Hard Hat - Fall 2009

Uniting ARCCAW members across Alberta and the Northwest Territories

Fall 2009

Healthy Outlook

A profile of Calgary’s South Health Campus

Meeting of the Millwrights

A report from this year’s Canada-wide conference

Saving Our Reputation

Why it’s in danger and what you can do about it

Skills Upgrader

Two scaffolders reach new heights thanks to some hands-on experience

Canadian Publications Mail Product Sales Agreement #40063788 Return undeliverable mail to 200-15210 123 Ave Edmonton,AB T5V 0A3

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Contents

Fall 09

3 note From the executive secretary treasurer

By Martyn Piper

5 site lines

News and views from around the region

FEATURES

10 meeting of the millwrights Alberta’s finest were on the international stage at this year’s Canada-wide conference

By Ryan Smith

12 Project Profile

South Health Campus The fifth largest hospital in North America is going up in Calgary and ARCCAW members are taking part

By Tricia Radison

17 no train, no gain

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Two greenhorn scaffolding apprentices are among those reaching new heights thanks to some hands-on experience

By Jim Veenbaas

20

20 KidZone Games, quizzes and more

By Tricia Radison

COLUMNS

23 trust Fund

manager’s report

By Maureen C. Gander

25 training and

Apprenticeship report

By Len J. Bryden

27 millwrights

local 1460 report

By Bob Hugh

29 training + events 31 Parting shot 2

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12 on the coVer The lay of the land at Calgary’s rapidly rising South Health Campus.

Photographed by Joey Podlubny

Undeliverable mail should be directed to ARCCAW 200-15210 123 Ave Edmonton,AB T5V 0A3 Email: lhelmeczi@albertacarpenters.com Canadian Publications Mail Product Sales Agreement # 40063788

Executive Secretary Treasurer’s

REPORT

Published For:

Alberta Regional Council of Carpenters & Allied Workers 15210 – 123 Avenue Edmonton, Alberta T5V 0A3 Tel: (780) 474-8599 / Fax: (780) 474-8910 www.albertacarpenters.com Published By:

Venture Publishing Inc. 10259 – 105 Street Edmonton, Alberta T5J 1E3 Toll-free: 1-866-227-4276 Phone: (780) 990-0839 Fax: (780) 425-4921 www.venturepublishing.ca

Saving Our Reputation

Publisher

Martyn A. Piper

Ruth Kelly

Associate Publisher

Joyce Byrne

ARCCAW editor

Martyn A. Piper Editor

Craille Maguire Gillies COPy chief

Kim Tannas

Art Director

Charles Burke

assistant art director

Rodrigo López Orozco

Production manager

Vanlee Robblee

Production COORDINATOR

Betty-Lou Smith

contributing writers

Lindsey Norris, Tricia Radison, Ryan Smith, Jim Veenbaas contributing PhotographerS

Buffy Goodman, Joey Podlubny Vice-President, Sales

Anita McGillis

Advertising Representative

Tara Kochan

Sales Assistant

Stefanie Jackson

Contents © 2009 by ARCCAW Inc. No part of this publication should be reproduced without written permission.

Important Phone Numbers

Edmonton

Fort McMurray

Calgary

Carpenters Training Centre

Carpenters Health and Welfare

Carpenters Pension

Industrial Workers

Millwright Local 1460 Local Union 1325 and 2103 Dispatch

780-471-3200 780-743-1442 403-283-0747 780-455-6532 780-477-9131 780-477-9131 403-283-0747 780-430-1460 1-888-944-0818

O

ften, members ask how they might help the union by way

of organizing or other collective efforts. In response, there is something everyone can do, for themselves, their families and this union. It is the same old, same old: go to work every day, be on time, stay on the job until quitting time, and be productive and free of drugs and alcohol while on shift. It seems that all I do lately is attend meetings with owners and contractors who are quick to argue they can get the same product only cheaper from the dark side. The damage to our union’s reputation may be irreparable if we don’t change our behaviour.

Here’s an analogy: You want to buy a motorbike. You want the best and you don’t mind paying more for quality and reliability.

Choosing what labour force to use is no different. Yes, union workers cost more, but we promise to provide better quality and reliability. We are not living up to our promise. Consider these stats from the Shell Scotford project: absenteeism among scaffolders is eight per cent and six per cent among carpenters. Turnover is horrible and, on any given day, hundreds of employees are waiting at the gate well before quitting time. I, for one, would be furious if I paid someone an hourly rate to work on my house and he or she quit 30 minutes early each day.

As a 34-year member, I know what being a union member is all about. I know what true union pride is, and so do most of you. But the majority of you who go to work every day and provide superior performance should also be very concerned. I know I am. I am afraid of losing the next job, afraid the competition is eroding our markets, afraid we have accepted these behaviours as norms.

It is time to take aggressive action. Recently, the general president visited to tell me in no uncertain terms to control this situation before it is too late. Owners and contractors are calling him to tell him that we must police our members – or else.

He has provided directives and left me to carry them out. continues next page HARDHAT FALL 2009

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Executive Secretary Treasurer’s

REPORT

continued from page 3

There are no specifics as we go to print, but expect real action in the near future.

I ask you if you are a member soiling this union’s reputation to either change to become the union member you committed to be when you joined, or simply pack your bags and go. Our collective future hangs in the balance!

The Work Picture

Notwithstanding the beginning of my message, the work picture is strong.

Still, it’s slim pickings if we take the Shell Scotford and Keephills projects out of the picture. The Building Trades of Alberta have secured a labour agreement for the Kearl Lake Project. However, it will be a managed open site and will not require the manpower associated with other large sites.

We’re working hard to secure the little bit of work expected in modular construction. One only has to visit the module sites in Edmonton to see how little activity there is, so we will be sharpening our pencils and working with our contractors to make sure that as much work as possible will come our way.

