Death in the Forest

A brand-new film about the loggers of British Columbia will be screened this Friday at the AFL-CIO as part of the National Day of Action to support 7,000 striking loggers and mill workers, members of the Steelworkers union. The film, Death in the Forest -- part of the DC Labor FilmFest -- takes viewers deep into the woods and lives of a vanishing breed of skilled men who are paying for a changing industry with their lives. Part of a brawling, two-fisted industry that provided a basic commodity and built the economy of British Columbia, the tree fellers were once proud icons of the great north woods. But like millions of other Canadians, their workplaces have been transformed in recent years through deregulation, cutbacks and contracting out. The free noontime screening will be introduced by Mike Zielinski of the USW’s Strategic Campaigns Department, who will provide an update on the two-month-old forestry strike and the September 29 National Day of Action. Following the film, a striking forestry worker will be available for Q&A.