Will the Rubber Meet the Road?....
Tuesday, June 07, 2005 04:30 AM
There will be meetings tonight in Prince George and in Houston as the United Steelworkers-IWA huddles with members over the cancellation of negotiations with the contractors and mills in the area. The General Manager of the Central Interior Logging Association, Roy Nagel, says it looks like the United Steelworkers of America are trying to organize the Prince George truckers but, he asks, is that what the truckers of the region want?
Canfor and some of the other smaller mills were to get together with the Prince George Trucking Association Friday and again on Monday, but the sessions were called off. It is known the United Steelworkers had added a new condition, demanding that the truckers be a part of a closed shop for truckers in the region.
One mill insider says the demand had never surfaced before, and was totally out of the blue. He says mills know they haven’t looked after truckers during the past couple of years, but with an offer on the table to go to a $3.01 cent per ton hr, with no administration fee, a monthly adjusted fuel cost factor and a spot on committees for the truckers in discussions surrounding road and mill safety, they believed they had come to a good agreement.
The new demand, says the mill insider, makes it appear the United Steelworkers are now interested in becoming the union for the truckers and that is why they are looking for a closed shop.
There were about 102 truckers, including drivers for independent operators and independent truck owners, at a recent meeting who voted 97% in favor of a strike, but some truckers now say that didn't mean they gave the nion authorization to strike when it wants.
There are about 600 truckers working in this region, of that number, about 50% work for the logging contractors who own their own trucks and the other 300 are independent truck owners. Many of the truckers say they don’t belong to any organization and that’s the way they want it
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Oh that's strange. First they band together for a cause, and now they don't want to belong to a organization.
Wonder what the BCTA is?
This is typical stuff coming from those who are not happy with a vote. Does this association have a elected representative?
Is it a "non profit" organization? Are there voting rights that this organization exercises?
Your timimg because of dissapointment with how Canfor treats the meetings, has brought out the winers. Get use to it. This is a famous tactic of Canfor negotiating practise. It's nothing new. Sort of like testing the crowd after the contractors got together to voice their opinion.
And you know what, the weak ones are caving and doing a disservice to your strong gathering. There is disorganization in the views about what unions constitute. And somehow you think a association is better?
I am really at a loss for words.
"Mission Statement
Through consultation and communication with our industry, government and the public, we will promote a prosperous, safe, efficient and responsible commercial road transportation industry that contributes to the economy of British Columbia. We will provide value to our members through programs and services."
http://www.bctrucking.com/mission.html
Like I said before, "Good luck."