Next spring, we will likely see an unparalleled shutdown season in the north. Predictions suggest that 10,000 to 12,000 tradespeople will be required.

Plans are in the works to import temporary foreign workers on short notice to ensure the outages are fully staffed and kept on schedule. The protocol, as always, will be Alberta workers first, Canada second and then, in our case, U.S. members (and further afield, if necessary). There are concerns about skilled scaffolders, the International is aware of the situation and intends to send key training personnel here to identify how best to ramp up scaffold training

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throughout North America. (Apologies to the Brothers and Sisters from Sarnia, with respect to my comments in the last issue of Hard Hat. I did not mean to single them out and denigrate their recognized scaffolding skills and ability. We are glad they are here.)

Kudos to the scaffolders and carpenters keeping Calgary ticking, working on the skylight project at TD Square and scaffolding the new EnCana tower, the Bow, which demonstrates a high degree of visibility to the public. Along with the commercial projects, our market share is growing. We continue to shine down in Empress and Burstall, and Sean Watkinson has had some success and is fighting hard to resurrect a tough market in the Red Deer area.

Bits and Bites

We continue to monitor our shop situation for 2010. It’s a laborious process with many highs and lows, but we are cautiously waiting to put our laid-off members back to work. With a well-managed and financed executive and local, they deserve to be back where they were 18 months ago.

Finally, delegates to the Regional Council have instructed me to start implementing the Rapid Site Access Protocol (RSAP), so I will roll that program out in the near future at Local 1325 and 2103 meetings. I have also begun discussions to amend the collective agreement to allow pensioners in the Carpenter Plan who are 60 or older and collecting a full pension to receive the contribution on their paycheque.

I trust the summer provided some time for you and your family and the winter will allow for continued work activity.

Cheers.

Site Lines

A roundup of news and notes from around the region

guess the tool Which trade was the first to use these antique tools?

social club

Answer on page 9

The fourth annual Millwrights Retirees’ Social was held on June 2 at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish Hall in Sherwood Park.

Once again we were honoured to have two charter members, Bill Bilida and Herb Huber attend.

Other special guests included Ursula Buller, Lothar Sterzik, Bernie Filpowicz, Tom Murray and Ed Rogalski. Special thanks to Guy and Pat Dunand for organizing such a successful event.

– Bob Hugh, Local 1460

Leadership Lessons from New Brunswick

From left: ARCCAW members Scott Beaulieu, Greg Wall and Sean Watkinson, joined by Wall’s family, protest the decertification of Quinn Construction.

The United Brotherhood’s Canadian Leadership Conference back in June might have taken place in the port city of St. John, New Brunswick, but the focus was on Alberta. Leaders of affiliated councils throughout Canada gathered to discuss organizing, pensions, political action and green building, among other issues. ARCCAW’s Executive Secretary Treasurer Martyn Piper attended the conference.

“A big part was about working together from coastto-coast to the benefit of union members across Canada. For Alberta, it’s especially important that we work with other areas. Right now Alberta is a hotspot for construction, but it might not always be that way, so it’s important to forge strong relationships with groups so they’ll be there when the shoe is on the other foot.” hArdhAt FALL 2009

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Site Lines the new steward’s Pocket manual there’s more to the guide than just an added apostrophe Over 20 years ago, the first Stewards Pocket Manual was published to help stewards of the UBC fulfill their roles. Now the manual has undergone a redesign, and while the principles of good stewardship are timeless, the guide contains a few notable changes that bring it into the 21st century.

Old Manual Length: 33 pages Font: Franklin Gothic Appendix: Important phone numbers Opening message: “[You are] the front line of representation for our Brotherhood on the job.”

Emphasized job duty: “If non-union label parts arrive on the job site, the steward should find out… all relevant details about the installation and convey this vital information to the business representative.”

Legalities: Some things never change, including the complexities surrounding workers’ rights to refuse unsafe work, which varied by province.

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New Manual Length: 39 pages Font: Helvetica Appendix: Useful websites Opening message: “It is imperative that… you model the very best of behaviours expected of a UBC member.”

Emphasized job duty: “The steward is the most outspoken critic of shoddy workmanship and frivolous conflicts, all of which hurt the competitiveness of union contractors.”

Legalities: As legislation has become more specific, so has the manual; members are now directed to consult Occupational Health and Safety legislation before refusing work.

Stampede Festivities carpenters, you make good pancakes

Local 2103 hosted another successful pancake breakfast at the Stampede in July. Held on the second Saturday of the Stampede, about 30 people, from executives to rank-and-file members, put down their hammers and broke out the spatulas to serve pancakes, sausages and coffee to over 600 members of the community. Hughie Bruce, an instructor at the Calgary Training Centre, brought his country band Preferred Guest to entertain the crowd (on a stage of scaffolding, of course). Three representatives from the community also stopped by: Miss Teen Alberta, Miss Earth Calgary and Miss Sun and Salsa flipped a few pancakes of their own.

Meanwhile, the parade float built by the Building Trades of Alberta was preparing to embark on its provincial tour.

The float won two awards in Calgary (first for a non-profit organization and celebrity choice) before garnering further awards at parades in Edmonton, Red Deer, Medicine Hat and Lethbridge.

race to the Finish line scaffolders jump to action when indy comes to town How do you turn an airport runway into an Indy racecourse? You build seats.

Since 1995, Ron Solvey (currently with Tower Scaffold Services Inc.) has been involved with the construction of the temporary grandstands and luxury suites for the Rexall Edmonton Indy. “Time restrictions and weather are the biggest challenges in this project,” he says. While praying for clear skies (working on top of slippery aluminum is beyond a nuisance), workers from Local 1325 provide the bulk of the manpower to make the space as habitable for humans as it is for race cars.

Here’s how it works.

• A month and a half before the July 23start, 30 scaffolders, from journeymen to apprentices, as well as a few carpenters, reported for duty at the Edmonton City Centre Airport.

