Workers are due for a return to Nanaimo's Duke Point sawmill on Thursday, Feb. 20 following ratification of a new agreement with Western Forest Products. (Google Maps)

By Alex Rawnsley

HEADING BACK TO WORK

‘We were fighting for people before us and in the future:’ forestry workers due back on the job

Feb 19, 2020 | 7:07 AM

NANAIMO — An incredibly tough nearly eight months off the job is coming to an end for approximately 3000 forestry workers.

An agreement between United Steelworkers 1-1937 and Western Forest Products (WFP) was ratified by 81.9 per cent on Saturday, Feb. 15.

Bill Merriman, a long-time boom operator at WFP’s Duke Point mill, told NanaimoNewsNOW the strike impacted a lot of younger workers with families.

“My son, who has two young children, is also working at the mill,” Merriman said. “I had to see him through the strike and just support him mentally, talk to him about what happens next.”

Merriman said he and other workers were focused on the big picture through negotiations.

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“When you’re in this situation, it’s more than just you personally,” Merriman said. “A lot of the younger people realized that we were fighting for people before us and in the future. That’s what kept people really strong, we didn’t want to go backwards.”

The new contract clears the way for safety training on Thursday, Feb. 20 and Friday, Feb. 21, with shifts resuming the following Monday.

Merriman believed the contract will help in future negotiations with other companies and unions around the province, since recently ratified agreements are often used as negotiation tactics.

He said pressure mounted from those outside the industry to stop strike action and return to work while negotiations continued.

“That would not have benefitted us at all,” Merriman said. “It was great to see the resolve and everybody staying together like that. I don’t think people really understand the impact this contract makes on the entire working force.”

Western Forest Products CEO Don Demens said in a release on Saturday the company is focused on a safe return to work and the pace of start-up will depend on “availability of employees and contractors, market demand, weather conditions and sufficient log supply.”

alex.rawnsley@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @alexrawnsley