Lodge 73

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History
Contractors
Training Courses
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Overview


Local 73 is primarily a construction lodge working in the oil and gas, pulp & paper and Power Generation Industries. Included in our membership are members of two shops and Quality Control Technicians.

Originally part of Local 271 in Quebec, Lodge 73 was chartered in 1973 with 152 members. Membership has grown to 820 members and with upcoming work in all sectors, Membership will continue to increase in the future.

Our Union office and training centre is located in Saint John, New Brunswick. We are currently erecting a union office and training center in Truro, Nova Scotia.


History


Lodge 73 is the youngest Construction Lodge in Canada, but the Boilermaker trade goes back to the start of the steam age in Atlantic Canada, in May 1816 when the steamer General Smyth took its trail run at Saint John, NB. By 1822, stationary steam power was beginning to be used to operate a sawmill. Steam power came to Nova Scotia in 1827 when a Boiler was assembled in McKay's Blacksmith shop at Pictou, NS.

New Brunswick is considered to be the "birth place of labour unions in British North America" by many historians, when in 1812, the war sparked a building boom making a huge demand for labour with the result that wages for tradesman were increased. Workmen saw a need to band together to protect their new standards. The booming economy caused an influx of tradesman threatening an overabundance of skilled workers. This was the beginning of union organizing in North America. Unfortunately, documentation on the union activities in those times is very limited. By 1840, there were labour parades taking place with the Blacksmiths and other trades showing off their pride. In 1872, the Boilermakers made the press by going on strike for a daily rate of $2.00 for riveters & fitter-ups, $1.66 for chippers & caulkers and $1.20 for apprentices.

As industry started to expand in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, the demand for Boilermakers increased. By the early 1900's, the International started to grant charters to various railway & commercial shops and shipyards: Lodges 285 Halifax NS, 378 Moncton NB, 379 McAdam Junction NB, 580 and 361 Halifax NS, 687 New Glasgow NS, 688 Amberst, 717 Saint John and 497 Kentville. Over time, all these charters lapsed, besides Lodge 580 which is going strong today.

In 1937, Lodge 271 was granted a charter in Montreal as the first construction lodge in Canada with jurisdiction over Quebec and Atlantic Canada. During the Second World War there was construction of Boilers in Nova Scotia. After the war, construction started to pick up slowly with storage tank erection and then moving into some Boiler work at Grand Lake and Charlottetown, PEI as the demand for power increased. The general practice in those days was the Erector would bring in a skeleton crew of skilled Boilermakers and then hire other people as required locally at the prevailing rate for labourers unless they had some skills too, depending on the negotiating skill of the local hire.

Over the decades, power plants and pulp & paper mills were constructed in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. By 1970, the work picture was at a point where Lodge 271 opened a sub-office in Halifax. As the membership increased, the desire by the local members to have control over their own affairs grew, and the International realized that for a member to travel from Atlantic Canada to Montreal for a union meeting was not practical. So in 1973, lodge 73 was granted a charter with jurisdiction over New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.


Some of our Contractors


Key Shop Employers Key Field Employers
Woodside Industries Babcock & Wilcox
Ready Arc Welding Comstock Canada Ltd.
Alstom Canada Inc.
Jacobs Catalytic
Sunny Corner Enterprises
Horton CBI
Toronto Iron Workers (TIW)
Lorneville Mechanical Contractors
Mandate Erectors
Landmark
Kamtech
A&G Crane Ltd.
Services Inc.
Matrix Services Inc.


Training Programs/Courses


  • Confined Space Awareness
  • Fall Protection
  • First Aid
  • Fit Testing
  • Leadership for Safety
  • Rigging
  • Scaffolding
  • TIG Orbital
  • TIG Welding
  • WHMIS


Scholarships


We award 6 annual scholarships of $1000.00 to dependents of construction members attending university or college.


Events


  • Grand Opening of new union hall and training center in Nova Scotia
  • Local Hockey Tournament
  • Local Curling Tournament


Contact Information


New Brunswick

345 King William Road
Saint John, NB E2M 7C9

Tel: (506) 634-7386
Fax: (506) 634-0411
Email:

Nova Scotia

124 Parkway Drive
Truro Heights, NS B6L 1N8

Tel: (902) 897-7306
Fax: (902) 897-7305
Email:

Website: local73.ca