IUOE News December 2014

We must invest time
and work now to
secure our future
Business Manager
Brian Cochrane,
Business Manager
It is hard to believe that we are already in December and
2014 is quickly coming to a close. It is the time of year to do
a review of the things that we have completed and celebrate
successes.
With the completion of the Burnaby office renovation,
2014 gave us an incredible opportunity to reflect back at the
amazing 83 years of service Local 115 has brought to our
membership, the province of BC and the Yukon.
There are so many members who have contributed their
lives to serving others for the Local Union, improving standards
for our membership in good times and bad; and we owe
them all a debt of gratitude.
Many of the things we take for granted today including
pension plans, training, safety, and benefit
programs, as well as good collective
agreements have developed and evolved
over the decades due to strong leadership
and a committed membership. We have
a lot to be proud of and have good reason
to celebrate these achievements.
Continuing to shape the future for our
members is a never ending set of tasks.
With moving targets and our influence on Government policy
at all levels, it is becoming increasingly important to maintain
and grow our presence.
Meetings in Victoria
Recently I and quite a few members of the leadership of the
BC Building Trades met several Ministers in Victoria, regarding
upcoming major projects and trades training issues.
The highlights of our efforts were meetings with Rich Coleman,
British Columbia’s Deputy Premier and Minister of
Energy and Mines; Shirley Bond, the Minister of Jobs, Tourism
and Skills Training and Minister Responsible for Labour;
and John Rustad, the Minister of Aboriginal Relations and
Reconciliation.
At the time of writing, and as 2014 comes to a close we are
awaiting a few key decisions from both industry and government
that will have a huge impact on Operating Engineers.
Now that the Province has nailed down its tax structure for
LNG development, we are awaiting the Final Investment decision
from PETRONAS to give the green light. This project
along with the potential for Site C Hydroelectric Dam will be
great news for OE’s and all of the Building Trades.
We have been spending much time this year to try and
maximize our opportunities and secure this work under Project
Labour Agreements. Given the projected demand for
skilled workers, and to ensure BC gets the value for our
resources, there is no doubt that this will be the best model for
these projects.
Tumbler Ridge shutdown
With the continued pressure on coal prices, our members at
Peace River Coal in Tumbler Ridge
will soon be looking for work as the
company has elected to shut the
mine down at the end of the year.
This is going to be a tough transition
for the entire community as
the boom from the last few years
comes to an end, for now.
As some of the major projects start
to come on-line, hopefully sooner than later, we will be trying
to place as many members as possible into these projects.
It is very frustrating to know that our Governments both
Provincial and Federal have supported HD Mining to utilize
Temporary Foreign Workers from China as they will soon be
some of the only people left working in Tumbler Ridge!
At the time of writing, and as 2014
comes to a close we are awaiting a
few key decisions from both industry
and government that will have a
huge impact on Operating Engineers.
BC Federation of Labour Convention
As many will have heard, Brother Jim Sinclair has decided not
to run for the President’s position at the BC Federation of
Labour this year. The BC Fed Convention is being held
November 23rd to 28th so by the time you receive this we will
have a new leader for the Federation.
Jim has done a very good job advancing the labour movement
in BC, and has managed to work with us on a number of
issues from Trades training , to LNG development and Temcontinued
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