ever negotiated by the IWA in Saskatchewan. The rates negotiated, the Report stated, were on par or surpassed those negotiated in British Columbia last year. A good deal of the Report was given over to the problems faced by the officer in handling arbitration cases and organizing the unorganized workers. The Report concluded by paying tribute to the courage and determination of the strikers at the Moose Jaw Sash & Door Company who have walked the picket lines for over two years in the face of community hostility, police harassment, and inclement weather. The Financial Report indicated that the Local’s finances were in top shape and steps were being taken to ensure that everything possible was being done to keep the Local operating in the black. GRANVILLE ISLAND EXFO is presented by THE B.C. FORES FOUNDATION #10 Creekhouse, 1551 Johnston Street Granville Island Vancouver, B.C. ARTS THEATRE GRANVILLE MARKET BUS STOP EXFO is a preview of exhibits being developed for the - under the Granville Street Bridge B.C. FOREST - direct access from downtown by bus #50 CENTRE - from Broadway & Granville by bus #51 that is planned for - free parking (if you can find it) B.C. PLACE THINGS DON'T GO BETTER WITH “COKE” “Coke” is becoming the “pause that depresses” for many workers around the world, particularly those employed at Coca- Cola bottling plants in the Third World countries. This leading soft drink company pursues one of the most vicious anti-union policies of any multinational in opposing the unioniza- tion of workers in its foreign operations. One of the worst examples of Coca-Cola’s violation of human and trade union rights has been its bloody and violent record in Guatemala, where it has been trying since 1976 to crush the union that represents its employees. The union was formed in 1975, but it wasn’t until 1978 that it managed to force the company to sign its first collective agreement. The union’s victory triggered a series of management attempts to get rid of the union through firings, bribes, intimi- dation, and the creation of a pro- management association. The union’s financial secretary was killed in 1978, and in 1979 its secretary-general, Israel Marquez, was forced to flee the country after surviving three attempts on his life. In April of this year, his successor, Manuel Balan, was stabbed to death. Coc-Cola has refused to negotiate a rene- wal of the first contract, and, when the union took the company to court on April 14, management retaliated by firing 31 unio- nized workers, including three of the union’s officers. On May 1, four of the workers were kidnapped from their homes, and two of them were later found dead. The other two are still missing. The Guatemalan military junta, one of the world’s worst dictatorships, has provided Coca-Cola with a military force armed with automatic weapons to keep the workers in line. A U.S. Congressman, Don Pease (Ohio), after visiting Guatemala, was so shocked by these anti-union tactics that he wrote President Carter to demand an investiga- tion of the Coca-Cola company. “For more than four years,” he wrote, “the workers at the Coca-Cola plant in Guatem- ala have been subjected to an unmercifully EXPLORE EXPERIENCE ruthless campaign of intimidation and terror orchestrated by the plant manage- ment and its American owner...” The International Food and Allied Workers, with affiliates in 58 countries, is planning a world-wide boycott of Coca-Cola products, and boycotts have already started in Sweden, Norway, Australia and other countries. It is a boycott that merits the full support of all union members in Canada, too. CANADIAN TRANSPORT FULL DISCLOSURE WANTED OF JOB DANGERS Contracts containing full disclosure of dangers workers face on the job will be a prime objective for Alberta unions. Unions are becoming more aggressive in demands for knowledge about lethal mater- ials, Reg Basken, international representa- tive for the Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers Union, told an industrial safety conference. “We’re long past the stage where occupa- tional safety is left solely to management. Workers are becoming more aware of dangerous work environments and they want to know what they’re dealing with. Knowledge is the best safeguard to avoid the pitfalls that are crippling and killing workers.” @ + Z Canadian EM Cinsress ONTARIO SCIENCE CENTRE Toronto September 22-23, 1980 Lumber Worker/June-July, 1980/5