Western Forest to start mediation with USW WESTERN WELCOMES RETURN TO BARGAINING TABLE; RESPONDS TO NAFTA CHALLENGE PANEL DECISION
Western Forest Products Inc. and the United Steelworkers Local 1-1937 (USW) expect to begin mediation with independent mediator Vince Ready on Sept. 13, 2019.
"We look forward to resuming discussions with the USW to negotiate a collective agreement that creates certainty for our employees, while maintaining Western's competitive position during this particularly challenging time for the forest industry," said Don Demens, president and chief executive officer of Western. "It is important that we resume operations to supply our customers who, through their purchases, create thousands of jobs in B.C."
The strike, which commenced on July 1, 2019, affects all the company's USW-certified manufacturing and timberlands operations in British Columbia, impacting approximately 1,500 of the company's hourly employees, and approximately 1,500 employees working for the company's timberland operators and contractors.
Western also responded to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) binational panel's decision issued today in relation to a prior U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) ruling.
"While we are pleased with the panel's decision to send the U.S. lumber industry's injury case back to the USITC for review, we are disappointed that the panel did not make a similar finding in relation to the USITC's ruling that cedar/redwood is a distinct product group from commodity structural lumber," said Mr. Demens. "Softwood lumber duties continue to disproportionately impact high-value, specialty wood products, including Western red cedar, that have been unfairly brought into the dispute over structural lumber. We will continue to explore options to protect high-value products and, in particular, the coastal forest industry from this disproportional impact."