Hundreds of workers vote to leave CLAC

Earlier this week, Local 955 of the International Union of Operating Engineers announced that they managed to convince hundreds of workers to switch from CLAC to the IUOE.

The Alberta Labour Relations Board awarded a certificate in September 2015 that allowed the Christian Labour Association of Canada to represent these workers, who were employed with OEM Remanufacturing Company.

However, the Mediation Services Portal indicates that CLAC has been representing them since at least 2006.

It seems CLAC Local 56 underwent a name change between the 2015 collective agreement and the 2018 agreement. Local 56 previously had been Pre-Board Screeners, Logistics, Manufacturing but switched to Logistics, Manufacturing & Allied Trades, which is probably why their certificate was effective as of September 2015.

In 2017, two York University researchers published a paper on CLAC, which was founded in 1952 by Dutch immigrants with strong links to European Christian labour. The article discusses how CLAC has been kicked out of central labour bodies, such as the International Trade Union Confederation, because of their use of “employer accommodationist strategies that undermine other unions”.

In fact, back in 2023, Building Trades of Alberta, which represents over 60,000 unionized construction workers in the private sector, called out CLAC and other so-called company unions for underming private sector bargaining among trades unions.

In 2018, CLAC teamed up with the British Columbia Chamber of Commerce, the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses, an employer lobby group, and an open shop industry association to sue the BC government for favouring building trades unions in public infrastructure projects. You cannot get more pro-employer than that.

According to IUOE 955’s update this week, they will be representing 815 OEM workers who had previously been with CLAC 56. In their statement, IUOE 95 claimed that this is the largest move away from CLAC in Canadian history.

Speaking on this point, Chris Flett, a business manager with IUOE 955, remarked that he is “incredibly thankful to the workers at OEM and the entire team at IUOE 955 for all the good work that went into making this historic Canadian labour moment happen.”

Apparently, some OEM workers reached out to IUOE 955 last year. Over the last year or so, IUOE 955 kept in constant contact with the workers, leading to a positive response from those workers. That positivity was immediate and infectious, spreading to other OEM workers.

“Over the past 12 months, we’ve had many discussions with OEM workers at our union hall, outside the OEM worksite, through various forms of digital engagement and more,” said Anthony Noseworthy, Local 955’s assistant business manager and director of organizing. “The more we spoke and listened, the more support we earned. We’re excited to show these good folks what a real union can do for them.”

The ALRB held the certification vote last week, on the 27th and 28th. Their update from earlier this week did not have details on how many of the workers voted in favour of leaving, so I reached out to Tyler Bedford, IUOE 955’s executive director of government relations and communications.

Bedford indicated to The Alberta Worker that 780 workers were eligible to vote last week, but the ALRB counted 680 ballots, 5 of which were spoiled. Even so, that is an 87.18% turnout.

Of the 675 unspoiled ballots, 556 voted in favour of certifying with IUOE 955. That is 82.37%. Even if you count the spoiled ballots, it is still 81.76%.

An 87% turnout with an 82% vote in favour is a pretty strong mandate for IUOE 955.

Chris Flett, a business manager with IUOE 955 is pretty pleased with the results.

“We are absolutely thrilled to welcome these hard-working Albertans into the growing IUOE 955 family. Their calls for stronger representation and a more effective voice in the workplace have been answered. We very much look forward to working with this great crew and showing them the many benefits that come with being IUOE 955.”

These workers had been working on a collective agreement that was set to expire at the end of next year, so it will be interesting to see whether these workers form a bargaining team to start renegotiating that collective agreement or wait until it expires.

IUOE 955 represents roughly 12,000 workers in diverse sectors of the economy, including construction, mining, pipelines, crane operation, renewables, health care, education, municipalities, and, of course, remanufacturing.