Builders across the Lower Mainland can breathe a sigh of relief for the time being.
The union representing workers at one of the region’s largest concrete companies, Heidelberg Materials, say its members won’t be heading to the picket lines this week.
“We met on Tuesday and Wednesday, we had productive discussions. We actually even made some progress on some agreed upon items,” Barry Capozzi, the business agent representing Teamsters Local 213 said on Thursday.
“Both parties agreed to enter mediation through the BC Labour Board, those dates are scheduled for June 17 and June 18,” he added.
On Monday, the union had threatened job action on social media if negotiations had failed, saying that more than 98% of its members voted in favour to authorize calling for a strike.
“Our goal is to get a deal done without a labour stoppage, we don’t want to impact the construction industry,” he emphasized.
Capozzi assured, “It will be business as usual” for now, but underscored that the results of the mediation sessions will be “crucial” in determining whether a strike is warranted.
The news comes amid fears of a repeat of the 2022 strike by the same Teamsters union, which caused significant disruptions to the construction industry. The five-week strike was also a catalyst for creating delays to the Broadway Subway Project, according to the province.
Heidelberg Materials is responsible for supplying roughly one-third of all the concrete on the Lower Mainland.