About the Wood Council

 

Bob Matters – Wood Council Chairperson

Steelworkers-Wood Council chairperson Bob Matters has been a rank and file IWA woodworker and now Steelworkers member since the age of 18, when he was first hired on at the Galloway Lumber and planer mill in Galloway, BC in 1977.

In October, 2006 he was elected to a three-year term as the Wood Council’s chairperson, succeeding Norm Rivard.

Brother Matters, whose father served in the Royal Canadian Air Force, was born in Grostenquin, France. He lived all over Canada and eventually made southeastern British Columbia his home.

Matters brings years of collective bargaining experience and advocacy work to the position.

He was elected as the first vice president of Cranbrook, BC Local 1-405 in 1992. Two years later he became local union president, a member of the IWA Canada National Executive Board and member of the BC Provincial Negotiating Committee.

He  also serves as a member of the Southern Interior Health and Welfare Committee and the IWA-Forest Industry Pension Plan.

Click here to contact Bob.

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History of the Wood Council

The International Woodworkers of America was founded in 1937 as part of the Congress of Industrial Organizations. The union grew as a strong, democratic, industrial union throughout North America.

In the mid-1980s, the IWA split into two national unions. The IWA-CANADA merged with two locals of the Lumber and Sawmill Workers Union (LSWU) in Northern Ontario. In 1994, the union changed its name to the Industrial, Wood and Allied Workers of Canada (IWA) to reflect its growing diversity.

In 2003, the national convention of the union made a decision to pursue a merger with a "larger, compatible union." In 2004, the Executive of the IWA selected the United Steelworkers and a merger was negotiated and took effect on September 1, 2004.

A critical part of the merger agreement was the creation of the Steelworkers – IWA Council, representing and coordinating the interests of the former IWA local unions in the areas of safety and health, collective bargaining, organizing and political action.  By 2006 the IWA Council adopted the moniker "Wood Council."

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Wood Council Services & Contacts

The Steelworkers – Wood Council can be contacted at:

300 – 3920 Norland Avenue
Burnaby, BC V5G 4K7
P: 604.683.1117
F: 604.688.6416
E: iwacouncil@usw.ca

Safety, Health and Environment

Ron Corbeil
300 – 3920 Norland Avenue
Burnaby, BC V5G 4K7
P: 604.683.1117 x50225
F: 604.688.6416
E: rcorbeil@usw.ca

Wood Council Pensions & Benefits Services

Gerry Smith
300 – 3920 Norland Avenue
Burnaby, BC V5G 4K7
P: 604.683.1117 x50224
F: 604.688.6416
E: grsmith@usw.ca

Job Evaluation & Rate Determination Programs

John Mountain
300 – 3920 Norland Avenue
Burnaby, BC V5G 4K7
P: 604.683.1117 x50244
F: 604.688.6416
E: jmountain@usw.ca

USW Wood Council Job Evaluation & Rate Determination Programs