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2010-05-25 at 15:48

Workers want local labour

By Scott Paradis, tbnewswatch.com
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Local workers and union members protested along the fenced property of the future Leon’s Furniture Tuesday, a response to what pickets say is a company refusal to use homegrown labour and materials.

About two dozen people marched around the property on Fort William Road to greet traffic just before 8 a.m. With homemade signs in hand, pickets asked both motorists and pedestrians to consider boycotting Leon’s Furniture.

"They are building in our city and they won’t hire local people, so how are they going to expect us to buy any furniture when they open up," said Glen Drewes, manager of IBEW Local 402. "I don’t think anyone from southern Ontario is going to come here and go furniture shopping. That’s what this is about – local labour versus out-of-city labour."

Unions have tried to open up a dialogue with the company, but Drewes said they have so far heard nothing. Tuesday was the first day that upset workers and union members organized to showcase their frustration, and Brews said there would likely be more if they didn’t hear a response from the company.

Officials with the furniture store announced late in 2009 that the retailer would be returning to Thunder Bay. Following an announcement regarding increased third-quarter profits, the company announced that it had purchased land in the city and planned to build a showroom and warehouse.

Local civil trades workers were hired for the project when construction first began, but Drewes said once mechanical jobs came in the local labour force was shipped out.

"Now when the meat and potatoes of the job, or the high dollar part of the job, is in it’s all from out of town," he said. "The other thing is that they are buying all the materials from out of town and shipping it here. That’s not fair either."

Rick Ead, member of Bricklayers Union Local 25, says the Leon’s Furniture project is a great opportunity to train young people just getting into the trades. He added that putting young people to work in Thunder Bay has been difficult recently because of its economic situation.

"There could be a chance here for one or two young fellows to pick up a bit of experience and that’s not happening," he said. "And that will not happen if these businesses come in and continue to bring in people from southern Ontario."

Officials with Leon’s Furniture were contacted by tbnewswatch.com, but could not immediately provide comment on the issue.


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Comments

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TBDR says:
Regardless of how you feel about unions, I think these guys are on to something. Why are companies flying in a workforce to do labour that we can do just as well here?
5/25/2010 4:20:57 PM
yqtyqt says:
They aren't using local labour presumably because of the cost and local unionized labour rates. When you price and position yourself out of the picture, most normal individuals and business will buy either non unionized labour and products.

Much the same way as the protesting union members shop at walmart and bypass the more expensive locally owned but smaller businesses.

What is good for one is good for the other -its hard to feel sorry for them. The union may want to take a look in the mirror and ask themselves how they can become more competitive. They can look at the effects that outrageous union demands have already had on local businesses - start at the paper mills.
5/25/2010 4:24:25 PM
Steven says:
What does Leon's owe these people?

Since when do companies have to use labour from local markets? They probably have a crack team for ontario that puts up all their buildings, and they have existing supplier relationships. Why would they start from scratch again and work with an untested local union?

Why wouldn't they use the people they already know and work with?
Of course they would!
These people need to stop whining. Lets welcome a business to the city for the love of god, and stop trying to force unions and supplier demands down their throats!

Welcome Leons! I like your furniture, and urge you not to be blackmailed by these self-interested people trying to jack up your costs, which in the end will just get passed on to consumers. I will walk right through a picket line to shop. But then again, what right do these people have to picket a place they've never worked, never been associated with etc.? In my opinion, it should be none.
5/25/2010 4:39:29 PM
tannharr says:
you ever think it's more cost effective to hire a workforce for a lower cost? Maybe it's more expensive to hire the locals, maybe they're too greedy, since they've been out of work for so long. Leon's has no obligation to hire locally for construction. It does, however, make sense to hire locally once the store opens its doors.
5/25/2010 5:55:51 PM
BoomBoom says:
Im not saying I agree with Leons for using out of town labour and materials. It doesnt make sense, its not good business any way I look at it. You might save money now, but you will suffer in the long run.

But how many of the people who are picketing or complaining of this issue are using services themselves from outside of Thunder Bay? for telephone, Internet, Cell phone, etc. How many of these people go across the border to pick up cheaper booze or better prices on equipment. Will they switch Television service when TbayTel gets TV?
Its so frustrating to watch people argue and complain about others when they do it, but then they turn around and say how prices in town are so high and they have to go out of town for the same services or products.

