May/June 2006

Greetings:

IVP Phil Flemming

At the All Canada Progress Meeting (ACPM) in Saint John, New Brunswick International President Ed Hill introduced the Delegates to the innovative IBEW Industrial Organizing Program.  President Hill explained that this Organizing Plan will be funded by the International Office.

The 1st District Office will be front and centre in this restructuring initiative and will have two organizing regions, Ontario East and Manitoba West.

The Eastern Region will consist of three Organizing Councils; the Atlantic Council, Quebec Council and Ontario Council.  The Western Region will consist of two Organizing Councils, the Manitoba/Saskatchewan/Alberta Council and the British Columbia/Yukon/North West    Territories / Nunavut Council.

President Hill said at the ACPM that this is not a scheme to amalgamate local unions. Local union autonomy is and always will be an IBEW way of life.

Each Region will have a Regional Coordinator, Organizing Council Lead Organizers and Field Organizers.  The two Regional Coordinators will be hired as International Representatives and report directly to the Membership Development Department at the International Office with campaign coordination and reporting to the First District Office.

As I said at the ACPM, this is an exciting new enterprise by the IBEW with the opportunity to increase union density, to the best advantage of our IBEW membership, in our IBEW industries.

Thanks to the loyal support and the efforts of many of our dedicated local union leaders, the IBEW is now turning the corner and heading in the direction which will ultimately lead to success.  Let’s all push together on this one!

Phil Flemming, IVP

2006 Legislative Conference, Canadian Building Trades

The 5th Annual Canadian Legislative Conference of the Building & Construction Trades Department (BCTD) was held in Ottawa on May 7-9, 2006 and attracted 330 participants from across Canada.  The record turnout shows that there is a keen interest in promoting the legislative agenda of the Canadian Building Trades and in exchanging views on how to tackle some of the challenging issues facing the organized construction industry. 

Co-chaired by Brother Joseph Maloney, Chairman of the BCTD’s Canadian Executive Board and International Vice-President of the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, and Brother Robert Blakely, BCTD Director of Canadian Affairs, the 2006 Legislative Conference was a resounding success.

In his keynote address, BCTD Secretary-Treasurer Sean McGarvey welcomed the participants and brought fraternal greetings from President Edward Sullivan.  He stressed unity and noted that the officers of the BCTD are working closely with leaders in Canada to address issues of importance to the organized construction industry, such as pension solvency and market share enhancement. 

Three Cabinet Ministers from the new Conservative Government addressed the participants.  All of them referred to trades-related provisions just announced in the 2006 Budget including: an Apprentice Incentive Grant of $1,000 per year in the first two years of apprenticeship; an Apprenticeship Job Creation Tax Credit for employers equivalent to 10% of an apprentice’s wage for the first two years of a contract up to a maximum of $2,000 per apprentice per year; and a Tools Tax Deduction to a maximum of $500 per year.  Each speaker reinforced a unique theme:

• The Honourable Jean-Pierre Blackburn, Minister of Labour, touched on skills shortages and the need to attract young people to careers in trades.
• The Honourable Monte Solberg, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, noted that his department is working closely with Human Resources and Social Development Canada to improve the Temporary Foreign Workers Program and that he is looking forward to further discussions with the Canadian Building Trades on related issues.
• As a journeyman carpenter, the Honourable Gary Lunn, Minister of Natural Resources, spoke of his affinity towards trades and trade-related issues.  He acknowledged the important socio-economic contribution that the trades make to Canada.
• Keynote addresses were also given by the leaders of the three Opposition Parties.  The Honourable Jack Layton, New Democratic Party, said that “the Conservatives haven’t gone far enough” with their Budget.  He challenged the Government to lead by example and, as a major employer of trades, hire apprentices.  Mr. Gilles Duceppe, Bloc Québécois, spoke about his party’s support for anti-scab legislation and of the unique opportunity for the advancement of labour and social causes during this minority Government.  The Honourable Bill Graham, Liberal Party of Canada, spoke about the role of the Building Trades in shaping policy for the working lives of Canadians.
• The President of the Canadian Labour Congress, Brother Ken Georgetti, reinforced that minority Governments create a dynamic in which “the Government, and the Opposition Parties too, are more attentive to the voices of working people.”  He congratulated the Canadian Building Trades for the momentum gained with each successive Legislative Conference.    

The afternoon session of Monday, May 8th featured a presentation entitled The Construction Workforce of Tomorrow.  Mr. George Gritziotis and Ms. Rosemary Sparks of the Construction Sector Council joined Brother Blakely and this presentation was an appropriate lead in to the legislative briefing that followed.

Lobbying Members of Parliament is a popular and powerful aspect of each Legislative Conference program.  This year’s participants met with approximately 120 Members of Parliament from all parties.  Brother Robert Blakely, Director of Canadian Affairs, briefed the participants on the legislative priorities that they would voice on Parliament Hill and the 2006 Budget tabled on May 3, 2006.  (See Briefing Kit:  Public Policy and the Construction Workforce of Tomorrow at www.buildingtrades.ca.)  He stressed that “employment opportunities for Canadian construction workers, and those looking to enter the industry as apprentices, are comprised by the inappropriate use of temporary foreign workers.”  He also forwarded a strong business case for providing financial support to facilitate mobility for construction workers.  Brother Blakely said that he welcomed the trades and apprenticeship provisions in the 2006 Budget and would be working hard to strengthen them, for example, by linking the Apprenticeship Job Creation Tax Credit to apprenticeship completion. 

The issue of Pension Solvency was expertly addressed by a team of panelists that included:  Susan Bird, The McAteer Group of Companies; William Anderson, Multi-Employer Benefit Plan Council of Canada; and Randy DeFrehn, National Coordinating Committee for Multi-Employer Pension Plans.  The issue of Market Share Enhancement was addressed by:  Katherine Jacobs, Ontario Construction Secretariat; John Pender, IBEW-Construction Council of Ontario; and Eryl Roberts, Electrical Contractors Association of Ontario.  Both sessions were followed by a question-and-answer period.

The activities of the first day were crowned by a reception on Parliament Hill to which all Members of Parliament and Senators were invited.  This was yet another lobbying opportunity as many Members of Parliament in particular sought out participants from their riding. 

The National Dad’s Day Golf Tournament was held following the Conference and raised $12,500 for the Diabetes Islet Transplant Program of the University of Alberta. 

International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, AFL-CIO, CLC

© Copyright 2007 IBEW.  IBEW is a registered trademark.  All rights reserved.  Material from this Web site may not be used on any non-union Web site or publication without expressed permission from the IBEW.  Links from this Web site do not necessarily indicate an endorsement.