the - local 179non-union activity: unprecedented activity and growth in construction is a blessing...

UA Local 179 News - Fall 2012 1 | P a g e

THE LOCAL NEWS

Fall 2012

Contact Info

UA Local 179,

227 – 7th Avenue, Regina SK S4N 5H5,

P:306-569-0624 or 1-877-893-2179,

F:306-781-8052 E: [email protected]

Saskatoon CODC Office/ Saskatoon UA

Training Centre

334 Robin Way, Saskatoon, SK S7K 0X2,

P:306-956-1061, F:306-956-1065

Business Manager – Troy Knipple

Business Agents - Bill Peters & Dave

Lichtenwald

Business Agent/Organizer – Bill Steeves

& Landon Mohl

Director of Training – Ken Busch

Training Contacts:

P: 306-651-3737 or 306-651-3777

E: [email protected]

Regina Training Office: P: 306-522-4237

or 1-877-893-2179

Call-out Tape: P: 306-569-0624 Ext. 1 or

1-877-893-2179

Apprentice Dispatch:

Brandon Faul, P: 306-522-1566

Website: www.ualocal179.ca

Members Only Login:

Username: member

Password: UA Member Card #

Global Benefits: 1-800-810-2086

Employee Assistance Program:

1-800-268-5211

2012 General Meeting Schedule

September 15th 2012

Conexus Centre of the Arts, Regina SK 11:00am

October 20th 2012

Saskatoon Inn, Saskatoon, SK 11:00am

November 24th 2012

Conexus Centre of the Arts, Regina SK 11:00am

December 15th 2012

Saskatoon Inn, Saskatoon, SK 11:00am

In Memoriam The following members of United Association have

recently passed away.

Name Date of Death

George Nicholls…………………… 05/09/2012

Derek Simon……………………….. 05/16/2012

Edward Shoenroth………………. 05/18/2012

Wayne McKenney……………….. 06/10/2012

Euguene Shabatowski………….. 06/13/2012

Robert Andrews………………….. 06/26/2012

Rene Hache…………………………. 07/05/2012

Douglas Berg……………………….. 08/28/2012

mailto:[email protected]


http://www.ualocal179.ca/


2013 General Meeting Schedule

January 26th 2013 February 9th 2013

Conexus Centre of the Arts Saskatoon Inn

Regina SK 11:00am Saskatoon, SK 11:00am

March 23rd 2013 April 20th 2013

Conexus Centre of the Arts Saskatoon Inn

Regina SK 11:00am Saskatoon, SK 11:00am

UA LOCAL 179 2012 EVENTS CALENDAR

Sunday, September 16th - SK Building Trades – Trade vs. Trade Paintball Tourney

Prairie Storm Paintball, Moose Jaw, SK 10:00am. Teams of 4-6 people. Open to UA

Members friends and family. Cost is $10/person + paint balls and gun rental. Food and

refreshments provided. Contact the office or visit our website to get a registration form.

Saturday, September 22nd - UA Local 179 Member Pin Awards

Conexus Centre of the Arts, Regina, SK – 5:30pm

An opportunity to celebrate the long-term contributions of many of our members.

Saturday, October 20th - Working Rules and Bylaws Member Meeting

immediately following the General meeting (Saskatoon Inn, Saskatoon, SK 11:00am)

Saturday, November 24th - Working Rules and Bylaws Member Meeting

immediately following the General meeting (Centre of the Arts, Regina SK 11:00am)

Saturday, December 1st: Prince Albert X-Mas Party Minto Bowl & Recreational Centre, 201 13th ST East Prince Albert, SK 2:00-4:30pm

Sunday, December 2, 2012: Saskatoon X-Mas Party

Fairhaven Bowl, 3401 22nd ST West Saskatoon, SK 2:00-4:30pm

Saturday, December 8th: Regina X-Mas Party

It’s A Blast & Laser Quest, 10A & 10B Hesse Bay, Regina, SK 2:00-4:30pm

For more information about any of these events please contact the UA Local 179 office.


Brothers and Sisters,

I hope you have all had a great summer and had a chance to spend some time with your families.

New Executive Board Member

In the last newsletter I had indicated to you that we had a vacancy on the executive board. I am

pleased to announce the newly elected executive board member is Frank Varsanyi. Congratulations

Frank and on behalf of all UA members thank you for stepping up to represent our union.

New Regina Union Hall/Training Facility Update:

We are now only a few short months away from the projected completion of our new UA Local 179

Union Hall/Training facility located at 402 Solomon Drive, Regina, SK. We plan to be all moved in by the

end of December. You can see a photo of the progress below.

Upcoming Pin Awards

I want to remind members that our annual UA Local 179 Member Pin Awards are coming up soon on

Saturday, September 22, 2012 at the Conexus Centre of the Arts in Regina. I would like to extend my

congratulations to all those who have reached membership milestones whether it be five or fifty years

as a member of UA Local 179. Thank you for your many years of hardwork, dedication, membership and

solidarity. I look forward to this special event.

Business Manager’s Report

Troy Knipple, Business Manager


Strategic Committee – Current Regina Union Hall

A strategic committee meeting was held on Saturday, July 21, 2012 to decide the future of the current

Regina Union Hall at 227 – 7th Avenue, Regina, SK. The meeting was to discuss and decide whether UA

Local 179 should retain ownership of the property and lease it or sell it after completion of our new

building in December. It was decided that there was not sufficient attendance to make a decision and

the discussion and decision was tabled to the September 15th Regina and October 20th General

meetings. Please try and attend one of those meetings to contribute to this important decision.

