Local 110 is having the first full bylaws meeting in more than a decade.

The notice of this meeting was sent out weeks ago and all submissions had to be back at the Edmonton union hall by August 21, 2015. Now that all the submission have been reviewed and outlined, they will be presented and voted on at the special called meeting.

The room has been booked for 300 members and I hope to have this room filled. Our bylaws are the obligations we have to each other and they should have as much input from the members as possible.

The meeting is being held:

Sunday September 20, 2015 starting at 9:00 am at the St Albert Inn and Suites 156 St Albert Trail

Local 110 is sad to announce the passing of Brother Vincent Howard Wen, Sr.

Local 110 is sad to announce that Brother Vincent Howard Wen Sr passed away Saturday, September 12, 2015. Brother Vincent has been a long-time Local 110 member since October 10,1972. He last worked with Jacobs Syncrude until November 9,2012.

A memorial service will be held Saturday, September 19 at 2:00 pm at Eastside Memorial Chapel, 5388 Memorial Drive, Calgary. In lieu of flowers donations can be made to the Alberta Children’s Hospital.

Local 110 officers, staff and members extend sincere condolences to all of Brother Vincent’s family and friends.

At the September 12, 2015 General membership meeting a motion was made and passed from the report of the Local 110 Financial Trustees that states.

Motion for the current Business Manager / Financial Secretary to forthwith lapse out of the union any and all members who have failed to pay outstanding union dues and or fines within the time allowed for that they have been given final notice for, except for cases where the Financial Secretary has documented payment arrangements to allow for more time to pay those outstanding union dues; and on a go forward basis send those notices out in a timely way and lapse any other members forthwith when they do not pay their dues / fines within the times prescribed in the International Constitution and Bylaws, the Local 110 Bylaws and in accordance with Local 110 motions passed.

As such lapsing packages are currently being made up for 52 members, some of these members are working and some are not. If you have received a final notice or if you feel that you may be in a position to be lapsed please contact Local 110 union hall at 780 426 2874 to be paid up to current or make payment arrangements with Business Manager Kevin Lecht, so that you will not be lapsed from our local.

The majority of members that have outstanding dues and are working through Local 110 will be having additional dues removed from their cheques by the contractor to bring their accounts current with Local 110. However fines cannot be removed from a member’s cheque as such it is the responsibility of the member to make these payments directly to Local 110.

On July 16, 2015 I was invited to meet with Alberta’s new Energy Minister Honourable Margaret McCuaig-Boyd with other members of the Alberta Energy Alliance.

With this short meeting we were able to promote mechanical insulation and the benefits that properly installed and maintained insulation systems can help industry across the province achieve new building initiatives and save energy.

Out of this meeting came an invitation to speak about mechanical insulation and give a trade perspective at the Buildings and Houses Session as part of the Government of Alberta’s Climate Change Advisory Panel. The focus of this meeting was more geared towards building envelops, increasing the R value for insulation in walls and making buildings better sealed. However I was able to make the point that there is a lot more to energy efficiency then just insulation in walls, and that a clear focus needs to be on mechanical systems and the efficiency of these system and how mechanical insulation properly installed, by training insulators such as the members of Local 110, will increase the overall energy efficiency of the building as much as 30% and the cost is usually recovered in energy savings.

Then on September 9, 2015 I was invited to be a presenter at the Pembina Institute Climate Summit. The main focus of this Summit was industrial projects. The focus of my presentation was that it has been found the optimal insulation for a 10 inch steam line at an operating temperature of 300 degrees celsius is 4 inch thick insulation. However at this time the majority of these installations are completed with 2 inch thick insulation and after 5 years 10 to 15% of mechanical insulation is missing or damaged in most plants. To insure full value of a mechanical insulation system, it has to be installed properly and be diligently maintained by trained and certified insulators.

