Carpenters remain on strike, no negotiations planned
The Carpenter’s District Council of Ontario (CDCO) released a statement on May 12 indicating that its members remain on strike – with no further bargaining sessions planned.
The province’s more than 15,000 ICI-sector carpenters have been on strike since May 9. The council’s May 12 statement indicated that the union expressed a willingness to return to the bargaining table on May 13 or over the weekend.
However, the statement went on to say, “the employers took the position that they can’t meet with us tomorrow or next week because ‘they need more time to gather data to present to the Union’ prior to restarting the negotiations.”
“It is incredibly disappointing that this group of employers wants to hold hostage millions (if not billions) of dollars’ worth of construction, much of which involves critical infrastructure, because they are unprepared,” said CDCO president and director of public affairs and innovation, Mike Yorke.
The union says it understands the impacts the strike is having on worksites across the province, and is urging employers to return to the bargaining table as soon as possible.
“Stalled infrastructure developments impact all Ontarians, including our members that are desperate to get back to work to be able to provide for their families,” said the statement.
“This is extremely disappointing news for all of us at the Carpenters’ Union,” said Yorke continued. “Stalling these negotiations for 12 days or even longer will have a hugely detrimental effect across Ontario.”
Money is the central issue for the carpenters.
“Given the current economic circumstances in our province, we believe it is only fair that wages reflect the skyrocketing cost of living, inflation, and housing affordability crisis we are all experiencing,” said Yorke. “We also understand that we have a responsibility to Ontarians to end this strike as soon as we can. That is why we are prepared to go back to the bargaining table immediately and reach an agreement to resolve this unfortunate situation.”
Meanwhile, the Carpenters Employer Bargaining Agency (CEBA) released a statement of its own on May 9 expressing its disappointment with the strike.
“The CEBA values and respects the skilled tradespersons who make up the membership of the Carpenters’ and we worked diligently to avoid this outcome by directly and fairly negotiating with representatives of the union.”
The parties had reached a tentative settlement that saw workers receive a wage increase of 9.5 percent over three years. That deal was rejected in a ratification vote.
“We remain committed to the bargaining process and are looking to re-engage the Carpenters’ leadership to discuss the best path forward to resolving this strike,” the CEBA statement continued.
The carpenters are the latest union to walk off the job this spring. The province’s ICI-sector operating engineers and demolition workers went on strike on May 2 after their membership rejected a negotiated settlement that would have seen wages in that sector rise by at least 12 percent over the three-year agreement term. That deal was also nixed in a ratification vote.
Also striking are 7,000 residential and commercial drywallers.