Jim Kellett Takes the Lead at ECAO 2011 ECAO Industry Conference

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2011 ECAO ANNUAL REPORTPresident’s Report - (continued)Too often these matters end up with yourcustomers, regulators or others with marketpower on the opposite side of the issue andat the table.One area where ECAO could do a betterjob of running interference for the membershipis standard commercial practices. Overthe past five years, ECAO has graduallyexpanded its educational and lobbying rolerelated to our favourite topic of getting paid,but there is a lot more to be done. In recognitionof this, the ECAO board has createda new standard practices committee whoserole will go beyond education and mayinclude interceding on behalf of the membershipon matters related to tendering andcontracts. Some area ECAs already have awell-developed process in place for this, butthere is a need to ensure that the same messageis delivered to clients, their representativesand general contractors throughoutthe province - and that it is delivered by theassociation. This whole issue will be fleshedout in development of the new ECAO strategicplan this spring.As the electrical trade and business evolves,ECAO’s commitment to protecting thescope of the electrical business and maintainingopen and fair access to electricalmarkets becomes increasingly valuable andwell recognized. It is an asset we shouldexploit whenever necessary to allow electricalcontractors to do what they do best -grow the market.The new ECAO strategic plan will bedeveloped in May 2011 with participationof all area directors and labour relations representatives.The new plan will be presentedto the membership at the annual meeting onJune 16.My years on the ECAO executive and,in particular, the past two years as yourpresident have been both challenging andexciting. During my tenure the associationhas faced recession, renewal of the no strikeaccord, collective bargaining, decline of ourindustrial work base and emergence of newmarket opportunities in the commercial andrenewable energy sectors. It has been quite aride, but through it all I have had the privilegeof working with a committed team ofcontractor volunteers and ECAO staff withthe best interests of the industry foremostin mind.On behalf of the members of the board ofdirectors and myself, I wish to sincerelythank all the volunteer members of ourcommittees and our staff for their dedicatedefforts on our behalf. If you have notalready done so, please go to www.ecao.organd check the names and affiliations of ourmany committee volunteers. These peoplework with the support of their companies tohelp improve the working environment forall of us. Likewise our staff who work longhours to operate a very effective associationdedicated to the betterment of its members.Please tell them thanks the next time yousee them.Executive Vice-President’s Report - By Eryl RobertsIn last year’s report we wrote that economicstability might be a thing of the past- a figment of an economist’s dream. Thestrengthening Canadian dollar reinforcesour concern about any real advances in theindustrial sector which has traditionallybeen our strong suit. We are, however, stillbetting that the recovery will be led by thesmall commercial market. Our record in thismarket is not so good, but if that is wherethe work is going to be, there is where wehave to go. In the 2010 round of bargainingwe made it a central issue and found somesuccess with an additional four locals negotiatingmore competitive conditions for thistype of work. Unfortunately, a month oflabour/management brainstorming duringprovincial negotiations does not solve theproblem. We have to keep at it during theterm of the agreement, particularly duringa period when massive infrastructure/stimuluswork is masking the reality of small jobcompetition. Typically it is during periodsof relative good employment on the megajobsthat we get killed on the small work.After the negotiations proper, the ETBAand IBEW-CCO met on several occasionsto deal with solar farm installations. Thesetalks resulted in development of a protocolfor application in each area and dealt withissues such as work assignment, trade jurisdictionand temporary help. Though theseinstallations are impressive man-hour generators,the market will be saturated by theend of the current agreement. The sustainablegrowth will be in the ICI rooftop installations.Our involvement with the IBEW onthis has been directed at confirming solar aspart of the electrical trade and establishingOntario Electrical Contractor26quality standards and training to differentiateour product from the others. Some areaECAs and local unions have begun to considerdifferent employment terms for thiswork, but the market is so new it is hard to
