Recipients Receive Long-Service Awards

Written by Local 793 Staff

Local 793 is the strong union it is today because of its dedicated members, business manager Mike Gallagher told a long-service awards ceremony in the union banquet hall Nov. 16. “Without the support of the members, especially the long-service members, all of you who are being recognized today, really absolutely nothing could’ve been accomplished,” he said. More than 250 long-service members received an award this year for 30, 40, 50, 55 and 60 years of service. Raymond Crandall of Alliston, Ont. was lone recipient of the 60-year award. Gallagher spoke […]

Long ServiceLocal 793 is the strong union it is today because of its dedicated members, business manager Mike Gallagher told a long-service awards ceremony in the union banquet hall Nov. 16.
“Without the support of the members, especially the long-service members, all of you who are being recognized today, really absolutely nothing could’ve been accomplished,” he said.
More than 250 long-service members received an award this year for 30, 40, 50, 55 and 60 years of service. Raymond Crandall of Alliston, Ont. was lone recipient of the 60-year award.
Gallagher spoke at the beginning of the awards ceremony and told the audience that a lot of blood, sweat and tears went into making the union what it is today.
“There was no magic formula about it,” he remarked.
He said the union’s $1.6-billion pension fund and the benefit plan, which has a $23-million surplus, were only achieved as a result of the battles fought by union members.
Gallagher said he’s traveled to many different parts of Canada and the U.S. and there aren’t any locals that compare to Local 793 in terms of what the union has accomplished, and in keeping the province unionized and fair so operators get a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work.
That has occurred, he said, because operators stood up for their rights over the years on picket lines and because they went out like the professionals they are and put their skills to work making the contractors successful.
He noted that a lot of new contractors are now coming into Ontario from Italy, Spain and Germany and they’re bringing their own ideas on how to do the work.
But, “we know a little thing or two ourselves about building this great province,” he added. “That is something I feel very, very strongly about.”
On the issue of pensions, Gallagher said in spite of the challenges of the past – notably in 2008 when Canadian markets dipped 30 per cent – the plan is in good shape.
As of the end of October, the plan was up 11.6 per cent from the beginning of the year, “so we’re having a very good year in our pension plan.”
On the issue of benefits, he said the plan is in great shape and trustees have decided to make a number of improvements starting in January.
“To me, the most important thing is looking after our own, our families, and those benefits become more and more important as we get on.
“When we’re able to make the benefit plan better and able to have pensions that members retire on – that’s what it’s all about as far as I’m concerned.”

Memorial Garden to be Built at Head Office

Written by Local 793 Staff

Local 793 business manager Mike Gallagher has announced that the union is looking at building a memorial garden and monument to honour members who have been killed in construction site accidents or died due to an occupational disease. “This is an important initiative and a respectful way of remembering and honouring our union brothers and sisters who have died under such circumstances,” Gallagher noted in a statement. The monument will be similar to those that have been erected in memory of police officers and firefighters who have lost their lives […]

Local 793 business manager Mike Gallagher has announced that the union is looking at building a memorial garden and monument to honour members who have been killed in construction site accidents or died due to an occupational disease.
“This is an important initiative and a respectful way of remembering and honouring our union brothers and sisters who have died under such circumstances,” Gallagher noted in a statement.
The monument will be similar to those that have been erected in memory of police officers and firefighters who have lost their lives in the line of duty.
“We should be doing everything in our power to mark the lives of Operating Engineers who have lost their lives in construction or industrial accidents or because of an occupational illness,” Gallagher said.
Architect Michael Spaziani, who designed Local 793’s head office in Oakville, has put out a request for proposals for a professional artist to design the monument.
The monument will be located at the union’s head office. Names of Local 793 operators who have died in accidents or due to occupational diseases will be part of the monument.
A final design proposal is expected by the end of 2014.
Gallagher said that the proposal will be brought to a general membership meeting for discussion, as input from members on the initiative is essential.
The union would like to hear from anyone who knows of a member who has passed away due to a workplace accident or occupational disease like mesothelioma.
Please contact Crystal Resendes or Debbie Coulson to provide the name and some background on the deceased member. They can be reached at 905-469-9299 or toll free at 1-877-793-4863.

