CANADIAN LABOUR-MANITOBA:

TEMBEC WORKERS TURN THUMBS DOWN ON ARBITRATION:

The lockout on the part of the Tembec pulp and paper plant in Pine Falls Manitoba has been ongoing since August 31. 270 members of the USW and the COPE unions are affected. As the following story from the Winnipeg Free Press says they have turned down the arbitration offer from the provincial government, afraid that the company will likely demand even more concessions than its already ridiculous demands. Get all the chips on the table so to speak. To be sure the NDP government is not exactly lining up in solid ranks behind the workers. As a PR exercise the provincial labour minister sent off a letter to the feds asking that the Pine Falls workers be able to collect EI while on layoff. A non-starter to say the least. Considering the recipient of the letter that is something like writing Satan asking him to finance a new cathedral dedicated to the Virgin Mary. As one of the laid off workers in the following story says there is a lot more that the government could be doing. Be that as it may the spectacle of the provincial Conservative opposition trying to make political hay out of the lockout is much more repulsive. If in power the Conservatives wouldn't have even given the cuddly shoulder to cry on that the NDP has restricted itself to doing. Not all members of the Legislature, however, are as cynical as the government and the opposition. According to the Dec. 3rd edition of the Selkirk Journal NDP MLA Greg Dewar, along with local City of Selkirk City Councillor Duane Nicol have been working to solicit donations to the USW/COPE Family Fund to help the workers over the holiday season. The MLA's office will continue to accept donations until the 7th of the month. This man's actions are much more commendable than those of the party that he belongs to. See the end of this post for how you can help these workers and their families. first, here's the story.

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦
LOCKED-OUT WORKERS TURN DOWN ARBITRATION:
Locked-out Tembec workers in Pine Falls have given a big thumbs-down to the province and its offer of binding arbitration to settle the three-month-old labour impasse.

Many of the workers were at the Manitoba legislative building Wednesday to press Premier Greg Selinger and his government to hold the newsprint company more accountable for the lock-out and its economic impact on the town north of Winnipeg. The 270 unionized workers were locked out by the company Aug. 31 after they overwhelmingly rejected a proposal that union officials said called for wage and benefits concessions totalling about 35 per cent.

Observers say at this pace the dispute may never get resolved: either the union will give up or Tembec will close the plant.

Workers said yesterday giving up is not an option, but added it won't be at the hands of an arbitrator under the province's Labour Relations Act. Under the act, either side in a strike or lockout can apply after 60 days for binding arbitration to settle the dispute.

Bill Lavallee, spokesman for the workers, said they don't want to go that route because the company has already signalled that it also wants to reopen the employee pension agreement, which is set to expire in 2013.

Lavallee said it's possible an arbitrator could agree to do that, and that's too big a risk as 65 of the employees are set to retire in five years and 170 of them in 10 years.

He said the province should hold Tembec's feet to the fire by clamping down on the company's forest management licence and removal of timber from the province.

"I'm locked out," Lavallee said. "Why aren't they locked out?"

Workers met with Selinger and Labour Minister Jennifer Howard after being invited to the legislature by Lac du Bonnet Tory Progressive Conservative MLA Gerald Hawranik. (Question: How do you spell "hypocrite" ? Answer: "C..o..n..s..e..r..v..a..t..i..v..e" -Molly )

Howard said during question period she has written to the company in an effort to bring both sides to the table.

"I'm looking forward to a favourable response," she said.

Tory Opposition Leader Hugh McFadyen said the length of the lockout is a blemish on the NDP.

He said in the house that if Gary Doer were still premier, he would have personally settled the dispute long ago. Doer quit about three months ago to become Canada's ambassador to the United States.

Selinger said his government will strengthen provincial pension legislation so that all workers' pensions are better protected, and that the threat to Tembec pensions can't be repeated.

The province appointed a mediator to intervene in labour dispute when it was only 18 days old, but that failed to bring any hint of a resolution.