While I dont agree with Leons, and I may not shop there when they open, As a business owner, I cant blame a company who saves money by going with the lowest price contractor. People do it all the time, why cant companies do it too?
5/25/2010 8:07:49 PM
Winslow says:
...When Safeway re-did their stores here, all you could see was Manitoba plates on the workers trucks.....I don't shop there anymore.
5/25/2010 8:09:02 PM
Dudebro says:
These companies are all about profit, and if they suspected it was going to cost more to hire locally, then likely they would just find a way to bypass it. Its unfortunate this happens but this is the way business is sometimes run. Nothing is really going to stop them if this is how they do business.
What other reason could there be?
I'm pretty sure they realize that even though they are doing a dirty thing to the workers of Thunder Bay...many people are still going to shop and purchase from their store if the prices are cheaper than somewhere else, regardless. Pretty sad though...
5/25/2010 9:49:59 PM
renegade says:
it's long past due, that thunder bay should be looking after it's own,so to speak. not only because of the current economc situation, but always!!! council or somebody should start to stand up where they should be standing and take some action, before someone else does!!!! i for one, and i know many others that will not support this store in any way if this continues!!!
5/25/2010 9:53:11 PM
passlake says:
is a boycott in order? you got it!
5/25/2010 10:24:52 PM
joewho06 says:
Join the club,This happens to small communities outside of Thunder Bay, whenever a Government grant is given.Approximitly 90% to 100% of the labour and material required for these projects comes from Thunder Bay while our small Towns suffer from high unemployment rates and our local businesses are barely surviving.In other words,Thunder Bay benefits largely from their own grants but also from all grants given to any Township on the Northshore.
5/25/2010 10:38:32 PM
educator says:
I'm a IBEW member and I won't be spending my money at Leon's unless they bring in local trades.

It's my belief preference should be given to local workers. You'd think Leon's would be of the same opinion considering these tradespeople, their families and friends are potential Leon's customers.
5/25/2010 11:15:57 PM
garyk says:
You cannot blame the companies like Leons for having their own in house construction crew. Metro did the same when they took over A&P. Most of their workers were from Bosnia who,live temporarily in Southern Ontario. This is all part of the Conservative governments "temporary foreign' worker program.
I watched the company that did the earthwork on that site, and they milked the job for all it was worth, so do you blame Leons for not using local tradesmen?
5/26/2010 7:27:17 AM
Nitesky says:
Well, you won't see me spending a dime at Leons because of this.
5/26/2010 7:30:08 AM
thinkingoutsidethebox says:
I like the idea of using local labour and resources, but Thunder Bay needs to learn to be competitive.
For example, if I wanted good windows for my house, I would order them from Toronto or Winnipeg. The two big local companies are extremely inept at building windows, as evidenced by personal experience. Their only market edge is that people want to shop local. They can't stand up to any "real" window manufacturers' quality.
Perhaps the Unions should check into Leon's labour practices. Are they just honouring agreements that they have with their own unions? Perhaps if our wages and skills were comparable with that of Southern Ontario, we could be competitive and actually get these type of contracts.
The general public who are not unionized will have a hard time crying along with the overpaid union workers picketing here in the city.
Sorry guys, we're not buying your protectionist fuss. Quit standing in the way of progress. Bring back Leons, bring back some business competition to the city.
5/26/2010 8:06:30 AM
garyk says:
This is getting all too common. There is a large trucking company from Thunder Bay, that has blue trucks, that is hiring from southern Ontario now. They don't even run ads locally any more.
Do those truckers spend money in Thunder Bay?
Absolutely not.
They should be ashamed of themselves.
5/26/2010 8:06:59 AM
nvjgu says:
Every body thinks union workers are over payed . They would change there minds if they spent five years of there life as an apprentice with all the trade schooling and night courses after work not to mention the hard labouring type of work most of it is . How much do you all think thats all worth minimum wage .
5/26/2010 9:15:17 AM
nvjgu says:
Oh so do we have to go to southern ont or Winipeg so we can get a Job here .
5/26/2010 9:22:16 AM
canuckman55 says:
garyk: I really object to your comment about temporary foreign workers. My wife is an architect and came here on that very same program you speak of. She received her permit because that field is very understaffed by Canadians. She often has over a dozen projects on the go at any given time because there aren't enough people in that sector. Her story is not uncommon... in fact its quite opposite. Don't knock a program until you fully understand it.
5/26/2010 9:40:11 AM
TBay Proud says:
First off it's nice to see so many comments but let me clear up something here:
As Union Leaders, we also have an obligation to stand up for the "un-organized" workers of what we did yesterday. It's not a Union vs Non-Union issue, mearly standing up for "local contractors and workers" alike.
It wouldn't be a public issue if a non-union contractor got the work, at least it would be local people.
My question is simple: What do I tell the Mom's and Dad's of the young people in Thunder Bay that knock on my door every week about getting an apprenticeship in a skilled trade? How about, your better off going somewhere else because the people of Thunder Bay don't want to support your because we rather sit on our hands watching out of town workers build Thunder Bay?
I have a better idea, why doesn't the City double tax the property so we can at least help pay for the training our young people get in apprenticeships because surely they won't be working locally to get it.