NDP’s Keystone XL Opposition Fails Canadian Construction Workers

Written by Local 793 Staff

In November, the International Union of Operating Engineers issued a press release, objecting to a New Democratic Party Opposition Day motion on the Keystone XL pipeline. Local 793 business manager Mike Gallagher, who is an IUOE International vice president, and IUOE general president James T. Callahan were disappointed with the NDP’s motion. IUOE Canadian regional director James Murphy also sent a strongly worded letter to NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair. The NDP motion stated that: “In the opinion of the House, the Keystone XL pipeline would intensify the export of unprocessed raw […]

In November, the International Union of Operating Engineers issued a press release, objecting to a New Democratic Party Opposition Day motion on the Keystone XL pipeline.
Local 793 business manager Mike Gallagher, who is an IUOE International vice president, and IUOE general president James T. Callahan were disappointed with the NDP’s motion.
IUOE Canadian regional director James Murphy also sent a strongly worded letter to NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair.
The NDP motion stated that:

“In the opinion of the House, the Keystone XL pipeline would intensify the export of unprocessed raw bitumen and would export more than 40,000 well-paying Canadian jobs, and is therefore not in Canada’s best interest.”

Business manager Gallagher noted in the press release that he is disappointed that the NDP chose to completely ignore the benefit of pipeline construction to working Canadians such as members of the Operating Engineers’ union and other construction trades.
“The Keystone XL project would be a net benefit to workers across Canada who depend on the resource sector and construction for their livelihoods,” he stated. “This hasty action by the NDP without consulting major stakeholders will jeopardize our economic recovery and jobs we had been hoping for.”
General president Callahan said thousands of skilled construction jobs – jobs that feed families, pay mortgages and send kids to university – will be generated from building Keystone XL.
“If you are on the side of working people, then you should be for this project.”
In his letter to Mulcair, Canadian regional director Murphy said that Canada does not have the refining capacity to deal with the amounts of raw bitumen that are being developed in Canada’s oil sands, therefore the product must be exported.
He stated that the union supports Keystone XL because Canada must look at expanding and diversifying its markets.
He noted that Keystone XL will allow Canadian oil companies to expand the reach of their product, which will only benefit Canada’s economy.
“Operating Engineers are among the most highly trained and skilled pipeline workers in the world,” he stated in the letter. “Our expertise will ensure that Keystone is built right, built safe and built to last.”

Redshaw Scholarship Winners Announced

Written by Local 793 Staff

Winners of the Jack Redshaw Scholarship have been announced. A total of 12 scholarships of $2,000 each were awarded. The Crane Rental Association of Ontario donated funds for two of the awards. Local 793 president Joe Redshaw said in a statement that he would like to thank the Crane Rental Association for making the donation. The scholarship winners were: Stefanie Bogaert – Sarnia area Devon Coles – Hamilton area Ryan Coulson – Toronto area Mitchell Fedorchuk – St. Catherine’s area Robyn Hansen – Hamilton area Sarah Kazak – Ottawa area […]

Redshaw ScholarshipsWinners of the Jack Redshaw Scholarship have been announced.
A total of 12 scholarships of $2,000 each were awarded. The Crane Rental Association of Ontario donated funds for two of the awards.
Local 793 president Joe Redshaw said in a statement that he would like to thank the Crane Rental Association for making the donation.
The scholarship winners were:

  • Stefanie Bogaert – Sarnia area
  • Devon Coles – Hamilton area
  • Ryan Coulson – Toronto area
  • Mitchell Fedorchuk – St. Catherine’s area
  • Robyn Hansen – Hamilton area
  • Sarah Kazak – Ottawa area
  • Lindsay Kuiack – Cambridge area
  • Darquise Mantha – Sudbury area
  • Alexandra Scandolo – Toronto area
  • Benjamin Schwarz – Toronto area
  • Nicole Selman – Sarnia area
  • Irena Sziler – Windsor area

The criteria for the scholarships is as follows:

  • The awards are available to the sons, daughters and grandchildren of members who are in good standing at the time of selection of the awards.
  • 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 public Canadian college or university.

Applications must be supported by transcripts of high school achievement and accompanied by a detailed letter of recommendation from an individual with personal academic knowledge of the candidate, outlining reasons why the scholarship should be awarded.
In addition, applicants must submit a 1,000-word essay on the reason(s) why the scholarship will be of assistance and the impact that being a dependent or grandchild of a Local 793 union member has had on the applicant’s life.
Once the recipients have been selected, they will be notified and asked to provide further proof from the Office of the Registrar that they are currently attending full-time studies in their selected program.
Eligible persons are able to apply more than once, however, once they have received a bursary, they are no longer eligible to receive another award.
The deadline for receipt of the application shall be the first Friday in the month of September.
Application forms are available on Local 793’s website or from area offices.

