|
|
This Charter has been amended several times.
The official crest and motto were registered "Trade Marks". The Crest
or Badge signifies a high pressure steam gauge since most engineers at
the time were operating equipment powered by steam. The motto "Labor Omnia
Vincit" is Latin and translates to "Labour Conquers All".
In 1927 the International Union of Steam Shovel Operators and Dredgemen amalgamated with the IUS & OE and formed the International Union of Operating Engineers, with members throughout North America.
Up until the late 1930's, immigration rules between Canada and the United States were very liberal and qualified. Operating Engineers were free to work anywhere in North America. Canadians worked in the United States and Americans worked in Canada. Most of the larger heavy construction, steel erection and dredging contractors kept their key operators from job to job all over North America.
In this time, many Stationary Locals were established and were made up of licensed steam engineers and firemen who worked in factories, schools, power plants and wherever stationary boilers required skilled engineers. Even in Canada some of the first Local Unions were Stationary Engineers Locals. Labour Laws allowed any Craft Union to organize and acquire bargaining rights whenever their members were employed. Some of the first License Laws for tradesmen were enacted to ensure that all Boilers and Pressure Vessels were operated by certified Engineers.
It should be noted that in the early 1960's labour laws were changed so that Craft Unions could no longer "Carve Out" bargaining units on pure craft lines. In order to maintain our jurisdiction over the operation of boilers and pressure vessels, it has become necessary to organize on a "plant wide all employee unit". Local 955 has had a fair amount of success in this field.
Towards the middle of the Great Depression of the 1930's, immigration laws became restrictive and tradesmen no longer had free access to work in Canada and the United States. These laws became necessary to try to protect very scarce jobs for the residents of each Country. The recently signed Canada - United States Free Trade Agreement has softened the restrictions so that workers with special skills can be considered for employment in either Country to provide "Special Services" with their employer. In the early 1930's, J.E. "Jimmy" Sims, a former Steam Shovel and Dredgemen's member was appointed as a part-time organizer for the International Union of Operating Engineers. The original Coal Valley Mine was organized and a contract negotiated. This relationship ended in the late 1930's due to the depression. Local 955 obtained bargaining rights on Dec. 22, 1950 and re-established an agreement with Sterling Coal Valley Mining. The mine closed down in 1955 and was re-opened as Coal Valley Mining by the Luscar Company. Local 955 again won the bargaining rights and a contract is still in place.
Other coal mines organized by Local 955 in the late 1960's, 70's and 80's were Manalta Coal, Halkirk (July 3, '68), Forestburg Collieries(June 18, '70) (another Luscar company). Gregg River Resources (Oct. 11,'83) and Manalta Sheerness (Dec. 4, '80).
Many of the Steam Shovel and Crane Operators worked without any formal agreements from the earliest times all the way up to 1948. In 1940 - 1945, wartime measures were enacted to freeze wages and jobs. A person could not quit a job without suffering severe penalties. In 1944 Oilers received 25 cents per hour and Operators were being paid $1.25 per hour. Carpenters and Electricians were receiving 75 cents and 90 cents per hour.
The post war boom led to very active organizing in construction. Many new Local Unions were established across Canada and Local 955 was chartered in 1948. Ed Wark was International Representative and was instrumental in negotiating agreements with some of the International Contractors, Kellogg, Braun andFluor who had moved into Canada to build refineries near Edmonton. The boom continued all across Canada. New roads, bridges, factories and plants sprung up almost overnight. Kitimat, Chemcell, Refineries in Moose Jaw and Regina, Eldorado Mining at Uranium City were all Union jobs in Western Canada and Local 955 members were instrumental in getting these jobs done on schedule.
The first "Big Inch" pipeline was built starting in 1948 and 1949 from Edmonton to Superior, Wisconsin. It has since been "looped" on several occasions. Most of the contractors were United States companies who had experience in building pipelines and most of the supervision was, of necessity, American. This changed very quickly and many Local 955 members were hired in supervisory positions and a lot of them have worked on pipeline jobs in the United States and around the world. Mannix built most of the line from Edmonton to Provost, Alberta and a lot of operators "broke out" on this spread, which was organized and an agreement negotiated.
The first agreement with the Roadbuilders Association had been signed in 1954 and extended to both Locals in 1956.
Agreements were established with general contractors, members of the Edmonton and Calgary Builders Exchange. Project Agreements were also established at the St. Mary's Dam with Square M. , Mannix at the Brazeau Dam, and for several refinery extensions.
The first Canadian National Pipeline Agreement was established in
1955 with the following terms and conditions:
| Principal Operators | $2.25 per hour |
| Intermediate Operators | $1.75 per hour |
| Oiler | $1.25 per hour |
These rates were consistent with those paid on Building and Industrial Construction and about 50 cents per hour higher than the Roadbuilders.
Local 955's first legal strike action was taken in 1959 to establish free room and board in camps on industrial jobs. $2.50 per day was a common camp charge for all basic trades (carpenters, labourers, cement finishers, rodmen and operators). Brown and Root had the largest number of Operators at the time. The strike lasted one week and free room and board was won. It was several years later before we were able to get free room and board or subsistence in Highway and Heavy Construction and Pipeline Agreements.
Many of these gains came about because all of the Construction Trades worked together to get uniform conditions in the Project Agreements for industrial jobs. Many of the contractors were signatory to National Agreements with all trades. These National Agreements guaranteed no strike or lockout. The companies would be 100% Union and pick up the wage rates and conditions established by the Local Union where the work was being done.
There were many problems with two Locals in Alberta. Members were somewhat restricted by the transfer requirements. Continuity of employment, particularly in the Crane Rental and Steel Erection Industries was severely hampered.
An Industry wide Agreement was negotiated with the Crane Owners and Steel Erection Companies. The following companies were the initial Crane Owners Association members:
Atlas Crane & Hulburds Crane (now Sterling Crane)
Dominion Bridge
Pre Cast Concrete (now Conforce)
It was in 1968 that we established our first Health
& Welfare Plan at ten cents per hour.
The Pipeline Contractors Association and the Building &Industrial Contractors adopted the original Crane Owners plan and paid the same contribution to the plan.
The first Pension Plan and Training Plans were negotiated in the early 1970's. Alberta's Tar Sands Plants were built. Much Pipeline and Gas Plant activity commenced when it was determined that "flare gas" from Alberta's oil wells could no longer be burned off and markets for natural gas were opened in Eastern Canada and the United States. Natural gas was not new to Alberta. Northwestern Utilities had built gas lines from the Viking field to Edmonton in the early 1930's.
Medicine Hat shallow gas wells were supplying that City with natural gas and the City of Calgary had natural gas piped from the Turner Valley field.
Many new oil fields were discovered, drilled and developed, and the demand for natural gas was at an all time high. Employment opportunities were endless. Many Alberta companies had developed expertise in the energy conservation field and were soon working world wide, building refineries, chemical plants, pipelines, etc.
Through our Unions and our Labour Federations we can
ensure a better life for ourselves and for all Albertans and Canadians.