Canada-U.S. dispute

continued from page six

cone 0 Americanize our Canadian structure,”
said the local union president. “I call it an attack
on our sovereignty and the right of Canada to
govern itself and to make rules for itself.”

“I don’t know if the Canadian government and
our industry can withstand the time it takes to go
to ite international (trade) courts and win,” he
said.

In Port Alberni Local 1-85 the impact has also
been real. Somass Cedar shut down for at least
two weeks on August 17, while there remains
large volumes of cedar logs in the Alberni Inlet.

eyerhaeuser’s Alberni Pacific Division is
running on a half-shift, 160-worker basis. Many
of the laid-off may not see action for the rest of
2001. The mill has increased its shipments of
railway tie lumber into the U.S., a niche market.

Mearns said the company is going to do some
experimental mixing of cedar and white wood at
both APD and Somass.

In the bush, Weyerhaeuser is operating one
day at a time at Franklin River and Sproat Lake
division is set to go back to work in the fall.

But the bigger story for Local 1-85 is what will
happen to the Doman mill in Tahsis, which closed
this spring.

“We don’t know what is happening and the
longer the time goes, Doman is taking a very
strong hit with the CVD,” he said.

“The tariff issue could have further, deeper
effects to our logging crews, throughout all
companies, not just Weyerhaeuser, because they

all have to cut the less valuable hemlock logs
with the cedar logs,” he added.

Mearns said the union has to be vigilant about
free trade and not allow raw log exports to become
part of the equation.

In ineoe ellsy Local 1-3567 president Sonny
Ghag reports partial closure of Interfor’s
reece Cedar and Weyco New Westminster
Lumber Cedar. The latter mill went down for at
least two weeks on August 27. However, there
past been no impact yet on white wood mills in his

local.

“This countervailing duty is completely
unnecessary,” said Ghag. “We either have free
trade or we don’t.”

When the J.S. Jones sawmill in Boston Bar
shut down due to lack of quota in the U.S. market
in 2000, it was another incident that reinforced
the union’s call for free and equal access to
markets for all producers in Canada.

Today that mill is only operating on one shift.

¢ On August 17, workers at Weyco’s Canadian White Pine sawmill in Vancouver protested being
laid off due to the countervail. Local 2171 first vice president Gary Kobayashi told workers to stick
together and contact their members of parliament and MLA’s to keep the softwood lumber issue
front and centre.

Brother Ghag said that Interfor loggers,
including those at Spring Creek at the end of
Harrison Lake, have been laid off.

In Courtenay, B.C. Local 363 president Sy
Pederson said the the Fields sawmill is still
running, primarily cutting orders for the Japanese
market.

“Management is assessing what it will and will
pote able to do in the American market,” he
Said.

Meanwhile all of Weyco’s North Island
‘Timberland Division returned to work on August
22 as the company tries to drive costs down
further.

Brother Pederson said he was not surprised at
the level of the 19.3 per cent preliminary CVD.

operating under a crippling tariff.

e Thousands of millworkers in Canada have an uncertain future as companies are studying the costs of

“I think that (CVD) begs a question about
managed trade versus free trade,” he said. “Free
trade may be fine as a concept only when you’ve
got equal players and when the players are
prepared to be fair. The Americans aren’t
interested in fair trade or free trade.”

IN THE SOUTHERN B.C. INTERIOR

In Local 1-405, in southeastern B.C., president
Bob Matters, told the Lumberworker they have
already suffered layoffs at Tembec’s Cranbrook,
Canal Flats, and Elko divisions where some 500
members work. They could be back to work,
depending on markets.

The union has another 750 members working
at Pope and Talbot’s Castlegar mill, Slocan’s
Radium Hot Springs and Slocan divisions, Atco
Lumber in Fruitvale and Galloway Lumber.

“J think it’s all been said already, all we’re
hearing so far is they (forest companies) are
trying to figure out where they’re at — it’s still
not clear what is going to happening due to the
countervail issue,” he added.

In Kamloops Local 1-417 the only impact so far
has been layoffs at the Louisiana Pacific cedar
mill in Malakwa. The company plans to start
cutting white woods.

The local has two Weyco mills in Vavenby and
Kamloops, the latter which cuts fir for the Home
Depot market in the U.S. Brother Davies said
their operations like the Federated Coo-op mill in
Salmon Arm/Canoe, and Tolko mill in Louis
Creek and Merritt, depend on the state of the
market. Slocan has mills in Valemount and
Vavenby which are, as of yet, unaffected.

The Aspen Planer mill in Merritt is running on
two shifts.

Brother Davies predicts forest companies will
be looking at downsizing operations, especially in
areas where operations are concentrated.

He predicted smaller operators will get squeezed
out as they will be less able to foot the CVD.

In Kelowna Local 1-423, president Troi Caldwell
said Paragon Lumber, a small remanner in
Lumby, had to go down to one shift as some
customers Pecan wouldn’t pay additional funds
to cover the CVD.

Vernon Kilns, in Vernon, also is down to one
shift while two small non-I.W.A. mills in the
areas are shut down completely.

Other than that, for the time being, he said it’s
business as usual at nine mills, including major
operations at Riverside in Kelowna, Lumby and
Armstrong, Weyerhaeuser in O.K. Falls and
Princeton, and Pope and Talbot mills in Grand
Forks and Midway.

To Brother Caldwell the CVD is a “signal that
the Americans are extremely aggressive”
andpredicts that over the longer term there will
be a backlash by U.S. consumers.

“The problem is that it is going to take time for
that to happen and it’s hurting our members and
our companies in the meantime,” he added.

continued on page forty

E ee LUMBERWORKER/SEPTEMBER, 2001/7