Local bridge workers go union

In a first for the local construction industry, more than 20 ironworkers at Rice Mohawk Steel have exercised their right to unionize.

“It’s a long time coming. I feel proud, that’s the bottom line,” said Kahnawake ironworker Matthew Montour, who has been designated as the job steward at the Rice Mohawk Steel worksite.

This summer, the company that employs him took over the contract to maintain the provincial portion of the Mercier Bridge, which is recognized as falling under Kahnawake’s labour jurisdiction.

“I’ve been on numerous projects throughout North America, all union, but I was never allowed to work in my own town because it’s non-union,” Montour said.

While workers in Kahnawake are entitled to choose individually whether to affiliate with a union, all the site’s workers opted for it in last week’s move.

Despite the Kahnawake Labour Office (KLO) offering certain services and safety and wage protections, Montour believes the ability to speak with a unified voice and the addition of quality-of-life improvements like a pension plan are already boosting morale among workers.

“The men are happier, you can tell,” he said. “They have a nice vibe on the job.”

Despite a proud union tradition in Kahnawake, which for generations has sent ironworkers to build up some of the continent’s best-known destinations, including New York City, some have viewed unions on the territory with suspicion, worrying they could represent an infringement of Kahnawake’s jurisdiction.

However, with Kahnawake about to undergo a construction boom, union workers on the Mercier Bridge suggest the winds could be shifting. While it’s not clear whether all local employers will be pleased to see unions make their way onto the territory, management at Rice Mohawk Steel has expressed support for the workers’ decision.

“The workers have the right to choose, not the contractor,” said Oliver Montour, the company’s project manager and site safety supervisor, who said the presence of unions is not expected to significantly increase costs because workers are already paid comparably under the KLO Fair Wage Agreement.

“If the worker chooses to be union, that’s their right. We wouldn’t undermine that,” said Oliver, himself a member of Local 771 Saskatchewan.

Meanwhile, his boss, Burton Rice, boasts a family history of ironwork, which has long been intertwined with union membership.

“He’s a fourth-generation ironworker, and he’s just proud to be part of it to put our community members to work and to follow the proud tradition of union ironworkers,” Oliver said.

This moment was made possible by the 2014 Labour Agreement with the province, according to KLO director Jeff Morris. That accord prompted Quebec to change provincial labour laws to reflect Kahnawake’s jurisdiction.

“What this did was remove the Quebec government from the unions. They were no longer tied by law to the unions in Kahnawake. Once you had that separation, it paved the way for workers to be able to choose to work union in Kahnawake,” said Morris.

According to former KLO director Mike O’Brien, who was involved in negotiating the 2014 agreement, labour on the Mercier Bridge being non-union triggered discussions with the province when major work became necessary, leading to the new status quo.

“The impetus was to give the worker the choice,” said O’Brien, who said there’s no reason to view union membership as an incursion since the labour associations are obligated to recognize the regulatory authority of Kahnawake.

He said the unionization of workers at Rice Mohawk Steel aligns with the vision behind the 2014 agreement and noted potential benefits to workers, such as a medical safety net.

In Quebec, Ironworkers Local 711 is the regional association under the umbrella of the International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental, and Reinforcing Iron Workers. According to Morris, Local 711 has been respectful of Kahnawake’s jurisdiction over labour regulations in its overtures to the community.

“KLO works with the union, and we make sure that the Quebec entities stay out, while the workers can still opt to be a union worker if they choose,” Morris said.

This principle has been echoed by Local 711 president Matthew Fortin.

“I want to make it clear that we are working with Kahnawake, we’re working with the KLO, and that’s how we roll,” said Fortin, adding that if he were representing workers in Ontario or New Brunswick he wouldn’t be sitting down with Quebec either.

“We’re not working with Quebec, we’re working with who we believe has the authority on the territory,” he said.

And while the KLO seeks to offer protections, the union is positioned to offer workers something different that may appeal to them, Fortin argued, transcending any political administration.

“When the men and women decide to say we’ve unionized, we want to get our voices together, and we want to be supported by a union, we’re there to represent their rights,” he said.

Fortin said in his past experiences working with Indigenous ironworkers on the job, they’ve chatted about the fact there were no union members working on the Mercier Bridge.

“Kahnawake’s got some of the best ironworkers out there,” said Fortin. “It’s very much an honour for us to be able to succeed in this, I could say, campaign, even if it’s different than what we’re used to, and to see the guys are proud of that. So it’s a bright future.”

Mohawk Council of Kahnawake (MCK) grand chief Cody Diabo suggested apprehensions about unions at an unrelated press conference in Kahnawake a few weeks ago, where he emphasized that labour needs to be Kahnawake-driven; but he seemed to cautiously welcome the choice made by workers at Rice Mohawk Steel in an interview this week with The Eastern Door.

“We just need to make sure that it’s at the workers’ decision, what they do, and it’s not taken on a global aspect. It’s always about what an individual chooses to do at the end of the day, and that’s something that we support,” said Diabo.

“At the end of the day, it’s Kahnawake. We decide what happens here and not the unions. For myself, jurisdiction is always at the forefront, and we’re always pushing back on something, not just this file per se.”

Rice Mohawk Steel’s contract to maintain the provincial side of the Mercier Bridge took effect in July, with an expected duration of 27 months. The Mohawk Bridge Consortium continues to hold the contract for the federal side of the bridge.

This article was originally published in print on September 6 in issue 33.36 of The Eastern Door.

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