Union Supports Fund-raiser for Anishinabek Nation Charity

Written by Local 793 Staff

Local 793 business manager Mike Gallagher, president Joe Redshaw and a number of other union representatives attended a fund-raiser Oct. 17 for the Anishinabek Nation 7th Generation Charity. The event, at the Four Seasons Hotel in Toronto, provided an opportunity for corporate and government partners to meet and network with leaders of First Nations communities across Ontario. More than 200 people attended the event. A business networking reception was followed by a panel discussion on issues of importance to the people of the Anishinabek Nation. Funds raised from the event […]

MadahbeeLocal 793 business manager Mike Gallagher, president Joe Redshaw and a number of other union representatives attended a fund-raiser Oct. 17 for the Anishinabek Nation 7th Generation Charity.
The event, at the Four Seasons Hotel in Toronto, provided an opportunity for corporate and government partners to meet and network with leaders of First Nations communities across Ontario.
More than 200 people attended the event. A business networking reception was followed by a panel discussion on issues of importance to the people of the Anishinabek Nation.
Funds raised from the event will go to scholarships and bursaries and to support education, healthcare and other under-funded services in the 39 Anishinabek communities. The Charity has raised $600,000 since 1999.
Dignitaries attending the event included: Anishinabek Nation Grand Council Chief Patrick Madahbee; former Prime Minister Paul Martin; Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne; former Assembly of First Nations National Chief Phil Fontaine; Ontario Aboriginal Affairs Minister David Zimmer; and John Tory, former PC Party leader and host of Live Drive on Newstalk 1010.
Local 793 was the only union that had representatives at the event. Grand Council Chief Madahbee sat at the table with Local 793 representatives.
Business manager Gallagher said it was important for Local 793 representatives to be at the event because the union is working to get more people from First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities into training programs at the Operating Engineers Training Institute of Ontario (OETIO).
“We are working closely with First Nation, Inuit and Métis communities and reaching out to the Aboriginal population to get more youth into our apprenticeship programs and good paying jobs in the construction trades,” he said. “By attending this event we are demonstrating our commitment to work with these communities and Aboriginal leaders.”
During the panel discussion, dignitaries addressed a number of issues, including education and the importance of having a skilled workforce available to fill key positions.
Former Prime Minister Martin complimented the work being done by Local 793 during his remarks.
Martin spoke about some of the things unions like the Operating Engineers are doing and how they are an important part of the fabric of Canada.
Premier Wynne shared her vision on enhancing student success in First Nation communities in Ontario.
Grand Council Chief Madahbee told the audience that First Nations communities support development but only with community control and benefits.
“We have to empower our people … to take control of our lives” and “put in place our way of thinking, our world view,” he said in a story published in Anishinabek News.ca. “We don’t need somebody dictating what we can do and cannot do. We know how to do the job.”
Meanwhile, former Assembly of First Nations National Chief Fontaine said the single most important issue to face Canada is First Nations poverty and how to eradicate it.
“We have to move quickly and … persuasively,” he said in Anishinabek News.ca. “Partnerships are our best option to create a better future for Canada and Aboriginal people.”
The Anishinabek Nation 7th Generation Charity is the official charitable fundraising arm of the Anishinabek Nation. The Charity is committed to improving the quality of life of Anishinabek Nation citizens by providing support where no other funding exists.

Gallagher Addresses Union Meeting

Written by Local 793 Staff

Operating Engineers in Canada must pay attention to what’s going on south of the border where labour is under attack. That was the message Local 793 business manager Mike Gallagher delivered to delegates at a special executive board meeting of the union in the OE Banquet Hall on Sept. 21. “It’s important for us to pay attention to what’s happening in the U.S. and what’s been successful to turn it back,” he said. Gallagher noted that both the federal Conservatives and Ontario Tories are intent on pursuing a similar agenda […]

