All Posts By

Patrick Byrne

Jul 23
0

Canada’s Building Trades Unions Welcomes Familiar Faces in Trudeau’s Cabinet Shuffle

By | Uncategorized | No Comments

July 23, 2018 – (Ottawa, Ontario) – Canada’s Building Trades Unions (CBTU) is looking forward to working with the new Ministers, following Justin Trudeau’s latest Cabinet shuffle.

CBTU is pleased that Prime Minister Trudeau kept familiar faces within areas that are important to the Building Trades Unions.  “We have been big advocates for pipeline construction, protection of Canadian jobs within negotiated trade agreements, community benefits and project labour agreements with public infrastructure projects.  So, to have familiar faces in these ministries are welcomed,” says Robert Blakely, Canadian Operating Officer for Canada’s Building Trades Unions.  “Minister Sohi, Minister Champagne, and Minister Carr have been tremendous supporters of our causes within the Trudeau Government and we are looking forward to moving files collaboratively in their new respective department,” says Blakely.

CBTU is extremely pleased that Prime Minister Trudeau has kept Minister Patty Hadju in the portfolio of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour.  “Minister Hadju has been a champion for organized labour and we couldn’t be more delighted to continue building our relationship with her in this ministry,” says Blakely.

“We have made positive strides on many important files on behalf of our 500,000 members from across the country and we are confident that we will continue the momentum with the recent Ministerial changes,” concludes Blakely.

Jul 23
1

Service for Don Paton This Weekend

By | Uncategorized | No Comments

A celebration of life will be held this weekend in memory of our friend and brother, Don Paton.

On Sunday July 29th. from 1:00 to 5:00 pm please join with us in remembering this very special man.

The event will be held at the Operating Engineers Union Hall located at 4333 Ledger Avenue in Burnaby.

We look forward to seeing you there as we look back on a life well lived.

Jun 21
0

Whitecaps Union Night 2018

By | Uncategorized | No Comments

District Council 38, along with other Unions affiliated with the BC Federation of Labour, has taken advantage of a special offer by the Vancouver Whitecaps to allow Union members to attend their September 01 match versus the San Jose Earthquakes for a reduced price. Tickets that were normally priced at $36.00 are available to our members for $27.00. Please see the attached poster with regard to this offer. DC 38 intends to purchase a limited number of thickets for this match. If you or your family are interested in this special promotion, please contact Paddy Byrne at 604-580-3112 and be sure to mention that your are interested in purchasing tickets for this match.

GO CAPS!!

Jun 20
0

70 Year Member, Bill Hunt, Receives His Pin

By | Uncategorized | No Comments

At this year’s annual retirees recognition celebration two things were missing. First, Paddy Byrne, the Director of Training of the FTI, who normally serves as the Master of Ceremonies at the pin presentations, was away in Greece celebrating his wife’s 60th birthday. Second and more importantly, William (Bill) Hunt, our longest serving, continuous member of our Council, was unable to attend due to health issues.

Today both Bill and Paddy were able to get together along with Business Manager, David Holmes, to recognize an important milestone in our union’s history. Bill, at the fine old age of 98, was presented with his pin recognizing his over 70 years of continuous membership in our union. This is an amazing accomplishment and marks the first time ever our Council has handed out a 70 year pin.

Bill was very appreciative of the fact that Dave and Paddy took the time to travel out to Abbottsford in order to present Bill with his pin personally. However, Bill’s biggest smile of the day came when Paddy presented him with a nice bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon. Paddy told Bill that he and Dave are looking forward to presenting Bill with his 71 year pin next year along with another bottle of wine, which of course elicited another big smile from Bill.

Congratulations again Bill from all of the Members of IUPAT DC 38.

Jun 14
3

Long Time Rep and DC 38 Santa in Poor Health

By | Uncategorized | One Comment

(UPDATE)    Sadly, it is with our deepest regrets that we must inform you that our beloved friend and brother, Don Paton, has now passed away. We were informed this week by his daughter Laura, that Don succumbed to his illness on Monday evening. A memorial service is being planned for Don, sometime around the end of July. We will keep you posted as to the details once we receive them. Our sincerest condolences go out to Don’s entire family.

   We regret to inform you that long time Member of DC 38 and former Business Representative for Glazier’s Local 1527, Don Paton, is in failing health. Don, known to most of our members as “Santa Claus” at the annual DC 38 Children’s Christmas Party, is currently battling cancer and by all accounts, our beloved brother has very little time left with us.

Director of Training Paddy Byrne and Drywall Finishing Instructor, Kelvin Campbell, paid Don a visit at Abbottsford hospital yesterday in an effort to pick up Don’s spirits and to let him know his brothers and sisters at DC 38 have him at the forefront of our minds right now. The sad story here is that Don only recently lost his wife Patricia, who was our “Mrs. Claus” to this same terrible disease. Don was so consumed with looking after the love of his life in her final days that he never let anyone know the pain that he was suffering from and the extent to which the cancer in him was progressing.

