Teamster Driver Dies in Fort McMurray Collision
May 25 2019 - 6:27PM
A 56-year-old truck driver employed by Clean Harbors in the Fort
McMurray area died on Thursday in a fatal collision on Highway 63
at the Albian Sands (CNRL) turn-off. The victim was a fly-in,
fly-out worker who lived in Prince Edward Island. He was a member
of the Teamsters Union and had been working at Clean Harbors for
almost 10 years. “On behalf of our 125,000 members, I would
like to express our sincerest condolences to the family and to his
co-workers,” said the president of Teamsters Canada, François
Laporte. “The man we lost was the salt of the earth. He worked hard
to support his family, and he was really well liked by his
colleagues.”The company broke the news to workers the morning after
the accident. The union is urging members who feel the need to
speak with someone to use the employee assistance program the
company has made available.The truck driver was hauling two large
water tanks when his semi-tractor was struck head-on by a pick up
travelling northbound in the southbound lane. The driver of the
pick-up also died. “A lot of our members at Clean Harbors are
from other parts of the country, and right now many of them are
trying to reassure their worried loved ones back home,” explained
Laporte. “I would like to add my voice to theirs, and state clearly
that Clean Harbors is a safe place to work. This was a freak
accident on a highway.”Teamsters Canada would like to take this
opportunity to remind the public to be careful and patient on the
road, especially around large trucks as they cannot stop or get out
of the way as quickly or as easily as smaller vehicles.The union is
not releasing the name of the deceased worker at this time.
Clean Harbors services oilsands camps and other facilities.
The company's 280 workers in the Fort McMurray area are represented
by Teamsters Local Union 362.Teamsters represent close to 125,000
workers in Canada, including 15,000 in Alberta. The International
Brotherhood of Teamsters, with which Teamsters Canada is
affiliated, has 1.4 million members in North America.
Christopher Monette
Teamsters Canada
5142266002
cmonette@teamsters.ca