Category: Latest Industry News

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and Construction Trades Council of Ontario on Oct. 20, outlining action to be taken in an effort to get the legislation withdrawn.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and Construction Trades Council of Ontario on Oct. 20, outlining action to be taken in an effort to get the legislation withdrawn.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.”

 

A review panel of the Ontario College of Trades has concluded that the current 1:1 journeyperson to apprentice ratio for three hoisting engineer trades should be maintained. Local 793 wanted the ratio to remain the same for a number of reasons, one being to ensure that the health and safety of workers on construction sites […]

A review panel of the Ontario College of Trades has concluded that the current 1:1 journeyperson to apprentice ratio for three hoisting engineer trades should be maintained.

Local 793 wanted the ratio to remain the same for a number of reasons, one being to ensure that the health and safety of workers on construction sites as well as the public continues to be protected.

The panel said the 1:1 ratio would continue to provide the optimal degree of training and transfer of knowledge.

“Any changes may negatively impact health and safety (and consequently the environment),” the panel noted, “by possibly increasing job site accidents.”

The panel said that local supply and demand needs, including attracting and retaining apprentices, appear to be met with the 1:1 ratio.

Equally important, the panel concluded, it received no objections from employer groups, other unions, or individuals about the existing ratio.

“Therefore, there appears to be no justification for changing the existing 1:1 ratio and the decision of the panel is that it should be continued.”

The review was undertaken as part of the Ontario College of Trades and Apprenticeship Act 2009 and Ontario Regulation 458/11.

The hoisting engineer trades included in the review were: Mobile Crane Operator-Branch 1, Mobile Crane Operator-Branch 2, and Tower Crane Operator.

Local 793 was the only group to present a written submission to the panel. The submission was endorsed by the Operating Engineers Training Institute of Ontario (OETIO) and the Hoisting Engineers Trade Board of the Ontario College of Trades.

The review panel weighted the submissions against a number of criteria, including how the journeyperson to apprentice ratio for the trades might affect the health and safety of apprentices and journeypersons.

The panel also examined the economic impact of the journeyperson to apprentice ratio of the trade on apprentices, journeypersons, employers and employer associations and, where applicable, on trade unions, employee associations, apprentice training providers and the public.

Local 793 had noted that accident rates remain low and that for the years 1969-2004, after the implementation of compulsory training, crane and rigging related fatalities expressed as a percentage of total construction fatalities dropped from 19.8 per cent to less than five per cent.

The union and the other two groups asserted that a key to preventing catastrophic accidents is ensuring crane operators learn to operate safely and with full knowledge of the multitude of tasks they undertake on a daily basis.

Supervision by a single, experienced, licensed journeyperson, they maintained, assists the apprentice in gaining the required skills to become a safe and effective operator.

The groups noted that continuation of a 1:1 ratio is supported by industry stakeholders, including the former Provincial Advisory Committee and the trade board on a health and safety basis.

The parties also asserted that the ratio should continue to be determined on a long-term approach rather than reacting to short-term labour or supply shortages because it would jeopardize safety and might promote reaction ratio calculations.

Moreover, since the number of cranes needed would not change, the parties maintained there is no immediate productivity increase to be garnered from increasing the number of apprentices.

The parties indicated there appears to be no shortages of apprentices and journeypersons caused by the current 1:1 ratio, nor does it appear that any will be created by continuing it.

Click here to read the report.

Local 793 is on the right track, business manager Mike Gallagher told a special executive board meeting at head office in Oakville on Sept. 22. With solid financials, a healthy pension plan and plenty of work on the horizon, the “state of the union is good,” he said. Although 2011 was a difficult year for […]

Local 793 is on the right track, business manager Mike Gallagher told a special executive board meeting at head office in Oakville on Sept. 22.

With solid financials, a healthy pension plan and plenty of work on the horizon, the “state of the union is good,” he said.

Although 2011 was a difficult year for investments due to low interest rates, contributions to the pension plan remained solid, he noted.

On the employment front, he said there also appears to be plenty of work on tap for Operating Engineers for the next year.

