Truckers idling over haul strike
By MICHAEL JAMISON of the Missoulian

June 14,2005


KALISPELL - More than 60 log trucks continue to sit idle in northwestern Montana, with drivers protesting what they say are dismally low haul rates paid by Plum Creek Timber Co.

"We're still parked - at least, a good share of us are," said Ed Hankinson, whose company runs six log trucks. "So far, they've said they're not going to do anything over at Plum Creek, no negotiations or talks, so we're just hanging tough."
But not everyone, apparently, is as tough as Hankinson.

"We've definitely seen a marked increase in deliveries today," said Tom Ray, Plum Creek's regional general manager.

It is, Ray said, just as he predicted: When the forest roads dried out, the trucks went back to work. The shutdown, which began late last week, looked worse than it was, he said, "because it was just too wet to work last week."

And although Hankinson still believes enough truckers are holding out to force the company's hand, he admits some are still rolling. It has been a peaceful and voluntary protest, however, and those choosing to work have not been pressured, he said.

Hankinson was let down, though, when one of the logging contractors he works for actually bought three log trucks of his own to get the trees out of the woods.

"It didn't help us any," he said, "but I guess it's a free country."

Hankinson and other drivers will need the help of logging contractors in their dispute with Plum Creek, however, because those contractors are the middle men between the opposing sides.

The timber company hires the contractors, and the contractors hire the log truckers. Ray said Plum Creek has no intention of talking directly with the truckers, as they are not employed by his company.

So far, however, the contractors have not pushed hard for truckers' demands, which include higher haul rates and a fuel surcharge to offset rising diesel prices.

Trucker Kevin Jump, who is helping to organize the shutdown, said the men might now be willing to hit the road at existing haul rates if a fuel surcharge were negotiated.

But even that seems unlikely. Ray said fuel costs are included in the estimate that logging contractors negotiate with Plum Creek, and each contract includes some wiggle room if prices shoot upward.

"We believe that issue has been addressed in the current contracts," he said, and the company has no interest in reopening those contracts.

"All I know is the cost of fuel is just eating our lunch," Jump said, adding that other mills have raised haul rates and fuel compensation well beyond what Plum Creek has offered.

Both sides have maintained a stony face throughout, making it difficult to assess how much impact the strike might be having.

Truckers say Plum Creek millworkers have dropped by their protest site at the Flathead County Fairgrounds, saying overtime and weekend work already has been curtailed at company mills. They estimate Plum Creek's Evergreen mill - east of Kalispell - could be out of logs by week's end, "and that's going to have a distinct effect on them," Hankinson said.

But Ray insists log levels are fine. Monday, he said, dry roads brought in enough logs to keep inventories stable, he said, and he predicted "we'll be gaining on inventory tomorrow."

How the log yards finally fare could swing the opinion of an important group - Plum Creek's own millworkers.

Ray says workers will be unaffected by the log truck strike, but Jump insists "they're behind us, too, because they can see those inventories going down and they know there will be curtailments."

Jump estimates that about 1 million board feet of logs is not making it to Plum Creek every day of the shutdown, an amount large enough to have trickle-down effects throughout the industry.

If there's no logs, he said, there's no lumber. If no lumber, no chips. If no chips, no material for Missoula's Smurfit-Stone Container Corp. If no material, no work there, either.

"This goes all the way down the line," Jump said. "It's going to affect everyone."

But that, he said, is a chance the log truckers are willing to take, given that Plum Creek's monopoly on mill work offers them only one choice - to work or not to work.

"And we can't afford to go to work," Jump said, "so we're hanging tight. We're in this for the whole haul."

Reporter Michael Jamison can be reached at 1-800-366-7186 or at mjamison@missoulian.com