Sawmill union seeks strike mandate
The local representing unionized workers at 13 northern B.C. sawmills is seeking a strike mandate from its members as talks with the employer group have come to a standstill.
“We feel that the employer is not willing to negotiate at all,” United Steelworkers Local 1-2017 president Brian O’Rourke said Tuesday.
“Basically it’s pretty much ‘no’ to everything we’re put across the table so far.
“And we’ve tried to put across what we consider to be a lesser of the proposals that are not a huge cost factor and we’re still getting a no answer back.”
O’Rourke declined to get into specifics but said wage increases are one of the objectives.
He said the industry has been making more money than it has in years with lumber selling for well over $500 per thousand board feet.
The local is negotiating on behalf of about 1,600 members working at a mixture of independently-owned sawmills and a handful of operations owned by the two majors – Canfor and West Fraser.
They include Sinclar Group’s Lakeland Mills and Canfor’s Isle Pierre and PG Sawmill in Prince George as well as Dunkley Lumber near Hixon.
The contract expired on June 30. “It’s our intention to have the members show how committed they are for us as a bargaining committee to get a good deal and One man was sent to hospital on Tuesday morning after a collision between a taxi and a motorcycle near the intersection of Seventh Avenue and Brunswick Street.
We feel that the employer is not willing to negotiate at all.
— Brian O’Rourke, United Steelworkers Local 1-2017
we certainly hope after we take a strike vote that the employer will (negotiate),” O’Rourke said.
“We’re certainly willing to go back to the bargaining table anytime as long as we’re making some headway.”
If a majority of members vote in favour, the bargaining committee will be given the mandate to order a strike with 72 hours notice. The voting process will take about two weeks.
CONIFER, the agency representing the employers, had not returned a request for comment on Tuesday.
Like O’Rourke, Michael Bryce, executive director of CONIFER, the employers’ bargaining agent, declined to get into details.
“Suffice to say, there are several complicated subjects that we’re working on that will ultimately require resolution in order to realize the point of a tentative agreement,” Bryce said. “A strike vote is not a completely atypical step as part of the process of collective bargaining.
“From the point of view of our organization, upon a return to the table we’ll be able to work together to methodically sort things out to realize a tentative agreement.”