Building Trades Object to Decertification Push in Sault

Following is a letter to the editor from Pat Dillon, business manager of the Provincial Building and Construction Trades Council of Ontario, that was published in Daily Commercial News on Feb. 14, 2018. Earlier, Local 793 business manager Mike Gallagher had also written a letter to the editor on the same issue at https://iuoelocal793.org/letter-to-the-editor/. As business manager of the Provincial Building Trades Council, I am deeply troubled by the ongoing push by Sault Ste. Marie City Council to pursue a change in the city’s status as a “construction employer.” In my view, […]

Following is a letter to the editor from Pat Dillon, business manager of the Provincial Building and Construction Trades Council of Ontario, that was published in Daily Commercial News on Feb. 14, 2018. Earlier, Local 793 business manager Mike Gallagher had also written a letter to the editor on the same issue at https://iuoelocal793.org/letter-to-the-editor/.

As business manager of the Provincial Building Trades Council, I am deeply troubled by the ongoing push by Sault Ste. Marie City Council to pursue a change in the city’s status as a “construction employer.”

In my view, this move was made based on misinformation and without any substantive reasoning. If successful, such a move would consume huge legal costs shouldered by the citizens of that community, but more importantly, would denigrate the fair wages, job security, safety and training standards that construction workers in the Sault have fought to achieve over the course of generations.

The city is a construction employer because it had decided it was cheaper to hire carpenters and labourers directly and cut out the contractors those workers traditionally worked for. Those workers then decided to apply to certify the city so they would have the same wages and benefits as if they were working for their construction contractors, doing the very same work.

Thus, the City of Sault Ste. Marie became a construction employer. Sounds fair to me.

Now, the city is deciding, based on misinformation on potential savings, that it wants to try and avoid its legal obligations to the Sault Ste. Marie workers.

At a time when the general public is realizing that government can be a force for improving the quality of people’s work experience as evidenced by recent provincial labour law reforms and an increase to the minimum wage to help keep up with increased costs of living, the municipal government in the Sault appears to have chosen a path of weakening workers by increasing, instead of mitigating, their precariousness.

The real driving force behind city council’s decision is the pursuit of profits at the expense of worker training, wages and pensions.

If successful, a change in status would improve only one thing: the bottom line for certain contractors who don’t want to pay their workers fair wages and/or don’t want to compete with legitimate contractors on a level playing field.

Insofar as the City of Sault Ste. Marie chooses to perform construction work, it should remain designated as a construction employer.

Over the years, workers active on projects who built the community have chosen to be represented by the Carpenters’ and Labourers’ unions whose collective agreements include prevailing wages and benefits that were negotiated by those unions with contractors, including the City of Sault Ste. Marie, to support those workers and their families.

To all of a sudden have unscrupulous employers and their associations warn of “labour monopolies” and a “lack of competition” in the Sault’s construction industry in order to tear down obligations to workers, is nothing new. Such efforts demonstrate an eagerness by some contractors to test out what they can get away with.

Changing Sault Ste. Marie’s status as a construction employer to then be able to hire non-union contractors does nothing to save taxpayers’ money and everything to enhance those contractors’ profits.

This would not only negatively impact workers, but legitimate contractors as well; ones who do pay fair wages and who help pay for skills training which produces better health and safety outcomes.

Those like Ms. Karen Renkema, of the Progressive Contractors Association of Canada, who are pushing the decertification campaign, would have the citizens of Sault Ste. Marie believe that if the city becomes a non-construction employer, this would somehow spur increased construction employment among local residents. Yet, a recent electrical/mechanical contract at a major hospital project in Brockville, won by an employer from Ms. Renkema’s organization, will have that employer bringing crews from out of town to perform the work, thereby totally ignoring the qualified but unemployed local tradespeople.

Pursuing a change in the Sault’s status as a construction employer may unleash an ugly race-to-the-bottom in that city’s construction industry, and given Ontario’s strengthening economy, the citizens of this province are expecting shared prosperity, not more inequality.

I am hopeful that the city leadership in Sault Ste. Marie will take the broader interests of construction workers into account when looking into this matter, and not merely rely on a narrative that wants to deregulate local government tendering to improve profits over people.

Gallagher Urges Trades to Support OCOT Boards

Following is a story from a recent Provincial Building and Construction Trades Council of Ontario convention that was published Oct. 25 in Daily Commercial News. Gallagher, Cunningham urge Building Trades convention attendees to support OCOT boards Construction stakeholders and new members of the Ontario College of Trades (OCOT) Appointments Council Mike Gallagher and Ian Cunningham teamed up to urge delegates attending the recent convention of the Provincial Building and Construction Trades Council of Ontario to get on board with OCOT and start nominating trades representatives to various boards. Gallagher, business […]

Following is a story from a recent Provincial Building and Construction Trades Council of Ontario convention that was published Oct. 25 in Daily Commercial News.

Gallagher, Cunningham urge Building Trades convention attendees to support OCOT boards

Construction stakeholders and new members of the Ontario College of Trades (OCOT) Appointments Council Mike Gallagher and Ian Cunningham teamed up to urge delegates attending the recent convention of the Provincial Building and Construction Trades Council of Ontario to get on board with OCOT and start nominating trades representatives to various boards.

