We are very excited about the changes that have come to IUOE Local 955’s plan this year. We have heard some feedback from members about dropping in and out of coverage, and other members saying they expect more from their benefits after bargaining increases. With the feedback we get from you, our valued membership, and expert feedback from our consultants, we have come up with a revamped design that will help solve many issues! As of January 1, 2024, we started a Core and Extended division within the main plan. What does this mean?
Fort McMurray - Reoccurring complaints of wage theft in Fort McMurray’s overburden mining have led the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 955 to increase focus on the sector in the region to help recover income that rightfully belongs to the workers who make the industry run.
IUOE LOCAL 955 is incredibly pleased to announce that for the first time ever, an agreement has been made between the Government of Alberta and a skilled-trades union to fund a pilot training project through IUOE LOCAL 955’s Budd Coutts Apprenticeship and Education Centre.
Dear sisters and brothers,
During IUOE Local 955’s 75th Anniversary Gala and Long-Service Awards on September 23, I was pleased to announce a 5% pension increase to all good-standing members, effective October 1, 2023 and retroactive to January 1, 2023. To be able to announce such an increase, and in the 50th anniversary year of our Pension Trust Fund, was an absolute honour.
What does this mean?
For our good-standing pensioners, you would have seen two things on your October 1 pension payments:
• an increase of 5% of regular payments, and
• a retroactive payment back to January 1, 2023 for the 5% increase
For our good standing, non-retired members, your accrued pension at January 1, 2023 would have been increased by 5%. So whatever pension you had earned by the start of the year, just grew by 5%!
We know it’s been a long-time since the plan has been able to give an increase, and with high inflation, this has been felt even stronger. The board was honoured we were able to provide an increase this year, which hopefully reduces some of those stressors for you.
We are thankful to previous boards and administrations that, through careful stewardship of the plan, have steered it to be the strong, stable plan we see today. We are also incredibly thankful to plan members who have put in years of hard work, which has resulted in the plan becoming one of the biggest multi-employer pension plans in Alberta.
Our plan has weathered many storms over the years, has stood up to those tests, and has been a source of important, reliable income for so many. I’m incredibly proud of that and excited to see what the plan holds for members over the next 50 years.
In solidarity,
Chris Flett,
Business Manager and Pension Trust Fund Chair, IUOE Local 955
It was a monumental day at Local 955, where we celebrated with around 100 retirees, their families, members and others, the delivery of the $1-billionth dollar from the OE 955 Pension Trust Fund. Yes, ONE BILLION! The recipient, long-time member, Oliver Lepps, who has been a key figure in our proud local for many decades.
“Our pension trust fund would not be where it is today without those who came before us. To members who took the crucial step of starting our plan a half century ago, we can’t thank you enough. The number of members and their families this pension has supported after a lifetime of hard work is immense and is another big reason IUOE Local 955 remains one of the largest, strongest, and proudest unions in western Canada,” said Chris Flett, Business Manager, IUOE Local 955.
“I can’t think of a better way to close out the 50th anniversary of the pension trust fund than giving out the billionth dollar. It truly has been an incredible year for both our local, and our pension trust.”
In September, Business Manager, Chris Flett also announced a 5% pension increase for members in good standing, retroactive to Jan. 1, 2023.
Union training centres an answer to skilled trades shortage
Published in the Edmonton Journal - Dec. 26, 2023
Without the talents of thousands of trades professionals, we would not have the homes that shelter our families, refineries that provide products for heat and electricity, hospitals that get us healthy or schools that foster young minds.
The work skilled tradespeople do to build and maintain the critical infrastructure needed to ensure our society operates smoothly cannot be overstated. These workers are integral to our economy and our communities, but their numbers are dwindling, and the need for real solutions is now.
A summer report from CIBC on Canada’s construction labour shortage highlights the fact that the number of construction workers over the age of 55 is now at an all-time high, and considering the retirement age in the construction industry is lower than in other areas of the economy, the problem is intensifying.
Moreover, recent numbers from Statistics Canada reveal Alberta has lost more journeypersons over the past 5 consecutive years than we have brought in. This is concerning.
