Nanaimo Rally Supports "No Concessions" Stand of Forestry Workers
- Barbara Biley -
Rally in Nanaimo, November 6, 2019, in support of striking coastal
forestry workers.
Several hundred people from throughout Vancouver
Island gathered outside the offices of Western Forest Products (WFP) in
Nanaimo on November 6 to demand that the company return to negotiations
with the union. The workers, members of United Steelworkers' Local
1-1937, have repeatedly rejected WFP's attempts to impose major
concessions which would eliminate wages and working conditions that
have been achieved over a period of more than 40 years.
The crowd was full of banners and placards of many
unions. Health care workers, ferry workers, teachers and CUPE education
workers, longshore workers, several island MPs and many others were out
in force to support the just stand of the forestry workers. These
workers have been standing firm throughout the strike for a negotiated
contract that respects their rights and dignity, both in terms of
conditions previously agreed to and an end to unilateral anti-worker
actions of the company, many of which were facilitated by a contract
imposed through binding arbitration in 2004. Following the very loud
and spirited rally outside the WFP offices there was a short march to
Nob Hill Park where lunch was served.
USW Local 1-1937 president Brian Butler addresses rally, November 6,
2019.
The rally was addressed by several Steelworkers'
leaders including USW Local 1-1937 president Brian Butler, District 3
Director Steve Hunt, Fraser Valley Local 2009 president Al Bieksa, and
BC Federation of Labour president Laird Cronk and others. The message
from the speakers and the workers was clear, that WFP's refusal to
negotiate and its repeated attempts to stall, bully and intimidate
through charges at the Labour Board are recognized as attacks on the
rights of all and condemned by workers from all sectors and the broad
public.
So far there have been four mediation sessions.
The last of these ended October 20 when, in spite of the union amending
its demands, the company refused to move off of any of its
concessionary demands. At least twice the company has written directly
to the workers attempting to bypass and undermine the union's
bargaining committee. The latest such action was a letter from WFP CEO
Don Demens to individual workers on October 31 "offering" binding
arbitration and a similar letter to the union from WFP bargaining
committee spokesperson Roger MacDougall. The bargaining committee's
immediate and firm response to that was a definite NO!
 In the bargaining
bulletin issued November 1 the bargaining committee explained "The last
time the Local Union faced Binding Arbitration over its Collective
Agreement was in 2004, when the BC Liberal Government imposed Binding
Arbitration that forced the Union to accept a substandard Collective
Agreement which was gutted of many rights the Union had gained over
decades of collective bargaining [...]" Workers were "forced to accept
the employers' unilateral right to implement alternate shifts, which
previously had to be agreed upon between the Parties. This has created
untold hardship for members forced to work on fatigue-inducing, unsafe
work schedules" and "were also forced to accept whole logging
operations being contracted out through what is now known as the
Woodlands Letter of Understanding, which led to the introduction of
many new contractors and subcontractors, many of which created all
kinds of labour relations problems for our members and the Local Union.
Their rampant use became a divide and conquer strategy for the
Industry."
The bargaining committee stated, "Many other
negative results came from the imposed 2004 contract that still plagues
the membership to this day, as a consequence of Binding Arbitration.
Repeating mistakes of the past is not the way we will reach a
Collective Agreement [...] Binding Arbitration is completely
unacceptable. We can never give up control of our Collective Agreement
rights to another third party as history does not lie. We have
witnessed the damage and suffered the consequences of this dangerous
process and could never agree to it."
The day after the rally the union was notified
that WFP had agreed to return to mediation. The parties met on November
12, 16 and 17 until WFP decided that it would not respond to the
union's last offer on November 17 and mediation ended.
WFP is one of a handful of forest monopolies that
dominate the industry in BC and have benefitted from provincial
government policies that have permitted them to make record profits
from logging and manufacturing. WFP operates on the coast, mainly on
Vancouver Island. While closing mills in BC and shipping raw logs
overseas and shipping product to mills in the U.S., Western Forest
Products has purchased two sawmills in Arlington and Vancouver,
Washington since the beginning of 2018. WFP is the main player in the
coastal section of the forest industry, with both logging operations
and mills in Cowichan Bay, Chemainus, Ladysmith, Duke Point and Port
Alberni. The company recently closed the planer mill at its Saltair
Division in Ladysmith. Unfinished lumber is now taken to the two mills
in Washington to be planed as a means of getting around tariffs.
Over the last five years the company has reported
record profits from the added value created by forestry workers
employed by Western and subcontractors, without regard for the
well-being of the workers, including their safety on the job and going
to and from the job. The current efforts to impose concessions in
wages, benefits and working conditions and to increase subcontracting
so as to weaken the organization of the workers to defend their rights,
have earned them condemnation from not only the forestry workers but
from workers and local communities throughout the region.
This article was published in
Number 28 - November 27, 2019
Article Link:
Nanaimo Rally Supports "No Concessions" Stand of Forestry Workers - Barbara Biley
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
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