Monday, June 9th,2014

Update on last Fridays' activity here at the Union hall, earlier we learned that Red Deer College was looking for instructors to teach a ten week course for temporary foreign workers where at the end of the course they would be able to take a " Qualification Certificate Program" exam for which the  temporary foreign worker needs to show that they have 6827 hours experience in the last 54 months and pay $475.00. If they successfully passed the exam they would be issued a certificate equivalent as a journeyman Insulator after checking with some other unions this program is available for other trades as well, we discussed our options with the International and decided that the best approach was to inquiry why this program is not available to Albertan's and Canadians with the same or better qualifications. A CBC reporter contacted us on this story and was here Friday to do a short interview and get our side of the issue, we will continue to look into this concern and see what options we have to turn this into something beneficial.

Friday, June 6th, 2014

Here are the applicants for Union membership for the June 14th meeting. They are tentative until voted on by the membership in attendance at the June 14th meeting. Hope to see you there.

Gizzie Arku 1st Year Tentatively Accepted Alex Daskaluk JM Transfer Local 95 Tentatively Accepted Denis Robichaud JM Transfer Local 58 Tentatively Accepted Leslie Labine JM Tentatively Accepted Sean Aitken 1st Year Tentatively Accepted Dmitry Zubretsov 3rd Year Tentatively Accepted Eric J Freel JM Transfer Local 97  Tentatively Accepted Shawn Vanslyke JM Transfer Local 95 Tentatively Accepted Jason Bressette JM Transfer Local 95 Tentatively Accepted Justin London JM Transfer Local 131 Tentatively Accepted Craig Brown 1st Year Tentatively Accepted Jeffery Bassett 1st Year Tentatively Accepted Fowsi Yusuf 1st Year Tentatively Accepted

Mitchell Doiron 1st Year Tentatively Accepted Jeff Maude JM Transfer Local 95 Tentatively rejected Ken Yuzyk JM – previous member Tentatively Accepted Cody Lima 1st Year Tentatively rejected Lana Francis 1st Year Tentatively Accepted Salem Archivald Ali 1st Year Tentatively Accepted

 

Friday May 23rd 2014

 Western International Vice President Vince Engel and I spent Tuesday, May 20th meeting with individuals in Calgary to see if we could convince them to let us do an Energy audit on an existing high-rise, this would entail our expert going in and detailing all the missing insulation, breached firestopping and insulation that was no longer efficient. We would then present them with a detailed report on the cost to replace the insulation as well as how much energy in gigajoules was being wasted and the amount of Co2 gases in tons that are being released into the atmosphere as well as the actual savings they would have, as well the time frame for them to recoup their original investment. Overall, the meetings went very well with good opportunities to promote mechanical insulation and build relationships with government and industry leaders.  The meeting  Craig Watt, Executive  Director, Premier’s Southern Alberta Office was very positive, and we were impressed with Mr. Watt’s knowledge about energy, and he had good questions after the power point/deck presentation.  Watt will facilitate additional meetings with the Alberta Energy and Infrastructure ministers, and the current manpower shortages in Alberta provided a good opportunity for us to describe the importance of apprenticeship training to provide the necessary experience for apprentices to become journeymen.  Watt also suggested that we consider having a full-time marketing/development professional expand our communications efforts.The meeting with Param Sekhon, Director, South Region Infrastructure, and Infrastructure Alberta was also positive, as Mr. Sekhon is responsible for the new builds in Alberta.  He was also impressed with our presentation and was also encouraging the use of energy audits to promote our energy efficiency work.    The meeting with Lloyd Suchet, Director of Government and Regulatory Affairs, BOMA (Building Owners Managers Association of Calgary) went well, as we was very well prepared for the meeting, and while he did not have any specific recommendations, he did state that he would share our interest in performing energy audits with his BOMA committee members.  The last meeting with Tom Dixon, Business and Trade Development Sector, Calgary Economic Development was not positive as Mr. Dixon was distracted and not focused on our presentation.    

Yesterday May 22nd the Business Managers for the various 22 unions met for our monthly Building Trades of Alberta Executive Board Meeting in Red Deer alot of members are frustrated by some of the schedules and agreements that the Building Trades approves, I will let you know that a motion to approve a schedule or agreement is needed and then a seconder followed by discussion on the pros and cons of approving such a schedule or agreement, after everyone has had their say it goes to a vote and the majority rules whether to approve or deny. In todays enviroment with us competing for work against CLAC, Merit and the open shops the Building Trades agrees in is better to get us onto sites previously closed to the unions and increase our market share and then show them the advantages of using our skilled workers. We met for the entire day and discussed numerous issues including RSAP and hopefully I will have some good news to report in the near future.

Monday May 12th, 2014

Here are the results of the applications for union membership!

 

Glenn Harder – 1st year permit, 384 hours, still employed,  Accepted

Rodney K. Lewis – JM permit, previous member, 10,312 hours, Still employed,  Accepted

Michel Viau – Transfer, JM Local 58, 290 hours, still employed,  Accepted

Dennis S. Robert – 1st year permit, 1875 hours, previously accepted,  Accepted

Sean Keable – Transfer, JM Local 95, 7150 hours, still employed, Rejected

Donald J. Epp – Transfer, JM Local 95, 2110 hours, no missed time,  Accepted

James McFadyen – Transfer, JM Local 95, 1969 hours, still employed, Rejected

David Rondeau – Transfer, JM Local 95, 6978 hours, still employed,  Accepted

Lawrence Wehyee – 3rd year permit, 5838 hours, still employed,  Accepted

Kyla Hawco – 1st year permit, 349 hours, no missed time,  Accepted

Jessica Kacklin – 1st year permit, 681 hours, still employed,  Accepted

Pierre Maguet – 2nd year permit, 2,167 hours,,  Accepted

Dylan Worsell – 1st year permit, 517 hours, still employed, Accepted

Kofi Boakye- Yiadom – 1st year permit, 618 hours, still employed, Accepted

Denis Robichaud – Transfer, JM Local 58, 5,852 hours, still employed,  Accepted

Timothy Bailey – Journeyman C, 620 hours, Held over until June meeting

Grizzie Arku – 1st year permit,  Held over till June meeting 

Gordon Wolfe – 3rd year permit, 1,326 hours,still employed, tentatively accepted

Vicent Wishmwn – Journeyman, 2435 hours,still employed, tentatively accepted

Darrel Stock – Journeyman, previous member, 20,989 hours, previous member, tentatively accepted

Bradley Lewis – Transfer Local 95, 577 hours, still employed, tentatively accepted

Congratulations to all our new members, please contact the Union hall ASAP to make final arrangements.

 

Continue reading “BM Update Friday May 23rd, 2014” →

Thursday, March 20th, 2014

Good morning, there has been some confusion about how Joffre NMA calls work, so just to clarify:

NMA Article 19.303 states the Union will undertake to dispatch qualified persons for employment in the following sequence, (i) qualified union members who are local residents; (ii) qualified union members residing outside of the local area.

As confirmed by the GPMCC/NMCC, this means the company is obligated to hire or name hire (in accordance with the proper percentages) from the pool of qualified members who are deemed to be local residents. If that pool of workers was exhausted, they (the company) would be able to hire or name hire (in accordance with the proper percentages) from those union members residing outside of the local area. 

A local resident is a person who has resided within one hundred (100) radius kilometers of the project for at least six (6) months immediately preceding the date of hire and the person's residence is the place where the person permanently maintains a self-contained domestic establishment in which s/he resides; original documents (not photo copies) are required for proof of residence and will be verified by the employer, copied and returned; two (2) of the following are acceptable: income tax assessment; property tax assessment; EI; utilities receipt. All of this is detailed in Article 19.300 of the NMA and all of it was included for competitive as well as practical reasons when the agreement was established in 1994/1995.

I hope this clears up the questions you might have had about this.

Wade Logan
Business Manager
 

Monday, March 10th, 2014

Good Morning at the Saturday General Membership meeting we had over 100 members in attendance great to see such a great turn out and they voted to put the upcoming May Increase of 75 cents into the following two funds, 44 cents will go into the Pension fund and 31 cents will also go into the Health and Welfare plan as well here are the results for the applicantations for membership as voted on by the membership.

Doug Kanto –                          JM – Previous member, 11,623 hrs. –  Accepted

Amanda Tipton –                     1st Year Permit, 1889 hrs. –  Accepted

Edwin Perdomo –                    1st Year Permit, 2,357 hrs. –  Accepted

Megan MacQuarrie-                1st Year Permit, over  400 hrs. –  Accepted

Devin La –                              1st Year Permit, 442 hrs. –  Accepted

Dean Ziegler –                         2nd Year Permit, 6,787 hrs. –  Accepted

Rickey E Smith –                    JM Transfer – Local 95, 7,559 hrs. –  Accepted

Joe Calladine –                      JM Transfer – Local 95, 4,834.9 hrs. –  Accepted

Evan Dahms –                         Journeyman, Organized –  Accepted

Victor Lair –                             JM Transfer – Local 95, 5,947 hrs. –  Accepted ,

David Mitchell –                        JM – previous member, 6,517 hrs. –  Accepted

Nevada Webb Cunnington –       Firestopper, Organized,  Accepted

Jason Cunnington –                  Firestopper, Organized, –  Accepted

Ilia Koltsov –                             Firestopper, Organized –  Accepted

Steve Richardson –                  JM Transfer – Local 131, 6,554 hrs. –  Accepted

Bruce Cartier –                        1st Year Permit, Organized,  Accepted

Jacques Bourget –                   JM Transfer – Local 58, 3,139 hrs. –  Rejected

Please contact the Union hall to complete paperwork and pay initiation cost for the successful applicants, and Congratulations!!!

