VANCOUVER - A tentative deal to end a strike at 31 British Columbia forestry companies has been reached with the United Steelworkers.
The deal covers about 4,500 workers at companies represented by the industry group Forest Industrial Relations.
They're among 7,000 coastal forestry workers who walked off the job on July 21, all but shutting down the West Coast industry.
Talks with two other companies where workers also struck, International Forest Products and Island Timberlands, are expected to be wrapped up quickly.
Key issues in the strike were work scheduling, severance and protection from contracting out.
The strike in B.C.'s $2-billion coastal forest sector came at a time when the rising Canadian dollar and a slump in the U.S. housing sector had already pinched industry profits.
