The IBEW37 Blog

It’s an honour to serve as your Business Manager

July 17, 2018

It’s an absolute honour to have been re-elected by members of Local 37 to serve as your Business Manager. I’m truly humbled and grateful for the opportunity to continue representing you. I’m also very thankful for the strong support that I received from so many of you during this election. To those who didn’t support […]

Why do we pay union dues?

April 18, 2017

Recently I received an e-mail asking me how the dues paid by members of Local 37 are used. It’s a great question, and I’d like to share the answer with all members of Local 37. Dues, like taxes are a fact of life. No union can exist unless it is funded by membership dues. At […]

Unions are good

April 18, 2017

Do you enjoy your holidays? Nice to have a paid break, isn’t it? Have you ever taken a minute though, to think about why and how you have holidays? Or if you have to work a holiday, why you get paid extra for it? The reason is unions. Holidays are one of those worker’s rights that were […]

Haven’t voted yet?

Election Message from IBEW International Vice President Tom Reid

Greetings brothers and sisters,

In just a few days we will elect a party to govern our country for the next four years, or less if there is a minority government. The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) is a proud union with a very long history of representing workers in the electrical industry. As governments change from province to province and when our federal government changes, so does our respective trades, jobs and lives, sometimes for the better and sometimes not.

The IBEW will continue to fight to protect our training and apprenticeship systems, to protect our craft, to protect and improve our health and safety laws and practices, promote the various careers and good paying jobs that IBEW members perform each and every day across Canada, from coast to coast to coast. We will continue to advocate our priorities with politicians at all levels, from municipal to federal. These last four years have been very beneficial for the IBEW and our advocacy work representing you. We have had the ear of our federal government and one of our own brothers, sitting in opposition, advocating for working people across the country. Working families in Canada have certainly made gains over the last four years and we hope that continues beyond election day on Monday, October 21st, 2019.

I want to share the following links with you to read and share with your family, your colleagues and your fellow IBEW brothers and sisters. This federal election is too important to be sitting on the sidelines. I encourage all of you to exercise your right and vote in the federal election this Monday, October 21st, if you haven’t already taken advantage of voting in advance polls over the Thanksgiving Day weekend.

Each and every vote will count in this election, and yours could make the difference on whether your riding elects a labour friendly candidate or one who wants to undo the work we have done over the last four years.

• Our Seat at the Table
• Canadian Building Trades Magazine 2019 Election Issue

Thank you for taking the time to review this important information and remember to VOTE!
In solidarity,

Tom Reid
International Vice President

Chers confrères et chères consœurs,

Dans quelques jours, nous allons élire le parti qui va diriger notre pays pour les prochaines quatre années, ou moins s’il y a un gouvernement minoritaire. La Fraternité internationale des ouvriers en électricité (FIOE) est un syndicat fier qui représente depuis longtemps les travailleurs et les travailleuses dans l’industrie de l’électricité. Au fur et à mesure que les gouvernements changent d’une province à l’autre, et que notre gouvernement fédéral change, nos métiers respectifs, nos emplois et nos vies changent également, parfois pour le mieux et parfois pas.

La FIOE va continuer à se battre pour protéger nos systèmes de formation et d’apprentissage, pour protéger nos métiers, pour protéger et améliorer les lois et les pratiques qui concernent la santé et la sécurité, de promouvoir les diverses carrières et de bons emplois bien rémunérés que nos membres de la FIOE accomplissent tous les jours à travers le Canada, d’un bout à l’autre du pays incluant le Grand Nord. Nous allons continuer à faire valoir nos priorités aux politiciens à tous les niveaux, du municipal au fédéral. Les quatre dernières années ont été fort avantageuses pour la FIOE et pour notre travail lié à défendre les causes pour vous représenter. Nous avons été écoutés par le gouvernement fédéral et nous avons un de nos confrères siégeant dans l’opposition qui défend les intérêts des travailleurs et des travailleuses à travers le pays. Pendant les quatre dernières années, les familles ont certainement réalisé des gains et nous souhaitons que cela se poursuive au-delà de la journée de l’élection qui aura lieu le lundi 21 octobre 2019.

Je veux partager avec vous les liens suivants afin de vous permettre de les lire et de les partager avec votre famille, vos collègues et vos confrères et consœurs de la FIOE. Ces élections fédérales sont trop importantes pour se tenir à l’écart. En ce lundi 21 octobre, je vous encourage à exercer votre droit de vote à l’occasion de l’élection fédérale, si vous ne l’avez pas déjà fait par anticipation lors de la fin de semaine de l’Action de grâces.

Chaque vote comptera dans cette élection, et le vôtre pourrait faire la différence, quant à savoir si votre circonscription élit un candidat ou une candidate favorable au mouvement syndical ou d’élire un candidat ou une candidate qui va venir défaire tout le travail que nous avons accompli au cours des quatre dernières années.
Prenez note que les liens suivants sont en anglais uniquement :
• Our Seat at the Table (notre siège à la table):
• Canadian Building Trades Magazine 2019 Election Issue (le magazine des Syndicats des métiers de la construction du Canada sur les élections 2019)

Nous vous remercions d’avoir pris le temps de lire ces informations importantes et n’oubliez pas de VOTER !

En toute solidarité,

Tom Reid
Vice-président international

Orange Shirt Day – September 30, 2019

Monday, September 30^this Orange Shirt Day – a day to honour, support, and remember the thousands of Indigenous children who were taken from their families and forced to attend residential schools.

Orange Shirt Day grew out of a gathering of survivors in Williams Lake, BC in 2013, where Phyllis Webstad shared her experience of having a brand-new orange shirt taken away the moment she arrived at residential school. The orange shirt has become a symbol of the many losses experienced by students and families due to residential schools.

Since that gathering in 2013, the phrase “Every Child Matters” has been used to acknowledge the value of every child and for communities to come together in the spirit of reconciliation and hope for future generations. And it stands as a reminder to all of us that we can make a difference in the lives of our children and students, helping them feel worthy of love, respect, and belonging.

In this message, IBEW International Vice President, Tom Reid, is encouraging members to show their support for Orange Shirt Day. You can wear orange, participate in Orange Shirt Day events and activities, learn more about the true history of residential schools, or listen to the stories of courage and resilience of survivors and their families. By paying tribute, we can help raise awareness about the residential school system and send the message that Every Child Matters.