The History of CEP Local 1119 Port Mellon

Contributed by: Fred Allnutt Sr.

The history of the Port Mellon Local cannot be taken in isolation; it is inexorably tied to the organizational efforts of the International Brotherhood of Pulp Sulphite and Papermill Workers (IBPS&PMW) on the coast. The organization of each local union was a battle in a war to organize the industry. Each battle had to be won and the sum total was the winning of the war. No local can successfully stand alone for long. It must have the support of, and support it’s sister unions. That is a fact that is basic to unionism and is as true or truer today than it was a century ago.

The Port Mellon local’s history really began 86 years ago. In 1914 the Paper Workers union organized Local 142 in Powell River and five (5) years later in 1919 the IBPS&PMW successfully organized the Powell River pulp mill workers into Local 76. Working conditions in the mill were primitive at best and the workers were required to work 11-hour shifts on day shift and 13 hours on night shift. The first contract (for a six month period) eliminated the long tedious shifts and provided for 8-hour shifts.

Company regulations were tough and the Company Towns Act of that period gave the company the right to remove anyone from their property without even consulting the Provincial Police. The only place in Powell River that was not company property was the old government bridge at Powell Lake, consequently that was the only place the workers could meet.

In 1921 the Powell River Company refused to negotiate with the union and totally repudiated them and imported scabs in an attempt to break the unions. They succeeded. Al Hansen president of Paper Makers Local 142 and Dougal Gillis president of IBPS&PMW Local 76 and other active members of both locals were termed disloyal employees and fired.

In the 1930’s solid groundwork was again layed for the organizational activity that would see the resurgence of Local 76. During this period Ernest Bakewell was elected to the Provincial Legislature for the CCF party in Mackenzie Riding and many Powell River employees who had supported him were purged. This injustice lead to intense union activity which resulted in a meeting at Myrtle Point in 1936 which elected a small group of activists that led to the rebirth of Local 76.

In June 1937 Local 312 IBPS&PMW was organized at Ocean Falls. Also in 1937 an organizer from Everett Washington successfully organized Local 297 Port Mellon. Shortly thereafter, ostensibly because of economic conditions, the mill was shut down. It was 1941 before the Port Mellon Mill was taken over by the Sorge Pulp Company and Local 297 was re-activated. This move was viciously opposed by the company and meetings had to be held off company property. An organizer from Port Angeles and Stubby Hansen from Powell River played important rolls in the re-activation. In the 1942 negotiations at Port Mellon, Stubby Hansen again took part and they were able to eliminate the most odious clause, the "Oriental" differential, which allowed for 10 to 15 cents an hour between oriental and white workers, a lot of money when wage rates were in the dollar an hour range.

It was 1943 and 1944 before what has been called the hardest nut of all to crack; the "Woodfibre" mill was organized. As with the other mills the organizational meetings could not be held in the town site, in the case of Woodfibre they had to be held in Squamish.

Those were the early mills, the "Trail Blazers" so to speak and they were quickly followed by Port Alice in 1945, Port Alberni in 1947, and then by Harmac, Prince Rupert etc. It was during the 1940’s that the "B.C. Labour agreement" came into being as the Paper Union locals joined together to negotiate with the manufacturers and the Pulp Locals joined together in the "Standard Labour Contract" for the same purpose.

Many skirmishes were fought over the next years and conditions and wages slowly improved. In 1957 the true temper of the coast locals was tested, when against the wishes of the International leadership the B.C. membership voted to strike. The International, despite misgivings, sanctioned the strike and provided $900,000 dollars in strike pay. In most cases much more money was sent to the locals than they had ever paid to the International. Today $900,000 dollars doesn’t sound like much money but in 1957 it was a substantial amount. A long bitter strike ensued in which the B.C. locals proved that they had been welded into a tough seasoned force.

