b'Inside the OIRCA 2025 Round ofCollective Bargaining: By Don Marks, Executive Director, OIRCANegotiating a new collective agreement for the unionized roofing industry in OntarioI fyouarearegularreaderoftenoccurwhereunionsrecognizenowthreeyearswithallcon- strike? or Did you hear about howtworookiesonboardduringthis ORN, you may be aware that theacertainconstructionactivityastracts ending on April 30. With allmuch of an increase in wages thatround of bargaining, the chemistry OIRCA has a Labour Relationstheirown. trades negotiating at the same time,trade has settled for? were the typeswithinthegroupwasexcellent. Section (LRS), which operates inde- Prior to province-wide bargain- there is still potential for strikes andofcommonsocialmediapostingsFrommanagementsperspective, pendently from the trade associationing, individual construction tradesdisruption of construction sites, butcirculating around the industry. negotiations can be a difficult balance sideoftheorganization.In1978,controlledtheirowncollectivethe common bargaining period hasUnionsandemployerorganiza- to graspon the one hand, we need whenprovince-widebargainingagreements between the union andcreated stability for the most part. tions were both caught off guard andto look at the big picture in terms of withintheindustrial,commercialthe employers. These contracts hadThree years ago, bargaining wasfound social media an issue in theirstaying competitive, but there is also and institutional (ICI) sector of thetheir own terms and renewal dates.a challenge for most trades. We wererespective campsso much so that,the recognition that our employees constructionindustrywasdecreedThatfactoftenresultedintradesjustcomingoutofCOVID-19,prior to the 2025 round of bargain- are hard workers who deserve a fair byOntariosMinistryofLabour,negotiatingnewcollectiveagree- andtheConsumerPriceIndexing,bothsidesdiscussedtheissuesettlement,especiallyduringthese theOIRCAwasappointedasthements independent of other trades,(costofliving)wasescalatingoutand agreed to put in place positivehigh cost of livingtimes.employerbargainingagent(EBA)with strikes potentially occurring atofcontrol,approachingeightpersocial media messaging. Duringthisround,Ithinkwe for unionized roofing contractors inrandom. One trade could be out oncent. The monetary settlements forMostICIconstructiontrades,weresuccessfulinreachingthat theprovince. strike for a period of time, possiblymost trades including roofing wereincludingroofing,foundthe2025senseofbalance.Themajorityof AsEBA,OIRCAsLRSisre- shuttingdownconstructionsites.amongst the highest in the history ofround of bargaining more palatable.workers across the province at each sponsible for all aspects of labour re- When that strike was over, anotherICI construction negotiations.As I write this column, most tradesunion local voted in favour of the ne-lations within the ICI roofing sector.trade could go out on strike again,In 2022, a new wrinkle was addedhave settled. A couple are still at it,gotiatedagreement,therebyratify-In addition to negotiating collectivedisrupting the work of other tradestotheprocessofbargaining,thatand one has gone to binding arbi- ing the settlement. Our negotiation agreements, the LRS concerns itselfat jobsites. being social media. The posting oftration, which is highly unusual inteam will be meeting later this year withgrievancesagainstunionizedThelegislationintroducedinmisinformationwasrunningram- thissector. to conduct a post-mortem analysis employersandjurisdictionaldis- 1978 dictated that all ICI construc- pant, resulting in instability betweenTheOIRCALRSisfortunateto discuss what went right and what putes where unions have differencestion trades would have a commonunionsandemployers.Didyoutohaveaveterannegotiationwentwrongsothatwecanbetter overworkassignments,whichof- term for their collective agreementshear that so-and-so trade is going onteam,andeventhoughwehadprepare for 2028.20ONTARIO ROOFING NEWSISSUE 2 2025 THE ONLY SOURCE FOR PROFESSIONAL ICI ROOFING CONTRACTORS IN ONTARIO ORN'