5/26/2010 9:59:08 AM
yqtyqt says:
Renegade - it will be your perrogative whether you step foot in Leons.

But let me ask you whether you always get your car repaired by a unionized licenced mechanic. Or do you go to a non union shops who might be cheaper or do you simply get it fixed by one of your mechaniclly inclined buddies who you slip some non taxable money to.

When you experience plumbing or electrical problems with your house, do you call the unionized shops and pay their labour rates, or do you shop around for the best rate even if they're non union.

When you buy groceries, do you go to Metro or Safeways because they have something on sale. Or do you support the little local guy who pays taxes locally. Do you shop at walmart and canadian tire with their minimum paying jobs?

If you can say that you always buy local products at unionized rates from firms that operate strictly out of thunder bay, then I'll accept your argument. But I would be willing to bet that you find the cheapest place to buy everything.Just like Leons did.
5/26/2010 10:07:21 AM
hurricanejeck says:
I don't see this as a good start at trying to win the Chamber of Commerce Award.
Hey Mrs. Mayor, what's your take on this?
How does this help/hinder TBay?
5/26/2010 10:14:40 AM
TBDR says:
The problem I see is that many of you posting that they shouldn't have hired local workers, are the same ones praising companies like Leon's coming here because its bringing jobs to town. A bunch of minimum wage jobs aren't going to rebuild our economy, no matter how much you want to brainwash yourselves with the idea! Also, if every unionized worker and their immediate family decided to in fact boycott the new store, they would definitely feel that... probably to the tune of more than half a million dollars. I myself sit on the opposite side of the political spectrum from most union workers, but on this issue, I partially agree with them. If a company shows interest in investing within a city, it usually earns them a lot more loyalty from their customers.
5/26/2010 11:34:07 AM
jb says:
Why stop at the construction? Why doesn't Leon's get all their furniture made here as well?
5/26/2010 11:35:06 AM
chbaker says:
That protest was weak.

I say from now on, every group that has an issue, go out and close a highway for awhile. That seems to be the only way to make people listen.
5/26/2010 11:46:17 AM
Ur Kiddingme says:
How do you expect them to sell furniture at a profit when they keep getting fleeced by the gredy union boys who want BIG bucks to do small jobs. Get in tune with the times. You can't suck and blow at thesame time people!
5/26/2010 12:04:10 PM
taxgirl says:
Despite some comments that local labour rates are more this is not the case. To use labourers and tradespeople from S. On they have to pay them room and board, travel time, etc unless those guys are working for next to nothing it cannot be cheaper. I am very familiar with the costing of construction and it just doesn't make sense from a money saving point of view.

Will I boycott this store?? YES!!!

The Leon's building is nothing that could not have been built using local resources!

5/26/2010 12:06:52 PM
Me n My Opinion says:
Protectionism is a slippery slope. Yes it would be great to have local people working on the project, but I'm sure many of these same demonstrators wouldn't think twice about going out of town and working if one of our local contractors secured a contract for a big construction job in Sault Ste Marie. It's a two way street, and if we close off one way, we'd better be prepared to not have any local companies expect to get work outside of Thunder Bay.
5/26/2010 12:10:28 PM
collie says:
Guess what

They do hire local as long as your NOT union.
Unions had their place long ago and did right then NOW nothing but a rip off for their own GOOD. Unions here have a list of seniority as to who gets calls for jobs. THEY are always called first DOESNT MATTER if they already have a job or not. JOKE new people cant get into union cuz by their books they dont have enough work BUT alot have other jobs but still retaining their place on list. DONT claim no local workers NO LOCAL UNION WORKERS.
5/26/2010 12:23:49 PM
Steven says:
We are talking about a single building. 1. Thats it.
If you had a company and were going to build buildings all over the province as you needed them and you had a team of workers, how would you feel if you tried to build one in Sudbury, and suddenly they tried to force you to get rid of the people you already use and use them instead?