Tembec, Powerview-Pine Falls' largest employer, has said it needs to achieve immediate reductions in labour costs to improve the competitive position of the plant, reeling from a decline in the North American demand for newsprint.

Tembec, which posted a loss of $38 million in the second quarter, has wood product, pulp, paperboard and newsprint plants across the country.

North American demand for newsprint has dropped almost 50 per cent since 2003 and the reduction in demand from 2008 to 2009 alone is equivalent to the capacity of seven or eight plants the size of Pine Falls (which can produce 180,000 tonnes of newsprint per year).
bruce.owen@freepress.mb.ca

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

Want to help the Pine Falls workers at this hard time ? Here's how. You can send cheques to the USW & COPE Family Fund, earmarked for same via the Wings of Power Community and Family Resource Centre, Box 66, Pine Falls, MB R0E 1M0. All donations are tax deductible if you are Canadian. Make sure to tag the cheques as 'USW & COPE Family Fund' even though they should be made out to 'Wings of Power'.

CANADIAN LABOUR-MANITOBA:

TEMBEC WORKERS STAND FIRM:

Regular readers of this blog know that I hate to be a carping, negative, nit picking bitch (more or less), but I'm going to be a carping, negative, nitpicking bitch here and now. The lockout on the part of the Tembec Corporation in the Manitoba town of Pine Falls has been going on for about a month now. Finally, their union, the United Steel Workers, has deigned to publish an article on their website about this ongoing struggle. Not that you are going to have an easy time finding it. It's hardly front page news there. Go to the site, and then go to the 'Western Canadian Section' to find the following. Now, I know that Manitoba is hardly the centre of the universe. I also know that the USW are rather embattled now, fighting strikes and lockouts on many fronts, especially in Ontario. I also know, however, that the struggle of the people of Pine Falls has a lot to say to a great many other communities in Canada, and perhaps across the world. Molly has expressed her own opinion about 'what should be done' earlier on this blog, and I urge the reader to search it down. For now I am happy that the USW has finally expanded on this struggle that is important to at least the people of this province.

CLCLCLCLCLCLCL

Pine Falls Paperworkers Determined to Win Scrap Against Tembec:
POWERVIEW-PINE FALLS, MB – After more than a month of being thrown onto picket lines by their employer, locked-out United Steelworkers Local 3-1375 members at Tembec Inc.’s Pine Falls Division here remain steadfast in their determination to prevail in their first-ever labour dispute at the mill.

Local 1-1375 president Cam Sokoloski (click for image) says 250 USW members are “rock solid” in their efforts to beat back the company’s demands for drastic concessions, which exceed 35 per cent of wages and benefits for most employees.

Tembec locked out the USW members, along with 15 members of the Canadian Office and Professional Employees Local 216, on September 1.

“This is the first labour dispute that workers have ever faced at this mill site since operations began in 1929,” says Sokoloski. “We have always been able to negotiate agreements in good times and bad – some negotiations were tougher than others.”

But this year, after only 3-1/2 days of contract talks with Tembec, the company put an ultimatum to its employees: Take major concessions or the plant would be mothballed.

“Tembec management is taking the current downturn in the economy to drive concessions from its workers. We say that is unjust and unfair,” comments the local union president. “Their executives get big bonuses and they want us to take rollbacks.”

Both the USW and COPE (click to see picket supporters with MGEU supporters) have offered to meet directly with Tembec anytime, any place to negotiate an agreement.

Manitoba Labour Minister Nancy Allen has appointed a mediator who has already met with both sides in an attempt to solve the dispute. Allen has asked for non-binding recommendations from the mediator by October 16. The first meeting with the mediator took place on September 24, three weeks into the lock out.

USW Area Supervisor Wayne Skrypynk says the union hopes that mediator Michael Weirer “will be able to help get negotiations back on track.”“We certainly hope Mr. Weirer’s work will get us back to the table as the Steelworkers union is ready and willing to negotiate,” says Skrypnyk.

“At the bargaining table Tembec would not tell us the dollars per tonne costs reductions that their demands will save,” says Skrypnyk. “They just expected everyone to roll over and take concessions. We said no.”