Alloy Welding We are seeing a growing demand across the industry for our members to be trained in alloy welding. In order to meet the needs of the industry we would like to encourage members to consider getting trained and be able to fill jobs seeking alloy welders. I recognize that the financial incentive to take this further training does not currently exist and I want to ensure you we will work to improve that in the next round of negotiations. There will be new training courses being announced this fall and opportunities for people to practice in the training facilities, so stay tuned.

Non-Union Activity:

Unprecedented activity and growth in construction is a blessing with challenges. New contractors flock

with truck and trailer combos, non-union cut rate alternatives, Clac, Merit, Carson/Flint and Leadcore all

want a piece of the action and have come to stake their claims. We are seeing a substantial increase in

non-union activity. It has never been more important for UA Local 179 members to uphold the Standard

for Excellence and to simply be the labour of choice in the industry. It is crucial for the officers, agents

and organizers of the local to aggressively pursue certification of these contractors.

PCL Monad Agrium Project / DVM Construction Mosaic Colonsay / Leadcore is now constructing a New

SK Facility and Tower Three commercial activity Regina and Saskatoon Mosaic / Dowland Construction

PCS Rocanville / Modern Niagara Saskatoon Police Service / Carson / Flint is now constructing a New SK

Facility and working in various Saskatchewan pipeline and oil shield also aggressively bidding industrial

work.

Third Annual Labour Day Picnic:

The Saskatchewan Building Trades Labour Day Picnic was a great success with approximately twenty five

hundred in attendance this year. The event was held just north of the Legislative Building in Wascana

Park on Monday, Sept 3, 2012. UA Local 179 setup its booth and served up free soft drinks for all in

attendance with other trade division offering various food and treats. The park was full of fun activities

with live music, dancing, face painting, balloons and various other activities including the display and

demo of a City of Regina fire truck. It was great to see UA staff and members with their families stopping

by to enjoy the day in the park.


Final Word – Credit Due:

In one year from June 30, 2011 to July 31, 2012 the SPI JTAC Director, instructors and staff transformed

the Saskatoon JTAC Training building from a shell into a fully functional world class UA Pipe Trades

training facility.

In this same time UA Local 179 Officers agents and staff conducted the business of five million UA hours

worked in Saskatchewan while at the same time designing and beginning construction on a new Regina

Union Hall / JTAC Training facility.

Thanks to the officers and staff for your hard work, dedication and commitment which was needed to

push through this past year. Your efforts have made positive lasting change for our UA Local 179.

Troy Knipple

Business Manager

NEW UA MEMBER DISCOUNT AVAILABLE AT GOLD’S GYM IN REGINA

As of Wednesday, September 12th 2012

All UA Local 179 members and family members

and travelers working out of Local 179

are eligible for a reduced rate membership

at Gold’s Gym in Regina of $17.99/bi-weekly.

With no time periods and no initiation or registration fees.

This works out to $38.98 per month which is even less than the YMCA or the

City of Regina ActivePass which are both $51.45 per month.

For more information contact John at the UA Local 179 office [email protected] or

306.551.1579



The following list denotes upcoming job opportunities for the coming months.

Al-Loyd Welding - working at Cory & Allan PCS

Aecon – Co-op layoffs projected in the next month

Balzers – Heater replacement at Coronach and work at Co-op. The fab shop will be getting busy in the fall

BFI – Work at Allan, Colonsay & Cigar Lake. There will be layoffs in October & November

Derksen Mechanical – Work at the Co-op and at Clean Coal in Estevan. Both will be hiring people over the next few months

Ganotec West – Layoffs in the next month

Jacob Industrial – Ongoing work at Mosaic Potash Bell Plaine. Shutdown is over but work is ongoing

Kamtech – slow at the fab shop in Saskatoon and PA

MX2 – Fab going to be busy this fall

PCL – The Green Side at the Co-op is in start. The Brown Side will have layoffs in coming weeks

TESC Constructors – Picking up more at Jensen Potash Mine

Shutdown Work

- Boundary Dam Oct 13, 2012 for 3 weeks - Mosaic Belle Plaine Oct 13, 2012 for 3 weeks

Upcoming work for bid:

- K&S at Bethune - Yara at Belle Plaine - Mosaic Potash at Belle Plaine - Clean Coal Project at Boundary Dam - One contract went to BFI and two left to be awarded

In closing I would like to thank the membership for all their hard work. If anyone has any concerns or questions regarding work, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Industrial Sector Work

Bill Peters, Business Agent


Over the last few months I have been asked a

lot of questions about how many more men “I”

am going to bring into the Union or how many

more Travel Cards “I” am going to allow

transfer?

It is not up to “me” but your Executive Board to

determine who they will and will not approve. I

just put the files together for them. I do believe

that we need to grow our Local and control the

manpower in this Province. Every skilled

worker we send away from the Union ends up

working for our competition.

Part of the solution is not just to grow our

numbers but also to grow the number of

contractors we have. We have new contractors

who have signed up with us and have others

looking at agreements. I have had some

members giving me a lot of grief over trying to

get the 21 Irishmen that were laid off at Agrium

working for us. Thankfully this seems to be a

rather small group that do not seem to fully

understand the situation. The 21 Irish

pipefitters were told to come to Canada and

offered 2-3 years employment with PLC Monad

on the Agrium site. They had all signed

employment contracts that they believed would

keep them employed over the next couple of

years. They were told to bring their families and

start new lives here. All indications were that

this was to be a great opportunity for

themselves and their families. Once contacted

and offered employment contracts by PLC

Monad, the men were only given a short time

To

make all arrangements to get here. Some had

to sell off their personal possessions to help pay

the costs of moving. My understanding is that

the cost to immigrate to Canada for these men

and their families runs from 10 to 25 thousand

dollars depending on each individual’s situation.

