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Wilson’s truckers join Toronto local as
employee association merges into 1.W.A.

jWhen the road gets really rough,
truck drivers need an organization
that they can turn to. They some-
times figure out that an employee
association simply isn’t enough to
help them out.

‘hat’s what happened in recent
months when members of the Cana-
dian Union of Drivers and General
workers decided to merge them-
selves into I.W.A. CANADA Local
700. One hundred and fifty drivers
at Wilson’s Truck Lines Ltd. have
become the newest I.W.A. members
in the Toronto area because they
are concerned about their employ-
ers actions to turn their work over
to non-union owner-operators.

The major client of Wilson Trans-
port is the Great Atlantic and Pacific
Tea Company (known as the A&P).
Over the past four years, Wilson’s
Truck Lines has been turning over
more and more of its A&P and other
work to Supermarket Express
(SMX), a collection of some 120
owner/operator vehicles that it con-
trols.

At first the workers didn’t see
SMX as a big threat. But then more
and more work went to the owner
operators and the company employ-
ees working for Wilson’s Truck Lines
began to take layoffs. In April of
this year Wilson laid off 48 drivers
as the I.W.A. was going through a
process of merging with the employee
association.

The union went to the Ontario
Labour Relations Board to have the
board deem the unionized employ-
ees as locked out. Wilson was award-

_ ing work to owner/operator competi-

tors in favour of its own company
employees, the union argued.

“The whole scenario was one where
the boss (Wilson’s Truck Lines) was
playing off one group of workers
against the other and the employee
association had no real clout to effec-
tively fight back,” said Local 700
President Ron Diotte, in an inter-
view with the Lumberworker.

“They never had a strike or any
kind of large dispute with Wilson in
the past. So we worked with the
association to get them into our
union and negotiate the best possi-
ble deal that we could under the cir-
cumstances.”

The association went through a
number of constitutional and by-law

u ..

* Local 700 President Ron Diotte (second from left) joins new union memb

poli (1. to r.) at Wilson’s truck yard.

changes to allow a seamless transi-
tion into joining the I.W.A. It had
been an independent association for
over 25 years.

National Second Vice President
Fred Miron chaired a negotiating
committee which reached a three
year deal with Wilson.

That eenceinent included a $1,000
signing bonus for all union mem-
bers. The workers affected could
take a buy out package that would
pay them $1,000 for each year of
service or apply a similar amount
for a voluntary conversion package,
paid for by the employer, towards
becoming an owner operator for the
company. During negotiations there
was an ongoing erosion of the bar-
gaining unit which the union put an
end to.

“The company has been trying to
convince the workers to convert to
becoming owner operators rather
than take the buyout offer,” said
Diotte. “We're there as a union advis-
ing that the workers should make
their own decisions and, whatever

Kapuskasing
Lahour Council
BUY UNION - BUY CANADIAN

Left to right are Local 1-2995 President Norm Rivard, Financial Secre-
tary Roland Laurin, Labour Council President Nicole Daggett, local union
executive board members Bruno Payant and Guy Bourgouin, and local

First Vice President Damien Roy.

KAP council up and running

Thin;
at the
Labour Council and I.W.A. Local 1-
2995 has been playing a key role.

Following several years of inactiv-

ity, the council started up again. In

have been a again
puskasing and District

January of last year the local union
rejoined the organization.
“The election of the Mike Harris
overnment in June of 1995 has
ne more for the labour movement
in that it has brought us together in

they decide to do, we’ll be there to
make sure they get it.”

The signing bonus will be paid to
all of the 48 laid off workers. The
collective agreement was voted on
affirmatively by 73% of the mem-
bers.

The agreement also covers garage
and dock workers for Wilson who
work in various warehouses.

Wilson and Supermarket Express
do the distribution for all of the
A&P retail outlets in Ontario, deliv-
ering perishables and non-perish-
ables alike.

The base rate for drivers exceeds
$16.00/nr.

In the future the union will nego-
tiate on behalf of the company dri-
vers and the broker drivers
(owner/operators) who have accepted
the buyout package.

The members of the new Local
700 sub-local are President Bill
Brady, Secretary Treasurer Bernard
Young, Vice President Al Zippoli,
and committee member Robert Scott.

Brother Diotte said the employee

unity,” said local union President
Norm Rivard. “We have been work-
ing on fighting the Harris govern-
ment in its attacks against social
programs and working people. The
labour council has become a crucial
part of the fight back.”

The local union donates its down-
stairs hallway for labour council
meetings on a regular basis and
plays a role on its executive board,

8 following elections in late 1996.

Local 1-2995 Financial Secretary
Roland Laurin is a vice president of
the council while Brother Rivard is

on the executive board.

Another active member of the
I.W.A. member Guy Bourgouin, who
is the recording secretary.

The council’s president is Sister
Nicole Daguet of the Canadian Union
of Postal Workers.

The council takes in most affilate
unions of the Ontario Federation of
Labour from Kapuskasing west to
Oppasatika and in the east all the
way to Smooth Rock Falls. Some of
the affiliates, in the Kapuskasing
area, include Communications,
Energy and Paperworkers Union at
OPEIU Local 166 at the Spruce
Falls Inc. mill and the Canadian
Union of Public Employees.

5
5
ic

ers Bill Brady, Bob Scott, and Al Zip-

association shopped around for
months until it decided on merging
into the I.W.A.

At one point the Teamsters union
agreed to represent the drivers ona
“service contract” basis which would
charge dues based on a number of
factors including the time spent
negotiating their contracts and ser-
vicing them.

That wasn’t good enough for them.

“The association had a look at us
and liked what they saw,” said
Diotte. “They saw that we are the
most democratic and most funda-
mental union around.”

It didn’t hurt either that Brother
Diotte had, for over 25 years been a
truck driver himself. He drove for
17 years as a Teamster and for about
8 years in the I.W.A. at MacMillan
Bloedel Building Materials out of
Weston.

“They came to us and saw that
we're not just a woodworker union,”
he said. “I told them (the associa-
tion members) that we in the I.W.A.
represent truckers too and under-
stand their issues.”

Brother Tom Lowe, now the
National Safety Director (see story
page three) played a pivotal role in
letting the association know what a
union can do for the truckers.

Prior to the beginning of any
merger talks Brother Lowe volun-
tarily took on some WCB claims on
behalf of injured drivers. The cases
included a back injury, a hand muti-
lation and a leg injury.

“A part of this story is that we
wanted to help the drivers and show
what the I.W.A. is all about,” said
Brother Lowe. “We wanted them to
know that we are a full service orga-
nization that is willing to take on
their fights.”

National Organizer Mike Hunter,
who works out of the union’s national
office in Weston, Ontario, played a
key role in the organizing campaign.

With the new members from Wil-
son Transport, the Local 700 mem-
bership is now closing in on 800,
almost double of what it was 4-5

years ago.
“With this new mentality on orga-
nizing that has come from the

national office, the psychology of
organizing has chan; ed,” said Diotte.
“Our existing members are speak-
ing up and we’re getting tips on
organizing from places we’ve never
heard from before.”

LUMBERWORKER/DECEMBER 1997/7