Inside The OIRCA
By Don B. Marks, Executive Director, OIRCA

Labour Unrest
The start to the 2007 roofing season was disrupted by the first industry strike in over twenty-five years.  In essence, the entire month of May was lost.  Combine that with the fact that we enjoyed outstanding weather throughout the entire month and I think that it is safe to say, roofing contractors became so far behind that they may never make up for the loss.

Speaking of loss, no one wins during a strike, not the workers, or the employers, not even the union themselves.  In the case of monetary gain for the roofer, there was none.  The final offer that was presented to the union and rejected on April 30th contained the same monetary amount as the final deal that was reached at the end of May. That means the worker will “never” recover their pay losses! 

If they had gained a mere $0.10 increase it would take 13 years, 24 weeks to recover the deficit.  A $0.20 raise, 6 years, 38 weeks and so forth.  As for the employers, collectively they lose tens of million dollars not to mention the several thousand dollars lost by the Labour Relations Section of the OIRCA.

Yes, the OIRCA does play an active role in Labour Relations in this province, as our Labour Relations Section is the Employer Bargaining Agent for the union roofing contractors.

Typically when one thinks about strikes, they associate them with money, period.  The 2007 work stoppage for the roofing industry was not about money; it was all about power, control and politics.    The premise that somehow the actual worker or roofer in the field will benefit from it is totally misleading.

Interesting to note is the fact that at the time the roofers went out, all other trades had settled or were in the process of settling their negotiations.  All across the board talks seemed amicable.  There wasn’t even a hint of strike in the air.  Now it should be noted that subsequent to the roofers going out, the operating engineers and labourers ultimately followed suit.  The crane operators settled quickly, the labourers took a little longer.

While it is a truism that ICI roofing in Ontario is a twelve-month business, the roofing contractor really makes hay from spring until the snow flies.  If you are a purchaser of roofing services and had a project scheduled for this spring you were no doubt affected by this work action.  Hopefully the decent summer weather that followed has allowed your roofing contractor to catch up and you were not too inconvenienced.  If you still are, try and have some patience, our members are just as anxious as you to complete the project.

The good news to report to you is that we signed a three-year collective agreement, which technically means we are good until 2010.  Let’s hope we enjoy another twenty-five hiatus from this type of labour unrest, better yet, a zero tolerance for strikes makes the most sense of all.