a et tention tes Neco REE “ peaitatco Ti ot ae ontepes i Terrace Review — Wednesday, February 14, i990 AS TERRACE — When. Skeena Sawmills added a third shift in 1986, everyone understood it « wasn’t going to last forever. Mill manager Don Chesley said that. . at the time a year was the longest - anyone expected it to run. "by Michael Kelly. Now, over thiee years later, time has. run out for the extra shift. ‘‘It’s bad news for a lot of - _ young folks,”* Chesley remarked as he announced the gravéyard - shift shutdown ‘at-a press con- Shift shutdown cuts 46 jobs at mill & West Fraser Mills and Enso Forest Products. The third shift, Chesley says, was added in 1986 to-take advantage of around 500,000 cubic meters of excess timber being cut in the region, which at that time was being ex- - ported offshore or shipped to the lower mainland for process- ing. Skeena was getting the timber for an average price of $28-30 per cubic meter; the same raw material now costs $40-46. per cubic meter, Chesley said. | -Most of the finished product ference last Friday: What.Ches- Shipped out by Skeena is green ley called. “permanent layoffs”. will affect 32 full-time employ- ees in the sawmill, with the shift ‘closure sét for March 9, Another: 14 jobs will be lost in the planer operation about three months later, Chesley said. ‘The action will reduce -Skeena’s workforce from 184 full-time: positions to 153. The two primary shifts will remain at - _their current levels, Chesley said. 4 The mill is the oldest and most productive major sawmill in the . region. Shutting down the third line will reduce its timber con- sumption from 950,000 cubic. meters per year to about 750,000 and reduce production from 205 million board feet to 170 mil- lion. Chesley said the.decision is, not: related to markets for the- product, but rather to the -escal- ating cost of timber. * - The two primary shifts are fed by logs. cut under Skeena’s tenure for. Tree Farm License #41, which it shares with Eurocan Pulp and Paper of Kiti- mat; both plants are owned by hem-bal dimension lumber destined for the eastern U.S. housing market, and Chesley says current conditions prevent the company from recovering the cost increase’ by raising prices. The'strength of the Cana- dian dollar relative to U.S. cur- rency and the 15 percent export tax have already put their lumber at the top of the price range that will allow them to re- main competitive in that market. Chesley holds the raw log ex- port market largely to blame for the timber price increases that killed the third shift. The stan-. ding green timber export policy for the northern half of the Kalum Timber Supply Area was established well before the third shift started in 1986, but Chesley noted that a year ago the same policy was cancelled for the southern and: mid-coast forest : regions while unrestricted ex- ports were still allowed for the north coast. The effect, he said, was to drive offshore timber “buyers and domestic log traders into the north coast market. Talstra: no net loss in local economy Although he expresses concern for individual workers who may have lost their jobs, mayor Jack worry about the overall economic Sawmills permanently shuts down their third shift, Talsira says he is . of the community and most — if : confident in the economic strength Talstra says there is no need to impact on Terrace when Skeena not all — of the 46 jobs lost due to the shutdown, he says, will be regained in other sectors of the economy. For those predicting doom and gloom, Talstra cites the closure of McGillis and Gibbs a number of years ago as an example of what we should expect. The closure of that sawmill cost 20 mill workers their jobs ‘and many people were town. Today, though, that same number of businesses. concerned for the future of the property is home to a growing These new businesses, according to Talstra, have not only re- placed the 20 jobs lost but using the same land base have multiplied — them by a factor of about two-and-a-half. In addition, says Talstra, - more dollars to. the community - payroll than were lost and have helped to improve the lifestyle in — the city’s tax revenues. In short, » what appeared on the surface to be an economic disaster was in fact ; these new businesses have added Terrace by adding substantially to the beginning of new economic growth, Talstra believes this same potential exists today. Kalum Wood fessional forester in the area has ex -* tive workers with forestry-related Products, for example, is one new employer who will provide 25 | jobs in the community and, according to Talstra, at least one pro- pressed a need for at least four to experience. And there are other new businesses ready to move into town. One even plans to locate on the old McGillis and Gibbs property. ‘‘From a purely Terrace perspective,” Talstra concluded, “‘the net community loss will be nil.’’ ; This isn’t to say that the same 45 people who recently lost their jobs at Skeena Sawmills will necessarily find work elsewhere in the community, though. For some, admits Talstra, the Skeena Sawmills shift closure may in fact prove to be a personal disaster, but he ex- pressed confidence that the community will create other career op- portunities. — oe Keener competition for the timber being cut in this region has driven up the price of raw logs beyond Skeena’s capacity to pay and still realize a. profit. “We've gone on record oppos- ing whole log exports,” he add- ed. For the third shift to ‘start again, he said, the timber re- quired would have to become available at a price the company could afford. That would re- quire a ban on exports or the closure of some other mill in the region, either of which would J lower the demand for raw - timber. He also noted as a con- tributing factor that the com- § _ pany’s annual allowable cut on its tree farm license was reduced by five percent last year as part — of a policy change by the Minis- try of Forests. That five percent, province-wide, was reallocated to the Small Business Enterprise ' Program. ; a Under the company’s timber tenure, the annual allowable cut is adequate to run the two re-— maining shifts, Chesley said. The layoffs will take place under the terms of Skeena Saw- mills’ collective agreement. with IWA (International. Wood-- |, workers of America) Local 1-71. The workforce has a. single seniority list, and Chesley in- dicated that the workers aff ected will. mainly be those hired since 1986. Certified tradespeople, he: added, will be-exempt. ot Cutting the third line will cost ‘estimated. can’t keep some black on the the community about $2.4 mil- In explaining the company’s bottom line, we won't stay in i he decision, Chesley said, “If we business.” | Gemma Bed & Bath Boutique: | In the Skeena Mall — 4741 Lakelse Avenue 635-3392 “You Just Can’t Bear to Miss This Sale!”’ DON CHESLEY: We've gone on record opposing | whole jog exports. eo _ Slap o i cy om = yt oo t > Everything must go at 40% OFF! (to make room for renovations) Yes — Everything! Yes — Fieldcrest Towels Yes — Plush Toys Yes — Wicker OPEN: Wed., Thurs., Fri., & Sat. at 8:00 A.M. Yes — Bedding Yes — Giftware Yes — Shower Curtains eae ec At