5 Oct 2011 – Federated Co-op
Steelworkers Overwhelmingly Endorse New Collective Agreement
United Steelworkers from both the Federated Co-op Sawmill and
Plywood plant turned up in strength and overwhelmingly voted to
accept a new collective agreement that can only be described as
Industry Pattern PLUS. The Forest Industry pattern agreement alone
provided significant gains for Forest workers in BC. In addition to
the Industry Pattern, Co-op USW members will also receive
significant retroactive pay and a $500 signing bonus at ratification
and again in 2013.
 Click
here to view in pdf format. [top]
25 Aug 2011 – Interfor
Workers Conclude Negotiations
The Grand Forks sawmill workers ratified their collective
agreement last week after nearly two years in negotiations.
International Forest Products Ltd. (Interfor) and the United
Steelworkers Union finalized their contract wording two weeks ago,
and on Friday, Aug. 19 the workers voted with a 76 percent majority
to accept the new agreement. “The pattern followed the Southern
Interior master agreement,” said Bruce Gardner, union representative
for the Steelworkers. “For the most part negotiations went rather
quickly and smoothly, although there was a couple of issues that did
slow it down at the end.”
For more of this
Boundary Sentinel online news story,
click here.
Click
here to view in pdf format. [top]
9 Aug 2011 – Federated Co-operatives
Ltd. & Local 1-417 Make Bargaining Progress
Your Bargaining Committee spent a long day today bargaining with
Federated Co-operatives management. With the Parties finally at the
bargaining table, we were able to come to agreement on the majority
of the industry pattern. Although significant progress was made, a
number of parts of the industry pattern remain outstanding. A few
company demands are still on the table as well.
Click
here to view in pdf format. [top]
12 Jul 2011 – BC Logger Receives
$54,500 For Getting Hit While Picketing
A picketing forestry worker has received a $54,500 out-of-court
settlement after a company manager drove through the picket line and
struck him with a company vehicle. In 2007, Ivan Campbell was
striking in Haida Gwaii, British Columbia as part of the coastal
forest industry strike by the United Steelworkers. Acting logging
manager David Alan Trim drove his vehicle through the Western Forest
Products (WFP) picket line, hitting Campbell. Campbell received
soft-tissue injuries but was able to return to work at the end of
the strike, three months later. Trim was charged with driving
without attention and due care. On behalf of Campbell, the
Steelworkers pursued civil action in B.C.’s Supreme Court. Before
the case was heard, though, the Insurance Corporation of B.C.
settled with Campbell.
For more of this
Canadian Labour Reporter online news story,
click here.
Click
here to view in pdf format. [top]
19 May 2011 – Steelworkers Ratify
Four-Year Agreement with IFLRA in Southern Interior
BURNABY, BC, May 19 /CNW/ - United Steelworkers (USW) members
employed by Interior Forest Labour Relations Association (IFLRA)
member companies in the BC southern interior have ratified a
four-year collective agreement, retroactive to July 1, 2009. Members
in USW Local 1-405 Cranbrook, Local 1-417 Kamloops and Local 1-423
Kelowna voted in majority in favour of the agreement that was
reached on April 21, 2011. The agreement provides union members with
enhanced job security language that finally addresses the exclusion
of working foreman from bargaining unit work, improved contract
language surrounding permanent and/or partial closure of
manufacturing operations, and a long-overdue trades rate adjustment
for Tradesmen and Power Engineers. The IFLRA-USW agreement builds on
the pattern items that were negotiated in earlier rounds of
bargaining when the union concluded deals with Canadian Forest
Products, West Fraser and Council on Northern Interior Forest
Employment Relations.
For more of this
Canadian Newswire online news story,
click here.
Click
here to view in pdf format. [top]
21 April 2011 – Steelworkers, IFLRA
Reach Tentative Deal for Forest Workers
BURNABY, BC, April 21 /CNW/ - The United Steelworkers (USW) has
concluded a tentative agreement with Interior Forest Labour
Relations Association (IFLRA) after 2˝ days of B.C. Labour Relations
Board mediation in Vancouver. Both parties requested the Labour
Relations Board's assistance late last week after talks broke down,
resulting in the Steelworkers serving 72-hour strike notice to the
IFLRA. After nearly three days of talks, mediator Mark Atkinson
found the common ground between the parties needed for a settlement.
Talks concluded at 4 a.m. Thursday. Members of USW Locals 1-405
Cranbrook, 1-417 Kamloops and 1-423 Kelowna will vote on the
agreement over the next three to four weeks. USW Wood Council Chair
Bob Matters says full details of the tentative agreement will be
provided to union members at a series of ratification meetings in
the weeks ahead.
For more of this
Canadian Press online news story,
click here.
Click
here to view in pdf format. [top]
18 April 2011 – Canada forestry
sector workers say ready to strike
Vancouver (Reuters) — Forestry workers in British Columbia's
southern interior region say they are ready to strike after failing
to agree a new contract in nearly two years of talks. A government
mediator was called in last week after the United Steelworkers union
filed 72-hour strike notice against member companies of the Interior
Forest Labor Relations Association. Any job action by the 4,000
union members in the region is on hold pending mediated talks this
week. A union official said the sides will know quickly if they can
break the impasse. "We've been at this for too long," Bob Matters,
chairman of the union's Wood Council said on Monday. The IFLRA was
not immediately available for comment. Its members include Tolko,
Tembec, Ainsworth Lumber, and several smaller firms. The workers
have been without a contract since June 2009.
