Northern mine 'losing $1M a day' due to construction strike
Construction workers -- including crane and heavy equipment operators -- are on strike across Ontario.
The walkout is affecting the building industry across the north, including Sudbury.
Members of the International Union of Operating Engineers rejected a tentative provincial collective agreement at the end of April.
About 45 strikers gathered at the intersection of Kingsway Boulevard and Barrydowne Road in the Nickel City on Wednesday.
"For this particular agreement, it encompasses our crane rental divisions as well as steel erection, as well as heavy equipment operation in the industrial construction and institutional sectors. So that’s really what’s at stake right now," said Kirk Fournier, a business representative for the union Local 793 in Sudbury.
From residential to commercial projects, officials said the strike would have a large impact.
"We have certain projects, such as Côté Gold, right now, losing approximately $1 million a day while our operators are not operating," said Fournier.
Denis Deschenes has been a heavy equipment operator for 20 years. He said all workers want is to keep up with the cost of living.
"We’re trying to get a fair deal here," Deschenes said.
"With inflation -- we all know the gas prices are just astronomically crazy -- we’re trying to survive. We’ve got families and stuff at home with the fluctuation of inflation, it's just hard to get by now."
Fournier said workers have strong resolve and he's confident they will hunker down until a deal is reached.
Picket lines are expected across the city all week.
CTV News reached out to the Construction Labour Relations Association of Ontario, which negotiates for the employers, and it would only say talks are continuing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING | Ottawa convoy organizer Tamara Lich arrested in Alberta for alleged breach of bail conditions
Tamara Lich, one of the organizers of the Freedom Convoy, has been arrested in Alberta for alleged breach of bail conditions, CTV News has learned.

Child dies after being left in hot car while mother taught at Ontario high school, mayor says
An Ontario community is reeling after a 23-month-old boy died when he was accidentally left in a hot car outside the school where his mother taught, the mayor says.
G7 leaders discuss cap on price of Russian gas to squeeze war funds
Group of Seven leaders considered a possible cap on the price of Russian gas exports on Monday as a way to put the squeeze on the funding for Vladimir Putin's war with Ukraine.
Woman trampled, killed by horses at central Alberta rodeo: RCMP
A 30-year-old woman is dead after falling off a horse at the Ponoka Stampede on Sunday.
Russian missile strike hits crowded shopping mall in Ukraine
Russian long-range bombers fired a missile that struck a crowded shopping mall in Ukraine's central city of Kremenchuk on Monday, raising fears of what President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called an 'unimaginable' number of victims in 'one of the most disastrous terrorist attacks in European history.'
3 killed, dozens hurt in Amtrak train crash in Missouri
A passenger train traveling from Los Angeles to Chicago struck a dump truck and derailed Monday in a remote, rural area of Missouri, killing three people and injuring dozens more, officials said.
Passport lines persist as urgent travellers get priority
As long lines persist, Canadians travelling in the next 24 to 48 hours are being given priority at some passport offices.
'Deepest apologies': Central Alberta rodeo organizers shocked by parade float
Organizers of a central Alberta rodeo and its parade committee are calling for calm after a float in this weekend's parade, which possessed a racist theme, was seen in the procession.
Deadly and contagious rabbit virus detected in Ontario for first time
A highly contagious and deadly virus that affects rabbits and hares has been detected in Ontario for the first time.