fe WESTERN CANADIAN LUMBER x é WORKER 7 AUTHORIZED AS SECOND CLASS MAIL, POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT, OTTAWA, AND FOR PAYMENT OF POSTAGE IN CASH. ; 2nd Issue VANCOUVER, B.C. 5c PER COPY ES? June, 1966 » Vol. XXXII, No. 13 REPORT ACCEPTED MESSAGE Ht - By JACK MOORE “4 Regional President Now that both the Union and the industry have voted to accept the Nemetz proposals your Negotiating Commit- tee must now put these recommendations into contract language. We have made great gains in wages and working condi- tions this year which proves that when the leadership works as a team and the membership wholeheartedly supports that team much can be accomplished. 4 a The Nemetz formula gives us the biggest wage increase - in our history: forty cents over two years and an increase of .» a further four cents on the shift differential. : The travel time provisions, although not all we wanted, “js still a giant step toward our eventual goal. The plywood evaluation changes will not only give over forty per cent of the plywood workers additional increases in pay but will improve the plan for the future. The recommendations of the Judge on technological change opens the door for the Union to have a voice in the companies’ plans to automate or mechanize their operation. 4 To me, it is significant that the Judge not only recom- * mended something on a majority of our original demands but “jit is equally significant that he omitted all the management \ proposals except for one which the Union committee had "agreed with. ; } All in all, I think the whole negotiating committee should be congratulated on a job well done, but even they could do tt without the tremendous support of the rank and file IWA Coast members have voted by over 86 percent to accept the settlement proposals recommended by Mr. Justice Nemetz fo end their contract dispute with the forest industry. A majority of the members in all the eight Local Unions approved the terms of the report. Forest Industrial Relations Ltd., repre- senting the 120 forest companies, an- nounced June 30 that the major com- panies would also accept the proposals but some of the smaller firms were re- fusing to sign the new contract. ment. 1-288 TAKING STRIKE VOTE The 272 members of Local 1-288 IWA employed by the Pacific Lumber Inspection Bureau are now taking a strike vote to back up their contract demands. , Local President Rod Beaton states that so far the Bureau has not yet signified any in- tention of asking for a gov- ernment supervised vote. The lumber inspectors are seeking a 50-cent hourly raise over one year plus an extra 16 cents an hour to give them parity with the tradesmen’s rate in the industry. The pres- ent base rate is $3.12 an hour. One of the main issues in dispute is whether the PLIB grade stamp should be leased to individual companies. The inspectors argue that indis- criminate leasing of the grade stamp would menace B.C.’s lumber export prospects, Unscrupulous lumber ex- porters, the inspectors charge, would use the stamp to sell lumber not up to grade. When this point was nego- tiated in the last contract, the member companies gave the Local a letter of understand- ing in which they undertook not to lease the stamp to any companies as of February 12, 1965. The companies have refused to renew this letter of under- standing. Beaton states that the Bureau has leased its stamp to a number of companies in the Interior and if this trend continues the integrity of the stamp will be worthless. Hitherto the strictest rules for grading have been enforc- ed to maintain an excellent reputation for the standards of B.C. lumber exports. The integrity of PLIB inspectors has never been questioned. The grade stamp on B.C. lumber has been accepted in the world’s markets and lum- ber prices have been set ac- cordingly. The Union’s Negotiating Committee will meet immediately with FIR to draft the necessary contract language prepara- tory to the signing of the two-year agree- Highlights of the contract include: A general wage increase of 40 cents an hour over two years; a reduction in travel time for loggers; introduction of a new job evaluation factor in plywood; elimination of female rates; a four cent increase in the differential for afternoon and graveyard shifts. (For additional terms of the contract and the com- plete text of Mr. Justice Nemetz’ report see pages _ 6-7.) Jack Moore, Regional President and spokesman for the Negotiating Com- mittee, stated that in the main the Union was happy with the settlement. He said that some of Mr. Jus- tice Nemetz’s proposals didn’t go far enough but at least they provided ” foot in the door” for future negotiations. FIR spokesman John Bil- lings stated that the forest companies were accepting the proposals under protest because the settlement is economically unjustified and will pose serious prob- lems for many of the firms. He claimed the contract terms would cost the in- dustry $40.9 million over the two years. This cost, he said, must be absorbed by the industry because 80% of the coast production has to compete in_ foreign markets. REGION 3 CONTRACT TERMS A forty-two-cent - an - hour wage increase over three years has been negotiated by the IWA Western States Re- gional Council No. 3 for its 35,000 members in industry- wide bargaining for new con- tracts. A number of fringe bene- fits were also negotiated and included: pay adjustments in skilled classifications, health and welfare, higher shift dif- ferential pay, an additional paid holiday, higher pension benefits and improved travel time for loggers. The recommended settle- ment terms — which. are presently being voted on by the membership—provide for a general wage increase of 20 cents an hour June 1, 1966; a further 12 cents an hour in- crease June 1, 1967; and a final 10 cents an hour increase June 1, 1968. Results of the referendum ~ ballot will be tabulated July iC > The benefit package—worth 55 cents an hour—has been recommended by Region 3’s Negotiating Committee, Re- gional Executive Board and Advisory Committee. An information bulletin is- sued by the Negotiating Com- mittee stated: “The 55-cent benefit pack- age settlement is as good, or better, than any other settle- ment that has been negotiated by any industrial union with- in the mass production indus- tries in the United States — this year, any previous year or combination’ of years.” Negotiations were conduct- ed jointly by Region 3 and the Lumber and Sawmill Work- ers for the first time this year. The LSW has also recom- mended the setflement terms to its 35,000 members.