Strikes threaten to halt major projects: suppliers kept in business by residential builders.

• Author: Krejlgaard, Chris

Strikes threaten to halt major projects

Labor strikes were putting a number of major construction projects across Northern Ontario on the brink of shut down last month.

Among the projects being affected by the strikes were the provincial government's future offices in North Bay, Sudbury, Sault Ste. Marie and Thunder Bay.

"Overall, it (the strikes) has had a negative impact on the relocation program," said Arnold Bock, the program's executive co-ordinator. "However, the strikes don't necessarily mean that the program has stopped, because many of the (province's) workers have already been relocated to interim office space in the respective cities."

The strikes' effects were being felt primarily in the institutional and commercial sectors. The size and composition of residential contracting companies helped them escape the full brunt of the strikes.

"There is an effect in cities such as Toronto and Ottawa because there are larger crews and a lot of them tend to be unionized," said Peter Faggioni, president of the Sudbury Home Builders' Association. "Down there, contractors can build up to 300 homes a year. Here, if a contractor builds 10, he's had a good year."

Faggioni said the majority of Sudbury contractors are small operations, usually composed of an owner and a small number of helpers.

The fact that residential construction was spared from the strike also helped materials suppliers survive a reduction in business.

Don Park, manager of Emco Supply in Sudbury, said the volume of the company's sales is split evenly between commercial/industrial contractors and residential contractors. However, Parks noted that the volume "does not translate into an equal amount of dollars," with materials for industrial construction being more expensive.

Park added that he won't be able to ascertain the full impact of the strike on his business until it is over.

At press time, workers from the electricians, plumbers and tileworkers unions had been on strike for more than a month.

Media reports indicated that the unions were seeking pay hikes in the range of $5 to $7 per hour. Average salaries ranged from $23.53 per hour for tile workers to $28.50 per hour for plumbers.

INFLATION PACE

Northern representatives for the unions said their main objective in seeking pay increases was to keep pace with inflation.

"Everything plays a part in inflation," said Larry Limeham, business manager for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers of Northeastern...