Don is currently in room 3036 at Abbottsford Hospital, however there are plans to move Don into hospice as soon as possible.  Don would welcome anyone who would like to pay him a visit but please check with the union hall first as to the status of Don’s situation.

We wish Don and his family all the best in this time of sorrow and wish to express our love and gratitude for everything Don has done in the service of our union.

Speaking with Don yesterday, he told us that his fondest memories will always be of the union Christmas parties and the joy both he and his wife Patricia shared in spending time with all of the children and their parents. Don’s only regret was that Christmas wasn’t 365 days of the year.

Feb 28
0

Architectural Glass and Metal Technician Certification gets Technical Support from The FTI of BC

By | Uncategorized | No Comments

Recently, 42 representatives from across the North American glazing industry met in Hanover Maryland, to develop written and practical exams for the Architectural Glass and Metal Technician Certification (AGMT). Mark Longmore, Head glazing Instructor and Coordinator for the FTI was invited along with Paddy Byrne, Director of Training for the FTI, who is also a glazier by trade, to lend their expertise and be part of this historic undertaking.

Driven by numerous recent glazing failures on some extremely large commercial projects throughout Canada and the United States, industry got together to figure out how to best to address this multi million dollar problem. In the end it was decided by all those connected to the industry such as glazing contractors, caulking suppliers, aluminium extrusion manufacturers, fabrication companies, architects, engineers, spec writers, insulated glass suppliers and especially the insurance underwriting community, that the glazing industry needed a major overhaul.

The overhaul started with a new certification process for glazing contractors which has already been developed by, Administrative Management Systems Inc. (AMS), a recognized leader in product compliance testing and certification in the glass industry, headquartered in New York state. This program is currently being implemented in several major cities in the United States and Canada. However, once that part of the concern was addressed, it was decided that there needed to be a program developed across North America to address the skills of the workers who install these highly complex glazing facades. Administrative Management Services Inc. has also been selected to develop the AGMT certification.

In Canada we have the Red Seal which is recognized across our country as the standard in the industry for trade worker certification. However, the Red Seal is a written exam with no hands on component to the test. This is where the AGMT certification hopes to establish itself as the gold standard in the industry. In addition to a 125 question written exam, there will be a practical component involving curtainwall, storefront and door installation along with a caulking and tooling mock-up. Not only will AGMT certified glaziers be tested on knowledge of their trade but they will also have to demonstrate their competency with the hands on skills connected to the trade.

Beta testing is expected to begin sometime in the fall and there has been a target set of 100 glaziers to go through the testing protocol before the end of the year as part of the ANSI accreditation process.

Please check out the video below which gives a  good overview of what this program will look like and why the industry is so excited about it.

Jul 14
0

New Syrian Immigrants Become DC 38 Painting Apprentices

By | NEWS | No Comments

This week we have had the pleasure of welcoming some special new apprentices to the DC 38 family.

Park and Derochie (Seaside), who is one of our largest Industrial Painting contractors, approached Painting Representative Justin Chapman, with a new and unique opportunity. Through the BC Alliance for Manufacturing, Park and Derochie (Seaside), was able to identify former citizens of Syria who had worked previously in construction trades in their former homeland. These individuals were presented as hard working, honest and reliable people who were looking for an opportunity to prove their worth and to make a new life for themselves in Canada.

Seven individuals, along with their interpreter, Manal Nour, have spent the past week receiving their safety certifications, as well some hands on training in paint prep, in advance of their starting with our contractor on Monday.

Both Safety Director Andrew Swan and Painting Representative Justin Chapman had some extremely positive things to say about the work ethic, and the ability to grasp information and retain it, that these individuals displayed. They also made mention of their gratitude, politeness and willingness to help one another with their assigned tasks.

While walking through our facility, one of the Syrian trainees got extremely excited when he saw our Drywall Finishing students at work. It turns out that he had worked as a Drywall Finisher in Syria for 15 years. Being a member of DC 38, he will have the opportunity to move to the Drywall program if he so chooses at a later date.

We will be exploring the possibility of bringing in additional Syrian workers in the coming weeks, as one of our Hazardous Materials Abatement Contractors, Enviro-Vac environmental, has also expressed an interest in giving these individuals an opportunity to work in the Hazmat field.

DC 38 and the Finishing Trades Institute of BC is proud to be involved in programs such as these. Apart from some language issues, we are certain that these new apprentices have all the tools necessary to succeed in our industries. We look forward to assisting more new immigrants in finding a better life here in Canada.

Jul 05
0

DC 38 Raises Funds for Research into Juvenile Diabetes

By | NEWS | No Comments

Business Manager Dave Holmes A.K.A. Wayne Campbell and DOT Paddy Byrne A.K.A. Garth Algar.

