12

THE WESTERN CANADIAN LUMBER WORKER

SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER, 1974

Pre

;

BOB BLANCHARD

The Regional Officers take
this opportunity to welcome
the Delegates to our 37th
Annual Convention. During
this Convention we will discuss
and debate many resolutions
and reports, decisions will be
made that will guide the
Regional Council through the
coming year.

GENERAL

In this report the Officers
will attempt to highlight our
activities since the last Con-
vention. As you know Brother
Moore resigned September 30,
1974 to take a position as Vice
Chairman of the Labour Rela-
tions Board, consequently all
Officers ‘moved up neces-
sitating an appointment to the
8rd Vice President position.
Brother Bob Blanchard of
Local 1-217 was appointed.
Brother Fieber retired in Feb-
ruary and Brother Bob
Schlosser was appointed as
Secretary-Treasurer and both
are presently in these posi-
tions.

The Regional Officers have
had an extremely busy year
with negotiations in all areas of
the Regional Council, which
will be reported later on in this
report. In addition to the
negotiations the Officers have
attempted to become more
familiar with the problems in
other areas of our In-
ternational Union. To this end
we have visited all Regional
Councils and attended their
Conventions.

The Officers have estab-
lished two new Departments in
the past year, one being Public
Relations and the other Educa-
tion. There are sections in this
report dealing with both these

Departments.
As announced at the last
Convention of our In-

ternational Union, the Inter-
national agreed to pay for a
full-time Research Director to
work out of our office within
Regional Councils No. 1 and
No. 2. Brother Doug Smyth
started in this position in Janu-
ary of this year and has worked
very closely with all Locals of
the Regional Council. The
Officers are pleased with this
arrangement as it gives the
Region a constant supply of up-
to-date information and has
allowed the Officers to divorce
the education responsibilities
from the Research Depart-
ment and hire a_ full-time

educator.

. 3 a
WYMAN TRINEER
The Officers have also ac-
cepted invitations and have
spoken to various clubs,
student bodies and other or-

ganizations throughout the
year.

The Officers must report to
this Convention that the
Shingle strike in Local 1-217 is
still in progress. The industry,
during coast negotiations, at-
tempted to black-jack the
union into putting this dispute
into broad negotiations, thus
becoming part of the coast
settlement. The coast com-
mittee informed the industry
that this strike was not the
property of the Regional
Council and would not discuss
or consider it. However, a
meeting was arranged with
Local 1-217, but unfortunately
no settlement was reached. It
should be pointed out that this
strike has been in progress for
over 2 years. This Convention
should congratulate the
strikers for their determined
fight to establish a shorter
work week and the elimination
of piece work in the shingle
industry.

We must also report that we
have two other strikes in
progress at the time of the
writing of this report. These
are critical strikes and it is im-
portant to the organization that
they be won. The strike at
Meadow Lake in Local 1-184 is
over rate revisions. The em-
ployer absolutely refuses to sit
down and attempt to resolve
the dispute which has been in
progress for approximately 2
months. The other strike in
Local 1-324 at Swan River,
Manitoba, is an attempt to
achieve our first collective
agreement with an extremely
anti-union employer.

At the present time -the
Manitoba government has ap-
pointed an Industrial Inquiry
Commission to investigate the
dispute and hopefully they will
order the employer to sit at the
bargaining table and negotiate
and conclude a satisfactory

agreement.
The Officers have issued
appeals for financial

assistance for these strikes and
would urge all Locals to donate
on a continuous basis to assist
in easing the burdens of our
Brothers on strike.

While the purpose of an Of-
ficers’ report is to report to the
Convention the activities of the

Officers we would be remiss in

our responsibilities if we did
not mention the seriousness of
the unemployment affecting
our industry. The members of
our union seem to be the first
affected by tight money
policies of our own and foreign
countries. At the present time
we have approximately 8,000
members laid off which is an
intolerable situation.

There is a resolution at this
Convention from the Regional
Executive Board dealing with
this serious situation and we
urge the Delegates to give this
matter unanimous en-
dorsation.

RATE REVISIONS
— COAST
Rate revisions per se were
overshadowed by the time con-
suming Tradesmen’s rate revi-
sion negotiations. Months of
unsuccessful and fruitless

attempts to negotiate a
“satisfactory” settlement to

the trades revisions ended
abruptly with the Forest In-
dustry’s introduction of a
“final’’ offer.

The I.W.A.’s philosophy of
different rates of pay for dif-
ferent trades was and is, dia-
metrically opposed to that of
the pulp unions and this more
than money became the em-
ployer’s issue. On November
19,1973, F.I.R. proposed a
“‘wall’’ position which not only
reflected the pulp union philos-
ophy but fell far short of the
I.W.A.’s needs.

