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Brother MacKenzie leaves a valuable legacy
(September 2008) By Brian Cochrane, Assistant Business Manager President Brad MacKenzie is retiring in late September. Brother MacKenzie has spent the vast majority of his working life advocating for the Local Union and its members throughout the province: negotiating agreements, resolving grievances, handling arbitrations and organizing. If it were not for his sheer determination and commitment to the Operating Engineers Pension Plan, many of our members would not have access to this excellent benefit. This can be one of the hardest benefits to negotiate into first-time agreements. Brad always spoke proudly of our plan, and was determined to make sure our members had the ability to retire with dignity. Now, he himself has reached the goal of retirement. We thank him for mentoring the new generation of member representatives and his dedication to Local 115 members. We all wish him and his partner Darlene a long and happy retirement. Brad will chair his last general membership meeting on Sept. 20th. All members are invited to come to the meeting and wish him a happy retirement. Twin Tunnel Project in North Vancouver The dispute between Bilfinger and Metro Vancouver over the safety and rock conditions of the twin tunnel job resulted in the Metro Vancouver Board cancelling the contract. Local 115, along with the Electrical Workers Union and the Labourers Union, immediately filed a successorship application with the Labour Relations Board to ensure that the new contractor continues to use union labour for the balance of the project. We are also discussing the possibility of a project labour agreement with the board and all the contractors who might apply to complete this job. Transportation trades being reviewed Three labour representatives, including myself, have been appointed to the new Transportation Industry Training Organization. The mandate of the board is to review the 16 trades in B.C.’s transportation sector and their training programs. The provincial premiers have been discussing trade mobility and want a national strategy for recognizing trades training and qualifications. This is no problem for trades with a Red Seal certification process. But other trades have competency certificates that vary from province to province. There’s a great deal of work to do. The interest in ensuring high level skills through apprenticeships and industry recognized training programs benefits our members and our contractors. CWS Organizing Drive Welcome to the new members from CWS Industries, a heavy equipment fabrication shop in Langley. Member Rep Everett Cummings and I attended the first proposal meeting with this new crew and there was great discussion. Many crew members said they wished they had organized years ago because they would have been further along with their pension benefits. Brother Cummings will be responsible for negotiations. The company has hired a consultant to do its negotiating, but the crew is strong on many of the important issues. Hopefully, we can get the necessary improvements and a first collective agreement approved quickly. Bob Healy Brother Bob Healy, a 71-year member, touched many people in his long-standing career and volunteer work. He passed away in July. Speaking at the Local Union’s 75th Anniversary Celebration in 2006, Bob said, “I’m proud of the projects I helped to build and I’m proud of my volunteer contributions I’ve been able to make to my community. And I’m damn proud of Local 115—my union.” Our condolences to Bob’s family and friends. To close, we would like to thank all the Training Plan staff and volunteers who assisted in this year’s Open House and Equipment Rodeo . This event does a wonderful job of showcasing the skills of our members every year. |
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