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Ontario millwrights working in the ICI sector have reached an impasse in contract negotiations with their employers and have announced they\u2019ll hit the bricks June 25 unless there\u2019s a last-minute settlement.<\/span><\/p>\n The Association of Millwrighting Contractors of Ontario (AMCO), negotiating on behalf of contractors, made what it called a final offer through a c<\/span>onciliator <\/span>on June 18 in an attempt to avoid a strike June 19, the union\u2019s legal strike date. The union then communicated its intention to take strike action June 25 at 12:01 a.m.<\/span><\/p>\n Andrew Bredin, director of communications and stakeholder relations for the Millwright Regional Council, cited wages, name hiring and travel and accommodations as unresolved issues between the parties.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re just looking for what\u2019s fair,\u201d said Bredin. \u201cThey walked away on June 19, at three o\u2019clock in the afternoon. And they\u2019re not even taking our offer to their membership, which is the real sticking point.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n AMCO executive director Patricia Penney-Rouzes confirmed the association has received the strike notice but declined to discuss further details of negotiations.<\/span><\/p>\n She did comment in a statement, \u201cA strike would definitely have a negative impact on our union market <\/span>share.<\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n If they proceed with the job action, the millwrights will be the only one of Ontario\u2019s 25 ICI trades to withdraw their services during the 2025 bargaining cycle. Twenty-three trades have ratified three-year provincial deals, and s<\/span>heet <\/span>metal workers and their employers have agreed to seek binding arbitration in September to resolve one remaining issue.<\/span><\/p>\n Under Ontario legislation, collective bargaining in the unionized<\/span> ICI sector<\/span> is co-ordinated with contracts expiring every three years on April 30.<\/span><\/p>\n As of midday Monday no further meetings had been set up and strike plans were proceeding as scheduled.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re not going to back down under pressure,\u201d said Bredin. \u201cWe\u2019re just not going to accept this lack of respect.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Bredin said union operations staff was collecting data and deciding on picket targets.<\/span><\/p>\n He said the four other mechanical trades -\u2013 b<\/span>oilermakers, <\/span>iron workers, electricians and pipefitters \u2013 have bargained for raises of between $6.75 and $7 total over three years and the millwrights are asking for the average of those increases. He said the employers\u2019 wage offer is for less than the other four settlements.<\/span><\/p>\n Bredin said it would be the first strike by millwrights in the provincial ICI sector in recent history.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve had a really good relationship with AMCO,\u201d he said. \u201cWe don\u2019t feel like this is a reflection of our relationships with the contractors in Ontario, we don\u2019t believe that this is the wish of the contractors.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cSo we\u2019re hesitant, because this really punishes the contractor.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Name hiring refers to how workers are assigned when an employer calls a union hall, Bredin explained. The employers want more say on which workers they hire, he said. The union, for its part, does not want to reduce its ability to assign work to apprentices.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe feel as an apprentice you\u2019re left out of that name hiring when you first start,\u201d he said. \u201cThe apprenticeship is very important to us, and we want to make sure we\u2019re giving our apprentices the opportunity to make a name for themselves and to get work.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n