After the 1957 strike ended the industry settled down to a period of fairly amicable relations until the late 1960’s when societal changes and inflationary pressures heated up the labour relations front. The ten years between 1965 and 1975 were a period of constant upheaval throughout the industry and Port Mellon was no exception. Local 297 was being raided from outside by a breakaway faction, the PPWC, whose Raison d’etre was to form a Canadian Union. To do this they conducted a raiding campaign on anybody and everybody, especially Locals of the IBPS&PMW. Not only did Local 297 have to fight raiders coming in from outside but the PPWC had many converts on the inside trying to subvert the local from within. At the same time it was necessary to deal with a constant series of Wobbles, Sit-downs, Sit-ins, and Walkouts some instigated by pro PPWC agitators and the rest the result of the general unrest sweeping through society and fuelled by inflation as high as 12%. The local union was in ferment and General Meetings were Raucous affairs. In June 1971 Local 297 fought off a vicious PPWC raid by the narrowest of margins.

In August 1972 the IBPS&PMW merged with the Paper Makers union the UPP and became the UPIU or United Papermakers International Union. In February of 1973 Port Mellon Local 297 became Local 1119 of the UPIU. The loss of the 297 designation was a heartfelt loss, the local had a proud history of activism as Local 297, and was known throughout organized labour as a local that wouldn’t flinch and could always be counted on for support In the summer of 1973 the British Columbia Standard Labour Agreement (BCSLA) was created as a result of combining the "B.C. Labour Agreement" and the "Standard Labour Contract". The BCSLA was to remain in effect for the next twenty years. There was no time to regret the loss of the Local 297 designation or to celebrate the successful compilation of the BCSLA. Dissatisfaction with the policies of the UPIU was festering and at a special Canadian Convention delegates from across Canada voted to break away from the International Union, regardless of the cost, and form a new Canadian Union. On April 1, 1974 the membership voted to ratify the separation and to form the CPU, The Canadian Paperworkers Union.

1974 then was a landmark year for the Canadian Labour Movement. The CPU had only just come into being was still suffering start-up pains when the 1975 negotiation for the BCSLA began. The unions were determined to make substantial changes and catch-up what had been lost to inflation, which had been running as high as twelve percent per annum. However it was evident almost from the beginning of negotiations that management had another agenda, they literally refused to negotiate, and therefore a strike was preordained. Negotiations dragged on through the spring and summer, the strike began in the middle of July and continued through mid October. A government mediator was appointed and the strike finally had to be ended by Government Legislation. In retrospect it became evident that the companies were determined to defeat the NDP government of the day. Their goals were political not economical and allied with other major employers in the Province they were successful. In 1981 the industry and the members of the BCSLA again found themselves in a confrontation that would lead to a strike. The strike lasted four weeks in mid-summer and was resolved without assistance. The times were a changing and in February 1984 the Industry locked out the unions for ten weeks, this was followed by a one week strike which was ended by legislation. In 1992 the industry and the unions again found themselves in strike mode, this time it lasted five weeks from mid June to late July. Special Mediator Vince Ready developed a settlement accepted by both sides.

At the expiry of the 1992 agreement on June 30^th 1994 the employer group broke apart and because there was no more industry structure the BCSLA became a thing of the past. In 1992 another important event took place, the CPU merged with two unions in the Chemical and Electronic industries and formed the CEP, The Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada. Members of the CEP work in a diverse cross section of Canadian Industry, everything from pulp and paper mills through chemicals and oil, journalism, TV broadcasting, truck driving and nursing. The CEP has a membership of 150,000 working people across Canada and is one of Canada’s largest unions.

In the pulp and paper industry in B.C. protracted negotiations in 1994 finally led to a strike between FCC and their local unions for 5-6 weeks in Jan/Feb 1995. The resulting settlement set the pattern for the rest of the industry. However again in 1997 FCC and their local unions faced off for another round that resulted in a protracted strike that lasted nine long months from July 1997 to April 1998. Again this settlement was used as a pattern for the rest of the industry and appeared to be the system that was emerging for future negotiations. Local 1119 played a prominent role in all these events and never failed to support it’s sister locals or shirked its responsibility to it’s membership. As we move into the 21st century it is 63 years old, however it is by no means ready to retire and is obviously re-energized and prepared to continue to represent it’s members as it has for over half a century