Members Honoured at Long-Service Awards

Written by Local 793 Staff

Local 793 has grown over the years into a strong and formidable union because of the dedication of its members, business manager Mike Gallagher said at a long-service awards ceremony held Dec. 3 in the banquet hall at head office in Oakville. “You built this organization, you fought for the union, you supported the union, […]

Local 793 has grown over the years into a strong and formidable union because of the dedication of its members, business manager Mike Gallagher said at a long-service awards ceremony held Dec. 3 in the banquet hall at head office in Oakville.

“You built this organization, you fought for the union, you supported the union, and you decided to work safe and raise standards and you in here are the reason that we are great.

“Thank you for the skills that you bring every single day to the job and enhancing the reputation of this organization, and helping us raise the profile and get stronger still.”

More than 300 long-service operators and family members attended the two-hour long ceremony. Awards were given out for 65, 60, 55, 50, 40 and 30 years of service.

Gallagher said the long-service members are the “iron core” of the organization.

He noted the road to the present day hasn’t been easy, and members fought many battles to ensure they got good collective agreements that didn’t have any rollbacks.

Over the years, he said, members also made sure they didn’t allow governments to undermine everything they’d accomplished.

“We’ve been very, very successful and I’m very grateful for that. And we did it because we’re united.”

Gallagher said the union wants to ensure it looks after all members and their families and make sure they have strong pensions and good benefits.

“We’re always looking for ways to improve the benefit plan for all members so we can be leaders of all the trades which we have been and will continue to be.”

Gallagher said he was happy to be able to tell members that the pension plan is now at $2.4 billion

“It’s very, very strong and it’s having a good year. It’s a big priority to make sure that when you retire you have a good pension and can enjoy your grandchildren and you can enjoy your time traveling.”

Gallagher noted that Joe Kennedy, former business manager of the union, was receiving his 65-year award.

He said Kennedy “took a gamble on a young rookie” and hired him as a business rep in 1987.

“It was one of the best days of my life, other than my children being born and marrying my wife,” said Gallagher. “I had the opportunity to come to work for such a great organization. I’ve never taken that for granted.”

Gallagher said that Kennedy was responsible for getting the pension and benefit plans under way at Local 793.

“Joe was responsible, as a leader at that time, for convincing members that these were important things and fighting for them and putting them in place. I think that Joe really deserves a lot of credit for the great leadership that he showed for this organization back when he was business manager.”

Kennedy was business manager for 18 years. He was first elected in 1974 and held the post until his retirement in 1992. He was elected five consecutive times.

Gallagher said it was because of Kennedy that he was given the opportunity to serve members.

“That happened because Joe took a risk on a young guy and allowed me to come in and see what I could do.”

More than 400 long-service members were eligible for awards.

Winners of the Douglas H. Campbell Awards were:

  • Matthew Schep of Aurora – top tower crane apprentice
  • Kevin Merrifield – top mobile crane apprentice

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 […]

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.”