Month: October 2011

The provincial building trades will be pressing to ensure that contracts for government infrastructure projects are awarded fairly and reflect the best interests of the unionized workforce. A two-page emergency resolution on the issue, drafted by Local 793 of the International Union of Operating Engineers, was presented and passed unanimously at an Oct. 22 meeting […]

The provincial building trades will be pressing to ensure that contracts for government infrastructure projects are awarded fairly and reflect the best interests of the unionized workforce.

A two-page emergency resolution on the issue, drafted by Local 793 of the International Union of Operating Engineers, was presented and passed unanimously at an Oct. 22 meeting of the Provincial Building and Construction Trades Council of Ontario held in Niagara Falls.

The resolution was supported by the Ontario Provincial District Council of LIUNA.

Local 793 business manager Mike Gallagher told delegates at the meeting that the unionized trades have been building Ontario for 100 years and “they have done it successfully.”

The problem, he said, is that large foreign consortiums are now bidding on projects in Ontario and don’t want to work with the building trades – something which is unacceptable.

He said governments have been silent on the matter.

“What the hell is our government doing and why is our government not protecting us?” he asked. “It’s time for us to wake them up. We have questions that we want answered.”

Gallagher told delegates that the building trades need to ensure that contracts for infrastructure projects go to companies and contractors that want to work with Ontario unions.

“It’s time for us to get very, very aggressive with the government here,” he said.

The building trades will immediately undertake research into the processes and resources currently used by various levels of government in screening and selecting contractors to be awarded significant infrastructure projects.

The council will also develop proposals to ensure that the awarding of infrastructure contracts is done on a fair basis that reflects the best interests of the unionized building trade unions.

Leaders of the council will also be seeking to meet with all levels of government and all appropriate ministries for the purpose of lobbying for implementation of changes that will ensure infrastructure contracts are “assessed and awarded in a manner consistent with the history of construction and development in Ontario by unionized contractors.”

The resolution notes that the federal government announced an infrastructure stimulus fund and the Ontario government will be putting $13 billion into infrastructure projects in 2011.

The resolution states that contractors who have longstanding agreements with the building trades have historically done the work, but the political and economic stability of Canada and the infrastructure work being undertaken, has made the Canadian construction market, and Ontario in particular, the subject of increased strategic targeting by multi-national offshore companies.

The resolution states that, increasingly, the multi-nationals are seeking to import and employ individuals from out-of-country while skilled Ontario workers are ready and available to do the work.

Meanwhile, the resolution states, the request for qualifications process used by all levels of government to screen potential bidders does not clearly include consideration for the promotion of Canadian content requirements and stable labour relations, the creation of level playing fields in competition, or safeguards against going into business with contractors who discriminate against their workers.

 

Local 793 business manager Mike Gallagher wants to ensure contractors who hire unionized trades workers are treated fairly when bidding on projects tendered by Metrolinx. He told an Oct. 22 meeting of the Provincial Building and Construction Trades Council of Ontario that he is concerned too many non-union companies are getting to work on the […]

Local 793 business manager Mike Gallagher wants to ensure contractors who hire unionized trades workers are treated fairly when bidding on projects tendered by Metrolinx.

He told an Oct. 22 meeting of the Provincial Building and Construction Trades Council of Ontario that he is concerned too many non-union companies are getting to work on the projects.

“It is very unfair to the unionized contractors and the people represented here,” he told about 250 delegates at the meeting.

Gallagher made the comments following a presentation at the meeting by Bruce McCuaig, president and CEO of Metrolinx.

McCuaig said the agency has a 25-year master transportation plan for the Greater Toronto and Hamilton area and $14 billion has already been committed by municipalities and the provincial and federal governments.

He said the region, which now has six million people, will grow to 8.5 million by 2031 so the transportation system must be improved and commute times must be reduced.

To accomplish that, he said Metrolinx is investing in a number of construction projects, including an air rail link, 275 Go Transit projects, and subway extensions.

Gallagher thanked McCuaig for the update, but suggested that he should meet with the building trades to discuss the bidding process.

Gallagher said trades like Local 793 are concerned unionized contractors bidding on jobs are being passed over.

“We have an issue with that,” he said.

