March 2017

On Thursday March 09, 2017, the newly acclaimed Executive Board of Lathers, Drywall Finishers, and Allied Trades, Local 163, was sworn in at a ceremony held at the Finishing Trades Institute of BC.

Pictured from left to right are, Kevin Weston, Dean Everett, Daryl Olsen, Jim Ewing, Wayne Howatt, Kelvin Campbell, Al Williams and Denis Geuret. Conducting the ceremony at the far right is General President’s Representative, Jack White.

This new local, which combines Locals 163 & 2009, was formed as a result of a constitutional change and has also been renamed to better describe the trades working within it.

Congratulations to you all.

CBTU APPLAUDS GOVERNMENT FOR A BUDGET THAT SUPPORTS THE MIDDLE CLASS

Mar 23, 2017

OTTAWA, March 23, 2017 /CNW/ – Canada’s Building Trades Unions are pleased with the continued support this government has demonstrated for middle class families in the 2017 budget, “Building a Strong Middle Class.” Programs supported in this budget will facilitate the inclusion of under-represented demographics in the workforce will, in turn, benefit all of Canada. Bob Blakely, the Canadian Operating Officer for Canada’s Building Trades Unions said “Providing for the training of young people as well as those that are returning to the workforce, providing support for childcare that will allow the parents of young children to build their skills, will bring new faces onto job sites around Canada.”

The ongoing commitment to infrastructure funding is fundamental to the growth of the economy and middle class jobs. This government continues to see the potential in using infrastructure spending to support the middle class, build more sustainable environments, and create a built environment that will last us generations into the future. Darrell Laboucan, the Ironworkers Canadian Vice-president stated “We stand ready to build the Canada of tomorrow, building by building, road by road, bridge by bridge. Our workers are Canada, and their success is Canada’s success.”

About CBTU

The North America-wide Building Trades coordinates activities and provides resources to 15 affiliated trade unions in the construction, maintenance and fabrication industries. In Canada, CBTU represents 500,000 skilled trades workers.

SOURCE Building & Construction Trades Department, AFL-CIO

Thank you for presenting at the BC Building Trades Construction 101 seminar on March 9^th.

We’ve received a lot of feedback from the participants who said they really valued meeting and engaging with unions about training.

I sincerely appreciate the time and effort affiliates put into making the day a success.

We are following up on Chief White’s suggestion that we hold another Construction 101 in an area where we are likely to see an LNG Project and thus attract more First Nations’ participation. (Likely location Prince Rupert).

At the March 16^th Apprenticeship and Training Coordinators Committee, we discussed circulating a sample PowerPoint template. We will circulate one to the Apprenticeship Coordinators list shortly.

Several participants requested copies of the presentations. We would be happy to share them with you. As the size is too large for email, please reply to this letter with your mailing address and we will send you a memory key.

Once again, thank you for presenting at Construction 101.

Sincerely,

TOM SIGURDSON

Executive Director

BC Building Trades

Great news for DC38 hazmat members and contractors…

A B.C. Supreme Court judge has thrown out a lawsuit by an asbestos removal company against WorkSafe B.C., labelling the suit “arrant nonsense.”

It’s the fourth such lawsuit against WorkSafe B.C. launched by Mike Singh, who operates Seattle Environmental Consulting Ltd., and his son Shawn Singh, who heads up ESS Environmental Ltd. All have been dismissed because the suits have been found to be without merit and are an abuse of process, according to the recently released ruling.

The Singhs have launched other complaints — all of which have failed — including to the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal, arguing that WorkSafe B.C. has maliciously…