Category: Latest Industry News

Premier Kathleen Wynne says she wants to work with contractors and unions to build Ontario and make the province a better place to live. “We need to build this province up together,” she told an audience attending a Liberal Party fundraiser in Local 793’s banquet hall in Oakville on June 13. “I want to work […]

Premier Kathleen Wynne says she wants to work with contractors and unions to build Ontario and make the province a better place to live.

“We need to build this province up together,” she told an audience attending a Liberal Party fundraiser in Local 793’s banquet hall in Oakville on June 13.

“I want to work with you, your sector, to solve the province’s problems. We need to build on our strengths and your industry is a big part of that.”

Wynne, just two days removed from passing her first budget as premier, was keynote speaker at the event. More than 250 people attended the fundraiser sponsored by Local 793, including five cabinet ministers, representatives of a number of contractor groups, and union leaders.

The premier received standing ovations both before and after she spoke, signaling that she’s on the right track.

Wynne said her vision is to build up the province and improve infrastructure, especially transit.

The government, she noted, is pumping more than $35 billion into infrastructure over the next three years, with $13.5 billion of that to be invested in the coming year on building and improving roads, transit and municipal projects.

Meanwhile, she told the audience, the government is spending $870 million on the TTC subway line extension to York University and into Vaughan, and millions more on an extension of Highway 407.

“It’s about preparing Ontario for the future,” she said.

Wynne said the government wants to ease congestion facing the Toronto and Hamilton areas and invest in infrastructure projects that have lagged.

The province is also committed to making worksites safer and has taken a number of steps to make that happen, the premier said, including doubling the number of enforcement officers, establishing a chief prevention officer, and developing an occupational health and safety strategy to guide the government in the years ahead.

Wynne said the government is also committed to reviewing the procurement policies of Infrastructure Ontario to ensure the apprenticeship system is being strengthened.

Importantly, she said, the government also wants to get more young people into the trades.

“We need them to have the skills for today’s marketplace.”

Local 793 business manager Mike Gallagher provided closing remarks at the event and noted that it’s time for Ontarians to focus on building a better province.

“It’s time for us in Ontario to change the channel and get down to the business of making a better society for our families and our kids,” he said. “We need to roll up our sleeves and build the infrastructure that needs to be built.”

Gallagher said Ontarians shouldn’t forget the lessons learned from the debacle of the so-called Common Sense Revolution that came to the province under former Premier Mike Harris.

Harris promised to cut red tape and lower costs for business, he said, but “what we really got at the end of the day was Walkerton and Maple Leaf Foods.”

Healthcare also suffered under the Harris government, noted Gallagher, as hospitals were left without enough nurses to staff the rooms.

Gallagher said the province can’t afford to repeat the mistakes that were made in the past.

He said the Liberals have done more in the last 10 years than the PCs ever did, noting that 18 hospitals are being built in the province by unionized trades.

Gallagher also said the Liberals learn from their mistakes and, despite the cost, cancelled power plants in Oakville and Mississauga when it became clear the people didn’t want them.

The Conservatives, meanwhile, lost a lot more when they gave away Highway 407 in 1999 to a foreign consortium for $3.1 billion, he noted, because it cost the province $104 billion to purchase all the right-of-ways for the thoroughfare.

The consortium that owns the highway made $52 million in the first quarter of 2013 alone, he said.

Also at the event:

• Local 793 president Joe Redshaw was master of ceremonies.
• Oakville MPP Kevin Flynn introduced the premier and thanked Local 793 for hosting the event.
• Joseph Mancinelli, international vice president and regional manager for the Central and Eastern Canada area of LIUNA, thanked Wynne for her remarks.
• Scotty Newlands, who sings the anthems at Toronto Maple Leaf home games, sang O Canada.
• Reverend Gill provided the invocation.

Provincial cabinet ministers at the event included:

• Finance Minister Charles Sousa
• Labour Minister Yasir Naqvi
• Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Glen Murray
• Economic Development, Trade and Employment Minister Dr. Eric Hoskins
• Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Linda Jeffrey

Professor Bruce Ryder of the Osgoode Hall Law School faculty has told a Senate committee that Bill C-377 is illegal and will be struck down by the courts if passed, the Blacklock’s Reporter website has reported. Ryder maintains Bill C-377 violates 146 years of Canadian practice. Click here to read the article.  

Professor Bruce Ryder of the Osgoode Hall Law School faculty has told a Senate committee that Bill C-377 is illegal and will be struck down by the courts if passed, the Blacklock’s Reporter website has reported. Ryder maintains Bill C-377 violates 146 years of Canadian practice.

Click here to read the article.

