The United Steelworkers (USW) Bargaining Committee says rotating job action is set to begin after discussions with the Interior Forest Labour Relations Association (IFLRA) have not moved forward.
Job action impacts 2,600 members in the south region, and could include Castlegar’s Interfor sawmill which is represented by USW Local 1-405. President Doug Singer says a mediator was brought in on Friday, but describes the response they received from the IFLRA as “unacceptable.”
“The employer just continued to insist on what issues were going to be bargained and quite frankly just didn’t give us a proposal that we could even respond to.”
Singer says no details will be released about what job action is planned, but as of Wednesday morning they will be in official strike position.
Friday was the first meeting with the mediator; however, the collective agreement covering forestry workers in both the north and south interior expired on June 30, 2018.
