History

The history of District Council 38 begins in Vancouver on a June 29th, 1889 when 10 men, most of them in their early 20s, formed Local 62 of the Brotherhood of Painters, Decorators and Paperhangers of America. Vancouver was a city with a population of just over 1,000.

Local 62 members worked 10-hour days, six days a week for $2.50 per day. The major focus of the union then, as it is now, was to organize the unorganized.

The union has always identified strongly with all the crafts in B.C.'s construction industry and was one of the founders of the Vancouver Trade and Labour Council.

In 1894, Local 62 was dissolved and re-emerged in 1899 as Local 138. On April 1, 1899 the local was granted its charter by the International Brotherhood.

Within a matter of months it drafted its first proposed agreement with an eight hour day, $3 per day wages and a closed shop. It was promptly rejected by the Master Painters' Association and when six months of discussion produced no results, the members of Local 138 organized their first strike. Their unity and perseverance resulted in a first collective agreement securing a nine-hour work day, 33¢ per hour, overtime rates, a grievance procedure and a closed shop.

In 1901, the working card was introduced so union members could ensure the everyday tradesperson on the site was a union member. If a painter asked another worker from another trade for his card and one was not produced, an entire work site could be shut down - and often was.

By 1907 unemployment was rising and employers were calling for wage reductions and longer hours. Little progress was made on the fight to ensure closed shops.

Painters join the general strike

But the economy began to turn around in 1911. Local 138 hired an organizer and the membership increased from 250 to 380. It was during this period, Local 495 in New Westminster and the province's first sign writers and glaziers locals were established.

The Hotel Vancouver and Shaughnessy Heights (housing the city's millionaires) were built. Despite the fact that 1911 was a record year for construction in Vancouver, few benefits were extended to construction workers. There was talk of a general strike to support the closed shop.

Importantly, 1911 was also Vancouver's 25th anniversary and was to be celebrated with a Made in Canada fair. The city's rich and powerful wanted no glitches to mar the event.

The Building Trades Council drew up a list of objectives that would apply to all trades: an 8-hour day, $4.50 per day wages, closed shops and a common expiry dates on all agreements. The Master Builders' Association rejected them outright.

On May 1st, the carpenters, usually first on any construction site, downed their tools. The Building Trades set a deadline of June 5th for a settlement covering all trades. Local 138 passed a motion to “stand with the Building Trades Council in the General Strike.” The council requested intervention from the federal government. William Lyon Mackenzie King, then labour minister, agreed to pay the cost of arbitration. But his offer was rejected by the employers.

On June 5th, 1911, a general strike was called. The unions came up against opposition from a powerful coalition of employers, a misinformed public and relentless negative coverage from newspaper groups. But Canada's first general strike ended on July 20th with a wage increase to $4.50 per day.

Wartime work gives union another boost

In 1917, painters began streaming into B.C.'s shipbuilding industry. While the local's membership in 1914 was just a few hundred painters, the numbers grew to almost 7,000 at the peak of wartime production.

By 1917, painters' locals were established in Vancouver, Victoria, Fernie, Nelson, New Westminster and Prince Rupert. Only the Vancouver and Victoria locals remained after the war.

New technology

This period also signaled the craft's first confrontation with technological change. Spray painting machines exposed painters to a lethal combination of solvents and thinners, including coal, tar, ketones, alcohol, acetates and petroleum distillates. The sprayed paint contained lead, arsenic and mercury compounds causing serious health problems.

Workers demanded coverings for their mouths and noses to protect them from the fine mist. Employers told the men to stuff rags in their mouths if they were worried about the spray getting into their lungs.

There was also a productivity issue at stake. The machines enabled a painter to cover 2,700 square meters in an 8-hour day, compared to 270 square meters with a brush. While productivity increased 10-fold, spray painters only received 10¢ an hour more.

In 1918, Local 138 set up its first Health and Safety Committee and began collecting evidence of spray painters' injuries. The committee discovered many members were misdiagnosed as having tuberculosis and sent to the TB sanatorium in Kamloops. Many were never treated for lead poisoning at all.

Before any long-term solutions could be negotiated, the war came to an end and, with it, the jobs in the shipyards.
Changes bring additional risks

New paints, containing new chemical hazards, were introduced during the period between the world wars. Injuries also rose with the increased height of skycrapers, poor scaffolding and generally unsafe condition on construction sites.

But there was no shortage of work. During this time, new construction included the University of British Columbia; Georgia Hotel; Orpheum Theatre; Vancouver Stock Exchange; Granville Street, Cambie Street, Burrard Street and Lion's Gate bridges; Ballantyne Pier; Hope Princeton Highway and various banks; department stores and gasoline stations.

During the war years, shipbuilding and construction provided the two main sources of employment for painters. Fearing the advantage trade unions would have during full employment, the federal government imposed wage controls. Up until the late 1940s, Local 138 concentrated exclusively on wages and working conditions.
Tragedy Strikes

On June 17, 1958, the Second Narrows Bridge connecting East Vancouver and North Vancouver, collapsed during construction. A total of 79 men were working on the bridge at the time. Nineteen died, including 13 ironworkers and one painter. In 1994, Premier Mike Harcourt renamed the bridge the Ironworkers Memorial Second Narrows Crossing.

More technological change

The paint roller was introduced in the late 1950s. It had an even greater impact on the trade than the spray paint machine. In 1959, the union negotiated a higher rate for roller coating.

Local 138 was one of the largest Canadian locals in the international union with approximately 1,500 members. By the end of the decade, there were 10 locals in B.C. representing painters and allied trades workers. Wages increased yearly and by 1960, members were earning between $2.84 and $3.09 per hour.

The local expanded to include building cleaners (by hand and by "steam or other process"), sandblasters and roller painters, in addition to painters, paperhangers and spray painters. (Asbestos workers and water blasters joined later.) Union members worked 8-hour days, 5 days a week and were paid double time for overtime hours. Those working at great heights received additional compensation. Employers provided respirators, protective clothing and hard hats.

During the 1950s, Local 138 set up education, political action and legislative committees.

The Local's focus, then and now, has always been to better the working conditions for the membership. In 1969, the Painters Health and Welfare Plan was established. A pension plan was introduced in 1985.

In 1997, Local 138, the Glaziers Local 1527 and Drywall Tapers Local 2009 joined to form District Council 38.

In 1999, the International Brotherhood changed its name to the International Union of Painters and Allied trades.

In 2008 Lathers and Allied Trades Local 163 was formally formed as a member of the council, marking the first time in many years that the Lathers had their own union and training program.

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