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,
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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,
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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.
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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,
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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
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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.
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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,
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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,
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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.
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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,
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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,
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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19 June 2010 – Talks Moving
Slowly at Savona
Kamloops, BC – Aspen Planers and United Steelworkers are starting
from scratch to reach an agreement that could restart mills in
Savona and Lillooet. Marty Gibbons, president of Local 1-417, said
Friday the B.C. Labour Relations Board agreed with the company it
should not be tied to the Interior Forest Labour Relations
Association (IFLRA) group bargaining along with other forestry
firms. Instead, Aspen Planers will bargain on its own. And company
spokesman David Gray said Aspen Planers is looking for a deal that
will make the Savona concrete-forming panel and its Lillooet feed
mill economical.
For more of this
Kamloops Daily News online news story,
click here.
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16 June 2010 – Aspen Planers
Negotiating with Steelworkers
Lillooet, BC – Aspen Planers, owner of Ainsworth Lumber’s defunct
specialty plywood operations in Lillooet and Savona, will begin
negotiations this week with the United Steelworkers. The president
of Aspen Planers, David Gray, spoke last Thursday to the Lillooet
Chamber of Commerce at the District of Lillooet municipal hall.
According to Gray, he will meet with Marty Gibbons, president of
United Steelworkers Local 1-417. The workers at Ainsworth’s former
plants in Lillooet and Savona, about 250 in total, belong to Local
1-417. The Lillooet veneer plant alone employed about 100 people.
For more of this
Bridge River Lillooet News online news story,
click here.
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12 May 2010 – Coastal
Bargaining Committee Meeting With Western Forest Products Today
Nanaimo, BC – Today the United Steelworkers Coastal Bargaining
Committee is meeting here with Western Forest Products to negotiate
a new collective agreement with the coast’s largest employer. At the
table for the union are committee spokesperson Bob Matters (chair of
the USW Wood Council), Local 1-1937 president Darrel Wong, Local
1-85 president Dave Steinhauer, and Local 2009 president Manjit
Sidhu. On May 5 both sides met to exchange bargaining proposals,
after previously agreeing to a protocol for negotiations.
For more of this
United Steelworkers District 3 online news story,
click here.
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15 March 2010 – Next Plant To Open
Could Be Canfor-Vavenby
Clearwater, BC - There’s nothing definite yet but, if lumber
markets continue to improve, Canfor-Vavenby could reopen soon. “They
haven’t committed to anything but during our discussions with Canfor
they said the next plant they would like to get rolling would be
Vavenby,” said Warren Oja, financial secretary for Steelworkers
Local 1-417 in Kamloops. “I hope that sooner rather than later we’ll
have something more substantial to say.” Canfor and United
Steelworkers Union announced last week that they had reached an
agreement for a new contract. The announcement followed a
ratification vote by union members at Canfor’s 14 operations in
British Columbia, including Canfor-Vavenby.
For more of this
Clearwater Times Keith McNeill online news story,
click here.
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10 March 2010 – Done Deal -
Workers Ratify Contract With Canfor
Prince George, B.C.- The United Steelworkers Local 1-424 have
ratified a new contract with Canfor. The package covers those
workers employed by Canfor’s 15 operations in the southern and
northern interior. The ratification vote was completed late
yesterday on the four year deal which provides for wage increases of
0, 0, 2 and 2 % over the term of the agreement. The agreement also
carries some innovative “investments” by the workers. The union
workers have agreed to defer a floating holiday, boxing day, and
reduce their vacation pay by 3% until the lumber industry returns to
good health or December 31st of 2011, whichever comes first. Once
that happens, the deferred items will be returned. The savings
amount to about $1.50 per hour per employee.
For more of this
Opinion 250 news blog and to read blog comments, click
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10 March 2010 – Canfor Deal
Ratified
Canfor now confirms it's earlier reported tentative four year
contract agreement with the United Steel Workers Union has been
ratified by a majority of the union's members. With an expiration
date of June 30th, 2013, it impacts 14 BC operations and about 2,300
Canfor employees. As reported earlier this week the union website
states the deal includes unprecedented seniority protection, better
severance pay and a two percent wage increase in the third and
fourth years. However U-S-W Wood Council Chair Bob Matters, says the
deal is as much a victory for the company as it is for the union.
