Saturday, November 30, 2019

Local 63 Members Break into New Markets

An exciting new opportunity opened up recently for Local 63 members. While many members earn a great living working in the oil industry, the expanding market in renewable energy is providing jobs now and into the future.

In spring 2019, workers employed by Borea Construction ULC at the Whitla Wind farm project, about 30 minutes southwest of Medicine Hat, contacted CLAC about organizing their workplace. CLAC representatives went to the site on several occasions to meet with the workers to find out about their work in the growing and exciting space of renewable energy construction work. They explained how CLAC could help by organizing and negotiating a collective agreement with better wages and benefits.

The workers had lots of questions. Many had never worked under a collective agreement before and were naturally cautious. After many meetings, the representatives were able to provide answers and details about the process and what to expect from CLAC’s model of representation. Once workers were satisfied that this would be a positive move for their career, nearly everyone signed petition cards, and CLAC made applications to the Alberta Labour Relations Board (ALRB).

Following the initial application, the process took some time due to opposition from a number of international unions, including the Carpenters, Labourers, and Ironworkers. After a few months working through the international unions’ objections at the ALRB, CLAC won the right to bargain on behalf of the Borea workers. We then began negotiating an agreement with the employer. In mid-October, an agreement was reached, and the new Local 63 members ratified the contract with a strong majority.

Local 63 members at Borea are very excited to tell you about their work constructing the majestic wind turbine towers that stand tall on the skyline of the wheat fields of southern Alberta. They take great pride in knowing that they are contributing to the future of renewable energy in Canada.

This is an exciting opportunity for Albertans and Canadians to work in the renewable energy construction sector. Borea is committed to continuing to be the leading constructor of wind and solar projects in Canada, which bodes well for members of Local 63 who would like to expand their options and skill set and work on one of these projects.

Borea is considered the leader in renewable energy construction in Canada, completing more renewable energy construction projects across Canada than any other contractor, from solar to wind. It has constructed nearly one-third of all renewable energy projects, with over 40 projects to date. These projects include a total of 2,044 wind turbines, representing every manufacturer in the market, producing a total combined energy of 4,316 MW—enough energy to power over 1 million homes annually. That’s an impressive, positive impact on the environmental energy sustainability goals for Canada.

And it doesn’t end there. Borea is also a leader in solar energy construction. It constructed the Brooks Solar farm, which is a 17 MW solar project located adjacent to the Trans-Canada Highway in Brooks, Alberta. Using over 48,000 high-efficiency solar modules, and nearly 3,000 tables of fixed racking system, it is currently the largest utility scale solar plant in Alberta.

The Whitla project is approximately 15 kilometres south of Bow Island in the County of Forty Mile, Alberta. There are four main scopes to the Whitla Wind farm project: road and civil work, turbine foundation development, turbine assembly, and substation and associated electrical work.

Construction of Phase 1 of Whitla Wind began in September 2018 and is scheduled for completion in the fourth quarter of 2019, with a capacity of 201.6 MW. The full project, with planned capacity of 298.8 MW, is located on approximately 33,000 acres of land in the County of Forty Mile. Construction costs for Phase 1 are expected to be between $315 and $325 million (reflects original projected total construction costs).

Borea will be working on the next phase (Phase 2) of the Forty Mile project, with foundations work and wind tower erection, in the near future. Borea is also constructing another solar farm near Suffield, Alberta, along the west side of the Trans-Canada Highway, and will require additional Local 63 members for that project. CLAC expects many more projects to come to southern Alberta with the ever-growing commitment to building renewable energy infrastructure.

Local 63 Members Break into New Markets

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