 

Senator Pierrette Ringuette has issued a press release, noting that no constitutional experts can be found to defend anti-union Bill C-377. He says it would be against the very purpose of the chamber of sober second thought to pass a bill that is unconstitutional. Below is the press release. For Immediate Release May 24th, 2013 […]

Senator Pierrette Ringuette has issued a press release, noting that no constitutional experts can be found to defend anti-union Bill C-377. He says it would be against the very purpose of the chamber of sober second thought to pass a bill that is unconstitutional.

Below is the press release.

For Immediate Release
May 24th, 2013

No constitutional experts can be found to defend the constitutionally of anti-union bill C-377

Committee hearings on Bill C-377, An Act to amend the Income Tax Act (requirements for labour organizations) started this week at the Senate Standing Committee on Banking, Trade, and Commerce.

The committee has heard from the bill’s sponsor, MP Russ Hiebert, and a number of constitutional experts and, thus far, there has been no sign of any constitutional expert who will publically defend the bill.

Last December, Mr. Heibert, along with Senator Nancy Eaton and Minister of State Maxime Bernier, held a press conference to praise the bill after it passed 3^rdreading.

During this press conference, Mr. Hiebert was asked about expert opinions he received regarding the constitutionality of the bill: “In drafting the bill, we brought it to a variety of constitutional experts in Canada.”

When asked to name some of these ‘experts’, he replied: “I don’t have their consent to disclose their names.”

It has been over 5 months since that press conference, and he has still not been able to find any constitutional expert who is willing (to) come forward and publically support this bill.

Meanwhile, there have been numerous (experts) who have come forward to say the opposite.

At last week’s meetings several constitutional experts expressed strong concerns about the bill, including Alain Barré of Université Laval and Bruce Ryder of Osgoode Hall Law School.

In addition, Senator Pierrette Ringuette asked Mr. Hiebert to table any expert opinions he received in writing. Mr. Hiebert said he had no such documents to table.

Senator Ringuette has released the following statement regarding this week’s testimony:

“The Senate of Canada has an obligation to thoroughly explore the constitutionality of any bill that we vote on; it would be against the very purpose of the chamber of sober second thought to pass a bill that we know to be unconstitutional.”

“Mr. Hiebert’s personal assurances of constitutionality aside, where are the constitutional experts who can stand up in public and say this bill is constitutional? We have heard many say it’s not, but not one that says it is.”

More information about the committee meetings can be found at:
http://www.parl.gc.ca/sencommitteebusiness/CommitteeMeetingSchedule.aspx?parl=41&ses=1&Language=E&comm_id=3

For more information:
Tim Rosenburgh
Office of Senator Pierrette Ringuette
rosent@sen.parl.gc.ca
(613) 943-2248

A special called ratification vote/arbitration update meeting will be held Wednesday, May 22, 2013 for all Local 793 members currently working under the Greater Toronto Sewer & Watermain Collective Agreement. The meeting begins at 8 p.m. in the banquet hall at Local 793’s head office in Oakville. Click here for the official meeting notice.  

A special called ratification vote/arbitration update meeting will be held Wednesday, May 22, 2013 for all Local 793 members currently working under the Greater Toronto Sewer & Watermain Collective Agreement. The meeting begins at 8 p.m. in the banquet hall at Local 793’s head office in Oakville.

Click here for the official meeting notice.

 

Apprentices in union training programs have higher completion rates than those indentured to the non-union sector, according to a report by the Ontario Construction Secretariat (OCS). The report found that 75 per cent of apprentices trained through a Joint Apprenticeship Training Trust (JATT), which are partnerships of labour and management, complete their programs. The completion […]

Apprentices in union training programs have higher completion rates than those indentured to the non-union sector, according to a report by the Ontario Construction Secretariat (OCS).

The report found that 75 per cent of apprentices trained through a Joint Apprenticeship Training Trust (JATT), which are partnerships of labour and management, complete their programs.

The completion rate for apprentices indentured to individual employers was 58 per cent.

“Ontario’s union-employer training centres are an integral and growing piece of the province’s jobs training infrastructure,” Sean Strickland, chief executive officer of the OCS, said in a press release distributed with the report. “Union-employer training partnerships deliver better results. We see this in the number of union apprentices who complete their training and earn their Certificate of Qualification to become a journeyperson.”

The report, called Completion Counts: Raising Apprenticeship Completion Rates to Address Skills Shortages in Ontario’s Construction Industry, states that the evidence of significantly higher rates of completion among union apprentices indentured to JATTs suggests the significant investments made by the industry are paying off.

The research and analysis was conducted by the Apprenticeship Research Group, a consortium of Prism Economics, Professor Morley Gunderson and Ipsos Reid.

The report concludes that the unique partnership between construction labour unions and their contractor partners ensures apprentices have the resources they need to complete their tenure and become journeypersons.

