HALIFAX—Most of the cranes in Halifax will be still for the next few weeks as their operators take to the picket line, likely delaying major projects like Queen’s Marque.

More than 100 members of the Operating Engineers, Local 721 in Halifax and across mainland Nova Scotia walked off the job Wednesday in a legal strike.

Joey MacLellan, business manager for Local 721 said the striking union workers operate about 20 of the 25 tower cranes up around Halifax right now, as well as the mobile truck cranes with various companies that move around the province. Cape Breton workers fall under a different collective agreement.

He added while the strike affects mostly crane operators, there are some earth movers involved as well.

Groups of union workers were seen picketing outside developments like Queen’s Marque on the Halifax waterfront and new South Park St. YMCA and residential development on Wednesday, with many carrying signs calling for fair wages and retroactive pay.

“Everything that goes up on those buildings has to be hoisted by that tower crane,” MacLellan said.

“I mean some of those trades ... have work that they can do on the lower floors and keep themselves occupied, but it will delay the projects. It will have an impact on them and some of those trades will be laid off because there’s nothing for them to do.”

Armour Group CEO Scott McCrae, the developer behind the Queen’s Marque development, declined to comment when asked about the strike Wednesday. Southwest Properties, which is building the YMCA site, did not return a request for an interview.

MacLellan said their union has been without a contract for about six months as their last one ran out at the end of April.

Since the construction sector is covered under part 2 of the Trade Union Act in Nova Scotia, MacLellan said all 13 trades are supposed to bargain at the same time through the Construction Labour Relations Association (CLRA). The CLRA represents all unionized employers in the province, and bargains on their behalf.

To get into a legal strike position, MacLellan said at least three of the 13 unions must go through the process of conciliation and taking a strike vote at the same time in order to take action.

If you can’t get the group of three together, MacLellan said you can wait until bargaining has wrapped up with 11 other trades, then the final two can go on strike — but they can only do so for 21 days.

The union for elevator constructors are also in a legal position but have decided not to participate in the strike, MacLellan said.

MacLellan said since the last agreement finished up on Tuesday, their 21-day window kicked in on Wednesday and they decided to take advantage of their full strike time.

“The guys are basically on strike to enforce their right to strike. If they don’t use it then they’ll lose it, and we’re one of the few unions that hasn’t been stripped of it’s right to strike,” MacLellan said, referring to the provincial Liberal government’s past moves to legislate a contract with the teachers’ union or pass an essential services act restricting the right to strike for thousands of health care workers.

The crane operators will return to work on Nov. 14 barring any changes, at which point MacLellan said both parties will strike a conciliation panel to impose a “binding settlement” on the union that is consistent with other deals achieved during the last round of bargaining.

However, all of the trades have different issues, MacLellan said, and previous contracts offered to them have not been acceptable. Back in July, MacLellan said there were five trades talking about striking together, but then the CLRA offered the ironworkers’ union a deal “for more than everyone else,” which they took.

That put crane operators in an unfair spot, MacLellan said, because they work alongside ironworkers everyday, and usually they’re paid “exactly the same wages, so we want the same deal.”

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But MacLellan said their biggest issue is an ask for retroactive, or back pay, at whatever their new wage deal is dating back to when their last contract ended in April.

He said in the current model, the CLRA can delay you as long as they can “so you’re suffering and you’re waiting and you’re waiting in order to actually get serious,” and this cycle of frustration is what really pushed the operators into striking.

If the panel follows through on the retroactive pay ask, it would change the negotiating game for not only crane operators but all other trades in Nova Scotia, MacLellan said, because others are also “frustrated” with the current system.

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