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F O R E S T A N D E N V I R O N M E N T Firing up efforts to save the woods? Filmon report calls on B.C. government to take action on interface fires FOLLOWING THE DRAMATIC forest fires of 2003, the B.C. government appointed former Manitoba premier Gary Filmon to head up a review team to analyze how effective the province’s emergency response was and what can be done to reduce the risks of future fires, especially in interface areas, where residential properties and forests meet. After meeting with various stakeholders and receiving some 400 submissions, Filmon issued the 2003 Firestorm Review in February. The government, which has slashed the forest protection budget by 32 per cent, eliminating 35 per cent of jobs in that area, and has since taken $2 million out of the fire preparedness budget, nonetheless is depending on the review to steer things in the right direction. Last year 2,500 fires burnt up a record Jobs at the Cowichan Bay lumber mill and other solid wood operations are an important part of the IWA Canada. Doman getting a restructuring Bondholders agree to a plan which should maintain jobs A B.C. SUPREME COURT has approved a restructuring plan that will see the financially insolvent Doman Industries get closer to a complete restructuring by the end of July. On June 11, the judge ruled that there would be a transfer of Doman’s assets to unsecured creditors who would agree to refinance secured bank notes. The result is that a new outfit named Western Forest Products Inc. will be publicly listed on the Toronto stock exchanges. Doman, (which also owns Doman- Western and Western Forest Products) had over $1 billion in debt and was in bankruptcy proceedings since late 2002. It agreed to a temporary restructuting deal organized the Brascan subsidiary, the Tricap Restructuring fund. About 70 per cent of Doman’s annual cut is held on Vancouver Island, where it employs Local 1-80, Local 1-85 and Local 2171 members. Most of the 16 | THE ALLIED WORKER JUNE 2004 25,000 hectares in B.C. Thirty-seven of those fires were in urban areas, the most dramatic which was in Kelowa. IWA Local 1-417 lost the Tolko Louis Creek mill and 180 jobs. The Filmon report says more must be done to eliminate the fuel buildup on forest Gary Filmon floor, especially in interface areas. See http://www.2003firestorm.gov.bc.ca/fi restormreport/default.htm for the reports recommendations which coverprevention and preparedness, emergency responses, emergency management, command and control, communications and public education, firefighting resources, evacuations, and post emergency recovery. wood that it cuts come from three tree farm licenses that contribute to around 1.1 billion cubic meters of timber harvests per year. The company has licenses on North Island (in the Port Hardy area), the Gold River area, southwestern Vancouver Island, the North Coast (in the Inside Passage, south of Kitimat, north of Bella Bella and north of Bella Coola. There are also various crown licenses scattered through the mainland coast and coastal/interior fringe. “Our members have been facing a lot of uncertainly over the past year and a half,” says Duncan Local 1-80 president Bill Routley, whose local represents about 500 Doman mill workers and loggers. “Unfortunately the Domans, which generally respected and worked with organized labour and the IWA over the years, will no longer have control. What could happen down the road is anybody’s guess.” Founder Herb Doman started the PHOTO COURTESY B.C. FOREST SERVICE Last summer B.C. forest fires claimed over 250,000 hectares. PHOTO BY NORM GARCIA company with one logging truck in 1955 and grew Doman into a major player in logging, sawmilling and pulp. Local 1-85 president Monty Monty Mearns Mearns says that local members working for Doman were called back in the spring and are very concerned about two issues: the future of Western and where the 20 per cent clawbacks will hit the membership. Local 2171 president Darrel Wong says loggers on the Island and Coast and the mill crew in Vancouver have been told that it will be business as usual. He says there could be some longer term benefits if financial stability is achieved and hopes that both sides can develop positive labour relations. Town of Hudson Bay shows doubts about Weyerhaeuser Since the February 26 announcement that Weyerhaeuser is selling its Hudson Bay plywood plant and Carrot River sawmill, there have been many questions asked about the company’s commitment to workers and communities in Saskatchewan. The Town of Hudson Bay