6 B.C. mayors beg negotiators to get a deal done in ongoing forestry strike

PORT MCNEILL (NEWS 1130) — More than four months into a B.C. forestry workers strike, six mayors, mostly on Vancouver Island, have issued a letter describing how the job action has affected their communities.

“As leaders of communities that are severely impacted by the Western Forest Products and United Steelworkers labour dispute, we are compelled to draw your attention to the economic devastation this dispute is causing for the families who live and work in our communities; the people whose support we rely on as the economic backbone of our local economies,” says the letter, issued to both the United Steelworkers Local 1-1937 and Western Forest Products.

About three thousand workers walked off the job July 1. About 500 of those workers live in northern Vancouver Island.

Port McNeill mayor Gaby Wickstrom was one of the mayors who put her name on the letter.

“We felt it was very important that each side know the story, it has a face. It isn’t about the union or the company. These are communities, these are families and we are hurting,” she says.

The letter highlights, in point form, the impact on families.

• We are beginning to see houses listed for sale
• We have seen tow trucks repossessing peoples’ vehicles
• Hydro has disconnected services to peoples’ homes
• The food banks are having difficulty meeting the demand and recently a food truck made a special delivery to Woss, Port McNeill & Port Hardy.
• In Ladysmith, (with two WFP mills), dozens of supporting contractors and suppliers rely on these mills as core customers; the impacts of this dispute are extending broadly into the community – well beyond those who are on the picket lines
• The dispute has caused major layoffs in tertiary industries; in Chemainus, one re-manufacturing plant cut its shifting in half due to a lack of fibre supply
• Challenges with fibre supply are creating ongoing cost and acquisition complications for the Paper Excellence/Catalyst operations in Crofton and Port Alberni.
• Five hundred direct and indirect jobs are affected by this dispute in the Powell River area

 

Wickstrom describes what she is seeing in her region of about 10,000 people.

“There are families that are now paying interest on deferred mortgage payments. I know a family had twins only four days before the strike started, so I can only imagine how difficult that must be with formula and diapers for a set of twins plus another three-year-old,” she says. “As I drive through town, there’s less activity in the stores. Restaurants are fairly empty, with the exception of coffee shops, where people can afford a cup of coffee.”

And she says the impact is being felt beyond the striking employees.

“It’s not just the forestry workers. They get strike pay, which is not a lot. But the contractors or businesses that rely the forestry industry – they are not getting anything and they are laying people off.”

The mayors also fear long-term repercussions.

“If this dispute continues, we expect attrition of the workforce will occur with older workers opting to take early retirement and younger workers seeking work in alternative sectors,” the letter reads.

But Wickstrom is also proud of how her communities and others have banded together to support struggling families.

“There’s a group of ladies delivering groceries. A local hairdresser is offering free haircuts. The Lionesses are holding a dinner Saturday night called Lift Your Spirits.”

The letter was written before this week’s mediated talks began. According to the union, those talks are scheduled to continue this weekend.

The mayors of Port Hardy, Powell River, Ladysmith, North Cowichan and Sayward have also signed the letter.

Joint Mayors Letter_WFP-USW