When asked, Harry doesn’t produce quantifiable evidence of his claims and does not aim to prove his case just with numbers. “From our perspective, from our mindset, building trades unions in their 102-year history have remained seen as a safer environment for work in construction, without getting into stats.”

The long record of union work is significant both to employers and the public, he says. “Within that history are the qualifications a building trade union member brings to the job site. And if you look at some examples people might relate to – for example, look at the craftsmanship of all the plaster work done inside the legislature – that was all done by union labor. Edmonton’s High Level Bridge, the initial phases of the oil sands world when it started way back when – it was done by the building trades unions,” Harry says. “At the end of the day, the building trades unions of Alberta are the skill advantage that an owner or a contractor should really look at when purchasing the services of trades people.”

That’s the crux of his council’s latest marketing plan. The difference between the building trade union and CLAC and Merit “is that we bring value to the job site and the skilled trades advantage,” Harry says.

Dr. Bob Barnetson, assistant professor of labor relations at Athabasca University, says the changing face of labor in Alberta is not surprising. “Back at the turn of the century there was quite a lot of activity, particularly in the south with the coal mines. But, generally, Alberta has never been a hotbed of union activity.”

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