5 Questions with NGC Online Presence Sub-Committee Chair, Christina Rontynen

My first Calgary Stampede blog post of the year. Enjoy everyone!

5 Questions with NGC Online Presence Sub-Committee Chair,
Christina Rontynen

You can call it Stampede love – or just plain old Calgary love. I couldn’t resist interviewing Christina Rontynen for this blog. We recently got engaged. We didn’t meet through the Stampede but we are on the same Stampede Committee and we have many fun Stampede memories.

When we met we clicked because our passions were the same – including getting people engaged with their communities. That’s why the Next Generation Committee (NGC) was such a great fit for us. The NGC is all about engaging Calgarians with the Stampede!

The NGC is made up of two sub-committees: Project Execution and Online Presence. Christina is the chair of the Online Presence sub-committee.

Here is my interview:                                      

1. What is the Next Generation Committee all about?

The NGC is all about engaging new audiences with the Calgary Stampede. It isn’t just about engaging young Calgarians but all Calgarians. In the past we have targeted 18-30 year olds, brand new Canadians, young families from Calgary’s suburbs, and this year we are targeting Calgarians in 100 years through our very cool Time Capsule project. If you have Twitter you can follow along with Time Capsule project through our #CSTimeCapsule hashtag.

2. What one item would you put in the NGC Time Capsule if you could stand to part with it?

I have this amazing belt buckle from my Dad. He used to wear it when he was a little boy playing cowboys with his friends. It has a bunch of little guns on it and is completely vintage and awesome. It is the perfect Stamepde accessory and it, to me, speaks to the fact that the Stampede is generational. It’s a family affair.

People can propose their own Time Capsule ideas by emailing the NGC. If you have something you’d like included in the Time Capsule and it has a neat story behind it please email us at: calgarystampede.ngc@gmail.com

3. What is your ideal Stampede day?

Best Stampede day is always Parade Day! Wake up early, find the perfect spot and watch the energy and excitement of Stampede come alive. After that it’s about finding a pancake breakfast – and putting lots and lots of syrup on the pancakes (of course)! Then a trip down to Stampede Grounds – I love making sure I’m there for the Rodeo and of course a greasy, yummy dinner at a kiosk afterwards. Then it is playing some Midway Games, enjoying the Coke Stage, and waiting until the fireworks show.

4. Who are you most looking forward to Stampeding with this year?

Well you of course Peter!! Our first Stampede being engaged! Very fun.

But I’m also looking forward to hopefully bringing your niece and nephew! Seeing the Stampede through the eyes of kids is the best!

5. What is your favorite Stampede treat?

Gosh – this is a hard one. I love the classic mini donuts but this year I will not leave without trying all the new food for 2012; including deep fried wagon wheels, sausage on a stick and those deep fried veggies.

Thanks for playing along Christina!

Happy Almost Stampede Everyone!
PP

Originally Posted on the Calgary Stampede Blog on May 23, 2012 – found here.

Next Generation Committee Wants to Tell Your Story … in 100 Years

I just posted on the Calgary Stampede blog about an awesome project that Peter and I are taken part in this Stampede. The Stampede Time Capsule (#CSTimeCapsule) will be telling the Stampede’s story from the last 100 years to Calgarians 100 years from now. It’s pretty exciting stuff … and there are plenty of opportunities for all Calgarians to leave their mark on the time capsule.

Here’s my post ….

Last weekend I had that pleasure of attending the Stampede 4 Corner Event in southeast Calgary. I was there with my fellow Next Generation Committee team members not only promoting our latest project but as a Calgarian getting excited for Stampede.

The smell of pancake breakfast, the western garb, the smiling faces, the country music … I had tingles on the back of my neck as soon as the event started. It really marked the start of Stampede season for me.

The 4 Corners events are the perfect blend of Stampede and community. The community crowd was gathering not only for the free Stampede breakfast but also to support local community organizations and cheer on community entertainment.

It really is the perfect event to tell Calgary about the Next Generation Committee’s time capsule. You haven’t heard of the time capsule? Check out the news release for more information, but in a sentence the time capsule is the Next Generation Committee’s way to captured the first 100 years of the Stampede and share it with the Calgary 100 years from now. Pretty exciting actually!

How exciting? Well I watched a child no more than 6 drop in her favorite Stampede memento into our time capsule at the 4 Corners event. Her eyes were wide as she exclaimed, “off to the future!!” Now that’s exciting!

Click to read more.

- CR xo

Ontario Lobby Firm Trades Principles for Dollars

If you had to put a value on your principles, what would it be?  How much money would it take for you to turn your back on everything you believe in and have been working towards?

