View - UA Local 488
Transcription
View - UA Local 488
March 2015 Issue LARRY MATY CH UK B u siness Manag er/ F inancial S ecretary New committee members and trustees have been elected and the ICI ballots are in the mail. It’s been a busy first quarter. To the outgoing committee members and trustees, I thank you for your time and dedication. To the incoming, I know you will take the responsibilities your Brothers and Sisters have entrusted you with seriously and use this opportunity to contribute to our organization in a positive way. I would especially like to thank two (2) committees. The Election Committee has been working their butts off since early January and are still going strong. They have been conducting overlapping nominations and votes and have met every deadline (and there are many) while maintaining the highest standards of integrity & unbiasedness. Another committee that deserves your appreciation is the Negotiating Committee. We had a good mix of experienced committee members and first timers. They brought view points from being on the tools to being in supervisory positions and, most importantly, they brought the knowledge that negotiations was not about them or how it would affect them personally. They made tough decisions that they felt would protect members’ jobs and wages today and that would ensure our Local would grow and prosper in the future. Regardless of how you feel personally about the outcomes of the elections or the Memorandum of Agreement, these committees did their jobs well and should be commended. I’m not going to discuss the ICI Memorandum of Agreement except to say that we worked hard to place ourselves in as strong a competitive position as possible in these difficult economic times without slashing wages mortgages still have to be paid. Eligible voters have received comprehensive information packages and there is additional information available for members on our website. As well, an information meeting will be held as advertised in the voting package and in this newsletter. The last four or five months have given us a pretty good taste of what life could be like if oil prices don’t rebound in the next eighteen to twenty-four months. The good news is that we currently have enough activity to keep the membership close to fully employed during that time. I expect that overtime will be curtailed as much as possible and that any ‘perks’ will disappear but, for now, calls are going through the board. We live in a commodity based economy and, while the last sixteen years have been very good to us, commodity based economies are prone volatility. If you’ve been in the industry in Alberta for two decades or more you’ve experienced this before and, you know the answer to surviving these times - make yourself competitive without having to work for nothing. While we do not want to engage in a ‘race to the bottom’, we must not be seen to be adding to costs when budgets are being cut. Don’t pad the paycheque with perks. Be professional by being on time, ready to go to work when you get there, and be productive. One more weld or bolt-up a day may make the difference as to who has a job tomorrow. This should not be an issue for our membership. We have the best trained tradespeople and supervision in the industry and, over the last few years, we’ve seen how we can capture work from our competition on a daily basis. You are professionals. You know what needs to be done and what it takes to be invited back. Today, we are competing for projects that will be built two years from now and now is the time to show how much better we really are. meeting EDMONTON G e n e r a l Me m b e r s h i p Me e t i n g D ate Saturday, March 28th, 2015 T ime 9:00 AM P l ace Norman Darbyshire Dispatch Hall 16214 - 118 Avenue this issue Business Reports Long Service Awards Recipients 1 - 10 12 - 14 Director of Education Report 15 Pipeline Section Report 15 Sprinkler Section Report 16 Local 488 Annual Picnic Registration 17 Health & Safety Committee Report 18 Nominations for UA Canadian Conference Delegates 21 Mail Bag Long Service Awards Banquet 22 - 23 24 BARRY PRUDEN Business Agent/Assistant Business Manager The days are finally getting longer, thank heaven, and there are more calls coming in every day. I have received many calls from concerned members asking about the work prospects in the near future. The decline in the price of oil has everyone worried. I am writing this report on February 18, and am pleased to report that in the month of January, 1025 people were dispatched, and so far, February has seen 644 people sent to work. Today, Travel Card welders went out, and the Steamfitter calls went through to on-line dispatch (member) applicants; some Apprentice calls remained open. There have been several recent Facebook postings regarding postings seen on the Canadian Job Bank, posted by signatory contractors requesting Steamfitter/Pipefitter and Pressure Welders to submit their resumes to them. This has created quite a buzz of speculation, half-truths, and downright misinformation. I will try to provide an explanation to clear up these misconceptions. Yes, several of our signatory contractors have posted jobs on the Job Bank site, and have actually forwarded interested applicants’ resumes to UA Local 488. The Members who shared the information that these postings are a requirement of HRDC/Immigration, which Canadian Employers must fill before TFWs can be brought in, are correct. The postings are placed well in advance of any actual job openings and are posted to meet the Governments requirements in anticipation of worker shortages. If Canadian workers are unavailable to take these jobs, the company has then met the necessary steps to apply for TFW permits and get these workers to shutdowns, etc., in a timely manner. If the people posting comments had clicked on the ads from Jacobs and Edmonton Exchanger, for example, and read all the way to the bottom, they would have seen, clearly stated, the Union wages and benefits as per the Collective Agreement statement, indicating that these are union jobs first! As I wrote in my January 2013 Newsletter report, when you see calls unfilled, these positions have been made available to, and turned down by, Canadian members first. They are then open to all Albertans and Canadian workers, be they travelers from other Locals or Permit workers. Only when all of these avenues have been exhausted and companies are still unable to fill their manpower needs, are they able to begin the process of bringing in TFWs. I hope that this explanation provides some clarity to this concern. It is the desire of every Union Officer and our signatory companies to employ Canadians first; however, it is the individual member, traveler or permit who chooses to accept or decline a job offer. With this freedom we can see situations such as occurred this week, where two TFW welders were dispatched because no Canadian or Travel Card member picked up those jobs. If you can explain why no Canadian Member/Traveler wanted these jobs, I am willing to listen! The second topic I would like to bring up is the often expressed concern regarding initiation of new members when work opportunities are slow. As I reported at the November General Meeting, yes, we initiated 170 new members at the last Heritage meeting. However, over the three prior months, we ‘lost’ 204 members: • • • September 2014: Expelled 40, Deceased 4 October 2014: Expelled 94, Deceased 6 November 2014: Expelled 54, Deceased 6 A significant number of these expulsions were for members with cancelled apprenticeships. The Education Department, along with AIT, has undertaken a review of all apprentice files and those members whose apprenticeships have been cancelled, are scheduled for Executive Board appointments. The Executive Board reviewed 19 of these files in December 2014, another 10 in February, and currently have 22 scheduled for March 6. These numbers for cancelled apprenticeships are not unusual, as there is historically an annual drop-out rate of 40 – 50% in the first two years of apprenticeship. This statistic has been the norm for many decades. Many members see their ‘position’ on the out-of-work board and worry sets in; however, their ‘real’ number is relative compared to the portion of membership that has worked in the last year. Those numbers are as follow: As of January 2, 2014: Apprentice 145 Pipefitter 902 B Welder 427 As of February 20, 2015: 666 - 521 2380 - 1478 1011 - 584 Again, every individual in our society has the freedom to make personal choices. These individual decisions are made according to many factors, including personal needs at the time. However, very few of you have had to work full Collective Agreement at Syncrude on a 5 x8’s schedule and been thankful for the job, as your fellow union brothers and sisters attended the hall hoping to get enough hours just to qualify for pogey. I sincerely hope we never see those days again, but in a resource based economy such as ours, this situation is always a very real possibility. It is however a possibility that you can prepare for, by reflecting wisely on your life choices. Short of unforeseen illness or injury, it is up to each individual to make good choices and plan for the inevitable bumps in the journey through your lives and careers. Every one of you deserves the best for yourself and your families! 2 ROD MCKAY Business Agent Back to the Future… I was fortunate enough to have Brother Diedrich Unrau give me a copy of the December 1979 Local 488 ‘Pipeline’ newsletter. This is where our pipeline newsletter started from. The copy I am looking at is on an 8 ½ x 11 paper folded in half. The articles are very interesting, and I thought I would share a few excerpts with you: The address of the local was 10503-109 Street, Edmonton Alberta, aka the Rat Hole. That year, Members of Local 488, made up half of the provincial weight lifting team at the ‘Western Canada Summer Games’ in Saskatoon. In news from Washington: A consumer group says test have linked caffeine with birth defects, and is demanding warning labels on coffee and tea. This stimulant is contained in cola beverages and some other over-the-counter drugs. FDR Spokesman Wayne Pines said the agency is working ‘very actively’ on caffeine. And randomly: ‘It is not enough for a man to know to ride, he must know how to fall.’ Blackfoot proverb The one article that caught my attention is called ‘REPRESENT?’ Here is what it said: At the last Regular Meeting, a motion was passed to reduce our membership meetings to four a year for 1980. That means a meeting in the daytime, probably a Saturday, in March, June, September and December. At these meetings written reports will be submitted by various Officers and Committees and members will be given copies of same. The foregoing action was taken by the approximately 125 members present at the meeting in hopes that if there are only four (4) Meetings a year we may be able to increase participation. When we elect people to represent us, how can they if we won’t represent ourselves to them, do we expect them to read our minds? I’ve heard all the excuses, you cannot change anything anyways, the same people are always up talking, and they shouldn’t let people who have been drinking into the meeting. Etc. I think all those reasons are just excuses for not participating and shouldering your responsibilities, yes, your responsibilities, you, each of you, has an opportunity to make a contribution by letting the rest of us know where you stand or what you feel should be our position on any given topic. I have heard this refrain many times over the years ‘What did they do that for? And the answer to that question is ‘because you weren’t there’. Ok Brothers, now let’s start participating, I know, for some of you it is very difficult to stand up in front of the membership and express your views, someone might laugh or boo, but if that is their only contributions, it isn’t much. The first meeting I ever stood up at, was a union meeting. I got up because I felt so strongly about the issues that I felt compelled to object to what was happening. The membership overruled my objection, but I had won anyway because I finally overcome the barrier to my participation. However, until you can participate vocally you can participate with your vote so that we can have more than 4% of the membership determining our policies and guidelines. See you at the next meeting. Lindsay King. Members, I hope this old article reminds you that we are an organization that has been around for a very long time and is only has strong has WE make it. To know where we are going, we must know our past. The nature of participation in the Union has not changed. We are only strong when we are united. It is interesting to note that the refrain of ‘get involved, speak up and make your voice heard’ has not changed much in 35 years! As for my assigned areas of responsibility: Black & McDonald at Surmont 2 is doing well representing us. I received a call today (February 18, 2015) from Colin Cormier that Black & Mac has picked up more work and will be calling for more UA members. Good work all! Black & McDonald is also working 14 on 7 off with flights across Canada. Melloy & PCL Intracon at Long Lake same old, same old, meeting Nexen’s needs and staying busy doing so. PCL Intracon & KBR at Surmont 2: PCL will have the majority of work completed by mid-July. KBR is still going strong with 238 members on site. Intracon doing their thing. Clearwater Fab Shop in McMurray still a little slower than normal. Cenovus has taken a hit on the construction side, and maintenance as well, losing a few members, working with what I would call a ‘Skeleton Crew’. I hope all our members are looking forward to spring! Wishing you all well for the upcoming Shutdown season! 3 TOM BAILEY Business Agent Greetings Brothers and Sisters At time of writing in mid-February, it’s encouraging to see our long winter slowly going away. A reminders of our four seasons and of course spring which is the beginning of ‘shutdown’ season. We should see calls beginning to increase in size and to different contractors on various sites as we move into March. Most have start dates mid-March, and beginning of April. Maintenance and shutdown work contribute about the same amount of hours to Local 488 as construction hours, so it is very important that we man these jobs and be safe and productive. It only takes a year or two to build these plants but they have to be maintained for the life of the facility, which can be thirty years plus. With our present ICI agreement expiring this spring, negotiations have been ongoing for some time. As most members realize, with the downward spiral of oil prices, our contractors are in tough competition with non-union and CLAC contractors for the work in the industry. With that we must be determined to maintain our market share and do what it takes to keep our contractors competitive. We have been able to do that with our commitment to safety, quality, productivity and providing skilled labor to meet that need. I would hope that continuing to provide these four key elements would ensure the edge needed to do just that, but let’s not underestimate the desire of our competition to undermine the Building Trades in order to gain market share of their own. If we don’t maintain a presence and our contractors are frozen out, some of our non-committed members will jump to whoever can provide employment and erode our membership. That is also a goal of our competitors, who in many cases are the non-union spinoff of one of our union contractors. Committee nominations were held at the January meeting and I would like to thank all those who put their name forward to run for these very important committees, and congratulate those who are successful when the ballots are counted. By being a part of these committees you are contributing to the ongoing success of Local 488. I was particularly impressed with the number of people who stepped up and ran for the first time, as we need younger members to show interest in the affairs of this organization. It’s easy to sit back and perhaps complain about situations, but the only way to affect change is to be involved and for newly elected members, you will realize how important it is to be involved in decisions that affect the entire membership. In my area of responsibility in addition to power plant shutdowns, (Sundance 3 March15th, 30 days plus, Genesee May 8th 24 days plus, Sundance 5, May 24th, 30 days plus, and Keephills three, early September 24 days plus), KBR revamp of five furnaces at the Nova Joffre site continues on that project with about 35 members, Aecon has picked up work at the Hardisty tank farm beginning in April that will employ approximately 40 members and Chemco Electric is completing its project at the Genesee site with a small crew. BFI has also picked up a contract at Hardisty, but the scope and manpower needs are not yet known. TVE (Thompson Valley) has completed their contract on the Millar Western site in Whitecourt and although the efforts of our members were successful in completing the work, TVE was unsuccessful in securing more work on that site. We have several smaller contractors pursuing work in the areas that are typically done by local non-union contractors, but I am told it is a hard sell to compete with these locals. However, clients and owners are shopping around for the best deal, with the biggest drawback being double time for overtime, and local residents who reside in that area. When overtime and living out allowance are added to bids, it takes union contractors out of the running most of the time. With Jurisdiction, I have been involved in several substantial job markups for the Suncor Fort Hills site and the Redwater Partnership Plants 10 and 30. Markups are very important to protect our jurisdiction from other trades who do sometimes encroach and contractors who sometimes tend to award by which trade are the general superintendents of the project. Mark-ups also signal that the work is about to begin and shows that some projects are committed to proceed, but I have no doubt that the clients are asking contractors to really sharpen their pencils to be productive and bring these projects in on time and budget. If we have the engineering, information, materials, tools, equipment and planning I am sure we can do our part to ensure goals are met, if we work to our Standards for Excellence. It is incumbent on our supervision, the GF’s, Foremen, and craft superintendents to be on top of the aforementioned, and document any shortfalls so our labor cannot be blamed. In closing, I would like to thank all the stewards who represent the membership on all the jobs out there. It is a hard job and volunteering your time shows your commitment to the membership and Local 488. 4 STU MACLEOD Business Agent Greeting Sisters and Brothers; As we enter into March and April the shutdown season has arrived. I would like to mention the following as you prepare for the long hours of shutdown: as you receive your dispatch slips please take the time to review where and when your job starts including orientation times and location. Make sure your rate is correct and that you understand your requirements. Often, as congestion in the dispatch hall grows with the large number of calls we have, that we may miss some important information on our job slips. Ask your dispatcher if you are not sure. Here are my areas of responsibility: AGRIUM - FORT SASKATCHEWAN MELLOY: Base Crew. No planned spring Shutdown. AGRIUM - REDWATER MELLOY: Plant Shutdown 4-6 weeks between plant work and projects. Starts 2nd week of March. Excellent work opportunities. AIR PRODUCTS HYDROGEN REFORMER PROJECT- SCOTFORD KEL-GOR: Completion of some small underground packages, site and job trailers mobilized; plan to start employment of UA Members in early March. Excellent construction opportunities. DOW FORT SASKATCHEWAN JACOBS: Base crew maintenance, some furnace/ maintenance work scheduled. Shutdown work in May. HCU/DEBOTTLENECK PROJECT SCOTFORD JACOBS: Construction of additional modules, piping prepared for expansion; affecting several units in plant. Will start employing workers, mobilizing in March 2015 with an approximate start April 15 2015. Excellent construction opportunities. SHELL SCOTFORD JACOBS: General Maintenance shutdown, project shutdown planned for April with some pre-work in Mid-March 30+/- days. KBR: Base crew maintenance. Shutdown work scheduled, same start dates as above. Excellent work opportunities. MELLOY: Shutdown Opportunity. Will be taking some pre-workers for Mid-March. Shutdown starts in April. WILLIAMS ENERGY - REDWATER HB CONSTRUCTORS: Plant hiring according to schedule. 30+/- UA, Excellent work opportunities. SHELL SCOTFORD QUEST FLUOR: completed project on time and on budget. Thank you to all the United Association Sisters and Brothers that put forth a professional work ethic. Job well done! EDMONTON EXCHANGER: has been rewarded the commissioning of the nearly constructed carbon capture facility. Base crew days, small crew nights. SUNCOR EDMONTON REFINERY EDMONTON EXCHANGER: 55+ UA on site. Shutdown activities March 30+/- days. 160 +/- UA Members required. KBR: Base crew, Shutdown activities March. Excellent work opportunities. IMPERIAL OIL STRATHCONA REFINERY EDMONTON EXCHANGER: 30+ UA on site, base crew maintenance, projects. Shutdown work may 30+/- days. MELLOY: 30+ UA on site, base crew maintenance, and project work. Shutdown late summer, planning in progress. Great in town work opportunities. NORTHWEST UPGRADER FLUOR: main site getting busy with material and trailers being set. Fluor has units 10 and 30 and are receiving materials. 25+ UA on site. Expected to start hiring spring/summer. Busing has started for suite. Excellent long term employment. PCL: Praxair Plant, to start in spring. Some Site work, excellent work opportunity. BLUE ENERGY: 25+ UA on site, on underground unties, looking to expand on more underground packages. Good work opportunity. TAURUS SITE SERVICES: installing wash cars, trailers and lunchrooms. I would like to thank all my Job Stewards who stepped up to help this Shutdown Season. I encourage all who are interest to enroll into our Job Steward Courses. Wishing all members a safe and productive shutdown season! 5 ROBERT TAYLOR Business Agent Greetings, Brothers & Sisters. Winter is still with us but we are moving into spring with warmer weather and longer days. With spring comes the Shutdown season, which should put most of our members to work and lots of travel Cards as well. With oil prices bouncing around there is some uncertainty in the investment in Alberta’s Oil Patch. I think our local is doing reasonably well. Some of our work areas are picking up, like the Mod Yards, NW Refinery Redwater, Suncor’s Fort Hills, plus a variety of smaller projects. Over the past four to five years, I believe we’ve increased our market share of the piping work in our area. This is very important for the future employment of our members and the quality of life for them and their families. To sustain our wages and benefits we need to work safely and be productive both in the quality and the quantity of work we are doing on the job sites. Basically, it is committing to the values we have stated in our UA Standard for Excellence. Most of our members are doing this well, but there are still some who demonstrate a poor attitude to their chosen career in the amount and the quality of that work, as well as their attendance at work. The success of our Union contractors is a success for UA Local 488. There is a lot of competition between the Building trades Unions and the non-union sectors in this province. Let’s keep our contractors in business by giving them ‘a day’s work for a day’s pay’. In January’s issue of the UA Journal, President Hite gives a good report on opportunities in Canada and the USA for our Union. But in the last part of the article, he also states “…if our members cannot be productive, they either need to improve their skills or step aside. Anyone who thinks that a Union card guarantees a job without skills and being productive is mistaken.” UA Local 488 does not need unproductive members; they are slowing down our drive to increase market share and secure future employment for our members. Also, we should be policing ourselves, helping each other and mentoring our apprentices. Please take the time to read President Hite’s article; he makes some good points! As for my assigned areas: ACADEMY FABRICATION Still busy, approximately 35-40 members doing piping fabrication for KBR, Enbridge, and also Horton CBI. AECON FAB SHOPS NORTH: Approx. 