The Militant (logo)  

Vol. 71/No. 36      October 1, 2007

 
Canada forestry workers firm in two-month strike
 
BY BEVERLY BERNARDO
AND NED DMYTRYSHYN  
PORT MCNEILL, British Columbia—“We have to fight to hang on to our unions because without them, we have nothing,” said striking forestry worker Lois Williams, a scaler and a member of United Steelworkers (USW) Local 1-2171, in a September 15 interview.

Since going on strike July 21, 7,000 unionists on the British Columbia coast have maintained picket lines. They have affected the operations of Island Timberlands, Interfor, and 31 other companies represented by Forest Industrial Relations Ltd. (FIR). The workers are striking to end management’s ability to impose shifts and use nonunion contractors. Safety is also a key issue—43 forestry workers were killed on the job in 2005.

“The companies just want to push production,” said logger Wendy Clarke. “All they care about is their shareholders, not the workers.” Clarke, co-chair of Local 1-2171’s strike committee in Powell River, had just returned from monitoring the movement of log booms by nonunion contractors hired by Interfor in Jervis Inlet. “We will be continuing and stepping up these actions,” she said.

The USW is also fighting to bring the expiration date of the coastal workers’ contract in line with that of the interior forestry workers. Strikers explain this will enable them to fight as one union—something they lost with a 2003 government-imposed contract. “We need to get that common date back in 2009,” said Jack Miller, a logger and union safety representative here in Port McNeill.

In addition to maintaining picket lines, the strikers have carried out actions on Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast. USW members and spouses blocked a nonunion truck for Western Forest Products (WFP) from taking lumber in Port Alberni September 12. More than 300 rallied outside the WFP headquarters in Duncan September 7 to demand FIR get back to the bargaining table. WFP is the largest player in FIR.

In Port McNeill, more than 100 strikers and their supporters marched September 5. A September 25 action is aimed at getting women out to show support for the strike. Union members want to counter antistrike material sent by the companies to union households.

For further information, contact USW Local 1-2171 in Port McNeill at (250) 956-4312.  
 
 
Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home