Acoustical Association Ontario. A disarming name, for sure, for what was a group of plastering and drywall companies. But that was the name chosen by the group in the early 1960s in an effort to distance themselves from the lathing and plastering group that was dominant in the industry in and around Toronto.

By late 1968, the Association had grown to include companies from other areas of Ontario. Among the original members, many of whom performed plaster and drywall contracts as well as acoustic ceiling installations, were Tri-Tile (Bunny Pike), Ontario Acoustic and Drywall/Liberman Plastering (Israel Liberman), Canadian Johns Manville, Lincoln Arrow (Moe Sawka), and Crestile (Bruce Upton).

The Association hired Fred Beldham as its first Executive Director. Fred, who came from the millwright industry and had experience in negotiations, brought stability and direction to the administration of the Association. His experience proved invaluable.

Soon, the Association grew in geographical scope by adding members from across Ontario, including St. Catharines (Peninsula Ceilings, Grossi Bros.), Kitchener/Waterloo (Prestige Acoustics, Losereit Sales and Service, K.A. Mace), Hamilton (Smith Brothers, Skeates Contracting, Pollock), and London (J.A. MacDonald).

The Association recognized the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners and the International Brotherhood of Painters and Allied Trades as bargaining partners and, in 1970, purported to negotiate a provincial collective agreement covering the areas in which its members carried on business. In those initial agreements, an industry fund provision was negotiated, and a portion of the monies was remitted to the local areas to assist in funding their activities on behalf of contractors and the Association.

In 1978, the provincial government introduced centralized, province-wide bargaining in the ICI sector of the construction industry. In an effort to maintain existing bargaining patterns, it designated employer bargaining agencies comprising contractor groups that traditionally bargained with the same trade unions as one bargaining agency for the purpose of province-wide bargaining.

Thus, the Acoustical Association was thrust into a bargaining scenario with a group of other associations, including the general contractors for whom the Carpenters Union held bargaining rights. Contemporaneously, those contractors who bargained with Local 562, the Lathers Union, were separately designated as their own association for bargaining.

In 1979, the Association (AAO) filed a ministerial request seeking a separate designation. The request was referred to the Ontario Labour Relations Board for adjudication. Five Vice-Chairs heard the request—the last time five Vice-Chairs sat together to adjudicate a matter.

In a landmark decision in 1980, the Board denied the AAO's application for a separate designation, citing concerns about fragmentation of the industry should the request be granted. It found that the provincial legislation was designed to reduce and limit fragmentation in the construction industry.

Since that time, AAO has continued to grow and expand its jurisdiction. Contractors from Windsor (Troup), Kingston (Bertoia), and Ottawa (B.J. Normand, Murphy and Morrow, etc.) joined the membership, confirming AAO as a truly provincial organization.

In 1980, Carpenters Drywall Local 1747 and Lathers Local 562 merged with the hope that overlapping jurisdictional issues could be eliminated. Following that event, the merged Local 562 (which subsequently became what is now Local 675) continued to be active in the residential sector of the industry while maintaining jurisdiction in the ICI sector.

A number of local unions, or sections of existing locals dedicated to the drywall industry, were created to address the specific needs of the industry, particularly in Ottawa, Hamilton, and London.

Over the years, AAO has been an integral part of provincial ICI negotiations and was the driving force and prime negotiator behind the Drywall Appendix in the Collective Agreement, which addresses the specific needs and working conditions of the acoustic and drywall industry in Ontario. Items such as travel, tools, crew composition, wages, benefits, and hours of work were all modified from the general carpenter provisions at one time or another during the development of the Drywall Appendix.

Fred Beldham was succeeded as Executive Director by Joe Decaria, who was subsequently succeeded by Paul Gunning. Paul brought years of experience working with a general contractor in the London area. His knowledge of and interest in health and safety and workers' compensation, along with his active participation with the responsible government agencies, have put AAO at the forefront of dealing with legislative changes.

In the ever-changing and evolving landscape of Ontario's unionized construction industry, AAO has always been, and remains, a leader in representing and advancing the interests of its members. We remain committed to this goal.