130 members days & nights; has ongoing work providing pipe spools for the 400 Mods for the Northwest Refinery; Some OT. SOUTH: Busy with approx. 90+ UA Personnel on days & nights, doing piping for the NWR Mods; hiring to increase as material and drawing issues are resolved. AECON MOD YARDS Approximately 45 members; will hire more Fitters and Welders for Northwest Refinery Mods as more pipe spools arrive from the shops. CLEARWATER SHOP Less than 20 UA members, work has slowed, have some small contracts and are pursuing future piping contracts. CLEARWATER MOD YARD I & II Nothing to report at this time. EDMONTON EXCHANGER SHOP Small crew. ES FOX Slow, has some work in their shop, a few members employed. Pursuing new contracts. GANOTECH SHOP Slow, have approx. 12 members working in the shop. GANOTECH MOD YARD Nothing to report at this time. In negotiations for new contracts. 6 HORTON CBI Have signed a contract for over 100+ mods for the NWR. Steel erection of mods has begun and some hiring of 488 members began in February. Approx. 15 members on site. JACOBS MOD YARD Presently working on smaller package of mods. JACOBS SHOP Working on piping for various Jacobs sites and spring shutdown work. They have some pipe spools to fabricate for their mod yard. Approx. 40 members employed. KELGOR MOD YARD New Ontario Contractor working on mods for Air Products in Fort Saskatchewan; Approx. 50 members on-site. It’s a smaller Mod Yard located on the way to Aecon South Fab Shop & KBR Mod Yard. Chemco: Approx. 6 members doing instrumentation. KBR SHOP Work has slowed, approx. 70 members employed days and nights working 5 x 9’s. KBR MOD YARD I Has finished its Mods. Presently not much activity but KBR is actively pursuing mod packages for this yard and Mod Yard 2. KBR MOD YARD II Approx. 180 members on site, have work until spring. Hiring of manpower as required. Still some issues with engineering and material. KBR is working some overtime at this site. Robert Taylor’s Business Agent Report Continued… PCL NIS K U S H OP Working steady, approx. 200 members between days and nights. Some hiring of experienced shop personnel; TIG welders, MIG, Fitters with table experience, etc. PCL EAS T 4 0 MOD Y ARD Some storage of Material, receiving and shipping to sites, a couple of members. This Mod Yard will be up and running later this year with mod work for Suncor’s Ft. Hills Project. Hiring for this site will begin then. PCL NIS K U MOD Y ARDS I & II Have added some smaller Mods contracts for Alberta and have Mods for a potash plant in Saskatchewan. PCL has actively pursued new modular work, leading to PCL being awarded in February over 400 Mods for SK Eng. & Const. of Korea for Suncor’s Fort Hills Project. The steel and piping for these mods is prefabricated in Korea so it will not generate much work for PCL’s Fab Shop, but the assembly of the Mods and installation of pipe, etc., will be done in the yards. In closing, I would like to thank our Job Stewards, the Officers and Staff of 488 who help to maintain the Local. Also, to our members for their commitment to their Union and its effort to advance the cause of working people, and to secure a better quality of life. On April 11, 2015 we have our annual Awards Banquet where the Local recognises our longer serving members for this commitment. If you can make it, try to Attend. Our next General Meeting will be held on Saturday, March28; See you there! ROD CARLS ON B u siness Ag ent I don’t know about you but I am ready for spring. On my last visit to Kearl Lake it was -48 degrees with the wind chill. Some folks were sent home and others continued on. We are all aware of what is going on with oil prices, so I will not repeat what the other Agents and Reps might be telling you. Downsizing is going on all sites. ALB IAN S ANDS F LIG H TS EDMONTON/ CALG ARY ONLY Transfield is spread out between Jackpine and MRM on maintenance with less men since the New Year. A small crew has started the pre shut down spools in what Shell calls a fab shop. Edmonton Exchange will be looking for about 50 B pressure welders with their 661T overlay. So, for $5, I would swing by our welding shop and run a few beads. Between days and nights they will be looking for just under a 100 pipe fitters and about 30 plus apprentices. Melloy will be at MRM Froth with about 40 plus UA for about a month. Shell plans to try a new GPS tracking card which I hope everyone is informed about before they go to site and are not sent back to the hall because they refuse to sign the consent form. This will monitor the construction delays for the turnaround and where they might improve processes in Permits delays, travel times to and from lunch rooms, etc. Camp will be at the Athabasca camp. They will be using upgraded school busses to travel to the camp; seats that are higher with seat belts and more leg room?? I know this is going to be an issue but we are addressing it. K EARL LAK E F LIG H TS EDMONTON/ CALG ARY ONLY Jacobs has 24 UA working on 14/7 blended rate between the 3 shifts.(ABC) Jacobs is having a hard time with hiring, to find out IOL won’t release the work they intend to fixed or replaced, leaving Jacobs to cancel flights and return the craft to their halls. PCL has about 31 UA working 14/7 PLA on little projects from KEP to the tank farm. S UNCOR B AS E PLANT NO F LIG H TS There have been layoffs to all contractor on this site. With Suncor looking to tighten their own belts, Millennium’s kitchen has been shut down and camp food quality has declined. It’s almost as bad as eating something I made! Lunch bags are smaller with less food to choose from. Suncor was looking into this. Suncor has a relocation program for Fort McMurray; I will have copies of this put in our dispatch in Edmonton and Fort McMurray offices, but this could change at any time. Jacobs is preparing for the Spring Turnaround and should have calls in the hall soon. Just like last year, there will be smaller numbers of UA on site. Suncor’s turnaround managers found that with smaller crews there were less incidents and more productivity. Babcock & Wilcox will be involved with the turnaround with a small crew also. S UNCOR F IREB AG F LIG H TS EDMONTON/ CALG ARY / S AS K ATOON ONLY Transfield Maintenance is working a 14/14 with about 60 UA on site. They were told to cut their numbers and with that, a lot of good Travel cards and Permits had to go. Even a few members had to leave. Transfield: Sustaining is working 10/4 with about 21 UA, but by the time you read this they may be working a 14/7, another sign of cut backs by the Clients. CBI Horton has contacted me for information about supplying them with manpower for a May shut down. I don’t have the numbers at this time. CIMS has about 20 UA working on pad 104 for about a 2 months. H US K Y S UNRIS E There is nothing to report. Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to vote for a nominee who ran for a committee. May your choices be helpful with your union hall. In closing I hope you will have a safe and prosperous turnaround season and we can look forward to an enjoyable summer. 7 KEVIN MORIN Business Representative Hello Brothers and Sisters! We have seen our share of turbulence early this year. However, we should consider ourselves fortunate that this economic turmoil has coincided with a heavy shutdown season and owner driven initiatives which show a clear vision on proceeding with several major construction projects. With financial prudence and committing to the fundamentals of what makes us so valuable in the eyes of our contractors – Safety, Professionalism, and Productivity, I have no doubt that we’ll be able to weather this storm. And by holding strong to those fundamentals, we may even find ourselves in a position to increase our market share. Our ability to supply highly skilled labour on demand continues to be one of our strongest selling points. It has long been the case that Alloy Welders are the most sought after commodity in our industry and whomever can supply the Alloy Welders gets the work. If we seriously intend to capture market share, we need our B Welders to step up and get their alloy tickets. We need to secure the confidence of the owners once we have established our presence on site. One area where this can be shored up concerns A&D non-compliance. We are all well aware that we are required to be prepared for work every day and an overwhelming majority of us display this professionalism on a daily basis. Recently, a survey of A&D non-compliance during a fall turnaround put our members slightly better than non-union contractors, but surprisingly, quite far behind CLAC contractors during the same period. While this a small sample size, and in my estimation, not an accurate reflection of the whole, it is an alarming statistic to say the least. We pride ourselves on being the most professional workforce in the industry. What you choose to do on your own time is your business, however, when you are on an owners site, your choices reflect on your brothers and sisters, and a poor choice has the unintended consequence of painting the rest of us with a broad brush. SYNCRUDE & AURORA Aecon’s SUSP Project has been put in abeyance pending re-engineering and a recovery in the price of oil. I anticipate this project to return some time in 2016. Rope Access Calgary (RAC) has secured a long term maintenance contract at Syncrude. Their business model utilizes fully ticketed trade professionals to do maintenance work which is inaccessible by permanent deck and where scaffolding is impractical or cost prohibitive. While relatively new to North America, rope access has become commonplace in Europe due to its economical nature and safety. RAC currently has 10 on site and expects to increase its workforce to about 35 by year end. This work requires strength, dexterity, ability to work at heights, and as such, is not suited for everyone. Beyond this, the week-long training that employees must go through is both rigorous and expensive. Jobs for this contractor will be subject to an interview prior to dispatch. Information about Rope Access work is available at the Fort McMurray office, and at Dispatch in Edmonton. If you are interested and have a desire to be a pioneer in this emerging field of work, please feel free to contact me for more information. Project Olympus Turnaround is scheduled to begin in April and as of this date will proceed as originally planned. As in last year’s turnaround, craft will be staying in Noralta camp and travel assistance will be available for those travelling from out of province. CNRL As there are no major turnaround events pending this year, CNRL has focused their resources on construction. Black and McDonald has increased numbers by about 36 on site and continue to perform work on the VDU/HSU Project. HB Construction is continuing work on HLEP. JLG Industries, Bruce Steel Erectors, CarBer, and Westlake Industries also have construction work on site. FMR continues to procure work subbing under FT Services on site and Clearwater is nearing completion of work and may pick up more due largely to the hard work and professionalism of our members. FORT HILLS With the ground work largely completed, site roads have been built and the skyline is littered with cranes in preparation for construction. We currently have FMR Mechanical and Schendel Mechanical on site performing site services work and mechanical infrastructure respectively. Horton is continuing work with the PSV and Fluor has also picked up work on Utilities and Off-sites which will require about 500 total manpower at peak – approximately 100 UA. This project will commence in June 2015 and is anticipating completion in spring of 2017. The schedule for this project will be 14&7 under the SPNA and will include flights from Edmonton and Calgary with the possibility of other locations. With the reduction in work, it goes without saying that we will be under a very discerning microscope for the next several months. When times are good, owners often have to settle for anyone and everyone who can work on their projects. As I mentioned earlier, I believe this is our time to seize a rare opportunity to show that we are definitively the most qualified, highly skilled, and safe workforce available. The work we perform in the coming months will resonate for years to come and determine the long term work that will be performed by the UA in Alberta. Have a safe and productive spring! 