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Canadian tripartite conference tackles drug use and workplace harassment Owners, contractors and members were happy to be back in person at the 2022 Boilermaker Industry Tripartite Conference in St. Andrews-by-the-Sea, New Brunswick, Aug. 9-11. The Canadian conference offered a wide range of topics including opioid use, indigenous recruiting, harassment in the workplace, the rise in small modular nuclear reactors and more. Provincial ministers Monte McNaughton and Arlene Dunn addressed the tripartite, and there were breakout sessions on carbon capture, SMRs and safety. International Vice President of Canada Arnie Stadnick welcomed the group after a three-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “It’s really good to be here together in person,” he said. “We’ve been virtual for the better part of two years, and we are very happy to have you here.” Executive Director of the Boilermaker Contractors’ Association of Canada Sara Scott and Point Aconi Generating Station Plant Manager Milton Howley also welcomed attendees to the tripartite. Samantha King, PhD, research and policy analyst at the Canadian Centre of Substance Use and Addiction spoke about drug use in the workplace, which needs attention. Chronic substance use, she explained, is habitual and impulsive. That could occur with people using alcohol, opioids or other drugs like fentanyl. She said one out of five workers in construction in Ontario and British Columbia deal with substance use disorder. King said that chronic substance use results in loss of productivity. A study from 2017 showed an estimated $20 billion in employer losses. “The cost is high to employees and employers,” she said. Yet shaming and stigmatizing those with substance use disorder is counterproductive and won’t help those affected find the help they need. “We can overcome stigma through language,” King said, emphasizing education and training. Substance use isn’t the only social issue plaguing the workplace. As consultant Sally Wells illustrated, harassment is also a problem. “There have been a lot of legislative changes around workplace violence. In most workplaces, violence isn’t sexual violence,” she said, noting it’s most often disrespectful behavior and bullying of those considered “others” at work. “Are we holding space for people to be different than we are?” She said if you see something, don’t be afraid to intervene. “We’re never going to be free of conflict. We need to learn to ask clarifying questions and understand the concept of respect and accept responsibility of conduct. Ron Oberth, PhD, special advisor to the president and CEO at the Organization of Canadian Nuclear Industries, gave an overview of small modular reactors. “Canada is leading the way in introducing SMRs,” Oberth said. Canada is a successful nuclear pioneer with over 60 years of nuclear technology development. It’s a $7 billion industry with 19 operating CANDU reactors. CANDU is a Canadian pressurized heavy-water reactor designed to be used to generate electric power. With more than $1 billion a year in exports, Canada is the world’s second largest uranium producer. Energy needs are changing and new SMRs are a solution. Provincial governments are hoping to see enhanced economic activity with SMR global exports. “Modular means you build them when you need them. With smaller units you build them as you need the power,” Oberth said. “It’s also easier for a smaller province with a smaller grid to add them. And it’s also lower risk.” Boilermakers took to the stage to update attendees about Helmets to Hardhats, recruitment, inclusion, indigenous recruiting and apprentices and training. Former IVP-Canada Joe Maloney, founder and national executive director of Helmets to Hardhats, Canada, said H2H only works with the 14 unionized construction trades when recruiting former military. Since 2012, they’ve been successful in recruiting 134 men and women into the Boilermakers. With more on recruitment, IR Jonathan White gave an overview of L-128’s (Toronto) recruitment initiatives and the importance of forecasting. White said that any job forecasting involves an ever evolving and endless set of variables that impact the accuracy of those projections. “The further you go out in any projection, the less accurate you’ll be because the greater the variables,” he said. “The trends are true, though. That’s what we can use to plan for manpower going forward.” He said the union is using a three-pronged approach to manpower: outreach, assessment and development. “This plan has resulted in a 25% increase in available manpower. It’s a number we’re proud of,” White said. Director of National Training j’Amey Bevan also discussed fulfilling manpower needs through apprentice development and the National Pressure Welder Program. Bevan took over as director in the spring of 2020, just as the world got wonky with the COVID-19 pandemic. “The pandemic, as tough as it was, allowed us to focus on other things, and we updated our [apprenticeship] program,” she said. “It’s on a new [learning management system].” Bevin also talked about the National Pressure Welder Program, funded with $6 million for the next five years. That money covers costs for teachers and students (including childcare). The goal is 1,800 new qualified pressure welders by the end of year five. Inclusion was another factor emphasized as important to the union’s growth and health. With more and more women becoming Boilermakers, the L-128 women’s committee discussed inclusion at length. Genevieve Ellis, Christine Hahn and Leah McIntyre gave an overview of the range of human differences: race, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, social class and physical abilities. “Diversity isn’t just about numbers and filling quotas,” Hahn said. Inclusion is about involvement and empowerment of all members of these classifications and creating an environment where everyone is heard. The group went on to define the consequences of exclusion, which affects productivity and revenue and can cause mental health problems, job dissatisfaction and absenteeism. They stressed the need across the trades to educate members about inclusion and create a safer more equitable environment for all workers. Also discussing inclusion was National Indigenous Recruiter and IR Emile Gareau. He said the union has thus far recruited between 30 and 36 candidates from indigenous communities. “What we offer together—owners, contractors and Boilermakers—has had such an impact,” he said. “I’ve received so many positive reports.” — Oct 13
