Trade workers closer to striking
Members of 5 major unions vote in favour
http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/Alberta/2007/07/20/4356422.html
By GLENN KAUTH, SUN MEDIA
Trades workers have taken one step closer to striking after members of five major unions voted in favour of walking off the job.
The Alberta Labour Relations Board has yet to certify the results, but Barry Salmon, media liaison for the labour groups, said Friday unofficial numbers show all five unions have strike mandates.
The results range from a 99% vote in favour of job action from the Boilermakers union to 85% from the refrigeration mechanics. The numbers mean the five groups, which represent 25,000 workers in Alberta’s trades sector, will be in a legal position to strike next week.
“I think we’re looking at a pretty strong strike mandate,” said Salmon.
A job action would cripple Alberta’s construction sector, particularly in places like Fort McMurray. Salmon added the impact could spread beyond the five unions currently in a strike position since other workers would likely refuse to cross the picket lines.
He wasn’t, however, ready to predict a strike is certain to happen. He also said that all five unions wouldn’t necessarily walk off the job at the same time. If the labour board certifies the strike vote results on Tuesday, the unions will have to give 72 hours notice of any work stoppage.
Salmon, though, said the job action could take the form of rotating strikes among worksites. Each union determines its own course of action, Salmon noted.
Neil Tidsbury, president of the Construction Labour Relations association, downplayed the threat of a strike.
“I don’t think anybody’s going to walk off the job next week,” said Tidsbury, whose association represents many contractors that employ the union members. “We’re doing our best to settle this thing.”
Salmon called the vote a “historic first,” noting labour code rules grouping the unions together for strike purposes have presented a major barrier to job action in the past. It took until this week, in fact, to count the results of the July 4 vote as the labour board examined whether a strike vote would require a so-called double majority of 50% of union members voting 50% for or against a strike.
The five unions represent electricians, boilermakers, refrigeration mechanics, millwrights, and plumbers and pipefitters. A key sticking point in the negotiations is the length of the contract.
Unions want a two-year agreement while contractors are looking for four years, Salmon said.
The workers have been without a contract since May 1.