Sokoloski says the union has provided the mediator with records of negotiations this year and in past years.

“When the mediator reviews this information he will see that Tembec did not try to reach a collective agreement – that it was a rush to a lock out,” says Sokoloski. “Tembec did not want to negotiate, it wanted immediate concessions.”

That ultimatum-style of bargaining – where Tembec is treating its labour force as part of the problem, rather than part of the solution – has made workers more “pissed off” and determined to stay strong until a collective agreement is reached, says Sokoloski.

The union is digging in for a potentially lengthy dispute. It has set up three major picket gates (click for image) and is patrolling the mill site.

Tembec has hired a security firm to spy on the picketers, videotape them and audio tape them with parabolic microphones.

“Our guys are staying cool and are not reacting to provocations by Tembec,” says Sokoloski. “Our whole bargaining committee and union are proud of the job our members are doing on the picket line.”

Tembec tried to provoke the picketers by moving out rolls of newsprint from the shipping area. Two trucks owned by Bison Transport (click for image) had their semis leave with loads, with RCMP officers posted nearby.

Bison Transport has not been back since.

Now Tembec is contracting Paramount Transport, also a Manitoba-based firm, to do the same thing.

Paramount’s website says it strives to treat each of its employees “with the utmost respect and fairness.”

“It’s not fair for Paramount (click for image) to assign any driver to cross our picket line,” says Skyrpnyk. “That shows it has little respect for its drivers or our dispute with Tembec.”

“We say that the newsprint should stay exactly where it is until this thing is over,” says Sokoloski. “We want Paramount out of Pine Falls and are circulating information that they are crossing our picket line.”

The picket line has been visited by numerous friends, family members and citizens of Powerview-Pine Falls and outlying areas.

“Some fellow, who we don’t know is, dropped $100 off at the picket line – another made a donation of 10 dozen donuts, says Sokoloski.

Grass roots generosity has been greatly appreciated by both USW and COPE members.

This past Sunday the unions put on an afternoon of celebration outside the main plant gates to say thanks for all the community support.

In addition to support from other workers – retirees, family and other community members, including business owners – the locked-out union members are receiving political support from all parties: the NDP, the Conservatives and the Liberals.

Everyone knows that the future of a prosperous Powerview-Pine Falls revolves on settlement of the lockout.

Even non-labour ally Conservatives have slammed Tembec.

Conservative leader Hugh McFadyen told the media: “Tembec’s delivered a brutal ultimatum and hasn’t shown much willingness to bargain. These kinds of tactics are just ruthless.”

Says Skrypnyk: “Tembec does not have many friends left in Manitoba. They should get this message loud and clear. It does not bode well for their business in our communities.”

“Our union told Tembec it is willing to work with it to find as many areas as we can to be more efficient, but we will not let them gut the collective agreement that has taken the union decades to build,” adds Skyrpnyk.

The mill produces newsprint by thermo-mechanical means, which has in recent months been put at a greater economic disadvantage by federal government subsidies to pulp producers aimed at offsetting the advantage US mills get under the so-called “black liquor subsidy program.”

Pine Falls and other mills that use thermo-mechanical pulping processes don’t qualify.

The Steelworkers have offered to help Tembec get some sort of assistance under the federal program and federal Conservative Cabinet Minister Vic Toews has told the union that there is already potential assistance for the Central Manitoba Railway (CEMR) greenway which serves Powerview-Pine Falls’ industrial base, including the locked out operation.

“Minister Toews has posed the question to Tembec,” says Sokoloski. “Why should the federal government help the CEMR if Tembec does not want to run the mill?”

CLCLCLCLCLCLCL

MOLLY NOTE

Good luck to the people in Pine Falls, but I have to note that while it may be 'encouraging' to pick out supportive statements from politicians that such statements are hardly to be relied upon. the same goes for the efforts of the mediator, no matter how strong the case of the workers is. If people want to win they have to exert more pressure on their own, and not depend on any political intermediary.