Once here, Monad gave them help in setting up

bank accounts, getting SIN numbers, and safety

tickets ETC. Then, due to “engineering

problems”, these workers were told they would

only have 4 more weeks work until they would

all be laid off. Most of the 21 men had been on

site for less than 4 weeks. One worker, who was

told to be here in Saskatchewan by a certain

date, was refused access to the site and never

worked a single hour on site for Monad.

I am not sure who was doing the job of

scheduling, but it would appear they did not

have a very good grasp as to manpower

requirements VS workload and materials

available. These Irish workers had all spent

thousands of dollars of their own money getting

over here, only to be told there was no work for

them and they would all be laid off. As was

stated in the news media, that PCL Monad had

offered the Irishmen work in Regina. The job

they offered was at the COOP Refinery. I am not

sure how PCL Monad was going to manage

getting 21 CLAC pipefitters onto a UA job site

but I guess they had a plan. Some of the news

media seemed to bash these workers for

refusing to take these jobs, however I don’t feel

the “whole story” was being told and won’t get

into that here.

Organizing Matters

Bill Steeves, Business Agent/Organizer


I was contacted by one of the Irish workers and

asked if there was anything the UA could do to

help them out. For the next 3-4 weeks this was

just about all I worked on. All the men had work

permits that ONLY allowed them to work for

Monad and only at the Agrium site. I have met

and talked with Provincial MLA’s, Federal MP’s

and with Immigration Officials to help ensure

these men and their families were not sent back

to Ireland. I have worked with both union and

non-union contractors to get these men

working and earning a living. Sending a man

back to Ireland, after he had spent thousands of

dollars to get here was just not an option for

me. With a little research, and some help from a

few friends, I felt we could put the changes

made by Bill 80, to good use.

On Friday July 20th I filed for a Certification on

Monad. On Saturday July 21st @ 7am all 21 Irish

workers were laid off. There has since been a

Certification Vote that has taken place at the

Agrium site. I can’t get into details but there is

now a chance that our members may be

manning that site in the future. For the chance

to put our UA Members to work on the Agrium

Site for the next 2-3 years, we have the Irish

workers to thank.

One of the questions I asked the Irish workers

was “What is CLAC doing to help you guys out?”

The answer I got from these men was not real

flattering towards CLAC. These men asked for

representation and got it, but it came in the

form of the UA. These men will all eventually

become proud UA members and I for one will

be proud to call them Brother.

Bill Steeves

Commercial BA/Organizer

For Free confidential

assistance call

your EAP at:

1-800-268-5211 or log on to:

www.fgiworldmembers.com

Username: saskpiping

Password: piping215

Procare Employee &

Family Assistance Plan

Counselling and work life support

services 24 Hours a Day.

1-800-663-1142

www.humansolutions.ca

http://www.fgiworldmembers.com/


Organizing Update

Hello brothers and sisters. The commericial sector has been busy in Southern Saskatchewan. We have

successfully organized Kusy’s Electric at the Co-Op Refinery doing any Instrumentation work, this has

secured work for several UA members.

Bill 80 has caused extra work for us Organizers because there is no such thing as successorship anymore.

That means companies like Lockerbie & Hole, that has had many name changes as some of you may

know, need to be re-certified with every new name change. It seems like a giant waste of my time to

complete these certifications but that’s how much the government likes us. They want to make our jobs

within the UNION Hall much more difficult. Because of this I had to visit the Co-op site and complete a

vote with Aecon Industrial Western Inc. to have their name certified with the Labour Relations Board. I

would like to thank Kevin Gray, Kevin Miller, Darrrell Maclean and Darin Sandor for all their help in

completing Aecon`s certification. I also had to certify Lockerbie & Hole Eastern Inc. at the Rocanville site

and I completed the vote there with the help of Konstantine Filis, Rob Patkau, Jonathan Ripplinger, Dean

Crane, Al Motta & Rob Martin. Thank you very much for your help guys as I would not have completed

theses votes without you. We continue working on other potential certifications throughout the

province.

Season of Champions

Our UA Local 179 slo—pitch team the ``179ers`had a great time playing in the spring and summer

league. Thank you so much to the executive board for funding Local 179`s first slo-pitch team. During

the spring league we had lots of brothers and sisters come out and play on the team and achieved 5th

place out of 10 teams. During the summer league we excelled as a team and won the summer league

championship defeating the undefeated first place team. It was a great championship game as we had

very few errors and hit the ball very well. Thank you to all the brothers and sisters that participated in

slo-pitch this year. If anyone would like to play slo-pitch next year, please call or text me at 530-5814

and I will add you to the roster.

Commercial Sector Work

Landon Mohl, Business Agent/Organizer


Canadian Automatic Sprinkler Association Annual Conference

Mike Chriest (Vipond Fire Protection shop steward) and I attended the Canadian Automatic Sprinkler

Association Annual Conference in Winnipeg and found it very professional and informative. CASA invited

the local media, the Winnipeg fire department and fire chief to a side by side burn at a nearby parking

lot where they ignited 2 sheds on fire with some curtains and a couch inside of the sheds. The shed that

was fire sprinkler protected had the fire sprinkler bulb break at 41 seconds after the fire was lit. The fire

sprinkler had the fire controlled and nearly extinguished within 30 seconds after initial water discharge

from the fire sprinkler. In the shed that was not fire sprinkler protected the fire had flashpoint occur

within 1 ½ minutes and the shed was totally ablaze within 3 minutes and it was at that time that the

Winnipeg fire department extinguished the fire. CASA stated that the average response time across

Canada is 6 minutes after the Local Fire Department receives the phone call. I found that very disturbing

to me and I am looking forward to Fire Sprinklers being installed on all new home builds in the future.

In Vancouver they have a bylaw that all new homes have required sprinklers for over 15 years already.

