PRINCE GEORGE, B.C. (Feb. 25, 2005) — Tensions are quickly mounting in B.C.’s Interior as some truckers are trying to haul through picket lines and deliver logs to Prince George’s largest sawmill.

However, striking owner-operators, represented by the Prince George Truckers Association and the United Steelworkers, say the handful of truckers pushing through pickets aren’t part of their group. Some were from out of town, while one was a logging contractor with its own equipment, the truckers told the Prince George Citizen.

The independent operators shut their trucks down and staged a wildcat strike last week when lumber producer Canfor Corp. refused to bargain directly over trucking rates, fuel surcharges, and operational issues such as turnaround times and working conditions. The company says it will only deal with area logging contractors.

According to The Citizen, Canfor has told the contactors it would agree to a 12.4 percent rate increase for the truckers. The company is also in court to try to make permanent an injunction limiting the number of pickets.

Logging contractors claim trucks en route to Canfor have been pelted with rocks on a logging road north of Prince George, and one truck had a light smashed. Other drivers claim they’ve been threatened with violence for attempting to cross picket lines.

Police were called to the picket line but no arrests were made.

Canfor has said if the dispute goes on much longer it will run out of logs before the busy summer hauling season begins.

Meanwhile, owner-ops in Fort St. James have voted not to join their Prince George counterparts in strike action.

— from the Prince George Citizen