BARGAINING BULLETIN #7 - June 26, 2009

IFLRA PROPOSAL RECEIVED

Your Negotiating Committee met in Kelowna, with Interior Forest Labour Relations (IFLRA) on June 25, 2009. Companies at the table included Tolko, Ainsworth, Aspen, Atco, Tembec, and Weyerhaeuser. The IFLRA also represents other employers covered by the Southern Interior Master Agreement.

Your Negotiating Committee presented the Company representatives with Union Proposals ratified at the Interior wages and contract conference in 2008.

The Companies proposal was not a surprises to the committee, it followed a similar pattern set by Canfor, West Fraser and C.O.N.I.F.E.R. looking for a long term Collective Agreement with extensive concessions in the areas of:

• Wages
• Pension Contributions
• Benefits
• Overtime Rate
• Vacation Pay
• Sunday Premiums

Labour cost reductions, greater flexibility and a smaller collective agreement have been the themes from all Employers.

Your Bargaining committee will meet to thoroughly analyze the various Employers positions, determine which appears to offer the best opportunity to successfully negotiate and conclude a new, progressive, collective agreement.

Elko Mill to Re-start July 6th, 2009

This message is from Ian Lind, Elko Mill Manager:

We are starting up on July 6, for a minimum of four weeks, to be reviewed monthly thereafter. Current lumber pricing and dollar value support us running. We will be running normal scheduling at the Planer and Sawmill but the scale will stay down until FRM gives us the word on deliveries. The Planer will start on N/S Monday July 6 and the Sawmill on D/S. We will do crewing Monday morning and call employees that same day.

Bargaining Bulletin #6 - June 2009

Bargaining Proposals Exchanged

The Interior Negotiating Committee met in Prince George, with Company Representatives from West Fraser (100 mile operation only) on June 8th, representatives from Canfor on June 10 and representatives from Conifer on June 11.

Your Negotiating Committee presented the Company representatives with Union Proposals ratified at the Interior wages and contract conference in 2008.

A similar pattern has emerged with the employers looking for extensive amendments to the collective agreement. Labour cost reductions, greater flexibility and a smaller collective agreement were the themes form the Employers.

The Bargaining committee still has to meet with the IFLRA on June 25 in Kelowna and dates have yet to be set up to meet with each West Fraser operation individually.

Once the Committee has completed the meeting with the IFLRA the committee will take time to thoroughly analyze the various Employers positions, determine which appears to offer the best opportunity to successfully negotiate and conclude a new constructive collective agreement.

Tembec takes Sawmill Downtime

Temiscaming, Quebec, June 12, 2009 – Tembec today announced a series of market related temporary shutdowns affecting all its sawmills in Northern Ontario.

The affected operations include the Kapuskasing sawmill which will shut down for a period of one week beginning July 6, the Chapleau sawmill for three weeks beginning June 29, and the Cochrane and Hearst sawmills which will each go down for six weeks beginning June 22 and July 6 respectively. These idlings will affect employees at all levels at the sawmills, as well as the forestry operations supporting these facilities. Approximately 500 employees will be impacted by these combined temporary shutdowns.

“These shutdowns are a consequence to the rapid and significant appreciation in the value of Canadian dollar, continued weak markets for lumber, and the related need to manage inventories and working capital,” said Dennis Rounsville, Executive Vice President and President of Tembec’s Forest Products Group. “We will continue to monitor economic and market conditions closely and will manage operating rates accordingly.”

Employees at the affected Ontario sites have been advised of the Company’s decision.

The Company also confirmed that employees at its sawmills in Elko and Canal Flats, British Columbia were advised that those sites would be idled effective June 15 for a minimum of three weeks for similar reasons.

The affected Northern Ontario sawmills have a total annual capacity of 550 million board feet and the B.C. mills a combined annual capacity of 450 million board feet.

Steelworkers Summer Sudents 2009

Great summer opportunity for sons and daughters of Steelworker members!

PAID Internships are open to young adults, 16 years of age or older who are children of members of the United Steelworkers International Union and actively enrolled in school. The program will run for 3-4 weeks and begin in July. Participants will receive a stipend of $600 per week.

Steelworker Summer is an opportunity for children of Steelworker members to learn about workers’ rights, and engage in activities to educate, organize and mobilize for progressive change. It is also designed to give participants an understanding and appreciation of the positive impact the union has had on their parents’ working lives.

Steelworkers’ Summer is committed to uniting students, workers, and community activists to bring about social justice through work place and community organizing.

Participants need to be people-oriented, enthusiastic, energetic, flexible and willing to work long hours on an unpredictable schedule. A college degree is not required. Previous union experience is not necessary. Volunteerism or activism is a plus. MORE INFORMATION & APPLICATIONS AVAILABLE ONLINE AT www.usw.ca/district3 (click on Steelworkers’ Summer 2009 logo in the right hand column.)