For more of this
Reuters Canada online news story,
click here.
Click
here to view in pdf format. [top]
18 April 2011 –
Mediation Stalls Wood Strike in Southern BC
BURNABY, B.C. — Five-thousand members of the United Steelworkers
Union are in a legal strike position at a dozen forest companies in
B.C.'s southern Interior. The workers have voted overwhelmingly in
favour of job action against the companies represented by the
Interior Forest Labour Relations Association. But Steelworkers wood
council chairman Bob Matters says the two sides have requested
mediation, with talks set for Tuesday and Wednesday of this week.
That prevents any strike or lockout until two days after either side
asks the mediator to book out, pushing any job action to the end of
the week at the earliest.
For more of this
MetroNews online news story,
click here.
Click
here to view in pdf format. [top]
15 April 2011 –
Forest Workers Poised To Strike After Vote
Interior forestry workers are poised to strike, a move that could
shut down several area mills, including the Tolko sawmill at Heffley
Creek. Marty Gibbons, the president of United Steel Workers Local
1417, said workers voted 95 per cent in favour of a strike three
weeks ago, to protest the slow pace of negotiations with the
Interior Forest Labour Relations Association, the management group
representing employers. Gibbons said the Interior group of workers
has been without a contract since 2009. Employers in other parts of
the province, including the north, the coast and the Kootenays, have
signed agreements with their workers identical to what has been
proposed locally.
For more of this
Kamloops Daily News online news story,
click here.
Click
here to view in pdf format. [top]
31 March 2011 –
British Columbia Labor Dispute Spells Trouble and Opportunity for
Lumber Companies
Forest product lumber and plywood sawmills in British Columbia's
Southern Interior could be in for a nasty labour dispute and work
stoppage. An extended strike could hit several private lumber and
plywood companies, but also the B.C. interior sawmill operations of
Weyerhaeuser (WY) and Tembec (TMBCF.PK). Conversely, any loss of
southern interior plywood production could benefit West Fraser
Timber's (WFTBF.PK). It operates three plywood mills, including the
Williams Lake and Quesnel operations in the central and northern
regions of the province.
For more of this
Seeking Alpha online news story,
click here.
Click
here to view in pdf format. [top]
30 March 2011 –
Local forestry workers vote in favour of strike
Forestry workers across the region sent a clear message to
employers last week by voting 95 per cent in favour of strike
action. With this strike mandate from the members, union
representatives will be returning to the bargaining table today in
hopes that the IFLRA, the employment group representing interior
forest companies such as Aspen Planers, Aspen-Industries and Tolko,
will pay attention and grant local workers the same contract it
granted employees in the north, said Marty Gibbons, United
Steelworker president of the Local 1-417. “Whether we strike or not
is going to be up to the companies,” said Gibbons. Gibbons said
about 80 per cent of the union members from Clinton, B.C. to
Cranbrook, B.C. turned out for the vote that was completed over the
last two weeks. Of the 80 per cent of voters, 95 per cent voted in
favour of a strike.
For more of this
Merritt Herald online news story,
click here.
Click
here to view in pdf format. [top]
28 March 2011 –
Steelworkers Approve Strike Mandate in Southern Interior Forest
Industry
BURNABY, BC, March 28 /CNW/ - Members of United Steelworkers
(USW) Locals 1-405, 1-417 and 1-425 have voted 95 per cent in favour
of strike action, if necessary, to back up demands in collective
bargaining with member companies of the Interior Forest Labour
Relations Association (IFLRA). Balloting was conducted in the
Thompson-Nicola, Okanagan and Kootenay regions last week. USW Wood
Council chair Bob Matters says the union and the IFLRA will be
meeting on March 30 in Kelowna. "With our strike mandate, our
membership has put the IFLRA on notice that enough is enough and
that time is running out for an agreement to be reached," says
Matters. "Our bargaining committee intends to bring all of our
outstanding issues to the table with the IFLRA in order to reach a
timely resolve."
For more of this
CNW Canadian Newswire online news story,
click here.
Click
here to view in pdf format. [top]
25 March 2011 –
Talks To Resume As Forest Workers Vote In Favour Of Strike Action –
Union says members are frustrated over unsigned contract
There's been a big boost for the union negotiating on behalf of
forestry workers in the southern interior. The Kelowna local
president of the United Steelworkers Union, Bruce Gardner, says the
24-hundred members have voted 95 percent in favour of strike action.
"That is huge," says Gardner. "That number from the amount of
people, that is fantastic." "That shows the amount of frustration
out there," adds Gardner. Negotiations with industry bargainers are
set to resume next Wednesday for three days.
For more of this
am1150.ca Vernon News online news story,
click here.
Click
here to view in pdf format. [top]
25 March 2011 – Mill
workers could walk off the job
Hundreds of mill workers in our region could soon be walking the
picket line. Members of the United Steelworkers gave their union a
strike mandate Friday. Approximately 600 members from Tolko Mills in
Kelowna and Armstrong, the Veneer Plant in Lumby and the
Weyerhaeuser Mill in Princeton could walk off the job. The members
are part of a larger group in the Southern Interior who has been
without a contract for more than a year.
For more of this
Global CHBC Kelowna online news story,
click here.
