Month: October 2012

Winners of the 2012 Jack Redshaw Scholarship awards were announced recently by the union. The winners were: Emma Kolesar (Hamilton): She is pursuing a Bachelor of Health Sciences at McMaster University. Her relative is grandfather Bud Miyata, a 52-year member. Click here for her essay. Lucas Turpin (Sault Ste. Marie): He is pursuing Art & […]

Winners of the 2012 Jack Redshaw Scholarship awards were announced recently by the union.

The winners were:

• Emma Kolesar (Hamilton): She is pursuing a Bachelor of Health Sciences at McMaster University. Her relative is grandfather Bud Miyata, a 52-year member. Click here for her essay.
• Lucas Turpin (Sault Ste. Marie): He is pursuing Art & Humanities at the University of Western Ontario. His relative is father Robert Turpin, a 10-year member. Click here for his essay.
• Angela Hollasch (Oakville): She is pursing a Bachelor in Humanities & Fine Arts at the University of Toronto. Her relative is father Walter Hollasch, a 31-year member. Click here for her essay.
• Kelsie Kiss (London): She is pursing a Bachelor of Arts at McGill University. Her relative is father Trevor Kiss, a 32-year member. Click here for her essay.
• Kathleen Clarke (Belleville): She is pursuing Concurrent Education at Queen’s University. Her relative is her late grandfather, William Irwin, a 52-year member at the time of his death. Click here for her essay.
• Nathaniel Carter (Windsor): He is pursuing Respiratory Therapy at St. Clair College. His relative is father David Carter, a 31-year member. Click here for his essay.
• Carly Bedford (Hamilton): She is pursing a Bachelor of Arts & Sciences at the University of Toronto. Her relative is father David Bedford, a 26-year member. Click here for her essay.
• Ashley Boere (Sarnia): She is pursuing a double major in the Faculty of Science at the University of Western Ontario. Her relative is grandfather James Boere, a 56-year member. Click here for her essay.
• Stephanie Fodero (Oakville): She is pursing a Bachelor of Arts at Ryerson University. Her relative is father Antonio Varone, a seven-year member. Click here for her essay.
• Rochelle Jorge (Oakville): She is pursing a Commerce degree at McMaster University. Her relative is father Hilario Jorge, a 10-year member.

The scholarship is named in honour of the late Jack Redshaw who was a Local 793 member for 42 years. He was a business rep for 20 years and also served as labour relations manager and recording-corresponding secretary. Redshaw was later labour side officer at the Ontario Labour Relations Board.

The awards are available to the sons, daughters and grandchildren of Local 793 members in good standing. The scholarship recipient must be entering the first or subsequent year of a full-time course of study (at least two years in length) leading to a diploma, certificate or degree from any recognized Canadian public college or university.

Each applicant had to submit an essay of not more than 1,000 words, explaining why the scholarship would be of assistance and how being a dependent or grandchild of a Local 793 member has affected the applicant’s life.

Each scholarship winner received a cheque for $2,000 towards his or her school expenses.

Representatives from Local 793 and the Canadian office of the IUOE joined union activists from across the country in Ottawa on Oct. 30 for a special lobby day against Bill C-377. The union representatives met throughout the day with a number of federal Conservative MPs and Senators in an effort to convince them to vote […]

Representatives from Local 793 and the Canadian office of the IUOE joined union activists from across the country in Ottawa on Oct. 30 for a special lobby day against Bill C-377.

The union representatives met throughout the day with a number of federal Conservative MPs and Senators in an effort to convince them to vote against the legislation.

The event, organized by the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC), was attended by more than 200 union members.

Local 793 representatives included Eastern Ontario area supervisor Rick Kerr, Ottawa business rep Andre Chenier, Belleville business rep Jonathan Sprung, assistant labour relations manager Brian Alexander, and director of communications Grant Cameron. Steven Schumann, Canadian government affairs director for the IUOE, represented the International.

The day started with a breakfast meeting at the Delta Ottawa City Centre hotel in downtown Ottawa. Representatives then fanned out to pre-arranged meetings with politicians.

The Bill, officially known as An Act to Amend the Income Tax Act (Labour Organizations), Bill C-377, was introduced as a private member’s bill by Conservative MP Russ Hiebert. The legislation is presently being reviewed by the federal Standing Committee on Finance.

The unions hope to convince federal Conservatives that the legislation should be defeated.

