NEWSLETTER

The Ontario Pipe Trades Council Negotiating Committee, the Mechanical Contractors of Ontario, and an Ontario Labour Relations Board Conciliation Officer met on Wednesday May 9, 2007 with the intent to resume negotiations on the I.C.I. Contract. At the meeting the M.C.A.O expressed their dismay on the recent I.C.I. Contract offer being rejected provincially, by a seventy (70) percent margin. Although there was dialogue between the M.C.A.O. and the O.P.T.C. Negotiating Committee, no common ground was met.

The M.C.A.O. then stated they would next meet to resume negotiations on Friday May 25, 2007 with the O.P.T.C. Negotiating Committee.

Today, notice was received, through the O.P.T.C. that on Friday May 11, 2007 the M.C.A.O. filed an application at the O.L.R.B. accusing the O.P.T.C. Negotiating Committee of bargaining in bad faith.

The intent of this application is to get a board order for a second vote on the provincial I.C.I. proposed settlement that was rejected.

This application is now pending at the O.L.R.B. with no hearing date set at this time.

Pending any ruling by the Ontario Labour Relations Board on this application, the Ontario Pipe Trades Council Negotiating Committee has today directed all Local Unions to conduct A STRIKE VOTE on Monday May 28, 2007.

This meeting will be held at:

Brothers & Sisters:

First and foremost congratulations to the newly elected officers and committee members. Some positions have new members in place and I ask the membership for their indulgence while they get familiar with their duties and responsibilities.

The structure of the three full time officers will be altered from the previous administration. The Business Manager, as per the Constitution is to run the daily affairs of the local Union Hall and promote the best interests of our Local Union with Sister Locals, the O.P.T.C., the Mechanical Contractors Associations, in addition to overseeing the whole of our organization.

Business Agents, Les Ellerker and Geoff Roman have been assigned jurisdictional areas to cover. Les will continue to oversee all jobsites, including fab shops in the Nanticoke, Brantford, Simcoe and St. George areas.

Geoff will be responsible for the area from our eastern boundary at Fifty Rd., thru Hamilton and out to Oakville at Trafalgar Rd., up to and including the northern area of Milton.

All jobsite issues or collective agreement concerns in these above-named areas should be first directed to the Steward (if applicable), then to the appropriate Business Agent to address.

In addition, all dispatch and manpower matters will be directed to the Business Agent having authority of these named jurisdictional areas.

Geoff will be guided and assisted by myself and Les for the next several months until he becomes climatized to his new position.

For a point of clarification, in the past there was not a clear demarcation point of the duties and responsibilities of the full time officers. I expect this to change, as I have outlined above. Effective representation is best served when it is delegated to officers and committees and not micro-managed by one individual, as this approach only undermines the ability of others to discharge their duties and responsibilities.

Rest assured all three officers are on the same page and working for the same common goal which is to serve the members and advance our organization.

As you are aware, Dofasco had approached the Hamilton and Brantford Building Trades Council from late 2003 to facilitate a project agreement at their Hamilton site. In mid 2004 it was presented to some council Local Unions for a ratification vote. The U.A. and one other trade union membership overwhelmingly rejected this offer. It should be noted not all of the trade unions affiliated with the H.B.B.T. council took this offer to their membership for a vote, several simply made an executive decision to ratify by their Business Manager or their Local Union Executive Board.

Dofasco= s position at this time was all trades must sign on to this project agreement or it would not be incorporated. From 2004 up to this date, Dofasco and the H.B.B.T. council have had numerous meetings to negotiate a project agreement.

What Dofasco has proposed is a much inferior agreement that was rejected in 2004, and the reason put forth by their representatives is that in 2003-2004 there was 5 million man hours worth of work to go forward in Hamilton. Much of that work has now been completed and the only capital project ready to proceed is a new coal pulveriser with 250,000 man hours for all trades.

It should also be noted that the past ongoing maintenance work at Dofasco under the G.P. agreement by our contractors, is almost non existent. Tenders released now include non-union contractors such as Superior Boiler, Rassun Steel and Donkers Millwrighting bidding for maintenance that we previously did.

The unanimous consensus of the H.B.B.T. council is to formally propose an agreement with all of the conditions contained in the G.P. agreement with the I.C.I. base rate and vacation pay for all work at their Hamilton site.