• The grandstands have a steel structure and aluminum benches for seats. The materials weigh about 1.5 million pounds.

• Design is everything. The 3.2-kilometre course has 14-turns and the grandstands must be placed at key spots: overlooking pit road, turn 1, turn 2 and between turns 12 and 13.

• The four grandstands seat up to 28,000 people.

• The largest luxury suite is about 85- by 1,000-feet long and sits 20 feet in the air over Pit Row. Another views turn 13. The other trades rely on the scaffolders to finish on time so they can erect tents and finish the course.

• The event ends on Sunday, and shortly after, the scaffolding crew returns to spend the next month taking down the seats so it can be shipped to eastern Canada for use in the next event.

9th Annual Barrie Regan Golf Tournament About 150 golfers from across Alberta hit the links at the Legends Golf and Country Club in Sherwood Park on July 17 to raise money for diabetes research.

The event, which was renamed two years ago after the tireless worker and union enthusiast Barrie Regan, garnered over $5,000 for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. As one of the ARCCAW’s largest charity events of the year, members, contractors, owners and other people with a relationship with the union attend. Green fees, hole sponsorships and holes-in-one all generate money to go towards diabetes research. Congratulations to the three winners: Brad Carew, Gary Carew and Mike Dunlop, and a hearty thanks to the legion of volunteers who helped make the event happen.

from left: Sonny Maghoo, Ewald Hert, Brian Konno and Mike Board

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Site Lines making the cut From edmonton to halifax, ArccAW vied with the best across canada at these events In April, the Alberta Carpenters Training Centre in Edmonton hosted the local carpentry competition that was part of Skills Canada’s Regional Skills Competition. Sixteen high school students who are interested in a career in carpentry came out and carpentry instructor Wilf Pipke, of the Alberta Carpenters Training Fund, was among the judges.

Then, in July, 12 ARCCAW carpenters and scaffolders competed at the UBC’s Alberta Provincial Apprenticeship Contest, which had a Scaffolder Games component. Five carpenter contestants and six scaffolders competed in teams of three.

And the ArccAW winners were… carpentry First Place: Philip Waters (who went on win first place at the National Apprenticeship Contest; see page 25 for more details) Second Place: Aaron Dyck Third Place: Murray Kostashen Carpenters Orrin Little and Jacqueline Lega also competed. scaffolding First Place: Franc Potocnik, Jr., Heath Kai and Amy Johnsey Scaffolders Edward Bunce, Michael Pawluk and Zyne Najmeddine also competed.

From left: Thomas Gwilliam (bronze), Derek Kuraliak (silver), Luke Andrukiewicz (gold) and Desiree Skubleny (bronze).

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Expansive Mood

Answer to “guess the tool”

(from page 5) A wheelwright used this spoke pointer (right) and tenon cutter (left).

The Epcor/TransAlta Keephills expansion is about 70 kilometres west of Edmonton.

The Keephills 3 project will add a third generating unit to the existing power plant.

When one unit is shut down for maintenance, two others will keep the facility humming. Unlike the two existing generators on the site, the third generating unit will operate in its own building, meaning more trades are required – from pipefitters to boilermakers to electricians and sheet metal workers. The new Bag house (essentially an industrial dust collector) is assembled in sections; scaffolding offers temporary access. Carpenters preparing the internal slab in the circular lime silo are using the PERI Rundflex form system to simplify the concrete-pouring process. hArdhAt FALL 2009

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FROM LEFT: Bob Hugh, Doug Banes, Bill Irwin and Jim Smith

Alberta’s finest were on the international stage at this year’s Canada-wide conference, held in Edmonton

D

oug Banes has packed a lot into his 40-year career as a millwright. Banes, the general vice president of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters (UBC), was instrumental in developing the UBC’s Carpenters International Training Center, which is set on a 12-acre campus in southern Las Vegas, that contains a dormitory and features 60,000 square feet of shop space offering courses in the latest craft and union-building skills. But when Banes visited the Alberta Millwright Training Centre in Edmonton last July, the large, contemporary hydrogen compressor in the middle of the shop – a $5 million gift from Petro-Canada in 2008 – stopped him in his tracks.

Banes craned his neck and surveyed the rest of the tidy shop, which included a dozen or so local millwrights quietly training on the equipment. “This is more than impressive,” he said, nodding, before his eyes shifted back to the compressor. “We don’t have a compressor as modern as this [at the Las Vegas training facility].

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We’ve got some small stuff, but nothing at all like this.”

Banes wasn’t the only one with wide eyes at the Alberta training facility. “This training facility is truly awesome. To have an owner like Petro-Canada make a donation like this, you’ve got to recognize that there is something very worthwhile going on here,” said Michel Sinclair, business manager of Millwright Local 1007, in Niagara Falls.

Banes and Sinclair were in Alberta July 13 to 15 for the Canada-wide Millwright Conference, which included more than 25 millwright representatives from across Canada. Banes and Bill Irwin, director of UBC’s Las Vegas training centre, joined the proceedings.

Conference organizer Bob Hugh said the event provided the opportunity to showcase Alberta’s new training facility, and it allowed the millwright leaders to develop strategies to overcome barriers to achieve their shared goals.

“The whole theme of this conference was to share information

and create opportunities so that if we have something in Alberta that we could offer the other provinces, we’d make it happen, and they would do the same for us. I think we definitely achieved that goal,” said Hugh, senior business representative for Alberta Millwright Local 1460.

The three main issues for conference participants were mobility, training and marketing. Here’s a run-down of what was discussed.

Mobility Different laws in different provinces make it difficult for workers to follow job opportunities across borders. “The industry has changed. It’s now an industry of mega-projects, and the challenge is to figure out how we can get millwrights from other parts of the country to come and assist the areas where the mega-projects are happening. This is important because we have to be able to get our highly-skilled and trained millwrights to different parts of the country at a moment’s notice,” said James E. Smith, UBC Vice President Canada, who is based in Ontario.