They maintain the legislation will only lead to more paperwork and expense for every union that administers pension and benefits plans as they would have significantly more reporting requirements, some of which duplicates existing regulatory requirements.

The unions also argue that the legislation would be very expensive for the federal government to administer, and that it would intrude on individual privacy and may be unconstitutional.

CLC secretary-treasurer Hassan Yussuff told the breakfast meeting that unions have to defeat C-377 because the goal of the legislation is to cripple the Canadian labour movement.

He said MPs and Cabinet ministers need to take “a deep breath” and realize what the legislation is really about – and that is to destroy labour.

“This piece of legislation has nothing to do with transparency,” he told delegates, noting that unions are already required by law to disclose financial information.

The constitutions of labour organizations, in addition to federal and provincial labour laws, already require unions to issue financial reports and make them available to members.

The problem is that C-377 would require unions to provide highly detailed and complicated financial statements far in excess of what could be considered reasonable or fair.

C-377 would require the government to make those details available, not just to union members for greater accountability, but to anyone for any reason, including anti-union employers and interest groups that could use the information to undermine unions and defeat organizing drives.

The unions argue that the very extensive and detailed reporting rules contained in C-377 would simply bury union members and the public in data. The large and complex financial reports would be difficult for many rank-and-file union members to work with, resulting in a barrier to accountability rather than an enhancement.

Even the Fraser Institute, a right-wing think tank, admits that the huge volume of information required by C-377 would make it extremely difficult and time consuming for anyone to get a realistic picture of a union’s finances.

Chris Roberts, senior economist at the CLC, said the legislation is simply “bully politics” and the bill will force unions to file significantly expanded financial information that will be expensive for both unions and the government.

“I’m not just talking about PDFs of union financial statements,” he said, “but something more elaborate.”

The unions maintain that C-377 would add to the paperwork and reporting requirements for union pension and benefits plans, thereby increasing the administrative costs of pension plans. Pension plans would have to compile and report to the government literally thousands of payments in excess of $5,000 to beneficiaries.

The additional audit and administrative costs of complying with C-377 could lead to a reduction in the pension and benefit payments available to plan members, the unions warn.

Meanwhile, the unions note that the government will have to pay for the cost of establishing a computer-based system for electronic filing, compiling and publishing of union financial data and also the additional costs for monitoring, auditing and enforcing the legislation.

Unions are also concerned about the legality of the legislation because it would require any Canadian who receives benefits from a plan that also covers union members to have their name, address and the amount paid collected, reported to the government and published online.

The unions say C-377 is discriminatory because it singles out unions and union members for unfair treatment under the law. C-377 applies only to unions and excludes professional organizations such as bar associations and medical associations whose members are also able to deduct professional fees from their taxes as employment expenses, just like union members.

The Canadian Bar Association has said that C-377 is “problematic from a constitutional and a privacy perspective” and that it “has the potential to invite constitutional challenge and litigation.”

The unions say C-377 violates both the spirit and the letter of the federal privacy laws, including the federal Privacy Act and the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act – and it almost certainly violates the provincial privacy laws such as Ontario’s Personal Health Information Protection Act.

NDP labour critic Alexandre Boulerice told delegates at the meeting that union members must convince the Conservatives that unions already have transparency and that the proposed legislation is a bad bill.

“This is not a union battle,” he said. “This is a common-sense battle.”

Liberal labour critic Rodger Cuzner said the legislation is an egregious attack on unions and is neither balanced nor fair.

“It’s wrong and can’t be supported.”

Local 793 business manager Mike Gallagher has convinced the Provincial Building and Construction Trades Council of Ontario to further investigate the case of a widow whose benefits are going to be significantly reduced by the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB). Gallagher asked the Council to look into the matter after hearing a presentation on […]

Local 793 business manager Mike Gallagher has convinced the Provincial Building and Construction Trades Council of Ontario to further investigate the case of a widow whose benefits are going to be significantly reduced by the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB).

Gallagher asked the Council to look into the matter after hearing a presentation on Oct. 20 from Carmine Tiano, the Council’s director of occupational services.

Tiano told delegates attending a Council meeting that the widow, whose husband was retired and died from mesothelioma, was entitled to a monthly survivor benefit of $2,170 under the WSIB’s current practice.

As the deceased was not working, the WSIB followed its established practice of using what the worker would likely have earned when calculating benefit payments for the widow.

However, the Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal (WSIAT) later ruled that in cases where the worker is retired at the time of diagnosis with no earnings, a widow’s entitlement should be based on the statutory minimum of $15,313 when calculating benefit payments.