8 S TEV E ENNIS B u siness Rep resentativ e Hello Brothers and Sisters Contractors continue to land projects in the plumbing sector. Hiring in the early part of January was brisk for plumbing contractors. To give some idea, one contractor alone increased their number of apprentices by 32 in one month. The month of February has not seen a big number of calls come in; this is not due to a lack of work but more a result of the large number of people dispatched in the months of December and January. In speaking to our contactors, as projects such as Grant McEwan and others come on line, we will continue in late March to see hiring in the plumbing sector for all levels Journeymen through apprentices. The need for 2nd and 3rd year apprentices is still urgent. Our current pool of apprentice members at this level are fully employed. I have met with many individuals who want to enter the union as starters and become members of our great Local, and while I would like to be able to dispatch them all, it is the contractor needs that provide the opportunity. A large inventory of applications from education and people I have met with are on file and when the need arises for starters, we will be able to mobilize these individuals. With the positive work forecast in the plumbing sector, I have been dealing with a couple of situations that need discussion. When our contractors put in a call for a Journeyman plumber, that is what they are looking for; a competent Journeyman plumber. Having a plumbing ticket that you have not worked under in 10 years and now, because things have slowed down in the industrial sector or you have been away working in the non-union industrial sector, you feel you can just go out plumbing because you have ticket. It may be your feeling but sorry, it certainly is not mine. I am therefore asking our brothers and sisters to act responsibly. Many of our plumbing members have had a rough go in the past few years; work has been sporadic with not much overtime. These ‘true’ plumbers as I like to call them have taken the knocks in the plumbing sector and are now seeing the results collectively made to bring back work to the plumbing sector. Yes, you have the right to pull the slip if you met the requirements set out regarding dispatch rules. The contractor also has the right to refuse you if they feel you are not competent in the position. The Standard of Excellence is being exercised in the plumbing sector now as the value of it is finally being realized by our members and our contractors. Pulling a Journeyman plumbing slip just because you have the ‘ticket’ is NOT responsible. Pulling the Journeyman slip because you have the ticket and competencies of a Journeyman plumber IS. The other issue of an ‘Out of Work’ member, and I use that term loosely, who has been away from working union for a few years or more and strolls on in, takes a slip and when asked, ‘Where have ya been?’ answers with, ‘What does it matter?’ Meanwhile, the ‘real’ out of work member who has been carrying the union lunch is left high and dry. This leaves a bad taste with me. While I know people will say, ‘… it is their right they were on the out of work board’, I feel the people who use our union hall as a ‘union of convenience’ should have to explain themselves. While under our Working Rules & Bylaws these actions are perfectly OK, I believe they are not serving the best interest of our plumbing contractors in being effective in increasing market share. These issues are not enjoyable to discuss, and I am sure I have riled up a few of the people reading this. I didn’t take this positon to appease people and make friends. I took it to ensure that the local 488 plumbing sector is a viable option for members that want to be plumbers. While the work continues and work opportunities grow I see a good future ahead for the plumbing sector. ‘Happy St. Patrick’s Day to you all’ Slainte Mhath DOXTATER, Robert December 22, 2014 GALLANT, James (Jim) December 25, 2014 DOBBS, B. Jack January 27, 2015 GALLANT, Lawrence February 5, 2015 DUCHESNE, Lawrence January 15, 2015 GRUEBER, Gerhard December 31, 2014 HYNES, Rick January 9, 2015 MORK, Helmer January 19, 2015 KERRIGAN, Jerry January 13, 2015 MYKITIUK, Victor January 16, 2015 LEATHEAD, Leopold December 22, 2014 RUSSELL, Frank January 30, 2015 MAISONNEUVE, Marcel January 10, 2015 SNEED, Nathan January 30, 2015 McPHEE, Roger December 27, 2014 WALDRON, Ronald January 3, 2015 F rom th e staf f and members of th e L ocal , ou r deep est sy mp ath ies to th e f amil ies and f riends of ou r B roth ers and S isters w h o h av e recentl y p assed aw ay . T h eir commitment and su p p ort of U A L ocal U nion # 4 8 8 w il l not be f org otten. 9 B RIAN H EARN B u siness Rep resentativ e - RE F RI G E RAT I O N Hello Brothers and Sisters. I would like to start with a safety moment: distracted driving has now overtaken drunk driving when it comes to the cause of accidents. In our industry, our members drive hundreds of thousand kilometers a year in company service vehicles and their own private vehicles. PLEASE pull over if for any reason you cannot keep your focus on the road. Remember, your life and others lives are more important than any text you might possibly need to read. Over the past several years we have gone to mail-in ballots for most elections and votes concerning the Local. For those who do remember, decisions used to be made at Refrigeration Union meetings, allowing forty or fifty members to decide the fate of hundreds on issues like allocations for health/welfare and pensions. You, the member, have the right and obligation to make your choices in all these decisions by retuning your ballots. If you choose not to, then others will make these decisions for you. Information is sent with the packages to help inform the members who are unable to attend meetings due to the shifts they work or where they live. Remember, Local 488 has approximately 140 members working in the Wood Buffalo area at any given time. The percentage of ballots retuned is, in my opinion, very low. Local 488 works very hard at getting this information out to members, so again, this is your and family’s future. We are fortunate to live in a society where you do have the freedom to vote on issues that directly affect you...Please take the time to exercise that right and VOTE! We have been working with Black & MacDonald at Surmount 2 in Fort McMurray. They were awarded some commissioning work on HVAC equipment. Four of our Refrigeration Members did this work alongside other trades. The client owner was impressed with the work performed and this lead to a non-union company being removed from site and Black & MacDonald being awarded the maintenance. Since then, six more members are now working at the site with more calls coming in. This information was shared at the last General Membership Meeting and was greeted with applause from those in attendance. Our members worked hard to accomplish this, and I would like to personally thank those members! You know who you are! And thanks to both Colin Cormier and Craig Miller for making this happen. Remember you belong to a democracy! It is your right and obligation to vote as a member. Get involved! B RY AN ROONEY B u siness Rep resentativ e – RE F RI G E RAT I O N , S O U T H E RN AL B E RT A Hello Local 488. Thank you to all the members who accepted nomination, and to those who voted in the recent Local 488 Committee elections. Representing the membership as Trustees, Delegates and on Committees is a big responsibility and I’d like to wish all the elected the best of luck in their new positions. Work opportunities are still trickling in as we go through our slowest time of the year in Refrigeration; the mild winter has also had an impact, particularly on the service sector as we look forward to things picking up for the spring startup season right around the corner. A large part of the success of Local 488 is the hard work our Job Stewards perform, their dedication is highly respected in the hall and we can’t thank them enough for getting involved. In Refrigeration, we have a need for more stewards at job sites and in shops to better represent and communicate to our membership in the field. If you are interested in becoming a 488 Job Steward, don’t hesitate to contact your representative. We need to acknowledge Brother Travis Brown for stepping up at a recent membership meeting and volunteering to be a union member representative on the Refrigeration Education Advisory Committee. Travis is working Industrial Refrigeration for Gateway Mechanical in Calgary and will bring valuable contributions to the committee. Currently the committee is working on the blueprint for enhancing the training opportunities for Local 488 HVAC-R mechanics. I’d like to thank all the members who have submitted their training suggestions, and encourage everyone that it’s not too late for your input. As requested by the members, the Calgary office will be running Standard First Aid courses starting in March. The course will include CPR-C with AED training, there will be a $35 registration fee with the remainder of the costs being covered by your Education Fund. Carrying a valid First Aid certification is a requirement for all Journeyman working under the Refrigeration Agreement, if you want to take the course in Calgary please contact Kristi at 403-253-3516 and get your name on the list. In closing, I’d like to thank all of our members who go to work every day and represent UA Local 488 with pride and professionalism. Stay safe and productive! 