Operating Engineers in Canada must pay attention to what’s going on south of the border where labour is under attack.
That was the message Local 793 business manager Mike Gallagher delivered to delegates at a special executive board meeting of the union in the OE Banquet Hall on Sept. 21.
“It’s important for us to pay attention to what’s happening in the U.S. and what’s been successful to turn it back,” he said.
Gallagher noted that both the federal Conservatives and Ontario Tories are intent on pursuing a similar agenda against unions and working families here in Canada.
He said the Operating Engineers may have to be more politically active as a provincial election gets closer.
In his remarks, Gallagher noted that he recently attended an AFL-CIO national convention in Los Angeles and it was a good feeling to be in a room with so many unionists.
At the convention, he said, IUOE general president James T. Callahan announced that Local 150 in Indiana took the government to court over the right-to-work legislation and won, prompting a standing ovation from the hundreds of union delegates in attendance.
“I certainly felt good to be there as an Operating Engineer when that transpired,” Gallagher said.
He noted that Elizabeth Warren, the Democratic Senator from Massachusetts, and AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka, both gave rousing speeches at the AFL-CIO convention.
Videos of the speeches were played for delegates at the special executive board meeting.
In her speech, Warren said unions are like a family in that “we’ve got each other’s backs.”
Throughout history, she said, powerful interests have tried to capture Washington but labour has always been there to fight on behalf of the American people.
She said labour enshrined into law the right to organize and created social security.
“Labour was there every step of the way. Our agenda was America’s agenda and we prevailed.”
Lately, she said, powerful interest groups in the U.S. have been attacking the very foundations that protect the middle class, but labour will prevail.
“The Washington insiders will fight us but the American people are on our side.”
Trumka, meanwhile, told delegates at the AFL-CIO convention that there can be no shared prosperity while 11 million Americans have no rights, while 20 million are looking for work and can’t find it, and while libraries and schools are closed in the poorest communities.
Shared prosperity, he said, is a reality when the rich and connected pay their share, when health care, retirement security and sick days are available to all people, and when there’s an end to trade deals that treat companies better than people.
“We build this country every single day and it is time for Americans to value the work of all workers in this country.”
After the videos were shown, Gallagher told delegates that what’s happening the U.S. is now happening in Canada.
“A similar thing is happening here, don’t kid yourselves,” he said.
Gallagher noted that Prime Minister Stephen Harper is stacking the Supreme Court and provincial Tory leader Tim Hudak is intent on bringing in right-to-work legislation.
He said unions in Canada have to shed their complacency so Harper and Hudak or whoever else comes in aren’t able to do what’s been done to working families in the U.S.
Also at the meeting, Gallagher told delegates that Local 793 has left the Provincial Building Trades.
He said he recently wrote to Pat Dillon, business manager of the Provincial Building and Construction Trades Council of Ontario, informing him of the decision, and Local 793 business reps have been directed to stop attending building trades meetings in their areas.
Gallagher said there have been too many jurisdictional disputes filed by building trades against Local 793 at the Ontario Labour Relations Board (OLRB) at a time when they should be working together.
When the 10th jurisdictional dispute reached his desk, he said, he decided to take action.
Gallagher said each jurisdictional dispute costs the union anywhere from $20,000 to $30,000 to fight.
He said he didn’t feel it was a good idea to continue working with building trades that are filing jurisdictional disputes against Local 793.
“We’re going to send them a wake-up call,” he said.
Gallagher said he has told Dillon that Local 793 will prepare to rejoin the building trades when the other trades realize the damage they’re doing.
Labour relations manager Ken Lew reported at the meeting that the union is now facing 13 jurisdictional disputes involving six trades.
He said the labour relations department has been gathering information and intends to defend Local 793’s jurisdiction.
The union has done a great job over the last several years at laying the groundwork to win such disputes, he said.

Unions are Facing Threats: Gallagher

Written by Local 793 Staff

Local 793 members need to become better informed and more politically active in order to fend off the right-wing policies being proposed by the provincial and federal Conservatives, business manager Mike Gallagher told a general membership meeting Sept. 22. “We’ve got to get together to weather the storm that’s coming,” he said. “We need to reach out to people, even if they’re not part of a union, to realize the threat facing them.” Gallagher said both Prime Minister Stephen Harper and provincial Conservative Party leader Tim Hudak have got it […]

