IUOE News Spring 2014

“Tireless effort” is what
makes us the best at
what we do
Don Swerdan,
Member Representative
Happy New Year!
First off, I’d like the membership to be aware of some recent
organizing successes.
The tireless efforts and hours logged by Brothers Rob Duff,
Bryan Railton, Brett Chapman and Stewart Miller have resulted
in Urban Wood Waste Inc., which has two Lower Mainland
locations, being recently certified. Welcome to these soon-tobe
members, and kudos to all the Brothers involved in this
campaign! Proposal meetings have been held with the crew
and the negotiation of a standalone Collective Agreement will
commence in the very near future,
with an eye to bettering the wages,
working conditions, and benefits the
employees currently have.
The other success was Hyland
Precast Inc. on Vancouver Island.
Once again, as a direct result of the
efforts and hours put in by Brothers Rob Duff, Bryan Railton,
Curtis Harold and Todd Jones, Hyland Precast was ultimately
certified. Welcome to these also soon-to-be members, and to
all the Brothers involved in the organizing drive: great job!
At the time of writing this article, Brother Harold is in the
process of setting up meetings with the crew and discussions
with Hyland Precast.
You’ll notice that in both of these instances I reference the
‘tireless efforts and hours logged’ by the OE Organizers and
Members Representatives. This is worth explaining.
The actual hours these Brothers work during the course of
a campaign is staggering. In most cases, every Organizer or
Member Rep can easily spend hundreds of hours on a single
organizing drive, with no guarantee of success, thanks to the
current legislation of our labour relations code.
The Organizers and Members Reps must make contact or
follow up on a lead, meet the crew sometimes individually at
various locations, secure a phone or contact list where possible,
then contact the employees on the list, create and
distribute information on the benefits of OE membership, in
most cases set up and attend many meetings, answer hundreds
of questions, distribute and collect Union Membership
This shows the substantial level of
fear and confusion that can be
created by an unprincipled
employer, and can weigh very
heavily on the employee
District One
Application cards, ensure the application for certification is
exactly as prescribed by law, make the application, contact
legal counsel for their input and guidance...
As I said, the amount of work involved is staggering!
But these steps only get the OE to the point of the acceptance
and time stamping of the application for certification.
You might think that the Organizers’ and Members Representatives’
involvement in the organizing drive would be over at
this point; the truth is, however, that nothing could be further
from reality, thanks in no small part to B.C.’s labour legislation
which makes the following 10 days absolutely critical in the
overall campaign.
The Labour Relations Code states that where the Board
receives an application for certification, that application’s vote
“must be conducted within 10 days from the date the Board
receives the application.”
As you can appreciate, this 10 day window allows unscrupulous
employers (fortunately, this does not include every
employer) to unduly influence employees —sometimes on a
daily basis—to reject the OE’s initiative to represent them at
the ballot box.
In many cases, the Organizers and
Members Reps spend 10 days ‘putting
out fires’ by regularly meeting with
the crews and answering their questions,
addressing any concerns they
may have, clarifying issues, and
ensuring they have the correct information
and know where they stand.
In many cases, unfair labour complaints are filed during all
these proceedings, which (in order to be properly heard and
await determination) require a great deal of evidence to be
gathered by the Organizers and Members’ Reps, distracting
them from their organizing goals.
This shows the substantial levels of fear and confusion that
can be created by an unprincipled employer, and can weigh
very heavily on the employee. This also requires innumerable
additional hours to be logged by the Organizers and Member
Reps in their efforts to ensure the employees enjoy the right to
vote in an fair environment, free of undue influence.
Organizing is the lifeblood of this Union and is of such critical
importance to our continued success that we constantly
ask you, as our membership, to speak to the non-union
workers you may encounter or work with, and forward any
contact information to the OE Organizing department or
your Member Representative. Assure them that we are here to
help in every way and we respect the work they do, their career
goals, and even their confidentiality.
At the end of the (very long) day, our Organizers and
Members’ Reps are ‘Simply the Best.’
News March 2014 13