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 District 2Tough bargaining battles (September 2008) By Tim Cullen, Member Representative The last few months have been really busy for me. I wish I could say the same for the unionized construction industry on Vancouver Island. The Brandt Tractor strike has been over for several months. A well-deserved thank you to the members and their picket captains for their support on the lines. Thanks, also, to the other members from our organization and other unions who got out there to help our brothers and sisters at Brandt. Although the settlement was far from what we originally asked for, we were able to keep the union security clauses that I believed the company was determined to eliminate. The strike saved those provisions. We have also ratified a new agreement with Waste Services Inc. in Courtenay, Parksville and Duncan. Thanks to the stewards and Brother Don Swerdan for a job well done. Point Hope Shipyard has been busy. However, the work picture in other areas of the Island is not as promising. There is no industrial work and announcements have been made about another 450 layoffs at the Campbell River pulp mill on Nov. 1 as well as the complete shutdown of the Harmac pulp mill in Nanaimo. With those mills closing down, we’re in for some tough bargaining. We are also in negotiations with Walco Industries which rely on work in the pulp mills. Currently, the only industry with any real activity is residential construction and every company is fighting for those projects. It has become a very competitive industry again. |
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