I think you'd be pretty mad, and it would be much more difficult to get the job done with an untested group of workers you have no relationship with.

I think I would be more sympathetic if it was an entire subdivision, or a brand new mall; a larger project. But this is one building. They should use their own team that they are used to using, and get the job done.

Then, it will be Thunder bay that benefits from the tax revenue, and the jobs in the store. If they follow the same compensation plan as leons in southern ontario, sales associates will earn pretty good money and have benefits for FT employees. These are locals who will be better off having this store here, regardless of the short term bellyaching of a few union guys.
5/26/2010 1:40:21 PM
pieislandrefugee says:
If local people arent employed...who will they sell their funiture to?

answer: those on social or government assistance.

See the downward trend here folks? Keep bashing the middle class. Lowering everyone's standard of living, whatever your agenda is a very bad thing.
5/26/2010 2:45:42 PM
tbay87 says:
There has to be more to this due to simple economics. Leons isn't going to bring in outside labour because they "love Torontonians" or something. Considering Leon's would have to pay to feed and house these workers, and it's not like they are bringing in workers from Mexico who will do it far cheaper, there has to be some reason they'd take on the extra costs to bring people in.

Maybe local workers are priced so high that it is worth bringing people to the city (this seems unlikely, do workers in southern Ontario really make less, let alone so much less that it's cheaper to send them up here, house them, etc.)? Maybe Leon's has agreements with contractors that they have to honor. Maybe a contractor or employee has previous experience with Leon's, which means they should get the job done better/quicker and Leon's knows what they are getting.

I'd say that most likely it would be cheaper to hire local, so I'm going to give Leon's the benefit of the doubt that they have a good reason for bringing people in.
5/26/2010 3:11:04 PM
noparty says:
I can not see how it would be any cheaper to bring workers from out of town to do this work. First you have to pay for them to get here unless they drive 1000 miles and pay themselves,then there is hotel room costs unless they camp out in a tent, then there is food unless they cookout on an open fire (hoping there is no fire ban in effect) cost to do laundry unless they wash in the river. If these workers like living like this how much pride do you think goes into their work?? Remember that the cheapest price is not always the cheapest in the long run. The only one that might save is Leon's. Building on swamp land is not a good idea unless proper foundation is done, just check the floor at Canadian Tire for example.
5/26/2010 3:20:12 PM
pawn says:
Look like Rick wants top wages to hire unqualified people.

Rick Ead, member of Bricklayers Union Local 25, says the Leon’s Furniture project is a great opportunity to train young people just getting into the trades. He added that putting young people to work in Thunder Bay has been difficult recently because of its economic situation.

"There could be a chance here for one or two young fellows to pick up a bit of experience and that’s not happening," he said. "And that will not happen if these businesses come in and continue to bring in people from southern Ontario."

Welcome to Thunder Bay Leon's.
5/26/2010 3:28:09 PM
Steven says:
All of you who have said "They are only creating crappy minimum-wage jobs!", you are wrong.

Leons is a commission based job for full timers, and it can be quite lucrative. I have a friend in hamilton who earned $47000 or so last year working 4 shifts a week.

Doesn't sound like minimum wage to me.

YQTYQT hit the nail on the head: You get the job done as cheaply as possible with the quality you require. To do anything else is bad business, is negligent to the shareholders, and is also just plain dumb. This decision makes complete and total business sense.

Everytime you don't pay the most expensive person to fix your car, cut your meat, clean your house etc. you are doing the same thing.
Stop pretending we are somehow doing Leons a favour by letting them open here, and that they somehow owe us. Get real.
5/26/2010 3:32:20 PM
panzerIV says:
Tbay proud, do you know where i can find info about Thunder Bay apprentiships? Im finishing up highschool and trying to get into an apprentiship but can find anything. Thats why im headed out west.
5/26/2010 4:39:02 PM
yqtyqt says:
TBay Proud:

You've got to be kidding right. What you tell the parents of those kids trying to get into the unions is this:

"we as a union, have overpriced ourselves and unfortunately our members aren't competitive with the rest of the world. Therefore, the rest of the world will succeed and work, and our members can do nothing but carry stupid sandwich boards protesting against non union and out of town labour. Would your kid like to carry one of these sandwich boards for us. If not, we;ll see you at Walamart tonight. "
5/26/2010 4:46:26 PM
nvjgu says:
I agree TBayproud its about hireing local not union agains't non union it's a shop local hire local issue. Maybe they should get rid of the shop local campaign .
5/26/2010 7:11:59 PM
sweetazmaple says:
i remember working on alloy drive ,,, right next to leons ,,, well they went and sold out the last time ,,, i wonder what would make them come back to thunder bay if they closed that store ,,,, didn't the brick open another show room when i was there last they just opened the one across from intercity , not sure if they closed the other one thou , point is thunder bay you don't have many choices and the brick has the monoploy there other than countrywide and defranse but having another one will bring down the cost of other furniture stores ,,, you boy cott it than you not looking for that to happen your going to pay big bucks

as for people on social assistance they can't make ends meet now how do you expect them to have brand new furniture in there house ,,, not going to happen if there is there illeagel activity going on
5/26/2010 10:16:07 PM
a nonny mouse says:
It's a sad situation all around however - if people are going to voice their concerns regarding Leon's, you should also consider the many other locations in the city doing the same thing. It isn't a rare sight by any means. Just look at the roof being done on a local plaza on river street. a roof? We didn't have enough local roofing companies to give competitive and reasonable quotes? When considering travel costs, shipping of materials and overtime for labourers after hours, it sure must add up.
5/26/2010 11:06:56 PM
Garyk says:
canuckman55: Don't defend the Conservatives "temporary foreignworkers program" to me. You say we have a shortage of architects in Canada? Bulls***! What about the City of Calgary Police Department hiring recruits from Britain? We don't have young people here that would love jobs like that?
I could go on and on with examples. Look at how the trucking industry has been ruined with these foreign worker yahoos, it is not safe to drive on the highway anymore. Look at trucking companies like Bison, those guys LIVE in those trucks at the truckstops because they have no home in Canada. If you have a home and family and want to get home, the companies don't want you. These temporary foreign workers give companies like Bison, H@R, etc an unfair competitive edge against companies that hire locals. Most of their money goes right out of the country if they have a family somewhere.
canuckman55, there is NOT 1 SINGLE bonafide reason for this program to exist. It was the Christian Labour Organization in Alberta that created the program to provide scab labour for the oilpatch with the governments blessing.
Ever see a CLAC safety record from these sites??
More unsafe working conditions and fatalities than you can shake a stick at!!!
5/27/2010 3:29:50 AM
garyk says:
canuckman55; Yeah right! The temporary Foreign worker program was cooked up by the CLAC (Christian Labour Association Council)in Alberta to provide cheap labour with the blessing of Ralph Klein and Harper's Reformers (aka: Conservatives). Now it is spreading across the country. Any time business is run under the guise of a Church affiliation it is a bad thing. Ever been on one of CLAC's worksites cannuckman55? More safety violations and fatalities and cutting corners than anything else. Just another way of saying sweatshop.
5/27/2010 3:57:03 AM
FFC says:
Has anybody mentioned the Thunder Bay companies who have projects and workers working out of town in other areas? Some local companies are awarded contracts all over Canada...should they be cut out of the jobs they are doing so that local workers in those cities are awarded jobs?

HYPOCRITES!

This is all ridiculous talk! You can't win every contract. And Thunder Bay companies do quite well outside of our city...I say if Leons is forced to use local workers then every Thunder Bay company who has workers in other cities needs to return them home and stop bidding on contracts outside of our city. Then see the unemployment rise!
5/27/2010 10:52:36 AM
collie says:
HMMMMMMMMMMMM!

garyk you are posting alot of comments here regarding Alberta. Have you been out to the Oilsands to WORK???????

I have and yes Im a member of CLAC and wasnt cheap labour same wages as UNION workers out there, but they will HIRE people who want to work. I did an apprenticeship for a Trade as well as had my Heavy Equip course from TOWN here. I tried to join unions here and get a job but they werent accepting anyone and still arent. Hence why i went out west to work. THE unions here wont accept anything ive done in alberta unless i was a journeyman LOL what a joke BUT out in Alberta they accept your training from other provinces. SORTA screwy huh! I worked 2 different sites in the Oilsands and guess what your statemnents about Safety Violations and Fatalities is TOTALLY WRONG if anything was the other way around. UNION sites had more deaths than CLAC and less work accomplished. EASY to prove too. BUT the biggest JOKE is they are more SAFETY concerned in the Oilsands then HERE in town. EXAMPLE I personally have witnessed situations at the Hospital and Waterfront and a number of other Construction Sites around Town here that in Alberta you would get FIRED for being UNSAFE. SO dont go Spouting off about the Oilsands, Safer to work there than I have seen here.
5/28/2010 9:19:51 PM
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