b'History of Provincial Bargaining Between the ETBA and IBEWBY SCOTT G. THOMPSON T RelationsActwasamendedinTraditionalbargainingintheconstructionround of bargaining. The foundation of the TheLabour 1977 to provide for province-wide bargainingindustrytendstofollowthepatternoftheJoint Proposal is the parties commitment to in the ICI sector of the construction industryhighest settlements. Between 1978 and 1990interest-based bargaining to address the con-in the Province of Ontario. At that time, theall four strikes were over the monetary increasecerns of the unionized electrical construction ElectricalTradeBargainingAgency(ETBA)to the wage package. The other constructionindustry in Ontario.oftheElectricalContractorsAssociationoftrades were more than willing to sit back and Ontario (ECAO) was selected by the Ministerlet the IBEW strike first. Regardless of whichHistorical Dates for the Provincial ofLabourtobetheemployerbargainingtrade settled first, the settlement with the IBEWAgreement Before the Joint agency in the ICI sector for employers whoseeither matched the highest trade or was an aver- Proposalemployees were represented by the IBEW con- age of the two highest trades. The only signifi- 1978; the first round of bargaining by the cant language change negotiated by the ETBA struction locals in the Province of Ontario. AtduringthisperiodoftraditionalbargainingdesignatedICIBargainingAgents,the the same time, the International Brotherhoodwas the right to name hire foremen, which itETBA and the IBEW settled for two years of Electrical Workers (IBEW) and the IBEWachieved as part of the 1982 settlement.on a differential basis without a strike.Construction Council of Ontario were selected1980 round of bargaining was also resolved by the Minister of Labour to be the designatedAs a result of the bargaining history between employee bargaining agency in the ICI sector1978 and 1990, the unionized electrical indus- without a strike.try lost significant market share to non-union torepresentalljourneymenandapprentice1982 round of bargaining saw negotiations electriciansandjourneymenandapprenticeelectrical contractors. Both the IBEW and thebreak down when the IBEW CCO went on linemen represented by the IBEW constructionETBA recognized that the increasing durationstrikea strike that lasted approximately locals in Ontario. These designation orders wereof the work stoppage and lost person hoursone week.expanded in 2001 to include journeymen andand market share caused by the work stoppage1984; the parties settled without a strike.was detrimental to both parties, and therefore apprentice network cabling specialists and cablea commitment between the parties was made1986 saw another strike; this time it lasted installers represented by the IBEW construc-tion locals in Ontario. at the time of the 1990 settlement to exploreapproximately two and a half weeks.methods of resolving disputes without resorting1988 was also a strike. The strike lasted for In 1978 the ETBA and the IBEW were ableto the strike/lockout procedure.to negotiate the first province-wide Principalroughly three weeks.Agreement, which consolidated 14 local areaIn the United States, the unionized electrical industry has, since 1928, a history of settling1990 saw the third consecutive strike, and agreements, without a strike. Between 1978 andtheircollectiveagreementdisputesthroughit lasted approximately eight weeks. In fact, 1990 the Principal Agreement was renegotiatedvoluntary interest arbitration, without strikesthisstrikerequiredMinisterofLabour every two years. Although the parties were ableor lockouts. The two pillars of the Americanintervention for resolution.to renew the Principal Agreement without asystemaretoresolvedisputeswithoutworkAs a result of the above-referenced bargaining strike in 1980 and 1984, they were unsuccessfulstoppages while increasing the market share ofhistory, and the recognition of the detrimental in 1982 (a one-week strike), 1986 (a 2.5-weekthe unionized electrical industry. The ETBAeffects of the way the collective agreement was strike), 1988 (a three-week strike) and 1990 (anand the IBEW, after investigating the Americanbeing negotiated, the ETBA and IBEW CCO eight-weekstrike/lockout).Throughoutthissystem, developed their own version of the Nocommittedtodesignanewsystem,which period of traditional bargaining between 1978Strike/No Lockout Accord for the Province ofbecame known as the Joint Proposal. The Joint and 1990, the only material language change toOntario (the Joint Proposal), which has beenProposal has been negotiated prior to collective the Principal Agreement occurred in 1982. utilized on a voluntary basis since the 1992bargaining since 1992.Ontario Electrical Contractor39'