In Calgary a new Housing Builder has successfully been installing fire sprinklers in 100% of his homes

since 2009. The owner of the Calgary Housing Builder approached the union contractors in Calgary in

2009 and was told they were not interested in doing residential housing. (This blew me away) Then the

housing builder had no choice but to use his non-union plumbers to start up a sprinkler division within

their company and now in 2012 this builder has 75% market share of residential housing in Calgary. That

being said any Journeyman sprinkler fitter should start to consider if they want to start their own union

residential fire sprinkler company and take over this work when it comes to Saskatchewan in the future.

Commercial Sector Work Update

Viking Fire Protection is busy in the province with two service vans doing maintenance/service work all over

Southern Saskatchewan. They have 12 Sprinkler fitters working at the Radville Health Center, Weyburn Saskpower

building, Weyburn Southeast Cornerstone School, Ft. Qu`appelle Harrison Manor Nursing Home, Kipling School,

Yorkton Harvest Meats & Moose Jaw SIAST. Within Regina they are working at Lavalle School, David Johnson

Building, 2nd

ave. CRU’s, Bennett Dunlop Ford, RCMP Barracks APS Building. Viking has hired a few people within

the last couple months due to their increased workload.

Simplex Grinnell is busy with 8 Sprinkler fitters working within Regina at Hill Tower 3 (Ledcor Construction is the

General), Arcola School & the Co-Op Refinery. They also have work at the Swift Current Bus Depot, Gordon Reserve

Day Care and will be starting on installing the Fire Sprinkler System in the Jansen Potash Mine Camp soon. They

will be hiring several sprinkler fitters for the main building at Rocanville very soon. The service department is also

busy with 4 sprinkler fitters working at Mosiac K-1, K-2 and K-3, Bienfait Coal Mine completing fire pump

replacements and working all over Southern Saskatchewan doing maintenance/service work. Grinnell has hired a

few people for the Co-Op recently.


Vipond Fire Protection is very busy with 23 Sprinkler fitters working within Regina on the construction of our new

union hall, CWS Logistics, RCMP barracks dorms and Dakota Ridge Condos. They also have work at the Rocanville

Scissor Creek office building, Rocanville Potash Mine Loadout and slimes building, Redvers Health Center, Estevan

Kramer Tractor, Estevan Plastics building, Swift Current Home & Suites and Redhead Case International building,

RCMP detachment in White City and Carson’s Welding & Maintenance building in Emerald Park. The service

department is very busy with 11 Sprinkler Fitters working all over Southern Saskatchewan doing maintenance and

service work. Vipond has hired a few people within the last couple of months as well.

Christie Mechanical is busy with 19 Plumbers working within Regina at our new union hall, Arcola School, Old

Provincial Lab Deconstruction and several little jobs throughout the province. Christie also has work at a

Saskpower building in Weyburn and Balcarres School. Their Maintenance division is busy as well with 6 Plumbers

and Refrigeration Mechanics working at Saskpower plant in Estevan and all over Southern Saskatchewan. They are

looking to hire a Refrigeration Mechanic and have hired a few people within the last few months.

Black & Macdonald is steady with 6 Plumbers working within Regina at the Douglas Park School, RQHR Health

Centre and Greenall High School in Balgonie. Their maintenance/service division has 4 refrigeration mechanics and

2 plumbers working all over Southern Saskatchewan. B&M is also looking forward to starting the Moose Jaw

Hospital and they will need to hire several Plumbers for that upcoming job.

POW City Mechanical is busy within Regina with 24 Plumbers working at the RCMP barracks dorms, Pinnacle

Holdings Building, Stalk Road Warehouse, Resurrection Parish Church and finally a UA Mechanical contractor

acquiring two tenant improvements at Hill Tower 3 (CWB TI & Mosiac TI working for the general Ledcor

Construction). POW City also is working on a Health Center in Redvers. They have hired a few people within the

last few months and are still looking to hire some plumbers.

Edco Plumbing & Heating is busy with 5 Plumbers and 2 Pipefitters completing rush work at the Catholic Schools

during the summer months, Conexus Arts Center Renovation and Drive Products building in Regina.

Marathon Mechanical is steady with 3 Plumbers working within Regina at the RCMP barracks APS building and a

few smaller jobs throughout the city.

Discount Plumbing & Heating in Moose Jaw is steady with 7 Plumbers completing service work all over the city

and surrounding area.

C & E Mechanical is steady with 15 Plumbers working within Moose Jaw at Boston Pizza, a couple of five plex

homes, Glentworth School and smaller jobs throughout the province. The maintenance/service division has 10

Plumbers and 1 Refrigeration Mechanic working throughout southern Saskatchewan.

Honeywell Controls is steady with 6 HVAC/Refrigeration Mechanics doing service work all over Southern

Saskatchewan. They are still looking for a HVAC/Refrigeration Mechanic for the Weyburn/Estevan area.

Johnson Controls is steady with 3 HVAC/Refrigeration Mechanics doing service work all over Southern

Saskatchewan and immediately require 3rd

& 4th

year apprentices or Journeyman to expand their presence in

Saskatchewan.

Landon Mohl, Business Agent/Organizer


Best wishes to each Member and your

families! I hope each of you took the time to

enjoy what has been a real good

Saskatchewan summer.

As we transition into the fall months, setting

up training programs is on our minds at the

UA 179 Joint Training Committee offices.

Before I get to that, I will update everyone

on how the Pipe Trades Competitions went.

They went very well. Many of the comments

were that they were well organized and that

the projects were suitable for the needs of

the Competitions. I will also take this time to

thank each person who contributed their

time to make both Competitions a success.