10 DOUG S af ety DORY O f f icer Greetings Brothers and Sisters, Hindsight, Risk Savvy, and the Unexpected People often talk about the ‘benefit of hindsight’; but does hindsight prepare us to manage the unexpected? Hindsight - it is a good thing, it helps us make sense of the world and it sometimes gives us the courage to continue right? These things are all true. There is much to be gained from looking back. It can help shore up our confidence that we can and have overcome some obstacles in our lives. It can help amuse us and support us when we think of pleasant previous experiences. It may also even give us some guidance and confidence that if previous circumstances are repeated we can make some educated guesses as to future performance. The problem with that argument is that history (hind-sight) only gives us a ‘view’ of an outcome, a view of a past event; and then only our interpretation, or someone else’s interpretation, of that view. The other thing about hind-sight is that it is like looking in a mirror. Sometimes, in the act of looking back, we are distracted from what is ahead; and also sometimes the mirror obscures our view forward. In other words, looking behind us is not always helpful. The clue, to the danger of relying on hind-sight, lies in the term ‘unexpected’. The Thesaurus provides a number of alternatives to the word ‘unexpected’ including: ‘unforeseen, unanticipated, unpredicted, surprising, startling, astonishing, sudden and bewildering’. The Encarta English Dictionary gives us more help when it says: ‘something that is unexpected is surprising, because you did not expect it at all, or you expected it to happen in a different way.’ The thing is that if something is unexpected it surprises you because you did not think it was likely to happen. If a thing or event is unexpected, we only know it has happened, after it has happened. It is through the lens of hindsight that we become aware of the unexpected and the circumstances which may have brought it about. It now becomes something that, with the benefit of hind-sight, we make the claim that we should have seen the event coming; the event should have been ‘expected’. Of course it is then too late. Being ‘risk savvy’ and being prepared for the unexpected is now my preferred approach. ‘Savvy’ means acute, astute, and wise. But being risk savvy is more than being well informed. It requires courage to face an uncertain future as well as to stand up to authority and to ask critical questions So, one of the keys to becoming better at discerning risk, and the unexpected, is to be constantly challenging the status quo; to be introducing doubt about our capacity to understand the current situation and to doubt our capacity to manage it. We need to be constantly mindful of uncertainty. Being mindful of uncertainty and what could go wrong and then catching it early before it becomes overwhelming, is the critical consideration. Being able to cope with a situation as it unfolds and then recover from the outcome (being resilient) enables us to better live with risk and the unexpected. High reliability organizations, i.e. those organizations that are prepared for the unexpected, have at their core a ‘collective mindfulness’ about risk and uncertainty. So how do we develop this collective mindfulness? The key is founded in: • Ensuring that our people are constantly aware of what may go wrong such that the event is recognized before it escalates to a major event. And also in not getting so carried away by our successes such that we are seduced/ numbed by the sense that we cannot fail; • Making sure that in our efforts to understand issues we don’t simplify them to the extent that we miss vital data or clues to the unexpected; • Constantly checking with those at the coal face, those that really know what is happening, to gauge their ‘feeling’ for what may go wrong; • Developing resilience and being prepared to manage an unexpected event as it unfolds (i.e. having early reporting and well prepared response capacity/ capability); and in • Ensuring that the people with the expertise to manage an event are those that are given the problem to solve. This means that when an event is unfolding hierarchies and authority levels are flexible enough that deferring to expertise is accepted and egos are held in check. Hindsight will provide us with a view of our relative success in managing the unexpected, but not with the capacity to predict it. It is far better that we become risk savvy; better that we have the courage to question the status quo, to raise doubt, and to constantly challenge our understanding and perception of risk and our capacity to manage it. It is far better that we develop a collective mindfulness and capability to manage the unexpected when it inevitably happens; because if there is anything certain about uncertainty, it is that the unexpected will inevitably happen. We are our Brothers’ and Sisters’ Keepers and I know we can Actively Care for one another and make 2015 another successful year in Safety. 11 SERVICE AWARDS 65 YEARS OF SERVICE KING, Albert L. MURPHY, David J. 60 YEARS OF SERVICE BAILEY, Richard C. ENGLAND, Ronald 55 YEARS OF SERVICE CAMERON, Glen HELFRICH, Henry HENDRICKS, Leroy HEUTINCK, Ted HIRZER, Robert J. IACOBELLI, Luigi LIEDTKE, Gerry H. MACPHERSON, Robert A. O'NEILL, Kevin PAULHUS, Marcien RAKOWSKI, Dennis J. SEMKOWICH, Walter V. TENNEY, Raymond 50 YEARS OF SERVICE ALGAR, Harry E. BERTHOLET, Andrew BOUCHARD, Gilbert BRENNEIS, Melvin COUPER, Donald E. DAVIDSON, Bert DUMAIS, Magella GARON, Richard A. HARRISON, Verne A. HUBLER, John P. AVIGDOR, Leslie BLANEY, Edison F. BRUTON, Lawrence F. CROWHURST, Dennis DALLA COSTA, Angelo DANIELSON, James A. DAVIES, Harvey ERHARDT, Allan FARIS, Charles A. FENIAK, Lawrence GRAY, Darryl B. GREEN, Peter GROSSHAUSER, Frank HAY, Angus F. HENLEY, Robert J. HERBERS, Dan C. HIMSCHOOT, Gary HOLTERHUS, Vernon JANG, Steven JONES, Geoffrey E. KEMPS, Leo L. KOLOCHUK, Allan KORNAK, Victor KUSAKSIZ, Adnan LANOUETTE, James A. LARAMEE, Joseph G. LARAMEE, Roland LAW, Laurence R. LAYNE, Maurice B. LAZOV, George LECORDIER, Jean C. LOCHTIE, Ian LUKE, Guy E. MACINTYRE, Grant K. MATHER, Lawrence MCALEESE, Patrick ANDERSON, Terry L. ANTON, Eric M. ASHWELL, Douglas R. BALENOVIC, Steve BALZER, Ulrich H. BISSOON, Selwyn BOUVIER, Luc D. CAMERON, Rory CHATTERLEY, Wesley J. CHIMERA, Donald CLAYDON, Frank E. DICKSON, Paul JETTE, Roland KRUEGER, Ernst LUNDSTROM, Roger MCDONALD, Donald NIELSEN, Jens E. ROMANUK, Ken TEUBER, Joachim VILLANYI, John W. WOODLEY, Fred P. 45 YEARS OF SERVICE MCFAULL, Stanley D. MCGUIRE, Mark MCKENZIE, Randy L. MERSEREAU, Jerry MOHN, Sherman L. MOHR, Martin MONSEBROTEN, Lawrence MORELLATO, Louis MOSHUK, Orville MUNROE, Joseph A. MURRAY, Brian NELSON, Richard B. NORGREN, Ronald PANCHUK, Peter PARENTEAU, Jean N. PAWLYK, Phil PELLETIER, Pierre R. R , n SARAPUK, Peter SELMAN, Norman B. SERTIC, Stefan SEYLER, David SMART, Delbert R. SOBOLEWSKI, John STARKO, Kenneth STECYK, Dennis THOMPSON, David M. THORNEWELL, Joseph A. VEITCH, Brent J. VERBEEK, Louis VEZINA, Maurice A. WEISGERBER, Harold ZELEZAROF, Dimiter 40 YEARS OF SERVICE BELLEFONTAINE, Gerard BESHARA, Michael DREVER, William R. DUCHESNE, Camile R. DUNN, Patrick B. DUTCHAK, John L. FISCHER, Albert FRANCIS, David R. FRIESEN, Daniel D. GAGNON, George J. GILLIS, Angus GOGICH, Pero GRIMOLDBY, Robert J. GUTHRIE, R. D. HAGEN, Lawrence D. HANSEN, Allan C. From all of the Officers and members of UA Local Union 488, we would like to extend our heartfelt congratulations and express our sincere gratitude to all the recipients who will receive their Long Service Awards for their years of service and dedication to our Union on April 11, 2015. 12 SERVICE AWARDS 40 YEARS OF SERVICE HEFFERAN, James G. HRYNDA, George HURTEAU, Gordon L. HUSEREAU, Leon W. JHAGROO, Wesley R. JOHNSON, Lyle G. KATHREIN, George C. KING, Ralph F. KLAPSTEIN, Ronald K. KOZUN, Grant R. KWASNYCIA, Alfred LACOURSIERE, Norman LECLAIR, Paul A. LEDUC, Denis J. LEEDER, Gerald LEHMANN, Hugo LELKES, George J. LETOURNEAU, Gerald LINKERT, Harvey MACDONELL, Stan D. MACINTYRE, Melvin MACLEAN, James P. MACPHERSON, Andrew MATERNA, John M. MATHURA, Harry MCGAUGHEY, Raymond MCMILLAN, Glen R. MEGLEY, Delnor W. MELENKA, Randall MELTZ, Terry L. MICHAUD, Rejean MOISLEY, Frank R. CONTINUED... MONRO, Alex H. MYNIO, Donald D. NELISSEN, Rick NOBLE, John A. NORDQUIST, Theodore OUELLET, Jess G. PALLISTER, Guy M. PATTERSON, Robert PEDRO, Natalino PLAQUIN, Morris E. PLASHKA, George M. POIRIER, Marc POWELL, Robert H. RASMUSSEN, Ronnie L. RISSLING, Jacob (Nels) ROBBINS, Vern ROBERGE, Patrick RUKAVINA, John SALING, Dennis W. SAMAROO, Seely SCHMIDKE, Royden A. STOLIC, Rajko SUCKDEO, Hosein THOMPSON, Freeman VIENNEAU, Gary WAMBACK, Bruce R. WATTIE, Thomas J. WILLEY, Ian M. ZAROWNY, Kenneth E. ZIMMER, Albert 35 YEARS OF SERVICE AASGARD, Cory L. ABDUL-RAHEEM, Yusuf ALBAY, Yilmaz A. ALVES, Antonio AUBE, Gervais BAILEY, Thomas J. BASIUK, David J. BERG, Daniel T. BISSET, John Alan BJORKMAN, Calvin BOBINAC, Ivan BOROWSKI, Walter BOUCHER, Joseph H. BRUCE, Reg BURKE, Jeffrey K. CANN, Dean COTY, Roy S. COUTURE, Gerald J. CRAWFORD, Robert L. CSANDL, Josef CUNNINGHAM, Clayton DANYLCHUK, David M. DAVIS, Carl E. DEERY, Patrick DEMIRBAS, Yusuf K. DEVEAU, Daniel J. DEVRYER, Robert E. DOUCET, Claude DOWNIE, Harvey R. DUHANEY, Octavious EVARISTO, Aurelio G. FRASER, Terry W. GARDNER, Pierre GAUTREAU, Romeo GILLIS, Vincent A. GOMEZ, Aurelio G. GOULET, Kevin L. GRAHAM, Robert GRAINGER, Theodore GRAY, William G. GUILTNER, Richard R. HANNA, Cecil S. HANNAM, Daniel V. HAWKINGS, Wesley W. HELGASON, David W. HELLER, William R. HIRNY, Jerzy G. HOLOWAYCHUK, Walter KABAN, Lawrence W. KASHA, Lester J. KELLY, Frank C. KIM, Beung H. KIRTON, Norman K. KOVACS, Richard G. KUCHER, Barry G. KUNCIO, Conrad G. LANDRY, Real LYONS, Gerald A. MANNING, Oswald K. MATTHEWS, David I. MCGINN, Wilfred R. MCLEAN, Keith MEEHAN, Joel Vincent MERCER, Walter MESQUITA, Manuel A. MOHAMMED, Michael MOUNTENAY, Paul R. MYERS, Nicholas J. NICHOLLS, Paul NOLAN, Kenneth P. NONG, Nam H. NUNES, Silvio S. ORLECKI, David W. OTT, Lester B. PARADIS, Rickey B. PENNEY, Kenneth A. PLUIM, Richard POPIKAITIS, Paul PRITCHARD, Kenneth PROULX, Stephen T. RAMKINSON, Danasar RAND, George RAW, Cecil REID, David R. RIGLER, Dean R. RUMAN, David F. RUSSELL, James H. SCABAR, Merlin W. SCHNEIDER, William R. SCHULTZ, Keith A. SEVERIN, Wally W. SHMYR, Terry SIEBEN, George R. SILVA, Jose J. SIMONS, Allen R. SIMPSON, Terry O. SMITH, James F. SMOOK, Darrell ST. PIERRE, Gerald STALLKNECHT, Myles L. STOR, Andre TATE, George C. TAVARES, Joaquim M. THORNE, Raymond K. TING, Peter S. TOOKEY, Wayne H. TORONCHUK, Larry D. TOWNSEND, Ronald TRACEY, Seamus J. TRUMAN, William UNGER, Dennis G. VAN RENSEN, Peter VASCONEZ, Mario P. VRIEND, Alan E. WATTERS, James WOODS, David C. From all of the Officers and members of UA Local Union 488, we would like to extend our heartfelt congratulations and express our sincere gratitude to all the recipients who will receive their Long Service Awards for their years of service and dedication to our Union on April 11, 2015. 