CANADIAN LABOUR-MANITOBA:

PINE FALLS LOCKOUT CONTINUES:

The lockout of about 300 employees on the part of Tembec in Pine Falls Manitoba has been going on since August 31 (see previous item on this blog). The demands of the company for wage and benefit concessions amounting to nearly 35% are, of course, outrageous, and since the dispute began management has basically been stonewalling and refusing any efforts on the part of the union to negotiate. The following item from the Winnipeg Free Press tells more about the present situation of the locked out workers and their community. It also gives news of other layoffs that are affecting the area.

CLCLCLCLCLCLCL

LAYOFFS, LOCKOUT BLOW TO EASTMAN REGION:

The loss of 42 more mining jobs near Lac du Bonnet is another body blow to a region already staggering from a two-week-old paper-plant lockout at Powerview-Pine Falls.

The latest round of cutbacks at the Tantalum Mining Corporation of Canada mine at Bernic Lake compounds the damage done when 38 other Tantalum Mine employees were laid off in April.

"It (the loss of 80 Tantalum jobs) is a huge blow," Harold Taylor, general manager of Eastman Regional Development Inc., said in an interview Monday, noting the mine is one of the area's biggest employers.

"The one hit, they can absorb, I would imagine. But a second one? No," he said. "That area doesn't have a lot of industrial jobs anyway, so to lose that diversity leaves the local economy weaker."

The layoffs, the latest of which took effect on Sept. 4, were ordered after adverse market conditions prompted Tanco to suspend the mining and production of both tantalum and spodumene concentrate at the Bernic Lake mine. The cutbacks leave only six underground workers at the mine, which is now producing only cesium.

Taylor said that part of the Eastman region was already hurting economically from the two-week old labour dispute at the Tembec paper-mill plant in nearby Powerview-Pine Falls.

Tembec, which is that town's largest employer, locked out nearly 300 unionized workers on Aug. 31 after they overwhelmingly rejected a proposal that union officials said called for wage and benefit concessions totalling about 35 per cent. There have been no contract talks held since then, and a spokesman for the workers' union -- local 303175 of the United Steelworkers -- said the union will likely decide today whether to ask Labour Minister Nancy Allan to appoint a mediator to try and break the stalemate.

John Valley, Tembec's executive vice-president of business development and corporate affairs, refused to comment Monday on whether the company would agree to the appointment of a mediator. He also declined to comment on the details of the company's demands, other than to say it needs to achieve immediate and significant reductions in its labour costs to improve the competitive position of the Powerview-Pine Falls plant. (It seems management is unlikely to say anything other than repeat its demands-Molly )

Meanwhile, the owners of two Powerview-Pine Falls businesses said Monday the Tembec lockout is taking a toll on many area businesses, including their own.

Ed Papineau, who co-owns Papineau Motors along with his brother, Ron, said their revenues are down about 20 per cent because of locked-out workers cancelling orders for things like new tires or non-essential repairs to their vehicles.

And Papineau fears it will get a lot worse if the dispute drags on for a long time -- a fear that is shared by Tonya Kemball, owner of the local Chicken Chef restaurant.

Although Kemball couldn't put a number on it, she said her restaurant has seen a significant decline in business volumes since the dispute began.

"Last week and this past weekend we really noticed it. It's just a scary situation all around."
Powerview-Pine Falls Mayor Ted Pichor said the impact on local businesses has been offset to some degree by the recent bout of warm weather, which has kept cottage owners coming to town to buy groceries and other supplies.

"But if it (the labour dispute) lasts a long time... it would definitely have an impact (on the town's economy)," the mayor said.

Kemball, whose husband, Daniel, works at the Tembec plant, said she remains hopeful the dispute won't drag on for too long. Taylor is also optimistic it will get resolved and the Tembec mill will also survive the current newsprint-industry crisis, which has seen the North American demand for newsprint plunge by 50 per cent since 2003.