Gallagher, business manager with the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 793, and Cunningham, president of the Council of Ontario Construction Associations (COCA), said in their addresses to delegates there is an urgency to recruit new board members.

There are already openings on various boards and, in the next year, numerous terms will expire, requiring a major influx of new appointees.

“We need strong, committed, connected people to fill these vacant positions on the trade boards, the division boards and on the board of governors if the College is going to work for the best interests of the industry,” said Cunningham in an interview following his address to the delegates in Niagara Falls.

Gallagher explained in his interview, “There are some 40 vacancies that are coming up in the next year on the employer and the employee sides on the various trade boards at different levels, and people should be thinking who should be on those boards.

“And the Appointments Council, we have a pool of applications that are presented to us, and if it’s not a very big pool, we have to pick the best. So the idea is to encourage more applications so we have better options in terms of people that are there for the right reason.”

Click here for the full story.

Building Trades Amends Constitution

As a result of efforts by Local 793 business manager Mike Gallagher over the last four years, the Provincial Building and Construction Trades Council of Ontario (PBCTCO) voted unanimously at its 60th annual convention recently to amend its Constitution and Bylaws to promote mutual respect for the core jurisdiction of each other’s trade. In light of the resolution, the executive board of Local 793 passed a motion on Oct. 16 in favour of Gallagher meeting with PBCTCO business manager and secretary-treasurer Pat Dillon to discuss the possibility of the union […]

As a result of efforts by Local 793 business manager Mike Gallagher over the last four years, the Provincial Building and Construction Trades Council of Ontario (PBCTCO) voted unanimously at its 60th annual convention recently to amend its Constitution and Bylaws to promote mutual respect for the core jurisdiction of each other’s trade.

In light of the resolution, the executive board of Local 793 passed a motion on Oct. 16 in favour of Gallagher meeting with PBCTCO business manager and secretary-treasurer Pat Dillon to discuss the possibility of the union re-joining the organization.

Local 793 had left the PBCTCO in September 2013 because it was faced with 10 jurisdictional disputes (JDs) at various stages of the process with affiliates of the Building Trades regarding work done by Operating Engineers. In other words, many of the other trades weren’t respecting the core jurisdiction of Local 793 members.

The disputes were with the Carpenters, Pipefitters, Labourers, Ironworkers and Electrical Workers. All these disputes have now been settled.

Gallagher sent a letter to Dillon on Sept. 4, 2013 clearly explaining why Local 793 would not longer be attending building trades meetings.

In the letter, he stated that the unity required at the PBCTCO to face challenges is non-existent.

“We are currently faced with a large number of jurisdictional disputes regarding our work, with some of our affiliates to the building trades,” he stated. “We therefore feel that our time is best spent representing our members and protecting our jobs rather than listening to reports at the building trades meetings.”

In the letter, he said the decision was not made lightly but was the right decision at the time, as there did not seem to be any resolve to the matter.

Gallagher noted it is interesting that at a time when construction unions faced a number of challenges, such as CLAC and right-to-work challenges, some affiliates seemed more interested in doing work other than their own.

PBCTCO business manager Dillon responded with a letter on Sept. 9, 2013, stating that he agreed that JDs are completely counter-productive to the overall mission of the building trades.

He noted that the Operating Engineers were a key part of the establishment of the PBCTCO and fragmentation has the potential to negatively impact the lives of construction workers and their families in a number of ways.

Since leaving the PBCTCO, Gallagher has had informal discussions with Dillon about the issue and actions by the Building Trades on Local 793’s request. Throughout, he made it clear on a number of occasions Local 793 would not re-join the Building Trades until there was an amendment to the organization’s Constitution, requiring trades to have mutual respect for each other’s core jurisdiction.

Gallagher and Local 793 president Joe Redshaw were invited as guests to the PBCTCO annual convention in Niagara Falls on Oct. 12.

At the meeting, the executive board of the PBCTCO presented the resolution to amend the organization’s Constitution and Bylaws.

The purpose, as stated in the resolution, is to “promote industrial peace among building and construction trades through mutual respect of each other’s core jurisdiction.”

The resolution states that solidarity among the Building Trades is a core principle of organized labour in Ontario’s construction industry and that JDs between PBCTCO unions cost members millions of dollars per year in legal and other fees, in addition to incalculable reputational damage.

If those same resources were devoted to organizing and growing the number of represented workers in the construction industry, the resolution states, the collective voice of all construction workers would be much more formidable in the province’s political and economic life.

The resolution states that a working committee of Building Trades representatives from each affiliated union, engaging an industry-respected mediator/facilitator, will determine the precise language of respect for each other’s core jurisdiction.

In light of the resolution, Gallagher will now meet with Dillon to talk about how the union and PBCTCO might re-affiliate.

If the terms are acceptable, Gallagher will present a recommendation to Local 793’s executive board for approval.

While the precise language must still be determined, Gallagher said the resolution passed by the PBCTCO is a step in the right direction.

“This will mark the beginning of discussions, but the Building Trades appear to have stepped up and made good on their commitment to address our concerns.”

Gallagher said he looks forward to working with the PBCTCO working committee, and perhaps re-joining the organization, as a provincial election looms next year.

“We are obviously much stronger when the building trades are united,” he said. “There will be a provincial election next spring and it makes sense for us to come together as a cohesive group.”