13 SERVICE AWARDS BATES, Gordon F. BOISVERT, Richard BOYKO, Harvey T. BROWN, Ian G. CAMPBELL, Robert G. CARON, Hector J. EDLUND, Rod ANDERSON, Dave ANDERSON, Robert G. BABCOOK, Dale G. BACH, John D. BARDWELL, Randy BAXTER, Troy BILODEAU, Joseph A. BONN, Daniel BONWICK, Bentley T. BOOTH, Sean BORCHERT, Kevin BOUCHARD, Alphee W. BOUCHARD, J.Gilles BOURQUE, Charles B. BOUTIN, Gregory L. BOWERS, Randy BOYKO, Alex BRAKE, Dwayne BROWN, Robert M. BUHLER, Peter BUXTON, Corby J. CAMERON, Michael CAMPBELL, John G. CARRUTHERS, Ken D. CARSON, Darcy B. CARSON, Jason C. CEBRYK, Michael D. CHAMBERLAND, Denis CHAPCHUK, Robert D. CHENEY, Dale R. CLAUSEN, Ed CONNOLLY, Edward T. COOK, George W. CORREIA, Gary M. COTE, Maurice CRAWLEY, Wayne CROUCH, Gordon CUROE, Richard K. DAVIES, Terry DELORME, Gary L. DEMMONS, Roy E. 14 30 YEARS OF SERVICE FERREIRA, Plinio M. KELEMAN, Jan KIM, Ha-jong KIM, Sung Y. KINDLEY, Richard H. KURTZ, Al L. LANDRY, Simon MACAULAY, Steve MACKINNON, James MAHONEY, Fred MARTINEZ, Carlos F. MATTIE, Richard MCKAY, Donald D. NEWTON, Soloman A. 25 YEARS OF SERVICE DENNIS, Errol L. DESROCHES, James DEVISSER, John DI PINTO, Angelo J. DORE, Pierre DUNN, Brian M. DUPRAS, Kenneth DURANT, David D. ENTZ, Timothy ERICHSEN, Glenn H. ERIKSSEN, Daniel A. FRISKE, Brian GAGNON, Norman P. GEILENKIRCHEN, Peter GILLESPIE, Andrew GOBEIL, Brian J. GOGUEN, Randy GONA, Benjamin A. GOULET, Louis N. GULLASON, Dwayne R. HAAB, Charles HAYWARD, Alex HEARY, Ronald D. HELMAN, Grant HINGLEY, Lon D. HODGSON, Jay HOFFMAN, Chuck HUMPHRIES, Robert G. JALBERT, Jerry L. KENNEDY, Jack KILCUP, Charles H. KLIPPERT, Gary A. KOOZNETSOFF, William LAIRD, Bruce LAKE, Jerry K. LALIC, Stjepan LANG, Melvin E. LATREILLE, Gilbert LEVOIR, Lionel G. LUKOW, Raymond P. LUPASCHUK, Rodney MACDONALD, Robert MACKEY, Glenn G. MAH, Edward MALONEY, George E. MARTEL, Gregory O. MARTIN, James L. MATEAR, Keith MATWYCHUK, Michael MAYER, Ken MCDONALD, Robert MCINTOSH, Frank A. MCKEOUGH, Brian P. MCLEAN, Darryl T. MCLEAN, William L. MEADS, Kevin MECELE, James MEIER, Raymond MELAN, Farren MORIN, Jean P. MORISSETTE, Germain MORISSETTE, Roger J. MURPHY, Paul V. MURRAY, Richard NEWMARCH, Glen G. NIELSEN, Karl C. NOYES, Donald D. OEHLERKING, Eric OELE, George OLECHOW, David E. OLSCAMP, Mark J. O'NEILL, Shane M. PACQUETTE, Dorothy PALMER, Earl W. PALTZAT, Gary A. PARSONS, Todd PICKUP, William PITCHER, David PLACHY, Frank A. POHL, Randy M. POWER, Adrian QUINN, Duane L. NORRENA, Karl A. PATEL, Dolatbhai M. RICHARD, Chris SENGER, Patrick G. SIDOROFF, Tim ZINCK, Doug QUINN, John RICHARDS, Gary D. RIVEROS, Antonio I. ROBINSON, Tom B. RONDEAU, Harvey J. ROSE, Lloyd M. ROWSELL, S. Dean RUIZ, Edgar H. SANFORD, Bobby S. SCHERBA, Walter E. SCHMERMUND, Donald SEBESTA, Willie T. SENECAL, Michel SHAVER, Arthur M. SMITH, Forrest P. ST. ARNAULT, Michel F. STEPHENS, Robin C. STEWART, Darby SWEENEY, Richard TASCI, Koksal TATE, Stephen R. THACKER, Troy THERIAULT, Brian M. THERIAULT, Dale TIMPERLEY, Ken URBANOVITCH, Cory VONCONRAD, Peter WASYLENKO, Darrell WEGNER, Perry G. WELLS, Brian P. WHITWORTH, Brett H. WINTER, Darryl WOJCIK, Andrew WOLKOWSKI, John K. WOODWARD, Dale E. WORKUN, Jeff YEE, Gary K. ZABIELSKI, Mark ZACCARIA, Demi ZAPISOCKI, Darrell T. ZIEGLER, Kelly G. From all of the Officers and members of UA Local Union 488, we would like to extend our heartfelt congratulations and express our sincere gratitude to all the recipients who will receive their Long Service Awards for their years of service and dedication to our Union on April 11, 2015. DW IG H T Y ORK B u siness Rep resentativ e - P I P E L I N E Hello Brothers and Sisters. OJ Pipelines is working on the Enbridge Leismer project in the Conklin area. This job will be welded out in the next couple of weeks. Our members have had a very low repair rate on this project a job so it’s another job well done by the UA! The tie in crews will not be done until sometime in April. This project went very well. Banister Pipelines is working on the Woodland Extension for Enbridge; 97 kilometers of 36 inch pipe is going very well with the lowest repair ever. The welding crew should be done in 2 weeks. The UA members should be very proud of this workmanship. The rest of this project should be done in April. Michels Canada in Fort Mac Murray is working on a TransCanada project, 42 inch casing job for directional drilling. There are 3 drill sites adding up to 6 kilometers of pipe to be welded. OJ Pipelines started welding 42 inch pipe in Camrose at the double jointing rack. This pipe is for the Montney project in BC and we are anticipating about 4 weeks plus work there. Aecon at the tank farm for Enbridge in Edmonton is going very well. This will wind down in June or July and again, the UA members have done a great job. The work this summer is not looking very good with the 30 inch for Enbridge put on hold. There are 43 kilometers of 24 inch for this summer for Enbridge. This is being bid now and we expect more spreads for the winter of 2015/2016 and more work for the summer of 2016. B ILL W ILS ON D irector of E du cation E P T - E du cation D ep tartment Thanks to all the members that have taken the Industrial Instrument Fitter course. It has been a great success! It is full for the next couple of months; so if you have heard the positive feedback please try to sign up. The skills you will learn will be a benefit on the job immediately. It is almost spring time again and time for the UA Apprenticeship contests to start rolling out. We are not hosting this year, but we will be sending 5 competitors to the Western Regional Competition in Vancouver on April 27th to May 1st and hopefully have competitors going to Toronto for the Canadian Competition on June 8th to 12th, 2015. There is some good news from the Redwater Refinery job. They are planning to have an Apprentice Mentoring program that will keep people moving through all the different areas of the job to gain as much experience as possible. We are crossing our fingers that the job will hit 30% Apprentices. That is an iffy goal but will be very good for us if it is reached. I hope it will set the standard for future jobs. School registration is coming up again in May. Last year we didn’t anticipate the numbers that came to register. This year, it looks like we are going to stagger the days for each trade to come in and register. The information on registration will be posted on the APT website when the dates are finalized. INDUSTRIAL/COMMERCIAL/INSTITUTIONAL (ICI) AGREEMENT INFORMATION MEETING TIME: 9:30 AM DATE: SUNDAY, MARCH 22ND, 2015 LOCATION: RAMADA HOTEL & CONFERENCE CENTRE 11834 KINGWAY AVENUE EDMONTON, AB 15 LORIN B ATES B u siness Rep resentativ e - S P RI N K L E R F I T T I N G Brothers and sisters, I want to start out by saying thanks to all thirteen Sprinkler Advisory Committee members. These brothers have made a major time commitment away from their families and friends to attend the eleven evening meetings that we have held since the special called sprinkler meeting at the end of October 2014. The committee was tasked with tackling the hard questions of how we can recapture lost market share and grow our sprinkler membership. The feeling of our hardworking committee members is that every sprinklerfitter deserves a pension. The Sprinkler Advisory committee has made recommendations and some favorable outcomes have resulted from this. We have come up with submitting a new wage page to our current Residential - high rise - low rise Agreement and leaving the National Road Sprinkler Fitter Collective Agreement alone. We realize that just changing a wage page is not going to recapture market share we have lost. The Sprinkler Advisory group understands that this will also require a commitment from our contractors to bid aggressively. The union needs to organize the open shop contractors. We will need to focus on hand billing campaigns and others to strip the non UA contractors of their supervisory level guys. There have been many heated discussions and well thought out planning during our meetings. Everyone in attendance has worn their hearts on their sleeves. The passion and commitment each committee member brings to these meetings is why we have been able to come up with a fair and competitive wage package for every Sprinklerfitter. This in turn will grant more working opportunities for our sprinkler members. Once again I want to thank every committee member for all the hard work you have done to ensure that our great industry only becomes better. There will be a Sprinkler System Installer Meeting held as follows: TIME: DATE: LOCATION: 5 : 3 0 PM MARCH 2 5 TH , 2 0 1 5 NORM DARB Y S H IRE DIS PATCH UA LOCAL UNION 4 8 8 H ALL Alberta's fiscal crisis will not prevent the province from proceeding with a promise to install fire suppression sprinklers in seniors' residences, Premier Jim Prentice said Wednesday. The premier said more information about the plan will be released shortly, but he remains committed to protecting seniors. “Obviously it's important that seniors' lodges in this province meet fire standards,” Prentice told reporters at the legislature. “We stand by our commitment to have proper fire suppression in homes”. Prentice announced last year that the province would allocate $70 million toward upgrading fire suppression systems in older seniors' facilities after a fire at a Quebec residence killed 32 seniors. He followed up with another announcement in November committing $160 million of federal and provincial funding over four years to tackle the issue. Most Alberta senior’s facilities were constructed before sprinkler systems were required. The government says 455 of 657 seniors facilities are not fully protected with fire suppression systems. It has estimated the cost of installing sprinklers in all 455 facilities at more than $250 million. Prentice said Wednesday his government has nearly completed its assessment of what needs to be done to upgrade the facilities where seniors are at the greatest risk. Liberal Leader David Swann said the governing Tories should make installation of sprinklers mandatory, following the lead of Ontario and Quebec. But Swann said the government may have to phase in the sprinklers over an extra year because of the projected $7-billion revenue shortfall expected this year. If any of you are wanting to take a fire pump course this spring, we will require a class of twelve to proceed, so let me know if you are interested and we will put it on. I am still growing the sprinkler email list so please send me your email addresses. 3RD YEAR APPRENTICE DESMOND THOMAS Brother Thomas has spent the majority of his apprenticeship with Abraxus and Clearwater in their Edmonton Fab Shop. Brother Jose Da Silva has been mentoring Des the last 2 ½ years. 16 LOCAL 488’S ANNUAL FAMILY SATURDAY, JUNE 6, 2015 12:00 PM - 4:00 PM LAURIER PARK - VALLEY ZOO ENTRANCE: Check in to get your tickets and your deposit cheque back hot dogs, hamburgers, watermelon, drinks, and ice cream! T h e E ntertainment Committee is p l eased to annou nce th at ou r Annu al F amil y P icnic w il l be h el d at L au rier P ark - V al l ey Z oo th is y ear. Y o u m u s t r e g i s t e r y o u r f a m i l y f o r t h e p i c n i c b y Ma y 2 7 , 2 0 1 5 . T h is w il l ensu re y ou r f ree admission to th e V al l ey Z oo. F or th is reason, w e are u nabl e to accep t any l ate reg istrations and y ou cannot reg ister once y ou arriv e. PLEAS E NOTE TH AT DUE TO MANY ‘ NO S H OW S ’ , W E REQ UIRE A CH EQ UE F OR $ 2 0 PER F AMILY AS A DEPOS IT. Y OU W ILL RECEIV E Y OUR CH EQ UE B ACK W H EN Y OU CH ECK IN TH E DAY OF TH E PICNIC. If you do not show up at the Picnic, the cheque will then be cashed. Th i s f u n c t i o n i s f o r m e m b e r s a n d t h e i r i m m e d i a t e f a m i l i e s ONLY ! P l ease comp l ete th e Reg istration F orm and mail it al ong w ith y ou r dep osit ch eq u e to: At t e n t i o n : In g r i d ℅ Lo c a l 4 8 8 En t e r t a i n m e n t Co m m i t t e e 1 6 2 1 4 - 1 1 8 Av e n u e Ed m o n t o n , AB T5 V 1 M6 LOCAL UNION 488’S ANNUAL PICNIC REGISTRATION FORM MEMBER’S NAME: MEMBER’S SIN/CARD #: PHONE #: S POUS E’ S NAME: NUMB ER OF TICK ETS REQ UIRED: ( P L E AS E I N D I CAT E H O W MAN Y T I CK E T S P E R AG E G RO U P ) U N D E R2 2 - 1 2 1 3 - 1 7 1 8 & O V E R H OW MANY ARE ATTENDING : 17 HEALTH & SAFETY COMMITTEE Greetings Brothers and Sisters, At our last General meeting the concern of having to buy new safety glasses for each plant we go to was brought up. The question was asked, can we have a standard safety glass or glasses that our contractors and clients will accept. After discussions with many of our contractors and clients the response has been favorable to prescription safety glasses only as long as they meet the standards listed below and your Optometrist will know exactly what you need for High Impact Lenses. Many sites require the foam insert so it is highly recommended you buy your frames with the foam inserts and that the frames are in compliance with the standards outlined below. Compliance with Standards If eye protection equipment