The winners of the Western Regional

Competitions were all from either Local 496

or Local 488. The points scored determined

the winners. Many of the 2nd place people

were ½ a point under. They were all very

close Competitions.

I have not set the dates yet for the 2013

Provincial Pipe Trades Competitions. This

Competition is open to Indentured

Apprentices from Level 1 to 4. Please call

Judy at 1-306-651-3737 to register. We will

be sending information out in the next few

months to each indentured Apprentice. .

I would like to take the opportunity to advise

all Apprentices that when you need

something from either of my offices or

information, you need to call in to us. This

applies to trade time issues, address

changes, telephone numbers, email

addresses, new phone numbers, courses,

and anything else for that matter that

pertains to your Apprenticeship. We often

receive calls from your parents, girlfriends,

or wives. Due to privacy laws, we will not

be providing any information to anyone

other than the person we are sponsoring as

an Apprentice.

Once I set some programs, a letter will be

sent to each person’s (who sent in a blue

form) address that they provided to my

office. Provided you have not moved, the

letters will get to you so as you can confirm

with my office that you will attend the course

you asked for. If you have moved and have

not told anyone, the letter will come back to

my office.

The Courses scheduled for the remainder

of 2012 are shown in the table below.

To register for a course you can call Judy B.

at 1-306-651-3737 or email

[email protected].

Training Matters Kenneth Busch, Training Co-ordinator



2012 Saskatchewan Piping Industry JTC Training Schedule

Cross Connection Control Re-Cert Saskatoon October 20, 21, 2012

Cross Connection Control Saskatoon November 16, 17, 18, 23, 24, 25, 2012

Pipe Fabrication Regina Call 1-306-651-3737 to register

End Prep Saskatoon Call 1-306-651-3737 to register

Tube Bending Regina Call 1-306-651-3737 to register

Tube Bending Saskatoon Call 1-306-651-3737 to register

End Prep Regina Call 1-306-651-3737 to register

Blueprint Reading Regina Call 1-306-651-3737 to register

Basic Welding Regina Call 1-306-651-3737 to register

Sprinkler Head Course Regina Call 1-306-651-3737 to register

Sprinkler Blueprint Reading Regina Call 1-306-651-3737 to register

CWB Re-cert Regina Call 1-306-651-3737 to register

CWB Re-cert Saskatoon Call 1-306-651-3737 to register

Steamfitter/Pipefitter Upgrading Regina Call 1-306-651-3737 to register

Plumber Upgrading Regina Call 1-306-651-3737 to register

Basic Trade Math Regina Call 1-306-651-3737 to register

Pipe Fabrication Saskatoon Call 1-306-651-3737 to register

Basic Welding Saskatoon Call 1-306-651-3737 to register

Sprinkler Head Course Saskatoon Call 1-306-651-3737 to register

Sprinkler Service Course Saskatoon Call 1-306-651-3737 to register

Gas Fitter Code Course Saskatoon Call 1-306-651-3737 to register

Tig & Specialty Welding Course Saskatoon Call 1-306-651-3737 to register

Tig & Specialty Welding Course Regina Call 1-306-651-3737 to register

Foreman Course Regina Call 1-306-651-3737 to register

Foreman Course Saskatoon Call 1-306-651-3737 to register

Shop Stewards Course Regina Call 1-306-651-3737 to register

Shop Stewards Course Saskatoon Call 1-306-651-3737 to register


You can also email to [email protected]

and register for a course. For the many new

members, the process to register is by

means of a registration form. The Blue Form

is sent out each year in June or July. Once a

course has 8 or more registrations, steps

are made by my office to make

arrangements for shop area, Instructor,

materials, reference books, assignments,

letters to do, emails to reply to,

confirmations, tools, consumables, rentals,

tracking, task schedules, safety and the list

goes on.

You can certainly email us a course request

at any time. Be advised that there is a

process. If you email us a course request

and expect it to happen the very next day, it

may not happen.. The program you want

may not be scheduled for 2 months. You

simply have to wait until all the components

of setting up a course are present.

The Saskatoon Pipe Trades Training Center

has classes daily from 4pm till 7 pm for all

Apprentices. Call 651-3737 and talk with

Judy B to register or to find out what

courses are running for the week. The usual

courses offered are Pipe Fabrication, Gas,

Math/Science, Plumbing Code, Blue Print

Reading, and Hot Water Heating Practical.

These sessions are open for all members.

I encourage all members to check out the

Local Union 179 Website

(http://ualocal179.com/). The training course

schedule is located on it. For the new

member, please be advised that the

scheduling of any of our courses has a

process. You need to contact the Training

Office at 1-306-651-3737 to register for a

course. We have received numerous calls

from members that wonder why they did not

receive a letter or a call regarding courses

we have either recently scheduled or have

going on. We send letters to all who have

registered with a Blue Form or a phone in or

email. The letters we send indicate for the

member to call in and confirm that they will

attend the course. If one has not identified

they wish to take a particular course, how

would we know to send that person a letter.

We have received a number of these calls

lately and it is simply unbelievable to think

that some people think we can read minds.

It is also unbelievable that some individuals

think that we are supposed to either write

every member a letter or call every member

each time a course is scheduled.

The Training Office will soon be provided

access to upload information to the UA

Local 179 website in the near future. There

will be some of the pages that will specially

apply to the skills training courses that your

Joint Training Committee offers the

membership.

In closing, I encourage each of you to

advance your personal skills development

by signing up for 1 or more courses.

I also encourage each Apprentice to put

your best foot forward. I know that most of

you do. It is only about 2 to 5 % that

stubbornly defy rules and regulations. I

know you folks can do better. Try harder. I

once wrote about all of us starting out with a

bag full of luck and an empty bag of

experience. The trick is to fill up the bag of

experience before the bag of luck runs out.

