Building the Power the Labourers’ Union in British Columbia
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
BUILDING the POWER The Labourers’ Union in British Columbia Construction and Specialized Workers’ Union BUILDING the POWER The Labourers’ Union in British Columbia M.C. Warrior Construction and Specialized Workers’ Union LiUNA Local 1611 This history is dedicated to the memory of all those members of the Labourers’ International Union of North America in British Columbia who have been killed on the job or who have died as a result of an industrial disease, as well as the members past and present who continue to make this Union strong, through their dedication and contributions. Copyright © 2016 by M.C. Warrior All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of CSWU Local 1611 except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. Printed in Canada First Printing, 2016 ISBN 978-1-77136-423-2 Printcraft Solutions Ltd. 5283 Imperial Street Burnaby, BC, V5J 1E5 www.printcraft-solutions.com Graphic Artist: Anick Emond TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTIONS PAGE 1. Manuel Alvernaz, Business Manager ................................................................... i 2. Bruce Ferguson, Retiree President ..................................................................... iii 3. R.L. McDonald, Retiree Past President .................................................................. v PART I: THE CRAFT: 1937-2012 Ch 1: In the Beginning .................................................................................. 3 Ch 2: The First Mega-Project ........................................................................... 11 Ch 3: Shipyards and Cemeteries – Local 1611’s Oldest Bargaining Units .................................. 25 Ch 4: Roads and Highways . 37 Ch 5: Pipelines and Pipeliners .......................................................................... 51 Ch 6: How Local 168 Lost its Jurisdiction ................................................................ 61 Ch 7: Bennett’s Dam Projects – Power to the Lower Mainland ........................................... 67 Ch 8: Precast Concrete . 83 Ch 9: Health, Parking and Security . 91 Ch 10: Building BC – The Towns and Cities ............................................................. 101 Ch 11: The Construction Labourers’ Training Plan ...................................................... 115 PART II: SAFETY AND HEALTH Ch 12: Safety – The Union Effect. 127 Ch 13: Bennett’s Two Rivers Strategy – The Price of Success . 131 Ch 14: The Granduc Slide ............................................................................. 135 Ch 15: John Norton ....................................................................................141 Ch 16: Labourers’ Membership Services ............................................................... 147 PART III: THE ASSAULT ON LABOUR: 1983-2012 Ch 17: Organizing .................................................................................... 163 Ch 18: The 70s – An NDP Labour Code and Federal Wage Controls ...................................... 171 Ch 19: Pennyfarthing, Expo 86, the IRC, and CLAC ...................................................... 177 Ch 20: TNL, HCL, the Locals Merge, and Two Labour Codes ............................................. 189 Ch 21: The Canada Line ............................................................................... 197 Ch 22: Twin Tunnels, Twin Raids (with a Bridge In-Between) ............................................ 207 Ch 23: Local 1611’s Organizing Department ........................................................... 221 Ch 24: The Struggle Continues ........................................................................ 225 Ch 25: The Future – Manuel Alvernaz and Mark Olsen .................................................. 229 APPENDICES i. LiUNA’s BC Local Unions and Their Jurisdictions .................................................... 231 ii. The BC Labourers’ Newsletter ...................................................................... 233 iii. The Wescon Strike ................................................................................. 237 iv. The Elk Creek Water Works ......................................................................... 241 v. The Labourers’ Pension Plan ....................................................................... 245 vi. The Labourers’ Medical and Benefit Plan ........................................................... 251 AUTHOR’S AFTERWORD & ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................... 255 A Message from Manuel Alvernaz, Business Manager, LiUNA Local 1611 Brothers and Sisters, It gives me great satisfaction to introduce to you this history of the Labourers’ International Union of North America in British Columbia, a proud history of defending the rights and advancing the interests not just of Labourers but of all of British Columbia’s working people. Our Union’s mandate is to ensure that the members we represent work under conditions of dignity and respect and receive the wages and benefits which will enable them to live fulfilling, productive lives at home and in their communities. As our history shows, since 1937 when our first British Columbia Local was chartered, we have made great progress towards fulfilling this mandate. In the nearly eighty years since our founding, we have overcome the many obstacles put in our way by governments and employers and now enjoy what are some of the best working conditions and agreements in the history of working people. Perhaps most importantly, our workplaces are now safer than they have ever been. Our members’ families no longer live in constant fear that they may not return at the end of their working day. As we prepare ourselves to face a future in which our gains are under renewed attack, let us remember with pride and with gratitude all those past members whose dedication and solidarity built the foundations of our present success. Let us promise ourselves that we too will show the same unflinching unity and courage when confronting the challenges yet to come. Yours in Solidarity, Manuel Alvernaz Page i INTRODUCTION Bruce Ferguson, Retirees Council President Brothers and Sisters of LiUNA Local 1611, Our Retiree Council has around one thousand retirees. Prior to retiring from full time employment in the spring of 2013 I was privileged to have been given the opportunity to serve our membership in BC for thirty-four years. This service spanned the time frame of eight consecutive Local union elections from 1988 to 2009. My home Local was Tunnel and Rock Workers’ Local 168, where I had the honour to represent Local 168 for seventeen years, followed by four consecutive elections as the President of Local 1611. As the Business Manager of Local 168, along with Business Managers Gordon Davidson of Vancouver Island Local 1093 and New Westminster’s Business Manager Carl Strand, Ron Ganert Secretary Treasurer of Local 602 and Local Union 168 Secretary Treasurer Mark Olsen, along with the support of our International Union we were given the green light to amalgamate the four BC Locals into one larger Local that would have jurisdiction for work for the entire province of British Columbia. After holding an estimated thirty-five meetings with the membership throughout the width and breadth of BC, a vote was held to determine if the membership supported the amalgamation or not. The vote was an overwhelming success with the three mainland Locals voting approval by 86 per cent and the Vancouver Island Local 79 per cent in favour. Historically for those that don’t know, Local 1611 was named by using the first four numerals of each previous Local Union. (i.e. As the “1” Local 168, “6” in Local 602, “1” as in Local 1070 and “1” as in Local 1093, thus Local 1611. Several years later the Dock and Shipyard Local 1204 amalgamated into Local 1611. Since the original Charter from the Labourers’ International Union of North America (LiUNA) here in BC in 1937, the Labourers have made giant improvements to our collective agreements. The early agreements with our contractors were rudimentary in terms of contract language and working conditions. Over the years our contracts have improved to include industry leading health and welfare, pension plans, training plans, and Labourers’ membership services to represent members who are having appeal problems in receiving Canada Pension Plan benefits, disability benefits, Employment Insurance benefits or in achieving justice under the WorkSafe BC benefits. The Local recently introduced what is called our Member and Family Assistance Program (MFAP), this service is available to all our members and provides valuable counselling to members facing workplace, personal or family challenges. Our union’s early contracts basically covered heavy, commercial work, which today have expanded to include an array of work over several industries—road building, paving, utility work, curb and gutter, paving work, precast industry, rail and mining industries, diamond drilling, cemetery, landscaping and environmental work, parking, security guards and yes we have expanded to include even the health industry, dock and shipyard and we continue to grow. Recently, we achieved Red Seal Trade certification. In addition, Local 1611 built a new facility in Surrey as well as maintaining regional offices in Kitimat, Prince George, Kamloops, Kelowna, Nelson, Victoria, Nanaimo and Campbell River. So you can see the BC Labourers have made tremendous strides. We are a recognized leader