Our message has been simple:

1. Mechanical insulation can help Alberta industry achieve energy efficiency,
2. Mechanical insulation is a viable for residential, commercial or industrial application,
3. Mechanical insulation needs to be installed properly and maintained by trained and certified trades people,
4. Mechanical insulation performance standards need to be established and include practices, materials and thicknesses,

A huge thanks to our more than generous members who raised over $1000 for the Gordon Lafferty Memorial Football Scholarship Fund through their silent auction bids!! I would especially like to thank Pattie and Terry Kisilevich for their donation of Edmonton Eskimo tickets as part of their Football basket donation to the silent auction. Sabina Lawrence, your dedication to the silent auction was greatly appreciated!!

Over $660 dollars was raised for the Children’s Christmas Party. A special thanks to Sheryl Tompkins for her donations of baked goods and an extra special thank you to Susan Markine and Doreen Spence for their donations of baked goods as well as their time and effort into making this event a success.

Thanks to our Business Agents and Client/Contractor Liaison. Doug Casemore and Kyle Matuk for allowing themselves to be put in the dunk tank and to Doug Johnson for doing the barbecuing.

Dan Annett did a wonderful job entertaining the kids in the Training Centre making colorful pinwheels!

I would especially like to thank Millie Sager and Pat Sullivan for all their efforts in organizing this event as well as all the staff who came out to make this day special. We look forward to doing it again next year!

Commencing September 12, 2015 the Union Hall will be open from 8:00am – Noon on Union Meeting Days. Staff will be on hand to assist with payments, questions concerning dues and pick up of referrals.

Please note: as per Section 6, Article 1,  Dispatch will not be open with the exception of Emergency calls. Only referrals issued Monday through Friday will be available for pick up.

Business Agents will also be available, but for limited appointments only as they will be attending Executive Board meetings. To schedule an appointment with the agent in your area, please contact the Officers’ Administrative Executive, Shannon T, at the Edmonton Union Hall (780) 426-2874 or via email – shannont@insulators110.com

Recently Local 110 completed the first eight week insulator pre trades program. The class started out with fifteen students that had limited to no experience in the trade.

Over the eight week period Local 110 Training Coordinator Dan Annett provided the students with equivalent training as Alberta Insulator Apprentices would receive from Nait or Sait, with additional focus on safety, material installation and Local 110 pride and history. In addition to the in class training and extensive hands on training in Local 110’s shop each student completed H2S alive, OSSA fall arrest, OSSA confined space and monitor, OSSA elevated work platform, OH&S asbestos removal, CSTS 09, standard first aid, and fire stop Level 1. With all the training provided these starter apprentices now have the skills to be productive assets on site and have a positive start to becoming long term members of Local 110.

The plan for this program was to provide the pre apprentices with not only the basic skills required of an apprentice for our trade but to also give them the technical training so that they would be able to challenge and pass the Alberta Industry Training (AIT) first year insulator provincial exam. As of today we have not had any of the pre trades people write the AIT first year exam however with all the students completing our final exam with marks above 80% they should have no problem advancing their apprenticeships.

At the end of training Local 110 was able to graduate thirteen students and provide them with apprenticeships and jobs with our signatory contractors.

The top pre apprentice for this intake was Cameron Stav, for his accomplishment Local 110 PITT fund provided him with a full set of tools as per the Insulator Provincial Collective Agreement.Thank you to Doug Johnson Edmonton BA/PITT Fund trustee for taking the time to pick out and purchase tools for not just a job but a career.

With the success of this first pre trades class Local 110 will be continuing the program. Our next class will be starting mid-September 2015. If interested please contact Training Coordinator Dan Annett or Client and Contractor Liaison Kyle Matuk at the Edmonton union office.

Local 110 has been notified that Brother Daniel Walker passed away Friday, August 14, 2015.

There will be a memorial service on Friday, August 21, 2015 at 2:00 pm at Serenity Funeral Home, 10129 Princess Elizabeth Avenue NW, Edmonton