IUOE News December 2014

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District One Canada must get out in the lead in the production of LNG Everett Cummings, Business Representative By the time you read this article, the Delta Tilbury LNG storage facility project should be started. This is a $350 million dollar project for Fortis; the General Contractor is Bantrel Construction, with DL Baker being a sub-contractor for building the storage tank. This project will mean over 2 years of work close to home. There is also a possibility that Fortis may even do an expansion prior to the job being completed, almost doubling the size of the project. The new facility will be mainly for loading trucks, but when this project first came out, they talked about using it for residential homes at peak times, and even water tanker loading off the Fraser River. This may still come into play on the second phase of the expansion. British Columbia needs to get behind LNG plants for selling off shore; these create good paying jobs, support communities and help train apprentices for the future. There are many trades that are needed now and into the future, and British Columbia needs to get behind LNG plants for selling off shore. These create good paying jobs and support communities if we don’t get jobs to train on, we will have TFW coming in while Canadians sit at home. I was reading some stats that are surprising: they say that 40% of the world does not have modern energy (that also includes oil), and that in the next 30 years it will increase to 56% with the world’s growth. Even with technological changes using energy from wind, solar and dams, oil will remain the biggest provider of energy at 85%. It’s important to get LNG running before other countries start providing this valuable source of energy. With BC selling LNG around the world, it will only help in changing the stats mentioned above into using modern and cleaner energy alongside oil. With the Road Building construction slowing down for the winter in the Utility and Paving industries, the membership has to help your Brothers and Sisters. You need to check union cards of people you don’t know or that show up on the job sites. There are people in seats out there that should not be on a machine. You can’t have the attitude “I am okay, I am working”. You could be next on the dispatch list to go out, but then someone is sitting in your seat! It is up to everyone as members to have all of our membership in mind when protecting our jobs. It could be a bit of a slower year in 2015 with some of the big projects being wrapped up such as the major paving jobs and the completion of several overpasses. I would like to take this time to wish you and your families a Merry Christmas, and a prosperous and safe New Year. Work Safe! IDL Projects 870 Hitachi working in the North. 4 News December 2014
We need to organize, and identify unfair and shady practices Don Swerdan, Business Representative What a year! Even as this year comes to a close, there remains a number of sets of negotiations that continue. B.F.I. Island During this set of negotiations, I have been assisting Brothers Curtis Harold, Bob McLean, Steve Lawson, Wade Foster and Trevor Smith. The crew recently rejected the Employer’s last proposal and Brother Harold has been in contact with the Company and is in the process of setting up meetings to resume negotiations. The issues remaining are primarily monetary and the Company has identified their biggest hurdle as being that of the competition. “The playing field is not level and the competition continues to eat our lunch” the Company has stated on more than one occasion. We as members know these non-union players in this area and we need to get out there and organize these Companies, get these deserving employees under a Collective Agreement and bring their working conditions and safety standards to where they should be. This will only happen with the help of our membership and their commitment to constant and continued communication with these people. All this being stated, we will be meeting with the Company soon and there is no doubt that we will be having a ratification vote in the very near future. These “fly by nighters” are decimating this industry by quoting substantially reduced pricing and providing inferior service. Hiway Refrigeration These negotiations have just started and the Company has come out of the gate with dialogue on the competition and how they are undercutting and “bastardizing” the industry. There are “Companies” (one and two man operations) that are essentially working out of their vehicles, motel rooms and in one case out of a shipping container in the Lower Mainland! As you probably figured out, quite a number of these “fly by nighters” are neither from here nor do they have any roots here. These “fly by nighters” are decimating this industry by quoting substantially reduced pricing and providing inferior service. They‘ll only remain in B.C. long enough to pull whatever money that they can out of our economy and leave at a District One moment’s notice, leaving the industry and our accredited service providers to repair the carnage and damage caused (no pun intended). Again, as with B.F.I., we as members have a responsibility to find and identify these “companies” and their employees. We cannot relent in this pursuit. Rempel Bros. Concrete We have just commenced bargaining and the Parties have exchanged their respective proposals. The crew’s expectations are that there will be a “leveling of the playing field” but, in this case, to their advantage. When looking at the industry and Lehigh’s other operations, it is clear that the crew is absolutely correct that their wage package is less than a number of others. Even though the negotiating committee has not heard this from the Company, yet, there are a number of non-union haulers in the Valley that are wreaking havoc with the pricing in the Industry. Again, not to sound like a broken record, we need to organize these haulers with the help of our membership to ensure we continue to make the gains our members deserve. Negotiation dates have been set for November and December 2014. Urban Wood Waste Negotiations have concluded and we were successful in ratifying a first Collective Agreement for these soon-to-be members. Welcome to the 60 new members employed by Urban! Special thanks go out to Urban Shop Stewards Steve Farrell and Ted Thomas as they proved to be an invaluable resource during the course of collective bargaining. In closing, I want to wish all members and their families a safe and happy Holiday Season and Happy New Year. Jack Cewe Crew, paving Kingsway and Coast Meridian in Port Coquitlam. L to R - Angie Herod, Frank Zecca, Sergio Gallina, Darren Hudson, Amadeus Bevlivaqua, Matt Scardillo, Leo “Paqualle” Baldinero. Bottom - Cyrus Salehi News December 2014 5
Page 1 and 2: News SHAPING THE FUTURE Securing fu
Page 3 and 4: We must invest time and work now to
Page 5: They told the crowd how they wanted
Page 9 and 10: Offering support to our Tumbler Rid
Page 11 and 12: Sledgehammers and security guards s
Page 13 and 14: Are you Ready to Lead, Ready to Fol
Page 15 and 16: District Two Brothers Steele Gorosh
Page 17 and 18: Hoping for some big projects to bec
Page 19 and 20: If you have questions, make sure yo
Page 21 and 22: Courses starting up for another yea
Page 23 and 24: Training Association Report Mobile
Page 25 and 26: Training Association Report Mobile
Page 27 and 28: fracking process needed to remove n
Page 29 and 30: Membership Service Awards August 20
Page 31 and 32: Member Service Awards OUR 50-YEAR M
Page 41 and 42: Member Recognition Member Service A
Page 43 and 44: Contact Details Local 115 District

IUOE News December 2014

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