A request by the Regional
Council to Labour Minister Bill

_ King, for third party interven-
tion resulted in the appoint-
ment of Dr. Noel Hall.

Dr. Hall convened further
meetings and after hearing the
basic differences invited both
parties to submit briefs.

On February 6, 1974, the
Coast Negotiating Committee
submitted their brief to Dr.
Hall, the employers’ brief was
submitted on February 8th. On
February 22nd, 1974, Dr. Hall
handed down his non-binding
award. He, in essence, agreed
with our philosophy of different
rates for different trades and
recommended an across-the-
board increase for ‘‘all’’
tradesmen of 38¢ per hour, and
20e per hour for all ap-
prentices.

The 38c across the board
increase placed some I.W.A.
trades above the pulp trades

' and closed the gap on other

STAN PARKER
trades’ rates from 42%4c to
4lec.

RATE REVISIONS
— SOUTHERN AND

NORTHERN INTERIOR

Since the last Convention, we
have signed agreements re-
vising all trades’ categories by
38c per hour, power house
categories from 20c to 85c per
hour, revised oiler and first aid
categories. Revised almost all
logging categories ranging toa
maximum of 60c per hour. Re-
vised the plywood job evalua-
tion wage curve. Revised the
sawmill wage scale in the
Northern Interior (N.C.-
F.L.R.A., Northwood & Cana-
dian Forest Products opera-
tions). Revised the Sawmill
Job Evaluation wage curve in
the Southern interior, and im-
plemented job evaluation in
the Southern Interior resulting
in substantial upward re-
visions in the hourly rates of
pay for the pole yard
categories.

COAST NEGOTIATIONS
Forest Industrial Relations
Ltd. introduced a new concept
in their format for bargaining
this year. They increased the
size of their negotiating com-
mittee from the traditional
three to approximately twenty-
two in humber. Representa-
tives of most major companies
and the Officers of the Em-
ployers’ Advisory Board
participated as members of the
F.I.R. negotiating team.
Negotiations began with both
sides under the chairmanship
of new spokesmen. Under the
gavel of Brother Munro and
Keith Bennett, talks pro-
gressed at a favourable pace.
The I.W.A. Coast Negotiating
Committee acted with more
unanimity this year than ever
before. Differences were aired
in Committee and at all times a
united front was displayed
before management people.
As a result of this solidarity,
we were successful in ne-
gotiating some hard sought
and hard fought innovations

. into the total package.

The inclusion of a cost of
living clause was timely and
necessary. The establishment
of a ratio of 1c for every .35 rise
in the cost of living index gives
us one of the finest COLA
clauses in Canada.

The long sought after dental

_ plan also became a reality in

this set of negotiations. Al-
though we are unahppy with

BOB SCHLOSSER

" the cost-sharing aspect, we are

equally convinced that next
year’s negotiations will result
in a 100% employer paid plan.

Rate determination, or cate-
gory grouping of sawmill jobs
has resulted in many job cate-
gories receiving -additional
wage increases. It is hoped
that at the time this report is
read, the six pilot mills will
have been agreeably slotted.

After years of frustration, a
contractors and sub-
contractors clause was finally
signed. The degree of success
this clause will engender
depends strongly on the speed
in which each Local reacts.
Failure to act in due course
will belie the importance of the
clause and cause this clause to
lose all credence.

Although solidarity was dis-
played throughout negotiations
the Committee failed to deliver
a unanimous position on the
first recommendation of ac-
ceptance. It is worthy to note
that the two different views did
not évoke name calling or
public abasement.

SOUTHER INTERIOR
NEGOTIATIONS

1974 contract negotiations for
a master agreement in the
South produced essentially the
same settlement pattern as at
the Coast. 65¢ or 12%, COLA,
Dental plan, one more statu-
tory holiday, contracting and
sub-contracting clause, call
back clause, revision of the
plywood evaluation wage
curve, revision of the sawmill
evaluation wage curve, revised
miscellaneous categories,
revision of the logging wage
scale to establish uniform
industry-wide logging rates in
the South, clauses regarding
construction contracting and
permanent plant closure, im-
provements in vacations with
pay, health and welfare, travel
time and other contract
benefits.

The Association (IFLRA)
did dig in on the revision of the
sawmill wage curve, and Con-
tractors and Sub-contractors
Clause and it became neces-
sary to strike the industry to
move them off their final posi-
tion. The Negotiating Com-
mittee was however able to
keep the Industry’s Committee
at the bargaining table and
some 30 hours after the strike
was called a Memorandum of
Agreement that included an

See “OFFICERS” p-13