IUOE News Fall 2013

District Three
Paving work still
strong while shops
are overflowing
Brad Gerow,
Member Representative
Brothers and Sisters:
Summer has officially ended, and although we had a slow
start to the construction season, things are busy even at this
point for District 3.
Brentwood has kept themselves busy so far this year at the
Telus site in Kamloops doing the earth works and pipe work
for that project. They have also been at work performing
derailments with the railway.
672462 B.C. Ltd. won the two
contracts for the Highway 1 project
east of Kamloops. These are actually
two separate projects—the smaller of the two is well underway,
while the larger project had a later start date, but both are
is moving along at a great pace as we speak.
Dawson’s paving crew has been busy with projects throughout
the area, including Chase, Salmon Arm, and a section of
the Okanagan Connector. In between these they have also
been finishing smaller projects in and around the town.
B.A. Dawson Blacktop has been working all season in
Salmon Arm at the new Walmart site, building the road into
the massive retail site. Meanwhile they are also building
changes to Highway 1 to allow for turn lanes.
18 News October 2013
“Many shops are busting at the
seams and don’t have enough
room for people and equipment”
Vernon Paving unfortunately has had a slow season this
year thanks mainly to a lot of rain in the area during the first
few months. During the summer we were able to complete
our first round of bargaining with this group since we raided
them from CLAC. So far we have brought them onto our
Benefits Plan, as well as made changes to their pension.
Westlake Paving has had a busier year and we are going
into our bargaining sessions at the end of September. Currently,
they are paving Harvey Avenue in Kelowna (Highway 97).
Emil Anderson Construction has also had a slower season
than normal in our area, but has kept a good number of
members working nonetheless. They completed a paving job
in Greenwood and have picked up work on Kelowna’s new
rapid bus line, including a number of bus stops along the
route.
CGL seems to be working steadily in many areas, including
Salmon Arm, Kelowna, Kamloops and Vernon, mainly doing
underground utility work.
Shops in the area are very busy with
mining in the area keeping them going
strong. The mines are providing a
steady stream of parts, equipment, and repairs jobs to keep
members busy. In fact, many of these shops are busting at the
seams and don’t have enough room in their shops or yards for
the people and equipment coming in; some have even considered
moving to larger facilities, or have already done so, to
allow for the large influx of work.
In closing, I would like to remind everyone of the importance
of organizing to help the Union grow. If you or someone
you know is working non-union, drop us a line to let us know
where. Talk with the people you are working with about the
benefits of working under a Collective Agreement with the
Brothers Aaron Ulvid and Brad
Wallace, Brock Owens, Darren
Arrance, Chad Schindler, and
Mike Tallmadge of Westlake’s
Paving crew with their equipment
at work on Highway 97.