DEAL WITH STEEL :: WEST FRASER

West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. and USW Reach Tentative Agreements for Five Operations in the northern Interior.

Your United Steelworkers BC Interior Bargaining Committee and West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. have concluded a series of tentative agreements 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. Full details of the tentative agreements will be provided by the local unions. Your BC Interior Bargaining Committee strongly recommends that members employed by CONIFER members companies vote yes for this agreement.

Contact your local union office for location and time of upcoming ratification meetings.

Bargaining Update – Early in 2011, the Bargaining Committee met with West Fraser to resolve a number of difficulties that emerged from the tentative agreements at the 100 Mile House Lumber, Williams Lake Plywood, and Quesnel Plywood. The three letters below are the documents that were agreed upon during those discussions.

100 Mile House Lumber – Clarifying Amendment Memorandum of Agreement dated October 7, 2010 pdf document
Williams Lake Plywood – Clarifying Amendment Memorandum of Agreement dated October 14, 2010 pdf document
Quesnel Plywood – Clarifying Amendment and Wellness Extension Memorandum Agreement dated October 14, 2010 pdf document

West Fraser Ratifies Contract

March 9, 2011 - 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 at teh Quesnel Plywood operation 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.
Click for more pdf document

100 Mile House Lumber

Fraser Lake Sawmill Houston Forest Products Quesnel Plywood Williams Lake Plywood

British Columbia, Canada

The United Steelworkers is bargaining with West Fraser Timber in the province’s northern Interior. There are about 1,800 USW Local 1-424 and 1-425 members who work for West Fraser Timber, now rated the largest lumber manufacturer in North America. Since 2003 negotiations, West Fraser timber bought up Weldwood operations in BC and Alberta.

Here is a list of West Fraser’s northern Interior operations:

100 Mile House Lumber – 100 Mile House – Local 1-425
Fraser Lake Sawmill – Fraser Lake – Local 1-424
Houston Forest Products – Houston – Local 1-424
Quesnel Plywood – Quesnel – Local 1-424
Williams Lake Plywood – Williams Lake – Local 1-425

Williams Lake Planer – Williams Lake
(Member company of Council on CONIFER and is serviced by Local 1-425 Williams Lake)

Here is a list of West Fraser’s southern Interior operations:

Chasm Sawmill – Chasm
(Member company of IFLRA and is serviced by Local 1-417 Kamloops)