According to the report, this collaborative approach provides technical hands-on training and also supports apprentices throughout their training.

The conclusion of the report is based on a detailed analysis of apprentice registration and completion data provided by the provincial Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities.

There has long been anecdotal evidence that the investments and unique practices by JATTs result in higher completion rates for union apprentices, but there’s been no data to prove it.

The report states that the union advantage in achieving higher completion rates stems from the significant investment in facilities and the unique system of supports provided in the delivery of apprenticeship training.

Through partnership and commitment to a strong training culture, the JATT system provides resources for screening apprentice candidates, preparing apprentices for their training, and supporting them during the training period, the report states.

The report notes that the unionized approach focuses on work experience with multiple employers, providing both a depth and breadth of skills and experience.

In some trades, the report states, union locals support night school programs to prepare union apprentices for trade school.

Many locals also provide apprentices with refresher training to prepare them for the Certificate of Qualification exam, the report states.

Unionized trades like the Operating Engineers are important to the future prosperity of Ontario, provincial Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Glen Murray told a gathering of Liberal party faithful at a fund-raiser May 9 in Local 793’s banquet hall in Oakville. The Toronto Centre MPP also lauded the work being done by Local 793 business manager […]

Unionized trades like the Operating Engineers are important to the future prosperity of Ontario, provincial Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Glen Murray told a gathering of Liberal party faithful at a fund-raiser May 9 in Local 793’s banquet hall in Oakville.

The Toronto Centre MPP also lauded the work being done by Local 793 business manager Mike Gallagher and the Operating Engineers in standing up for the rights of workers.

He noted it’s important to fight against Conservative leader Tim Hudak and his proposal for a right-to-work state.

The fund-raiser was for Oakville MPP Kevin Flynn. Murray was keynote speaker at the event.

Murray touched on a number of topics during his remarks, one being that unionized contractors must compete against foreign consortiums that don’t reinvest in the province when they are bidding on projects put up for public tender by Infrastructure Ontario.

On apprenticeships, he noted that unions have a “remarkable record” of getting people to compete training.

Indeed, a study recently released by the Ontario Construction Secretariat shows that apprentices who are trained in union-management training centres are more likely to complete their training, than are apprentices who receive their training in other facilities.

On the economy, Murray said the provincial Liberals have managed to create jobs despite the fact that Ontario has just weathered one of the worst recessions ever.

The province lost 243,000 jobs when the recession hit, he said, but the government has delivered and created 400,000 jobs since then, and invested $13 billion in new infrastructure.

Although the government was criticized for investing in GM and Chrysler, he noted that it was worth it as Ontario’s auto sector is now the largest in North America.

“When Hudak and (Andrea) Horwath say we have a crisis in the manufacturing sector it’s a lie,” he said, as the sector is doing well.

Meanwhile, Murray said, the construction industry is “rocking” and most of the trades are working.

Oakville MPP Flynn said the government could have shut down projects after the recession, but chose to invest in infrastructure projects like the Oakville hospital and widening of the QEW.

The government kept people working and will continue to invest in infrastructure, he said, something the construction industry will be glad to hear.

Afterwards, Joe Dowdall, the union’s apprenticeship training co-ordinator, presented Murray with a hardhat, construction vest and miniature model of a rotary drill rig. Dowdall made the presentation to Murray on behalf of Local 793 business manager Gallagher.

Dowdall thanked Murray for committing to mandatory training for rotary drill rig operators. Gallagher and the union had lobbied for mandatory training after a drill rig accident at a construction site in Toronto on Oct. 11, 2011 that resulted in the death of Local 793 apprentice Kyle Knox.

Murray announced the mandatory training at a Provincial Building and Construction Trades Council of Ontario meeting last fall.

A special called ratification vote meeting will be held Tuesday, May 21, 2013 for all Local 793 members currently working under the Toronto and Area Road Builders Collective Agreement. The meeting begins at 8 p.m. in the banquet hall at Local 793’s head office in Oakville. Click here for the official meeting notice.    

A special called ratification vote meeting will be held Tuesday, May 21, 2013 for all Local 793 members currently working under the Toronto and Area Road Builders Collective Agreement. The meeting begins at 8 p.m. in the banquet hall at Local 793’s head office in Oakville.

Click here for the official meeting notice.

 

 

Delegates at the recent International Union of Operating Engineers 38th general convention voted unanimously to elect James T. Callahan to his first full term as general president. The vote affirms the IUOE’s commitment to worker organizing and job creation in the United States and Canada. Brian Hickey was elected as secretary-treasurer, the union’s number two post. […]

Delegates at the recent International Union of Operating Engineers 38th general convention voted unanimously to elect James T. Callahan to his first full term as general president.

