ICBA celebrates 50 years of serving open shop construction this year, and we are looking back every week at some of the significant moments, milestones, and people who helped ICBA become Canada’s largest construction association.
Today, we turn back the clock to the mid 1990s and a memorable labour battle on Vancouver Island. This is part 1 of 2.
The interviews and other original research on which the ICBA50 series is based were conducted by writer Kevin Hanson. We appreciate Kevin’s work capturing the people, events, and milestones that shaped ICBA’s first half-century.
In 1994, a $205 million investment by then-forestry giant MacMillan Bloedel at their Port Alberni mill sparked a firestorm – one that would become a defining clash between the old union-first construction world and the rising open shop movement.
The “Nexgen” upgrade was MacBlo’s biggest-ever bet on new technology. With the mill losing money and global competition rising, MacBlo needed efficiency. So, they invited bids from the entire construction industry, including open shop contractors. “They’re in the game,” said MacBlo Vice-President Gary Johncox. “They’re legitimate bidders and we plan to use them.”
The Building Trades weren’t having it.
The original contractor walked off after a non-Building Trades drywall sub came on site. So MacBlo re-awarded the admin building job to ICBA member TNL Construction. TNL, led by Jim Greatbanks, started work in days. Pickets started just as fast.
At first, Greatbanks thought it might blow over. But this wasn’t just another protest – it was a last stand. “What used to be 80% union is now 80% open shop,” explained Vancouver Sun labour reporter Valerie Casselton. “[The unions] said, ‘we didn’t take a stand then and we lost and we gotta take a stand right now,’ and so they are determined that they are going to worry these clients to death over this.”
Meanwhile, other tensions brewed. The Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union (CEP) at the fully unionized mill claimed they’d been promised Building Trades exclusivity. MacBlo flatly denied that.
When picketing started, TNL secured a cease-and-desist from the Labour Board. It was ignored. Crowds ballooned – at one point, hundreds of protestors blocked access with everything from a derelict truck to porta-potties. TNL staff needed police escorts and buses just to get to work.
Greatbanks saw it firsthand when he rode in with his 18-year-old son, Tony, who was working on the project. As they slowly crept through a 40-yard picket gauntlet, Greatbanks realized how heavy this was wearing on his team. “It was getting to him,” he admitted. “He was there every day.”
The toll spilled into the small, tight-knit community. Port Alberni’s economy revolved around the mill – nearly every family had a stake. “A complex and bitter labour dispute that pits neighbour against neighbour,” wrote the Sun. “The wounds… could take generations to heal.”
TNL’s team stood strong. Only one carpenter left (understandably) after his wife received a vile phone call. Greatbanks himself kept a businesslike mindset – until he learned his son’s phone calls were being monitored. “You have your opinion. I have mine. You think it’s your work. I think it’s my work. Let’s sort it out one way or another, you know, but when you do things like that, that’s going a step too far,” he said.
The protests spread far beyond the mill gate. There were theatrics at MacBlo’s downtown Vancouver office. IWA-Canada issued a “declaration of war,” pledging boycotts and non-cooperation. The BC Fed joined in.
ICBA punched back.
“The enemy is within,” said ICBA’s Philip Hochstein. “The enemy is their old ways. Rather than try to bully the client and intimidate the worker and the contractor, [the Building Trades] should deal with the root problem, which is make themselves more competitive.”
Public opinion began to shift. The turning point came on November 2 at the BC Ferries terminal. Greatbanks’ crews were refused boarding, allegedly for safety reasons. So he told his drivers to each pull up to a ticket booth and wait, jamming the system. The Ferries president called him in a panic. “You shut down my ferry,” he said. “No,” replied Greatbanks. “I didn’t shut down your ferry. All I want to do is buy a ticket, and get on it like anybody else in Canada, and I’m quite entitled to.”
A court injunction followed. But worse was still to come.
Watch for Part 2 next week.
