Industrial, Wood, Allied Workers may merge with Steelworkers

A merger may be in the works for the Industrial, Wood and Allied Workers of Canada and the United Steelworkers of America.

At a meeting today, the IWA's board endorsed the recommendation of a committee that said it should start negotiating with the Steelworkers, the Canadian Press reported.

"We feel our memberships are very compatible in terms of our history and our shared values," Steelworkers national director Lawrence McBrearty (shown) said in a written statement.

"We will do everything we can to accommodate IWA members and create a merger that works in the interests of everybody."

Any merger proposal would be subjected to a ratification vote by the IWA membership.

To read the Canadian Press coverage, please click here.

**************************** The following is the full text of a Friday-night news release from the United Steelworkers of America:

United Steelworkers pleased with woodworkers' union decision to talk merger

TORONTO, Feb. 27 - United Steelworkers' leaders are looking forward to merger discussions with the Industrial, Wood and Allied Workers of Canada (IWA) following a decision by the IWA's National Executive Board to enter into negotiations to merge the two unions.

The IWA chose the Steelworkers from among a number of national and international unions. "We feel our memberships are very compatible in terms of our history and our shared values," said Steelworkers' National Director Lawrence McBrearty.

"We will do everything we can to accommodate IWA members and create a merger that works in the interests of everybody." McBrearty added that the industries that spawned the Steelworkers and the IWA have been cornerstones of Canada's economy.

Steelworker President Leo Gerard said the addition of the IWA would strengthen the unions' agenda on international issues, particularly trade. "We intend to work as hard with IWA members on the softwood lumber issue, as we have with our members to safeguard the steel industry in North America," he said.

"IWA members will have the benefit of lobbying power in both Ottawa and Washington," McBrearty added. Both leaders said merger talks will begin immediately, to be followed by a referendum vote by all IWA members in Canada. The IWA is a national union with about 55,000 members in seven provinces.

The United Steelworkers has over 600,000 members in North America, 180,000 of whom work in every sector of Canada's economy.

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