November 10, 2008

Canadian union wins modernization battle

The Canadian Maintenance and Allied Workers Union (CMAW) has won a ruling from the BC Labour Relations Board against the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America (UBCJA).

The ruling will mean that Local 1081 members - those workers in the Northwest - will have a better shot at getting work on the Rio Tinto Alcan smelter modernization project.

Three years ago the CMAW split from the UBCJA, the US-based union.

Bechtel Canada, after receiving a $2.5 billion contract for the smelter modernization, entered into a "foundation agreement" with the British Columbia Regional Council of Carpenters (BCRCC), the Canadian arm of the UBCJA, which CMAW said would have excluded its members.

CMAW members wishing to work on the project would have had to rejoin the American union.

When concerns surfaced about finding enough labour without the CMAW, Bechtel's Kitimat Modernization Employer Association drafted a memorandum of understanding to include CMAW members.

Click here to read the rest of the story...