BOILERMAKERS JOIN WITH other unions to foster cooperation in the cement industry. Representing the IBB are, in the second row: second from left, Arnie Stadnick, Director – Canadian Industrial Sector Operations Lodge Services, AD-ISO; fourth from left Bill Staggs, Executive Director, Cement Lodge Services – ISO, AD-ISO; far right, Tyler Brown, Executive Director – ISO; and in row one, at far right, Debbie Goodwin, Research Assistant – ISO.
Group seeks closer ties to counter strength of multinationals
REPRESENTATIVES FROM NORTH American cement unions met September 26 in Toronto, Canada, with IndustriALL Global Union to strengthen cooperation in the cement sector. It was the third meeting of the network and the first held in Canada.
Unions participating included the Boilermakers, the Teamsters, the Steelworkers and the Fédération de l’Industrie Manufacturière from francophone Canada.
The participants exchanged ideas about collective bargaining issues and cement industry developments such as the Allmix joint venture in Canada and CRH's purchasing of Ash Grove.
The meeting included a discussion with LafargeHolcim corporate management about issues in Canada and the future global framework agreement being negotiated between the company and IndustriALL and the Building and Woodworkers International. Global framework agreements broadly establish how multinationals will interact with unions representing company employees, among other things.
The meeting brought the trade unions closer together and will facilitate coordination over bargaining issues and joint strategies in discussions with multinational companies like CRH, Heidelberg Cement and LafargeHolcim.
Boilermakers Executive Director of ISO Tyler Brown, who chaired the meeting, said, “The North American Cement Network is a positive instrument to give workers in this sector a voice. [The network] is growing and making progress. No cement employer in Canada or in the USA can ignore the unions in the sector.”
Matthias Hartwich, IndustriALL Director for the Materials Industries, added, “The coordination and cooperation with the materials unions in the regions is crucial for the strong representation of workers in the cement industry worldwide. Especially in multinational companies, it is crucial to talk to each other in order to not be played one against the other. IndustriALL is ready to do whatever is necessary to make this happen.”