Recently, a conservative lobby firm named Crestview did just that.  During the recent Ontario provincial election, Crestview’s founder, Mark Spiro was campaign manager for Conservative leader, Tim Hudak.  Today, Crestview is the registered lobbyist for U.S labours giant AFL-CIO and the Canadian Building and Construction Trades Council.

What is particularly troubling about the business dealings between Crestview and the largest and most powerful union in the U.S. and Canada is that it was those very unions who robbed Tim Hudak – and by extension Spiro – of his election win.  They did this by painting Tim Hudak as a dangerous right winger who would destroy the lives of workers and families.   The infamous “Working Families Coalition” which is a coalition of Ontario unions and hardcore left wingers, spent between $7 and $10 million on advertising before and during the campaign to ensure their good friend, Dalton McGuinty held onto power.

And now the unions have hired Crestview to help them stop Bill C-377, which would force unions to publically disclose their finances and expose these types of campaigns, which are financed by the mandatory union dues of their members.

While Crestview says it’s a multi-partisan firm and they are certainly free to take on any client they wish, most principled conservatives I’ve talked to find this particular business transaction shocking and disturbing.  I personally think that Crestview has sold its soul to the highest bidder and find the whole thing appalling.

Here in Alberta, the union movement has a history of working against conservatives much like they do in Ontario.  During the 2008 election, they attacked Premier Stelmach and the PC Party through nasty ads.  Those American style attack ads were brought to Albertans by a group that called themselves “Albertans for Change”, which as it turns out was a coalition of Alberta unions.

Many people in Alberta know my views about these types of attack ads, which are paid for by mandatory union dues.   Most people also know that I am a very active supporter of the Progressive Conservative Party of Alberta.  I wear my passions on my sleeve and always stood up for the conservative principles I so strongly believe in.  I for one would never, ever even consider working for the organized labour movement and that’s why I find it so hard to believe that Crestview sold itself out.

How much would you sell your principles for?  My values are definitely NOT for sale … but maybe that’s just me?

PP

Amend the Labour Code to eliminate unethical bid subsidy schemes

Before Christmas I wrote a blog titled, Top 10 Reasons to Amend the Alberta Labour Code, where I broadly laid out 10 public policy recommendations that are needed to make Alberta’s labour relations environment more competitive and fair.  The purpose of that blog was to introduce the topics. Over the coming weeks, I will be writing specific blogs about each idea.  I look forward to your comments – Alberta can be better; here are some ideas on how to get there.

I will start this series with recommendation 9, which reads:

Recommendation 9: Improve Alberta Labour Code provisions that address market enhancement recovery fund (“MERFs”), which are illegal bid subsidy schemes.

A practice occurs in Alberta whereby union construction companies in industrial markets (ie. Alberta’s oilsands) unfairly subsidize construction projects in commercial markets (A Calgary 7-11 store).  Under this complicated scheme, Alberta’s construction prices become inflated and less competitive, and Albertans receive less royalty revenue from its heavy industrial projects.  It’s a bad deal all around, especially since the only reason for this practice is to increase the market share of less competitive unionized construction companies. 

In Alberta these bid subsidy schemes have been labelled “Market Enhancement Recovery Funds” (MERF).  They have also been called “Job Targeting Funds” (JTF) or “Stabilization Funds” (STAB).  Regardless of what you call them, they are all, in the words of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), “part of a strong organizing program aimed at securing monopoly of local labour markets.”

These schemes developed in Alberta because of high energy prices and our province’s rapidly expanding economy.  As the economy expanded, building trade unions such as the IBEW and the Plumbers and Pipefitters Union (UA) convinced some major oilsands project developers to grant them labour supply monopolies to build the projects.  The projects provided the financial means for exploiting faults in Alberta’s Labour Relations Code. 

Here is how the schemes work:

In Alberta the schemes were initially created through collective agreements between unions and unionized employers.  Unionized contractors were required to remit part of their negotiated wages (up to $2.32/hr) to a union controlled fund. This fund was then available to other unionized contractors, which could apply for a subsidy on a project-by-project basis.  In some cases, the hour rate subsidy was estimated to be as high as $15 per hour multiplied by the total estimated hours of labour required for the projects. 

The lion’s share of the financing came from large energy projects whereby unions were given labour supply monopolies. So why would oilsands companies agree to pay higher labour costs? 

Part of the answer lies in Alberta’s royalty regime.  Alberta’s royalty structure allows for industrial project developers to pay lower royalties to the Alberta government until the capital cost of the project are recovered.  Essentially, this occurred because some large oilsands developers willingly paid a premium on their multibillion-dollar construction projects in a very hot economy to gain access to pools of unionized tradespeople. 

