EllisDon, Carpenters’ Union urge the passing of Bill 74 to protect union jobs
By STAFF REPORT
Construction Skills DevelopmentEllisDon Corp. and the Carpenters’ District Council of Ontario attended a committee hearing at Queen’s Park in Toronto on Oct.10 to advocate in support of passing Bill 74: the Fairness and Competitiveness in Ontario’s Construction Industry Act, 2013.
Both believe Bill 74 will protect Ontario construction jobs for unionized workers and help maintain a level playing field in Ontario’s Institutional Commercial and Industrial construction market. The Labourers’ International Union of North America also supports the passing of Bill 74.
According to EllisDon, as many as 9 out of 10 project tradespeople it hires are unionized.
“Our company and the Ontarians we employ continue to face uncertainty if Bill 74 isn’t passed,” said Tom Howell, vice-president of labour relations at EllisDon. “Without Bill 74, our company’s ability to compete against foreign and new construction firms who rely heavily on non-unionized workers remains in question.”
EllisDon says as a result of an Ontario Labour Relations Board decision from Feb. 13, 2012 it is the only company that has faced a “significant and unfair competitive disadvantage” in bidding for industrial, commercial and institutional contracts outside of the Greater Toronto Area. EllisDon says Bill 74 would remove any uncertainty and permanently settle the issue.