Take good care out there!

Ken Busch

Director of Training

UA Local 179

Saskatchewan Piping Industry JTC



UA Local 179 Membership Survey Results

In the last newsletter in the Business Manager`s report we announced that we had

posted a members survey to get your feedback.

During the months of July and August the following survey was available for UA Local

179 Members on the secure members section of the UA Local 179 website. Thank you

to all the members who took the time to provide their valued feedback. I am pleased to

share the results of the survey with you.

20%

56%

24%

0% 0%

1. How Responsive is UA Local 179?

Extremely Responsive Very Responsive

Moderately Responsive Slightly Responsive

Not at all

11%

77%

12%

0% 0%

2. How professional is UA Local 179?

Extremely Professional Very Professional

Moderately Professional Slightly Professional

Not at all

19%

54%

27%

0%

3. How Important do the officers & staff at UA 179 make you feel?

Extremely Important

Very Important

Moderately Important

Slightly or Not at all Important 0%

19%

23% 46%

12%

4. How Often do you have to wait on hold when calling UA 179?

Always Most of the time

About half the time Once in a while

Never


77%

23%

0% 0% 0%

5. How likely are you to recommend UA Local 179 to other

apprentices or tradespersons?

Extremely Likely Very Likely

Moderately Likely Slightly Likely

Not at all

19%

38% 31%

12% 0%

6. How professional is the look and feel of the UA Local 179

website?

Extremely Professional Very Professional

Moderately Professional Slightly Professional

Not at all

63% 25%

4% 8% 0%

7. Compared to non-union or other labour competitors, how

effective is UA Local 179?

Much more Somewhat More

Slightly More Equally Effective

Slightly or much less

27%

46%

27%

0% 0%

8. How well do you think UA Local 179 understands what members

need to be successful?

Extremely Well Very Well

Moderately Well Slightly Well

Not at all

38%

38%

12%

12% 0%

9. Overall are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the management, leadership and direction of UA 179?

Extremely Satisfied Moderately Satisfied

Slightly Satisfied Neither Satisfied nor Dissatisfied

Slightly, Moderately or extremely dissatisfied


10. What are the most important challenges facing UA Local 179 in the next 5

years?

42%

39%

15%

4%

10a. New Member Recruitment and Training to Meet growing

labour demands

Extremely Important Very Important

Moderately Important Slightly Important

46%

39%

15%

0%

10b. Negotiate strong collective agreements with high wages and

benefits



57% 35%

8%

0%

10c. Monitor and challenge proposed changes to federal and

provincial labour legislation



73%

27%

0% 0%

10d. Promote a culture of safety, training, professionalism and productivity to compete with

labour alternatives




We will have more surveys in the future, watch for them on the members only side of

the UA Local 179 website.

NOTE: To log in to the members only side the username is “member” and the password

is your UA Local 179 membership card #.

58% 31%

11%

0%

10e. Organize to increase commercial market share



57% 35%

8%

0%

10f. Organize to increase industrial market share



31%

35%

23%

11%

10g. Negotiate Project Labour Agreements when necessary to

secure jobs for members



44%

28%

24%

4%

10h. Promote a culture of zero tolerance for work related Alcohol

and Drugs




UNION DUES STRUCTURE FOR LOCAL 179

Basic Dues:

Journeyman $41.00/month

Apprentices $36.00/month

Probationary

Apprentices $36.00/month

Radiographer $35.00/month

Bulding Trades/

Metal Trades $35.00/month

Utility Worker $36.00/month

*Travel Cards $10.00/week

**Permits $30.00/week

Field Dues:

1½% of Gross Pay (including overtime)

[Gross pay = Hourly Wage + Statuatory Holiday Pay + Vacation Pay]

Building Trades Dues:

$0.05 for every hour earned.

NOTICE TO SHOP STEWARDS – Please notify Bill Peters at the

Regina Office when you start and end as a Shop Steward to ensure your

dues are credited.

IMPORTANT MEMBER INFORMATION

UA LOCAL 179 Member Discounts

Glidden Paints, 2018 Park Street, Regina, SK - provides members of

UA Local 179 with a 30% discount on all regularly priced items upon

presentation of UA membership card (Thanks to Irvin Krushelnicki)

Regina Motor Products, Albert St. S. at Highways #1 & #6

Fleet Price Discount Plus all factory incentives and a full tank of gas

to UA Members and immediate family upon presentation of UA

Member Card (Thanks to Irvin Krushelnicki)


A SASKATCHEWAN EMPLOYMENT CODE: NEITHER

FAIR NOR BALANCED

On May 2, 2012, the Sask Party government

released “A Consultation Paper on the Renewal of

Labour Legislation in Saskatchewan.” The paper

proposes combining 15 statutes (Including the

Trade Union Act, CILRA, Labour Standards and

more) and accompanying regulations all in one

employment code. The government created a 90

day period for consultation and written responses

from stakeholders which ended July 31, 2012. The

United Association Local 179 submitted a written

response we entitled “A Saskatchewan

Employment Code: Neither Fair Nor Balanced.”

In our response to the consultation paper United

Association Local 179 outlined a number of

concerns we found including the short time frame

for consultation; the timing-why now in the middle

of a boom; that there is no justification for one

consolidated employment code; and that these

proposals are neither fair nor balanced.

Firstly, in regards to the short window of 90 days

for consultation. UA Local 179 had grave

reservations about making sweeping changes to all

15 statutes governing labour law in this province

with such a brief period for consultation and

debate. These laws have taken generations to

create with the cooperation and participation of

numerous previous governments, businesses,

unions and citizens. For the government to come in

and make sweeping changes to all laws affecting

workers and workplaces and not allow proper time

for study and consultation causes real concern. The

result if the Government forges ahead is labour

relations instability across all sectors of the

province, undermining the safety of our workplaces

and putting enormous control in the hands of

business at the expense of workers and unions.