The Government of Alberta recognized that this unfair scheme is a bad deal for Alberta taxpayers and in 2008 legislators introduced Bill 26 to end the practice.  Alberta’s new law sought to restrict how MERFs were collected and distributed.  Direct payments from employers to unions and unions to contractors to undercut the bids of more competitive contractors were prohibited.

Despite this legislation, the respective Building Trade Unions (BTU) immediately developed new schemes to circumvent the law.  In fact, within 6 weeks from when the Act became the law, one BTU Business Manager reported to members that it was “business as usual” and that the union would “have in place an alternative way of ensuring that (unionized) contractors will be competitive for this work.”  Some unionized contractors also mentioned anecdotally that relief was being provided under “something we don’t call a MERF anymore.” 

In time, the various collective agreements were amended and the picture became clearer. While the names of the MERF’s were changed, the amount of monies that contractors were required to pay into newly created funds remained the same. As an example, the collective agreement between the Electrical Contractors Association of Alberta and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 424 prior to the 2008 legislation was referred to as the Market Target Recovery Trust Funds (MTRF) and the amount contractors were required to contribute to the fund was $.93 per straight time hour worked by each journeymen. In the subsequent collective agreement, the formerly referenced MTRF became the “Membership Development Fund” and the amount contractors remained obligated to remit continued to be $.93 per straight time hour worked by each journeyman.

Unions also got creative in how they distributed the money.  In one collective agreement, the previously named MERF was renamed, the Promotion of the Insulation Trade Trust or PITT. The hourly contribution rate remained unchanged at $.50 per straight time hour worked.

What did change can be found in a “Letter of Understanding” attached to and forming part of the revised collective agreement.  After agreeing that, “non-signatory contractors operating in the commercial/institutional sector do not offer Health and Welfare and Pension packages to their workforce equivalent to those contained in the collective agreement” the parties acknowledged that “the added cost of maintaining the agreement, ha[d] a negative impact on the ability of signatory contractors to compete, secure work and offer gainful employment opportunities to members of the union”. This problem is then dealt with in the final paragraph stating, “all current and future commercial work may, at the Employer’s discretion be enabled by waiving the Employer’s obligation to contribute on behalf of its employees to the Health and Welfare and the Pension Plan.” In other words the MERF no longer directly subsidizes wages; the subsidy is used to pay for health, welfare and pension plan benefits.

In the case of the Insulators, the value of this relief is equivalent to $6.50 per hour worked. This is concerning since charges for vacations, pensions and other funds are approximately 30% to 33% of the basic negotiated hourly “wage rate”. Under normal bidding conditions, these costs are added to the hourly charge a contractor would include in a bid estimate.

The legislation passed in 2008 was clearly intended to end “subsidizing the bids, tenders, fees or prices of” unionized construction contractors. A subsidy is a subsidy is a subsidy.

This unfair bid subsidy scheme is both increasing the cost of construction in Alberta and reducing the amount of royalty revenue being collected by the government.  The only purpose of these schemes is to increase the market share of less competitive union contractors.  Alberta needs to amend its labour code to end this unsavory practice once and for all. 

PP

Top Ten Reasons to Amend the Alberta Labour Code

The Alberta Labour Relations Code was written in 1988 and has remained virtually untouched since that time.  Over the coming months, I will be writing a new blog series titled “Top Ten Reasons to Amend the Alberta Labour Code” in an effort to initiate an online discussion about the need to update this antiquated (cold-war era) legislation. 

Much has happened in the world since 1988, including significant labour legislation changes in British Columbia and Saskatchewan, as well as Europe, the USA and most developed countries throughout the world.  The time has come to update this 23 year old piece of legislation in Alberta. 

The governments of British Columbia and Saskatchewan have responded with labour code changes that made their workforces more nimble, fair and competitive.  As a result, these provinces have created a labour relations environment that is more conducive to attracting investment to their provinces.

In response to these changing circumstances in western Canada and around the world, a group of construction leaders formed a coalition to find ways to combat Alberta’s increasingly uncompetitive construction sector.  The group is called the Construction Competitiveness Coalition and its participants operate in both union and non-union environments.  Most of their recommendations are based on labour code changes that have already taken place in other provinces and jurisdictions around the world.  I will write a detailed blog about each of the recommendations in the coming months. 

The opportunities for Alberta to become more competitive through Labour Code amendments generally fall into three (3) categories:

  • Creating economic advantages though cost and schedule certainty;
  • Creating bargaining structures for today’s workplaces; and
  • Improving fairness for employees and employers.

The top ten reasons to amend the Alberta Labour Code are:

Recommendation 1:   Amend Division 8 to address potential issues under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms

Recommendation 2:   Adopt legislation similar to that in British Columbia, which allows for the continuation of collective agreements in situations where a union becomes the bargaining agent for a workforce and there is an existing collective agreement in place for that workforce.