Click
here to view in pdf format. [top]
25 March 2011 –
Forestry Workers Take Strike Vote - 24-hundred members, including
around 650 at Tolko have held a strike ballot
Forestry workers in the southern interior should know Friday whether
or not they're going out on strike. About 24-hundred workers have
spent the past two weeks casting ballots in response to outstanding
contract issues with employers, including Tolko Industries. Workers
at Tolko mills in Armstrong, Lumby and Kelowna are among those
who've voted. Union spokesperson Bruce Gardner says the contract
should have been resolved by now, especially with the lumber market
picking up. He says one outstanding issue concerns alternate shift
language, a matter that's been settled up north. Gardner says salary
issues have been resolved.
For more of this
am1150.ca Vernon News online news story,
click here.
Click
here to view in pdf format. [top]
23 March 2011 –
Local forestry workers take strike vote
Merritt forestry workers seeking similar contracts with workers in
Northern British Columbia cast their votes on Friday on whether or
not to strike along with other workers in Kamloops, Kelowna, the
Okanagan and Cranbrook. “The big issue here is that as union members
in Merritt and the Southern Interior we’re seeking equality with
workers in the North,” said Marty Gibbons, United Steelworker
president of the Local 1-417. Local 1-417 members have been without
a collective agreement for two years since theirs expired in 2009.
Since that time the union has completed agreements around the
province with Canfor, Conifer, West Fraser and coastal employers.
The only employment group left to ratify the pattern agreement
contract is the IFLRA, the employment group representing interior
forest companies such as Aspen Planers, Aspen-Industries and Tolko.
For more of this
Merritt Herald online news story,
click here.
Click
here to view in pdf format. [top]
15 March 2011 –
Forestry Strike Vote - Forestry workers in Kamloops, Merritt,
Kelowna and Cranbrook to conduct strike vote
Forestry workers in Kamloops, Merritt, Kelowna and Cranbrook are
poised to take a strike vote over the next 2 weeks. The President of
the United Steelworkers local 1-417 Marty Gibbons says since the
collective agreement expired almost 2 years ago agreements have been
signed with Canfor, Conifer, West Fraser and the coastal companies.
But Gibbons he says the IFLRA – the group representing
interior forest companies – has been resistant to accepting
similar terms as their northern counterparts. Gibbons says the union
is taking the next 2 weeks to ask for a strike mandate from their
members. Some of the mills that could be affected are Tolko Heffley
Creek, Tolko-Nicola, Aspen Planers, Aspen Industries, West Fraser
Chasm, a number of Tolko mills in the Okanagan, Tembec mills in the
Cranbrook area, as well as a number of single operation sites.
Click here for
CFJCTV.com video.
For more of this
CFJCTV.com Kamloops online news story,
click here.
Click
here to view in pdf format. [top]
14 March 2011 –
Forest Industry Strike Vote Ballots Shipping to Southern Interior
Locals
BURNABY, BC - Strike vote ballots are being shipped tomorrow to USW
Locals 1-405, 1-417 and 1-423 in the BC Southern Interior. Union
members who work for affiliate companies of the Interior Forest
Labour Relations Association (IFLRA) will be able to participate in
the strike vote at times scheduled by their local unions. "Our
locals plan to complete the balloting by March 24. We should have
all votes counted and back in by the following day - March 25," says
USW Wood Council chair Bob Matters. The BC Interior Bargaining
Committee is asking the membership for a strong strike vote to send
the IFLRA a message that the union will go on strike, if necessary,
to back up its bargaining demands.
For more of this
United Steelworkers District 3 online news story,
click here.
Click
here to view in pdf format. [top]
10 March 2011 –
Kelowna Tolko Sawmill Workers To Endorse Strike
Union officials expect Kelowna's sawmill workers to vote in favour
of a strike. About 3,000 forestry workers across the Southern
Interior have been without a contract for well over a year, with 200
employees at Tolko's saw mill in Kelowna among them. Local United
Steelworkers president Steelworkers Bruce Gardner just wants to get
the deal done. He says the union will try to get the companies they
work for back to the bargaining table by threatening to strike. He
expects a walkout to be approved in a landslide vote completed by
Friday, March 25th.
For more of this
HQ Kelowna.com online news story,
click here.
Click
here to view in pdf format. [top]
09 March 2011 –
West Fraser Ratifies Contract
After more than 18 months without a contract, West Fraser's 100 Mile
Lumber and Williams Lake Plywood division employees voted yesterday
in favour of the ratification of a collective agreement. Combined
with the results from other United Steelworkers (USW) Local 1-424
members in Quesnel, who voted in favour of the agreement last week,
slightly more than 60 per cent of members at the three divisions
combined voted to accept the four-year agreement. USW 1-425
president Bill Derbyshire says union members had been without a
contract since the previous agreement expired in July 2009.
For more of this
100 Mile House Free Press online news story,
click here.
Click
here to view in pdf format. [top]
28 February 2011 –
Interior Bargaining Committee & IFLRA to Meet in Kelowna
KELOWNA, BC - The United Steelworkers Interior Bargaining Committee
will be meeting with the Interior Forest Labour Relations
Association (IFLRA) on Wednesday here as it looks to kick-start
stalled contract negotiations. Talks broke off last November when
the employer association tabled a revised set of proposals including
concessions over a long-term contract. "This time around we hope the
IFLRA will be serious about bargaining a collective agreement," says
USW Wood Council chair Bob Matters, the union's bargaining committee
spokesperson.
