RC105 MarApr2023 - Magazine - Page 7
UNION HELPING UKRAINIAN REFUGEES FIND WORK IN CONSTRUCTION by John Tenpenny
DANIEL CIUFO/CARPENTERS’ DISTRICT COUNCIL OF ONTARIO
SINCE RUSSIA INVADED UKRAINE over a year
ago many refugees from the conflict have found
their way to Canada and the Greater Toronto
Area in particular. Of that group, some have
been lucky enough to encounter the Carpenters’ District Council of Ontario (CDCO) and
with their help have gotten necessary training
to find meaningful employment.
A collaboration between the CDCO’s Local 27 and the College of Carpenters and Allied Trades (CCAT) has seen more than 450
Ukrainian refugees receive training and help
finding work in the construction industry.
According to Cristina Selva, CCAT’s executive director, the “linchpin” of this outreach
was Frank Slywka, a former member of
Local 27.
“[Frank] had contacts in the Ukrainian
community and was asked to see if there
might be opportunities for the refugees in
the construction industry and he reached
out to his old union contacts about helping,”
recalls Selva.
“And to its credit the union didn’t skip a
beat.”
The biggest need was to get the refugees
employed as soon as possible, but “it became
evident that this was going to be more than
just finding them a job,” says Selva. “They
needed basic occupational health and safety
training, such as working at heights, and
Workplace Hazardous Materials Information
System (WHMIS) training.”
Slywka started out acting as a translator
for the instructors, but after a few months
became so familiar with the material that he
reached a point where he could deliver the
courses on his own.
The program, which is graduating classes
weekly with two-to-three-day courses, has
The College of Carpenters and Allied Trades has conducted classes for Ukrainian refugees to receive health and safety
training to prepare them to work in the construction industry.
since expanded to include training the refugees to work on power-elevating platforms,
such as scissor lifts and articulating booms.
“It makes them more marketable because
these skills and certifications are something
that our contractors are always looking for,”
says Selva.
The Ukrainians who showed up for the
first classes were without any basic personal
protection equipment (PPE), such as work
boots, and Selva went looking to fill the void
immediately.
She contacted United Brotherhood of
Carpenter’s (UBC) Canadian District vice
president Jason Rowe about the situation.
“This is the fellow that’s running the
Carpenters’ Union for the entire country,” remembers Selva. “He responded immediately
and said, ‘it’s the least we can do.’”
Added CDCO director of public affairs
and innovation Mike Yorke: “It’s completely
the right thing to do. You’ve got the context
of an illegal, brutal war launched by Russia
on Ukraine, and it just been devastating,”
said Yorke. “It’s in the past history and the
legacy of Canadians to stand up for what is
right and we’re doing so and as an organization.”
The efforts have clearly been a win-win
for the union, says Selva, in terms of the
organization continuing to be active in
supporting human rights, helping people in
need, and addressing the construction industry’s labour shortage.
“We’ve been actively recruiting as we
can’t fill all the vacancies left in the industry
by those retiring,” she says.
Because of the language barrier, Selva
says they have done their best to accommodate the refugees by placing them with
companies that have Ukrainian-speaker crew
leaders, many in the siding industry.
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MARCH/APRIL 2023 – RENEW CANADA 7
