“There is going to be more work [in Canada] in the next 10 years than there has been in the last 50 years rolled together,” Robert Blakely told the Consolidated Convention yesterday. Blakely, the director of Canadian Affairs for the Building and Construction Trades Department, AFL-CIO, says this outlook, while “an incredible bright spot in our future,” does not mean the work will automatically go to Boilermakers and other unions.

The major challenge unions face is meeting the manpower needs. Blakely said that in the next several years, 165,000 new union construction trade workers will be required just to replace retiring baby boomers. Even more workers may be needed if construction demands exceed expectations.

Blakely cautioned that all AFL-CIO construction trade unions must take immediate action to recruit and train new members and to embrace new initiatives. Failure to do this could mean that owners could increasingly look to non-union workers to staff their projects. He praised the Boilermakers for our “very strong leadership in Canada.” He said the Boilermakers Tripartite program has “tremendous potential” and offers “the solution we’re going to need…by getting the owners and the contractor partners in the same room, energized and engaged.” He added that the tripartite concept is already spreading to other trades in Canada.