has pointed out publicly in a local newspaper that, since it bought out MacMillan Bloedel in 1999, Weyco has broken several commitments. The latest move to sell the two mills has eroded community confidence in the major industry. The Town has offered to work with the government and the company to secure and buyer/operator for the plywood mill and ensure long-term sustainability. The company says that the operations no longer fit into their “strategic focus.” IWA Local 1-184 president Paul Hallen says Weyco move to sell-off the mills has caught the union, workers and communities off-guard. “For us the number one Paul Hallen job is to work with all parties to ensure, in a positive way, that a purchaser is found and the mills continue to provide steady employment in the communities,” he said. Following the startup of OSB 2000 in Hudson Bay, Weyco closed OSB 1000, despite a projection, based on Weyco business studies, to run it in some capacity for 10 years. Despite obligations under its Forest Management Agreement to maximize social and economic benefits to communities, Weyco has by-passed local suppliers, cut logging, forestry and woodlands employment and has eliminated long time contractors. “A lot of the folks in the Hudson Bay and Carrot River areas, even business people, don’t take Weyerhaeuser’s word seriously any more,” says Hallen.
H E A L T H A N D S A F E T Y Mechanic killed working on wheel change on Letourneau On March 20 heavy duty mechanic Don Greenley of Chilliwack died instantly when a tire he was removing from a Letourneau log loader exploded and struck him. Don was working as a sub-contractor at log dump in Harrison, WCB spokesperson Donna Freeman said that an investigation showed that while Don was taking off the lug bolts, the tire assembly struck him after the tire Don Greenley separated from the outer rim. “This is a terrible tragedy and we extend our condolences to Brother Greenley’s family,” said then IWA president Dave Haggard, who noted that terrible accidents are still taking place despite the formation of a Forest Industry Safety Task Force. “We must respect those workers by making sure we do everything within our power to make our workplaces safer.” Shayne Browne, a mechanical supervisor at the nearby Cattermole Timber yard, told the Chilliwack Progress that his company usually gets Cal Tire to do most (heavy) tire work. “They have the proper tools to do the work and they do it every day,” he added. Don worked at Cattermole and had been in and out of the union over the years. PHOTO COURTESY LEE TOOP - MERRITT NEWS Injured IWA member on stretcher. Mill worker hurt during dispute over contracting out issues The forest industry is one of the most dangerous places to work. Now it appears that, at the Aspen Planers mill in Merritt, B.C., danger also extends itself to the picket line. While protesting against their employers’ continued contracting out of IWA bargaining unit jobs on May 10, witnesses say the mill’s owner was the person who dumped a load of wood chips on a pick-up containing four protesters. In the load there was a short log piece which struck one of the Local 1-417 members, who was taken to the hospital and treated for injuries. “We have never heard of such a careless action,” says local president Joe Davies. “This is an unbelievable attack on workers who mistrust the employer who has laid people off and replaced them with contractors. “ The RCMP have laid four criminal charges against a company official. Standing by the Forest Safety Task Froce Health and Safety Accord are various stakeholders. For the IWA were national safety director Ron Corbeil (second from left), national IWA president Dave Haggard (fifth from right) and IWA national safety council chairman Les Veale (second from right). IWA GIVES FULL SUPPORT TO JOINT SAFETY INTIATIVE IN B.C. A task to improve safety IT TOOK A WORKING GROUP of forest industry stakeholders, known as the Forest Safety Task Force, about seven months (with six meetings and broad consultation) to come up with a significant “report and action plan” to eliminate fatalities and injuries in B.C. forest. The task force, of which the IWA is a major stakeholder on, also includes major industry players, contractors (including falling contractors), the Workers Compensation Board of British Columbia, and industry associations, including the Truck Loggers Association. The union has played a strong role in contributing to the report which sets a goal to cut down on deaths and serious injury by 50 per cent in the next three years. During the past ten years, over 250 forest workers