Recommendation 3:   Amend the Alberta Labour Code to allow contractors to complete existing work under the labour obligations that existed prior to certification.

Recommendation 4:   Amend the Alberta Labour Code to allow for certificates in the construction industry that cover all of the employees working for an employer.

Recommendation 5:   Amend the Alberta Labour Code to put into law a provision that allows for early renewal of collective agreements when all parties are in agreement and employees consent.

Recommendation 6:   Maintain the current approach to the “build up principle” in construction.

Recommendation 7:   Amend the Alberta Labour Code to prohibit unions from fining workers for the crime of working with an employer not affiliated with the union.

Recommendation 8:   Amend the Alberta Labour Code to prohibit unions from using union dues to support activities other than fulfilling the union’s obligations under the Code unless the union obtains prior consent of the employee.

Recommendation 9:   Improve Alberta Labour Code provisions that address market enhancement recovery fund (“MERFs”), which are illegal bid subsidy schemes.

Recommendation 10: Amend the Alberta Labour Code to clarify limits on the use of picket lines.

If you are still reading, you must be wondering what much of this means!  These are complicated but critically important matters.  Many of these policy recommendations have been implemented throughout the country and around the world and despite fierce opposition from union leadership, they have resulted in better, more competitive workplaces and happier workers.

I look forward to diving into each of these recommendations over the coming months and engaging in this important dialogue.

PP

Public Sector Forced to Support an Anti-Business Agenda

There is a battle brewing in Canada between the rights of individual Canadians and the agenda of union leaders.  The battle lines are being drawn and based on what I’ve seen so far, it’s going to be a difficult fight. 

Canadians want changes – in Quebec, they want an end to ties between unions and organized crime and an end to wide-spread corruption.  In Ottawa, the federal government has introduced legislation that forces unions to publically disclose their finances.  In Alberta, there is a growing group of businesses, politicians and citizens who understand that Alberta’s Labour Relations Code needs to be updated if the province is to once again become competitive.  The last time Alberta’s Labour Code was significantly amended was 1988 – a full generation ago.

Union leaders, on the other hand, want the status quo and they appear to be willing to protect it at all costs. 

However, the cost to Canadians of doing nothing about these critically important public policy issues is far too great.  Harold Wilson once said, “he who rejects change is the architect of decay.  The only human institution which rejects progress is the cemetery.”

Canadian labour laws are causing decay in our Country and it’s important for us to tackle the causes of this head on.  Canadian union leaders will dismiss calls for change and will use every tool at their disposal to stop progress from happening. We must be vigilant and stay the course.

The federal government has recently introduced a Private Members Bill on union financial disclosure. This legislation is necessary given the fact that Canadian unions essentially have the power of taxation on their members with absolutely no requirements for transparency. 

The Alberta Union of Public Employees (AUPE), the union that represents Alberta’s public sector workers, is one of very few unions that make some of their financial information available.  Based on those records, it’s clear that Alberta’s bureaucracy is forced to support the unions’ own anti-business agenda through mandatory union dues or forced wage deductions whether they support the union’s agenda or not.

The AUPE’s financial records show that in 2011, $928,399 has been set aside for a “labour laws campaign” and another $368,922 has been reserved for an “anti-privatization campaign”.   While unions have every right to advocate for these causes and fight these campaigns, individual union members must have the right to decide whether they want to participate financially in these activities.  The problem in our current labour relations system is that public sector workers are forced to pay the bill for these campaigns through direct and mandatory wage deductions even if they disagree with the campaign or if they choose not to be card carrying members of their union. 

In other words, the very same public servants who are asked to prepare briefing notes, policy drafts and legislative documents for politicians are forced, through mandatory union dues, to pay for an agenda that is directly in conflict with the job they work hard at, most often with pride, each day. 

The inherent conflict of interest here is absolutely mind boggling.  It’s the ultimate example of the tail wagging the dog and should be deeply troubling to every single politician who wants to make Canada a better place to live and raise a family. 

In Europe, governments have amended labour legislation to allow individual employees to opt out financially from political causes their unions choose to engage in.  In Europe, governments have also imposed strict financial disclosure rules on unions to ensure that these institutions are accountable.

With recent developments in Quebec and Ottawa, Canadians have started to take some steps in the right direction on labour law reform.  It’s time for Canadian provinces to join the rest of the world and take a larger step by embracing labour code changes such as those suggested in this blog.  If Alberta is to ever return to the Alberta Advantage, it needs to get ahead of other provinces by making the first move in this direction.

 If we are facing in the right direction, all we have to do is keep walking.

 Buddhist Proverb

 PP