The main barrier to inter-provincial hiring is administering benefit and pension payments. “Let’s say a worker goes to Alberta from British Columbia and works there for three months. Well, when he finishes he doesn’t always get his benefits put back into his own plan in B.C., and it’s not because anyone is holding out on him, it’s because of the difficulties with the way the different systems are set up, and we need to iron that out,” Michel Sinclair added.

Another issue is pre-access drug testing. British Columbia and Alberta are the only provinces that require drug testing before a worker can start a job. This is a problem when workers from outside of British Columbia and Alberta arrive at these provinces, and, unaware that they need to be tested before they can begin working, they take the required drug test and then have to wait weeks to receive results. “We want them to arrive and get to work right away. We don’t want them waiting around for weeks in a hotel room. They are there to work,” Hugh said. “We’re taking steps at this conference to make sure it is a smooth, fluent process for everyone.”

Training Another big issue for millwrights is ensuring that workers from all provinces are trained to the same high standards. To address this concern, the Alberta local supports the Red Seal Program, an inter-provincial standard of excellence. “The program makes it simple,” Hugh explains. “If a worker has obtained the Red Seal, he or she has been trained to specific safety and quality standards.

We’re advocating for this program to be recognized across all jurisdictions.”

Streamlining training standards is one of the highest priorities in the industry. “Part of what we’re doing [at this conference] is to discuss our training needs and try to develop uniform programs and standards,” said Claude Gagnon, business manager for Millwright Local 2182 in Montreal. “An eighth of an inch in Alberta is an eighth of an inch in Quebec. In most cases, the machines are the same, the work is the same, and the training can be the same, too.”

INSPECTION: The group tours the Alberta Millwright Training Centre

Doug Banes, who also chairs the UBC’s International Millwright Committee, would like to see more millwrights in Canada take advantage of the Las Vegas training centre, for which almost all costs are already covered. “We’ve got a $100-million facility that’s owned by the union, and it’s a great opportunity for workers to train on the best equipment in task oriented programs,” he said.

Hanes added that the training goes beyond the technical aspects of the job.

“We try to instill in the workers the importance of maintaining a professional attitude. I don’t care how skilled you are, if you don’t have the right attitude, it’s not going to work,” he said. “When workers come to Las Vegas, we strive to make sure they get the sort of training that helps them to become the best workers they can be in every way.”

Marketing The millwrights at the 2009 conference felt they were making progress in many areas, but they also thought they still had work to do to let people know of the strides they’ve made. “Our worldclass training facilities and programs, and everything else that we offer, shouldn’t be a best-kept secret,” Banes said. “One of our strategies to achieve this is to invite contractors and owners to our training facilities and show them what we do. We want to do this more and more, because whenever we do it, it wins every time.”

Marketing and promoting of Millwrights also involves letting contractors and owners know that managers at training facilities are constantly seeking feedback in order to create new training programs and improve how they train workers. “We’re trying to be leaders in the field, and in order to do that we need to tackle issues head on. When we do that, we not only benefit our workers, but we also benefit the contractors and owners,” said Bob Hugh of Local 1460. “The trick, of course, is to let everyone know what you’re doing, so that everyone can enjoy the full benefits.”

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Project PROFILE

South Health Campus The fifth largest hospital in North America is going up in Calgary and ARCCAW members are a key part of the build

By TRICIA RADISON Photography by JOEY PODLUBNY

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J

ust past the southernmost Calgary community on Highway 2, gigantic tower cranes, scores of workers and an ever-expanding concrete structure dominate the landscape. This is the beginning of the South Health Campus slowly rising on a 44-acre site surrounded by farmland.

On schedule and ahead of budget – construction manager EllisDon says tenders are at or below pre-tender estimates and the project is benefiting from the downturn in market conditions – the South Health Campus is being built in three or more phases. The $1.4-billion first phase will be completed in December 2011.

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Project PROFILE

Costs for the other two phases have not yet been calculated as the full spectrum of services included has not been finalized and the province has not yet given funding approval. “Alberta Health Services are currently in a provincial restructuring process and are also determining the optimal delivery of health services provincially. This and the current economic situation will be determinants on when funding for the next phases is provided by the government,” says South Health Campus project executive director Ken Chiang.

When Phase 1 opens, 293 new beds will be added to the city with another 351 coming online at full build. The campus is designed to provide leading-edge healthcare, technology, research and education in a best-practice environment.

Using EllisDon to manage construction was another way for the health region to stay on the leading edge. “They are an excellent construction management firm with experience in major health care projects,” says Chiang. EllisDon has completed numerous medical projects in Calgary, including the Alberta Children’s Hospital.

“A hospital is one of the most complex projects because of all the life safety systems,” explains Scott Thompson, project director at EllisDon. Between 30 and 40 systems – including fire alarms, security systems and UPS power – must be installed and work together. As construction manager, it is EllisDon’s job to ensure everything works as it should before patients are in the building.

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This hospital has its own specific challenges too, such as the location in the deep south of Calgary, at Deerfoot Trail and 196 Ave SE. “The biggest challenge for us was getting people there because buses and trains don’t go that far,” says Mike Cooper, the ARCCAW business agent organizer looking after the EllisDon file.

An EllisDon bus transports workers between the last bus stop and the job site. Transport time lengthens the workday but the chance to get three or four years of steady work makes the longer hours worth it for many, says Cooper.

Building in the Dark The South Health Campus is much bigger than most hospitals, with 155,000 square metres under construction in Phase 1. “Phase 1 of the South Health Campus is roughly twice the size of the Alberta Children’s Hospital,” says Thompson, adding that the size is a challenge, even for an experienced contractor.

“The design and schedule of this project requires a large team.

