Strike-free ICI bargaining cycle predicted by CLRAO’s Fenelli

The head of a major construction employers association says he expects Ontario’s unionized ICI sector to emerge from the current round of provincial bargaining united and without suffering any work stoppages.

If so it would be a welcome departure from the 2022 contract cycle when there were five ICI strikes and union workers repeatedly refused to ratify proposed contracts.

Tony Fanelli, executive director of the Construction Labour Relations Association of Ontario (CLRAO), which serves as the bargaining authority for five civil trades in the province and also has a hand in three other sets of ICI negotiations, said recently the parties are keen to avoid disruptions.

“This round went reasonably well,” said Fanelli. “The parties were focused on the issues, and we came to settlements without any disruptions from our trades.

“Ratifications are taking place with reasonable majority votes among the trades, which indicates that union and management were focused on getting their issues addressed, especially coming out of the last round of negotiations having to deal with COVID, cost of living, interest rates and the inflation rate.”

Fanelli said he does not expect any strikes to be called this cycle in the provincial ICI sector, with negotiators on both sides wary of such threats as the Donald Trump tariffs, project investor skittishness, general economic uncertainty and competition from alternative union shops and non-union.

Last week there was a short-lived work stoppage in the highrise residential sector. On May 12 the UA Local 46 High Rise Residential Plumbers announced a strike against the Metropolitan

Plumbing High Rise Contractors Association (MPHCA), to begin the next day. Wages were identified as one of three key issues in a statement.

A deal was ratified over the weekend, the MPHCA confirmed, ending the strike.

Under Ontario labour relations legislation the province’s 25 unionized ICI trades are required to renegotiate deals with their employer associations every three years as contracts expire at the end of April each cycle. Among trades represented by the CLRAO, the carpenters, labourers, operating engineers, cement masons and plasterers have all ratified deals, Fanelli said, while the rodworkers’ and bricklayers’ unions scheduled to vote on ratification the first week of June.

Fanelli said those unions and their employers are mainly working to “clean up outstanding language issues.”

The deal approved by the Carpenters’ will see wages increase eight per cent over three years.

LIUNA ICI labourers, mason tenders, cement finishers and waterproofers will also receive an eight-per-cent wage increase over three years. Operating engineers will receive a total wage increase of $6.75 per hour over three years.

Operating Engineers Local 793 president and provincial chair Dave Turple said in a statement, “The majority of our members ratified the agreement, which represents a fair settlement in the ICI sector, especially given the economic uncertainty coming from south of the border.”

Tony Di Maria of the bricklayers’ bargaining agency also commented on the collaborative spirit across the bargaining table. He is also negotiating on behalf of tile and terrazzo workers and said he expects ratification of both deals near the end of the month.

Without divulging the exact wage increases negotiated, he said they were in line with the majority of the deals reached so far.

“Mine were great,” he said of bargaining sessions. “I have a great relationship with my counters.

“Since I’ve been here, I looked at my world as a partnership. They need our guys to do their jobs. We look at it as a partnership all the time.”

In other developments:

• The glaziers and insulators reported ratified deals, with David Gardner of the Insulators Employee Bargaining Agency admitting to “a tough round of bargaining.”
• The insulators will receive a 9.02-per-cent raise over three years. Gardner said his union obtained increases in travel and parking allowances with no other major changes in contract language.
• Tony Mollica of the steeplejacks’ bargaining agency reported he expects a deal to be ratified by May 30.
• The glaziers’ deal was ratified May 10 and reported to include an eight-per-cent wage hike over three years.
• Patricia Penney-Rouzes, negotiating on behalf of the Association of Millwrighting Contractors of Ontario, said last week negotiations are continuing.

Attempts to reach other spokespersons participating in various negotiations were unsuccessful.