But even if it does, Taylor said the latest woes at Tembec and Tantalum should serve as a wake-up call for local municipalities. He said they need to be a lot more proactive in trying to lure new industries to the area, which still hasn't recovered from the closure 11 years ago of the Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. research facility in Pinawa.

"That created a huge hole, and that's still the case," he said.

A spokesperson for Tantalum's parent company, Boston-based Cabot Corporation, could not be reached Monday for comment. ( I guess he drinks in the same bar as Tembec management-Molly )
murray.mcneill@freepress.mb.ca

CLCLCLCLCLCLCLCL

MOLLY NOTES:

This is your classic David and Goliath story. The workers involved are few in number, reside in an isolated rural community and are facing an international corporation with far more resources to play a waiting game than they have. Their union, the United Steelworkers surely has more than enough on its plate right now with major disputes in Ontario and Newfoundland, and they can hardly be faulted for not going "over the top" in support for these workers. The Tembec workers are also over a barrel in others ways. While small the area is an actual community where people have put down roots. It's not a "lumber camp", and the people involved have been raising families in the town and have a significant amount to lose, perhaps enough that they may eventually see no other way than to cave in to the company's greedy demands.

There is, however, an alternative. It would be up to the members of local 303175 to initiate it themselves as the union leadership is preoccupied by other matters. Very few people outside of their local area are fully aware of the situation, and solidarity rallies in nearby cities (Winnipeg and North West Ontario) would do a lot to bring the public over to their side, especially as such rallies would see the support of many community members who are not members of the local. It would do wonders to convince the provincial government to actually pressure Tembec to come to the bargaining table.

Beyond that, however, there is the larger question of the situation of these almost one-industry towns. The latter paragraphs of the above article illustrate the problem very well, and it is a problem that many small industrial communities are facing nationwide. It is important that an area's economy be diverse enough to withstand either the misfortunes or the simple greed of one corporate employer. The situation is not as dire as it may seem for towns whose basic industry is forestry. Throughout the world there is a movement for 'Community Forests', forests that are owned and managed by community co-ops. These outfits have the interests of local residents more in mind than some industrial dinosaur, and they draw on a pool of local talent, initiative, ideas, community spirit and creativity of the sort that makes schools of business look like kindergartens. They furthermore create an economy whereby the revenue generated stays in the community, and the plans for development are much more integrated with the communities needs-including the issue of sustainability.

These are not some pipe dream. There may be hundreds of these co-ops worldwide, and there are many Canadian examples as well-The Revelstoke Community Forest Co-op, The Whistler-Squamish-Lil'wat Community Forest, The Harrop-Proctor Community Forest, the Acadian Forest Families, to mention just a few. When the present situation at Tembec is resolved, one way or the other, citizens and workers should begin to look at alternatives to the corporate control that places them is such a position of helpless jeopardy. Community Forests are the alternative to corporate lumber giants.

CANADIAN LABOUR- MANITOBA:
TEMBEC WORKERS LOCKED OUT IN PINE FALLS:
As of last midnight almost 300 workers at the Powerview Pine Falls newsprint plant have been locked out by management of the Tembec company. Management has been demanding concessions that amount to a 35 percent cut in wages and benefits. This is, to say the least an astounding demand. Perhaps the rolls pictured in the photo above are actually what they look like- toilet paper for the management washrooms. After all, if you are in competition for the "Biggest A.... Award" you need the equipment to maintain your winning bid. Here's the bare bones of the story from our local paper, the Winnipeg Free Press.

CLCLCLCLCLCLCL
TEMBEC LOCKS OUT 300 WORKERS:
Tembec workers have been laid off four times this year for a total of 12 weeks.

(KEN GIGLIOTTI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS ARCHIVES)
Close to 300 workers at Tembec's Powerview-Pine Falls newsprint plant were to be locked out at midnight Monday night only one week after being called back to work after an extensive shut down.





Union officials said the troubled forestry product company gave workers an "ultimatum" to accept a new contract that included wage and benefits concessions totalling 35 per cent.





