{) ‘) vi thewestem,canadian iW oF Vol. XXXIX, No. 8 VANCOUVER, B.C. lumber worker 5c PER COPY —* SEPTEMBER, 1971 POLICY MEETING HELD IWA members employed by Canadian Forest Products Limited met in Vancouver September 17 to establish a uniform policy of action spearheaded at resolving the common problems which have long frustrated them. The hard-nosed and arrogant attitude of this employer has created an air of distrust and moral decay in em- ployee-employer relations, spokesmen at the meeting stated. : CFP policies in the area of safety were of major con- cern to the Locals represented at the meeting. Other con- tentious subjects discussed included: hiring discrimination, working foremen, spare boards, etc. : The Local Unions involved have requested the Regional Council to arrange a high-level meeting with top officers of CFP in an attempt to bring about a satisfactory solution to these problems. Further collective action will be coordinated by the Regional Council if these problems are not resolved. Any collective action necessary would involve all the Company’s large logging operations on the northern end of Vancouver Island and the Harrison Lake area, as well as its large sawmill, shingle mill and plywood operations in Haney, Vancouver and New Westminster. AT HUDSON BAY ASPENITE, SIMPSON SIGN NEW CONTRACTS Local 1-184 IWA members employed at the Aspenite Division of MacMillan Bloedel and the Simpson Timber Com- pany Limited, both located in’ Hudson Bay, Saskatchewan, have approved new agree- ments calling for wage in- creases of ninety cents an hour over the next three years. The increases will be paid in thirty cent stages with the first retroactive to September 1, 1971; the next on September 1, 1972; and the final increase September 1, 1973, which at that time will bring the base rate up to $3.72 an hour. classe g > third troisiéme class VANCOUVER, B.C. PERMIT No, 2075 STAN PARKER ... headed negotiations Substantial ‘gains were also negotiated in the fringe bene- fits of the two agreements and included: e One additional paid stat- utory holiday bringing the total to ten. e Improved vacation pay and schedules. eo Bereavement leave clause. e Improved group welfare and medicare benefits. In addition, there were a number of wage revisions on selected job classifications. Management of the two com- panies estimated that the wage increases alone would pump almost $1,200,000 into the economy of the Town of Hudson Bay over the three- -year contract. Heading up both sets of THE LUMBER WORKER RETURN REQUESTED 2255 Commercial Dr., Vancouver, 8.C. See “CONTRACTS” Page 3 AFTER LENGTHY WALK OUT: SPROAT LAKE FALLERS WIN POINT IN FALLING PROCEDURE DISPUTE Thirty Local 1-85 fallers em- ployed at the Sproat Lake Division of MacMillan Bloedel who walked off the job last July in protest over the Company’s decision to enforce a con- tentious WCB Safety Regula- tion, have won their point. KITIMAT BID REJECTED The: B.C. Labor Relations Board has rejected a bid by the Pulp and Paper Workers Union of Canada for certification to represent smelter workers at Kitimat ‘‘because the Board is satisfied that the Pulp Work- ers’ Union has falsely repre- sented membership in good standing.” This decision has left the certification of 1,800 workers employed by the Aluminum Co. of Canada at Kitimat, with the United Steelworkers of America. The Steelworkers’ repre- sentative said that his union is conferring with lawyer Thomas Berger as to whether or not to launch legal action against the Pulp and Paper Workers of Canada under the terms of the criminal code: The two unions and the employer have received word by mail of the decision of the Labor Relations Board which followed an investigation by Board inspectors of applica- tions for membership in the Pulp and Paper Workers’ Union by employees. The investigators found they had obtained statements from 11 Alcan smelter workers in which they denied signing applications for membership in the Pulp and Paper Workers’ Union, and denied paying any initiation or membership fees. Following a_ series of meetings between the Union, Management and the WCB, the Board’s Chairman Cyril White notified the IWA by telegram that, ‘‘Your members are assured that there will be no prosecution by the Workmen’s Compensation Board of any workman or any employer for having or permitted another EARL FOXCROFT Lake. Working under the one for one ratio only one Sproat Lake faller has died. However, in 1970 Company officials disregarding these statistics ordered the fallers to drop the one scaler-one faller ratio and adhere to a WCB falling regulation which they interpreted as meaning that no other worker should be within JACK MUNRO ... they convinced the Board workman to stand at the foot of a tree being felled when the faller' requests the presence of. such a workman for safety purposes in anticipation of pos- sible difficulty in falling procedures.” The Sproat Lake fallers have worked a ratio of one scaler for one faller since 1966 when the Company at that time in- stituted the new falling proce- dure as a safety measure. The fallers viewed the scheme with suspicion but were quick to adopt it following a marked decrease in the fatality rate. Local 1-85 President Earl Foxcroft who along with Regional 2nd Vice-President Jack Munro were responsible for convincing the Board to rescind its Regulation, stated that from 1961 to 1965 five -fallers were killed at Sproat 300 feet of the faller when he is working. . The fallers convinced that the Company was attempting to save money at the expense of their lives, flatly refused to obey the order. The dispute lay dormant until last Spring when the Company brought in a WCB inspector who backed up the Company’s interpretation of the Regulation. The fallers still refused to obey and in July when the Company forced the ee the men walked off the job. In the middle of August more fallers walked off the job in MacMillan Bloedel operations in support of the Sproat Lake fallers. A week later the Com- pany closed down the Sproat See ““FALLERS” Page 3 en. Se * GENERAL VIEW of the Annual Meeting of Local 1-184 IWA Saskatchewan. See page 4.