There are over 100 architects and engineers working on it,” says Thompson. The construction schedule and strategy means design is still underway. For example, while the construction team is currently working on interiors for the Intensive Care Unit and Emergency, the design team is working on the final design and documents for the fifth floor. “We’re trying to build the campus and we don’t have

the complete design, so we need to use new construction contracting strategies to enable us to engage subcontractors as early as possible,” Thompson explains.

Big Birds Big jobs demand big equipment. EllisDon brought in four of the largest tower cranes in North America from Germany. At 282 feet in length, the Peiner SK575 cranes can pick up 9,000 pounds on the end of the boom.

Going for Gold The South Health Campus is a Gold Seal-certified project. “All our project managers, superintendents, estimators, everyone from the general contractor down to the rebar sub, have to be certified,” explains Scott Thompson. “When I tender a job, that subtrade has to have people available for this project.” The Canadian Construction Association gives certification based on education, work experience and knowledge. The South Health Campus is the first major project in the province where the owner is also Gold Seal-certified.

Innovation at Work The Deflection Compensating System is a unique concrete forming system designed in Germany by Peri Formwork Systems, Inc. in partnership with EllisDon.

ABOVE: Carpenters Michael Burley and apprentice carpenter Trevor Dempsey BOTTOM LEFT: Peri’s column system, the first in North America, is lifted into place.

BOTTOM RIGHT: EllisDon brought in four of the largest tower cranes from Germany to do heavy lifting.

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Project PROFILE

It eliminates the need for reshoring and allows one structural slab level to be completed every eight weeks instead of every 16 weeks.

Tested in the factory but never before used in production, the system was shipped in 58 boxcars to the hospital site and came complete with a team of German engineers. In spite of the language barrier and an unexpected modification to the ground floor plan, the Canadian crew quickly learned to use the new system and is now on target to finish the eighth and final structural slab level by the end of November 2009.

At the end of August 2009, about 125,000 cubic metres of concrete had been poured; the entire project will use about 200,000 cubic metres. An on-site plant capable of producing 22 truckloads of concrete each hour keeps the concrete flowing.

“It’s been very exciting for everyone,” says Al Skalicky, a Peri sales rep who’s been working with EllisDon on the system since the construction management company first came up with the idea.

“The 57 tables are all run hydraulically so there are no legs down to the floor and it’s almost like a space-age type system. For these guys to actually build it and see it for the first time, and that it actually worked, was quite a feat.”

Why was the South Health Campus a good project to test out the system? “It’s big and we were in early,” says Thompson. Early involvement meant the structural engineers could design what EllisDon’s Sam Poskovich, project superintendent, calls typical floor plates.

With columns, beam widths and a grid system exactly the same on every floor, the concrete forming system has worked well, reducing manpower by an estimated 30 to 40 per cent.

Well, every floor except one. A change to the main floor dropped the slab, making it a challenge. The team worked together to adjust to the situation as quickly as possible and stayed on schedule.

Building a Team This summer, 530 people were hard at work on the site, including 120 carpenters and 100 labourers. At peak, expected to happen in spring 2010, that number will skyrocket to 1,200 and include 300 electricians and 300 mechanical trades. “This is the biggest commercial project in Calgary,” says Cooper. “Even the Bow isn’t as big.”

EllisDon oversees the entire project, including handling Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design requirements – the owner is going for LEED Silver – as well as arranging for equipment and integrating the numerous systems.

LEFT TO RIGHT: Roof top core crew Preston Hickey, Mark Curtis, Eric Macdonald

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Owner: Alberta Health Services and Government of Alberta Prime consultant: Kasian Architecture Subconsultants: RJC / Stantec, structural engineers; Wiebe Forest, mechanical engineers; Stebnicki / Wiebe Forest, electrical engineers Mechanical construction manager: Lockerbie & Hole Electrical construction manager: Trotter & Morton Exterior envelope construction manager: Ferguson Glass / Pockar Masonry

Greenhorn scaffolding apprentices reach new heights thanks to some hands-on experience

By Jim Veenbaas

By JIM VEENBAAS Photography by BUFFY GOODMAN

M

elissa Belliveau knows how lucky she is.

She moved to Alberta from Nova Scotia two years ago and has been working ever since. Belliveau, who is 20 years old, is a newly minted scaffolder who just completed her Level 2 Scaffolding certification at the Alberta Carpenters Training Centre (ACTC) in Edmonton. It has become a truism among those entering the workforce for the first time that to get a job you need experience, yet you need a job to get that experience.

Fortunately, grads like Belliveau credit hands-on experience for helping them find work. “Building a scaffold is a big responsibility… and employers know that. A lot of places want people with experience and skills and you need that training just to get in the door. My training helped me get on with Steeplejack [Industrial Group] in Fort McMurray,” she says. “The non-union guys don’t have the same training we do. They basically learn from their supervisors and many of them don’t have the same experience as the instructors at the training centre,” adds Belliveau, who has worked on scaffolds up to 35 storeys high.

Developed by the Regional Council of Carpenters and Allied Workers, the scaffolding course is the only stand-alone one of

UPWARDLY MOBILE: Melissa Belliveau plans to keep on upgrading her job skills

its kind in Alberta. More than 3,000 students have completed the scaffolding program in the last decade, learning the theory behind the trade and practicing assembling and dismantling different types of scaffolding systems.

This matters now more than ever, as Alberta’s unemployment rate, for instance, soared to 7.4 per cent in August. The training centre’s specialized courses, not just for scaffolders but for other trades, also give union members a tremendous advantage in a tight labour market when more workers are competing for fewer and fewer jobs.

Down the road, when the industry picks up, grads will be better positioned than ever. “We have the highest standards and the strictest measurement tolerances in Canada and North America, and we are leading the effort to standardize the training,” says Pekarchik. “We had some NAIT instructors visit our program and they were blown away. They have known for years that we are the experts at scaffolding, but they were surprised at how well set up we are.”

