Cranes sitting idle as operators' strike begins
A union representative said this marked only the third time ICI operating engineers had gone on strike in nearly 25 years.
Thomas Desormeaux, Ottawa Citizen
May 05, 2022 • 1 hour ago • 3 minute read
The union representing tens of thousands of crane and heavy equipment operators has voted in favour of a province-wide strike, meaning the hulking cranes used to construct large-scale projects are sitting idle in Ottawa and across Ontario.
The International Union of Operating Engineers Local 793 voted Sunday for the job action and the strike officially started on Monday.
The vote came as the union membership rejected an $8 hourly wage increase package covering the next three years. This means a pause in activity for workers that operate crane and heavy equipment and perform steel erection and mechanical installations, plus those involved in excavation, foundation, piling and caisson boring, general contractor construction and related survey work.
“We’d rather not be on strike, we’d rather be working,” said Mike Gallagher, business manager of Local 793. “Unfortunately, members turned down what was offered to them and wanted a little bit more because of the economical uncertainty which exists, swirling around all of us.”
Gallagher is also chair of the employee bargaining agency, meaning he is representing the union in negotiations. He said members were concerned about not being able to keep up with rising costs for essentials like fuel, work travel, parking on construction sites and groceries.
“Members are upset about that because we are losing against inflation and inflation is unpredictable. It’s created an unfortunate circumstance for us,” he said.
On the other side of the bargaining table is the Construction Labour Relations Association of Ontario, representing employers operating in crane rental, earth moving and erectors, foundations and piling.
The two sides had seemingly reached a deal Saturday night, with union negotiators recommending a “yes” vote on the proposed memorandum of agreement, but the settlement was voted down by members the next day.
John DeVries, president of the Ottawa Construction Association, which advocates for non-residential construction industry, said he was disappointed by the result.
“Out of all the trades, they’re a key one,” Devries said. “If you have a hundred people on a construction site, who is the most important? That guy sitting up in the tower crane because it’s just critical to the movement of materials.”
Gallagher said operating engineers were involved “from the excavation all the way to the topping off of buildings with tower cranes. They’re involved in moving construction materials around the project. A lot of the other trades are dependent on the operating engineers.”
Devries said he believed this strike would mean lengthy delays for construction projects in Ottawa.
Gallagher said this marked only the third time ICI operating engineers had gone on strike in nearly 25 years. He attributed the vote in favour of a strike to members’ concerns about affordability amid significant increases in prices for fuel, food and housing.
“Member are saying it costs too much to go to work,” he said. “To put fuel in their vehicles to get there, those costs have gone up 30 per cent in the past six months.”
Inflation has been risen sharply in Canada, hitting a 31-year high between February and March.
“A lot of the members, especially the younger members that are starting out, take a look at the cost of housing right now,” Gallagher said. “All those things mixed together has created a worry that it’s not just because the standard of living going down, it’s not being able to make the basic things that they need to do in order to look after their family.”
Construction of residential and non-residential buildings is an important contributor to the economy of Ottawa-Gatineau: more than $495 million in February 2022.
“The longer it goes, the more impact it has on the scheduling of trades,” DeVries said. “We’re in uncharted water. The vote got rejected, now people are trying to figure out, ‘Well, OK, what’s going to happen?’”
Communication lines between the two sides remain open, and there has been no picketing yet.
Several other Ontario trade unions are holding ratification votes this week, including labourers, carpenters, plumbers and pipefitters.
https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/cranes-sitting-idle-as-operators-strike-begins
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