 

At the recent CLRA golf tournament, Business Manager, Dave Holmes, and Director of Training, Paddy Byrne, assumed their alter-identities as Garth Algar and Wayne Campbell from, Wayne’s World, in order to raise funds for research into Juvenile Diabetes at UBC.

On a hot and sunny day which was perfect for golf, but less so to suit up in pads for hockey, Dave and Paddy asked golfers to take a turn matching their hockey skills against the formidable goal tending of Garth Algar.  Each golfer, for the cost of $10.00, had three chances to beat Garth and be entered into a Draw for a Brand New iPhone and Apple Watch. There was also a last place prize, dinner with Paddy and Dave!

At the end of the day $1,400.00 was raised, and apart from the numerous welts from hockey balls, (Garth wasn’t wearing upper body pads because of the heat) everyone seemed to enjoy the antics of our hockey playing heroes. Only 3 of the approximately 140 golfers were able to put all 3 of their shots behind Garth and he has the bruises to prove it.

Thanks to everyone at CLR for putting on a great tournament and special thanks to the Vancouver Golf Club for allowing us to put on this event at such a pristine golf course.

Jul 05
0

NABOC Osoyoos 2017

By | NEWS | No Comments

Ray Natraoro makes pitch to NABOC on behalf of Stalkaya Environmental

 

At the recent NABOC Conference held June 27 to 29th in Osoyoos, our newest Hazardous Materials Abatement Contractor, Stalkaya Environmental, made its latest pitch to First Nations business representatives with regard to it’s services as a Hazardous Materials Contractor, and as a conduit to opportunities for apprenticeship for Aboriginal workers through DC 38 and the FTI of BC.

NABOC or the National Aboriginal Business Opportunities Conference, meets around the province of British Columbia in various communities in an effort to highlight and promote Aboriginal Business and opportunities for the public at large to become more aware of the great work being done by business people from First Nations communities.

Stayalka Environmental is a joint venture arrangement where Enviro-Vac Environmental has entered into a partnership with majority shareholder Ray Natraoro, who is from the Squamish First Nation. Ray was able to make a pitch, on behalf of Stalkaya, to over 200 business representatives from the Aboriginal community as well as others from a wide variety of backgrounds from all across Canada. Ray made the case that young people working for his company not only had the opportunity to make a good living with union wages and benefites as Hazmat Workers, but also had opportunities through Stalkaya’s partnership with our union, to receive Red Seal apprenticeship training in one of our 4 finishing trades, if they chose to go that route.

There were several impressive presentations made at the NABOC and Stalkaya’s story, as told by Ray, resonated as impressively as those who had already been in business for years. This was a great opportunity to network and bee seen and Stalkaya made a great first impression at the Conference.

Delegates to NABOC Osoyoos 2017 listen to a presentation from Stalkaya Environmental.

Jun 09
0

Representatives from the Squamish First Nation Tour the FTI

By | NEWS | No Comments

 

This week, the Finishing Trades Institute of BC, welcomed representatives from the Squamish First Nation, looking at ways our two organizations can work closer together. Amongst those in attendance were Peter Baker, who heads up the Squamish Nation Trades Training Centre, as well as Ray Natraoro, President and Director of Business Development for Stalkaya Environmental, one our newest hazardous materials abatement contractors.

In addition to being the majority partner in Stalkaya Environmental, Ray is also one of the hereditary chiefs of the Squamish Nation, where he is known as Ses Siyam.  Stalkaya is the first majority owned First Nations environmental company in the province, which is a great achievement.

Our partnership with Stalkaya and their partner company, Enviro-Vac environmental, was a major driver in having the FTI look at ways to partner with the Squamish Nation Trades Training Centre. However, we have also been working with one of our signatory painting contractors, Done Right Painting, and the owner, Troy Halverson, in developing an introductory painting course that Troy is helping to deliver at the  Squamish Nation Trades Training Centre.

FTI painting instructor and coordinator, Chico Albino, assisted Troy with the development of course materials for this pilot program and according to the feedback we are getting, it has been well received. Director of Training, Paddy Byrne, visited the Squamish Nation Trades Training Centre the previous week and remarked on how impressed he was with the quality of the Squamish facility and with what they had been able to accomplish within their current space. There are plans for an expansion of the facility in the works.

FTI Director of Training, Paddy Byrne and Peter Baker of the Squamish Nation Trades Training Centre, both see the possibility of our two facilities creating a path where First Nations people from across the Lower mainland, could successfully enter one of the Finishing Trades and achieve Red Seal status in their chosen craft. This would also be very beneficial to those contractors signatory to District Council 38 as we are constantly looking for energetic young people eager to make a good living and provide a better life for their families. This could truly be the beginning of a mutually beneficial partnership where all parties need are met.