Gallagher noted that Local 793 has contributed approximately $100 million over the last 30 years to its training centres and that should be taken into account when contracts are awarded.

In making decisions on projects, he said Metrolinx needs to consider the union’s long-standing contribution to training and what types of benefits that training provides to Ontario.

He said officials at Metrolinx need to sit down with leaders of the building trades and discuss such matters.

Patrick Dillon, business manager of the provincial building trades, supported Gallagher’s comments.

He said the building trades train workers for the future and that should be taken into account when Metrolinx is considering bids.

The concern, he said, is that big multi-national firms will come in to do the jobs and then just leave with the profits.

“That does not do anything to sustain the contracting industry here in Ontario,” Dillon said.

McCuaig agreed that the bidding process is something that should be talked about, but he noted that the agency must follow provincial procurement policies.

He added that talks with the trades, though, would be something “very worthwhile and important to discuss.”

 

Unionized workers are being portrayed as villains and have to fight back, Ken Georgetti, president of the Canadian Labour Congress, told a provincial building trades meeting in Niagara Falls. Unions have been “framed” by their opponents as “the bad guys,” he said. “And when they try to frame us, we’ve got to fight back.” Georgetti […]

Unionized workers are being portrayed as villains and have to fight back, Ken Georgetti, president of the Canadian Labour Congress, told a provincial building trades meeting in Niagara Falls.

Unions have been “framed” by their opponents as “the bad guys,” he said. “And when they try to frame us, we’ve got to fight back.”

Georgetti was speaking to approximately 250 delegates at a meeting of the Provincial Building and Construction Trades Council of Ontario.

He said corporations and right-wing politicians are blaming unionized workers for the ills of the country, but nothing could be further from the truth.

To combat the problem, unions need to embrace social media and make themselves more relevant to their members and the public, he said.

“We have a compelling story to tell about the union advantage,” he said, noting that unions should also use more political action campaigns like the Working Families in Ontario.

Georgetti warned that unions should be “very afraid” of Prime Minister Stephen Harper because he is no longer restrained by a minority government.

He said the federal government’s handling of the Canada Post dispute is just one example of what’s in store for unions.

Anyone who has an opinion different from the government’s is in trouble, he said, noting that unions have to fight a little harder and a little smarter in light of tactics taken by Harper.

“We’ve got to take this country back,” said Georgetti.

Ontario is in a time of economic uncertainty, but the province’s construction industry should see steady growth for at least the next few years. That’s the assessment of Rosemary Sparks, executive director of the Construction Sector Council of Canada. Sparks told a meeting of the provincial building trades in Niagara Falls that Ontario’s construction industry […]

Ontario is in a time of economic uncertainty, but the province’s construction industry should see steady growth for at least the next few years.

That’s the assessment of Rosemary Sparks, executive director of the Construction Sector Council of Canada.

Sparks told a meeting of the provincial building trades in Niagara Falls that Ontario’s construction industry lost about 30,000 jobs during the recent economic downturn, but the numbers have now been recovered.

She expects the unemployment rate in construction will hover around seven per cent over the next few years. Presently, it is just over six per cent.

She said construction projects coming on stream will result in “steady investment” growth for Ontario at least through 2015.

Though the industry may slow slightly in 2012, it will pick up again, she said.

In the north, the industry is being driven by mining and utilities projects. In the south, nuclear plant refurbishments and the Windsor-Essex Parkway Project are creating work. In eastern Ontario, a light rail transit project in Ottawa is expected to provide employment, and in the GTA work on utilities and Pan Am Games projects will provide work.

Much of the growth, according to Sparks, will be in the engineering sector due to mining projects.

Meanwhile, approximately 85,000 new construction jobs are expected to be created over the next nine years in Ontario – 55,000 of them in the GTA.

Due to the number of retirements expected, Sparks said up to 100,000 more construction workers will be needed over the next nine years.

Zero accidents. That’s the goal of Steve Mahoney, chair of the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board, and George Gritziotis, chief prevention officer for Ontario. Both men told a meeting of the Provincial Building and Construction Trades Council of Ontario in Niagara Falls that their hope is to eliminate workplace accidents entirely. Mahoney said he will […]

Zero accidents.

