Ontario’s construction locals are cooperating on an agreement that keeps IBEW members on a multiyear project to upgrade 1.5 million residential and commercial electric meters across the province.
Thanks largely to innovative agreements negotiated by the IBEW Construction Council of Ontario, scores of members from multiple locals are working for a project by two of the province’s largest utilities to upgrade electric meters for nearly 1.5 million residential and commercial customers.
“It’s new work for us, and it’s huge,” said James Barry, executive secretary-treasurer of the CCO, which represents 11 locals covering nearly 19,000 IBEW members.
Over the past few years, meter maker Honeywell was selected as the upgrade contractor for Hydro One, the province’s largest electricity provider, and for Toronto Hydro, that city’s electric company.
But the road to securing meter work for IBEW members began a decade ago, when the CCO successfully argued before the Ontario Labour Relations Board that such installations belong with IBEW members.
“Because we won that board decision, Honeywell must use IBEW electricians to do these upgrades,” said Barry, who also negotiated an amendment to the union’s agreement with the company that introduced new linework classifications for residential and commercial meter installers.
“This is how we keep high-quality electrical work in IBEW members’ hands, with fully protected journeyperson standards, wages and benefits,” Barry said. The upgrade projects are expected to be worth about $1 billion by the time they’re completed within the next few years, he added, generating well over $150 million in wages for IBEW members.
The union’s lead representative on the projects is Toronto Local 353 Treasurer Jeff Hussey, who noted that all 11 of the CCO locals cooperated in a decision to amend the collective agreement and help spread the IBEW work throughout Ontario.
“There’s a province-wide effort to make sure we’re successful,” said Hussey, who tracks 52 commercial installers and 108 residential installers, from his home local plus Hamilton Local 105, Kingston Local 115, London Local 120, Sarnia Local 530, Ottawa Local 586, Kitchener Local 804 and Sudbury Local 1687.
“Thanks to the commitment of business managers across the province, we have members doing something we were never doing before, and we’ve kept nonunion workers away from this work,” Hussey said.
While the level of oversight and coordination required is significant, he said, the effort has proved invaluable. He also credited the project’s two stewards for keeping communication flowing and helping ensure issues are addressed quickly in the field.
“There’s a lot going on, but we’ve gotten past a lot of the speed bumps,” Hussey said.
Residential meter replacements can be handled by individual workers, he said.
“It’s basically: Knock on the door and say, ‘Hi, I’m here to replace your meter, and your power’s going to be off for about 10 minutes,’” Hussey said. The installer removes the old meter, checks incoming power levels, installs and tests the new meter, and moves on. If the timing is inconvenient, customers can reschedule.
“We’ve learned a lot,” he said. “You have to be well versed in how to communicate with customers.”
There are other hazards. “I think we’re up to six dog bites,” Hussey said.
Commercial installers deal with dangers, too, he said, although a typical commercial meter is designed to be disconnected without shutting down a business’s power.
Despite the challenges, installers province-wide have been replacing up to 9,000 meters in a typical week, Hussey said.
“Jeff’s right out there in the field with our members. He’s worked hard on this,” Barry said. “This project demonstrates how the IBEW can creatively partner with employers on logistically challenging jobs while maintaining strong representation for our members.”
First District International Vice President Russ Shewchuk applauded the Ontario business managers and CCO leadership for thinking outside the box to ensure that the work was performed by IBEW members.
“Having them coordinate on this is huge,” Shewchuk said. “It demonstrates what can be accomplished when IBEW leaders work together.”
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