Winter 1997/98 Wild
California
Former Old-Growth Timber Faller Sues Pacifc Lumber
In June of 1997, Pacific Lumber and its parent corporation, Houston-based Maxxam, were sued in U.S. District Court by Stan Chandler, who for many
years was PL's number one old-growth timber faller and a third-generation
PL employee.
The suit alleges that, following the junk-bond takeover by corporate
financier Charles Hurwitz and the Maxxam Corporation, management put profit
ahead of worker safety, exposing their employees to unsafe working
conditions. Mr. Chandler claims that he was fired for speaking up against
those new management policies which placed the safety of Pacific Lumber
employees in jeopardy. The suit seeks damages for the wrongful discharge
of Mr. Chandler.
The original complaint included claims that the Maxxam-controlled company
engaged in unfair business practices by violating state and federal
environmental laws, including cutting down virgin old-growth forest during
clandestine operations not authorized by law. For example, employees were
directed to cut down old-growth trees that were required by state and
federal agencies to remain intact for marbled murrelet and spotted owl
habitat.
Furthermore, the company required employees to engage in activities
designed to obstruct and prevent law enforcement agencies' discovery of
these operations. A videotape showing the illegal removal of old-growth
trees was filed as an exhibit to the complaint. Although Mr. Chandler and
his attorneys have chosen not to pursue the allegations of unfair business
practices in court, the evidence of Pacific Lumber's wrongdoing is very
compelling.
"Charles Hurwitz and Maxxam do not care about their employees or the environment
- all they care about is short-term profit. Pacific Lumber cannot put profit
above worker safety, or punish an employee who speaks out against unsafe practices,"
said Kirk Boyd, one of Mr. Chandler's attorneys.