Although demand for trades has dampened during the last 18 months, it is expected to spike sharply in the future as oilsands projects ramp up and boomers retire from the trades. In Fort HARDHAT FALL 2009

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TOUGH JUDGe: Instructor George Pekarchik grades students to a tolerance of 1/8 of an inch

Ticket to Success Tuition at post-secondary institutions is one barrier for many new tradespeople.

Fortunately, not only does ACTC training make new union members more employable, it also means they start their careers without a pile of debt. “As a member, you can start your carpentry career for virtually no cost,” says scaffolding instructor George Pekarchik. “The books are given to you; the tools are there. We have a lot of courses that only cost our members $10.” Similar training programs at community colleges, Pekarchik adds, can cost 50 times that much.

GOOD neWs: Scaffold student Kent Tamarik gets his test results

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HaRDHaT

FALL 2009

McMurray alone, an estimated 32,000 construction workers will be needed by 2016, which is more than the number working during the height of the boom in 2008. “There’s going to be a tremendous demand for skilled people. The older guys are starting to retire or go into management and we have to fill the hole,” says Len Bryden, director of training and apprenticeship for the Alberta Carpenters Training Fund, which works in conjunction with ARCCAW. To meet that demand, courses are constantly being added in Edmonton, Calgary and Fort McMurray. (Visit www.abcarptc.ab.ca for more information and for a complete schedule of upcoming courses.)

Indeed, since opening the $23-million training facility in the fall of 2008 (see the spring 2009 issue of Hard Hat for a full profile on the ACTC), the union has introduced period 1 and period 2 Carpentry, along with an increasing number of new programs such as a Hoisting and Rigging course. There is also a wide range of supplemental programs that teach members everything from blueprint reading and construction surveying to arc welding and stair construction available on demand.

These new courses are part of an initiative for new carpenters, millwrights and other trades that stretches back at least a decade. To help its newest and least experienced members get their start in the industry, ARCCAW started an Industrial Technical Training (ITT) program about 6 years ago to teach

PRessURe’s On: Kent Tamarik works to complete the Level One scaffold test

TRAINING BY THE NUMBERS Since 1998, scores of future carpenters, millwrights, scaffolders and other trades have earned their stripes through the Alberta Carpenters Training Centre.

Here’s a breakdown.

6,016: Number of members trained in scaffolding ARCCAW shops and facilities from 1998 to 2009 957: Number of members completing Industrial Technical Training between 2002 and 2009

GO GREEN The eco-sector opens up new jobs for skilled trades Skilled trades may be at the forefront of the green jobs sector, which at 9.1 per cent growth per year over the past 10 years has expanded twice as quickly as other job sectors in Canada.

Thanks to more green energy and construction projects, skilled trades will find positions on, for instance, retrofits, wind-turbine farms and transit projects. “It definitely increases the job prospects for people in the skilled trades,” Shaun Thorseon of Skills Canada told the Calgary Herald recently, explaining that “a lot of the skills they’re acquiring in the current process of apprenticeship programs…. are definitely transferable to some of the things that are on the horizon.”

inexperienced workers the basics of carpentry and scaffolding. The program has been wildly successful. “At the time we started the program, contractors had created a labour shortage by not hiring first-year apprentices,” Pekarchik recalls.

“We had more than a thousand first-years looking for work. We knew that in a few years they would become journeymen, but they needed the hours to move on. We started talking to contractors, developed this program and now they are hiring apprentices like crazy.”

Back on the shop floor, Phil Millburn is a testament to that success. Like Belliveau, he benefited from specialized courses, completing his Level 1 Scaffolding this July.

Now he’s working at the Shell Scotsford refinery in Fort Saskatchewan. “As an apprentice, trying to get out there and get a job is the biggest challenge, but it’s a lot easier to find work once you go to school,” says Millburn. “The scaffolding program helped me smooth out the rough edges and gave me confidence. It makes every day at the job site a lot easier.”

102: Number of members completing the ACTC’s Pre-Employment Carpentry program since 2006 in Alberta 742: Number of carpenters who received tuition reimbursements between 2002 and 2009 33,477: Total number who have taken part in approved training programs or courses and have either paid a $10 registration fee, received the training at no cost, or have been reimbursed between 1998 and mid-2009 by the Alberta Carpenters training fund 656*: Estimated training for 2009 for combined Scaffolding, Pre-Employment Carpentry (Tradewinds to Success Aboriginal Initiative), Alberta Industry Training (AIT) Accredited Period One Carpentry, Industrial Technical training (ITT), and Scaffold JM Upgrade *For in-house training between January to December 2009.

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KidZone

Quizzes and fun stuff

Hammer Slammer Think any old one will work? No way!

Every tradesperson has his or her special tools, and hammers are one of the oldest tools around – going back more than 30,000 years. See if you can match these 100year-old hammers to the jobs they were made to do.

I M G

C D

A

H

K

L

E

B

H, E, J, L, C, D, B A, I, M, G, K, F, N (from top of list to bottom)

Answers:

20

F

N

J

HARDHAT

FALL 2009

Shoemaker’s hammer

Blacksmith’s hammer

Millwright’s ball peen hammer

Watchmaker’s hammer

Gardener’s hammer

Cooper’s hammer

Saw doctor’s dog head hammer

Tinsmith’s riveting hammer

Ferrier’s horseshoe turning hammer

Roofer’s slate hammer

Carpenter’s double claw hammer

Ferrier’s horseshoe nailing hammer

Coachmaker’s hammer

Floor layer’s tack hammer

Guess the Tool Tools have changed a lot in the last 100 years. Check these out and then use the internet to see what these tools look like today.

This weird contraption (below) might look like something out of a mad scientist’s laboratory, but it’s actually an old-fashioned plane. Carpenters use planes to smooth and shape wood.

