The I.W.A.’s union construction workers, on the coast of British Columbia, have had a rough ride for the last decade and especially the last 4-5 years.

Coast locals reach construction contract

Today, workers in the B.C. coastal
forest industry are suffering the
effects of layoffs more than any
other part of the economy. Hardest
hit are workers in the construction
sector.

There hasn't been a lot of work on
the coast for these workers over the
past 4-5 years, let alone the past
decade, as the industry has slumped
further and further.

As of late October there were less
than 600 I.W.A. construction
members working out of over 2,000
employees.

The fact that I.W.A. negotiators
achieved a collective agreement
earlier this year, when over 3/4’s of
workers in the sector were on the
unemployment roles, stands as a
tribute to negotiating tact.

Without an agreement for over
two years, as a result of the downturn
in the industry, the union
negotiating committee, led by Local
2171 first vice-president Gary
Kobayashi, the late national
secretary-treasurer Terry Smith,
and Local 1-3567 officer and business
agent Les Veale, reached a three
year agreement which will expire in
June of 2004.

Amail-in ballot saw a high turnout
and a 93% acceptance vote.

Union officials were joined at the

table by rank and file committee
members: Mike Fehler of LNS
Service Ltd., Perry McDougall of
Goodwin Industrial Electric Ltd., Al
Shillato of Gisborne Construction
(1985) Ltd, and Brian Malfait of
Tebo Mill Installations Ltd. Local 1-
80 officer Pat Kinney and Local 1-
3567 business agent Jim Kilty also
sat in on some negotiating sessions.

The union beat back the company’s
attempts to get concessions and
made some important gains in other
areas ofthe contract. F

“We never gave anything up,” said
Brother Kobayashi. “We still have

one of the best collective agreements
in the construction industry and I

think it has been a major
achievement to maintain that.”

“The whole construction sector in
the province has changed, especially
over the past 10 years in the forest
industry,” he said. “Now construction
companies are double and triple-
breasted, and some have a non-
union arm and what we call ‘rat
union’ or ‘company union’ arm.”

“What this has done is depress
the whole wage and benefit structure
for construction in general and for
our sector in specific,” added Brother
Kobayashi.

Brother Veale said the union was
aware the negotiations would be

¢ Construction workers are under a
stand-alone agreement.

protracted.

“We knew they would be based on
the last two sets of negotiations,” he
said, pointing out to the fact that
the I.W.A. coast construction
agreement is a stand-alone contract
no longer tied-into the coast master
agreement (as Supplement 7) for
the forest industry.

Negotiations with 12 construction
companies affiliated to Forest
Industrial Relations began in the
fall of 2000 and concluded in the
spring of this year, after several
starts and stops.

Wage increases were achieved, by
June 15, 2002 certified journeymen
will get $28.55-1/2 per hour and will
receive increases the following year
in accordance with the coast master
agreement.

Labourers will see their wages
increase to $21.92 per hour by June
15, 2003.

The union negotiated better living
out allowances, for example, getting
the allowance up to 35 percent of a
journeyman’s wage rates, up from
32-1/2 percent.

“It costs our members a lot more
to live out of town than it used to,”
commented Brother Kobayashi.
“And there’s been a lot of pressure,
from employers, to only pay for days
our members actually oe and not
pay for weekends.”

He said the union has been able
to maintain living out allowance for
7 days of the week and pointed out
that it’s better, most times, to rent
rooms by the week or month.

The union negotiated improved
travel time provisions for Greater
Vancouver, and on southern
Vancouver Island between Duncan.
and Nanaimo.

Coast construction workers who
have to travel between Vancouver
and Squamish will be covered by
the living out allowances between
October 15 and March 15, when
roads are often slippery and
hazardous.

“Squamish isn’t that far but during
the winter it’s still a difficult drive,
especially if our cee have to work a
long day,” said Kobayashi.

The union and companies agreed
to form a committee to investigate a
new health and welfare package
which is more applicable to the
construction industry.

Double time wages will be paid
for Sunday and Monday work if the
member is working on a Tuesday-
Saturday work week and has worked
5 shifts in the preceding 6 days. A
normal work week is Monday
throug Friday. A Tuesday to
Saturday work week is allowed only
by mutual agreement between the
union and the company.

Brother Veale said that employer)
kept putting inferior construction
agreements in front of the I.W.A.
committee in their push for
concessions.

“We said ‘no way’ were we going
backwards,” he said. “I think that,
as a whole, (I.W.A.) construction is
getting up to par with rate in our
mills and the issues that our
members have brought forward,
including pensions, have been dealt
with as good as well they can be for
current times and the workers are
fully protected.”

Brother Veale said the con-
struction sectors competition from
the non-union and “company union”
sector will not likely be lessened
under a Liberal government regime
and with an increasing tendency of
forest company’s to use a low-bid
process.

For the most part, I.W.A.
construction workers are being
employed in overload maintenance
capacities and for non-traditional
work sites. Companies like LNS
Services Ltd. have been doing work
for Neptune Terminals in North
Vancouver and for Tilbury Cement.

“It’s been a way for some (union)

continued on page twenty

12/LUMBERWORKER/NOVEMBER, 2001