Anyone attending the annual Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship this weekend may notice local striking mill workers won’t be picketing near the Sorting Gap Marina.
CEP Locals 92 and 306 have agreed to remove the signs from the south side of the Shevlin woodyard along Front Street for the duration of the tournament.
“We didn’t see any need to have them there,” Local 92 president Mike Drazenovich said yesterday. “There won’t be any activity there during the tournament so we agreed with the bass committee to remove the signs.
“It’s a good, long-standing community event and there was no need for it,” he added.
“Every year we’ve allowed the fishermen to park in the woodyard because they know their vehicles will be safe there,” mill general manager Jim Gartshore noted.
“Basically, [the absence of picketers] is part of a co-operation to make the bass tournament a success,” he said.
John McTaggart, chairman of the bass committee, was pleased with the agreement.
“We’ve had great co-operation from Abitibi and CEP Local 92 and 306,” he said, noting the absence of strike activity in the immediate area should facilitate the large number of anglers coming and going during the tournament.
Drazenovich said the picket signs will be back there as soon as the tournament is over, and that picket lines will remain up at other mill sites this weekend.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
