Tuesday, January 2, 2018 Fair Competition Newsletters From 2015-2017, CLAC members employed by NAC have been working on the first phase of Winnipeg’s South End Pollution Control Centre. NAC has also won the mechanical and electrical portions, which began at the tail end of 2017. The Building Trades unions aren’t happy about this. In October 2017, they lobbied the city to accept bids up to five percent higher to award these kinds of contracts to “local” companies. The companies they refer to do have offices in Manitoba, but are not locally owned. We’ve had many CLAC Manitobans working on these projects, and Manitobans have been benefiting from increased competition between unions. The Building Trades don’t want competition, but it’s there. Recently, the provincial government announced it is going to stop using monopolistic project labour agreements on big projects. This means the next time something big gets built by the province, workers’ rights will be respected. CLAC, Building Trades, open shop—everyone gets a fair shot. This makes everyone better, because we should be here to build efficiently, safely, and fairly. And those things are improved through competition. We believe workers should have a choice about which union represents them. We believe owners should have the ability to choose the qualified contractor that makes the most economic sense. We believe that taxpayer dollars should be used responsibly and that monopolies hinder the creation of competitive environments, required to ensure the right balance between respect and dignity for workers and project costs that are fair for Manitobans. You might be interested in Strathcona Mechanical Workers Approve New Agreement with Wage and Scheduling Improvements 3 Jun 2026 Ready To Deliver 3 Jun 2026 The Miracle of Many Hands 2 Jun 2026 Velocity Mechanical Workers Secure New Contract with Wage and Benefit Improvements 1 Jun 2026