For more of this
United Steelworkers District 3 online news story,
click here.
Click
here to view in pdf format. [top]
19 November 2010 – Steelworkers
Respond To Interior Forest Labour
Talks broke down Wednesday afternoon between the Interior Forest
Labour Relations Association, representative for most of British
Columbia’s southern interior lumber producers, and the United
Steelworkers Union. “After inviting the Union to resume bargaining
in late October, the southern interior company association has
now—after only a few days of meaningful bargaining—turned their
backs on the Union’s attempt to meet and maintain the northern
interior pattern agreement,” according to a USW bulletin obtained by
Madison’s. “Surprisingly, this third-rate employer position is
endorsed by the same IFLRA members Tolko Industries and West Fraser
Mills who consider the pattern fair for their northern interior
employees but sadly, too good for their southern interior
counterparts,” continues the USW bulletin. “The USW across the
province of BC has tried hard to enter a new and better labour
relationship model, and I hope that applies here as well,” said Pat
Bell, BC’s Minister of Forests, Mines, and Lands to Madison’s in a
phone interview. “It is in the best interests of everyone to have
labour stability,” continued Bell. “This may be a flurry of rhetoric
for now, I hope calmer heads will prevail in the future.”
For more of this
Madison's Lumber Reporter online news story,
click here.
Click
here to view in pdf format. [top]
18 October 2010 – The United Steelworkers,
West Fraser Timber Reach Tentative Deals
Moscow. Oct 18, 2010. /Lesprom Network/. The United Steelworkers
(USW) has concluded a series of tentative agreements with West
Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. in British Columbia's northern interior.
Members of USW Locals 1-424 and 1-425 members will vote on the
agreements over the next 2-3 weeks, as ForestTalk reported. USW Wood
Council Chair Bob Matters says full details of the tentative
agreements will be provided by the local unions. In general, terms
of the four-year contract, expiring on June 30, 2013, enhance job
security, improve health and welfare Benefits, stabilize the
long-term-disability plan and improve contract language regarding
permanent and partial closures of manufacturing operations.
For more of this
Lesprom Russia online news story,
click here.
Click
here to view in pdf format. [top]
15 October 2010 – United Steelworkers
Reaches Tentative Labour Deals With West Fraser
BURNABY, B.C. - The United Steelworkers union has reached a series
of tentative agreements with West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (TSX:WFT)
in the B.C. northern Interior. The union said Friday the deal
enhances job security, improves benefits, stabilizes the
long-term-disability plan and improves language regarding permanent
and partial closures of manufacturing operations. The four-year
agreement, which expires on June 30, 2013, includes a $250 signing
bonus and general wage increases in the third and fourth years.
Workers will vote on the agreements over the next two to three
weeks. The agreements reached Thursday for plywood plants in Quesnel
and Williams Lake followed deals at sawmills in Houston and Fraser
Lake on Wednesday.
For more of this
CB - Canadian Business online news story,
click here.
Click
here to view in pdf format. [top]
15 October 2010 – Steelworkers,
West Fraser Reach Tentative Deals in Northern Interior
BURNABY - The United Steelworkers (USW) has concluded a series of
tentative agreements with West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. in the BC
northern interior. Members of USW Locals 1-424 and 1-425 members
will vote on the agreements over the next 2-3 weeks. USW Wood
Council Chair Bob Matters says full details of the tentative
agreements will be provided by the local unions. The latest
agreements, reached Thursday for plywood plants in Quesnel and
Williams Lake, follow agreements reached for sawmills in Houston and
Fraser Lake on Wednesday. In the first week of October an agreement
was reached at the company's sawmill in 100 Mile House.
For more of this
CNW - Canadian News Wire online news story,
click here.
Click
here to view in pdf format. [top]
21 September 2010 – Coastal
forestry workers to receive wage increase in tentative deal
B.C. coastal forestry workers have landed a new collective
agreement after the United Steelworkers (USW) and Forest Industrial
Relations (FIR) – whose member companies employ some 400 USW members
– struck a tentative four-year deal on Monday. The agreement, which
covers logging operators in USW Locals 1-1937 and 1-85, is
retroactive to June 15 and is structured similar to a settlement
reached by Western Forest Products Inc. in August. In that deal, WFP
signed a four-year labour contract with the USW covering 2,400
Western Forest Products employees and contractors. The deal between
USW and FIR provides a 2% wage increase to workers in each of the
third and fourth years, enhanced job security and benefit
improvements.
For more of this
BIV Business Today online news story,
click here.
Click
here to view in pdf format. [top]
20 September 2010 – Western
Canadian forestry workers reach labor deal
VANCOUVER - Unionized forestry workers in British Columbia's
coastal region have reached a tentative four-year agreement with
firms bargaining through the Forest Industrial Relations
association, the United Steelworkers said on Monday. The contract,
which covers about 400 members of the union, is modeled on an
agreement reached earlier with Western Forest Products, which also
operates in the coastal region but bargains independently.
For more of this
FOX Business News online news story,
click here.