The union has also indicated the deal will now be presented to other
forestry companies, as a blueprint for new agreements with them.
(Audio Clip)
For more of this Energetic City.ca Fort St. John online news report,
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9 March 2010 – USW ratify four-year
agreement with Canfor in BC interior operations
BURNABY, BC, March 9 /CNW/ - United Steelworkers (USW) members
employed by Canfor in 15 operations in the BC northern and southern
interior regions have ratified a four-year collective agreement,
retroactive to June 30, 2009. Members in USW Locals 1-424, 1-417 and
1-405 voted in majority favour of the agreement that was reached on
February 22, 2010. The agreement provides union members with an
unprecedented expansion of seniority retention and improved
severance in the event of a partial or permanent plant closure. The
union's BC Interior Bargaining Committee will utilize the Canfor
agreement to be a basic pattern agreement for negotiations with West
Fraser and employer associations CONIFER (the Council on Northern
Interior Forest Labour Relations) and the IFLRA (Interior Forest
Labour Relations Association, which represent employers in the
northern and southern interiors, respectively.
For more of this Canadian NewsWire online news story, click here.
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9 March 2010 – Canfor Reaches
Agreement With United Steelworkers
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, Mar 09, 2010 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX)
-- Canfor Corporation announced today that it has reached an
agreement with the United Steelworkers union. The agreement,
expiring June 30, 2013, was ratified by a majority of union members
and affects 14 operations in British Columbia. "This agreement sets
a new positive tone for our industry. It provides some relief from
the economic issues we are facing and a profit based performance
bonus that will reward our hourly workers," said Canfor President
and CEO Jim Shepard. "This sets the stage for enhancing the teamwork
approach at Canfor that will lead to high performance at all of our
operations," Shepard added.
For more of this Market Watch Online press release, click here.
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9 March 2010 – Union ratifies labor
deal with Canfor, company says
VANCOUVER, March 9 (Reuters) - Unions have ratified a contract at
Canada's No. 2 lumber producer Canfor Corp (CFP.TO), that the
company said offered relief from pressing economic problems. "This
agreement sets a new positive tone for our industry," Canfor Chief
Executive Officer Jim Shepard said. "It provides some relief from
the economic issues we are facing and a profit based performance
bonus that will reward our hourly workers". Canfor said a majority
of union workers had ratified the deal, which applies to some 2,300
workers. Bob Matters, chairman of the United Steelworkers' Wood
Council, said earlier that the four-year deal has no wage hike in
the first two years, and 2 percent in the third and fourth years. It
is structured to help restart idled sawmills as the lumber market
recovers.
For more of this Reuters news story, click here.
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8 March 2010 – Tentative Contract:
Canfor & USW
According to the union's website, rank and file voting is
underway on a tentative contract agreement, between the United Steel
Workers' and Canadian Forest Products. The USW began talks with
Canfor last fall, after talks with the umbrella group representing
three forest companies in the province broke off. After three
months of what Canfor's Dave Lefevre is quoted as saying were
"unique and innovative negotiations", the two sides have come up
with a tentative four year deal ending in June of 2013.
For more of this Energetic City.ca Fort St. John online news report,
click here.
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5 March 2010 – United Steelworkers have
Started Voting on a Tentative Deal with Canfor
Prince George, B.C.- Northern Interior members of teh United
Steelworkers Union have started voting on a tentative contract with
Canfor Thursday. President of Local 1-424 of the United Steelworkers
Union, Frank Everitt, says they reached the tentative agreement
February 22nd. He says it includes historic seniority retention for
members that have been laid off and a unique opportunity for profit
sharing, as well as a possibility for general wage increases once
the market turns around.
For more of this HQPrinceGeorge.com online news report, click here.