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Three Boilermakers named Tradeswomen Heroes Three women join the growing ranks of Boilermakers recognized by North America’s Building Trades Unions as Tradeswomen Heroes. Kayla Vander Molen, L-146 (Calgary, Alberta) was recognized this past May; Angel Greer, L-549 (Pittsburg, California) in June; and Rennae Ross, L-549 in August. NABTU’s Tradeswomen Heroes represent a “who’s who” of tradeswomen who have gone above and beyond in their trades and as mentors and leaders for other tradeswomen. The program was created in a joint effort between NABTU’s Tradeswomen’s Committee and Apprenticeship and Training Committee to spotlight the dedicated female journeymen and apprentices within NABTU’s affiliate unions. Read more about Sister Vander Molen Read more about Sister Greer Read more about Sister Ross Nominations can be made by lodge leaders, and instructions and a nomination form can be found here: https://nabtu.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Tradeswomen-Heroes-One-Pager.pdf — Oct 11
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Employers war on unions is nothing new During World War I, the government’s labor board, while recognizing the rights of workers to strike, convinced employers and employees to halt the practice of striking until the war ended. But when the war was over, strikes became frequent and hostility between labor unions and employers ran high. Employers used tactics to stop strikes and break unions, with their goal to end worker power altogether. With yellow-dog contracts, company “unions” and court injunctions, they were successful for a time quashing collective worker power. A long-term goal of business, and one advocated by the Chamber of Commerce, was to ban unions and have open shops. An open shop is a term used to describe any business that doesn’t recognize unions and doesn’t allow its employees to join one. Unions had grown during the war when shipbuilding and railroads were nationalized. But as soon as the war ended and those industries were again privatized, the open shop concept grew rapidly through yellow-dog contracts—a pledge workers had to take promising they weren’t a current union member and wouldn’t join a union during employment. In 1922, The Boilermaker Journal reported on an article from a steel-industry publication that taught managers how to create an open shop, instructing it was never safe to hire a “considerable sprinkling of union men” because they were likely to try to organize other workers. Of course, employers would rather not deal with a union: but during this period, many workers were also fine in an open shop, largely because of the barrage of anti-union propaganda in the press. The government and media often portrayed union workers as violent or communist. In the two years Warren G. Harding was president, he did a lot of damage to unions. And his successor, Calvin Coolidge, continued to hobble unions. Because some people did want unions, employers tried another workaround by creating their own company “unions.” They mimicked unions using bylaws and charters, but dues were paid to the company. These “unions” were used to control workers, wages and stamp out dissent. Some of these in-house unions benefited workers with pensions and the ability to buy stock, but those were not in the majority. These company “unions” were mostly bluster and promise and did nothing for workers. Today, like in the past, employers will do just about anything they can to quell union power and solidarity before it can gain a foothold. And like in the past, it’s collective action that pressures employers to treat their workers with fairness, as happened in the nationwide strike of railroad shopmen in 1922, one of the most important actions in Boilermaker history. Find out about the 1922 shopmen’s strike in the next issue of The Boilermaker Reporter. — Oct 5
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L-13 John Bland attends Delaware Building Trades round-table discussion L-13 (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) BM-ST John Bland met with labor and energy officials to discuss renewable identification numbers, renewable fuel standards and the need for change, as well as future work in hydrogen hubs. L. to r. are Delaware Building Trades John Poeta, Al Green, Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh, Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester, White House Deputy National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi, Delaware Building Trades Mike Hackendorn, Boilermakers L-13 BM-ST John Bland, Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm, Senator Tom Carper, Delaware Building Trades Bob Murrian, Sam Noel, Delaware Building Trades president James Maravelias, Senator Chris Coons, Delaware Governor John Carney, and Delaware Building Trades Vince Ascione. — Sep 29
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BNAP heads to Skills USA Several union leaders attended an April Skills USA competition in Houston, Texas, to get the word out about the Boilermaker National Apprentice Program. The post-secondary competition hosted young men and women from across Texas to vie for prizes using a wide variety of skills, including welding fabrication and team welding. Skills USA is fertile ground to seed information about BNAP’s four-year program, where apprentices earn money working while they gain skills needed to work as a Boilermaker. BNAP Coordinator Mark Wertz along with IR-CSO Anthony Howell, AD-CSO, Director of Recruiting Monte Causey and IR/CSO and L-2060 business agent James Cain met in person with students to discuss their possible future and job opportunities with the Boilermakers. Lone Star State District Manager Clay Herford also attended Skills USA and convinced a few students to sign up the next day at his local lodge. Wertz encourages all locals to send apprentices to the competition. “My understanding is that every local can compete and be a part of Skills USA,” Wertz said. “Our goal is to get membership in Skills USA and get every local to enroll in team competition for apprentices.” Wertz said apprentices would compete against colleges in teams of four, “It’s a great way to get the Boilermaker Apprenticeship Program front and center at these events,” he said, not just with potential members but also with schools and instructors. — Sep 27