Both sides in the 4 1/2 month Western Forest Products strike are claiming the high ground after negotiations ended on the weekend.
In dueling press releases, Western Forest Products CEO Don Demens said they offered a 5-year deal with pay increases and a signing bonus, and dropped all proposals opposed by the union.
United Steelworkers Local 1-1937 says company comments are misleading and false, and accuse them of pushing 40 concessions the union is opposed to.
The union says they’re available every day to continue mediation with the company, while Western is asking that picket lines be removed and workers return to their jobs while binding arbitration is put to a vote.
The strike affects 3,000 Western employees at manufacturing plants, as well as timberland operations along the B-C coast.