2011 ECAO ANNUAL REPORTExecutive Vice-President’s Report - (continued)find consensus around what is required tobe competitive.Over the term of the current agreementECAO’s labour relations policy will continueto focus on those markets that are going tolead the recovery. One of those markets isutility reconstruction.On the less productive side of the relationshipwith the IBEW is the re-emergenceof the inside/outside jurisdiction debate.In 2010 we experienced the first ever disputeon work for a public utility. Since therestructuring of the electricity system morethan a decade ago, there has been little contractingout by the utilities and they are nowscrambling to catch up with much neededsystem reinforcement. Today the shortageof line workers and the mindboggling workprospects are combining to cause inside/outside friction within the industry, labourand management. Even contractors whonever considered outside work before arenow fully committed to it.To tackle the labour shortage, the Line ContractorsStanding Committee has earmarked50 cents per hour for paying out the hugetraining costs for powerline apprentices. Inaddition, ECAO has committed to press forcompulsory certification of the power linetrade once the College of Trades compulsorycertification tribunal is in place.The ETBA has agreed to move the inside/outside jurisdictional disputes from theLabour Relations Board to a mediation processin the hope that we can reach a bindingand lasting resolution to this problemand get on with doing the job. Failure todo so will cause an influx of competitionfrom Quebec and other jurisdictions outsideOntario where utility policies have nurturedrather than hampered growth of utility contractors.We cannot be left behind.If we have learned anything from our experiencesin 2010, resolution of the inside/outsideissue must be a top labour relationspriority in the coming year.Outside of labour relations, the ECAO hasbeen hyperactive on representing the industryon a number of issues thrown at us bythe government. Advocacy on behalf of theelectrical contracting industry has dominatedactivities in 2010 and early 2011.WSIB and Ontario’s safety system have beenprime issues. The ECAO Human Resources/WSIB Committee participated in both theDean Safety System Review and the ArthursWSIB Funding Review. There is a full storyelsewhere in this edition of the OntarioElectrical Contractor so I won’t go intodetail here. I simply want to thank ChairmanFred Black and advisor Rob Boswell fortheir expert handling of ECAO’s representations…andwhile I am at it to congratulateRob for his Ontario Bar Association Awardfor excellence in WSIB law.In a surprise move, the Ministry of Collegesand Universities opined that the electricaltrade regulations are restricted to electricalwork “inside buildings and structures,”presumably as justification that roof topsolar systems are not electrical work. Theunintended consequences of this officialopinion were immediately recognized bythe ECAO board as untenable. This begana year-long project led by directors JohnSalmon and Fred Black with the legal supportof McCarthy Tétrault to challenge thesweeping implications of the opinion. At thetime of writing this report it appears that anunderstanding of the scope of the electricaltrade has been reached, at least as far as solaris concerned. The need to update the electricaltrade regulation has been highlightedby this fiasco and will become part of theHR committee agenda going forward.2010 also saw the final resolution of longterm,hard fought issues. Chief among themwere the amendments to the ConstructionLien Act regarding industrial construction(the infamous Kennedy Case) and the clarificationof the Distribution Systems Codeto allow energy developers to hire privatecontractors (not utilities) to perform theirconnection work.Ontario Electrical Contractor27As is usually the case, success leads to furtherwork. I have already commented on theutility sector; the payment issue is anothermatter. Kennedy aside, there is a need tofurther improve the Lien Act and ECAOfully supports the Council of OntarioConstruction Associations (COCA) in thiscause. Furthermore, there is a prospect thatOntario may join some American jurisdictionsin creating prompt payment legislation.ECAO is fully engaged in this questalong with COCA and the National TradeContractors Coalition of Canada (NTCCC).While all of these external issues were beingengaged, the regular duties of the associationcontinued apace. The Public RelationsCommittee headed by Jack Gibson maintainedthe high quality of communicationswith the membership through publicationssuch as this and organized one of our bestoffshore conferences ever in Costa Rica.(See the article elsewhere in this edition).Brad Walker’s Member Services Committeeexpanded its value-added offerings tothe membership with the addition of onlineclassified and a new bonding facility forsmall government projects. All of this isavailable to members just by clicking on theECAO website.I know that in this brief synopsis of theyear that was I will have missed somethingimportant, so please take a few minutes toread the balance of this annual report andvisit the ECAO website to get it all.In closing, I want to thank the board of directors,ETBA and all the ECAO committeesfor their tireless work and continued supportand - most importantly - the ECAOmembership for recognizing what we do.
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Jim Kellett Takes the Lead at ECAO 2011 ECAO Industry Conference

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