Northern Ontario locals set agen

Pris

Photo courtesy of NODC

° Among the delegates at the NODC wage

Linda Belanger from Dubreuilville,
Cochrane,

In Northern Ontario, millworkers
are gearing up for some hard bargain-
ing in the forest industry. On April 27
and 28, 1995 forty wage and contract
delegates and local union officers met
in Hearst, Ontario to debate and dis-
cuss contract demands in upcoming
negotiations.

The wage and contract conference
was held by I.W.A. CANADA Locals
2693 (Thunder Bay) and Local (1-
2995) under the auspices of the North-
em Ontario District Council (NODC),
which is an amalgam of the local
unions. The NODC has a 40 year tradi-
tion of joint bargaining in the sawmill
and industry in Northern Ontario. It
originates historically with the Lum-
ber and Sawmill Workers Union
which was the predecessor of the
1.W.A. in Northern Ontario.

Delegates to the conference passed
anumber of demands and have vowed
to take strike action if necessary to
back those demands up. The member-
ship has been faced with employers
who insist on contracting out bargain-
ing unit jobs despite some huge prof-
its in the last couple of years.

“It was a good conference,” says
Wilf McIntyre, president of Local
2693. “The brothers and sisters are

there in full support, wanting their fair
chunk of money and benefits. The in-
dustry is doing well and they (the
members) feel that they have been de-
prived since the last downturn and re-
cession in the lumber industry.”

The conference called for solid
wage increase in addition to the con-
tracting out issues.

“We had some real good debates
and good discusions on contracting
out. That is the big issue,” says Norm
Rivard, president of Local 1-2995.
“Even though the market for forest
products is extremely good, the com-
panies are still trying to put the
screws to us. They are still trying to
contract out jobs any way they can.”

Rivard draws special attention to a
situtation at the Malette United
sawmill in Hearst where the company
is doing everything it can to introduce
contractors and their equipment into
the mill yard. Malette has tried to get
a contractor in the yard to load bark
for transfer to a dumpsite. The posi-
tion on the equipment is covered by
the collective agreement.

Workers at the operation have
protested and taken action to get the
contractor removed.

“We're tired of losing jobs,” adds

e Officers of the NODC in attendance were seated 1. to r. Damien Roy, Norm Ri-
vard and Wilf McIntyre and standing. Andre Tourigny, Roland Laurin, Real Va-
chon, Etienne Gagnon, John Lorenowich, Joe Hanlon, Lloyd Szkaley and Ken

Paquette.

and contract conference were 1. to r. Lo

and Local 1-2995 members; Rejean Tousignant from Cochrane, Daniel Touchette from
Marcel Gelinas from Kirkland Lake and Roger Gauthier from Kirkland Lake.

Photo courtesy of NODC.

cal 2693 members Claude Belanger and

Brother Rivard. “We've lost all kinds a
jobs due to modernization and to add
insult to injury they try to contract out
our work. And it’s not just one or two
sawmills, every company is trying to
battle us on the contracting out is-
sue.”

Brother McIntyre says that the
union has bent over backwards during
the rough times to help out the indus-
try by raising productivity and lower-
ing costs and that the workers
deserve better treatment now that the
good times are back.

“We are winning the contracting out
issues when we go to arbitration,” say
McIntyre. “But companies like
Buchanan Forest products are going
to judicial courts to overturn deci-
sions made through arbitration.”

“Our position this year is that they
(employers) can do what they want to
in the courts but we are going to deal
with these issues on the picket lines if
necessary. If the companies want to
fool around and tear the guts out of

da for mills

the collective agreement then we will
deal with them when we hit the
bricks.”

Brother MclIntryre says that the
membership is well aware that the
union has spent thousands of dollars
needlessly on court costs and arbitra-
tion.

“We helped them in tough times and
now when they have bushels of mon-
ey they want to clobber us in the
courts and weaken our union,” com-
ments McIntyre.

He points at Atitokan Forest Prod-
ucts as a prime example of betrayal
by employers.

“A couple of years ago when this
company was in trouble, if it wasn’t
for the I.W.A. probably Atikokan
wouldn’t have the timber that it does
today. We worked hard with the On-
tario goverment and the company to
ensure it timber supply.”

But now that the mill is expanding
the company is contracting work to
non-union firms doing work that
should either be done by I.W.A. mem-
bers or legitimate union contractors.

Brother Rivard said that Malette
has been particulary militant to the
union. When workers refused to work
overtime on a Saturday the company
charged 38 workers with an illegal
strike. At a Labour Board hearing in
Toronto in early April, things heated
up and Brother Rivard called in a bus-
load of the millworkers all the way
from Hearst to hear charges. The re-
sult was further lost production at the
mill. Later the company dropped all
charges.

“Malette has hired a lawyer who,
we believe, wants to make a name for
herself and teach us a lesson,” says
Brother Rivard. “The only result that
her’s and Malette’s actions have
brought are worsening labour rela-
tions.”

Both locals are getting ready to do
business. Contracts in northern On-
tario mills will expire on August 31. A
no-nonsense approach to bargaining
will be shown by the union.

In addition to the issues of contract-
ing out and wages the union wants
contract language improvments in ar-
eas of vacation pay and health and
safety issues. The union will also seek
better benefits in the area of weekly
indemnity, long term disability, ex-
tended health care, dental care and
life insurance.

¢ At the Domtar sawmill in White River is lumbergrader and Local 2693 member

Dan Audet.

LUMBERWORKER/JUNE, 1995/7