Approximately 90 local skilled trades workers, members of the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry Local 800, took to the picket lines at various locations across the Sault Monday morning, in solidarity with 12,000 of their fellow union members across Ontario.
“Our contract ended May 1, 2019. We’ve been trying to reach an agreement between the OPCT, which is the Ontario Pipe Trades Council, and the Mechanical Contractors Association of Ontario (MCAO). They’re unable to get by a couple of items in the contract,” said Adam Mick, Local 800 business agent, speaking to SooToday in a telephone interview.
Those items, Mick said, are not monetary.
“It’s not the members looking for a pay increase. Sadly, it’s just a couple of items the mechanical contractors have worded in such a way that could possibly divide our members on job sites. They’re looking to have members voluntarily do different things that would go against our current contract. One person would get regular pay, another person may get overtime pay. That’s a cause of concern for us.”
“In a contract, any time you use the word ‘voluntary,’ it’s not good,” Mick said.
In the Sault, Mick said, Local 800 members work for multiple employers, listing Algoma Pipe Fabrication, Twin Contracting, S. & T. Group, Henderson Metal, RF Contracting and Superior Industrial Services (SIS) as examples.
“It’s of course unfortunate to end up on strike but we are on strike to maintain our current contract language. We gave the contractors a solution to prevent a strike, but here we are,” said Ken Truman, a Local 800 steamfitter at a picket line location at the Local 800 Union training centre at 165 Northern Ave. E.
“They want to make changes to our contract language which has been there for years, and definitely ‘volunteer’ was in some of their language, and we can’t stand for that.”
“We’ve been told the contractors are going to meet today and that hopefully by Thursday they’ll meet with us,” Truman said.
Approximately 140 active union members, as well as retirees, are affected in the Sault, along with 12,000 across Ontario.
“Talks were ongoing right up until last week, but right now they’re not discussing anything. It’s been left in the hands of the MCAO to come back to us. We brought them a solution and if they follow it, we’ll go back and talk,” Mick said.
Local 800 members planned to set up picket lines at two locations on Northern Avenue, Peoples Road, Industrial Court, Goulais Avenue, White Oak Drive, Black Road and Sackville Road.