Local 793 members need to become better informed and more politically active in order to fend off the right-wing policies being proposed by the provincial and federal Conservatives, business manager Mike Gallagher told a general membership meeting Sept. 22.
“We’ve got to get together to weather the storm that’s coming,” he said. “We need to reach out to people, even if they’re not part of a union, to realize the threat facing them.”
Gallagher said both Prime Minister Stephen Harper and provincial Conservative Party leader Tim Hudak have got it wrong in trying to bring in right-to-work (RTW) legislation, and for proof one only has to look to the U.S. to see how such laws have impacted that country.
He said both the federal and provincial Conservatives have a knack of making their anti-union laws sound appealing and a good idea.
However, he said, RTW legislation would mean individuals could opt out of paying union dues and erode the ability of unions like the Operating Engineers to provide good pension and benefit plans.
It is “absolute fiction” that RTW legislation is about helping people, he said, noting they are really laws that have been given to politicians by corporations.
Gallagher said wages have decreased in U.S. states where RTW legislation has been introduced and, given time, it will destroy unions.
If Hudak has his way, Gallagher noted, he will turn Ontario into a RTW province.
“Nothing is more serious than Hudak winning an election,” he said.
He noted that Hudak’s only way of getting support is by attacking unions.
Union officers are trying to make the union better, Gallagher said.
However, he added, “with the stroke of a pen” Hudak could send unions back to the days before the Rand formula was implemented.
He said Canadian locals and members must wake up and fight back against RTW legislation, much like unions have done in the U.S.
He noted that IUOE Local 150 recently overturned RTW legislation in Indiana and locals in Canada should learn from that.
“We have to be as vigilant as the U.S. locals.”
He also called on national union organizations like the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) and national building trades office to step up their efforts to combat RTW legislation.
“We need the CLC and the building trades nationally to wake up and mobilize workers. We have to wake up to the imminent threat that is on our border.”
During the meeting, Gallagher showed a video that was made by the Ontario Public Service Employees Union. The video depicted what’s happening in some U.S. states that have RTW legislation.
Afterwards, Gallagher said there is no case that can be made for RTW legislation.
“We have to make sure that’s not the reality going forward.”

Political Action Strategy Being Developed

Written by Local 793 Staff

The Operating Engineers will be putting together a national political action strategy in time for the next federal election in October 2015. A resolution on the matter was passed at the 55th IUOE Canadian conference recently in Nanaimo, B.C. The resolution had been drafted and proposed by Local 793. The executive board of the IUOE Canadian conference will be working with the IUOE Canadian regional office in Ottawa to develop an effective and properly funded action strategy. The resolution said the federal Conservatives led by Stephen Harper have unfairly targeted […]

The Operating Engineers will be putting together a national political action strategy in time for the next federal election in October 2015.
A resolution on the matter was passed at the 55th IUOE Canadian conference recently in Nanaimo, B.C. The resolution had been drafted and proposed by Local 793.
The executive board of the IUOE Canadian conference will be working with the IUOE Canadian regional office in Ottawa to develop an effective and properly funded action strategy.
The resolution said the federal Conservatives led by Stephen Harper have unfairly targeted trade unions and working families over the last few years and there’s no sign of it subsiding.
The resolution stated that the Conservatives have legislated away workers’ rights in labour disputes at Air Canada, CP Rail and Canada Post, and have implemented changes to EI that will make workers accept jobs at lower wages and travel extensively in order to qualify for benefits. The resolution also stated that the Conservatives have increased the age for collecting Old Age Security to 67 and are working to pass Bills C-377 and C-525.
“Without a co-ordinated strategy to fight back and say clearly that enough is enough, the federal Conservative attack will only continue and likely escalate,” the resolution states.
Local 793 business manager Mike Gallagher had spoken about the need for action in a speech at the conference.
“We have to change the way that we are operating,” he said in his remarks on the final day of the conference. “Our traditions are fine but the ground is moving underneath our feet right now and we’re not getting ahead of all of the challenges that we have coming.”
He said the Operating Engineers, along with other labour unions across Canada, need to step up to the plate and take action because the country is headed in the wrong direction.
“It’s way off on the wrong track and what we’ve done in the labour movement – including ourselves – is we’ve battened down the hatches and we’re trying to hold on to our traditions and we’re not having any kind of success, from what I can see, whatsoever.”
According to the resolution, the Conservatives are likely to continue their attacks on unions.
The resolution states that the only option to ensure that no government is allowed to dismantle all the Operating Engineers and other building trade unions have achieved in terms of improving worker and trade union rights is to develop an effective “fight-back” campaign.

