Tilesetters’ Work Lives On…

Reprinted with permission from Tradetalk vol. 5 no. 1 Spring 2002.

Members of the Tilesetters Local 3 [British Columbia] are responsible for the two-story waterfall at the Vancouver International Airport, the upside-down pool on the Speedo shop at Pacific Centre and the lobby of the Hotel Vancouver.

The stone waterfall at the Vancouver Airport.

“We’re a finishing trade,” said Guy Zecchini, the local’s business manager. “You can’t see the pipes, studs, or wiring.” But there’s a special satisfaction in working with special materials — sometimes costing $20 to $30 a square foot — to create something beautiful and lasting. “We have old-timers who still go back to admire their work,” he said.

Zecchini got his training 26 years ago at the Pacific Vocational Institute when it was housed in the old Haney Correctional Institution in Maple Ridge. He followed in his father’s footsteps when he became the instructor for the local. His father also worked on the Blue Boy on Marine Drive in Vancouver. Zecchini said he felt devastated when he saw bolts going through the piece while it was being covered during recent renovations.

The Speedo shop at Pacific Centre Mall.

Local 3, with just 130 members in 1995, along with their union contractors opened a training centre in Burnaby. “We decided to invest over $100,000 to renovate the building and bring it up to code,” Zecchini said. The centre provides training for western Canada.
There are currently 340 tilesetters in the province and many are self-employed and doing piecework. “Many would like to sign up,” Zecchini said, “but the challenge for us is trying to find work for them all.” As a result, classes are usually small. A basic ceramic tile course is open to union and non-union members. Members of Local 3 can take upgrading courses in terrazzo (marble chips held together with epoxy), marble, granite, and slab veneer.

Bonnie Bard at the wet saw.

Several students enrolled in the ceramic tile course running this winter. Michael Morgan, from Winnipeg, was placing tiles, matching the pattern and ensuring consistent height. Martin Benoit was tiling a shower while Rodney Langston and Steve Bordt were making a concrete wall plumb in preparation for laying tile.

Bonnie Bard, the only currently active woman member of Local 3, said there’s no reason women can’t do the job. “But you have to be in good shape and take care of your back.” She’s done tiling work for a number of years and said she loves tilesetting. “It’s a wonderful trade. It’s very creative.