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Hard Work Pays Off for BAC Locals in Quebec
Issue 3 - 2009
 Another Raiding Period in the Province of Quebec has been completed. And, although the official numbers had not been released as this issue goes to press, it appears that BAC affiliates involved in the 2009 Raiding Period did very well.
Preliminary numbers indicate that BAC’s brick Locals, 4 Quebec and 7 Canada (which represents members in both Quebec and Ontario), increased their membership share from 29.233 percent in 2006 to 32.332 percent. And there was more good news for BAC’s tile Local, 1 Quebec, which increased its share from 69.945 percent in 2006 to 71.634 percent.
IU President John J. Flynn commended the three Locals, citing their “hard work and determined efforts leading up to and during the Raiding Period, and their equally strong member representation during non-campaign times” as being instrumental to their success in vying for members in Quebec.
As stated in previous Journal articles, all construction workers in Quebec are required to be represented by a union. Every three years, a “Raiding Period” is held during which each construction worker must vote for a labour association. Although the process may be difficult for many outside the Province to understand, Local 1 Quebec Business Manager and Financial Secretary Mario Basilico has a simpler explanation: “The Raiding Period is about the retention of our members. The actual organizing takes place all of the years and months in between.”
IU Director of Organizing Don Newton couldn’t agree more. “I had the opportunity to spend a week in the greater Montreal area with representatives of the BAC affiliates during the Raiding Period. Even though I was familiar with how the construction labour relations system operates, including the Raiding Period, the amount of preparation that had been undertaken prior to our arrival and the work that continued throughout the Period was staggering. The hours our Local representatives spent on job sites, on the telephone, and in one-on-one conversations with their members and potential members were reminiscent of large organizing drives.” |