Thankfully, the impact retirements and negative net migration is having on the skilled trades is not lost on decision makers. I am pleased to see the provincial government is looking for real and creative ways to lessen the impact these factors will have.
Mandate letters from the premier to ministers responsible for areas like jobs and trades training make it clear the province expects to see the skilled trades education path hold as much value, promise and praise as the university path. This is in an effort to attract more students to a rewarding trades career.
Parity of esteem is crucial to help fill the looming labour gap. It ensures youth, and their caregivers, understand that choosing a skilled-trades education and subsequent journeyperson’s ticket is as valuable as a university degree. Expanding supports for additional learning spaces can be key to unlocking more access to the craft trades, bringing much-needed folks in.
A solid education is a vital component that can help train the next generation of skilled-trades talent, and Alberta’s construction unions are an untapped resource that can get the job done.
Union training centres are world class, multi-million-dollar facilities that provide some of the best trades training on earth. IUOE Local 955’s Budd Coutts Apprenticeship and Education Centre and many others across the province have turned tens of thousands of apprentices into skilled journeypersons who have helped build everything from Alberta’s oilsands, to our pipelines, skylines, roadways and much more.
Additionally, the education spaces and equipment needed to learn the trades at union training centres are fully in place and funded by the unions themselves. Plus, training is provided to our members for free. If you’re not a union member, fear not, training facilities like Budd Coutts may still be available for the public to take advantage of, and one they can access on a year-round basis. There is no season our classes won’t sit, meaning union training centres can offer education when it’s convenient for the learner.
Union centers also follow the curriculum guidelines set out by Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training and provide the same content students would receive at other post-secondary institutions across the province.
Alberta is seeing some incredible and much-welcomed growth. With more than $32 billion in deals done through Invest Alberta and major projects like Dow’s Path2Zero online, Alberta will need to provide tens of thousands of skilled workers to support industry.
All options to deliver these workers to meet demand should be on the table. The apprenticeship and education opportunities Alberta’s skilled trades unions provide in the crafts they operate in is a resource that must be utilized to ensure the province’s continued growth and future success.
Chris Flett,
Business Manager, IUOE Local 955
Dear Mayor Sohi,
I write to you today regarding proposed changes to the City of Edmonton’s Living Wage Policy (C612B).
This February, IUOE 955’s Budd Coutts Apprenticeship and Education Centre will open its doors to Crane and Hoist - Mobile Crane Period 1 courses for the first time in several years in response to a profound increase in training demand.
Honourable Steven Guilbeault
Minister of Environment and Climate Change
House of Commons
Ottawa, ON, K1A 0A6
Via: [email protected]
Dear Minister Guilbeault,
I write to you today in response to the federal government’s oil and gas sector emissions cap announced Dec. 7.
The International Union of Operating Engineers Local 955 is one of Alberta’s largest and longest-standing trade unions. A vast majority of our 12,500 plus membership is employed in the oil and gas sector, and standing up for the industries our members operate in is a responsibility I take as Business Manager, very seriously.
My members work in everything from construction to maintenance, pipelines and much more. The oil and gas industry has fed and clothed generations of Local 955 members and many Albertans for decades, and while we are absolutely on board to reduce emissions and lower our carbon footprint, this cap has left members of my local union with questions.
We have always valued our positive working relationships with all levels of government and appreciate the conversations we have with elected officials to improve the lives of working Albertans.
With that, I respectfully request a meeting with you and your team to discuss the oil and gas sector emissions cap and what it may mean for the many thousands of workers in the industries this cap impacts.
My team and I will make ourselves available at any time.
Sincerely,
Chris Flett, Business Manager
IUOE Local 955
IUOE LOCAL 955’s YouTube channel is now up and streaming videos on everything from bargaining to the 5% pension boost, histories of both our Local and Pension Trust, the Budd Coutts Training Centre and more.
Check it out and make sure you subscribe to ensure you’re getting the latest from Local 955: https://linktr.ee/iuoe955 (keep checking this link too, which will have all things 955 located at one, convenient URL).
