IUOE News Spring 2014

Union Organizing
With hard work, we’ve had a
great start to organizing
Rob Duff and Bryan Railton
Organizing Representatives
Brothers and Sisters, welcome to 2014.
We are off to a good start so far on the organizing front,
and in the past few months have made good headway.
On behalf of the Local, I would
like to welcome all our new members
from Hyland Precast on Vancouver
Island. With their overwhelming
certification vote in favor of the
Operating Engineers, we can honestly
say the crew at Hyland is as solid as you can get.
This accomplishment was not as easy as it may look; only
through the hard work put in by Brother Todd Jones and
Brother Curtis Harold were we able to prove to the nonsupporters
the benefits of having the Operating Engineers
represent them.
I would also like to welcome all our newest Brothers and
New year brings new
dispatch systems and
new member
possibilities
Jim Flynn,
Dispatcher
Hi all. This year is off to quite a slow start; it seems we are
all waiting for some news on the major projects, and more
specifically, their targeted start dates.
If you are booked in and get called
back to work, please make sure that you
let your dispatch office know immediately.
Do not count on your employer to
keep dispatch up to date, as they tend to
forget to make the call in favour of getting workers on the job
as quickly as possible. If we don’t know that you are working
again, it makes us difficult to know exactly who is available to
be sent out to fill orders.
This is especially important now, as we are busy migrating
our dispatch system into the UnionWare program. This means
that all member details will be readily available for dispatch in
The hard work that goes on behind
the scenes of an organizing
campaign, that most people don’t
ever see, is incredible
As members, we all need to
talk to workers who don’t
know about the many benefits
of working union
Sisters from Urban Wood Waste in both the New Westminster
and Vancouver locations. Here again, we received overwhelming
support at the certification vote in favor of the Operating
Engineers, and we have added another strong crew to our
growing ranks.
A number of things the employer did during this campaign
made it more difficult than it needed to be, but with the
backing of our legal counsel (John MacTavish) and the hard
work of our Organizers and Member Reps (Brother Bryan
Railton and Brother Brett Chapman)
we were successful.
I can’t stress this part enough: the
hard work that goes on behind the
scenes of an organizing campaign,
that most people don’t ever see, is
incredible. Everyone from the support staff, reps, legal counsel
and training staff, right to the top of this organization, puts a
tremendous amount of time and energy into each organizing
campaign, and we would not be as successful as we are without
that commitment.
Here’s to 2014 being a very successful year on the organizing
front!
Dispatcher’s Report
one place to view and assess when the orders come in.
However, we can only know if you let us know your latest
work and training status.
This includes all jobs you have worked, whether you are
working currently, your updated contact information, and
every qualification or ticket you may have. I know we ask for
this information often, but it’s how we ensure every member
enjoys a fair opportunity to get the job they want. With our
new system coming in place, view this as an opportunity to
stand out from the pack by sending us your latest details.
Once we have them in our new software, it could just be what
lands you your dream job!
As members, we all need to talk to
workers who don’t know about the
many benefits of working union, and
the best way to educate them is face to
face. Our union needs and depends on
our members to help organize and grow
our market share. The bigger the market share for the Local,
the more work for all members, and the better the contracts
will be. These are major benefits and opportunities that are
not only enjoyed by our members, but are good for every
worker in B.C.
In closing, please work safe so everyone on the job goes
home at the end of the day.
14 News March 2014