*This article was originally published in the November 2025 issue of The Electrical Worker Online.
Kingston, Ontario, Local 115 had been trying to organize Thompson Electric, a major regional contractor, for 30 years. With the help of market changes, perseverance and a signatory contractor, it finally happened.
“Thompson was always a large target for us, but it has a tight-knit group of workers and it was hard to convince them that the IBEW was the right choice,” Local 115 Business Manager Jason Kish said. “We could always get a few interested people, but not enough to file for certification.”
Thompson Electric was brought in through a top-down strategy. Bob Hodgson, a Local 115 signatory contractor, had a good relationship with Jason Thompson of Thompson Electric, and over multiple conversations they talked about the industry and how the IBEW worked. Eventually, Hodgson brought Kish into the conversation.
“We knew this was a huge opportunity, and we couldn’t let it slip through our fingers,” Kish said.
Negotiations started in late May, and Thompson recognized early that it wasn’t a typical organizing campaign.
“We felt that the local was making an effort to show they were committed to a win-win scenario and that they looked to us as industry partners,” Thompson said.
Thompson Electric is largely focused on industrial, commercial and institutional work, primarily balancing its workload between small and medium-size industrial projects and new high-rise construction jobs.
A lot of the conversations between Local 115 and Thompson Electric centered on how they could work together to get more of the work in the growing high-rise sector, where recent changes have made it easier for developers to build larger.
“We have chased the high-rise market for years with little to no success. This partnership gives us a running start into that market,” Kish said, noting that previously Local 115 worked about 5% of that sector and now it’s 50% to 60% and growing.
Another component of Local 115’s success with Thompson Electric was its stabilization and market recovery fund, which helps contractors stay competitive with nonunion employers while also transitioning employers into the local’s rates.
“I’m not sure we could have done this without a healthy market recovery fund,” Kish said. “It’s thanks to the membership who believe in making sure we contribute responsibly to the fund when we get raises every year. It’s not always an easy sell to our members to give up some of their increase, but they do it, and they deserve a lot of credit for this.”
Thompson Electric signed on with Local 115 in August, and the experience has been a positive one so far, Thompson said.
“It’s given us the encouragement and reassurance that signing on was the right move for our company,” Thompson said. “We’ve been searching for the right opportunities to grow our business responsibly, and partnering with Local 115 will help us achieve our goals.”
Thompson noted that Local 115 has worked hard to ensure that the contractor has the right journey workers and apprentices for the company’s projects.
“Partnering with Local 115 gives us an opportunity to grow as a contractor by giving us access to a well-trained local labour pool, as well as access to more training and development opportunities,” Thompson said.
Kish noted that he’ll likely get credit for a lot of the organizing success because it’s his name on the dotted line, but the deal wouldn’t have happened without the membership being on board and great relationships with contractors.
“Building trusting relationships with your members and contractors is instrumental,” Kish said. “My philosophy has always been that the contractors and IBEW are partners, and we depend on each other to get and perform the work. We can’t exist if one side isn’t there.”
First District International Vice President Russ Shewchuk said the partnership approach is central to the IBEW’s success.
“Too often people think unions and employers are on opposite sides, but the reality is we’re in this together,” he said. “Jason Kish has shown that when we build trust with contractors and focus on growing together, everyone benefits.”