This is one aspect of logging operations that I have never addressed. It is by the way, a term near and dear to me, as my father was a gyppo logger.
The term originated during World War I from the Industrial
Workers of the World (IWW) one of the earliest unions to attempt to organize loggers and sawmill workers. Just exactly how word was coined is not known. The IWW referred to the gypos as strike breakers. Basically, a gyppo logger could be an individual or small company who worked as a independent contractor to log certain tracks for large companies such as Fruit Growers Supply, Red River Lumber Company among others.