IUOE News September 2014

District Four
Up in smoke: lots of
fire and lots of foreign
bother
Herb Conat and Wayne Kemp,
Business Representatives
Conat
The summer of 2014 will be remembered as one that had a
convergence of smoke throughout the northern part of the
province due to large scale forest fires and also the smoky,
choking, hard-to-swallow annoyance from out-of-country
companies being given free reign over jobs in our province.
US companies have taken full advantage of bringing entire
work forces to Canada through the NAFTA Agreement.
Also known as the North American Free Trade Agreement,
NAFTA was designed to help companies bring Chief Financial
Officers, Managers, and more to work here and not utilize
people who carry lunch boxes. The conservative federal
government has made changes to the Labour Market Opinion
Statistics program (LMO) in an attempt to protect Canadian
jobs but they have fallen short. They have have failed Canadian
workers again by allowing companies to use the
intercompany transfers through NAFTA.
It is fitting that once again Local 115 has jumped into the
fire with both feet to help protect the rights of operating engineers
and Canadian jobs.
Kemp
Municipal elections are coming up this fall giving us an
opportunity to vote for candidates who look after the rights of
workers and their families. The labour councils are actively
screening candidates who are looking for labour backing to
ensure they will support working families, fair wages and
progressive values. Local 115 urges every member to get out
and exercise their right to vote for the candidate that will help
provide for all, not just the friends of big businesses.
District 4’s new office is located in the 8th Avenue Mall in
Prince George. The office has been up and running for the
past several months. Stop by and check in with us. This will
give you the opportunity to confirm your tickets are current
and up to date in our new dispatch system.
In closing, we would like to thank the stewards and safety
reps for their time and dedication to support their fellow
brothers and sisters in the workplace. With your efforts, it
makes our work safer and respectable.
Work safe.
Conex at Juniper Ridge in Kamloops.
14 News September 2014