Even more concerning is that the Government was

not forthcoming with information about this

review. In the recent provincial election in 2011,

the Saskatchewan Building Trades asked the party

leaders in writing what were their plans for labour

legislation should they be re-elected. Premier Brad

Wall responded to this request but made no

mention of any plans to overhaul Saskatchewan’s

labour legislation. It is hard to not view this

government of being dishonest with its intentions

towards labour legislation and begs the question if

this whole consultation is a sham and the new

legislation is already written and ready to be

introduced?

In regards to our second major concern—Why

Now? It is the position of UA Local 179 that rather

than being fixated on labour legislation the

government needs to focus on addressing the

labour shortage and the priority should be

investing in trade and apprenticeship training

especially towards young and aboriginal people.

There are significant shortfalls in labour predicted in the coming years in Saskatchewan. The Mining Association alone recently predicted a demand for 15,000 new workers in the next 10 years. The construction industry and the building trades are a critical part of the Saskatchewan economy. The hiring halls operated by the building trades are crucial to meeting labour demand in the construction industry. Our unions dispatch trained journeypersons and apprentices to construction sites throughout Saskatchewan and several of the proposed changes in the consultation paper serve to undermine that ability. The government argues


that to meet the needs of Saskatchewan’s economy they need to modernize labour legislation. It is our opinion to meet the needs of the economy the government needs to make sure there is an adequate labour supply and needs to invest more in trades and apprenticeship training.

Ensuring Saskatchewan people are trained and ready for our labour market is important to UA Local 179. We spend millions of dollars each year to ensure journeypersons and apprentices have the skills our employers need to thrive and in fact we have invested in a new building in Saskatoon and are under construction of a new building in Regina to further expand and improve our training.

Our third area of concern was that there is no justification for the government to consider a consolidated employment code. Specifically, there is no argument for further tinkering with the Construction Industry Labour Relations Act. This act governs an area of the province where we have not seen labour unrest or a work stoppage in 20 years and it was reviewed through Bill 80 a mere three years ago. We do not need the government causing major disruptions in labour relations in an

area of the province that is so crucial to our economy and where meeting the demand for skilled labour already causes concern.

Finally, we found that the proposals up for

consideration were neither fair nor balanced in

their approach. A few examples are: the proposals

dealing with certification and decertification of

unions will weaken the position of construction

unions and the labour relations framework in the

province; and any changes to eliminate province-

wide collective bargaining in Saskatchewan would

be chaotic, lead to labour instability and risk

investment. We do not believe the directions

suggested in the paper are either fair or balanced

and represent a shift in favour of employers.

If you wish to send a message to the Government to let them know what you think of the proposed consolidated Employment Code and how important the building trades are to Saskatchewan, the Saskatchewan Provincial Building Trades Council has set up a website to make it easy to contact the Government at http://buildingabetterfuture.ca/.

(To download or view a full pdf copy of UA Local 179’s submission to the labour consultation you can find it on

the UA Local website or at http://tinyurl.com/clmonpa)

Members of the Saskatchewan Building Trades are the proud builders of a booming province.

We are highly skilled and hardworking pipefitters, electricians, masons, painters, operators,

boilermakers, iron workers, insulators, sheet metal workers, carpenters and labourers that work

to build and maintain mines, refineries, power stations and more, while providing valuable

employment to Saskatchewan people.

Help us remind the Government that we're building a better future for Saskatchewan.

Go to www.buildingabetterfuture.ca and send the Provincial Government a message letting them know

how important the trades are to Saskatchewan and not disrupt an industry that has been without a strike

or work stoppage in 20 years.

www.buildingabetterfuture.ca

http://buildingabetterfuture.ca/

http://tinyurl.com/clmonpa

http://www.buildingabetterfuture.ca/


In light of the Sask. Party government’s inadequate labour review process, the Official

Opposition NDP has launched a consultation tour to hear from the public about the labour

review.

The Sask. Party’s consultation was only 90 days long, did not include face-to-face meetings and

the identities of those making written submissions are kept secret. “The process by which the

Sask. Party plans to rewrite 100 years of work laws is abysmally incomplete. To provide real

feedback on what employers and working women and men need, we’re going to hold the open

and thorough consultations that the Sask. Party refused to hold,” said David Forbes, NDP

labour critic.

Nine round-table and town-hall style open consultations will be held throughout the province,

following which, Forbes will provide a full report to the Sask. Party government. “We have to

get labour laws right in order to have a modern and productive economy,” said Forbes. “The

success of every employer; the rights, safety and paycheque of every worker and

Saskatchewan’s economic stability depend on fair labour laws.”

“The Sask. Party government is putting ideology ahead of common sense by proposing this

massive labour law overhaul without a thorough, transparent and meaningful process,” said

Forbes, who added that it’s disappointing that the Opposition needs to pick up the slack. “We’re

going to do what should have been done in the first place – we’re going to start a conversation

with workers, employers and stakeholders.” (information taken from Press Release http://ndpcaucus.sk.ca/news.php?id=949 July 31, 2012)

Upcoming dates of the remaining your work, your say tour are below:

NDP Public Labour Consultation Tour Dates

Yorkton Mon., Sept. 17th 7:00 p.m. Yorkton Legion Branch #77 380 Broadway St W Yorkton, SK Humboldt Tues., Sept. 18th 7:00 p.m. Humboldt Uniplex 17th St & Centennial Park, Humboldt, SK