Message from Business Manager Gallagher

Written by Local 793 Staff

This past summer, we conducted our first-ever membership survey, and I would like to thank all members who participated. The results of the survey are important because they give the executive board and myself a better understanding of what our union is doing well, and what improvements we still need to make. The opinions and recommendations from the survey will help the officers and I when we make decisions about our training, pension and benefit plans. There were a number of action items identified in the survey, and I am […]

This past summer, we conducted our first-ever membership survey, and I would like to thank all members who participated.
The results of the survey are important because they give the executive board and myself a better understanding of what our union is doing well, and what improvements we still need to make.
The opinions and recommendations from the survey will help the officers and I when we make decisions about our training, pension and benefit plans.
There were a number of action items identified in the survey, and I am pleased to report that we are already taking steps to address them.
For example, I have hired three new business reps in order to better serve our members. Improving business rep visibility was one of the action items identified in the survey.
We are also in the process of revamping our website so that members will be able to pay dues online, as introducing additional online functionality was another action item identified in the survey.
Members also wanted union apparel available for purchase via an online store so we are adding that capability to the website as well.
Meanwhile, we have introduced an e-newsletter and are building a member email database, something that was also requested by members. I encourage members to register on our website to begin receiving the e-newsletter.
Members also requested more communication on political issues that affect members. As a result, I directed assistant labour relations manager Brian Alexander to attend monthly district meetings around the province to provide an update on anti-union legislation known as Bill C-377.
The results of the survey were discussed at our general membership meeting Sept. 22.

Fraternally yours,
Mike Gallagher
Local 793 Business Manager

Trades Lobby Against Bill C-377

Written by Local 793 Staff

Skilled trades workers from across Canada converged on Ottawa May 15 to meet with Members of Parliament and lobby against Bill C-377. Local 793 was represented at the event by Eastern Ontario area supervisor Rick Kerr, assistant labour relations manager Brian Alexander and business reps Jim Laginski, André Chenier and Jonathan Sprung. IUOE Canadian director Jim Murphy and IUOE Canadian government affairs director Steven Schumann were also in attendance. The meetings were organized by the Canadian division of the AFL-CIO Building and Construction Trades Department (BCTD). The meetings provided an […]

Skilled trades workers from across Canada converged on Ottawa May 15 to meet with Members of Parliament and lobby against Bill C-377. Local 793 was represented at the event by Eastern Ontario area supervisor Rick Kerr, assistant labour relations manager Brian Alexander and business reps Jim Laginski, André Chenier and Jonathan Sprung.
IUOE Canadian director Jim Murphy and IUOE Canadian government affairs director Steven Schumann were also in attendance.
The meetings were organized by the Canadian division of the AFL-CIO Building and Construction Trades Department (BCTD).
The meetings provided an opportunity for the trades to voice their concerns about Bill C-377 directly to their MPs.
Bob Blakely, director of Canadian affairs for the BCTD, said skilled trades workers from Vancouver to St. John’s are worried about the implications of the legislation and its costly negative impacts on major oil sands developments and other large-scale energy projects.
“Our workers rely on their unions to provide necessary benefits and training with the dues that they pay,” he said.
“Our partner contractors – and clients they work for – rely on them to use the skilled manpower we provide in a cost-efficient manner.
“C-377 is going to see that money spent on creating more government bureaucracy. It will slow down Canada’s economic recovery in the construction sector.”
Blakely said Bill C-377 is intended to fix a problem that does not exist and endangers the ability of the building trades to build projects across the country and create jobs.
He said it will create an expanded, expensive and redundant bureaucracy and actually duplicate processes that are already in place to provide accountability and transparency for workers.
A survey conducted by Leger Marketing indicated there is strong opposition to Bill C-377 by members of building trades unions across Canada.
Findings released in March show there is a strong sense of unfairness associated with the Bill, particularly around its focus on unions and their requirements to publicly disclose their financial information.
The building trades say the Bill will duplicate processes that are already in place to provide accountability and transparency and that it will create an expanded, expensive and redundant bureaucracy, resulting in increased compliance costs for unions.
The Bill would require labour organizations in Canada to file detailed, annual financial statements that go into much greater depth than your typical income statement and balance sheet.
Once submitted to the Canada Revenue Agency, the complete financial package would be made public for anyone to view by way of the Internet.
Conservative estimates put the additional administration costs for compliance in the neighbourhood of 20 per cent. This can be attributed to increased labour costs associated with statement tracking and preparation, and will increase the expenses of unions.
Meanwhile, union pension and benefit plan administrators would also be faced with additional administrative costs.
A component of the Bill requires that the union disclose any trust fund transaction or disbursement (i.e. health and welfare payment, pension payment, etc.) to a member in excess of $5,000, accompanied with the name and address of the recipient, and the purpose for the payment.