On Friday November 11^th through the 13^th BGMO Vice President Jason Watson, Delegate Blake Noonan, Delegate Gord Keith, Observer Robert Di Nino and Local 1285 Financial Secretary Mike Piane attended the Unifor National Skilled Trades council hosted by the BGMO in Burlington. Skilled Trades Representatives, National Reps, Council Delegates and their guests met with the Unifor National Skilled Trades Executive Board to discuss progressive objectives and issues affecting Skilled Trades groups in Canada.  The event included a keynote speech from Skilled Trades Ontario CEO Melissa Young, a presentation from the BGMO’s Charity of Choice Pathways to Education and discussions with area delegates led by National Skilled Trades Council Chairperson Dave Cassidy. It is the first time the council has been able to meet since the last conference in London in 2019.  

Highlights from the event include discussions on promoting women in trades, the formation of Skilled Trades Ontario and issues facing the organisation, the crisis in fulfilling requirements for Skilled Trades in the coming years, just transition from ICE vehicle production to EV, expanding worker power and union influence, a nationwide Pan Canadian apprenticeship program and lobbying the federal government to implement anti scab legislation. One of the most notable takeaways from the event were the reports of multiple delegates that respective employers have approached various locals to open contracts midterm in order to offer higher wages for Skilled Trades. This is due to the retention and hiring crisis facing many businesses across the country affected by the high demand and low supply of Skilled Labor. 

Unifor has a long history of promoting Women in Trades. Currently women comprise up to 7% of total Skilled Trades within Unifor with an objective to achieve over 10%. Currently only 2% of 15 year old girls express an interest in joining the trades. Women currently make up 5% of the 1.1 million Skilled Trades in Ontario. This is due to the fact that they still feel underrepresented in the trades. Greater efforts need to be made in the pursuit of inclusion of women in the Trades moving forward. 

The greatest issue currently facing the Skilled Trades workforce is the lack of new trades to meet the ever increasing demand in Canada. This is reflected in the massive gains seen in wages across many employers both union and non-union. The government’s efforts to promote the skilled trades do little to serve ensuring that apprentices graduate the program. The success rate for non-union apprentice completion is 40%. Much lower than the 90% rate for union apprentices. Schools and employers receive benefits for teaching apprentices but none for ensuring their completion of the program. It is estimated that Canada will need to indenture approximately 75 thousand apprentices each year to fulfil the requirements. It is likely the Country will only fulfil these requirements through immigration and the promotion of apprenticeships to young workers and students. It will be important that Skilled Trades coming from out of the country are tested and certified to the same rigorous standards as trades who graduate through a Canadian apprenticeship program. Unifor wishes to have more oversight on apprenticeships and continue to work to increase standards of certification and education. 

The keynote speaker for this year’s council was Mellissa Young, the CEO of Skilled Trades Ontario. John Breslin was also recognized for his Board Member seat at STO. He was credited for his significant input as a voice for Unifor and Skilled Trades across the country. Skilled Trades make up a significant portion of our union’s membership. STO would also like to streamline the path for apprentices. Melissa Young further encouraged delegates to get involved with various Skilled Trades boards across their jurisdictions. This can be accomplished by researching local trades boards, seeking to build relationships and joining various initiatives to bring specific trades knowledge to the table and help further improve the programs. As it stands we have two powerful voices on the board of Skilled Trades Ontario. John Breslin as the Unifor National Skilled Trades director and James Barry the Executive Secretary Treasurer of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.

Ontario is 10 years behind other provinces when it comes to the mobility of apprentices. Currently as it stands, an apprentice can not take their current hours from one province and have them credited when moving to Ontario. This is not the case when moving to other provinces. This seriously limits Ontario’s ability to hire currently indentured apprentices from out of province. Circling back to the importance of a Pan Canadian apprenticeship program, it is critical that we make efforts to improve the accessibility and feasibility of graduating apprentices through our provincial system.

As a part of our continued efforts to promote Skilled Trades and Apprenticeships the BGMO has been working with Pathways to Education. A charity that is dedicated to the betterment of underprivileged youths which is operating out of 32 sites all across Canada. The charity is able to provide tutoring, food vouchers, mentorship and scholarship opportunities that would otherwise not be available to these young adults. The National Skilled Trades Council was able to donate a combined $12,500 to this incredible initiative. This is money that will go directly back into the community that we work in and help better our fellow citizens. Pathways started out with 150 students in their program and today boasts a membership of over 400 students who benefit from the incredible work that they do. 

On Saturday November 19th, 2022 Jason Watson, Mark McGreggor, James Venerus and Blake Noonan hosted an Apprenticeship forum at Father Henry Carr Cathloic Secondary School in Rexdale. We were welcomed by the board of Pathways to Education to speak to high school students and parents about the benefits and opportunities by joining a Skilled Trade Apprenticeship. Brother Mark McGreggor put together an incredible presentation to help educate the attendees about the various avenues to and from joining an apprenticeship program and how Skilled Trades are a critical part of building the infrastructure of our society. The BGMO also provided a complete lunch with food and drinks to students and their families which was greatly appreciated by all participants. 

The recipient for the 2022 Eric John Memorial Bursary was Makaela Leeder, who is the daughter of Doug Leeder of Local 100 at CN Rail. The $1,000 Bursary is made available to sons and daughters of Unifor Skilled Trades members to help fund their post secondary education. Eric John was the Chair of the National Skilled Trades Council for over 30 years. We congratulate Makaela and wish them the best of luck in their pursuit of education.

In closing the Council was extremely successful after meeting in person for the first time since 2019. It is apparent that there are many challenges facing Skilled Trades in Canada. However it is also a time of ripe opportunity for all trades and skilled labour. With ever increasing demand for workers, increasing oversight from governments and regulators and new opportunities becoming available the strength of the Canadian Skilled Trades will only continue to grow. It is critical that each one of us take an active participation in pushing forward Union values and ideologies. That we continue to fight for the betterment of working conditions. That we continue to pursue the regulation of existing compulsory trades and endeavour to have more trades listed as compulsory. We wish to continue to increase competency and training across all programs to raise the bar for Canadian Skilled Trades. It is a continued honour to serve as your elected delegates and we thank you for the opportunity to work on your behalf.

Signed,

Jason Watson – BGMO Vice President
Mark McGregor – BGMO Financial Secretary

Blake Noonan – BGMO Delegate

Gord Keith – BGMO Delegate

Ray Wintermeyer – BGMO Alternate Delegate

Robert Di Nino – BGMO Observer