Any new developments on this matter will be announced at our monthly meeting or via a newsletter.

Several weeks ago, one of our members contacted me inquiring about deductions from his pay cheque. After investigating and contacting their payroll department it was found that over the last several years, they taxable portion of the pay schedule was being deducted from the employee= s base rate. These monies should have been paid over and above the base rate, not from it.

The total number of employees totalled 78 and the amount of monies rebated was in excess of $33,500.00.

I must remind all members if you have questions or concerns regarding pay rates or deductions, contact the fulltime officers, not the payroll departments or members on the jobsite. We cannot deal with it if we are not informed.

I addition, your quarterly benefit statement should be verified with your pay stubs to ensure all benefits are remitted for hours earned as per the collective agreement. Any discrepancies should be reported to Reliable or the fulltime officers.

New By-Law booklets are in the process of being printed and will be available for pick up at our office in the next few weeks.

Two issues that were addressed during the last set of negotiations with the Mechanical Contractors Association of Hamilton are as follows:

- Jury duty has been increased to $25.00 per day as per article 121.

-Article 112.4 has been deleted. This article imposed a lay-off notice of 1 week on all contractors, both locally and from outside our jurisdiction. Local 67 is the only Local Union in the Province that had such a clause, and it does not promote the best interest of our industry in a very competitive market especially on short term projects.

Lay-offs for apprentices now falls within Provincial Standard Article 7 lay-off.

Upon ratification of the I.C.I. agreement, $0.03 per hour is now directed to this new fund to assist our members. It is now necessary to nominate and elect five (5) trustees to establish a trust document and incorporate rules and regulations governing this fund. Therefore, be advised that at the Tuesday, August 21, 2007 Union meeting, nominations and election by secret ballot (if necessary) will be held. The term of office will be determined by the Trustees, as it does not fall within a committee as per the U.A. Constitution.

Enclosed is a letter sent to all area signatory contractors that effective August 15, 2007, Local 67 is incorporating a new policy on name hire and backup for employment duration.

I believe now is the time to quell some rumours and untruths regarding the above-named office.

A.T.I.S. was provided start-up monies from six (6) above-named union affiliates, with Local 67 providing $6,000.00 on or about the incorporation date, in addition offered to rent office space, with all included amenities for $1,000,00 per month at our union hall. This in itself presented a problem, in that members having a W.S.I.B. claim would drop-in and socialize while attending our hall on other business. Having worked in the union hall for the last several years myself, and other office building personnel, observed on many, many occasions that scheduled office hours posted on the door, were not as stated. In addition there were often notes posted on the door that the office would be closed for hours at a time or even days at a time with little notice to clients attending for scheduled appointment. This often resulted in members attending our front counter or phoning expressing their dismay at these situations, which tied-up our staff on matters that did pertain to a privately run business.

On March 8, 2007 after assuming the acting Business Manager position, I started taking an active role in scrutinizing the ongoing business relationship between these two offices. The referral and invoicing systems were lax and I requested changes to both as I felt the present forms and invoices were not clear on several issues. Also, on the monthly invoices it was discovered that Local 67 was being billed on occasion for non 67 members, expelled members and members who had become not in good standing due to non-payment of dues.

Of the $6,000.00 seed money advanced in mid 2004, an outstanding balance of $5,000.00 was still owed on this demand loan with no interest attached. I requested a repayment schedule with fixed dates and amounts. A.T.I.S. did not respond to this request. The changes I requested in a business like manner, that being a client/service provider were not being met and A.T.I.S. retained counsel, on or about May 28, 2007 alleging harassment in our business dealings. Shortly thereafter, I had the locals counsel review the lease and business contract our hall had with A.T.I.S. They were instructed that due to A.T.I.S.= s lack of co-operation there staff was not allowed in our general office. The $5,000.00 demand loan was deducted from the monthly invoices and A.T.I.S. was instructed on Friday, June 29, 2007 as per our lease agreement to vacate the premises on thirty (30) days notice, which they have done.

The funding of this office since it= s inception in mid 2004 is as follows:

-last 6 months of 2004 $ 13,818.85

-year ending 2005 $ 70,226.66

-year ending 2006 $111,706.82

-first 6 months of 2007 $ 61,692.66

These monies are from Local 67 solely, separate from the five (5) other locals A.T.I.S. services.