have been killed on the job. The industry average about 9 death per 100,00 workers – a rate which is about ten times higher than the average in the industrial sectors. The serious injury The IWA’s Dave Haggard rates is six times higher than the average industrial sector. “Forest workers deserve to come home safely every day, just like anybody else,” said then IWA national president, who sat on the Task Force along with the union’s national safety director Ron Corbeil and national safety council chairman Les Veale. “I’m encouraged by the commitment expressed by the members of the task force and now what needs to happen is for all of us to make sure we implement change on the ground.” The task force makes 20 recommendations. Those recommendations include a sector-wide safety accord which was signed by the stakeholders on February 23. The accord calls for a change in attitude, procedures and operation, to result in a new culture around safety. It also calls for a forest industry owned and operated health and safety infrastructure to include worker pre-qualification and safety certification of forest companies, contractors and independent contractors. That means ensuring that all contractors who compete for bids must be qualified. Uniform training and certification standards are a must along with financial incentives for those companies that will operate according to the sector-wide model. At the press conference unveiling the report and action plan, Brother Haggard applauded the committee “because they cross all boundaries.” He said that the report must be put into action and not on the shelf. “I know that people on the Task Force are not about to let that happen,” added Haggard, who added that the challenge PHOTO BY NORMAN GARCIA is to implement the program “while still respecting the rights of workers.” Then Slocan and now Canfor president Jim Shepherd said he is not prepared to see the report fade away. He said the bottom line is that safety in the sector won’t change for the better unless there is a significant change in culture. To make that shift, he said, there must be acknowledgement that the industry has a bias to discount safety. Shepherd said resources, time and leadership are needed to make the shift. “As one in this industry, I am commited to that.” To ensure rigourous implementation, WCB chair Doug Enns said an Operations Team, which will consult with the forest industry, will be formed to implement the Task Force’s recommendations. “We know this is a tall order. We know it’s going to take ongoing commitment from all facets and corners of the industry...” International Forest Product’s Keith Rush, a key advisor to the task force, related a personal story. In October 2002 his close friend and Local 2171 member Dal Shemko died in an accident when setting up a heli-pad in the Elaho Valley. Mr. Rush had to inform Dal’s wife and kids of the accident. He said that experience really drove home the impact of a fatality on loved ones – an impact which he didn’t fully understand before. He said the task force report is “a tremendous challenge to the mind-set of all of us in the room, of how we view health and safety in the workplace.” He added that there has to be a focus on on-line ownership of safety and accountability. “We’ve got to be held accountable when it comes to safety performance and safety results.” Graham Bruce, the B.C. Minister of Skills and Training Development said that, as he grew up in a forest-dependent community (Duncan), he too simply had learned to accept that people would die in forest industry accidents. He said that when the forest sector is equated with other sectors, “it’s outrageous that we’ve allowed, for this long, this many deaths in the forestry sector.” Bruce said the time for action has come. “Let’s hope that six months and a year from now, we can start to see some real serious changes in attitudes and we can see actually safety starting to emerge in the forest sector.” JUNE 2004 THE ALLIED WORKER | 17
Page 1 and 2: MEETING WITH STEEL • PAGES 10-11
Page 3 and 4: Union wins precedent setting case o
Page 5 and 6: Companies are pulling the plug on I
Page 7 and 8: 363 C OURTENAY BC Interfor crew loo
Page 9 and 10: O R G A N I Z I N G A N D G R O W T
Page 11 and 12: Above, were workshop participants i
Page 13 and 14: “As part of the United Steelworke
Page 15: L A B O U R A N D E C O N O M Y PHO
Page 19 and 20: A R O U N D T H E L A B O U R M O V
Page 21 and 22: B E N E F I T S A N D P R O G R A M
Page 23 and 24: Thanks Brother Arcand for all your

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