File 17: Logging

Question 1

What does the paper industry in Quebec logging rely on?

Answer 1

on supply of virgin fibre

Question 2

Describe Qc logging industry during the interwar period. (5)

Answer 2

1. logs flowed from river down to mill
2. horses pulled tree to river
3. lodgers would go to logging camp in the bush in winter
4. usage of big saws
5. cut down of branches of tree => reduction in size of tree

Question 3

What are various technical changes that occured in Qc logging industry?

Answer 3

1.in 1926: creation of the chainsaw - first mechanical saw: by 1950: w improvement thus the use widely spread
2. 1960s: creation of mechanical tree cutters, mechanical branch cutters and better tractors for transportation of logs to river (increased in mechanized cutting technology)
=> increase in productivity (cubic meter of wood supply/hour)

Question 4

What are some background logging charaterisitcs? (4)

Answer 4

1. terrain affected labour productivity
2. terrain affected the feasibility of mechanized cutting: a person witcha chain saw can go where a cutting vehicle cant
3. the more cutting machines used the more investment in machinery => becomes more important for machine maintenance
4. Some work can be closely observed: can be supervised and paid with hourly rates, some work cant bc in bush: cant be supervise requires piece rate

Question 5

What did Mercure do to produce a case study of work organization and labour relations in the harvesting division of the forest product company?

Answer 5

Mercure had paper mills which had been unionized since 1943.in 1963, forest workers organized but management managed to redirect them to a less difficult trade unions

Question 6

What agreements were made following the addition of union in Mercure? (2)

Answer 6

1. improve pay, fringe benefits and camp conditions

2. closely regulating organization of work and reducing management flexibility`

Question 7

What were the flexibility that employers had in the logging industry (in Mercure) before 1972? (4)

Answer 7

1. lay offs (who and when)
2. internal flexibility: can decide on redeployment between tasks on the basis of competence and habilete
3. rates of pay varied based on terrain and employers discretion
4. the only collective agreement was that layoffs and work assignment should consider seniority

Question 8

After 1972, how did collective agreements in the logging industry (mercure) impose limitations on employer’s flexibility? (2)

Answer 8

1. logging rates were established (6):if the slope was smooth of broken, the steepness of the slope, wheter there were rock concentrations, the kind of forest, snow thickness and distance to camp
2. for employment security: seniority were established across 6 forest work: cooking, mechanical trade, tree cutters, truck drivers, hourly paid employees, others. These cross group seniority rights were established for lay off and access to jobs/ if competence was an issue, they had to provide training

Question 9

By the 1960s, why were logging companies selling mechanical cutters to individual workers (3)? What is the consequence of such decision? How were mechanical cutting vehicles employed by companies before?

Answer 9

before: company bought vehicles and used employees to use them
after 1960s: because
1. workers requested it
2. worker ownership created incentive to adopt superior use and maintainance practice
3.tension between chain saw user (paid piece wise) and mechanical users (paid hourly) => owners of vehicles got paid piece wise
Consequence: creates mixed system at loggin camps: some individuals with own quipment others with company owned equipment

Question 10

among those cutting down trees, from the beginning of the 1970s, what were the different employment categories? (3)

Answer 10

1. cutters with chain saw (paid piece rate)
2. owners of cutting and loading machines (paid piece rate)
3. operators of companie owned cuttine and loading machines (paid hourly rate)

Question 11

From the mid 1970s, how did mercure respone to the collective agreement imposed constraints it confronted? (4)

Answer 11

1. it diversified its fiber from independent to semi independent producers
2. shift from use of mechanical cutting device to operator ownership of mechanical cutting device became a company policy: lay offs of individuals on piece rate
3. due to employee discontent: a new union in 1984: failed to renegociate the 1983 agreement
4. cutting vehicle machine owners had priority over other employees who had seniorirty

Question 12

What limit mercure’s productivity? How did they deal with it (2)

Answer 12

limit productivity = unions concern for protecting jobs of its existing members (seniority) and determining renumeration thru rules rather than management (formula tyiing pay to terrain)
solution: shifting fibers sources to subcontractors and employees who owned their own cutting machine