Sault continues dispute with carpenters union

An ongoing battle between the city of Sault Ste. Marie and the UBC Carpenters Union will have to wait at least another year before it's resolved.

City council heard Tuesday night the city won its grievance with the union back in October, but that it would need a further $100,000 for legal fees to defend the union's appeal.

The grievance was launched by the union following the province's 2019 amendment to the Ontario Labour Relations Act that deemed public bodies, including municipalities, school boards, hospitals, universities and colleges, as "non-construction" employers.

"Now that we have had a couple years under this new legislation, the number of bids that we've received and the competitiveness of the pricing that we've received as been better across all the jobs," said Coun. Matthew Shoemaker.

Before the amendment, Sault Ste. Marie was barred from accepting bids from companies not affiliated with the International Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners and Labourers International Union of America.

Under the new system, the city is free to accept the bid of any company, regardless of affiliation.

"If you look at the east-end sewage treatment plant for example, when that was built 15, 20 years ago, it came with few bids and was over the budget at the time," Shoemaker said.

"But for the west-end water treatment plant, which was tendered under the new system, we were able to take multiple bids and accepted one that was close to or under the budget."

City council has approved the $100,000 needed to continue to defend the case, once the appeal process begins.

City officials expect it to begin at the end of the year.