May 5, 2020

Good day Union Family

I have been contacted by the International Office regarding our Members Military Service. The International would like to recognize and honour those Members who have or who are currently serving in the Canadian or American Military. To properly complete this they have tasked the Local Unions to update the Membership information for the applicable Members with the branch of the Military they have or are currently serving.

To help complete our task I am asking any members of Local 110 that have or are currently serving in the Canadian or American Military to email dispatch@insulators110.com. Please include your legal name, membership number, the branch of the Military, and for which Country. This program is for all members in good standing including deceased Members, so if you know of a deceased member who completed Military service please contact their family to have the information provided to the Local.

This will obviously take a significant amount of time for our Locals Officers and Staff to update these records in time for the Internationals cut off, to that end I ask that this information be provided to the Local no later than July 4, 2020. If there are any questions, please contact me at the Edmonton Union hall at (780) 426-2874.

In solidarity

Kevin Lecht                                                                        

Business Manager

International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers, Local 110

The Officers and Staff are saddened to report the passing of Member Vladimir Gutman April 29, 2020. Vlad has been a Member of Local 110 since 1994 and his last project worked on was Fuller Austin at Suncor base plant in 2016.

A service is being held at St James RC Church in Vernon on Tuesday, May 5^th and interment to follow later in Fort Saskatchewan.  In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Vernon Jubilee Hospital, B.C.
Local 110 Members, Staff and Officers extend our deepest condolences to Vlad’s family and friends.

April 27, 2020

Dear Union Family

Tomorrow April 28, 2020 is the National Day of Mourning for workers killed, injured or suffered due to illness from workplace hazards or occupational exposures. This is a time to remember those workers who have passed due to their chosen profession and offer comfort to the families that are still grieving.

This year over one-hundred workers have died due to workplace injury or illness throughout Alberta. Unfortunately, some of our own members passed away this year due to complications from illnesses caused by the materials we work with. Hundreds more are battling daily with the long-term health issues caused by working in the Mechanical Insulation Trade. We owe it to these members to do better for the people working in the trade now. Ensuring that yourself and those around you utilize proper Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is a small step but a good start.

This year’s theme is “Stop the Pandemic at Work”. With hundreds of Local 110 members still working and deemed “essential” though construction and maintenance, we must be vigilant in adhering to the new processes that are in place on the job to help reduce the spread of COVID 19. We must also ensure that the rest of our members that are currently not being deemed essential stay home and follow the social distancing requirements. This is the only way COVID transmission will be slowed and, in the end, allow all of us to get back to our normal lives.

At 11 AM Tuesday April 28, 2020 please take a moment of silence to mark this event. Although the usual memorial events will not be attended, there are plans for virtual memorials across social media, using #WorkersDayofMourning and #StopthePandemicAtWork. Individuals are asked to light a candle in their home and post the picture to social media, or if you are working post a picture of yourself in protective equipment or some of the workplace controls that have been put in place. Workers must continue to bring visibility to the importance of the National Day of Mourning, especially in times like these.

Always remember as workers we have the Right to Know, the Right to Participate and the Right to Refuse Unsafe Work. Exercise your rights, to help protect yourself from becoming next year’s statistic.

In solidarity

Kevin Lecht 

Dear Union Family

It is clear to everyone that our world has been changing in ways that no one could have predicted even a few short months ago. Anyone that watches the news knows that COVID has practically ground our economy to a halt, but on top of that the price of oil is hitting our Province hard and the impact of the price of oil will carry on with us long after the COVID restrictions have been lifted.

Yesterday, I was involved with a phone meeting with the General Presidents Maintenance Committee (GPMC). This is the group of International Representatives that bargain and sign the General Presidents Maintenance Agreement (GPMA) and National Maintenance Agreement (NMA) for most Trade Unions in Alberta. This meeting was about the requests from a number of Clients throughout the Province asking for cost savings to be provided by Contractors involved in maintenance work on their projects. To go along with the inhouse employee and wage reductions that are taking place.

It was echoed by all of the Alberta Business Managers on the call that a reduction in wages will result in further issues with supplying trades people for ongoing maintenance and turnarounds. I believe that the Clients and Contractors already understand this and would prefer to hold the wage as much as possible, but in the end that leaves few and somewhat complicated options to provide cost savings to Clients. I am sure that in the coming weeks we will see something from the GPMC to address the concerns from Clients, because this is not an issue that can be put on hold or ignored.

These requests from Clients have also produced pressure from nonunion and alternative Unions. CLAC, from what I understand, has taken an unprecedented leap forward in membership representation by having an impacted membership vote, on a 5% total package wage reduction for all long-term maintenance work across Alberta. Although this was an online vote and I do not know the number of CLAC members that participated, I have been told that the 5% reduction was ratified and will be coming off of their members cheques shortly. This obviously provides more pressure in the ongoing race to the bottom happening though out Alberta’s skilled trades industry, and further devalues the contribution of Trades People as an essential workforce in Alberta.

As Local 110 is provided with more information I will continue to pass it on through our Facebook pages, Blast emails and Business Manager Updates on our website.

