Millwright’s Adapt To Changing Economy
by Scott A. Sumner
Thunder Bay Business
Construction millwrights do most of the installation of large machinery in industrial plants according to Gord Milliard, Business Manager of the Millwright local 1151. “ We cover an area from White River to the Manitoba border with 120 active members including apprentices. The work we do is strictly machinery installation in large industrial plants. This includes sawmills, paper mills, mines or a turbine installation for Ontario Power Generation in Ear Falls,” noted
Milliard. “ The best way to become an millwright is to take an apprenticeship. We are taking on 10 brand new apprenticeship currently and they will be indentured to a local. They are then sent out on the job whenever an employer needs people. There is a ratio of four journeyman with one apprentice.”
It is an 8000 hour apprenticeship to become a millwright which means fours years if you are working steadily. Out of the 4 years there are three intakes of 2 months at a time when they go to George Brown College in Toronto to take basic, intermediate and advanced courses. “
It works well because our guys are all together in one location for training. There are 2500 and 2800 millwrights in our Ontario union that work in the construction industry,” stated Milliard. “ A contractor will come to us and ask for the work force. Some of of the major local contractors are EKT, Venshore, Comstock and ES Fox. In Ear Falls we are currently installing a 12 Megawatt hydraulic generator, a brand new installation powered by water beside the existing unit. It should be done this year after a 2 to 3 year construction period.”
Millwrights can earn from $60,000 to $130,000 per year. The hourly rate is $32 plus benefits. Most of the machinery they install is aligned to 2 /1000’s of an inch so it is a finesse trade with quite a skill set.
“ We are not really happy with the economy as the mills have been our life blood. However the DeBeers project in Attawapascat employed 60 millwrights for 10 months. That was brand new mine and we installed all the mechanical equipment. The mining industry has been good but at the same time we have the Thunder Bay Fine Papers employing quite a few people,” indicated Milliard. “ I think overall the economy will be good. Unfortunately people like ourselves- blue collar workers- are going through a transition and our people will find more work in mining, OPG and private power producers coming on line. It could be wind turbine or hydraulic. We have had some members leave to work at the Bruce Nuclear Plant and in Fort McMurray. As a whole most are working away on a temporary basis and still members of the local. They are travelling with the work. They would rather be in Thunder Bay as they love this community and want to stay.”