Also at this meeting our membership voted to split the May wage increase of 75 cents by putting 44 cents into the Pension Plan and the remaining 31 cents into the Health and Welfare Plan.

Tuesday, March 4th,2014

I have been getting a few phone calls concerned about seeing advertisements for Insulators on job banks posting and other media by our contractors and I just want to let our members know that due to the number of Insulators that are anticipated for the upcoming work our contractors are getting ready to apply for a Labor Market Opinion (LMO) from the Federal government. Part of the process for them to be approved for an LMO is to prove they have advertised for Canadian workers and then report back the number of individuals that responded back to their ad. An additional step is they must have a letter from the Union confirming that they too believe there will be a shortage of Qualified Canadian workers, if the government is convinced there will be a labor shortage then an LMO is granted to the contractor and when the shortage arrives they can begin bringing in TFW's. There is more to the process than what I have outlined but if you have any questions please give me a call.

 

Monday, March 3rd, 2014

Temporary Foreign Workers

 

This morning I attended the TFW rally at the Legislature and I applaud the members of the various unions who braved the weather to try to institute a change to the TFW process. While I too think the process is flawed and needs to be amended, I believe that the Building Trades of Alberta, The Alberta Federation of Labor and perhaps the AUPE need to be involved to come up with one agenda that all their members can promote.

In my opinion the TFW’s are a Band-Aid solution to our labor shortage in Alberta and the real solution would be to promote and train the young men and women here in Alberta. This would necessitate a change by the government to have a clear set percentage of 1st year apprentices required on all Alberta projects and to police that it is being met.

The second criteria would be complete transparency and would follow the Sunshine program outlined in the AFL whicht is proposing an online searchable database listing all employers holding work permits in the program. This would mean the database would also include Labour Market Opinions, Accelerated Labour Market Opinions, and employers using the Alberta Pilot Project or any similar project in other provinces.

It would also include the number of workers, job classifications and wages being paid to the workers, as well as the worksites where the workers are employed, bottom line needs to be if you are qualified to work here you should be paid the prevailing wage. One last point I would like to make is I do not classify our brothers and sister to the south as TFW’s as they are part of our International have similar apprenticeship and our dispatched out of our hall here in Alberta.

 

Saturday, March 1st, 2014

Here are the applicants for Union membership fpr the March 8th meeting they are tentative until voted on by the membership in attendence at the March 8th meeting, hope to see you there.

 Sands Hotel (Flamenco Banquet Room) ** Vote on allocation of the May 2014 wage increase, and on delegates for the 2014 Canadian Conference

Doug Kanto –                          JM – Previous member, 11,623 hrs. – Tentatively Accepted

Amanda Tipton –                     1st Year Permit, 1889 hrs. – Tentatively Accepted

Edwin Perdomo –                    1st Year Permit, 2,357 hrs. – Tentatively Accepted

Megan MacQuarrie-                1st Year Permit, over  400 hrs. – Tentatively Accepted

Devin La –                              1st Year Permit, 442 hrs. – Tentatively Accepted

Dean Ziegler –                         2nd Year Permit, 6,787 hrs. – Tentatively Accepted

Rickey E Smith –                    JM Transfer – Local 95, 7,559 hrs. – Tentatively Accepted

Joe Calladine –                      JM Transfer – Local 95, 4,834.9 hrs. – Tentatively Accepted

Evan Dahms –                         Journeyman, Organized – Tentatively Accepted

Victor Lair –                             JM Transfer – Local 95, 5,947 hrs. – Tentatively Accepted Organized,

David Mitchell –                        JM – previous member, 6,517 hrs. – Tentatively Accepted

Nevada Webb Cunnington –       Firestopper, Organized, Tentatively Accepted

Jason Cunnington –                  Firestopper, Organized, – Tentatively Accepted

Ilia Koltsov –                             Firestopper, Organized – Tentatively Accepted

Steve Richardson –                  JM Transfer – Local 131, 6,554 hrs. – Tentatively Accepted

Bruce Cartier –                        1st Year Permit, Organized, Tentatively Accepted

Jacques Bourget –                   JM Transfer – Local 58, 3,139 hrs. – Tentatively Rejected

 

 

Thursday, February 27,2014

Aerogel/Pyrogel

There has been a lot of talk lately on Aerogel/Pyrogel and what the Union is doing to help the members. I can tell you that we at the local level and at the International level are concerned as well. Here we have the WOW Center studying and charting the members who have been working with this product; at the International level they are pushing NIOSH the American version of OSHA to be proactive and complete more intensive research. The fact right now is that this is an insulation material and we are working with it all across North America and we will continue to push for further research into the material and a clear knowledge of the Personal Protective Equipment required. Local 110 is being proactive and pushing our contractors to err on the side of caution and use the best P.P.E. outlined in the MSDS. We will continue to monitor the product and update the P.P.E. as scientific evidence warrants it.

There have been some members comparing the Aerogel/Pyrogel product to asbestos, causing fear and problems at work sites, I cannot condone that. I started in 1980 as a commercial 1^st year apprentice when the contractors were allowed to use whatever asbestos product they had stockpiled from previous purchases. I saw firsthand that there was no communication from our Government to our Union Hall or to membership to enforce the meager Personal Protective Equipment that was required or to try to educate the membership on the dangers of inhaling or ingesting asbestos fibers. I saw my Journeymen and I working in our street clothes which we all took home to be laundered with  our families clothing, exposing them all to asbestos fibers. At no time was I or my coworkers ever informed or warned of the dire consequences of this product by our Government or the Union Hall. The only protection I saw was the paper filter masks we could ask for and being new I saw no danger as the insulators I was working with would cut holes in their mask so they could smoke while wearing them and continue to work. I know for a fact while mixing Blue mud which is 99% asbestos in a trough in a boiler room with a hoe there was dust so thick you could not see and we all continued to work some with paper masks and some with nothing. So I take great exception to the comparison and know firsthand the lack of education we as insulators received from our local and the contractors and the meager Personal Protective Equipment that was enforced. I look at the membership now and see the education on all the products has been greatly increased and the knowledge of the importance of protecting yourself while working. I see our members wearing coveralls on all projects and when working with aerogel disposable coveralls and nitrile gloves and half mask or full face mask with P 100 filters and I wish that the members affected with asbestosis would have had the same education and P.P.E. and they would all still be here today. We will continue to monitor and push for research to increase safety with all products!

   Wade Logan                                                                                                                        

   Business Manager

 

Continue reading “BM Update Monday, March 10th, 2014” →

Friday, January, 24, 2014 

Good day to everyone, I thought I would let you know what transpired here this week, as you may or may not know at last years Canadian Conference the International formed a committee called the LMCT to start lobbying the various provincial and Federal agencies to increase the energy effeciencies of the building codes and Industrial sites to reduce our Carbon foot print.The International has hired a lobbyist group on all of the Canadian local behalf to work with them in their provinces. SUMMA was the company hired and this past week Vince Engel our International Western Vice president, Alec Rexrout head of the contractors association in Chicago and I met with various Alberta enegy departments as a first step to introduce ourselves and let them know the benefits of Mechanical Insulation and how we could help them reduce energy consumption and Alberta's Carbon footprint, the meetings went very well and were all arranged by SUMMA. Now we just need to continue to work with the various department's that show an interest and continue to promote the advantages of Mechanical Insulation as an investment into Albeta's future well being.

Monday, January, 13,2014

Here are the the membership applicants results as voted on by the membership in attendance at this past Saturdays meeting.

Congratulations to our new members !

Cole Albers, 1st year permit, Held Over

Steve Cairns, Local 95 JM transfer, Accepted

Jordon A Smith, Local 118 JM transfer, Accepted

Joshua Butt, 1st year permit,  Accepted

Brian Rolf, 1st year permit,  Accepted

Cody Detta, 1st year permit,  Accepted

Reshid Wellebo, 1st year permit, Accepted

Mohammad Sliman, 1st year permit, Accepted

Russel Alder, Local 95 JM transfer, Accepted

Bonat Albert, JM C (member of Local 8),  Accepted

Ashton Boutin, 1st year permit, Accepted

Darrin Craig, JM C, Accepted

Tuan Ngo, JM,  Accepted

Saturday, January 11,2014

 Happy New Year to everyone, hopefully the new year finds you in good fortune, well it 2014 already and two years have come and gone just like that, the work forecast for this year looks to be slightly busier than last year so any member's looking to work will have that oppertunity we will also be bringing in our brothers and sisters from across Canada to help out with Turn Arounds as well as some TFW's, the forecast for 2015 to 2020 looks like it will be full steam ahead and we will spend the time now looking to gather more experienced insulators into the Union fold so we can man the jobs and expand our market share into areas previously held by the nonunion sector. We are in a bargaining year so if you have any suggestions about changes to our Collective agreement please submit them to our union or pass them along to your E board members.This past week we worked together with our International to bring in two fire stop trainers from the U.S. to put on a train thre trainer class so Dan Annette can now teach fire stopping a market we let slip away and now will be trying to voluntarily sign up non union shops, we also invited trainers from across Canada from our sister locals to attend and local 110 did a great job of hosting and showcasing our local. The Christmas party was a huge success selling out a 290 members, with rave reviews from the members that participated, the new location was also a huge hit, it is great to see the membership coming out and supporting the union by selling out our functions, It is only with membership participation that we will be able to maintain a strong successful Union so I hope this support will also start to trickle into the Union meetings so we have a packed venue each and every time.