In Solidarity

Kevin Lecht                                                    

Business Manager

International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers, Local 110

April 16, 2020

Dear Union Family

As the COVID Pandemic continues there has been more and more calls from Members regarding financial support from the Local. Unfortunately, Local 110 is not in the financial position to be able to take on a cost such as this, nor do we have a designated fund to provide support to Members during this crisis.

Since 2015, I have taken steps to reduce the costs for operating the Local. This has included such changes as reduction of the number of staff, changes to staff overtime, changes to service providers, changes in work scope, changes to the operation of the Training Trust Fund, changes to the payouts from the PITT Fund, and having a yearly budget. These changes have resulted in taking us from spending into deficits during years with high employment, to being able to put close to a million dollars each year into savings. However, 2019 was the exception, with a sharp drop in hours worked by the membership Local 110 had to utilize some of our reserve funds to cover operating costs. Although the audited financials for 2019 have not yet been completed, it is clear by our monthly financial reports that our Local was significantly below the estimated revenue, but still had the same fixed costs.

Now with the COVID Pandemic causing shutdowns to be postponed or cancelled, maintenance crews being reduced to essential staff only and construction being reduced or put on hold. Our members and our Local are facing an unexpected financial crunch that will be devastating for our organization.

Currently, Local 110 has just under 1800 dues paying members, with about 300 currently working. Our weekly working dues is $35 with 25 cents per hour field dues, however with everyone on odd shifts and reduced hours most people are not working 40 hours per week, so for this calculation we won’t use the 25 cents per hour field dues. Our weekly nonworking dues is $5. Reasonably Local 110 can estimate a total revenue of about $72,000 for the month of April. The current per capita to our International is $14 per month with an additional 1/2% of each member’s hourly wage for each hour worked, again with odd hours and rates for Apprentice and Journeyman being different we won’t add in the 1/2%, or the additional hourly contributions to different International funds. So, our base per capita to our International will be about $25,200. In the end our total operating capital for April will be about $46,800 if every member pays their individual dues in a timely manner. Out of this Local 110 still has to pay per capita to the Building Trades of Alberta, building utility costs, taxes, equipment maintenance, computer system costs, staff and officers wages and benefits, and other operating costs. I have used the International per capita to help highlight a recurring monthly cost, and how current revenue will require the Local to dangerously deplete our reserve funds. To this end our Local will be making more changes to our operation in the coming weeks to help us get through these turbulent times.

No one really knows when the restrictions from COVID will be fully lifted, and this is just one issue Alberta needs to get over to get people back to work. I would like to say we will soon be back to normal, but I am not sure what normal will look like in the near future. I will say that there are thousands of manhours of shutdown work still required across Alberta and it is not a question of “if” we will all be working again it is a question of “when”.

In Solidarity

Kevin Lecht                                                    

Business Manager

Hello Union Family

Due to the high number of calls regarding Records of Employment (ROE) due to COVID I will try to answer the more common ones, but if you still have questions please contact me at the Edmonton Union Hall at (780) 426-2874.

Service Canada issued a notice to Employers regarding Box 16 reason for separation;

• When employee sick or quarantined – Code D illness or injury – do not include comments
• When employee stops working due to shortage of work or shutdown due to Covid-19 Code A – Shortage of work – do not include comments
• When employee is not sick or quarantined but not working due to other Coronavirus related reasons – Code E (Quit) or Code N (Leave of Absence) do not include comments

The reason that comments are not to be entered is because comments trigger a review by a service agent and will hold up the process of receiving benefits. Once you are submitting your claim the program will prompt you if the layoff was due to COVID 19. This is where you get to self-report that your layoff was due to COVID 19.

The Government of Canada has stated that the COVID benefits will not use up regular Employment Insurance weeks. However, they have not provided notice on how this will work or what information will need to be supplied but for now getting benefits started is the focus and the rest will be worked out as they go along.

There has also been a number of problems with Members being issued ROE’s that have incorrect start or end dates. If this has happened to you, please contact the contractor and the Local as soon as possible. The Government is holding up a number of claims to do the individuals information not being the same as on the ROE, or ROE’s being changed after they have been filed. So, it is best to have this rectified as soon as possible to reduce wait times for benefits.

Thank you

Kevin Lecht

Good afternoon Union Family Members,

Please be informed that there NO Local Executive Board or Local General Membership Meeting tomorrow as these meetings have been suspended, by the International General Executive Board until such time as the COVID-19 virus national emergency quarantine and isolation recommendations are lifted. 

Stay Safe

In solidarity,

Brother Kevin Lecht

COVID19 Federal Support for Workers – Heat and Frost Insulators 25.03.20

The General Executive Board is placing a suspension on all Local Union Meetings until such time as the COVID-19 virus national emergency quarantine and isolation recommendations are lifted.
Read more from the General Executive Board here: insulators.org/covid-19

Good day

The International has complied a list of Canadian Government Relief Programs.

Please follow the link below.

Thank you

https://www.insulators.org/blog/canadian-federal-programs-amidst-covid-19