Government Affairs

The International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers has been making their voice heard lately on the legislative front.

On Oct. 7, Insulators Local 6 Training Coordinator Rick Rothwell and Brother Joe Gallagher met with a Democratic Presidential Primary candidate.

This proved to be a busy summer, as we worked to ensure our priorities, especially those of Canada’s Insulators, who are featured in our federal election on Oct. 21. At the same time, our provincial representatives are busy ensuring Insulator priorities are front and centre, as provincial capitals wrestle with budget cuts and energy policies, which could impact the bottom line of the insulation trade.

Labor unions serve a great purpose for their members, as they work to negotiate better pay, better health care and pension benefits and a safer work environment. In the case of building trades unions, including the Insulators, unions also train the next generation of skilled workers through apprenticeship programs.

The US House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee has developed a Subcommittee on Energy that will hear At Large International Vice President Tim Keane testify on Friday, September 20, 2019. The hearing is entitled “Building a 100 Percent Clean Economy: Solutions for the U.S. Building Sector" and will also include testimonies from American Institute of Architects 2018 AIA President Carl Elefante, FAIA, U.S. Green Building Counsel Senior Policy Counsel Elizabeth Beardsley and American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy Executive Director Steven Nadel.

The Department of Labor has introduced draft language for regulations on expanding apprenticeships, including expanding Industry Recognized Apprenticeship Programs (IRAPs).

Delegates heard from multiple politicians hoping to become the Democrat candidate to run for President in 2020 during the final day of the to the North America’s Building Trades Unions 2019 Legislative Conference.

At the North America’s Building Trades Unions Annual Legislative Conference, NABTU President Sean McGarvey and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calf.) both discussed the need for lawmakers to pass laws that create good-paying jobs for union construction workers.

Les questions portant sur l’ouvrage et les élections fédérales étaient au centre de la Conférence législative Canadienne de L’industrie de la construction et une saine conversation politique ont rempli le calendrier lors de la conférence législative de 2019 des Syndicats des métiers de la construction du Canada (SMCC)

Issues critical to the Canadian Construction Industry and a healthy dose of political conversation filled the schedule during the Canada’s Building Trades Union (CBTU) 2019 Legislative Conference.