"We're prepared to do our part to cut costs," said Wayne Skrypnyk, United Steelworkers area supervisor. "But when we asked to see the breakdown of the cost containment measures being made throughout the operation, we were told we had to agree to the concession before they will talk about other cost containment activities."





In addition to the 260 USW workers close to 20 office workers will also be affected by the lock out.





Skrypnyk said his members were not prepared to shoulder all the cost cutting when, he said, company executives received substantial increased in their bonuses over the past couple of years.





He said the union's legal advisers are investigating whether or not a claim can be made with the provincial labour board regarding bad faith bargaining.





Workers had already been out on an extended shut down and were called back to work only one week ago which was one week ahead of schedule.





Now Skrypnyk believes company officials were planning on a lock out all along and needed the workers back to allow for an orderly shut down.





Pine Falls workers have been laid off four times this year for a total of 12 weeks. The longest plant shutdown was for six weeks in June and July. The other three -- one over the Christmas-New Year period, another in February, and the most recent one that began Aug. 11 -- were for two weeks each.





The USW collective agreement ended Monday. Talks to renew the contract only began in mid-August and according to Skrypnyk consisted of the company demanding concessions with no room for the union to negotiate.





John Valley, Tembec's executive vice-president, business development and corporate affairs, would not comment on the lock out or the collective bargaining agreement situation.





But he did say that the industry in a critical state.





"We have seen a profound structural decline in demand for newsprint," Valley said. "The newsprint industry is in the most challenging period it has ever faced."





Valley said low newsprint prices and higher Canadian dollar has negatively affected the market, but "the principal and critical issue is the dramatic over-supply of newsprint."





He said newsprint sites will have to close and those that survive must be cost competitive.
Tembec's Manitoba newsprint operations is the largest employer by far in the town of Powerview-Pine Falls, located about 130 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg.





The newsprint plant has had a rocky recent history with a couple of changes of ownership and more than $100 million in capital investments at the beginning of the decade.





But industry officials say that new Canadian subsidies for pulp plants and a new loop hole that has allowed the newsprint industry in the U.S. to receive tax credits is making it even harder for Canadian newsprint plants to survive.
CLCLCLCLCLCLCL
Workers at Tembec's Pine Falls facility are represented by the United Steels Workers Canada (USW). Lord knows the USW has quite a lot on its plate these days, what with the strike(s) against Vale Inco. In any case here is the union position from the USW website, written before the recent lockout.

CLCLCLCLCLCLCL
Tembec to Lock Out Workers on September 1 at Manitoba Newsprint Operations in Pine Falls:
WINNIPEG, MB, 28 Aug 2009 – In an all-out effort to take away some 35 per cent in wage and benefit concessions from United Steelworkers and Canadian Office and Professional Employee Union members, Tembec Inc. negotiators have informed the unions that it will lock out its Manitoba Newsprint Operations in Pine Falls on September 1, 2009.





Over 250 USW Local 3-1375 members are employed in the operations.





“The company is holding true to an ultimatum style of collective bargaining,” says USW area supervisor Wayne Skrypnyk. “It threatened a shutdown on September 1 if it didn’t get its way and now it is proceeding.”





Union negotiators were presented further details on concession demands this morning.





At the same time the company refuses to share information on any other efforts it may be taking with other stakeholders to reduce costs for the operations.





“There’s much the company could do, with other stakeholders, in terms of achieving savings on fibre and silviculture costs, woodlands costs, energy and transportation efficiencies, and taxes but it categorically refuses to share those options with us,” says union staff representative Scott McRitchie.





Skrypnyk says the union is willing to continue to bargain and encourages the company to reconsider its lock out position.





“Our members and the people of Powerview-Pine Falls have already suffered enough through the current economic downturn,” says Skrypnyk. “A lockout on September 1, after contract talks just begun on August 13, does not send a positive signal to workers or the community.




Tembec has to act responsibly.”





The Steelworkers are Canada’s largest industrial union with 250,000 members in all sectors of the economy.
Contact:
Wayne Skrypnyk 204.940.3050 / 204.232.7335 /
Scott McRitchie 204.940.3050 /
CLCLCLCLCLCLCL
See also this item, also from the USW website.