Bob the Builder You won’t find planes like the antique one (below) on a construction site today, but you will find tools that do the same job. Carpenters and anybody else who wants to make sure something is smooth and finished will use this type of plane.

Who’s the most famous tradesperson today? It might be Bob the Builder. Bob and his crew have been building roads, skyscrapers and more since 1998. According to bobthebuilder.com, the show is aired in 45 languages and is watched by kids around the world.

The Burj Dubai in the city of Dubai will be the tallest building in the world when it is finished this year. It will stand more than 800 metres (2,600 feet) high and will have the world’s fastest elevators. The concrete used in the tower weighs as much as 100,000 elephants! In fact, you’ll be able to see its spire from 95 kilometres away!

There’s another project in our own back yards. Right now, the Bow is being built in downtown Calgary. When it’s done, it will be 58 storeys and 236 metres (775 feet) tall. That makes it the tallest office building in western Canada! The Bow will be made with 48,000 tons of structural steel, almost the weight of just 5 elephants.

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Trust Fund Manager’s

REPORT

The People Behind the Scenes Maureen C. Gander, CEBS, CHRP Manager

I

t’s hard to believe that fall is here.

I hope everyone had a great summer. At the Trust Funds, each of us has enjoyed a little vacation time to catch some of the sunny weather. That said, it was a busy summer.

New Health & Welfare Booklet This fall, members of the Health & Welfare Plan will receive our new 2009 booklet describing topics like what the Plan provides, who’s eligible and how to make a claim. The Plan office and each union office (Calgary; Edmonton; Fort McMurray) have copies.

Trust Funds Staff Overview Many staff members have been with us for some time, and we recently welcomed new faces. Here is an overview: The Trust Funds office has four areas: Health & Welfare, Pension, Accounting and Management. Each department has a team leader. Bette Thompson, our senior claims officer, heads Health & Welfare with over 28 years service. Bette’s team includes four regular staff. Kathy Germaine and Jenny Van Gelderen are claims representatives. They help members at our counter and on the phone with benefit questions and claims. Michelle Perrot and Emily Carr are claims assistants who maintain files through the claims payment process. Together the team processed over 28,000 claims in 2008. And, this spring, we celebrated Kathy’s fifth anniversary.

Mary McGillivray is the supervisor of Pension Services with over 12 years service. Jason Fleury and Terry McCann are pension services representatives, each with three years service. The Pension team answers member questions, and calculates and processes pension payments for retirees, terminating members and survivors of deceased members.

They also prepare and distribute the members’ Annual Statements – over 8,800 this spring!

In June, our accounting department welcomed Accounting Supervisor Bryanna McKay. She has over a decade of financial experience and is pursuing her designation as a certified general accountant. Her team works with participating employers to ensure contributions under the Collective Agreement are received and the corresponding hours are reported to the Pension and Health & Welfare departments. They also process training and working dues for the Training Centre and Regional Council. Last year, we handled over $118 million of contributions.

That leaves our management group. We take care of the needs of trustees, the Funds’ records, contracts and investment reporting. The Funds have grown extensively over the last several years. Deborah Sheppard, senior admin assistant helps keep trustees informed of key reports received at our office. In June, we welcomed Liz Lombardo as a pension and benefit specialist. The Plans involve a huge bank of formal documents and Liz’s assignments include working with our legal counsel to update our documents as part of the Trustees’ ongoing governance. Liz is also on our system project team and gaining exposure to all other aspects of the Plans.

These are simplified descriptions so in an upcoming column I’ll elaborate on them and on the complexities of trusteeship. Meanwhile, if you have questions, here’s how to reach us: Questions? Please direct all questions about benefit and pension eligibility and entitlements to our office. Each member’s situation is unique, so your record here is needed to answer your questions.

Call us at 780-477-9131 or 1-800-588-1037. Press 1 for Health & Welfare and 2 for Pensions.

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Skills Training

REPORT

Alberta Wins UBC National Contest Len J. Bryden, Director of Training and Apprenticeship

I

t’s official: We now have bragging rights as tops in carpentry. Carpenter Philip Waters of Local 1325 won first place overall in the UBC National Carpentry Contest held August 20 to 22 in downtown Halifax, gaining national recognition. We are so proud that Waters has brought the trophy home to Alberta. To celebrate, we will hang a large banner from the rafters of the carpenters shop at ARCCAW headquarters in Edmonton, so swing by to take a look. I also watched Andrew Hansen of Local 1460 take home third place in the millwright competition.

Congratulations to both Hansen and Waters for their achievements.

The contest, held on the beautiful Halifax waterfront, brought together winners of provincial contests along with trades people who earned top marks in apprenticeship from each province. They gathered to compete in carpentry, millwright and drywall theory and practical skills tests. Local Haligonians strolling by got a show, watching carpenters, millwrights and drywallers work away in the summer heat. Along with the many trades, contractors, dignitaries and trustees from many funds attended the festivities. (Mark your calendars: next year, the contest travels to Ottawa and in 2011 it travels to Quebec City. Alberta hosts the National Contest in Edmonton in 2012.)

If you want to participate in next year’s Provincial Apprenticeship Contest and have completed your apprenticeship training within the past 12 months as of June 2010, please

contact us here at the Alberta Carpenters Training Centre.

While I was in Halifax, I took part in the two-day National Apprenticeship and Training Advisory Committee (NATAC) conference. NATAC’s annual event brings together training co-ordinators, directors, trustees and contractors from across the country to talk about how we can improve our programs, offer the best services and help each other out over the course of the next year. In particular, we discussed how the recession has affected each of the provinces and our efforts to continue to share materials and best practices. NATAC attendees also met about cross-country instructor exchange programs, which help keep our training and quality consistent throughout the Brotherhood. It was a productive time, so I’m looking forward to the rest of 2009 and all of 2010.

Keep safe and keep up the good work!

WINNER: Local 1325’s Philip Waters in Halifax

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Members of Local 1325 Fort McMurray

Sunday, December 13, 2009 11:30 am – 3:00 pm

All family members welcome!