Click
here to view in pdf format. [top]
20 September 2010 – Steelworkers
and FIR reach tentative new four-year collective agreement
BURNABY, B.C. - The United Steelworkers and Forest
Industrial Relations have reached a tentative, four-year collective
agreement, the union said Monday. The deal includes two per cent
wage increases in the third and fourth years of the agreement as
well as enhanced job security and benefit improvements.
Forest Industrial Relations' member companies employ some 400
Steelworkers members. The tentative agreement, which covers members
of Locals 1-1937 and 1-85 who work in logging operations, is
retroactive to June 15 and is based on a pattern settlement reached
with Western Forest Products (TSX:WEF) in August.
For more of this
Canadian Press online news story,
click here.
Click
here to view in pdf format. [top]
20 September 2010 – Steelworkers,
FIR Reach Tentative Deal in Coastal Forest Industry
BURNABY - The United Steelworkers (USW) has reached a tentative,
four-year collective agreement with Forest Industrial Relations
(FIR), an association whose member companies employ some 400 USW
members. The agreement, which covers members of USW Locals 1-1937
and 1-85 who work in logging operations, is retroactive to June 15
and is based on a pattern settlement reached with Western Forest
Products in August. The USW-FIR deal provides two-per-cent wage
increases in each of the third and fourth years, enhanced job
security and benefit improvements. It includes new severance pay
provisions to protect members in the event of permanent partial
closures and works to stabilize the Long Term Disability Plan. The
agreement's full details will be provided to union members during
coming ratification votes.
For more of this
CNW - Canadian News Wire online news story,
click here.
Click
here to view in pdf format. [top]
25 August 2010 – USW workers
ratify contract with Western Forest Products
There should be peace in the woods of Coastal B.C. for the next
four years after the United Steelworkers Local 1-1937 voted to
ratify its contract with Western Forest Products. The union
announced Monday that a four-year collective agreement with Western
Forest Products Inc. had been ratified by the membership. The union
said 82.4 per cent voted to accept the proposal after the two sides
came to a tentative agreement in late July. "The collective
agreement gives the company and the union a four-year period of
industrial peace," Darrel Wong, President of USW Local 1-1937, and
member of the union's negotiating committee, said in a release.
"There are signs that the coastal forest industry is emerging from a
prolonged crisis, and hopefully in four year's time, our membership
will be able to benefit from a healthy forest industry." While the
deal does not include major wage gains, it also makes no
concessions. Wong also pointed out there were improvements in
contract language. Included in the deal, which expires in June 2014,
is a signing bonus and improvements in job security, health and
welfare benefits, a long-term disability plan and severance pay.
There are also general wage increases in the third and fourth year.
For more of this
Courier Islander online news story,
click here.
Click
here to view in pdf format. [top]
25 August 2010 – Steelworkers
reach agreement with WFP
Four years: Deal gives contract language improvement for
members, avoids concessions, but no big gains in salary -
Workers and management are hoping that four years of labour peace in
the woods will help boost the forest industry. The United
Steelworkers, Local 1-1937 and Western Forest Products Inc.
announced this week that they have reached a four-year collective
agreement. It was ratified resoundingly by the union membership, who
voted 82.4 per cent in favour of acceptance. About 2,400 Western
hourly and contractor employees are covered under this contract,
which will expire on June 15, 2014. "This is great news for our
employees, customers, investors, and communities," Western President
and CEO Steve Frasher said. "This is an important next step in our
continuing efforts to recover from the worst market conditions the
industry has experienced in a generation."
For more of this
Lexi Bainas The Citizen online news story,
click here.
Click
here to view in pdf format. [top]
25 August 2010 – WFP has 4-Year
Deal
Western Forest Products and the United Steelworkers Local 1-1937,
which represents the company's workers in Nanaimo, signed a
four-year contract on Friday. The membership voted by an 82.4%
majority to accept the proposed contract. Union president Darrel
Wong said he was "pleased" with the results of the ballot. "The
agreement gives the company and union a four-year period of
industrial peace," he said. "There are signs that the coastal forest
industry is emerging from a prolonged crisis and, hopefully in four
years time, our membership will be able to benefit from a healthy
forest industry."
For more of this
Nanaimo Daily News online news story,
click here.
Click
here to view in pdf format. [top]
24 August 2010 – 'Four years of
peace' as forest deal is endorsed
An overwhelming majority of union members working for Western
Forest Products Ltd. have voted to accept a new four-year collective
agreement. United Steelworkers Local 1-1937 announced yesterday that
82.4 per cent of the membership had approved the proposals in a
referendum. USW Local president Darrel Wong said it would lead to
four years of industrial peace. "There are signs that the coastal
forest industry is emerging from a prolonged crisis, and hopefully
in four years' time our membership will be able to benefit from a
healthy forest industry," he added.
For more of this
Canada.com Comox Valley Echo online news story,
click here.
Click
here to view in pdf format. [top]
24 August 2010 – WFP, 2,400
workers sign deal
There will be peace in the woods of Coastal B.C. for the next
four years after the United Steelworkers Local 1-1937 voted to
ratify its contract with Western Forest Products. The union voted to
accept the deal yesterday after the two sides came to a tentative
agreement in late July. According to a statement released by the
union, the deal does not include major wage gains, but it also makes
no concessions. Local president Darrel Wong also pointed out there
were improvements in contract language. Included in the deal, which
expires in June 2014, is a signing bonus and improvements in job
security, health and welfare benefits, a long-term disability plan
and severance pay. There are also general wage increases in the
third and fourth year.