 

Continue reading “BM Update Friday, January 24, 2014” →

Tuesday, December,17,2013

Well another year has just about come and gone and where does the time go, we have had a good year regarding work with our members working  steady over the last year, The clients have requested a few shifts that are not to favorable with the membership and the business agents and I have been trying to convince them to change, but the client owns the site and makes the rules but we will continue to argue the merits of change. Next year looks to be just as busy as the past year and then if projections are correct it will start to get crazy busy in 2015 -2020. Local 110 is and will continue to implement advertising, training and apprentice changes so we will be in a position to supply union workers to as many sites as possible. The Union Christmas Party is sold out with 290 participants including our Western Canada International Vice President, Vince Engel so hopefully I will see you there if not I would like to extend a Merry Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous New Year to you and your family. 

Here are the results of the union applicants.

1.     Ebenezer Ogboso – 1st year Apprentice, Industrial helper, 2,400 hours worked through Local 110,  Accepted

2.     Travis Jones – 1st  year Apprentice, 860 hours worked through Local 110,  Accepted

3.     Mohamed Siraj Mohamed – 1st year Apprentice, 745 hours worked through Local 110,  Accepted

4.     Rachel Terrell – 1st year Apprentice, 360 hours worked through Local 110,  Accepted

5.     Sloan Dovich – 1st year Apprentice, 1,028 hours worked through Local 110,  Accepted

6.     Mitchell Cormack- 1st year Apprentice, 604 hours worked through Local 110,  Accepted

7.     Hugh Janz – 1st year Apprentice, 2,565 hours worked through Local 110, Accepted

8.     Patrick McConaghy – 1st year Apprentice, 1,453 hours worked through local 110, Accepted

9.     Phillip Black – 1^st year Apprentice, Former member, 2,378 hours worked through Local 110,  Accepted

10.  Junior Matthews – Journeymen C, 5,225 hours worked through Local 110, Accepted

11.  Gary S Broad – Transfer, Local 95 Journeyman, 1,905 hours worked through Local 110, Accepted

12.  Norman Seguin -Transfer, Local 58, Journeyman, 7,827 hours worked through Local 110, Accepted

13.  Rickey E. Smith – Transfer, Local 95, Journeyman, 7,192 hours worked through Local 110,  Accepted

14.  Mario Malouin – Transfer, Local 58, Journeyman, 3,032 hours worked through Local 110, Accepted

15.  Ammie McNallie- Journeyman, Former member, 7,457 hours worked through Local 110,Accepted

16.  Randy Pysh – Journeyman, Former member, 22,745 hours worked through Local 110,  Accepted

17.  Penny Bellerose – 1^st year Apprentice, 230 hours worked through Local 110,  Rejected

18.  Stephen Muise – Transfer, Local 131, Journeyman, 4,284 hours worked through Local 110,  Rejected

 

Tuesday, December 3rd, 2013

Good afternoon, this morning we the Building Trades Union's (BTA) gathered at the Operating Engineers hall with the Registered Employers Organization (REO) and the Construction Labor Board (CLR)  to start the discussions for the upcoming negotiations for the Union Collective agreements. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this process the BTA Union's enters into Joint Framework Bargaining as a whole to settle 90-95% of the Collective issues as a whole with input from all the unions on common Interest based negotiations, when they have agreement on the that, we then move to the small table to discuss trade specific issues. Local 110 bargaining committee is the Business Manager and the three Business Agents and we will be asking for the input from the job stewards from some of our bigger jobs as to issues they have run across and the Executive Board but any member with a concern or a suggestion can call myself or a Business agent to discuss. Just to clarify that maintenance issues are not part of this and our negotiated by the Western Canada Vice President and the GPMC.                                                                                            On another note I will be in Calgary this Saturday to attend the annual Christmas party so I hope to see you there.

Here are the applicants for membership and transfer this month.

1.     Ebenezer Ogboso – 1st year Apprentice, Industrial helper, 2,400 hours worked through Local 110, Tentatively Accepted

2.     Travis Jones – 1st  year Apprentice, 860 hours worked through Local 110, Tentatively Accepted

3.     Mohamed Siraj Mohamed – 1st year Apprentice, 745 hours worked through Local 110, Tentatively Accepted

4.     Rachel Terrell – 1st year Apprentice, 360 hours worked through Local 110, Tentatively Accepted

5.     Sloan Dovich – 1st year Apprentice, 1,028 hours worked through Local 110, Tentatively Accepted

6.     Mitchell Cormack- 1st year Apprentice, 604 hours worked through Local 110, Tentatively Accepted

7.     Hugh Janz – 1st year Apprentice, 2,565 hours worked through Local 110,  Tentatively Accepted

8.     Patrick McConaghy – 1st year Apprentice, 1,453 hours worked through local 110,  Tentatively Accepted

9.     Phillip Black – 1^st year Apprentice, Former member, 2,378 hours worked through Local 110, Tentatively Accepted

10.  Junior Matthews – Journeymen C, 5,225 hours worked through Local 110,Tentatively Accepted

11.  Gary S Broad – Transfer, Local 95 Journeyman, 1,905 hours worked through Local 110, Tentatively Accepted

12.  Norman Seguin -Transfer, Local 58, Journeyman, 7,827 hours worked through Local 110, Tentatively Accepted

13.  Rickey E. Smith – Transfer, Local 95, Journeyman, 7,192 hours worked through Local 110, Tentatively Accepted

14.  Mario Malouin – Transfer, Local 58, Journeyman, 3,032 hours worked through Local 110, Tentatively Accepted

15.  Ammie McNallie- Journeyman, Former member, 7,457 hours worked through Local 110, Tentatively Accepted

16.  Randy Pysh – Journeyman, Former member, 22,745 hours worked through Local 110, Tentatively Accepted

17.  Penny Bellerose – 1^st year Apprentice, 230 hours worked through Local 110, Tentatively Rejected

18.  Stephen Muise – Transfer, Local 131, Journeyman, 4,284 hours worked through Local 110,  Tentatively Rejected

​As usual the final vote for membership is up to the members in attendance at the meeting, please contact the union if you have concerns over any of the listed and if you would like to review the applications please contact the hall to make an appointment. Thank you.

Tuesday, November 12th, 2013

I had a request to post a message from Joy Lafferty, so I am  posting it here for our members to read.

We would like to thank Local 110 for supporting his family with telephone calls and attending his service on November 2 and donating to the University of Alberta, Gordon Lafferty Memorial Football Scholarship fund established by his sons in his honor.  Gordie was a humble man and would feel very proud to think that a living tribute such as this has been established.  He was an adventurer, always up for another trip to a new destination but quite happy to just walk around the block pulling his beloved grandsons in the red flyer wagon.  His dive buddies who attended described him as being so grateful for the opportunity to explore new worlds, but said he would have been happy strapping a tank on his back to explore a mud puddle.  Gordie had no expectations of others, he loved and befriended people the world over, rich and poor, famous and infamous, it made no difference to him, his only expectation was of himself, that he maintain the dignity and well-being that he worked so hard to attain, that he provide for his family and work to create a better world for them and he worked toward that end by supporting his sons every decision.  We are so grateful to Gordie, that he was a loving husband, father and grampa and we are grateful Local 110 for providing Gordie with the opportunity and stability and support over the years to help him achieve his goals. On behalf of myself, his sons Jason and Shaun, their spouses and our most beloved grandsons, Brady and Isaac, a heart felt thank you.  

Joy Lafferty

 

Wednesday, November 6th, 2013

Good Morning; as you may have heard the framework agreement for the Northern gateway pipeline was reached between Alberta and B.C.. so I would anticipate that the projects up north will start to announce expansions in the next couple of years, with the amount of work forecasted for the future it looks like the only battle Local 110 will be facing is suppling enough qualified manpower. Our changing the Journeymen ratio was a good start but will only start to ease the burden in three years if the members go to school, Canadian travelers will not be as abundant as work in all the provinces is picking up as well, our supply of TFW's our brothers in the U.S.A.. will also be drying up if what I've heard about their work situation is true. We have started to target nonunion journeymen working in Alberta with radio ads to see if we can get them to work through us and will continue to think on strategies to increase our manpower if you know Journeymen insulators working non union  that would like top of the line health and welfare benefits and a pension when they retire please have them contact us. Or if you have any ideas on how to increase our pool of qualified manpower I am always available to listen.We have now also started our Green initiative that the International is funding and have a lobbying group working on our behalf with all our sister locals in Canada, so hopefully we can campaign to increase the insulation required both Commercially and Industrial and I will need to start making appearances at the MLA functions to start to push for changes in our Province.