Children aged 12 or younger will receive a gift.

Registration deadline: Friday, November 27, 2009

The Sawridge 530 Mackenzie Boulevard Fort McMurray

Santa will be there to wish Merry Christmas to all!

Celebration includes entertainment and luncheon.

To ensure space for everyone, pre-registration is required for children receiving gifts and for taking part in the luncheon.

To pre-register, call the Fort McMurray office at (780) 743-1442 or toll free (866) 739-7017.

Registration requires the following information: member’s name, number of family members attending function, boy or girl and child’s age.

Please register early.

We will not accept registrations after November 27, 2009.

Local 1460 Millwrights

REPORT

The Winds of Change

B

ack in July, Alberta Millwrights Local 1460 hosted the Canada-wide millwrights’ conference. Training co-ordinators and business representatives from every province attended and special guests included Jim Smith, Vice-President of Canada, Doug Banes, General Vice-President UBC and Bill Irwin, Director of Training UBC Las Vegas Training Center.

Topics of discussion included millwright mobility, training and marketing. To read the full story and learn about some of the highlights of this year’s conference, turn to page 10 for our comprehensive report.

Giving you the tools to build a safe and healthy future...in family, work and play.

Training Tour As part of the conference, we gave a tour of our new Alberta Millwright Training Centre while an intake was in progress, showcasing our commitment to provide hands-on, task-oriented, value-added training for Bob Hugh, Senior Business our clients and contractors. Later, Warren Hall gave us Representative - Millwrights all a tour of NAIT’s Petro Canada Centre for Millwright Technology. Both Doug Banes and Bill Irwin told me how impressed they were with the concept of a national apprenticeship program and the facility that delivered the training.

Such superior training opportunities and facilities separate us from our competition and ensure a fair market share of work for our members. We offer courses on everything from gas turbine familiarization to a reciprocating compressor course to a primer on how to be a better supervisor. Please check www. albertamillwrights.com for information about upcoming courses, or call Laurel at 780-430-1460, ext. 2166 to register.

Trade Winds Partnership We are pleased to announce that we are partners with Trade Winds to Success Training Society that puts aboriginal peoples to work in the trades.

As Trade Winds notes, the project gives participants “career decision-making, pre-apprenticeship interventions, and personal and academic supports” along with hands-on trades skills.

An eight-week millwright pre-employment course was developed using Apprenticeship and Industry Training (AIT) modules. The course takes place this November and December.

Alberta Employment and Immigration also contribute funding to cover administration costs and each Aboriginal human resources development agreement holders (Treaty 7 Management Corporation, Métis Nation of Alberta and Oteenow Employment & Training Society) assist clients through such things as training and employment assistance services.

Each of the Local 1460 partners has a commitment to train, mentor and employ the Trade Winds to Success participants upon successful completion of the pre-apprenticeship course. It’s a great program and I’m so proud we can participate.

Here’s to a wonderful fall.

SERVICES PROVIDED: > Assessments funded by WCB or Alberta Health Care > Fully equipped gym > Experienced Physical Therapists & personal trainers > Open before and after work w CONTACT INFO: www.remed.ca #217, 14925 111 Ave 780-451-2244 HARDHAT FALL 2009 000.ReMed_1-3V_nBL.indd 1

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UPCOMING

Training + Events

General Events October 17: Millwrights Local 1460 Benefits Trust Fund information meeting November 13: Local 2010 meeting December 4: Regional Council Executive meeting December 5: Regional Council Delegate meeting December 6: Millwrights Children’s Christmas Party First Wednesday of each month: Local 1325 meeting Third Thursday of each month: Local 2103 meeting Fourth Tuesday of each month: Local 1460 meeting

Christmas Parties December 6: Local 1325 (Edmonton). See page 30 for full details, including registration deadlines December 6: Local 1460 (Edmonton). See page 28 for full details, including registration deadlines December 13: Local 1325 (Fort McMurray). See page 26 for full details, including registration deadlines December 13: Local 2010, 2103 Children’s Christmas Party (Calgary).

See page 24 for full details, including registration deadlines

Training Many courses taking place in the next few months have already filled up. Here are a few that still have space.

Go to www.abcarptc.ab.ca for the full course listing.

Edmonton Centre Pre-employment Carpentry from March 1 to April 23, 2010 Calgary Centre Scaffolding Level Three from March 15 to April 1, 2010 Hosting and Rigging from April 9 to 11, 2010 Pre-employment Carpentry from April 12 to June 4, 2010 Hosting and Rigging from May 14 to 16, 2010 Note: Period 1 and 2 Carpentry: All classes require governmentregistered apprentices. To register with us at the ACTC you must have your blue book and be in good standing.

Alberta Construction Safety Association ”Making Safety A Way Of Life”

National Construction Safety Officer Program Qualifying Program for Gold Seal Construction Safety Coordinator www.acsa-safety.org Edmonton 1-800-661-2272 • Calgary 1-800-661-0390 Ft. McMurray 780-715-2157

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HARDHAT FALL 2009 000.ABConstSafety_1-3H-nBL.indd 1

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ALL FAMILY MEMBERS WELCOME! Children aged 12 or younger will receive a gift.

Celebration includes entertainment and luncheon.

To ensure space for everyone, pre-registration is required for children receiving gifts and for taking part in the luncheon.

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Registration requires the following information: member’s name, number of family members attending function, boy or girl and child’s age. Please register early.

We will not accept registrations after November 20 2009.

Parting Shot

Glenmore Dam

Controlling the downstream flow of the Elbow River, Calgary’s Glenmore Dam cost $3.8million when it was built in 1932. It is 320 metres long and 21 metres wide. Using the downward force of its construction materials’ weight, the dam is able to resist the horizontal force of the water it holds.

HARDHAT FALL 2009

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