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Ex-union boss warns against BC Liberals

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VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – A former union boss is telling construction workers that BC Liberal Leader Christy Clark is no friend of working people, despite her recent jobs promise.

Wayne Foot, who was with Ironworkers Local 97 more than 60 years, says he doesn’t believe Clark’s pledge to give union members jobs building the new George Massey bridge.

That’s despite the union endorsing Clark’s Liberals for the provincial election.

“I haven’t seen any pen being put to paper on any deals. Some of the other guys are jumping on board, but I haven’t seen any deals signed by anybody. She’s making a lot of promises,” says Foot, the former president of the union.

“There’s just no requirement to put 12,000 people to work on one bridge. I mean, it’s just another false promise.”

“There’s no deal on it yet. It’s only going to probably hire maybe 40 Ironworkers -at the most 45.”

He says similar promises were made before contracts were awarded for the construction of the new Port Mann bridge.

“There was Local 97 Ironworkers working on there, but it wasn’t all union. I have two sons in the Ironworkers and they’re thinking, ‘I don’t want to go back to Fort McMurray.’ They want to work in British Columbia.”

During a Christy Clark campaign stop in Delta recently, some Ironworkers said they would vote Liberal because they need jobs, while others confirmed no contracts have been awarded yet and they’re worried temporary foreign workers will end up building the bridge.

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