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3 March 2010 – USW Makes Tentative
Deal with Canfor
Houston, B.C.- After three months of negotiation, Canadian Forest
Products (Canfor) and the United Steelworkers union (USW) have
reached a tentative contract agreement that both parties are
supporting. The USW contract with Canfor, West Fraser, and Conifer
mills came to an end in June 2009, with negotiations between the USW
and Conifer proceeding shortly thereafter. However, after Conifer
stepped away from the table in October 2009, ceasing negotiations,
the USW approached Canfor to begin another round of negotiations,
and last Saturday a tentative contract was struck up.
For more of this HoustonToday.com online news report, click here.
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23 February 2010 – Millworkers
Asked To Sign Deal
Kamloops, B.C.- Laid-off workers at Canfor Vavenby will vote on a
tentative contract in the next two weeks that promises wage
increases and profit sharing if the mill returns to operation. But
the president of Steelworkers Local 1-417 said Monday there is no
indication Canfor will restart the mill immediately and put 200
workers back on the job. The union completed negotiations with
Canfor in Prince George for a “pattern” agreement it intends to
bring to other companies operating in the B.C. Interior, including
at Tolko Industries Ltd’s operations at Heffley Creek and Merritt..
For more of this Kamloops Daily News report from the City & Region
Section, click here.
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22 February 2010 – Canfor and
Steelworkers Reach Tentative Deal
Prince George, B.C.- Members of the United Steelworkers local
1-424 will be briefed on the details of what's being described as an
'historic' tentative contract with Canfor. The head of the USW's BC
Wood Council was in Prince George over the weekend to announce a
tentative package that, Bob Matters describes as "unique and
innovative".
For more of this
Opinion 250 news blog and to read blog comments, click
here.
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20 February 2010 – Canfor and
Steelworkers Reach Tentative Deal
Prince George, B.C.- The Chair of the United Steelworkers' BC
Wood Council is calling a tentative deal with Canfor "unprecedented"
in the history of collective bargaining in the BC forest industry.
In Prince George today to announce the just-reached agreement, Bob
Matters says, "Despite the fact the forest industry has experienced
its worst financial crisis in history, we have reached an agreement
that I would characterize as 'unique and innovative'." Matters says,
for the first time, wording has been included in the package on the
issues of: seniority protection, severance protection, and
employment security, in general.
For more of this
Opinion 250 news blog and to read blog comments, click
here.
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15 February 2010 – Progress Made
At Bargaining Table
Prince George, B.C.- The United Steelworkers' B.C. Interior
Bargaining Committee is reporting some progress, following contract
talks with Canfor in Prince George last week. A news release says
the two sides had "some serious discussion on alternate shifting
language and severance language regarding permanent plant closure
and partial plant closure."
For more of this
Opinion 250 news blog and to read blog comments, click
here.
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14 January 2010 – United
Steelworkers Huddle with Canfor Today
Prince George, B.C.- The Steelworkers Union will have exploratory
talks with Canfor today in an effort to hammer out a new contract
for their membership. The Steelworkers represent about 9,000
forestry workers in the province, who have been without a contract
since the last one expired at the end of June.
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04 DECEMBER 2009 – Steelworkers Look To
West Fraser In Contract Talks
Prince George, B.C.- The United Steelworkers continue to try to
negotiate a new contract for their forestry workers in B.C. and are
hoping to go to the bargaining table with West Fraser. The union is
hoping to develop a package which will be a template for their
membership at all other forest companies. The last contract ended
July 1st of this year. The Steelworkers had initially started talks
with Conifer. The last session in that round of negotiations was
October 19th and there has been no indication Conifer has any plans
to return to the bargaining table any time soon.
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01 DECEMBER 2009 – Steelworkers
Huddle To Strategize For Interior Group
Prince George, B.C.- The United Steelworkers are trying to get
the contract talks for the forest industry back on track. Their
talks broke off mid October. Steelworkers local 1-424 President,
Frank Everitt says the Union is pushing for some contract
improvements, but the industry has called for major concessions.
“There are ways of reducing costs without reducing the hourly take
home pay of the folks and we’re prepared to look at those.” Talks
have been off since the 19th of October.
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separately. Click here for
viewing.
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
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