That’s the goal of Steve Mahoney, chair of the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board, and George Gritziotis, chief prevention officer for Ontario.

Both men told a meeting of the Provincial Building and Construction Trades Council of Ontario in Niagara Falls that their hope is to eliminate workplace accidents entirely.

Mahoney said he will continue to spread the message that reducing accidents is a priority and “the human thing” to do.

“We’ve got to stop this carnage” in workplaces, he said.

Although there has been a reduction in workplace fatalities, Mahoney said there are still too many occurring.

It’s “unbelievable” that 350 people are still buried every year in Ontario due to workplace accidents, he said.

Meanwhile, Gritziotis told the meeting there is no one solution to the problem and that it will require co-operation from both employers and workers.

He said he wants to bring stakeholders and experts together to work on a solution and eventually lay out a strategy to prevent workplace fatalities entirely.

While there are many different sectors with a variety of views on prevention, Gritziotis said he wants to bring everyone into the fold.

Gritziotis said he wants to create a culture of safety and zero tolerance towards workplace injuries.

“This is about workers going home at the end of the day safe and healthy,” he said.

Patrick Dillon, business manager of the provincial building trades, said safety is a priority for unionized construction workers.

“There is nothing more important in the work that we do than (accident) prevention.”

Right-wing politicians have been waging war on workers in the U.S., but they aren’t going to win, says Sean McGarvey, secretary-treasurer of the AFL-CIO Building and Construction Trades Department. “The bottom line is that there ‘s been an all-out assault on workers in the U.S.,” he told about 250 delegates at a meeting of the […]

Right-wing politicians have been waging war on workers in the U.S., but they aren’t going to win, says Sean McGarvey, secretary-treasurer of the AFL-CIO Building and Construction Trades Department.

“The bottom line is that there ‘s been an all-out assault on workers in the U.S.,” he told about 250 delegates at a meeting of the Provincial Building and Construction Trades Council of Ontario held in Niagara Falls.

However, the building trades and other unions are fighting back and the public is now also beginning to get sick of the games being played by politicians, he said.

Some “pretty draconian” legislation has been passed by politicians in a number of states, including Wisconsin, Michigan, Florida and Ohio, McGarvey said.

Meanwhile, right-wingers have thrown “everything but the kitchen sink” at workers in an effort to erode their pensions and collective bargaining agreements, he said.

The assault has taken a toll, McGarvey told the meeting, and has been successful in some U.S. states.

For example, he said, right-to-work legislation has been introduced in 18 states that didn’t have it.

However, the trades are fighting back by attempting to reverse the legislation that was passed in various states, he noted.

“I am optimistic things will get better,” McGarvey said.

He suggested the U.S. building trades might be able to take a page from the Ontario group by learning how they prevented a Conservative government from being elected in the province.

“It gives us great hope in the U.S. that we could do the same,” he said.

Patrick Dillon, business manager of the provincial building trades, said he is more than willing to help trades in the U.S.

“When it comes to the right-wing agenda, there really is no border,” said Dillon.

There have been a number of changes to Local 793’s executive board as a result of the recent death of president Gary O’Neill. In accordance with Article XXIV, Subdivision 1, Section F of the union’s Constitution, the officers have appointed Joe Redshaw as president. The appointment was made at an officers’ meeting Oct. 6. Redshaw […]

There have been a number of changes to Local 793’s executive board as a result of the recent death of president Gary O’Neill.

In accordance with Article XXIV, Subdivision 1, Section F of the union’s Constitution, the officers have appointed Joe Redshaw as president.

The appointment was made at an officers’ meeting Oct. 6.

Redshaw was treasurer of the union. He is Local 793’s director of social services and a 30-year member of the union.

Redshaw has held numerous union positions over the years.

He became treasurer in 2001. He is currently a trustee on the Pension Trust Fund and has been a trustee on the Training Trust Fund since 1995.

In other business at the meeting:

• Alex Law was appointed as treasurer. He had been vice-president.
• Rick Kerr was appointed as vice-president. He had been recording-corresponding secretary.
• Joe Dowdall was appointed as recording-corresponding secretary. He had been on the executive board.
• Brian Alexander was appointed to the executive board. He had been an auditor.
• Sarnia business rep Robbie Hierons was appointed as an auditor.