is used, section 229 of the OHS Code requires the employer ensure that the worker wears properly fitting eye protection equipment that is appropriate to the work being done and the hazard involved, and be approved to one of the following Canadian Standards Association (CSA) standards: (1) CSA Standard Z94.3-07, Eye and Face Protectors, or (2) CSA Standard Z94.3-02, Eye and Face Protectors, or (3) CSA Standard Z94.3-99, Industrial Eye and Face Protectors. Prescription safety eyewear which has glass lenses does not meet the impact requirements of the CSA Z94.3 Standards. If there is a danger of impact, prescription eyewear having glass lenses must not be used unless it is worn behind equipment that meets the requirements of one of the three CSA Standards. If there is no danger of impact and the use of plastic prescription lenses is impracticable, a worker may use prescription lenses made of treated safety glass that meets the requirements of one of these American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standards: (1) ANSI Standard Z87.1-2003, Occupational and Educational Personal Eye and Face Protection Devices, or (2) ANSI Standard Z87.1-1989, Practice for Occupational and Educational Eye and Face Protection. If prescription safety eyewear has lenses that meet the requirements of CSA Standard Z94.3-07, it is permissible that the frames meet the requirements of ANSI Standard Z87.1-2003 in place of the requirements of one of the three CSA Z94.3 Standards. For the member that needs some help with reading, inspection or other fine detail work the Uvex Seismic is a very good choice for sites that allow you to bring your own safety glasses to site. On some sites the Seismic safety glasses conform to monogoggle standards as the vent holes are at the front of the foam, creating a tight seal at the face. Uvex Seismic S0661X Specialized SCT-Gray and SCT-Low IR tints offer added protection from IR radiation hazards, such as arc flash, while offering true color recognition. Reading magnifiers are offered in a black frame with clear, anti-fog lenses in three diopter strengths. Meets ANSI Z87.1-2010 (High Impact) standard when worn with or without cushion-lined frame. Certified to the requirements of CSA Z94.3 standard only when worn with cushion-lined frame. Uvex Seismic sealed eyewear is also available in a range of diopter strengths - +1.5, +2.0 and +2.5 - for workers needing increased magnification for reading, inspection, and other fine detail work. The wrap-around design provides exceptional coverage while precise placement of the magnifiers allows for distortion-free vision. We are told that some of our contractors are supplying safety glasses with a range in diopter strength - +1.5, +2.0 and +2.5 in clear lenses only, but they are available at some sites. Diopters Explained The optical power of a lens with a focal length of 1 meter (about 39 inches) is said to be 1 diopter. Because the formula is based on the reciprocal of the focal length, a 2 diopter lens is not 2 meters but 1/2 meter, a 3 diopter lens is 1/3 meter and so forth. This is important because magnification increases as the focal length gets shorter, which is why a prescription for a higher diopter correction means you need more magnification. The optical power of the human eye is about 40 diopters. The eye of a normal young person can adjust an additional 20 diopters. By age 25 this accommodation (the ability to alter focus) is usually reduced to about 10 diopters and by age 50 to a mere 1 diopter. It is this diminishing capacity for adjustment, called presbyopia, which warrants reading glasses. Reading glasses compensate for the loss of natural adjustment. Optical power is additive so the correction is straightforward. An optometrist prescribes a lens that increases the magnifying power of the eye, usually in steps of a quarter-diopter over a range of 1 to 3 diopters. A quarter-diopter is a large enough step that most people can self-prescribe their own reading glasses by simple trial and error. The level of magnification in the lenses of reading glasses is called diopter strength. A very weak magnification would be found in reading glasses with a diopter strength of +.75 or +1.00. Off-the-shelf reading glasses sold in drug stores or elsewhere on the Internet are often offered in diopter strengths that start with 1.50, and with only a few options for stronger lenses. We do not sell pre-fabricated glasses. Instead, each pair of our glasses is custom fitted by a certified optician. Generally, the eye care industry classifies reading glasses lenses in diopter strengths that increase by a factor of .25 (e.g., +.75; +1.00: +1.25; +1.50; +1.75; +2.00; +2.25; +2.50; +2.75; +3.00 etc.). Presbyopia sometimes affects your left eye and your right eye differently. Therefore, you may need, for example, a +1.50 in your right eye and a +1.75 in your left eye. This is normal, although many people can overcome their Presbyopia perfectly by using glasses that have the same diopter strength in each eye. Nevertheless, if you fall in the category of people who need differing lens strengths for each eye, you could be doing yourself a grave dis-service if you bought a cheap pair of one-size-fits-all drug store glasses that had the same diopter strength in both lenses. Those are also the kind of stock reading glasses sold on most of the other Internet sites. Respectfully submitted, 18 Andy Gruber Alan Hansen Rodney Carlson Bob MacDonald Kenneth Nolan Tom Bailey Doug Dory RMA 1 st RMA G 2 nd CRI B 1 4 th T E L U S S H O W L U N CH CO S T : P L E AS RE G I S 1 6 th CRI B L E AS E P AY B Y CH E Q U E O N L Y ! APRIL 2 0 1 5 E N E RAL ME E T I N G / L U N CH W O RL S : 2 :0 0 : 1 2 :0 0 $ 3 0 .0 0 E P AY T RAT I O 6 th RMA G E 7 th CRI B 2 1 st CRI B 3 0 th ‘ T H E V E ‘ Martin S S H O W : CO S T : $ P L E AS E RE G I S T 3 rd RMA G 4 th CRI B 1 6 th RMA P L U N CH H ambu CO S T : P L E AS RE G I S 1 8 th CRI B P CALENDAR and UPCOMING EVENTS MAY D O F S CI E N CE P M and 3 : 0 0 P M P M ( May f iel d I nn) P E R P E RS O N F E E S W IT H N TELUS WORLD OF SCIENCE (TWOS) April 14th, 2015 ~ Shows: 2:00 PM & 3:00 PM Lunch: 12:00 PM @ Mayfield Inn Restaurant Name(s): Address: Postal Code: Phone #: Number of People: 2 0 1 5 N E RAL ME E T I N G / L U N CH N U E ’ AT RI V E R CRE E h ort’ Comedian 9 :0 0 P M 3 5 . 0 0 P E R P E RS O N P AY F E E S W I T H RAT I O N J UNE 2 0 1 5 E N E RAL ME E T I N G / L U N CH I CN I C AT RU N D L E P ARK : 1 2 : 0 0 P M( N O O N ) rg ers, h ot dog s, & drink s $ 1 5 . 0 0 P E R P E RS O N E P AY F E E S W I T H T RAT I O N Fees enclosed @ $30.00/person: PLEASE PAY FEES AT TIME OF REGISTRATION. REGISTER EARLY AS THESE EVENTS OFTEN SELL OUT ‘THE VENUE’ AT RIVER CREE CASINO “Martin Short” World Famous Comedian May 30th, 2015 ~ Show: 9:00 PM Name(s): Address: Postal Code: Phone #: Number of People: Fees enclosed @ $35.00/person: PLEASE PAY FEES AT TIME OF REGISTRATION. REGISTER EARLY AS THESE EVENTS OFTEN SELL OUT RMA PICNIC AT RUNDLE PARK June 16th, 2015 ~ Lunch: 12:00 PM Name(s): RMA S OCIAL COMMITTEE J ack H u bl er 7 8 0 -4 6 6 -6 J im H omeniu k 7 8 0 -4 7 6 -0 L eon H u sereau 7 8 0 -4 5 8 -5 O sk ar N erenberg 7 8 0 -4 6 5 -2 Address: 3 1 7 6 0 7 0 1 Postal Code: 0 Number of People: 8 2 1 Phone #: Fees enclosed @ $15.00/person: PLEASE PAY FEES AT TIME OF REGISTRATION. REGISTER EARLY AS THESE EVENTS OFTEN SELL OUT PLEASE NOTE: As many of our trips & events have a maximum number of participants, we will require that you register EARLY with fees payable at time of registration. Please make cheques payable to: Forward Form and Fees to: (780) 452-7080 LU 488 Retired Members Association Shelley Klassen, RMA Liaison UA Local Union #488 16214 - 118 Avenue Edmonton, AB T5V 1M6 19 POLITICAL ACTION & EDUCATION Committee It seems to be that there is never a shortage of 'political activity' in the city, the province or in the country. There is a strong possibility of a 2015 spring election in the province of Alberta and a federal election in the fall of 2015. The Federal Harper Government has been sitting in parliament since late January of 2015 and except for a short break, will continue sittng until the Easter break of 2015. All political parties that will be involved in the federal election are in the process of scoring political points and getting prepared for the upcoming fall election. Our understanding is that the Harper Government has not withdrawn Bill C-377. It appears that it is still at the senate. The Committee will attempt to get an update regarding this unnecessary and uncaring proposed legislation. Along with everyone else we are waiting for the fallout from the decline in the price of a barrel of oil. Up to this time the drop in the price has had an effect on negotiations, also the financial situation of the province of Alberta has been seriously affected. This is creating many difficult circumstances for the province of Alberta and the financial situations for all cities, towns and municipalities and many other groups that make up the citizens of Alberta. The Provincial Legislature will commence sitting on March 10, 2015 with a budget to be introduced shortly afterward. It is quite possible that an announcement for a provincial election will be made for some time in the spring of 2015. This will present an interesting situation for the Political Action Committee. Once the legislature is in session, the economy will be the focus of much attention but also Health Care and Education issues will get their share of the questions. The price of a barrel of oil has no doubt affected the economy in the cities, however, in Edmonton there is still a fair amount of construction activity. Contractors that have collective agreements with the Building Trades have been successful in getting contracts in a number of the projects in the city, but the other organizations that are in opposition to the Building Trades are certainly getting their share of the contracts as well and perhaps even more than their share. The Building Trades Contractors have the best trained employees and should be able to obtain their share of the available contracts and projects. The Political Action Committee (PAC) would like to thank the members for their continued interest and support. Respectfully submitted, Jack Hubler Bill Wilson Carl Wilson Peter Gardner Stu MacLeod Sean Johnston RMA REPORT Retired Members Association 2015 BOARD OF DIRECTORS President: John P. (Jack) Hubler Secretary: Marge Barnes Members at Large: Vice President: Brian Filax Treasurer: Jim Homeniuk Oskar Nerenberg Marv Kowalchuk Leon Husereau Dave Campbell Mel Brenneis The RMA Social Committee as always continues to be busy organizing and setting up all the interesting and enjoyable events and trips for the members. As well, the RMA continues to keep the Coffee Counter functioning, as well as the Visiting Committee, Crib Tournament and looking after the Vending Machines and the garden. The Golf Club and Dinner Club continues to provide some excellent opportunities for those who wish to participate and want to see old colleagues and meet new friends. All retired members and their spouses are invited to attend the Retired Members Association events including Lunch and the General Meetings held in the Norman Darbyshire Dispatch Hall on the first Wednesday of each month, excluding July and August. Lunches commence at 12:00 PM with the meeting following at 1:00 PM. All Widows of deceased retired members, all widowers if they are retired members or single retired members are invited to bring one guest to all the events at the price outlined in the ‘Pipeline’. All events are advertised in the ‘Pipeline’ newsletter which includes dates, prices and locations. All retired members and their spouses as well as those others outlined in this report, are encouraged to participate in the RMA activities where you will meet with friends and colleagues. 