For more of this
Victoria Times Colonist online news story,
click here.
Click
here to view in pdf format. [top]
23 August 2010 – Steelworkers
ratify agreement with Western Forest Products
BURNABY - United Steelworkers (USW) members have ratified a
four-year collective agreement with Western Forest Products (WFP).
The agreement, retroactive to June 15, 2010, covers some 2,400 Local
1-1937 and 1-85 members at sawmilling and woodlands operations on
Vancouver Island, the Mainland Coast and the Haida Gwaii. The
agreement provides two-per-cent wage increases in the third and
fourth years and new job security provisions in the event of
permanent partial closures. All unionized WFP and unionized
contractors operations will remain in the USW. The company will
grant the union access to non-union worksites for the purposes of
organizing.
For more of this
Canadian Manufacturing.com online news story,
click here.
Click
here to view in pdf format. [top]
23 August 2010 – Western
Reaches Agreement With United Steelworkers Union
VANCOUVER - Western Forest Products Inc. is pleased to announce
that a new four year labour contract with the United Steelworkers
union has been ratified by a majority of union members.
Approximately 2,400 Western and contractor employees are covered
under this contract which will expire on June 15, 2014. "This is
great news for our employees, customers, investors, and
communities," said President and CEO, Steve Frasher. "This is an
important next step in our continuing efforts to recover from the
worst market conditions the industry has experienced in a
generation," Frasher added.
For more of this
Wall Street Journal Marketwatch online news story,
click here.
Click
here to view in pdf format. [top]
23 August 2010 – Union
ratifies pay deal with Western Forest
United Steelworkers Union has ratified a four-year contract with
Western Forest Products, which includes new job security provisions
in the event of permanent partial closures. On July 26, Western
Forest said it reached a tentative deal with the United Steelworkers
on a contract that will apply to "the vast majority" of its
unionized workers and the terms of the deal would be announced would
be announced after the ratification votes. The new agreement, which
includes two-year wage freeze and annual pay hikes of 2 percent
after that, also gives the workers a hike in life insurance and
accidental death and dismemberment coverage.
For more of this
Reuters Canada online news story,
click here.
Click
here to view in pdf format. [top]
23 August 2010 – Steelworkers
Ratify Collective Agreement with Western Forest Products
BURNABY, BC – United Steelworkers (USW) members have ratified a
four-year collective agreement with Western Forest Products. The
agreement, retroactive to June 15, 2010, covers some 2,400 Local
1-1937 and 1-85 members at sawmilling and woodlands operations on
Vancouver Island, the Mainland Coast and the Haida Gwaii. The agreement provides wage increases of 2 per cent in the third
and fourth years and new job security provisions in the event of
permanent partial closures. All unionized WFP and unionized
contractors operations will remain in the USW and the company will
grant the union access to non-union worksites for the purposes of
organizing.
For more of this
CNW - Canadian News Wire online news story,
click here.
Click
here to view in pdf format. [top]
19 August 2010 – Steelworkers
Reach Tentative Agreement With CONIFER
Prince George - After over a year of bargaining, a tentative
agreement has finally been reached between CONIFER and the United
Steelworkers Union. CONIFER is an industry association that employs
around 2-thousand Steelworkers members in the North, including in
Prince George, Mackenzie, and Burns Lake. Steelworkers spokesman Bob
Matters says the tentative four-year agreement provides wage
increases in the third and fourth year. He says there's also
improvement concerning some of the language surrounding seniority
retention and plant closures. Members will vote on the contract in
the next few weeks.
For more of this
Headquarters Prince George online news story,
click here.
Click
here to view in pdf format. [top]
18 August 2010 – BC forestry
firms reach labour deal
A tentative labour agreement has been reached between forestry
companies and about 2,000 workers in northern British Columbia who
have been without a contract for more than a year, the union said on
Tuesday. Details of the four-year deal were not released, but it
includes wage increases in the last two years, job security measures
and the possibility of profit-sharing if lumber markets improve, the
United Steelworkers said. The union reached the agreement with
Conifer, which is the bargaining agent for several forestry
companies with mills in northern British Columbia, including Tolko
Industries, AbitibiBowater Inc, Conifex Timber Inc. and West Fraser
Timber Company.
For more of this
Vancouver Sun online news story,
click here.
Click
here to view in pdf format. [top]
17 August 2010 – Woodworkers
get pay raise in four-year deal with northern BC employers
PRINCE GEORGE - The union representing about 2,000 northern B.C.
forestry workers has reached a tentative contract agreement with its
employers. Bob Matters, United Steelworkers wood council chairman,
says the four-year agreement will give a general wage increase in
the third and fourth years of the contract. He says the agreement
also enhances job security, improves health and welfare benefits and
boosts contract language for closures of lumber manufacturing
operations.
For more of this
Weekend Telegram - Transcontinental Media online news story,
click here.
Click
here to view in pdf format. [top]
17 August 2010 – Steelworkers,
CONIFER Reach Tentative Deal in BC Northern Interior
PRINCE GEORGE - The United Steelworkers (USW) BC Interior
Bargaining Committee has reached a tentative agreement with the
Council on Northern Interior Forest Employment Relations (CONIFER),
an industry association that employs about 2,000 USW Local 1-424 and
1-425 members. USW Wood Council Chair Bob Matters says full details
of the tentative agreement will be provided to members at series of
ratification meetings in the weeks ahead. In general, the four-year
agreement, expiring on July 1, 2013, enhances job security, improves
health and welfare benefits, stabilizes the long-term disability
plan, and improves contract language on permanent and partial
closures of lumber manufacturing operations.