Therefore, Tiano said, the widow only qualifies for $235 a month in benefit payments, instead of $2,170.

Gallagher told the meeting that the decision was “very disturbing” and the Council should see what else can be done.

“I always hate to hear that there’s nothing we can do about it,” he said. “We’re all here because we want to make a difference and this is an injustice.”

Gallagher suggested that the Council take the matter to a judicial review in order to get the ruling overturned.

Patrick Dillon, business manager of the Council, said he fully agreed with Gallagher’s suggestion and will start work on the matter right away.

He noted that the Council has already written a letter to Premier Dalton McGuinty and Labour Minister Linda Jeffrey, requesting immediate action be taken to rectify the situation.

Dillon said he’ll do “whatever is possible” to get the decision of the WSIAT reversed.

 

The provincial building trades want the federal government to scrap Bill C-377. A resolution was passed at a meeting of the Provincial Building and Construction Trades Council of Ontario on Oct. 20, outlining action to be taken in an effort to get the legislation withdrawn. The resolution was drafted by Local 793 and put forward […]

The provincial building trades want the federal government to scrap Bill C-377.

A resolution was passed at a meeting of the Provincial Building and Construction Trades Council of Ontario on Oct. 20, outlining action to be taken in an effort to get the legislation withdrawn.

The resolution was drafted by Local 793 and put forward by union business manager Mike Gallagher.

The resolution was seconded by Local 793 recording-corresponding secretary Joe Dowdall and was passed unanimously at the meeting.

The resolution directs the building trades council to research and prepare a brief outlining the key areas where Bill C-377 might infringe upon areas that have traditionally been under provincial authority.

The trades maintain that the provisions of Bill C-377 effectively regulate the activities of provincial trade unions and impact on privacy legislation, both of which are historically within the authority of the provincial governments.

The resolution directs the building trades council to meet with representatives of the provincial government to present its brief and encourage the government to exercise its power to protect its jurisdiction, and influence the federal government to withdraw Bill C-377.

If that doesn’t happen, though, the resolution directs the trades, in conjunction with the AFL-CIO Building and Construction Trades Department, to prepare a legal defence and commit to fight Bill C-377, up to and including at the Supreme Court of Canada.

The trades maintain Bill C-377 is discriminatory in nature since labour organizations are targeted while professional organizations, clubs, charities and other such organizations are exempt.

The resolution states that the Bill also intrudes on the privacy interests of individual citizens as well as trade unions, and impinges on many activities such as freedom of speech and conscience, which are protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The trades maintain that the financial disclosure requirements that would be imposed by Bill C-377 would prove to be onerous and costly, both for unions and the federal government.

The true cost to the Canadian taxpayer to implement and administer the provisions of Bill C-377 are unknown, but estimated to be in the millions of dollars annually, according to the resolution.

In a presentation to the building trades on Oct. 19, Bob Blakely, director of Canadian Affairs for the AFL-CIO Building and Construction Trades Department, said that, if implemented, Bill C-377 would be costly for unions.

He expects it would add 20 per cent to administration costs for unions because of the number of reports that would have to be filed.

 

The building trades are taking action to let people know that forming the Ontario College of Trades (OCOT) is an important and progressive step for the province’s construction industry. A resolution passed at a meeting of the Provincial Building and Construction Trades Council of Ontario on Oct. 20 states a committee will be formed to […]

The building trades are taking action to let people know that forming the Ontario College of Trades (OCOT) is an important and progressive step for the province’s construction industry.

A resolution passed at a meeting of the Provincial Building and Construction Trades Council of Ontario on Oct. 20 states a committee will be formed to offset the lobbying efforts of an 18-member group that calls itself the Ontario Construction Employers’ Coalition.

The Coalition is attempting to get the College shut down before it even gets off the ground.

Local 793 business manager Mike Gallagher put forward the resolution on behalf of the Operating Engineers.

The resolution was seconded by Local 793 treasurer Alex Law and was unanimously supported by delegates at the meeting.

The resolution states that the committee will be formed “for the purposes of developing and implementing effective strategies targeted at the Ontario Construction Employers’ Coalition in order to counteract and neutralize the lobbying efforts of the Coalition.”

The OCOT will be the first self-regulatory body for the trades in Canada, and will be responsible for leading the modernization of the apprenticeship and skilled trades system in Ontario, putting skilled trades on a similar professional footing with teachers, doctors and nurses.