20 NOTICE OF NOMINATION FOR UA CANADIAN CONFERENCE DELEGATES AT THE MARCH 28, 2015 GENERAL MEMBER MEETING Ten (10) Journeyman members will be elected to attend the UA CANADIAN CONFERENCE ~ TORONTO, ONTARIO ~ AUGUST 18 - 19, 2015 The UA Canadian Conference is held bi-yearly to discuss the business of the UA in Canada and to make and vote on resolutions that will govern the operations of Canadian Locals. Future programs and strategies for the UA in Canada will also be presented at this important conference. In order to run, a member must be a Journeyman and have dues paid or sufficient credit for January 2015, by noon, (5:00 PM), March 27, 2015 and be a member in good standing for one (1) year (prior to March 1, 2015). In the event that an elected Delegate cannot attend this Conference, alternates will be chosen from the ballot list in order of votes received. Balloting/Election will take place at the General Meeting, Saturday, June 13, 2015. In the event of a tie, a run-off election will take place at this same meeting. It will be the elected Delegates’ and Alternates’, responsibility to ensure he/she remains in good standing up to and including the month of the conference. RETIREMENTS RONALD BLACKBURN ~ JANUARY 1, 2015 ~ 32 YEARS VITO CARAMIA ~ MARCH 1, 2015 ~ 37 YEARS STEPHEN COMEAU ~ JANUARY 1, 2015 ~ 36 YEARS ROBERT CRAWFORD ~ JANUARY 1, 2015 ~ 35 YEARS EUGENE DANILAK ~ JANUARY 1, 2015 ~ 32 YEARS CLAUDE DOUCET ~ NOVEMBER 1, 2014 ~ 35 YEARS CLARENCE DUPUIS ~ DECEMBER 1, 2014 ~ 14 YEARS JEFFREY HAM ~ MARCH 1, 2015 ~ 33 YEARS WILLIAM HELLER ~ JANUARY 1, 2015 ~ 35 YEARS BRIAN HOLLANDS ~ JANUARY 1, 2015 ~ 37 YEARS JOHN HUDDLESTAN ~ DECEMBER 1, 2014 ~ 32 YEARS MICHAEL HUEMMERT ~ FEBRUARY 1, 2015 ~ 15 YEARS CRAIG E. JOHNSON ~ JANUARY 1, 2015 ~ 36 YEARS STUART JOHNSON ~ FEBRUARY 1, 2015 ~ 14 YEARS RICK KOVACS ~ JANUARY 1, 2015 ~ 35 YEARS KO WOONG LEE ~ DECEMBER 1, 2014 ~ 8 YEARS WILLIAM LEEMAN ~ DECEMBER 1, 2014 ~ 32 YEARS GERALD LYONS ~ JANUARY 1, 2015 ~ 35 YEARS GEORGE W MARTIN ~ JANUARY 1, 2015 ~ 27 YEARS KELVIN MCELDERRY ~ JANUARY 1, 2015 ~ 24 YEARS MITCHELL MELTON ~ DECEMBER 1, 2014 ~ 18 YEARS ALAN MILL ~ JANUARY 1, 2015 ~ 48 YEARS WENDELL MORGAN ~ JANUARY 1, 2015 ~ 13 YEARS ANDREW MROZ ~ FEBRUARY 1, 2015 ~ 7 YEARS PAUL MURPHY ~ JANUARY 1, 2015 ~ 25 YEARS PETER NEARY ~ JANUARY 1, 2015 ~ 34 YEARS EVALD NORDLUND ~ JANUARY 1, 2015 ~ 33 YEARS JUBBIE NYATHI ~ JANUARY 1, 2015 ~ 16 YEARS DONALD ORD ~ JANUARY 1, 2015 ~ 39 YEARS GEORGE QUINLAN ~ FEBRUARY 1, 2015 ~ 38 YEARS RICHARD M.RASBERRY ~ JANUARY 1, 2015 ~ 19 YEARS JEAN MARC RIVEST ~ FEBRUARY 1, 2015 ~ 32 YEARS RAMON A. ROBINSON ~ MARCH 1, 2015 ~ 32 YEARS LLOYD MAXWELL ROSE ~ JANUARY 1, 2015 ~ 25 YEARS DONALD TARRABAIN ~ JANUARY 1, 2015 ~ 17 YEARS KEN IRVING TRIDER ~ JANUARY 1, 2015 ~ 24 YEARS ALAIN TREMBLAY ~ MARCH 1, 2015 ~ 13 YEARS RON YANCHUK ~ FEBRUARY 1, 2015 ~ 16 YEARS 21 488 MAIL BOX 22 488 MAIL BOX Dear Members of Local 488. I hope you are having an excellent start to 2015! I am writing with some very positive and exciting news. I started off the 2015 half with a few weeks of training on the Calgary track before heading to Lake Placid, NY. My team was there for two weeks, joined by the team representing Ontario to combine for almost a full Canadian ballot. We spent two weeks in the frigid town, the first week of training, and the second week of official training with two races. Lake Placid is notorious for being a very technically difficult track, but I had great runs in training and was feeling confident as ever. I got paired up with one of the Ontario brakeman, Cynthia Appatha for both races. In the first race we had great ice conditions. Cynthia and I out pushed the field by a whopping 3 tenths, but after the first heat were only in the lead by 1 hundredth. In the second heat we improved our push by 3 hundredths. If we would have been pushing in the World Cup race we actually would have had the 6th fastest push (quite impressive). I drove very constantly and we won the race by just over 6 tenths. Not only was this my medal finish but it was my first win. The second race was very similar. We out pushed most of the sleds by 3 tenths and won again by over 6 tenths. Could not have been more excited and proud to win both races! We then left straight to Park City, Utah. Again, we had a week of training followed by a week of official training and two races. The only difference was that there were a few more woman's sleds entering the race and after the two 2man races there were two 4man races. The track in Park City is very different than Lake Placid. It is not technical and quite easy to get down, but it is very difficult to go fast. I had a little bit of a hard time in the first week adjusting and my downtimes were not competitive with the rest of the field. Then we were faced with a big decision. One of the men's 4 man sleds from New Zealand had to drop out of the race, leaving only 7 sleds. A race can't be fielded without a minimum 8 sleds. The American women had already entered a 4 woman team. This is the first year ever that any sled can have a combination of genders compete in international races, but it was going to be the first time anyone had entered a 4 woman team. We had an extra 4 man sled with us because one of our boys got called up to Europe, and my coach asked if I would be interested in entering. I was hesitant because I hadn't been driving perfectly and it would mean taking away training time from my 2 woman sled. I was also nervous, driving a 4 man sled is like driving a semi truck vs a sports car and now I had 3 people behind me, not just 1. After some confidence was instilled in me from my coach I agreed and entered. We would combine the two national development 2 woman teams to make one 4 woman team and I would drive. We did just two runs during official training, enough to qualify for the race, then the focus was back to the 2woman. The first race was really close. I was teamed up with my usual brakeman Josee. We pushed well, second and third fastest pushes of the day. After the first heat we were in second by only 5 hundredths of a second. Again I drove very constantly, and put together a solid second run, enough to pull ahead and win! The second race I was with another teammate, Courtenay. Although we exceeded our expectations and were the second fastest team on the push, the margin was very tight. I drove well in the first heat but we were sitting in third by three tenths. The second heat I drove exceptionally well until I made a crucial error near the bottom of the track. We finished in third, out of gold by 0.28 of a second. Overall I was very happy with the results. The last two races gave me enough points to win the overall event. And I finished as the North Americas Cup 2 woman champion. It was an incredible feeling, and apparently exceeded most of my coaches’ expectations. After two tough races the media started to buzz about the 4 person event. This was the first time ever in history that 4 woman would push a bobsled in an international race. I was lucky enough to draw ahead of the American women, so we were actually the first ever all woman sled down the track. I was surprised how well I was able to navigate the sled having such little experience. Although the allmen's sled us beat us by a large margin, it was important to note they had an 85 kg advantage on us heading down the track. Girls will never weigh as much as the boys. We out-pushed and beat the American woman's sled by quite a bit, and came 7th in both races. It was a blast to be able to compete in the event, and we were honored to be part of another step in breaking down gender barriers. Again, I thank you and Local 488 for being a part of my journey. I've included a few pictures from the last 2 months, as well as links to one of the news articles I was featured in. 23 U LOCAL 488 OFFICERS President Ken Klassen Vice President Ivan Penny Business Manager/Financial Secretary Larry Matychuk Treasurer Jack Hubler Recording Secretary Brian Filax Inside Guard Oskar Nerenberg Business Agents Saturday, April 11, 2015 Shaw Conference Centre 9797 Jasper Avenue, Edmonton, AB AWARDS (25 - 45 YEARS) @ 3:00 PM COCKTAILS @ 6:00 PM BUFFET DINNER @ 7:00 PM AWARDS (50+ YEARS) @ 8:00 PM DANCE @ 9:00 PM - 1:00 AM ~ LIVE MUSIC ~ Tickets are $45.00 per person TICKETS AVAILABLE UNTIL MARCH 27 , 2015 At the Edmonton Local Union Office 16214 - 118 Avenue ~ Main Floor TH SUBMISSIONS: Please submit contributions electronically, Attention: Pipeline Newsletter Editor via e-mail to [email protected]. Contributions are invited from officers and members of UA Local Union 488. PLEASE NOTE: Articles, statements or other materials published are not to be construed as the opinion or policy of the Union or this paper. *printed by ABC Press FOR EASIER CONNECTION, CALL EACH DEPARTMENT DIRECTLY! Edmonton Office ~ Phone: (780) 452-7080 (press 5) // Fax: (780) 452-1291 Fort McMurray Office ~ Phone: (780) 791-6488 // Fax: (780) 790-9393 Calgary Office ~ Phone: (403) 253-3516 // Fax: (403) 253-3534 Health & Welfare Office ~ Phone: (780) 452-1331 // Fax: (780) 487-4063 EPT - Education Office ~ Phone: (780) 488-1266 // Fax: (780) 482-9520 Welding Shop ~ Phone: (780) 451-6880 // Fax: (780) 454-6040 Edmonton Dispatch Tape ~ Phone: (780) 451-3620 • call tape after 4:30 pm www.local488.ca ( View available Job Calls on-line! ) Edmonton Office ~ 16214 - 118 Avenue • Edmonton, AB • T5V 1M6 Fort McMurray Office ~ 9703A Franklin Avenue • Fort McMurray, AB • T9H 2K1 Calgary Office ~ 162, 6223 - 2 Street SE • Calgary, AB • T2H 1J5 EPT - Education Office ~ 16120 - 118 Avenue • Edmonton, AB • T5V 1C6 Welding Shop ~ 16107 - 121A Avenue • Edmonton, AB • T5V 1H1 24 Barry Pruden, Tom Baliey, Robert Taylor, Rod McKay, Stu MacLeod, Rodney Carlson LOCAL 488 COMMITTEES Alberta & NWT Building Construction Trades Council Eric Adams, A. (Jimbo) Brown, Dave Campbell, Jack Hubler, Bill Johnston, Rob Rankin, Desmond (JJ) Francis, James (Jim) Sharp, Kelly Twa, Carl (Flip) Wilson, Alberta Refrigeration Health/Welfare & Pension Trustees Larry Matychuk, Brian Hearn, Bryan Rooney, Michael Harper Benevolent Fund Committee Andy Heron, Shelley Klassen, Stu MacLeod, Rod McKay, Barry Pruden, Glen Sargent Edmonton Pipe Trades Fraternal and Building Society Tom Bailey, Dave Campbell, Clark Cruickshank, Andy Herbert, Jack Hubler, Ivan Penny, & Robert Taylor Education Trust Fund Trustees Tom Bailey, Bill Johnston Election Committee (UA Local 488) Desmond (JJ) Francis, Dave Olechow, Dave Campbell, Ingrid Franchuk Entertainment Committee Jean Deslauriers, Brian Filax, Leanna Nelson, Irene Herbert, Mike Todd, Jimbo Brown, Pauline Lavallee, Dwight York, Jose DaSilva & Sean Johnston Examining Board Derrick Gilbert, Keith Black, Scott Fulmer, Jim Homeniuk, Richard Gomez Executive Board Carl J. Wilson, Clark Cruickshank, Rob Rankin, Terry Frazer Finance Committee Lorin Bates, Pascal Contant, Bill Wilson Health & Safety Committee Tom Bailey, Rod Carlson, Andy Gruber, Allan Hansen, Bob MacDonald, Kenneth Nolan Health & Welfare & Pension Trustees Lee Adkins, Barry Pruden, Robert Taylor Joint Conference Board Clark Cruickshank, Andy Gruber, Andy Herbert, Kenneth Nolan, Glen Sargent, Carl (Flip) Wilson Political Action & Education Committee Pete Gardner, Jack Hubler, Stu MacLeod, Bill Wilson, Carl (Flip) Wilson, Sean Johnston Retired Members Association Jack Hubler, Marge Barnes, Brian Filax, Jim Homeniuk, Dave Francis, Oskar Nerenberg, Leon Husereau, Mel Brenneis, Marv Kowalchuk Supplementary Benefit Trust Fund Eric Adams, Hank Blakely, Ivan Penny, Robert Taylor, Bill Wilson Welders Advisory Committee Carl (Flip) Wilson, Jimbo Brown, John Thalen, Bob Johnston, Miles Paquette, Mike Wipf, Ken Ross, Hamed Ibrahim