NOTE: Applications for Steelworkers’ Summer should be submitted no later than June 19, 2009.

Currently, we are hoping to employ Steelworkers Summer Interns in the District headquarters in Burnaby, BC, and at the sub-District offices in Langley, BC and Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Due to the short time-frame to promote this program, we are asking you to distribute this information to your activists and members and encourage eligible applicants to download the registration form available online at www.usw.ca/district3 and e-mail their applications to steelworkersummer@usw.ca, or fax to (604) 688-6416.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Education Coordinator in the District 3 office, Sister Rebecca Cooper (rcooper@usw.ca / 604-683-1117).

Elko and Canal Flats Mills Shutdown June 2009

The Elko and Canal Flats mills are to be shut down for minimum of three weeks beginning June 15. The anticipated date of return to production will be July 6, 2009.

The reason for this shutdown is the high Canadian dollar. Expectations from Tembec are that the price of lumber will continue to rise from the current $175 per thousand FBM to above $200. That would trigger the cost effectiveness of operating the sawmills versus keeping them closed, even if the dollar remains at 92 cents US.

But, predicting the prices of commodities and the value of currency that far down the road is not certain. There is no guarantee on when the mills will re-start.

Union Management Meeting – May 28, 2009

Union Committee Present: Doug Wood, Lee Roger, Jeff Bromley, Ron Fisher, Enzo Caccavo.

Management Present: Ian L, Roland K, Brad J, Barry M, Dave P.

1. Layoffs
Union- Why did you do away with payroll deduction for lumber sales to employees?

Management- We want to reduce part loads around the planer to reduce costs. This will help with downsizing in staff (shipping: 8 people down to 6), and with every local sale it adds time for our shipping staff to take care of.

2. Company Update
Management- We plan on an 80 cent dollar and lumber to be worth $170/thousand, this will see us run full out as normal. We are watching the dollar as it is going up, this will dictate our run schedule. Pulp is firming up and that’s good. We are looking at reducing costs from the log yard to the shipping yard and everywhere in between.

3. Job Postings
Union – What’s going on with all the jobs that need to be posted?

Management- We will be posting jobs next week. From now on we will be posting jobs as the job, the shifts (A B C) and the rate, we will no longer post the exact shift.Union- You should be posting the shift the opening is on as well.
Management- No, all we will do is job, shifts(all three or two) and rate.Union- We don’t agree.

4. Electricians
Union- What is happening with them?

Management- Our apprentice is selected and he was scheduled to start in July but likely he will not start until October, we hope. We also have other electricians who used to work here; they are willing to help out if needed, as we could run into manning problems with the two who left.

5. Run time
Union- What is your plan for the run time for the near future?
Management- The sawmills are flexible, but we are not sure what will happen. The $12 million for the Pulp mill cogen will help, but the dollar going up is really hurting us.
Union- Quit holding us hostage, you have a good idea what your run schedule is going to be, we are tired of this, just tell the truth.
Management- No, we don’t know.

6. July 1st Canada Day
Union- How about moving the stat to the Friday to let everybody have a long weekend?Management- We will get back to you, if it is going to cost us money, it won’t happen.

7. Casuals
Union- Why did you have casuals working when our people only got 30 hours?
Management- Casuals should have not worked; it was a oversight on our part.

8. Job cuts
Union- How many staff jobs did you cut?
Management- Lots- FRM, Elko, the office in Cranbrook. The cuts were significant.
Union- Nothing in Canal Flats.
Management- There were people there only a few months away from retirement so we are letting them work until they retire.
Union- So why then did you cut people in Cranbrook that were only 6 months away from retirement?
Management- We are not going to talk about that.
Union- You opened the door by saying in Canal there were people only a few months from retirement and you let them work out their time. Yet others were cut?????
Management- Your getting personal and we will not talk about that.

9. Other savings
Union- What are some of the other savings you have looked at or done?
Management- We have gotten rid of a lot of our trucks in the plants. We are going to be multi tasking trucks. At the planer on a/s and n/s, the shipping truck will be parked at the planer for them to use as transportation around the plant. We asked our suppliers to cut 10%, after all they should not be making money off us when we are suffering. The Leturneau is on one shift, the scale shack is down to 2 scalers and the grade shack is down to 2 graders. We will also consider running the planer w/e c/u without a charghand.
Union-When will the scales reopen?
Management- June 22 or 29.


10. What other Tembec mills are running?
Management- Chapleau is running steady but Hearst, Kapuskasing and Senneterre are on a run to order basis.


11. Graders
Union- Is Canal Flats down to 3 graders?Management- No, with the technical programming of their board turners we have had to bring in Bob W. to enable 2 graders instead of 3, by June 27 they will have 2 graders.
Management- Our Lumber Inspector, Barry B., was in Elko this week and the report was within acceptable limits. We are getting good value added returns.

Minutes by:Lee Rodger, Elko Plant Secretary, USW Local 1-405 Trustee