The OCOT will be funded through membership fees and regulate and promote the skilled trades.

The Ontario Construction Employers’ Coalition has claimed that the OCOT will increase bureaucracy along with taxes, and that apprenticeship ratios will limit the entry of young people into the trades.

However, Local 793’s two-page resolution states that the claims made by the Coalition are false and the OCOT will ensure that Ontario’s trades and apprentices benefit from the highest standards in the areas of regulation, safety, education and certification.

In a presentation to the building trades on Oct. 19, Ron Johnson, chair of the OCOT’s board of governors, said the College is one of the best initiatives that the Liberal government has come up with.

He told delegates there’s a lot of misinformation circulating about the OCOT, one being that it’s driven by unions, but the governing board has equal representation from both the union and non-unionized sectors.

Patrick Dillon, business manager of the provincial building trades council, said it’s going to be up to the trades to make the OCOT a success.

“To me this is a real golden opportunity for tradespeople in this province to rise and really have something that they can be proud of.”

 

As a result of work done by Local 793, the Ontario government intends to introduce mandatory training of rotary drill rig operators. The announcement was made Oct. 20 at a meeting of the Provincial Building and Construction Trades Council of Ontario in Toronto. Training, Colleges and Universities Minister Glen Murray told delegates at the meeting […]

As a result of work done by Local 793, the Ontario government intends to introduce mandatory training of rotary drill rig operators.

The announcement was made Oct. 20 at a meeting of the Provincial Building and Construction Trades Council of Ontario in Toronto.

Training, Colleges and Universities Minister Glen Murray told delegates at the meeting that the government wants to make sure nobody operates drill rigs without proper training.

Murray noted that Local 793 apprentice Kyle Knox lost his life when a drill rig collapsed at a construction site in Toronto in October 2011, and the new rules are aimed at making sure something like that does not happen again.

Knox was killed and Local 793 member Dan DeLuca was injured when the drill rig toppled at a subway construction site at York University.

Since the accident, Gallagher and the building trades have been pressing the government to bring in mandatory training for drill rig operators.

Murray told delegates that it is because of the efforts of Gallagher and Patrick Dillon, business manager of the provincial building trades, that the mandatory training is being implemented.

After the announcement, Gallagher thanked members of the building trades for their support on the matter.

He noted that Dillon had written a letter to Minister Murray, requesting that drill rig training be made mandatory.

“We’ve worked hard on this,” he told delegates. “I’m confident that this will help prevent another tragic loss like we had last year.”

Gallagher had been pressing for mandatory training of drill rig operators since Knox was killed.

He’d met with Minister Murray to discuss the issue and also showed him a video of how a drill rig works. The video was produced by Local 793 and featured union operator Edward Christensen. Bermingham co-operated with the union on the venture.

Under existing rules, anybody who says they are competent can operate a drill rig. However, Gallagher and the union objected and sought to formalize training for drill rig operators.

A working group was formed to take an in-depth look at the regulations.

Local 793 assistant business manager John W. Anderson and apprenticeship training co-ordinator Joe Dowdall were on the working group. The committee also consisted of Anchor Shoring, Powell Contracting, Bermingham, Deep Foundations, Liebherr, Taylor Construction, HC Matcon and Bauer.

Gallagher said construction jobsites will be safer as a result of the mandatory training.

“This will no doubt save lives in the future.”

Occupational Health and Safety Act charges were recently laid against 1842887 Ontario Ltd. and OHL-FCC GP Canada Inc. in connection with the drill rig incident.

 

IUOE Canadian government affairs director Steven Schumann recently wrote an opinion piece on Bill C-377 that was published on the iPolitics website. In the article, Schumann argues that the legislation is an assault on unions. Meanwhile, Sean Tucker and Andrew Stevens, assistant professors in the Faculty of Business Administration at the University of Regina, wrote […]

IUOE Canadian government affairs director Steven Schumann recently wrote an opinion piece on Bill C-377 that was published on the iPolitics website. In the article, Schumann argues that the legislation is an assault on unions. Meanwhile, Sean Tucker and Andrew Stevens, assistant professors in the Faculty of Business Administration at the University of Regina, wrote an opinion piece in The National Post that suggests the legislation is problematic for a number of reasons.

Click here to read Schumann’s opinion piece on the iPolitics website.

Click here to read the opinion piece in The National Post.

