Residential Low-Rise Trim Division of Carpenters and Allied Workers Local 27 Call on the Employers Association to Come Back to the Bargaining Table with a Respectful Offer

VAUGHAN, ON, May 4, 2016 /CNW/ - The residential low-rise trim division of Carpenters and Allied Workers Local 27- Carpenters' District Council of Ontario, ("CDC") went on strike yesterday morning after over three months of bargaining. These members install trim, doors and other finishing to the single family and town-home subdivisions across the GTA. The 700 members of the residential low-rise trim division of Local 27 are eager to see a respectful and honest offer from their employers, who are represented by the Low-Rise Trim Association of Ontario.

The major contentious issue in this strike is around compensation to workers for their Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) premiums. All other sub-trades within the residential sector receive either a lump sum payment or a weekly checkoff where the employer pays the required insurance.  The low-rise trim members of Local 27 are looking for fair and equal treatment within the construction industry. "It is essential that employers do not compromise safety," said Mike Yorke, President of Local 27 and President of the Carpenters' District Council of Ontario.  "Low-rise trim workers should be treated no differently than framers, drywallers and other trades that currently have their WSIB premiums paid by the employer.

In a booming residential market, the trim carpenter is the last trade in the home to finish the work. "It is unfathomable to think that the skilled trades-people finishing today's homes would not be compensated properly for their skills and have their WSIB premiums covered. The offer made by the employers association must take these issues into consideration", Said Yorke.  Local 27 is eager to get back to the table and back to the job site to finish building Ontario up.

About the Carpenters' District Council of Ontario
The Carpenters' District Council of Ontario is comprised of 16 affiliated Local Unions of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners across the province. In total, we represent over 26,000 women and men working in a wide range of areas, including carpentry, drywall, resilient flooring, concrete formwork, underwater construction, welding, scaffolding, and a long list of other construction-related work. The CDC conducts centralized collective bargaining in the construction sector on behalf of our affiliated Locals. The resultant provincial collective agreements are the foundation of one of the world's most productive and efficient labour-management systems.

SOURCE Carpenters' District Council of Ontario

Nikki Holland, Director of Public Affairs, Carpenters' District Council of Ontario, 905-652-4140