Citing low pay and meager benefits offered by private contractors, a Prince Edward Island carpenters' union has started a cooperative that will bid on home construction projects. According to the union, carpenters who work with the new company will receive $5 to $10 more per hour for their work, along with better benefits.
"We spent the last few years trying to meet with residential contractors to work with us, paying living wage, pension health plan - we did not have success," said Martin Kenny, a representative of the PEI Carpenters Union. "That's why we chose to form our own company."
The union says that any profit above what it needs to cover costs and pay workers will be invested in training and educational bursaries for the carpenters' children.
» CBC PEI: PEI carpenters form new company
The Dominion is a monthly paper published by an incipient network of independent journalists in Canada. It aims to provide accurate, critical coverage that is accountable to its readers and the subjects it tackles. Taking its name from Canada's official status as both a colony and a colonial force, the Dominion examines politics, culture and daily life with a view to understanding the exercise of power.