Last week brought some good news for the building trades, as British Columbia Premier Christy Clark announced that she would be scuttling B.C. Hydro’s plan to bar unionized labour from the Site C dam construction project.
“We need to recognize that building trades are an important part of building the province. It’s something that should be fixed and I’m going to get it fixed,” Clark said.
The Premier’s announcement came only one day after the B.C. and Yukon Building and Construction Trades Council filed a lawsuit arguing that B.C. Hydro’s proposed union ban violated union members’ Charter rights. The International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 115 is a member of the Construction Trades Council.
“I’m pleased that the Premier saw Hydro’s actions for what they were- pure short-sighted union busting,” said IUOE Local 115 Business Manager Brian Cochrane. “Unfortunately we are still waiting for Hydro to follow the Premier’s direction, and put all of this nonsense to rest.”
Cochrane added, “We have more important issues at stake here than Hydro’s transparent attempts to exclude unions from the Site C project. We need to work on integrating apprenticeships into the project, to ensure that our young tradespeople are included. We also want to see Hydro make more of a commitment to hiring members of the local community, including First Nations members who live and work near the project site.”
“This dam is about building the future of our province, and we need to make sure the people living and working here in B.C. are included in that future.”
