British Columbia Federation of Labour

"Why do pensions matter?" That was just one of the questions facing Jim Sinclair as he spent his morning with a group of young apprentices.

Thirty-three 1^st and 4^th year apprentices, members of the Sheet Metal Workers Union (SMWU) Local 280 opened their classroom to hear Sinclair’s views on the labour movement. "It’s about respect. Respect for the craft and respect for us as workers," the B.C. Federation of Labour President said as he outlined the history of the SMWU and their predecessor guilds. Most in the room were first time union members, their only experience with a union often just what they’ve seen of picket lines on the news.

Sinclair stressed that unions today are just as relevant as they ever were, but that ultimately unions are only as strong as their members are. "No boss has ever come to me and said I’d like to give you a wage increase, or let’s build a pension plan, it’s unions that have fought for that."

"It’s unions who have been fighting to keep apprenticeship alive," Sinclair said. Campbell government cuts to the apprenticeship system have seen fewer people receiving apprenticeships. "They want you to learn just one skill, they call it modular training, they want to create just-in-time workers, so they can pay you less and you have fewer options when the job’s done. We want you to get your Red Seal certification (national apprenticeship standards) so you can work almost anywhere once you get your trade."

Sinclair recounted the story of a young man working non-union, under the table and not receiving any accreditation towards his apprenticeship, a familiar story to manB.C. Fed President Jim Sinclair talks union with apprenticesy in the room. At a time when BC’s skills shortage is at its worst, employers aren’t ensuring that there are active apprenticeships on their job sites, and have relied on poaching tradespeople from other job sites and jurisdictions.

"Now they want to bring in temporary workers from other countries," the Federation President said. He referred to the recent efforts by Bilfinger Berger, the company building the Golden Ears Bridge in Maple Ridge to import foreign workers. "They rejected four bids from Canadian companies. Why? They want to pay lower wages."

Sinclair noted how the labour movement was working to galvanize opposition to the plan. Stephen Harper’s government watered down the rules so employers no longer have to demonstrate an actual shortage of workers. Bilfinger Berger’s application for foreign workers was approved despite the ready supply of Ironworkers to do the job.

"Well, we have to get political, we have to call our MP’s and let them know what we think," said one apprentice.

"The bosses have their party, they give them millions in donations," Sinclair responded noting that since its early history the labour movement has understood the connection between the ballot box and the rights of working people. "Just look at health care. It’s the ultimate act of solidarity among people and our values as Canadians."

From homelessness, to minimum wage, to how unions have to get better at organizing, the questions from the group kept coming. Well over time, Sinclair, never at a loss for words, had to work to keep up.

"If people working at Wal-Mart get paid more, won’t I just have to pay more?" asked one young worker in response to Sinclair’s push for an increase to the minimum wage.

Sinclair countered by asking what if someone wanted to pay less for the home or apartment that worker built, should his wages be kept low. "We don’t want to end up in a race for the bottom." With heads nodding all around, one apprentice reported how his friends, working in non-union construction jobs for lower wages, struggles to make ends meet. "There’s three of them living together in one apartment [to afford the cost of rent] and they’re still struggling."

Sinclair recounted his experience as a young organizer working in the fishing industry and the words of advice from then union President Homer Stevens. "He said there’s only two things you have to know. First, working people never got a thing without fighting for it, and second, you have to keep fighting if you want to keep anything we’ve gained."

After the meeting was over, several of the young apprentices stayed behind to talk to Sinclair. Earlier, the labour leader had been challenged by one of them to explain what the labour movement was doing to reach out to young people and push back against the negative spin unions often receive in the media. Sinclair had outlined the Federation’s Young Worker education initiative, but noted a shortage of facilitators to deal with the ongoing demand. (The program trains young union members to go into high schools and provide students with background about unions and their rights as workers.) Ever the organizer, before he left the building, Sinclair recruited the questioner and several others to sign up to become program facilitators.

"They asked some tough questions. In many respects, they were asking all the right questions; questions that as a labour leader, I often ask of myself. They’re young, they’ve got energy, they’ve got ideas. We have to get them more involved in the union," Sinclair said. "If anyone doubts that the union movement will have a strong future in BC, they haven’t met these young workers."