BY ROGER ANNIS AND PAUL KOURI
VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Two hundred workers at the Canfor company's Eburne sawmill here voted March 30 to continue their occupation of the factory and stick to their demand that the company reverse its decision to close the facility. Members of the Industrial Wood and Allied Workers of Canada (IWA-Canada) Local 2171 have occupied the mill since March 26. "We've turned down the buyout, now the struggle is really on," explained Robert Hobbs as he emerged from the union meeting and vote held inside company gates.

Canfor has offered a lucrative buyout to the workers, all of whom have 15 or more years' seniority as a result of several rounds of jobs cuts in the past 10 years. The buyout was recommended by IWA-Canada officials, but not the local plant committee. "The company says it will offer us jobs at its other mills, but we don't believe the jobs are there," explained Jeff Pazik in an interview the previous day. He said Canfor has closed five sawmills in the Vancouver area over the past decade. Workers have erased the word "Safety" from the signs at the entrances to the sawmill and substituted "Lying," so the signs now read, "Lying Is Number One At Canfor."

Sham Atwal, who has worked 25 years at the sawmill, said, "We are not just fighting for ourselves here. Workers at the other companies in the area are encouraging us and telling us to not give up. They believe that they may be next." The union committee at Eburne has traveled to gain support for the occupation from sawmill workers at the Interfor sawmill at nearby Squamish and from 300 loggers at Canfor Eburne's logging site on Vancouver Island.

Paul Kouri is a member of United Steelworkers of America Local 2952. Roger Annis is a member of the International Association of Machinists Local 764.  
 
 
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