New labour unrest; Arena vulnerable to second
strike
Brock Harrison
Local News - Friday, June 01, 2007 @ 00:00
Labourers at Kingston's downtown arena site say they will walk off the job
Monday in what could be the second labour dispute to delay the project in the
last two weeks.
Victor Claro, the business manager for the Labourers International Union of
North America Local 247, said yesterday his membership hasn't received the
necessary joint wage offer from its five employer associations.
"We're going to be withdrawing our services," Claro said. "Our employers are at
odds. They can't seem to work things out. There is no deal on the table."
A strike would mean about 25 labourers at the downtown arena and entertainment
complex wouldn't report for duty on Monday. The possibility looms just two
workdays after crane operators on the site returned to work after a weeklong
strike.
Labourers perform a variety of tasks on construction sites, including
excavation, site preparation, debris removal, cement finishing and traffic
control.
Steel, electrical and plumbing work on the downtown arena can continue without
labourers.
City officials are hoping labour peace can be arrived at before Monday and
aren't prepared to say how a strike involving labourers would affect progress on
the arena.
"I'll have to contact EllisDon [the main contractor] and make sure we have a
complete understanding of what this could mean," said project manager Lanie
Hurdle.
A dozen LIUNA locals, representing 25,000 workers across Ontario, are poised to
strike on Monday. Claro says the union has been without a contract since last
April.
Claro also says the Ontario locals have struck memoranda of agreement with three
of the five employer associations they work for: the Ontario Masonry Contractors
Association, the Concrete Floor Contractors Association and the Sealant and
Waterproofing Association. The other two are the Ontario General Contractors
Association and the Industrial Contractors Association of Canada.
A statement released by the masonry association blames the general contractors
for the stalemate.
"General contractors have refused to complete the monetary portion of bargaining
and have unilaterally walked out of negotiations," the statement reads.
By not offering wages, the general contractors have hamstrung the three
agreements already signed with the union, the masonry association charges.
Those three agreements would be appendices in the collective bargaining
agreement signed with the general contractors.
"There is no need for the general contractors to force the union into a strike
position by refusing to complete the monetary bargaining in order to attempt to
effectively veto settlements of other parties," the statement reads.
Officials from the Ontario General Contractors Association could not be reached.
The new Kingston Police headquarters on Division Street is moving into the late
stages of construction and could also feel the string of a labour dispute.
But Const. Greg Harbec, the project's liaison officer, says any impact the
labourers' strike would have would be "minor." He did say a delay on putting up
the parking lot is probable.
"If they walk out, it just means installing the asphalt would be held up for the
amount of time they're off," Harbec said.
Other local projects that could be affected include the $77-million Charlotte
Sills Wing construction at Belleville hospital and the $25-million Kellogg
cereal plant, also in Belleville.
bharrison@thewhig.com