Battlefords Wed., Sept. 19th 7:00 p.m. 3rd Avenue United Church 1301 102nd St North Battleford, SK Moose Jaw Mon., Sept. 24th 7:00 p.m. Heritage Inn 1590 Main St N Moose Jaw, SK

Swift Current Tues., Sept. 25th 7:00 p.m. South West Entrepreneurial Centre 885 6th Ave Northeast Swift Current, SK Saskatoon Wed., Sept. 26th 7:00 p.m. Mayfair United Church 902 33rd St W Saskatoon, SK

Opposition NDP to Hold Public Consultations on Proposed

Labour Law changes since Government failed to do so

http://ndpcaucus.sk.ca/news.php?id=949

http://www.ualocal179.ca/uacon_179/member_news_edit.php?ID=16

http://www.ualocal179.ca/uacon_179/member_news_edit.php?ID=16


Did you know about Bill C-377? Why you should care and why unions are trying to stop this piece of legislation from becoming reality.

(Written with information taken directly from Canada’s Building Trades Unions websites at www.buildingtrades.ca and www.workersbuildcanada.ca/)

Unions across the country are launching efforts to stop the Government from passing Bill C-377, a Conservative private members bill officially called Amendments to the Income Tax Act and known as the “The Trade Union Regulation Act.” This is a union busting bill that’s sole purpose is to undermine the work of unions in Canada. This bill will severely and negatively affect labour unions because it will incredibly increase time, effort and expenses to comply with the onerous regulations dictated in the bill. It would basically dictate that the union would have to file everything there is to know about the local union with the Canadian Ministry of Finance and it would be made public on a searchable and cross-referenced website. That means everything about the local union –the pension plan, health and welfare plan, all union employees’ salaries, all information. For some individual members they could have their private information published depending on the situation. Not to mention the information about the unions and their officials we will be forced to disclose will aid those forces intent on discrediting and weakening unions ability to organize and service their membership. Every labour organization and all unions, including locals, joint councils, building

trades councils, district labour councils, federations of labour, and the Canadian Labour Congress are captured under this law. All of these groups would have to disclose detailed financial information, salaries, supplier contracts, loans, accounts receivables, investments, spending on organizing, collective bargaining, education, training, lobbying, and all political activities. The information would be made public on a Canada Revenue Agency web site. A similar report on legal fees, requiring unions to publicly disclose legal strategies, would have to be reported. This would be a significant intrusion into solicitor-client privilege. Unions’ pension, benefits and strike funds will be publicized under this law. The Conservative MP who introduced the bill argues he would like to regulate unions under the guise of “transparency and openness“ because union members pay union dues. Interestingly, this is the exact situation that applies to professional associations like doctors, lawyers and accountants who pay ‘union dues’. They are usually called ‘professional fees’ because professional fees sound much more appropriate in polite conversation than union dues. All of these other professional fees are also one hundred percent tax deductible like union dues, and

http://www.buildingtrades.ca/

http://www.workersbuildcanada.ca/


in fact are regulated by the same section of the Income Tax Act but they aren’t included in Bill C-377. It would seem that this law would punish blue collar workers but leave ‘white collar professionals’ alone. No one has asked for this legislation, except the MERIT Shop and we know whose interests they represent. This information is clearly intended to give the non-union and the anti-union a leg up in their dealings with unions and workers. It is intended for the Merit Contractors and other anti-union employers to remain non-union and for them to prosper while the union spends our time and money on record keeping and not representing its members.

It is important that we make sure that when the Conservatives are gauging the response from organized labour to C-377, it is clear we are serious in our opposition and that they will lose our votes if they act on this. If we don’t show our opposition to this and prove to them it is unpopular it will go ahead and negatively affect our unions and our jobs. This Bill has been misrepresented to the Government as a needed action to ‘ensure transparency”. As you all know – ‘transparency’ of our union already exists under our bylaws and constitution. Let your MP know that Bill 377 is bad for workers and bad for the economy. The Canadian Building Trades has launched a petition web site to stop the bill at www.workersbuildcanada.ca. The web site allows you and other members of the public to communicate directly with their local MPs by e-mail, fax and through the mail. It is simple and easy to use.

Please visit www.workersbuildcanada.ca today and put in your information and follow the instructions to let the government know not to undermine your job and your union.




UA Local 179 Wins 2012 Sask Building Trades Annual

Golf Tournament for Juvenile Diabetes. From left to

right UA members Ken Boychuk, Landon Mohl, Jim

Allen & Brandon Faul and President of the Building

Trades Chuck Rudder. Greg “Willy” Willford Belle Plaine Ethanol Plant

UA Local 179 Booth at the 2012 Sask Building Trades Labour Day Picnic in Regina


Congratulations to our UA Local 179ers Slo-pitch team on being the Regina Summer Rec -

League Sunday Champions! Back Row Left to Right: Joel, Scott Guerette, Lisa Srochenski,

Christina Hagel, Sheryl Abdilnour, Ashley Mohl, Justin Patterson & Brayden Steele. Front

row left to right: George Abdilnour, Cory Wilson, Landon Mohl, Jonathan Horan & Dave

Peters. Missing from the photo: Konstantino Charbonneau, Steve & Erin Turner, Mick

Bradshaw, Troy Knipple, Dallas Follick, Jeff Forster, Earl Leadbeater, Curtis Littlewolfe.


is now on Facebook

and twitter

UA Local 179 or

www.facebook.com/ua179

UA Local 179 or @UA179

And don’t forget about our website

www.ualocal179.ca with the members only

section where you can log in to get access to

members only updates, forms, and more.

MEMBERS ONLY LOGIN

Username: member

Password: (Your UA Local 179 Member Card #)

http://www.ualocal179.ca/

the - local 179non-union activity: unprecedented activity and growth in construction is a blessing...

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