Gallagher told delegates that Local 793 is one of the fastest growing locals in North America and, with $30 billion in projects slated for Ontario in 2012, the biggest challenge will be supplying enough operators for the projects.

Presently, he said, the union’s dispatch department is barely able to keep up with demand for crane operators.

“We’re running flat out.”

Gallagher addressed a number of issues during a half-hour speech to delegates.

He complimented president Joe Redshaw and the social services department for winning a $340,000 decision at the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) for a 69-year-old member who was injured 10 years ago.

The member struck his head on the glass of a tractor-loader-backhoe while working on a project in Toronto.

The union persevered on behalf of the member and won his case.

Gallagher said the local has an “enviable” record of winning appeals at the WSIB and a 90-per-cent success rate of winning CPP appeals for members.

“We’ve definitely looked after our own,” he said. “Like the marines, it’s no man left behind.”

Gallagher noted that Local 793’s banquet hall is also doing well and the union is looking at doubling the size of the present building so it could accommodate 1,000 people.

The local is talking to Michael Spaziani, the architect who designed head office and the present banquet hall, he said.

Gallagher said the banquet hall is making money and expanding the facility would enable much larger events to be held there.

With the possible banquet hall expansion, the local is also looking into the possibility of expanding the head office to accommodate more staff, he said.

Meanwhile, Gallagher said, the union is looking at setting up a memorial to honour Operating Engineers who’ve lost their lives on the job.

The memorial would be in a forested area on the head office property.

At the OETIO in Morrisburg, the union is looking into the possibility of establishing a retirement home on the property.

The union is also looking at the possibility of putting in wind turbines or solar panels at the OETIO.

Bondfield Construction Company Ltd. has signed an $80.5-million contract to build three venues for the Toronto 2015 Pan/Parapan American Games. The company will build the Markham Pan Am Centre, including a new, 50-metre Olympic-sized pool. The centre will host water polo, table tennis and badminton competitions. Construction is expected to begin in the coming weeks. […]

Bondfield Construction Company Ltd. has signed an $80.5-million contract to build three venues for the Toronto 2015 Pan/Parapan American Games.

The company will build the Markham Pan Am Centre, including a new, 50-metre Olympic-sized pool. The centre will host water polo, table tennis and badminton competitions. Construction is expected to begin in the coming weeks.

Bondfield will also build a field hockey centre on the downtown St. George campus of the University of Toronto, and undertake renovations and improvements to the Etobicoke Olympium facility, which will be the training site for swimming, water polo, diving and synchronized swimming. The projects are expected to begin next year.

The contract was signed recently with Infrastructure Ontario, the federal government and City of Toronto.

At the peak of construction, it is estimated that 200 workers will be on the sites daily.

Ontario Infrastructure Minister Bob Chiarelli said the announcement is an important step forward for the Games.

“Our investment, along with the contribution of the other private and public sector partners in the Games will ensure that the construction of these world-class sport venues will help stimulate local economies, create jobs and contribute to a high quality of life.”

Following is an update on the status of other projects for the Games:

• Athletes’ Village: Construction started in January on the athletes’ village in the West Don Lands area of Toronto. The village will be home for 10,000 athletes, coaches and team officials during the Games.
• Aquatics Centre, Field House and Canadian Sport Institute Ontario (CSIO): Construction started in July on the three projects. They’re being built on property owned by the City of Toronto and the University of Toronto Scarborough Campus.
• Hamilton Soccer Stadium: Construction will begin later this year on a soccer stadium for the Games in Hamilton. The stadium will host soccer competition for the Games and then become a permanent home for the Hamilton Tiger Cats.
• Athletics Stadium: Construction will begin later this year on the 5,000-seat stadium at York University in Toronto.
• Milton Velodrome: Construction will begin in early 2013 on the velodrome, which will host track cycling competition during the Games.

A general membership meeting of Local 793 is scheduled for Sunday, September 23, at head office in Oakville. The head office is located at 2245 Speers Road. The meeting begins at 10 a.m.   Click here for map.  

A general membership meeting of Local 793 is scheduled for Sunday, September 23, at head office in Oakville.

The head office is located at 2245 Speers Road.

The meeting begins at 10 a.m.

 

Click here for map.