Locals 1, 2, and 29 Ontario Members Say No to the Labourers

On March 21, members of Local 2 Ontario (Toronto) voted 160 to 44 to reject an agreement to merge with the Labourers Union (LIUNA) that had been negotiated and agreed to by their leaders. Earlier in the week, Local 29 (Sault St. Marie) members also rejected the “Ontario Masonry Accord,” and on March 28, Local 1 (Hamilton) members followed suit by voting down the Accord, 71 to 12.

The accords and a related “Toronto Working Agreement” would guarantee large salaries for four years to local BACU leaders who moved their locals in with the Labourers, became Labourers business representatives, and merged their efforts with those of LIUNA. LIUNA would charter such locals as their affiliates under the Accord. Members of these locals decided that they were bricklayers, not labourers, and wanted to keep it that way.