For more of this
CNW - Canadian News Wire online news story,
click here.
Click
here to view in pdf format. [top]
17 August 2010 – Labour deal
reached for Canadian forestry firms
VANCOUVER (Reuters) - A tentative labour agreement has been
reached between forestry companies and about 2,000 workers in
northern British Columbia who have been without a contract for over
a year, the union said on Tuesday. Details of the four-year deal
were not released, but it includes wage increases in the last two
years, job security measures and the possibility of profit-sharing
if lumber markets improve, the United Steelworkers said.
For more of this
Reuters Canada online news story,
click here.
Click
here to view in pdf format. [top]
16 August 2010 – WFP slow to act
on move plans
Western Forest Products’ management team could eventually be
relocated to various branch operations as the Duncan-based timber
giant sells its corporate headquarters. But the company isn’t making
any hasty moves before its Duncan Financial Building at 435 Trunk
Rd. is sold, said spokesman Gary Ley. “We’ve had a few offers and
we’re in the middle of evaluating those, but nothing’s been signed
or confirmed,” he said. Western’s 36,900-square-foot Duncan building
is listed with Colliers at $2.25 million.
For more of this
Nanaimo News Bulletin online news story,
click here.
Click
here to view in pdf format. [top]
11 August 2010 – Steelworkers
Trying To Get Mills Running
On Friday, July 23, the United Steelworkers held an information
meeting with its Lillooet members to give an update on the
bargaining situation with Aspen Planers. “This is the first
opportunity we’ve ever had in seven months to present the company’s
demands to our members,” said Marty Gibbons, President of the United
Steelworkers Local 1-417. According to a press release, the
Steelworkers only received a list of demands from Aspen Planers a
short time ago. One of the demands set forth by Aspen Planers is an
11-year wage agreement with no wage increases for at least four
years. The United Steelworkers have countered with a proposal for a
four-year agreement with a two-year wage freeze. The Steelworkers’
proposal includes deferrals of wages, holiday pay, stat holidays,
etc, – calculations amounting to a 20 per cent reduction of wages
according to the press release. These deferrals would be repaid
after the company starts making money, says Gibbons.
For more of this
Bridge River Lillooet News online news story,
click here.
Click
here to view in pdf format. [top]
02 August 2010 – New Deal for
WFP Workers – Ladysmith sawmill to start up again in September
A tentative agreement with Western Forest Products and the United
Steelworkers Union is hoped to bring stability for all involved,
says USW Local 1-1937’s president. “It creates stability and that’s
what’s needed right now: stability for our members and their
families,” Darrel Wong said of the tentative four-year agreement
announced July 26. “And for the marketplace, the stability that is
created by a longer-term agreement is also a benefit to employers.”
The four-year agreement replaces the contract that expired June 15
and is subject to ratification by members in the coming weeks.
For more of this
Black Press - Ladysmith Chronicle Krista Siefken news story,
click here.
Click
here to view in pdf format. [top]
29 July 2010 – Western Forest
Products reaches deal with workers
The Island’s largest employer in the forestry industry has reached
labour agreements with two unions. Western Forest Products has
signed an agreement with local 8 of the Pulp and Paper Workers of
Canada – the union that represents hourly workers at the Ladysmith
sawmill – and will be reopening the mill after Labour Day. A
tentative agreement with the United Steelworkers, which covers
between 2,500 and 3,000 forestry workers, the bulk of whom are on
the Island, has also been hammered out. Bob Matters, USW Wood
Council chairman, estimates that about 500 of the workers impacted
by the tentative agreement live in the Nanaimo area. The union is
recommending members vote in favour.
For more of this
Nanaimo News Bulletin Jenn Marshall news story,
click here.
Click
here to view in pdf format. [top]
27 July 2010 – Western,
Workers Reach New Agreement - Deal involving 2,400 forestry
employees seen as pattern contract
Coastal forestry workers belonging to two unions and employer
Western Forest Products have reached labour agreements. A tentative
four-year deal has been struck between Western and 2,400 United
Steelworkers members on Vancouver Island, B.C.'s mainland coast and
Haida Gwaii. "We strongly urge our members to accept this agreement,
which would become a pattern agreement for contract talks with other
coastal employers," USW Wood Council chairman Bob Matters said
yesterday. The agreement covers the vast majority of Western's
unionized hourly work force belonging to USW Locals 1-1937 and 1-85,
and the Council of USW Locals certified for certain divisions of
Western Forest Products, the company said.
For more of this
Victoria Times Colonist news story,
click here.
Click
here to view in pdf format. [top]
26 July 2010 – Western
Forest Products Announces Tentative Agreement with the United
Steelworkers Union
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, Jul 26, 2010 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX)
-- Western Forest Products today announced that it has reached a
tentative agreement with the United Steelworkers Union ("USW") on a
new four year labour contract. The contract, which covers the vast
majority of Western's unionized hourly workforce, includes USW
Locals 1-85 and 1-1937 and the Council of USW Locals certified for
certain divisions of WFP. The contract is subject to a ratification
vote by the USW members, which may take several weeks to complete.
