Strike vote planned for 3,500 B.C. mill workers

Workers at mills in British Columbia's southern Interior will be taking a strike vote starting this weekend.

The vote includes about 3,500United Steelworkers members and includes workersin Kamloops, Kelowna, Cranbrook, Clearwater, Salmon Arm, Merrit and Clinton.

It is being held as negotiations on a new contract with the Interior Forestry Labour Relations Association (IFLRA) have stalled.

Marty Gibbons, president of Steelworkers Local 1-417, says despite record profits, employers are still demanding concessions from workers.

"One example is that they are seeking to capmembers' dental benefits for life," he said. "Another issue is that they're seeking to lock us in long term on raises we strongly believearen't even going to meet inflation."

Gibbons says the strike vote results will be made public Oct 26.

Meanwhile, forestryworkers in north central B.C. have alreadyvoted to strike.

Workers at the Lakeview Mill in Williams Lake had a one day strike earlier this week after negotiations broke down.

With files from Doug Herbert