North Star for Northern workers
UNW building gets new name at official opening
Kirsten Fenn
Northern News Services
Tuesday, November 1, 2016
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
The shiny new home of the Union of Northern Workers (UNW) that overlooks Frame Lake has officially been designated the North Star Building.
Union of Northern Workers (UNW) president Todd Parsons delivers a welcome speech at the official opening of the union's new headquarters on 53 Street on Oct. 28. - Kirsten Fenn/NNSL photo
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"Navigationally, the North star has guided people for generations and we're proud to say this will be a strong, stable and guiding place for our members and the public, and will strengthen the presence of Northern workers," UNW president Todd Parsons said at the office building's official opening on Friday.
The vision for the 35,000-square-foot, $15.6-million building at 4910 53 St. began nearly a decade ago, Parsons said, with construction kicking off in 2014.
It now stands four storeys tall next to Mildred Hall School.
More than 100 people from the UNW, the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) and the Northern Territories Federation of Labour began moving into the building in February.
Architectural firm Stantec, which designed the building, also occupies a third of its space.
"We still have about 2,500 square feet that we didn't put into our business plan, that we haven't attempted to lease out," Parsons said. "We're going to start that next week."
The kiosk space at the front of the building could also be available for use by non-profit organizations in the future, at no cost.
The union's former office was located on 52 Street behind the Northwestel tower.
"UNW was growing and was having challenges meeting our needs to service our members," Parsons said. "It was cramped and kind of small quarters that we outgrew, as well as we wanted to have a building that was fully accessible to all our members."
The new building is wheelchair accessible, has automatic door openers, elevators, visual fire alarms and includes a gender neutral washroom, Parsons said.
UNW equity vice-president Rashmi Patel travelled from Fort Smith for the opening of the new headquarters in Yellowknife on Friday.
She represents women, racially visible workers, Pride, aboriginal workers and workers with disabilities.
"We want to provide accessibility to all members," she said, adding the building is a good example of how the UNW is working to do so.
The office has been a long time coming, she said, and is a beautiful new space that all workers are now encouraged to come and enjoy.
Although construction of the building is complete, a bulldozer, pylons and construction material could be seen at the edge of the structure. Parsons said the area is being blasted out to create a tier system that is safer for people to walk on. Eventually, it is expected to become a community area with picnic tables.
"I'm very excited to see more than a decade of work come together for the benefit of UNW workers," Parsons said.
