Fire at the Maritime Labour Centre – Jan. 17, 2015
Mark Gordienko, President
ILWU Canada Update – Fire at the Maritime Labour Centre
There has been a second arson fire at the Maritime Labour Centre within two years.
Someone had broken through the outside door near the ILWU Canada office and went into the building and started a fire in the Marine Workers office next door. There is extensive damage there but it seems to be confined to mostly their office.
Officers and Staff were at the Maritime Labour Centre and were able to move some things out and will set up temporarily somewhere soon. The news for the Marine Workers next door is not nearly as good, just about everything in their office is gone.
Because of fire breaks put into the building after the last fire, the other side of the building only has smoke damage. Locals 400 and 500 and CUPE 1004 will probably only be down about two weeks. We are hopeful to relocate over there sometime soon.
Our side of the building is a different story. We share a wall with the Marine Workers so we have water damage and everything is covered with a fine, oily soot. The estimate is that we will be out for about six months. That is a rough estimate but that is all we have to go on for now. I have not heard anything about downstairs, but I do know there is also water and smoke damage.