CLCLCLCLCLCLCL
27 AUGUST 2009
Tembec Refuses to Work with Unions to Save Mill Jobs in Pine Falls:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
POWERVIEW PINE FALLS, MB – Representatives of the United Steelworkers and the Canadian Office and Professional Employees Union say Tembec Inc. is refusing to share information on its cost reduction demands or share any records of its efforts with other stakeholders to reduce production costs at the company’s Manitoba Newspaper Operations here.





The operations, which employ over 250 USW Local 3-1375 union members, is currently covered by a collective agreement that expires on August 31, 2009.





“Our unions are prepared to continue to bargain to find a viable agreement that helps all parties concerned but Tembec isn’t cooperative,” says USW area supervisor Wayne Skrypnyk.
COPE Local 216 staff rep Don Talarico says it’s “extremely frustrating when employer representatives refuse to provide adequate information that would allow us to make informed decisions.”





Instead of working with the unions, company negotiators have set an ultimatum that workers must accept wage and contract concessions, estimated by the unions to be well over 35 per cent, by August 31. If concessions are not agreed to, Tembec management says the plant will not operate on September 1.





“Tembec is trying to gut our collective agreement and, at the same time, does not want to share how many dollars savings, per tonne, its concessionary demands would amount to,” says USW Western Canada Director Stephen Hunt. “This company should also be willing let its employees know what it is willing to do in production and market innovation and in cooperation with the Manitoba and federal governments, to improve sales and reduce overall costs for Pine Falls.”





The mill produces newsprint by thermo-mechanical means, which has in recent months been put at a greater economic disadvantage by federal government subsidies to pulp producers aimed at offsetting the advantage US mills get under the so-called “black liquor subsidy program,” Unfortunately, Pine Falls and other mills that use thermo-mechanical pulping processes don’t qualify.





“The Steelworkers are certainly willing to help Tembec get some sort of assistance under the Canadian program,” said Hunt.





Collective Bargaining commenced on August 13 and continued this week.





The Steelworkers are Canada’s largest industrial union with 280,000 members in all sectors of the economy.
Contact:
Stephen Hunt 604.683.1117; /604.816.2554
Wayne Skrypnyk 204.677.1710; /204.232.7335
CLCLCLCLCLCLCL
MOLLY NOTES:
It is, of course, presumptuous for anyone not totally acquainted with local conditions to make recommendations, but some "advise" can be given here even in the absence of such knowledge. The first and most obvious recommendation is that the workers victimized by this lockout should make extreme efforts to sign up both local citizens of their community and the wider Manitoba/North West Ontario community to gather as much support as they can. Even if the workers believe that there will be some "political savior" who will come along to intervene they must understand that such political intervention can only be generated by a wider outreach than a simple worker versus company dispute.




The second thing that people should realize is that there are other examples of how workers have responded to such company intimidation that have been much more effective than traditional Canadian trade union tactics. In many countries workers have responded by both occupying their workplaces and by resuming production without management, marketing the product via their own networks. many such examples have been described before on this blog. I know that this sort of thing is a very unlikely prospect in the newsprint industry. If for no other reason than that the total demand from both the provinces of Manitoba and Ontario (let alone the "effective demand" of those customers who would indeed support such marketing) is far less than the present plant's production. OK, that idea is out, but I will suggest that a workplace occupation would, like hanging, do wonders to concentrate management's mind. I would further suggest that, when the inevitable injunction happens and people have to exit the plant, that there is nothing in the language of any injunction that prevents secondary, tertiary, quaternary,etc.,etc., etc. occupations by non-union members by members of the that portion of the wider community that the workers have drawn into support. An injunction, after all, has to be aimed at a specific group to have any legal meaning. All this, of course, assumes that the workers involved in this lockout are willing to "go the extra mile" rather than depend upon either union officials or politicians. If you don't do it yourself it won't be done.