Western Forest Products strike heats up with first ‘hot edict’ in a decade

By Alex McKeen
The Toronto Star
July 11, 2019
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

VANCOUVER—Striking forestry workers on Vancouver Island are turning to a tactic that hasn’t been used in BC in 10 years to make sure trees cut down for Western Forest Products won’t get to market. A large local of the United Steelworkers is calling on other B.C. union members — particularly the 6,500-member International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) — to refuse to transport what they say are millions of raw logs felled on Vancouver Island. …The company says its “examining the legality” of the move. …The company says it’s working to fill customer orders and has a “contingency plan” while workers are on strike. The BC Federation of Labour, the umbrella organization representing most unions in the province, issued the “hot edict” on Wednesday. …The federation hasn’t issued such an order in 10 years.

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