FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2004

Vancouver…The chief spokesperson for the Building and Construction Trades Council, an umbrella organization for 35,000 union construction workers in the province, has welcomed the appointment of John Furlong as the CEO of the Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games. “The appointment of John Furlong is a tremendous step forward for the OCOG. On behalf of all BC construction workers I congratulate Mr. Furlong and wish him well in this challenging position” said Wayne Peppard, Executive Director of the BC and Yukon Territory Building and Construction Trades Council.

“We’ve been patiently waiting for this announcement. Now we can get down to the details of organizing the construction of Olympic facilities and venues,” Peppard said. “We are anxious to sit down with the CEO and OCOG Committee to talk about how organized labour can help to ensure that the venues are ready for the games,” Peppard added.

Building Trades unions are lobbying authorities to model construction of the 2010 facilities on that of the collaborative agreements used to build venues for the 2000 Summer Games in Sydney, Australia. “By working together, we can address the looming skills shortage, tight time frames for construction, and budget constraints.” according to Peppard.

“Building Trades unions have the training programs and facilities, the qualified workforce and experience to deliver construction on-time and on-budget. Frankly, given the amount of construction work facing the province in the next six years, it would be chaos to have a free-for-all bidding process. We need collaboration and cooperation instead of competition and conflict.” Peppard concluded.

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For further information contact Wayne Peppard at (604) 916-0027 cellular

For further information contact 

the BCYT-BCTC office:  604-291-9020

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