The vote affirms the IUOE’s commitment to worker organizing and job creation in the United States and Canada.

Brian Hickey was elected as secretary-treasurer, the union’s number two post.

Delegates also elected 14 vice presidents and five trustees who represent IUOE members from every region of North America.

Local 793 business manager Mike Gallagher was elected as a vice-president.

Callahan told delegates that he is proud to lead the 400,000-member union of dedicated and skilled trade unionists who build and maintain North America every day.

“Once again, our union is called to action. We must stand up against powerful interests who want to silence workers, kill private and public sector unions, and marginalize working families.

“Now, more than ever, we need to make bold investments and find innovative solutions that will create jobs, pay a fair wage – a union wage – and support middle class families.”

The IUOE convention was held April 28 to May 2 in Hollywood, Florida. During the convention, the more than 600 delegates passed 27 resolutions covering organizing, training, occupational health and safety, prevailing wage, economic and labour issues, and pension and healthcare benefits.

Speakers at the convention included U.S. Senator Dick Durbin, Canadian ambassador to the United States Gary Doer, AFL-CIO president Richard L. Trumka, United Brotherhood of Carpenters general president Douglas McCarron, UNITE-HERE president D. Taylor, and Association of Union Constructors CEO Stephen Lindauer.

AFL-CIO President Trumka pledged the labour federation would wage an all-out fight for more infrastructure jobs.

He called high unemployment among building trades workers, including Operating Engineers, “absolutely intolerable” and wrong.

“America needs your skilled workers to rebuild the national infrastructure that is literally crumbling around us,” he said. “Our national infrastructure is a shambles — our highways and bridges, our sea ports and airports. America needs to invest in public infrastructure on a scale unlike anything that’s been proposed … spending measured in the tens of trillions of dollars.”

 

Local 793 business manager Mike Gallagher has been acclaimed as a vice-president on the general executive board of the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE). Gallagher was nominated at the IUOE general convention in Florida by Local 793 president Joe Redshaw. The nomination was seconded by Local 793 financial secretary John W. Anderson. In his […]

Local 793 business manager Mike Gallagher has been acclaimed as a vice-president on the general executive board of the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE).

Gallagher was nominated at the IUOE general convention in Florida by Local 793 president Joe Redshaw. The nomination was seconded by Local 793 financial secretary John W. Anderson.

In his nomination remarks, president Redshaw noted that he has known Gallagher for many years and can attest to the fact that he is a dedicated, hard working and loyal union leader.

He said Gallagher is an advocate for health and safety and his bargaining skills are second to none.

Redshaw said that Gallagher has built Local 793 into a formidable force and under the business manager’s guidance membership has increased from 8,000 in 1997 to more than 13,000 today, with equity of members also growing from $3.6 million to $61.6 million over the same time periods.

Financial secretary Anderson, meanwhile, noted in his remarks that Gallagher’s honesty, integrity and work ethic will benefit the union membership, and he will fight for the rights of brothers and sisters in Canada, and also in the U.S.

Anderson said the position demands someone who’s a leader, who has experience, who is accountable to the membership, committed to excellence, and who is passionate about the union cause – and he can attest to the fact that Gallagher has all the attributes and is up to the challenge.

Gallagher gave an acceptance speech and received a standing ovation from delegates at the conference.

Gallagher had been appointed as a vice-president by former IUOE general president Vincent Giblin in 2011 when Local 115 business manager Gary Kroeker retired. He had been an IUOE trustee prior to that.

Gallagher was initiated into Local 793 on May 31, 1985. He was sworn in as business manager of the local in December 1996. He’s been elected five consecutive times and has held the post of Local 793 business manager for the past 17 years.

Members of Local 793 of the International Union of Operating Engineers have ratified a new three-year Highrise Formwork Collective Agreement. The agreement was ratified by members at a meeting April 28 in the union’s banquet hall in Oakville. The agreement runs from May 1, 2013 to April 30, 2016 and affects operating engineers across the […]

Members of Local 793 of the International Union of Operating Engineers have ratified a new three-year Highrise Formwork Collective Agreement.

The agreement was ratified by members at a meeting April 28 in the union’s banquet hall in Oakville.

The agreement runs from May 1, 2013 to April 30, 2016 and affects operating engineers across the province working in the highrise concrete formwork sector.

The agreement provides for a total monetary package increase of $4.15 an hour over three years.

Operators working under the agreement will receive an increase of $1.35 an hour as of May 1, 2013, another $1.40 an hour on May 1, 2014, and another $1.40 an hour on May 1, 2015.

In addition to the monetary package, the agreement also contains language that requires tower crane erection and dismantling work to be done by Local 793 operators and/or subcontractors.