Monday, November 4th, 2013

Good Morning, I am posting the results of the General Membership vote for Union application,unfortunately I was unable to be at Saturday's meeting as I attended the funeral of a long time friend and member Gord Lafferty. Here are the results of the votes.

1. Dianne Corbett – 1st year Apprentice,Industrial helper, 4,600 hours worked through Local 110, Accepted
2. Genny Martinez – 1st  year Apprentice,Industrial helper, 20,498 hours worked through Local 110,  Accepted
3. David Peddle – 1st year Apprentice, 367 hours worked through Local 110,  Accepted
4. Wayne Noel – 1st year Apprentice, 880 hours worked through Local 110,  Accepted
5. Tanner Nelson – 1st year Apprentice, 363 hours worked through Local 110,  Accepted
6. Kim Tobin- 1st year Apprentice, 1,631 hours worked through Local 110,  Accepted
7. Joel Jeannotte – 1st year Apprentice, 2,242 hours worked through Local 110, Accepted
8. Aaron Griffith – 1st year apprentice, 629 hours worked through local 110,  Accepted
9. Wilko Benyk – Journeymen C, 9,693 hours worked through Local 110, Accepted
10. Franck Pelissier – Journeymen C, 3,904 hours worked through Local 110, Accepted
11. Matthew Hargie – Journeyman, 3055 hrs worked through local 110,  Accepted
12. Thomas Cote – , Journeyman,Former member 6822 hrs,  Accepted
13. Norman Seguin –  Transfer, Local 58, Journeyman, 7827 hours worked for local 110, Rejected
14. Coady Cassidy –  Transfer, Local 131, Journeyman, 1564 hours worked for local 110,   Accepted
15. Rickey E. Smith-  Transfer, Local 95, Journeyman, 7192 hours worked for local 110, Rejected
16. Dennis Borden –  Transfer, Local 116, Journeyman, 2564 hours worked for local 110,  Accepted
17. Dustin Boyd-  Transfer, Local 95, Journeyman, 2564 hours worked for local 110, Accepted
18. Stephen Muise –  Transfer, Local 131, Journeyman, 4284 hours worked for local 110,  Rejected
19. Jeffrey Bolda – Journeymen C,  1544 hours worked through Local 110,  Rejected

Friday, October 25th,2013

Good Morning, I just got back from a two day lobby conference here in Edmonton where they gave us the basics of how to lobby the goverment. It was very useful information and will come in handy with the Canadian Unions starting a campaign. I will get you more information as we get our statistic and facts together to get this off the ground. We will be having our monthly union meeting next week on Saturday Nov.2nd and if you are not working please come down and get involved in the direction and events of your union. Here are the the applicants for membership and transfer for next month.

 

1. Dianne Corbett – 1st year Apprentice,Industrial helper, 4,600 hours worked through Local 110, Tentatively Accepted
2. Genny Martinez – 1st  year Apprentice,Industrial helper, 20,498 hours worked through Local 110, Tentatively Accepted
3. David Peddle – 1st year Apprentice, 367 hours worked through Local 110, Tentatively Accepted
4. Wayne Noel – 1st year Apprentice, 880 hours worked through Local 110, Tentatively Accepted
5. Tanner Nelson – 1st year Apprentice, 363 hours worked through Local 110, Tentatively Accepted
6. Kim Tobin- 1st year Apprentice, 1,631 hours worked through Local 110, Tentatively Accepted
7. Joel Jeannotte – 1st year Apprentice, 2,242 hours worked through Local 110,  TentativelyAccepted
8. Aaron Griffith – 1st year apprentice, 629 hours worked through local 110,  TentativelyAccepted
9. Wilko Benyk – Journeymen C, 9,693 hours worked through Local 110,Tentatively Accepted
10. Franck Pelissier – Journeymen C, 3,904 hours worked through Local 110,Tentatively Accepted
11. Matthew Hargie – Journeyman, 3055 hrs worked through local 110,Tentatively  Accepted
12. Thomas Cote – , Journeyman,Former member 6822 hrs, Tentatively Accepted
13. Norman Seguin –  Transfer, Local 58, Journeyman, 7827 hours worked for local 110, Tentatively Accepted
14. Coady Cassidy –  Transfer, Local 131, Journeyman, 1564 hours worked for local 110,  Tentatively Accepted
15. Rickey E. Smith-  Transfer, Local 95, Journeyman, 7192 hours worked for local 110, Tentatively Accepted
16. Dennis Borden –  Transfer, Local 116, Journeyman, 2564 hours worked for local 110, Tentatively Accepted
17. Dustin Boyd-  Transfer, Local 95, Journeyman, 2564 hours worked for local 110, Tentatively Accepted
18. Stephen Muise –  Transfer, Local 131, Journeyman, 4284 hours worked for local 110,  Tentatively Rejected
19. Jeffrey Bolda – Journeymen C,  1544 hours worked through Local 110, Tentatively Rejected

​As usual the final vote for membership is up to the members in attendance at the meeting, please contact the union if you have concerns over any of the listed and if you would like to review the applications please contact the hall to make an appointment. Thank you

And remember plese get you Christmas Party tickets, we are in a new venue that was just remodeled, we have a block of rooms set aside so you dont have to catch a cab and lastly a DJ to play the music the crowd wants to hear.

 

1. ​Friday, October 11th,2013

Good afternoon, Bothers and Sisters this morning we had the opportunity to have a photo  with the STARS helicopter as they unveiled the Building Trades Logo on the tail fin, the Building Trades which Local 110 is part of have been donating to STARS for the last 17 years and have donated over $550,000.00, it was good to see the lotteries that you purchase on site through the Building Trades raffle going to causes that benefit all of that have or are working on remote sites. A big thank you to all the volunteers on the sites that put in their time to sell and organize these raffles and the members who purchase these tickets. A reminder that we have a new apprentice to journeyperson ratio in effect on November 3rd, 2013 as well as small increase in wages. And from the Officers and Staff at Local 110, have a great long weekend celebrating Thanksgiving with family and friends and if you are one of the members working, Thank you and Be Safe!!! We will post the photos when they email us a copy.

 

Monday, October 7,2013

In August, 2013 the Alberta Apprenticeship restructured the Insulator apprenticeship, eliminating the need to work 1600 hours for the 4^th year portion of apprenticeship and effectively making it a three year program, unfortunately the Alberta union still had 4^th years in the system which we are sending out as 4^th years as per the collective agreement which is still in effect, until they can get their blue books updated making them Journeypersons. To address this situation and the 4^th year classification that still exists in the other provinces, the Construction Labour  Relations and the Union signed a letter of Understanding raising the percentages of 2nd and 3^rd year apprentices, so in essence a 4^th year coming here from another province or State will be dispatched as a 3^rd year but will still be making the old 4^th year rate of 80%. I would suggest to contractors to go to the CLR website to review the letter of Understanding as there is changes to the apprentice to journeymen ratio.

 

Good Morning here are the results after the members have voted.

1. Michae Devoldere – 1st year Apprentice, 13,812 hours worked through Local 110,  Accepted
2. Daniel Walker – 2nd  year Apprentice,5,023 hours worked through Local 110,  Accepted
3. Paul Bailey – 1st year Apprentice, 667 hours worked through Local 110,  Accepted
4. Levi Straw – 1st year Apprentice, 1,095 hours worked through Local 110,  Accepted
5. Brandon Johnston – 1st year Apprentice, 1,045 hours worked through Local 110,  Accepted
6. Dean Trotman- 1st year Apprentice, 350 hours worked through Local 110,  Accepted
7. Ryan Achtemichuk – 1st year Apprentice, 2,176 hours worked through Local 110,  Accepted
8. Jacob Elias – 1st year apprentice, 403 hours worked through local 110,  Accepted
9. Jesse Loates – Journeymen C, 10,530 hours worked through Local 110, Accepted
10. Kristian Rhodes – Journeymen C,  1544 hours worked through Local 110,  Accepted
11. Chris Bevan – Transfer, Local 95, Journeyman,  Accepted
12. Dustin Boyd – Transfer, Local 95, Journeyman, Held over
13. Salvador Flores – Lapsed Journeymen Member, 20,632 hours worked through Local 110,  Accepted
14. Robert Aube – Firestopper, Accepted
15. Vibol Tep –  Transfer, Local 58, Journeyman, 6043 hours worked for local 110,  Accepted
16. Ken Yuzyk – Lapsed Journeymen Member, 14,289 hours worked through Local 110,  Rejected

 

Monday, September 30,2013

Good afternoon

Brothers and Sisters, I know it feels like it was just a few weeks ago we had our last union meeting, but it is time for the October meeting and since I just got back from a week of  holidays here are the applications for membership, please feel free to call myself or the Business agents with any concerns positive or negative, it is the membership that has been working with the applicants and know's if they will be an asset to our organization.

