Industry slump

Continued from page one

“We have to repair this system,
whether that takes the form of a
technical change to the way
stumpage is calculated, as we sug-
gested, or (in) some other form,” he
said. “At the same time we also have
to make any measure ‘countervail
proof so that the American govern-
ment and industry (in the United
States) do not attack us.” -

“I.W.A. CANADA has been work-
ing hard to offer concrete solutions
to the current combined effects of
soft markets for lumber, particu-
larly in Japan, and high stumpage
costs,” said Haggard. “That’s why
we're so annoyed today to see appar-
ent industry paralysis when so many
workers are laid off or on reduced

shift.”

In an interview with the Lumber-
worker, Local 1-405 President Bob
Matter said that the industry is
blaming most of the downturn on
government policies which have
increased wood costs - on every-
thing from stumpage, to the Forest
Practice Code.

About half of Local 1-405’s approx-
imately 1,650 forest industry work-
ers have been effected by the down-
turn. Over one hundred have been
laid off temporarily and over 700
have been put on reduced work
weeks. Major employers are Crest-
brook Forest Products with opera-
tions in Cranbrook, Elko, Canal
Flats, and Radium. Other impor-
tant employers are Slocan Forest
Products, Pope and Talbot and Gal-
loway Lumber.

With the different areas of the
province that the industry operates,
different cost structures, and differ-
ent markets and balance sheets that
they have, many inside the union

¢ Thousands of loggers on the Coast have received early layoff notices.

#

are suspicious that so many simul-
taneous mill closure are evidence of
a “capital strike” against the gov-
ernment.

But Matters shakes his head.

“I, quite frankly, don’t think that
the industry has the jam, the
willpower, or the ability to stick
together that long on one particular
issue,” said Brother Matters. “I
think that it is a market situation
that is going to improve as soon as
things turn around.”

Darrel Wong, President of Log-
gers’ Local 1-71, told the Lumber-
worker in mid-December that about
8,500 of the local union’s 4,500 mem-
bers were on lay-off.

“A fair number of companies are
saying that until the Japanese mar-
ket turns around, people are not
going back to work,” said Wong.
“There’s an indication that it may
be March or April before the major-
ity of our members return to work.
It’s pretty frightening out there.”

“Our members are historically
shut down by December as it is any-
ways, but the difficulty that we got
is that a significant number of our
members didn’t get to work this
year until June and that a lot of
them got laid off in October,” he
added. “I know guys that have
worked only four months this year
and they are going to have difficul-
ties getting UIC this year.”

“That’s very serious when you
talk about people that are used to
working for a living and making a
decent income and now find them-
selves in a position where they don’t
have an income that’s sufficient to
collect UI,” he added. “The only
choices that we have for some peo-
ple right now is welfare and that’s
a hard pill for people to swallow
who are hard working ambitious
people.”

He said that Western Forest Prod-
ucts is one of the few majors that is

¢ Interior and coastal millworkers have been hit by short shifts and/or
early layoffs.

staying open because its market is
in the 6s. i

“For the closures we’re talking
that Macmillan Bloedel (Juskatla,
Port McNeill, and Stillwater opera-
tions and stump-to-dump contrac-
tors), are facing some serious prob-
lems,” he wala “As for Interfor
(International Forest Products), a
lot of their operations didn’t start
up until May of this year due to
some major restructuring on the
Coast.”

“Interfor is saying that the cost of
logging is too high versus the price
that they can get for their prod-
ucts,” he said.

He agreed that there has to be
further significant changes in the
administration of the Forest Prac-
tices Code to get of the red tape and
the wasted duplication that takes
place. _

“We don’t want to lower environ-
mental standards but we want to
see movement on visual quality
objectives and green up provisions,”
he said.

“A lot of that work is underway
and we think those changes will
provide the industry with signifi-

ost savings.”
ead creat President of the
6,000 member Local 1-424 in North-
ern B.C. said that over the Christ-
mas holidays and into the new year.
over half of the membership will
e working.

ee of aie laid off workers will
go back in the new year but the
stumpage issue is still a major prob-
lem for us,” said Brother Carroll.
“There is a lot of competitive wood
from Alberta still going into the
U.S. which doesn’t come from pro-
ducers with high stumpage costs.”

In Prince George both Northwood
Pulp and Timber sawmills and Lake-
land Sawmills are on 4 day work
weeks. The same goes for Dunkley
Lumber in Dunkley, B.C., which is
one of the most efficient mills in
the local union. Both the Weldwood
Canada plywood mill and sawmill
in Quesnel went for 4 week shut-
downs before Christmas. Burns
Lake Specialty Wood in Burns Lake
has gone down indefinitely.

Many of the local union’s Canfor
operations have gone on reduced
work weeks in December.

¢ First National Vice President Neil Menard (1.) sits in on ORG Il class held
in Vancouver in October. Classes have been held in Sudbury, Saskatoon,

and Kamloops to date.

Organizing strategy

Continued from page one

“If we are to remain a strong rep-
resentative of workers’ interests, we
have to strive to build the I.W.A.
and reach out to new groups of work-
ers.”

The National Organizing and
Growth Program has the following
goals:

° to increase the number of workers
in Canada who belong to I.W.A.
CANADA;

¢ to reach out to new members, par-
ticularly young workers, working
women, new Canadians and visible
minorities;

° to build and strengthen the union
with new members and to develop
pride within our existing member-
ship;

° to raise the profile of the union
SctORS the country and internation-
ally.

“Like it has been said before many
times, organizing is the life blood of
any union. Without new member-
ship and new ideas and diversity we
would only stand still or go back-
wards,” said Haggard. “We have
decided to move ahead and build
the I.W.A. as a truly national union
representing all different types of
Canadians.”

“Tf we rally believe what our name
stands for - the Industrial, Wood
and Allied Workers of Canada, then
we have to crank up the organizing
all across this country,” he added.
“If we are going to remain an effec-
tive organization that is democratic
and strong, we must continue to
grow.” :

Brother Haggard has direct
responsibility for the National Orga-
nizing and Growth Program along
with National First Vice President

Neil Menard, who is the officer
responsible for organizing.

The program also includes pursu-
ing mergers will smaller, compati-
ble unions and/or employee associa-
tions. That responsibility will sit
with National Officers. Any merger
is subject to the approval of the
union’s National Executive Board.

“We are talking to some other
unions right now to see if there is
ae ay between us and them,”
said Haggard. “Whatever we do
down the road and whatever deci-
sions we make have got to serve the
interests of all I.W.A. members and
maintain the grass-roots democracy
of this organization.”

The union’s National Education
Department is developing three dif-
ferent levels of courses to seek out
and train organizers. ORG I is a one
day introductory course which is
designed to generate interest in
organizing at the local union level.

ORG II is a week-long course that
has already been put into place to
train potential part-time and full-
time organizers who can be utilized
by the national or local unions. ORG
IU will build upon ORG II and offer

articipants the potential to become

ull-time organizers either at the
national or local union level.

“We need an army of organizers
out there,” said Brother Ha; gard.
“We have to get more people out
there making contacts, talking to
people about our great union, sign-
ing up members and breaking all
sorts of new ground and extending
the I.W.A. all over Canada.”

The Organization and Growth
Strategy adopted at the convention
also calls for the development of
material for the promotion of the
union. National officers and staff
will work to assist local unions in
putting together materials for spe-

cific organizing drives.

2/LUMBERWORKER/DECEMBER, 1997

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