Details of the tentative agreement are expected to be released
during the ratification process. The Company's last contract with
the USW, the Coast Master Agreement, expired on June 15, 2010..
For more of this
Wall Street Journal Marketwatch online news story,
click here.
Click
here to view in pdf format. [top]
26 July 2010 – United
Steelworkers and Western Forest Products reach deal on B.C. coast
BURNABY, B.C. - The United Steelworkers said Monday it has
reached a tentative agreement with Western Forest Products (TSX:WEF)
covering some 2,400 workers at sawmilling and woodland operations on
the B.C. coast. The union said the four-year agreement, which
expires in June 2014, enhances job security, improves health and
welfare benefits, stabilizes the long-term disability plan, improves
severance pay and rebuilds preferential hiring protections.
For more of this
Canadian Press online news story,
click here.
Click
here to view in pdf format. [top]
26 July 2010 – United
Steelworkers and Western Forest Products Reach Tentative Agreement
in BC Coastal Forest Industry
BURNABY, BC, - The United Steelworkers (USW) and Western Forest
Products (WFP) have reached a tentative agreement, covering some
2,400 USW Local 1-1937 and Local 1-85 members employed at WFP
sawmilling and woodlands operations on Vancouver Island, the
Mainland Coast and the Haida Gwaii. USW Wood Council chair Bob
Matters says full details of the tentative agreement will be
provided to members at a series of ratification meetings. Members in
isolated areas may be provided written details and mail-in ballots.
In general, terms the four-year agreement, expiring in June of 2014,
enhance the members' job security, improve Health and Welfare
benefits, stabilize the Long Term Disability Plan, improve severance
pay in the event of permanent or partial closures and rebuild
preferential hiring protections.
For more of this
CNW Group online news story,
click here.
Click
here to view in pdf format. [top]
The following Media Coverage stories are archived
separately. Click here for
viewing.
19 June 2010 – Talks Moving
Slowly at Savona
16 June 2010 – Aspen Planers
Negotiating with Steelworkers
12 May 2010 – Coastal
Bargaining Committee Meeting With Western Forest Products Today
15 March 2010 – Next Plant To Open
Could Be Canfor-Vavenby
10 March 2010 – Done Deal -
Workers Ratify Contract With Canfor
10 March 2010 – Canfor Deal
Ratified
March 2010 – USW ratify four-year
agreement with Canfor in BC interior operations
9 March 2010 – Canfor Reaches
Agreement With United Steelworkers
9 March 2010 – Union ratifies labor
deal with Canfor, company says
8 March 2010 – Tentative Contract:
Canfor & USW
5 March 2010 – United Steelworkers have
Started Voting on a Tentative Deal with Canfor
3 March 2010 – USW Makes Tentative
Deal with Canfor
23 February 2010 – Millworkers
Asked To Sign Deal
22 February 2010 – Canfor and
Steelworkers Reach Tentative Deal
20 February 2010 – Canfor and
Steelworkers Reach Tentative Deal
15 February 2010 – Progress Made
At Bargaining Table
14 January 2010 – United
Steelworkers Huddle with Canfor Today
04 DECEMBER 2009 – Steelworkers Look
To West Fraser In Contract Talks
01 DECEMBER 2009 – Steelworkers
Huddle To Strategize For Interior Group
16 OCTOBER 2009 – Forest Industry
Labour Showdown Looming Large
05 OCTOBER 2009 – What Kind of BC Do
We Want, Steelworkers Ask MLAs
30 SEPTEMBER 2009 – Forestry Talks
Get Underway Today in Prince George
17 SEPTEMBER 2009 – Sawmill Contract
Talks Set to Resume Next Week
14 SEPTEMBER 2009 – Steelworkers and
Forest Industry Contract Talks Resume Today
09 SEPTEMBER 2009 – Labour Talks
Resume for BC Interior Forestry Workers and Conifer
09 SEPTEMBER 2009 – Forestry Talks
to Resume Monday
09 SEPTEMBER 2009 – Western Canadian
forestry labor talks to resume
26 AUGUST 2009 – Steelworkers Launch
Website To Cover Contract Talks
21 AUGUST 2009 – Forestry workers,
B.C. Interior companies contract talks at an impasse
20 AUGUST 2009 – Forest Labour Talks
Update
19 AUGUST 2009 – Conifer Has Walked
Away From Contract Talks With The United Steelworkers
19 AUGUST 2009 – Conifer Walks Away
From Contract Talks
19 AUGUST 2009 – CONIFER
Disappointed by USW Blindness to Forest Industry Reality
19 AUGUST 2009 – Forestry Talks
Break Off in BC
18 AUGUST 2009 – Forestry Talks Go
Timber
14 AUGUST 2009 – Have You Ever Said
You Wanted A Pay Cut?
4 AUGUST 2009 – Mill Contract Talks
Sluggish
20 JULY 2009 – Union, Forest Firms
Back at Table
7 JULY 2009 – Employers Seek Salary
Concessions from interior forest workers
24 JUNE 2009 – Let the Talks Begin
22 JUNE 2009 – Canfor Wants to Slash
Labour Costs
12 JUNE 2009 – Labour Talks Begin at
British Columbia Timber Firms
28 MAY 2009 – Lumber Prices Surge
Over Supply, Labour Worries
[top]
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