1. Michae Devoldere – 1st year Apprentice, 13,812 hours worked through Local 110, Tentatively Accepted
2. Daniel Walker – 2nd  year Apprentice,5,023 hours worked through Local 110, Tentatively Accepted
3. Paul Bailey – 1st year Apprentice, 667 hours worked through Local 110, Tentatively Accepted
4. Levi Straw – 1st year Apprentice, 1,095 hours worked through Local 110, Tentatively Accepted
5. Brandon Johnston – 1st year Apprentice, 1,045 hours worked through Local 110, Tentatively Accepted
6. Dean Trotman- 1st year Apprentice, 350 hours worked through Local 110, Tentatively Accepted
7. Ryan Achtemichuk – 1st year Apprentice, 2,176 hours worked through Local 110, Tentatively Accepted
8. Jacob Elias – 1st year apprentice, 403 hours worked through local 110, Tentitvely Accepted
9. Jesse Loates – Journeymen C, 10,530 hours worked through Local 110, Tentatively Accepted
10. Kristian Rhodes – Journeymen C,  1544 hours worked through Local 110, Tentatively Accepted
11. Chris Bevan – Transfer, Local 95, Journeyman,  Tentatively Accepted
12. Dustin Boyd – Transfer, Local 95, Journeyman, Tentatively Accepted
13. Salvador Flores – Lapsed Journeymen Member, 20,632 hours worked through Local 110, Tentatively Accepted
14. Robert Aube – Firestopper, Tentatively Accepted
15. Vibol Tep –  Transfer, Local 58, Journeyman, 6043 hours worked for local 110, Tentatively Accepted
16. Ken Yuzyk – Lapsed Journeymen Member, 14,289 hours worked through Local 110, Tentatively Rejected

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Here is the list of applicants seeking membership into Local 110 for  the September meeting, please contact myself of one of the Business Agents if you have any information positive or negative regarding any of the applicants listed below, judging by the number of 1st year applications the Union is going in the right direction to get back market share and grow the membership but we need the experienced members to mentor the new members so they can represent and have pride in belonging to Local 110;  Thank you.

1. Aboubakrine S Mbaye – 1st year Apprentice, 2011 hours worked through Local 110, Tentatively Accepted
2. Benjamin Johnson – 1st year Apprentice, 4408 hours worked through Local 110, Tentatively Accepted
3. Brock Humphrey – JM transfer from Local 95, 2305 hours worked through Local 110, Tentatively Accepted
4. Carlos Vargas – 1st year Apprentice, 356 hours worked through Local 110, Tentatively Accepted
5. Cesar O Cubillos – 1st year Apprentice, 330 hours worked through Local 110, Tentatively Accepted
6. Chris M Cousineau – 2nd year Apprentice, 8765 hours worked through Local 110, Tentatively Accepted
7. Chuks Mady – JM transfer from Local 95, 3525 hours worked through Local 110, Tentatively Accepted
8. Darlene Hebert – Industrial Helper, 4822 hours worked through Local 110, Tentatively Accepted
9. Diana P Castrillon – 1st year Apprentice, 796 hours worked through Local 110, Tentatively Accepted
10. Don Schmidt – 1st year Apprentice, 230 hours worked through Local 110, Tentatively Accepted
11. Foday Kanneh – 1st year Apprentice, 511 hours worked through Local 110, Tentatively Accepted
12. Francisco Puentes-Cuellar – 1st year Apprentice, 518 hours worked through Local 110, Tentatively Accepted
13. Franck Miceli – 1st year Apprentice, 1604 hours worked through Local 110, Tentatively Accepted
14. Gerard Kennedy – 1st year Apprentice, 536 hours worked through Local 110, Tentatively Accepted
15. Hassan Tomma Almaliky – 1st year Apprentice, 482 hours worked through Local 110, Tentatively Accepted
16. Hassan Yahie Shueib – 1st year Apprentice, 748 hours worked through Local 110, Tentatively Accepted
17. James Webb – JM transfer from Local 67, 1291 hours worked through Local 110, Tentatively Accepted
18. Jennette Tozer – 1st year Apprentice, 1359 hours worked through Local 110, Tentatively Accepted
19. John Funk – JM transfer from Local 131, 5342 hours worked through Local 110, Tentatively Accepted
20. John Sreang – 1st year Apprentice, 831 hours worked through Local 110, Tentatively Accepted
21. Joyce Primeau – 1st year Apprentice, 2018 hours worked through Local 110, Tentatively Accepted
22. Juan Lagos – 1st year Apprentice, 316 hours worked through Local 110, Tentatively Accepted
23. Kenneth Addai – 1st year Apprentice, 1216 hours worked through Local 110, Tentatively Accepted
24. Khalif Hassan Adar – 1st year Apprentice, 870 hours worked through Local 110, Tentatively Accepted
25. Kim S Phelps – 1st year Apprentice, 767 hours worked through Local 110, Tentatively Accepted
26. Kurt Weisser – JM former member, 1554 hours worked through Local 110, Tentatively Accepted
27. Noah Daniel Steenken – 1st year Apprentice, 896 hours worked through Local 110, Tentatively Accepted
28. Philip M Ketchum – 1st year Apprentice, union organized (382 hours) , Tentatively Accepted
29. Rachid Ali Benchek – 1st year Apprentice, 1562 hours worked through Local 110, Tentatively Accepted
30. Ronald Denesik – 1st year Apprentice, 1258 hours worked through Local 110, Tentatively Accepted
31. Samuel Fraser – 1st year Apprentice, 519 hours worked through Local 110, Tentatively Accepted
32. Stephen Lee Crane – 2nd year Apprentice, 265 hours worked through Local 110, Tentatively Accepted
33. Tyler Bell – 1st year Apprentice, 2175 hours worked through Local 110, Tentatively Accepted
34. Zahra Abdi Aden – 1st year Apprentice, 1194 hours worked through Local 110, Tentatively Accepted
35. Badru Mohamed Hussein – 1st year Apprentice, 211+ hours worked through Local 110, Tentatively Accepted
36. Crystal Larson – 2nd year Apprentice, 1702 hours worked through Local 110, Tentatively Accepted
37. Graham Fraser – 1st year Apprentice, 10029 hours worked through Local 110, Tentatively Accepted
38. Justin Alvin Graham – 1st year Apprentice, 1635 hours worked through Local 110, Tentatively Accepted
39. Kenny William Vankonghnett – 2nd year, union organized, Tentatively Accepted
40. Kevin Teske – JM, union organized, Tentatively Accepted
41. Larry Lair – JM transfer from Local 95, 11097 hours worked through Local 110, Tentatively Accepted
42. Michael Arsenault – JM transfer from Local 58, 4258 hours worked through Local 110, Tentatively Accepted
43. Mike Rush – JM transfer from Local 131, 6610 hours worked through Local 110, Tentatively Accepted
44. Nathalie Jacob – JM transfer from Local 58, 8745 hours worked through Local 110, Tentatively Accepted
45. Reyale Paul Richard – JM transfer from Local 131, 1040 hours worked through Local 110, Tentatively Accepted
46. Rick Day – JM transfer from Local 95, 1036 hours worked through Local 110, Tentatively Accepted
47. Robert Lawrence Bertrand – JM transfer from Local 95, 1103 hours worked through Local 110, Tentatively Accepted
48. Stephen Adams – JM transfer from Local 131, 2047 hours worked through Local 110, Tentatively Accepted
49. Dennis Robert – 1st year Apprentice, 666.95 hours worked through Local 110, Tentatively Accepted
50. Stephen R Davison – 3rd year Apprentice, 14,987 hours worked through Local 110, Tentatively Accepted
51. Pat Burchert – 2nd year Apprentice, 11,904 hours worked through Local 110, Tentatively Accepted

• Steve Cairns – JM transfer from Local 95, Tentatively Rejected, No Transfer letter(Contact Patti in Training)
• Sean Keable – JM transfer from Local 95, 5972 hours worked through Local 110, Tentatively Rejected, No transfer letter (Contact Patti in Training)

1. ​31 – 1st years tentatively accepted
2. 5 – 2nd years tentatively accepted
3. 1 3rd year tentatively accepted
4. 14 – Journeymen tentatively accepted

 

Monday, August 26, 2013

Good Morning, hopefully everyone had a restful weekend. I thought I would give you an update on our software update we have finished the Union side and the dispatch side and we will need to clean up the member's data before we proceed with the Health and Welfare and Pension side, unfortunately the data kept in the old system was not formatted in the same sequence so we could not just transfer it to the new system, so we are going to double check each members file to ensure everything is correct. We will still be rolling out the member log in shortly but will not have the online bidding on jobs until the new year.

 

Thursday, August 22, 2013

Good Afternoon just a quick update on the 2013 Robert J Watson National Bursary. We expect to have applications at the Edmonton office mid September. 
You can check this link at GPMCCanada for up to date details.