 

The building trades have done a great job of making the province strong, Premier Dalton McGuinty told a meeting of the Provincial Building and Construction Trades Council of Ontario. “The trades do more than just build,” he said in a speech to 250 delegates at the meeting. “You build us up.” At the Oct. 19 […]

The building trades have done a great job of making the province strong, Premier Dalton McGuinty told a meeting of the Provincial Building and Construction Trades Council of Ontario.
“The trades do more than just build,” he said in a speech to 250 delegates at the meeting. “You build us up.”
At the Oct. 19 meeting, the premier thanked the building trades for their contributions and told delegates that in today’s global economy it’s more important than ever for the trades and government to work together to ensure that Ontario remains economically strong.
To compete and ensure that the quality of Ontario is maintained, McGuinty said government and the trades have to find common ground.
“We have got to stay tight.”
McGuinty said the trades are doing their part in building Ontario and looking to recruit and train the next generation of construction workers.
The Hammerheads program is a great example of that, he noted.
The premier said the building trades are intent on building a better workforce for the future, something the government also wants to happen.
On a political note, McGuinty spoke about his government’s record on education and healthcare, noting that 23 new hospitals have been built since he became premier in 2003.
Meanwhile, he said, electricity is also cleaner and smog is down by 50 per cent and Ontario has the fastest growing clean energy industry in North America.
The government has also broken records by investing in infrastructure, he said, pointing out that the Liberals have invested $75 billion in infrastructure in the last nine years and this year $13 billion will be invested.
“We have built things that will strengthen Ontario for years to come.”
McGuinty said the investments add 100,000 jobs a year to the construction industry.
The premier said the government is also acting responsibly to eliminate the provincial deficit, which is projected to be $14.4 billion at the end of the 2012-13 fiscal year, and is ahead of its own plan to balance the budget.
“We’re on the right track and have to keep moving in that direction,” he said.
McGuinty said he wants to eliminate the deficit but not by cutting jobs and services to Ontarians.
Going forward, he said, the government intends to sit down with its labour partners to negotiate new deals that will have wage freezes.
McGuinty was followed to the podium by Labour Minister Linda Jeffrey and then by Ontario NDP leader Andrea Horwath.
Jeffrey told delegates that the Liberals have invested in infrastructure and built new hospitals, restored fairness and balance to the provincial labour relations system, and created jobs.
“We’re going in the right direction,” she said.
Jeffrey criticized a white paper put out by PC leader Tim Hudak, indicating it would pave the way to poverty for many Ontarians and cause widespread labour strife in the province.
NDP leader Horwath, meanwhile, said that Ontario can do better and needs to do better.
The province needs to balance its books but needs to be responsible about the way that’s accomplished, she said.
Horwath noted the key to growing Ontario’s economy is by investing in people and making sure the province has a skilled workforce.
While some believe that Ontario’s apprenticeship system should be watered down, Horwath said reducing apprenticeship ratios would only mean fewer apprentices.
“That move is a dead end,” she said.
Instead, she said, the government needs to work with employers that want to invest in apprenticeship training.
Horwath also told the audience that Ontario faces challenging times but she has faith in the people that build the province every day.

Local 793 business manager Mike Gallagher has been acclaimed as a vice-president on the executive board of the Provincial Building and Construction Trades Council of Ontario. He was acclaimed at the Council’s annual convention in Toronto on Oct. 19. Gallagher was nominated by Local 793 president Joe Redshaw. Redshaw noted that Gallagher was recently re-elected […]

Local 793 business manager Mike Gallagher has been acclaimed as a vice-president on the executive board of the Provincial Building and Construction Trades Council of Ontario.

He was acclaimed at the Council’s annual convention in Toronto on Oct. 19.

Gallagher was nominated by Local 793 president Joe Redshaw.

Redshaw noted that Gallagher was recently re-elected to a fifth term as business manager of Local 793.

Patrick Dillon was acclaimed as the business manager and secretary-treasurer of the Council.

Gallagher had nominated Dillon, noting that he’s done an admirable job over the years on behalf of the building trades.

Bob Blakely, director of Canadian affairs for the AFL-CIO Building and Construction Trades Department, swore in the slate of officers.

The officers pledged to fulfill the duties of officers of the building trades and act in their assigned capacity to the general benefit of the membership.

At the meeting, Dillon thanked delegates for re-electing him.

“I really do appreciate the support and look forward to working with the people you’ve elected,” he said. “I appreciate the confidence you’ve shown in me as business manager.”