VANCOUVER—B. C.’s striking forestry workers like it hot.

That is, they like a Labour Relations Board decision allowing them to continue tagging company logs as “hot” so union members can refuse to handle them, which prevents them from getting to market.

On Monday, the provincial labour board decided workers could continue marking logs with signs or spray paint after Western Forest Products argued it stepped outside the bounds of what’s allowed during a strike. But the board also ruled that union members can’t tag logs on third-party property, which will help the company avoid the worst effects of the rare labour action.

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The BC Federation of Labour, the umbrella organization representing most unions in the province, issued a “hot edict” July 10, asking its affiliates not to handle Western Forest Products (WFP) logs during the strike, which is now one month old.

“This is a private sector dispute. We think that in private sector disputes we can hopefully bring more pressure to bear,” Stephen Hunt, District Three director for the United Steelworkers said when the hot edict was declared. USW represents 2,600 workers striking against WFP on the B.C. coast and Vancouver Island.

Striking workers have been affixing the words “hot” on various company products, most notably log booms located near Duke Point in Nanaimo.

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The USW strike against Western Forest Products marks the first time the federation has issued such an order in 10 years. (Jesse Winter / Star Vancouver)

As a result, workers for third-party companies hired to transport the logs have refused to do so, resulting in $15,000 in losses and a threat of greater economic impact if the company can’t supply their mill in Ladysmith, the Labour Relations Board stated in the reason for its decision.

Board vice-chair Andres Barker wrote that even though the edict negatively impacted WFP’s operations, the union and federation had a right to inflict pressure on the company that way.

“It is a not-often used but effective tool and we don’t use it lightly,” Laird Cronk, president of the federation, said in a phone interview Wednesday. “The intention is to put acute economic pressure on the company and get them back to the bargaining table.”

The USW strike against Western Forest Products marks the first time the federation has issued such an order in 10 years.

While the “hot edict” was upheld by the board, Barker ordered union members to stop “picketing” at locations owned by other companies.

That includes tagging logs at sites where WFP logs are stored, such as Duke Point. it means workers who handle and tow the logs may not immediately know which booms have been declared “hot.”

In a short statement sent by email, WFP said it was “pleased” that the board had ordered the tagging to stop on third-party property.

A worker surveys logs at a dry-sort timber yard in Chemainus, B.C. On Monday, the provincial labour board decided workers could continue marking logs with signs or spray paint after Western Forest Products argued it stepped outside the bounds of what’s allowed during a strike. (Jesse Winter / Star Vancouver)

In its submissions to the board, the company argued its Ladysmith mill would have to be closed by July 25 if the edict wasn’t lifted.

“The LRB’s ruling that picketing at locations where the union does not normally work is illegal has allowed us to direct a limited supply of logs to the Ladysmith Sawmill, enabling operations to continue as long as there is adequate log supply and market support,” WFP spokesperson Babita Khunkhun wrote in the email.

The workers who refused to tow the logs, employed by a company called Jones Marine, aren’t members of a union affiliated with the B.C. Federation of Labour. But as members of the Canadian Merchant Service Guild, there’s a clause in their contract that allows them to refuse to touch “hot” products.

“They hold the principles of the labour movement dear and they have been honouring — in solidarity — the hot edict of the federation,” said Cronk. “The nice thing about this ruling is it ensures the labour movement continues to have strength through solidarity.”

Forestry workers on Vancouver Island walked off the job on June 28 after negotiations between Western Forest Products and USW Local 1-1937 broke down. The union says the company, which posted a profit close to $70 million last year, is trying to cut pension plans and weaken benefits available to contract workers.

The company says it’s working to fill customer orders and has a “contingency plan” while workers are on strike. It declined to give details on the plan or its position at the bargaining table.

Raw logs wait to be sorted at a lot in Chemainus, B.C. Forestry workers on Vancouver Island walked off the job on June 28 after negotiations between Western Forest Products and USW Local 1-1937 broke down. T (Jesse Winter/ Star Vancouver)