Monday, August 19,2013

Good Afternoon hopefully everyone is having a good Monday, I thought I would give you an update on the Business Manager, Business Agent and President conference in Phoenix last week. Other than the fact it was over 40 degrees outside or an air conditioned 18 degrees inside making it hard for a persons body to adjust the conference was basically about the need for all Insulation unions to have their supervision take foremens training so that on big or small jobs the Insulators have their own General foreman and Superintendents from our trade in charge. Here in Alberta we have the ICCS "Industrial Construction Crew Supervisor" and I would encourage everyone to take it and get the extra dollar per hour if you are pushing. I know there is a lot of your own time you need to invest in taking these course's to get the ICCS designation but the payoff will be when the work picks up and sites are asking that alll supervisors will need to have the designation we will be able to supervise our own trade and not have another trade do it.We have another increase coming in the first week of November which will go on the base rate as well as the new Journeyman to Apprentice ratio of one to one kicking off at the same time.The software team has been here for the past couple of weeks converting our old data into the new system and gettting the union side all cleaned up and then they will come back in a month to do the pension and health and welfare side converted and if all goes well we should be able to roll out the member log in in the new year. 

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Good Morning and hopefully everyone had a great long weekend with some pretty decent weather for a change, just a reminder that we have a software company here today and for the next two weeks as we replace are ancient AS 400 system with a new user friendly system, so if you experience a few delays please bear with us as the new system gets installed and staff learn how to use the new system. Thank you in advance for your patience.

 

Thursday, July 25th, 2013

I attended the ACTIMS ( Alberta Council of Turnaround Industry Maintenance Stakeholders) Annual General meeting this past Tuesday and Wednesday in Fort McMurray it was well attended by the Clients and Contractors and Labor providers with two days of guest speakers and perspectives of the Owners, Contractors and Labor providers as well as the auditors report it was good to see how far this program has come in four years and it is now being looked at as a Global model of how well the three parties can come together for discussion and agreements for the benefit of the Industry.

 I have also been working with the Construction Labor Relations to put together a letter of understanding regarding the change in the apprentice ratio from Two Journeyperson to One Apprentice to One Journeyperson to One Apprentice a move that will ensure that the Union will have the Journeyperson's in the future to continue to man the Alberta jobs and hopefully pickup some marketshare, I applaud the membership on having the ability and foresight to do what is in the best interest of the Union and the future generations of Insulators.

  The AIT (Apprenticeship & Industry Training) are scheduled to change the Insulator program on August 1st of this year and we will update you with the changes and any implications they will have on our members when they become official.

 

Thursday, July 4, 2013

More information on the fight against Bill C-377: Merit Canada confirmed as real Sponsor of Bill C-377.

Good morning, here is the memo just received.

For Immediate Release, June 28 2013

Issue Update

To:          All Municipal Solutions clients and contacts

From:     Brian Nicholson, Associate VP, Government Relations and Public Policy

Merit Canada confirmed as real Sponsor of Bill C-377

Anti-union lobbyist met 98 times with MP’s and Senators to get their support

Oshawa– Recent research has confirmed that Merit Canada, through its President and Chief Lobbyist, Terrance Oakley, has met with MP’s and Senators at least 98 times in support of Private Member’s Bill C-377.

It was after one of those meetings that Conservative MP Russ Hebert introduced his infamous anti-union Bill into the House of Commons. The most recent meeting occurred between Mr. Oakley and Hon. James Moore, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages on June 5^th, 2013. The Minister then launched a scathing attack on Bill C-377 opponents. The Minister has also been the liaison between the Government in the House of Commons and Conservative leaders and Senators in the Canadian Senate.

Confirmation of the contacts can be found at the Canadian Lobbyist Registry at the following link.

https://ocl-cal.gc.ca/app/secure/orl/lrrs/do/clntCmmLgs?cno=281784&regId=682187

Mr. Oakley had made it clear in his lobbyist registration that his intent at the meetings was “Lobbying for parliamentary support for the passage of Bill 377 (AN ACT TO AMEND THE INCOME TAX ACT (REQUIREMENTS FOR LABOUR ORGANIZATIONS).

His registry also lists other actions that he discussed. They are listed as attempting to

• “Mandate that all construction projects financed with federal funds must be tendered without any precondition requiring contractors to be signatory to any union or abide by the terms of a specific collective agreement.
• Under the Economic Immigrant Class Program changes to the relevant sections of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations as they pertain to the 'Point System'.”

These actions mirror the activities at the Ontario Legislature by Merit Ontario, the Progressive Contractors Association and CLAC.

With recent amendments and referral by the Senate of Bill C-377 back to the House of Commons, we are sure to see more meetings between Mr. Oakley and his Conservative operatives. Those who oppose Bill C-377 and its clearly unconstitutional, anti-union provisions need to remain vigilant and active in exposing this agenda.

 

Friday, June 28, 2013

Thanks to your support we have secured a major victory in the fight against Bill C-377.

Earlier this week, Bill C-377 was amended by Conservative Senator Hugh Segal to exclude local unions and branches, as well as trusts, from the onerous requirements of the bill. Only national offices, with a total national membership of 50,000 or more, will be required to report. The amended Bill was passed by the Senate and will now be returned to the House of Commons.

When the House of Commons resumes in the fall, the House will have the option of accepting or rejecting the amendments made in the Senate.

In the coming weeks and months, as the intentions of the Government become clear, we will be reaching out to you specifically for your help to communicate with your MP and other key decision makers.

Thank you for your hard work over these last few months. The fight on C-377 is not over, but this is a significant milestone.

Sincerely,

Workers Build Canada

 

 

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

The Building Trades of Alberta (BTA) and our affiliated Local Unions would like to send our heartfelt condolences and sympathies to all those in Southern Alberta affected by the devastating and catastrophic flooding that have occurred. Many of our concerned members throughout the province have been inquiring as to what assistance or contributions we are making to ease the burden on those affected by this tragedy or how they can contribute personally.

The Building Trades Executive Board made a strategic decision to provide financial support from the BTA to the Red Cross with monies being earmarked for Alberta flood relief.  The services of the BTA were then to be utilized to coordinate all other union donations to create a lump sum donation. On Monday morning the Building Trades of Alberta presented an initial donation of $200,000.00 to the Red Cross. Since then, additional commitments for another $85,000.00 have been received up to the time of writing and will likely continue to increase throughout the week. This would not have been possible with out the support and generosity of our affiliated Local and International Unions and the Provincial and Canadian Building Trades organizations.

On Tuesday we were also notified by the Premiers Office in Calgary that a request for volunteers to assist in the cleanup efforts would be forthcoming. Business Managers will be notified to appeal for volunteers when the timing is appropriate. The Building Trades of Alberta is proud to demonstrate to our community that we are always available to assist in times of urgent need and play a vital role in Alberta’s emergency response network. 

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Yesterday I attended the SCOTFORD TRIPARTITE SAFETY LEADERSHIP INITIATIVE at the Dow center in Fort Saskatchewan where we were informed the Upgrader Turnaround was going to be completed ahead of schedule and under budget with an overall absenteeism of 2 to 3%. This is a fantastic accomplishment for the Building Trades of Alberta and the Unions involved, we can show that using Unionized workers does and will pay off . To any of our Local 110 members who were involved give yourself a pat on the back for representing Local 110 and all Unionized workers,  Showing we do 10 hours work for 10 hours pay and we do it safely, we the Officers at the Union thank you ! Of course there were also issues with bussing and logistics' but Shell is working with the Contractors and the Union's to iron these out and ensure that future turnarounds are run with as few distractions as possible. Congratulations Shell on an initiative that is clearly working. 

Monday, June 17, 2013

On Saturday  June 15th here are the results of the membership voting, if you were accepted, Congratulations, please contact the union hall to complete paperwork and pay membership fee.

– John Laud Anderson, 1st year permit, Accepted

– Pierre Maguet, 1st year permit,  Accepted

– Sheldon Sather, 1st year permit, Accepted

– Brad Carberry, 1st year permit,Accepted

– Peter Wiscombe, 1st year permit, Accepted

– Sidney Bishop-Adams, 1st year permit, Accepted

– Jade Schultz, 1st year permit, Accepted

– Brian Deschenes, 1st year permit, Accepted

– Troy Whitford, 1st year permit,Accepted

– Kingsley Okerri, 1st year permit,Accepted

– Jarrett MacDonald, 2nd year permit, Accepted

– David Gutierrez, 3rd year permit, Accepted

– Aaron Johnson,  Journeyman permit, Accepted

– Rene Genaille,  Journeyman permit, Accepted

– Levi Gavelin,  Journeyman permit,Accepted

– Charles Pichette, Journeymen transfer, Accepted

– Robert Thompson, Journeymen transfer 118, Accepted

– Calvin Wiseman, Journeymen transfer Accepted

– Gavin Hunter, Journeymen transfer 95, Accepted

– Bruce Link, Journeymen transfer 95, Accepted

– Jason Gale, Journeymen transfer 116, Put over till September meeting

– Eric Bourdreau, Journeymen transfer 116, Accepted

– Normand Sequin, Journeymen transfer 58, Rejected

– Stephane Comeau, Journeymen transfer 58, Accepted

– Alex Wilkie, Journeymen transfer 60, Canadian citizen, Accepted

– Difu Shi, 1st year permit, Accepted.

