° Members and supporters from I.W.A. CANAD.

ia

A Local 2693 were at rally. Holding banner on left is I.W.A.’s Sec-

ond National V.P. Fred Miron. To his left is Ontario NDP leader Howard Hampton. Holding banner on right is

Local 2693 President Wilf McIntyre.

Thunder Bay’s ‘Day of Action’ rally coincides with Labour’s Day of Mourning

he growing movement

against the Ontario Con-

servative government of

Mike Harris continues

with political protest in the province. On April 28, Labour’s Day of Mourning, the union move- ment joined with coalition partners for yet another demonstration against the policies of the Harris government.

The latest protest, named Thun- der Bay’s Day of Action, saw over 5,000 people turn out. Then there was a two hour “funeral procession” of over 1,000 cars and other vehicles which wound its way through city streets, starting from the Thunder Bay Community Auditorium and ending at the Canadian Lake Exhi- bition Grounds for a rally.

The cavalcade of vehicles was called the “Fight for the Living Car- avan,” which coincided with Labour’s

Day of Mourning. Leading the cara- van were two symbolic coffins; one pep recon One the over 350 workers killed and thousands who are injured in Ontario worksites every year and one representing the death of public services in the province.

“Tt was a very direct way of send- ing strong messages to the Harris government,” said I.W.A. CANADA Local 2693 President Wilf McIntyre, who is a vice president of the OFL. “Harris is seeing that opposition to his anti-people policies is not fading away.”

There was a strong showing of I.W.A. members from Local 2693 operations in Avenor operations (Atikokan, Ignace, and Thunder Bay), Kruger Inc. operations in Longlac (both mills and woodlands), the Buchanan Forest Products mill in Atikokan, Kimberly-Clark log- gers from Geraldton, Adelaide Truck

Haul Transport in Thunder Bay and the MacMillan Bloedel plywood plant in Nipigon.

Several hundred I.W.A. caps read- ing “I.W.A. CANADA FIGHTS BACK” were passed out at the demonstration to union members and non-members alike.

I.W.A. CANADA National Second Vice President Fred Miron said that it was among the largest political protests ever seen in Thunder Bay and certainly the largest procession of vehicles the city has seen.

“There was a very strong show of support from I.W.A. members in the district which indicates that the membership is deeply concerned with what is happening in Ontario,” said Brother Miron.

Brother McIntyre was one of the featured speakers at the rally, along with provincial NDP leader Howie Hampton, Judy Darcy of CUPE,

Revenue Canada refunds Ul premium for elected members

Elected officials in the I.W.A. and the rest of the trade union move- ment will be pleased to find out that they can get refunds from Revenue Canada for some years of unemploy- ment insurance premiums paid before January 1, 1997.

Unknown to many, before that date elected union officers could not collect UI even though they may have paid into it for years. If they would have been defeated in elec- ons they would have been ineligi-

le.

When Local I.W.A. CANADA Local 2693 President Wilf McIntyre found out about this ineligibility rule last year he challenged the system. He,

like other elected representatives, had paid into the fund yet would have been frozen out when trying to collect.

The result of his challenge is that he and five other local union officials have received refunds for premiums paid in 1993-95. Then, after the eligi- bility rules changed in 1997, Brother McIntyre and the other officers from Local 2693 applied and got a refund for 1996. Revenue Canada has paid back the premiums with interest.

“When I first found out about it I was pretty upset that, if I hadn’t won an election over the years, I would not have been able to collect a cent,” said McIntyre.

The same goes for the I.W.A.’s Sec- ond National Vice President Fred Miron. He has been an elected union official for over 32 years, first with the Lumber and Sawmill Workers Union and subsequently with the LW.A. starting in 1987.

“We’ve had unions and elected

officials for a long time. Why have they had to pay for UI if they could- n't get benefits,” he questioned. “They (the government) damn well must have known about this. Unions, with their elected officials, didn’t spring up overnight.”

For Brother McIntyre and other elected officials of Local 2693 the Revenue Canada refund amounts to over $1,200.00 per year of principle and interest.

“We're glad we got the money back and that, now we are eligible to col- lect unemployment insurance just like any other worker . . . because that’s exactly what we are,” he added.

Brother Miron informed the 1.W.A.’s National Executive Board about Revenue Canada’s decisions and the news is being circulated to other union locals.

Revenue Canada changed its stand on UI for elected officials due, in great part, to pressure from the Cana- dian Labour Congress.

OFL President Gord Wilson, the CLC’s Nancy Riche and others.

He spoke out against the Harris government's assaults on the Work- ers Compensation Act and the lack of enforcement of occupational health and safety standards in the province.

McIntyre informed the crowd, that April 28 holds extra meaning for the I.W.A., because 67 years ear- lier on this day, over 5,000 people from the community of Port A ur and Fort William went on a funeral procession through some of the same streets in honour of two union orga- nizers who were murdered during a strike the previous winter.

He said that the I.W.A. and other labour affiliates are raising funds for a statue to labour martyrs John Voutilainen and Viljo Rosvall, who were killed while organizing a strike for the now defunct Lumber Work- ers Industrial Union of Canada. A site for the statue has been chosen on the grounds of the Lakehead Labour Labour Centre, where Day of Mourning ceremonies will be held in future years.

The Thunder Bay Day of Protest marked the re-emergence of the NDP at a labour-coalition sponsored political rally against the Conserva- tive government. Ontario NDP Leader Howie Hampton lashed out against the inhumane cutbacks in social services and legislation pro- tecting working people to an erup- tion of applause.

“I think that Howard Hampton $ and the NDP have done a good job = of bringing the labour movement.

and the party back together,” said McIntyre. “If we get the right people in there and pull labour together, it can be done.”

Coalition partners slammed the Harris government.

Bill Martin, President of the Ontario Teachers Federation said that during the Harris government there have been huge tuition fee increases for university and college students and that the public school system is deteriorating.

“The education system is in sham- bles and we’re not going down with- out a fight,” he said.

courtesy of Local 2693,

Ns | ¢ I.W.A. CANADA Local 2693 Presi- dent Wilf McIntyre.

Lakehead University Faculty Association President. Habart Dilley said a university education is a right for ENGI pete in the province with the right qualifications and not just a priviledge for the well-off.

The evening before the proces- sion and rally there was social and dance at the auditorium, attended to by people of all ages.

The Day of Protest was endorsed by City Council. There were pickets lines around government offices.

The next protest is scheduled for Harris’ home town of North Bay in September. A protest scheduled for Windsor in early June had been postponed for a later date due to the federal election.

Fee nrernre ees s

16/LUMBERWORKER/JULY 1997

Photo courtesy of Local 2693