In addition I have never received a reasonable explanation as to why we were being charged $70.00 per hour of service, when A.T.I.S. will not show the qualifications of all employees they employ. Measures have not been implemented to curb these expenditures.

No one will dispute that our members need assistance dealing with W.S.I.B. claims, but not all claims need an outside service agency to process them. To date A.T.I.S. have 247 H.A.V.S. claims on file. Effective, Monday, July 9, 2007 any member can pick-up a complete H.A.V.S. or work related hearing loss folder from or office. It contains all related information to process the named compensation issues in a very simple and non-complicated fashion. Any other serious W.S.I.B. claims our members have in the course of employment, we will, of course provide the necessary outside agency assistance to process same.

I trust this information now sets the record straight, based on facts and not untruths put forth by self-serving individuals.

Upcoming Labour Day celebrations, Monday, September 3, 2007.

This year we have a new pre-parade meeting spot. South East corner of Lock and York St. (look for the Lockerbie and Hole Truck), between 9:00am and 9:30am. Hats and shirts will be distributed at this location. Parking and washroom facilities are available at Dundurn park.

Something new this year we will be having our post parade celebration at Dundurn Park, along with a number of other Labour Organizations. (Map of park and site location will be given out at parade).

A strong presence is important at this event. We welcome your families to participate in this annual Labour celebration. Hamburgers, hotdogs, sausages and light refreshments will be provided at our park location.

All apprentices will be expected to attend this important Labour Solidarity event.

We look forward to spending time with you and your family, September, 3, 2007.

This body was conceived a few years ago to attempt to expand an area of jurisdictional work that had been ignored for many, many years. This sector included residential, low-rise and high-rise.

The council consists of Local 67, Local 463 (Oshawa), Local 527 (Kitchener), Local 599 (Barrie), and Local 666 (Niagara). The Business Managers of Local 221 (Kingston) and Local 593 (London), just this last week attended a meeting for the first time and are very interested in signing on to the council.

The main instruments that pushed forth this council are, the ongoing growth of this sector work in the golden horseshoe as it fans out to the areas abutting Toronto, the volume of work been preformed in these areas by both the non-union and union contractors signed solely to Local 46 (Toronto) under local agreements. In addition Local 46 has now taken the bold approach to illegally expand the boundaries that the Ontario Labour Relations Board has established and decreed, pushing their contractors to work in areas, such as Hamilton, and totally ignoring O.L.R.B. accreditation orders governing work in certain board areas. This action will be addressed by the council with any means necessary to stop this poaching by Local 46.

Mark Ellerker, our area organizer has been in this sector for the last few years and has done an excellent job. Brothers Les Ellerker and Geoff Roman will now be assisting Mark, on a weekly basis, to police our area and report back with ongoing work and contractors doing same.

The P.R.C.O. council has a constitution in place and a standard collective agreement and in some areas the local unions now have signatory contractors doing this work.

Council meetings are now scheduled every few weeks to keep this endeavour moving forward, as there is a lot of catch-up to be done and to achieve our short and long term objectives. In the past Local 67 has not dedicated the necessary time and effort to move this council and sector forward. I want to state right now, that this is, to me, the most important issue within our organization and I intend to allocate as much time, effort and resources as possible to meet this councils goals of securing this sector work.

A few initiatives that Local 67 has for the future are:

- Reconstruction of a new website

-Posting online of any newsletters and important union notices that could be done weekly or even daily

-online dispatch for all manpower requests

-an automated phone system in our office to direct calls and free up staff time

The new Social committee is doing an excellent job in bringing a fresh approach to the social events, with a lot of ideas and change from the past. Good work gentlemen.

The Political action committee continually forges ahead pushing forth initiatives for the betterment of our members. The work they do is largely unrecognized by many, but their effort is appreciated. If you would like to assist in their efforts, the P.A.C. meets every 2^nd Tuesday @ 7:00 p.m. in our lounge.

In closing, I know there is a lot of information put forth but it is important to convey to you that your fulltime officers are committed to progressive change. These changes and initiatives will be advanced, not based on what is popular or opposed by a few, but solely based on what is good for our organization and because it is the right course of action to take.