– Vibol Tep, Journeymen transfer 58,  Rejected

– Ken Yuzyk, Journeyman permit,  Rejected

– Tyler Pincemin, 1st year permit, Accepted

– John Cardinal, Accepted

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Syncrude Commencing Maintenance Turnaround on Coker 8-1

Due to recent performance issues, a decision has been made to commence a maintenance turnaround of Coker 8-1 for required repairs.The plan involves advancing the Snowy Owl maintenance turnaround, previously planned for September.Those working to identify the issues impacting Coker 8-1, along with senior Syncrude management, closely examined all paths and possibilities prior to concluding this afternoon, that a prompt shutdown was the most appropriate action required to resolve these problems.Over the coming days, department managers and leaders will advise employees of the next steps involved in the process. Because this project will run into July, it is anticipated that it will impact some employees’ summer plans. Syncrude appreciates the understanding and support of all our employees and their families.

Thank you for your patience and cooperation.

Production and Maintenance 

 

"The Western Canadian Conference Apprentice Competition was held at the Local 110 training Centre on Saturday June 1 and Sunday June 2, 2013. Competitors from Locals 110, 118 and 119 competed to see who will represent Western Canada at the International’s Master Apprentice Competition in Orlando, Florida from July14 to July 19, 2013. We are pleased to announce that Local 110’s own Shelley Turner is going to Disneyland! Congratulations to all for a fine job representing their locals.”

Pictured left to right- Wade Logan, Local 110 Business Manager, Andrew Sturrock of Local 118, Shayne Chambers of Local 119 and Shelley Turner of Local 110.

BUSINESS MANAGER, WADE LOGAN’S CURRENT UPDATE

Sunday, June 2, 1013

 Here are the applicants for the June 15th General Membership Meeting, the door prize will be two season tickets to the Edmonton Eskimos hope to see you there.

– John Laud Anderson, 1st year permit, 1705 hours no reported missed time, Tentatively accepted

– Pierre Maguet, 1st year permit, 650 hours no reported missed time, Tentatively accepted

– Sheldon Sather, 1st year permit, 1094 hours no reported missed time, Tentatively accepted

– Brad Carberry, 1st year permit, 1048 hours no reported missed time, Tentatively accepted

– Peter Wiscombe, 1st year permit, 1346 hours no reported missed time, Tentatively accepted

– Sidney Bishop-Adams, 1st year permit, 962 hours no reported missed time, Tentatively accepted

– Jade Schultz, 1st year permit, 1010 hours no reported missed time, Tentatively accepted

– Brian Deschenes, 1st year permit, 261 hours, May's hrs not posted yet no reported missed time, Tentatively accepted

– Troy Whitford, 1st year permit, 2682 hours no reported missed time, Tentatively accepted

– Kingsley Okerri, 1st year permit, 195 hours, May's hrs not posted yet no reported missed time, Tentatively accepted

– Jarrett MacDonald, 2nd year permit, 3140 hours no reported missed time, Tentatively accepted

– David Gutierrez, 3rd year permit, 10,969 hours no reported missed time, Tentatively accepted

– Aaron Johnson,  Journeyman permit, 4452 hours no reported missed time, Tentatively accepted

– Rene Genaille,  Journeyman permit, 736 hours no reported missed time, Tentativel accepted

– Levi Gavelin,  Journeyman permit,Organized  by local 110, Tentatively accepted

– Charles Pichette, Journeymen transfer 95, 2375 hours no reported missed time, Tentatively accepted

– Robert Thompson, Journeymen transfer 118, 1801 hours no reported missed time, Tentatively accepted

– Calvin Wiseman, Journeymen transfer 116, 2047 hours no reported missed time, Tentatively accepted

– Gavin Hunter, Journeymen transfer 95, 3389 hours no reported missed time, Tentatively accepted

– Bruce Link, Journeymen transfer 95, 816 hours no reported missed time, Tentatively accepted

– Jason Gale, Journeymen transfer 116, 1177 hours no reported missed time, Tentatively accepted

– Eric Bourdreau, Journeymen transfer 116, 5525.75 hours, Tentatively accepted

– Normand Sequin, Journeymen transfer 58, 7827 hours no reported missed time, Tentatively rejected

– Stephane Comeau, Journeymen transfer 58, 5956 hours no reported missed time, Tentatively accepted

– Alex Wilkie, Journeymen transfer 60, Canadian citizen 7188 hours no reported missed time, Tentatively accepted

– Difu Shi, 1st year permit, Tentatively accepted.

– Vibol Tep, Journeymen transfer 58, four quits since 2010, Tentatively Rejected

– Ken Yuzyk, Journeyman permit, Tentatively Rejected

– Tyler Pincemin, 1st year permit, Tentatively accepted

– John Cardinal, union organized Tentatively accepted

As always the membership will vote to determine who is accepted for membership, if you have any information or feedback on the applicants please call the hall to discuss with myself or one of the Business agents or Trish, thank you.

Friday, May31, 2013

Here is an example of the Federal government selling our resources to an outside country and then letting them dictate who they will hire, if they can do it in B.C. how long before they try this in Alberta. Please circulate this around and send letters and emails to the M.P.s in your area to express your outrage and to demand that Canadian jobs employ Canadians first and foremost.

Controversy over Chinese miners in B.C. prompts flood of angry letters
James Keller, The Canadian Press

Read more: http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/controversy-over-chinese-miners-in-b-c-prompts-flood-of-angry-letters-1.1304915#ixzz2UsildTJe

Wednesday, May28, 2013

Good afternoon Local 110 Brothers and Sisters we are not doing to well in the volunteering department for the Habitat for Humanity build as you can see from the below table if you have any free time please consider helping them out, I put in a full day this month and challenge you to do the same. the contact info is on our main page of the website, thank you in advance.

Local 424 – International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers	2
Local 488 – United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters	6
Local 955 – International Union of Operating Engineers	1
Local 1325 –The Alberta Regional Council of Carpenters and Allied Workers	2
NO LOCAL # GIVEN	1

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Yesterday I spent the day at a seminar by OH&S to listen and ask questions about the new (TAPS) Ticketing and Administrative Penalties System that is to launched in the fall of this year. The gist of the program is that the OH&S officers will now be taking training to become Peace Officers which will let them write tickets exactly like the speeding tickets we receive now under the (POPA) Provincial Offenses Provision Act. They have a set section of offense that can be ticketed which I will publish once they have had the final approval. the OH&S officers will only be writing tickets for these offenses covered under these sections and will not be acting as Peace Officers.These tickets can be issued to the worker or the employer or both if warranted and if needed there will be a set appeal processes in place which I will also post later.Once these tickets are issued it will be the Provincial jurisdiction that will be responsible for enforcement of payment similar to how speeding tickets are done.After hearing everything and asking questions I don't believe this will be an impact on our Industrial jobs which meet and in alot of cases exceed the Safety requirements and are enforced by the contractor and Client safety reps.

Friday, May17,2013

Job posting for the Building Trades of Alberta

Friday,May17.2013

This has been a very busy month and I thought I would give you a quick update you on what I have been doing. First I would like to take a moment to remember our Brothers who have recently passed away I can't recollect when so many have passed away in such a short time and each and everyone of them will be missed and remembered for their contributions to the Union and our membership.  

  On May 2nd Bill Spring and I spent the day volunteering at the Habitat for Humanity build and spent the day prefabbing walls for the home, I was sore for about a week after this but it was for a very worth cause and if you can spare the time please volunteer on behalf of local 110.                                                                                                                                                           

  May 5 to May 10 I was in Gatineau Quebec for the Canadian Building Trades Union conference and met with International Representatives, James Grogan, Bud McCourt, Keith Wagner, Vince Engel and Fred Clare to have the International Health and Safety meeting with the other Canadian Unions to watch a presentation from PH.D Andy Todd on the Tissue bank , CT scans and smoking cessation followed by a discussion on what we can do to better identify the markers for the various forms of cancer and come up with new treatments so if you haven't filled out your consent forms for your Tissue samples to be sent to Mount Sinai for study please go on the International website and download the form to complete and send back, your tissue could hold the genetic break through they have been looking for.                                                                                                                                                                                                          We also had our first meeting of the Canadian Advisory Committee to the LMCT and had preliminary discussions on the International bringing on a lobbyist for the Canada and how as the Business Managers we would like to see him/her utilized in our area's and what benefits we would like to see we have a conference call next week to have further discussions on this topic.                                                                                                                                                         The Canadian Building Trades conference were the next couple of days and were highly informative with the major topic being the introduction of new resolutions for the members to vote or reject, the main resolution was to divert 1 cent of their per capita to a fund to campaign against the introduction of any more anti union Bills (377). We also had the opportunity to hear the leader of the Liberal party speak at the function Justin Trudeau a very well spoken young man who says he will represent the middle class and hopefully he will be a man of his word. 

  May 14-15 the Business Agents and I attended the Construction Owners Association of Alberta Awards and seminar to mingle and meet with all of the major player in the Oil and Gas industry and partake in information seminar classes on various related topics. I left early on the 15th so I could head to the Northlands Expo to be part of the Apprentice competition and tradeshow, I was surprised to hear that 7000 students will pass through the exhibits and to see the crowd of young students lined up at the Insulation booth to try their hand at laying out and fabricating a hand fan with Susan Markine acting as crowd control, good job Susan. next year I plan to have a 110 booth there so we can get a chance to expose these young people to benefits of working Union, Thank you to Ron Milich for huge part he plays in this every year and to Eamon Boyle for manning the BTA booth.  

