Last week, the Alberta Labour Relations Board published their second new applications report for March 2024. In it was an application for union certification.
Local 99 of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers filed the application on 15 March on behalf all workers employed by Weldco-Beales Manufacturing, except for those in office, clerical, lead hands, or sales positions.
Workers at Weldco-Beales Manufacturing design and manufacture specialized attachments for heavy equipment that services the construction, resource, forestry, mining, scrap recycling, and road maintenance industries.
Based out of British Columbia, Weldco-Beales also has a branch in Edmonton.
Local 99 of IAMAW is trying to unionize on behalf of nearly 100 workers employed by Weldco-Beales.
I reached out to Kyle Franzen, an organizer and business representative for IAMAW, for more details on this organization drive.
These workers had reached out to IAMAW because they already represent workers at a sibling employer: Weldco Heavy Industries, out of Fort McKay.
According to Franzen, the workers he’s heard from have 6 main concerns.
First, the workers feel that their is a lack of consistency when it comes to wages. They say that there is a vast range of the payscales and levels for positions, and it doesn’t matter whether they are in an apprenticeship or have put in many years of service with Weldco.
Second, they’re worried about pensions options and retirement savings.
The workers also claim that the company lacks a human resources department, which, of course, makes it difficult for workers to express workplace concerns.
On that note, the workers are also worried with management turnover and a lack of representation when workers are facing discipline from management.
Finally, the workers claim that they don’t receive adequate training, which presents challenges in trying to perform their duties properly.
The ALRB has scheduled a hearing for later today, during which time, Weldco-Beales will have a chance to argue why the workers shouldn’t be able to organize with Local 99.
If the ALRB approves the application, these workers will have a chance to vote on whether to unionize with Local 99. If they’re successful, they’re next step would be to organize a bargaining committee and to begin negotiating their first collective agreement with Weldco-Beales.
Because the ALRB doesn’t archive their new application reports, I’ve included last week’s report below.
