AUGUST — SEPTEMBER, 1978 THE WESTERN CANADIAN LUMBER WORKER Portable chipper with whole Go plus bark going into machine. Inset shows mechanism of chipper. Lag loader was iain to Suing ipad over loader on to truck without turning. The Russians are very conscious about possible damage to the terrain. Note also the huge inflation type tires on truck. Thinning out small saplings with specially designed power saw. The operator, because of the long handle on the power saw, can stand erect making it easier on his back. The power saw is alsofitted with anti-vibration devices to check “white hand’ diséase. explains to President Munro the anti-vibration : - features incorporated on the Russian chain saws. Following the de-limbing, the tree is then bucked according to species and grade and deposited into bins. Waste wood such as low grade butts are put through a splitter machine for firewood. Another side product made from short ends were shavings which are baled like hay for excelsior packaging. The residue is used for generating steam for the plant and buildings in the community. The main function of the plant, however, was to produce veneer from a high speed lathe. After trimming and glueing this into bundles it is resawn to produce “‘edge-grain’’ hardwood tiles for parquet flooring. At this plant, as throughout the tour, the I.W.A. group noted the considerable number of women employed. From Mostovoya, the visitors were flown by Aeroflot Airlines to Krasnodar, a bustling city with many diverse industries and a. population of 650,000. From there they were taken on a bus-like crummy ride up into the Caucasian Mountains where the snow in the winter can amount to fifteen feet. There they were shown experimental on-site seedling plantations (including B.C. Douglas Fir) and an elaborate skyline logging show which com- bined selective logging (on ten-year intervals) with the steep hillside country to bring logs more than 3,000 feet away into the landing. The skyline used a double carriage to lift the log free of the ground to prevent possible erosion. A fairly short (fifty foot) home tree was supplemented by periodic gin poles (like the pilons on a ski lift) to keep the skyline and carriage suitably elevated. The rigging was kept light (the main line was approximately one-half inch in diameter) as only one log is carried at a time. The same yarding machine was used to load the logging trucks. The trees at this operation were much the same - size of the trees as-in the B.C. Coastal area. They were, however, of mixed variety and included Maple, Birch, Oak, Ash, Alder and Caucasian Spruce. Hemlock was not visible. The visitors were then taken further into a valley to visit an immense nursery where not only were the “commercial” seedlings raised for reforestation; but also many varieties of ornamental trees for city boulevards, edible nut trees, and different varieties of shrubs. Further on they observed a two-man team working at thinning (juvenile spacing) with many - small saplings being moved to allow the selected remaining trees to more quickly develop and mature. The power saw used for this purpose was again quite novel. The motor is mounted on a long shaft and turns a short chain on an approximately ten-inch bar, The long shaft allows the workman to stand upright plus the saw handle made of rubber and spring mounted reduced the vibration effect. At another part of the logging show, the visitors watched a portable chipper in operation. Bundles of “logs” about four to eight inches in diameter and five feet long were brought to the chipper by the skidding tractor. There the whole Jog, bark and all, was run through the chipper. The visitors questioned the bark going into the chipper but were assured that with the type of particle board being made, these chips were quite acceptable. This was but one logging site of many which supplied material to an amalgamation of nine furniture factories plus three other plants which produced fuel wood for their own use plus other factory enterprises. All together, there are 67,000 workers involved in forestry and woodworking operations in this Kuban district. The I.W.A. officers were then taken on a tour of a furniture factory where bedroom type closets, dressers, night tables and other furniture were made from various: types of veneer glued onto particle board, The automated production line carried the material through planers, sanders, veneer laying, edging, waxing, varnishing, and the drying proces- ses through to the assembly room where each piece was assembled and wrapped for shipping. Sochi, the rest and relaxation area on the Black Sea for the Soviet workers, was the next place of visit. Hot springs in the area are recommended for various medical treatments and nearly every Union in Russia maintains a ‘“‘sanitarium’ for their a members. The stay is normally about one month with careful dosages of mineral waters, fresh salt air, sunbathing, diet and exercise. _ At the Sochi Experimental Gardens, the visitors viewed the “Friendship” tree where more than one hundred and twenty varieties of fruit grow as a result of grafts performed by representatives of countries all over the world. While there, Bro. Munro, on behalf of the 1.W.A. grafted a shoot on the Trade Union Friendship Tree, a symbol of world friendship. This was followed up by atrip to a tea plantation to see it being cultivated, harvested and finally tasted along with the locally grown honey, jams and nutmeats. The Russians are strong tea drinkers and the Sochi tea plantations are among the largest in the world. The group then returned to Moscow for wind-up meetings with some of the top union leaders and to learn more about the Russian trade union structure. The structure of the labour movement in Russia is much different than that of the labour movement in Canada. The following diagram shows its composition. [CENTRAL COMM.| [AUDITING COM IM Faller shown felling small ten inch diameter tree with long handled power saw. When tree is ready to fall, the faller fells if in the direction he wants through the use of a hydraulic wedge powered from the saw. Russian foreman explains how the automatic wedge at- tachment operates on chain saw.