 May 16 I was in Red Deer to attend the Building Trades of Alberta general meeting and we had a presentation from the U of A on the various studies they have done in the construction field and we are planning on working with them I the future to have studies done that we can use to benefit the Union Construction Industry.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

 

Local 110 has just learned long time member David Beck passed away Tuesday, April 30, 2013 at the age of 67. He was living in New Sarepta and had taken a withdrawl card a year ago after completing his last job through Local 110 with Book at the Shell Scotford Refinery in 2009. The funeral service is Thursday, May 9, 2013, 2:00 p.m. at Serenity Funeral Home, 10129 Princess Elizabeth Avenue, Edmonton. Condolences and prayers to Dave’s family and friends, from all of us at Local 110.

 

Tuesday,April 30, 2013

Local 110’s Officers and staff are sad to announce the passing of Brother Patriot Wilfred Wamburu. Wilfred was a recent member of Local 110 and impressed everyone with his drive to learn and to share his knowledge. He will be greatly missed by everyone who knew him. We will provide information on funeral/memorial services if/when we are advised. All of us at Local 110 offer our deepest condolences and prayers to Brother Wilfred’s family and friends.

 

Tuesday,April 30, 2013

Changes announced  to the Temporary Foreign Workers Progam.

Update on TFW controversy;

Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney defended the temporary foreign worker program as he unveiled changes to it Monday that include imposing a new fee on employers who want to bring workers in from outside Canada.The amount of the fee is yet to be determined, Kenney said at a news conference in Ottawa.The expected changes came after a CBC Go Public story earlier this month on use of foreign workers by Royal Bank which sparked public outrage and brought renewed focus on the temporary foreign workers program. The controversy dominated Parliament Hill and had the government defending the program but also promising changes to it so that it is not abused.One of the reforms expected is that employers will have to demonstrate that they have a plan to recruit, train and hire Canadians first before they can be granted a permit to hire foreign workers. If they have to hire foreign workers they will then need to have a plan to show how they will eventually hire Canadians for those positions.Another change to the program will be a fee imposed on employers who want to hire temporary foreign workers.

·         Insiders say Canada 'scammed' by foreign worker industry

There could also be changes to the current rule that allows for some temporary foreign workers to be paid up to15 per cent less than the median wage paid to Canadians in the same occupation.Employers, however, must offer foreign workers the same wage that is paid to Canadian workers in the same job in the same geographic area.Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney and Kellie Leitch, parliamentary secretary to Human Resources Minister Diane Finley will announce the changes in Ottawa. Finley was expected to attend the news conference but had a last minute scheduling change.The government said in its March budget that it would make reforms to the program, and they are expected to be included in the government's budget implementation bill that is on notice. It could be introduced after question period in the House of Commons today.Finley's department oversees the program and issues labour market opinions (LMO) on how hiring foreign workers would impact the Canadian job market. Employers are only given permission to hire temporary foreign workers if they can't find Canadians to fill the jobs and only if bringing in foreign workers won't have a negative impact on the Canadian labour market.To receive a positive LMO employers have to show what efforts they have made to recruit and train Canadian residents and the potential benefits that hiring foreign workers could have on the Canadian economy. Some work categories are exempt from the LMO requirement. Professionals and business people, for example, who come to Canada as part of international agreements or workers who come as part of an exchange program, do not need a LMO.The total number of temporary foreign workers has doubled in the last decade, to 338,189 workers.Some labour economists have been calling for a review of the program to determine if it is adequately addressing labour shortages or whether it is undermining wages and job opportunities in Canada.Erin Weir, a labour economist with the United Steel Workers Union said in an interview earlier this month that some companies go through the motions of pretending to hire Canadians in order to get a positive labour market opinion.The Alberta Federation of Labour said Monday that the program is being abused and employers are using it as a first choice instead of a last resort."Nowhere in the country is the situation more serious than in Alberta where clearly the temporary foreign worker program is being used to displace Canadians and to set off a race to the bottom in terms of wages and conditions," said Gil McGown, the group's president.McGowan said at a news conference on Parliament Hill that the program is driving down wages and "giving employers an excuse to abdicate their responsibility to train the next generation of Canadians."McGowan said his group is not reassured by the initiatives being announced Monday and that the government is just trying to give the appearance that it is doing something to respond to public opinion.

 

This morning I had an appointment at the WoW center to have my health assessment done, PFT and chest X-ray completed and thought I would let anyone who hasn't been there know whats involved. I showed five minutes before my appointment and checked in at the front desk where I was given some forms to be completed, Health questions, family doctor, alberta health care number and a consent form for the health assessment I completed the forms and handed them back in. I then had a seat for a couple of minutes before Jennifer Spring the R.N. called me in and took my height and weight and then proceeded to her office where she explained the how the consent form I had signed worked and that I would be part of the study on Insulator monitoring . She then continued to ask more detailed health questions all of which is kept strictly confidential although I did sign a form for the test results to be shared with my family doctor. Jennifer then asked about my work history and the jobs I had been on and exposure to fumes and whether I wore a respirator, then it was on to the various insulations I have been exposed to including asbestos and aerogel and which jobs I had been exposed to these materials and whether I wore a respirator while working with these materials.She then printed me off the forms to have my chest X-ray done downstairs and one to have my blood work completed since it had been awhile, and then I was off to do the PFT. The PFT is done in the diffusion box and took about twenty minutes and consisted of the regular test of blowing as hard as you can for as long as you can as well as a couple of different tests that I had not done before but only one test is done with the door closed and takes about a minute or two and then towards the end you get four shots of ventolin to see if there will be an improvement on your results when you redo a few of the breathing tests and then I was done. I then took my form and went downstairs to have my chest X-ray done, the whole process took one hour and forty five minutes and I'm sure we can all spare that amount of time to have this done and perhaps save your life and help the next generation of Insulators with what they can learn from us. The only thing left is to book another appointment to go over the test results with Dr. Naseem.

 

 

Friday, April 26th,2013

Local 110’s Officers and staff are sad to announce the passing of Brother Fred Stewart on the evening of April 24, 2013. Fred was a long time member of Local 110 and influenced a lot of his fellow members in the  36 years of affiliation and will be greatly missed by his Brother’s and Sister’s. There will be a viewing on Tuesday, April 30 from 6:00-8:00pm at Park Memorial Chapel, 9709 – 111 Avenue, Edmonton. The funeral will be Wednesday, May 1^st  at 1:00pm at Bethel Lutheran Church, 298 Bethel Drive, Sherwood Park. All of us at Local 110 offer our deepest condolences and prayers to Fred’s family and friends.

 

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Local 110 is sad to announce we just learned Brother Allan Brown passed away Thursday, April 18 2013 at the age of 58. He transferred into Local 110 from Local 95 in October of 2002. He worked at many sites, mostly in the Fort McMurray area, while our member. Cremation has taken place. The memorial service to celebrate his life is being held at 1 pm on Friday May 10, 2013, at the Crestmount Funeral Home, 322 Fennell Avenue E, Hamilton, Ontario. All of us at Local 110 offer deep condolences and prayers to Allan’s family and friends.

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A little update on contactors we have had two more sign up with us in the last week or so for voluntary recognition due to the concern that they will not be able to get the manpower without using our resources, so good news but we need to continue to attract and signup new members.

 Monday,April 22, 2013

Attention Journeyworkers- the Trustees of the Insulators’ Training Trust Fund of Alberta will be accepting resumes for the position of Training Coordinator from 

April 24 to May 8, 2013. Interested members may call Ron Milich at 780-440-6832 to obtain a list of qualifications, a job description and additional information 

about the position.

 

 

Monday, April 15, 2013

At the Saturday general membership meeting the following were voted in, Congratulations !

 

– Sheldon Fedoruk, 1st year ,  Accepted
– Manuel Munoz, 1st year , Accepted
 -Patrick Enright, 1st year , Accepted
 -Katrina McArtur, 1st year , Accepted
-Tressa McLeod, 1st year, Accepted
– Andras Katona, 1st year, Accepted
-Christian D. MacKey , 1st year , Accepted
-Timothy R. Wilkie, 1st year , Accepted
-Daniel MacDonald, 1st year, Accepted
 -Simone Frost, 1st year , Accepted
-Samuel Bentamtam, 1st year, Accepted
-Rogelio Capangpangan, Journeyman transfer, Accepted
– Mark Carr, Journeyman transfer , Accepted
-Errol Brendish, Journeyman transfer ,Accepted
– Matthew J. Mills, Journeyman , Accepted
-Lucas A. Hanson, 3rd year , Accepted
-Andy Dort, Journeyman , Accepted
-Lawrence Dovich, Journeyman transfer , Accepted

The following members were nominated and voted to be Delegates at the Canadian Conference in June, Doug Casemore, Bill Markine, Bill Spring, and Rick Burgess, alternates were Larry Graham and Bill Hackman. There was also a motion that was approved to send the Exexutive board and recording secretary as per past practice.

Continue reading “BM Update June 2nd, 2013” →