IUOE News Spring 2014

District One
Let’s speed up
bargaining and ensure
our agreements are
up to date
Chip Dhaliwal,
Member Representative
Hello Brothers and Sisters.
It looks like it’s going to be another busy year for the Operating
Engineers. Right now I am bargaining with Catalys,
Wastech, Carney’s, Canadian Heating Products, Atlas Copco
Compressors, Williams Machinery and BC Conveying.
I have completed bargaining with
Harrigan Rentals and it was ratified
on January 21, 2014. The crew felt the
agreement reached was a fair one for
both sides. Wastech bargaining is in
its final stages; if we do not have an
agreement on the bargaining round in Kamloops in February,
we will probably go to mediation/arbitration.
Catalys (formally a numbered company, Chevron, Texaco,
Laidlaw Environmental and Vinoco Oil) is looking to clean
up the Collective Agreement and have it reflect the current
practices of the company and the OE members. This housekeeping
is something that I will be looking to achieve along
with all the bargaining I have this year; there are some Collective
Agreements that have quite a bit of outdated language.
For example, there are Collective Agreements that still refer
to an “Arbitration Board”. Arbitration Boards do not exist
anymore, and there are more cost effective ways to settle
differences if the Union and the company can mutually agree
on where to take their differences. Some agreements also have
I felt proud to represent the
Operating Engineers in some of the
discussions regarding the jobs that
pipelines would bring to B.C.
outdated (or soon to be outdated) apprenticeship language, or
the current practices of the Union and the company aren’t
reflected in the agreement.
The last time the Williams Machinery Collective Agreement
was bargained it took over eight months. I am hopeful
that bargaining this year will be more efficient. Canadian
Heating Products will be a challenge as the company and the
Union have quite a few changes they would like to see documented;
but these challenges are not insurmountable.
A few shops have voted in new or additional Shop Stewards,
and I would like to take this opportunity to welcome
these new stewards, as I know they will do a fine job. There is
a Shop Steward course coming shortly, taught by Brother Don
Swerdan, that will help them perform their duties at the
highest levels.
I recently attended a course put
on by the Canadian Labour Congress
on Union Activism for a Green
Economy. I gained some knowledge
about the ‘Green Jobs’ that have
been created and about how we can
all do our part, big or small, to help protect the earth.
I also felt proud to have represented the Operating Engineers
in some of the discussions regarding the jobs that
pipelines would bring to this province. While I gained insight
into the views of some who oppose the proposed pipelines, I
was also able to convince them of how valuable these jobs are
to us and the province. Sometimes you can effect more change
working from within the system (e.g. setting the conditions
for approval) rather than an all-or-nothing stance which, if it
fails, leaves you on the outside looking in. Overall a great
course was put on by knowledgeable instructors, and attended
by passionate and intelligent Union Brothers and Sisters.
Until the next Newsletter, Please be safe out there. Your
loved ones need you to make it home in one piece.
Crews building Highway 1 through Pritchard.
XXX
8 News March 2014