Merit OpenShop Contractors Association Newsletter
Merit OpenShop Contractors Association
August 2009
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638A Sheppard Ave W, Suite 218, Toronto, ON, M3H 2S1
T: 1-888-303-9878       F: 416-483-3095          www.openshop.ca 
Message from the Chair

 
There  is an old  saying  dating back to Milton in the 1500's  that, 'every cloud has a silver lining,' and it is a perfect idiom for what has happened for our cause with the recently ended municipal employee  strikes in Toronto and Windsor. 
 
Mayor Francis in the union town of Windsor stood up to CUPE and demanded the end of irrational entitlements in their Collective Agreement,  by cleaning up dump sites every day with outside contractors, declaring  that it was unacceptable that his City become a dump site. And he won! In Toronto, Mayor Miller let his City become a dump sites and refused to request injunctions against illegal union activity, even though the public was united in opposing the continuation of the irrational CUPE entitlement to accumulating 18 days a year in sick days. He caved and lost because he refused to confront CUPE, who are a major base of his political support.
 
No matter how Miller and gang try to spin his loss, his popularity has been severely damaged and polls indicate that 75% of the public think that the CUPE near-monopoly on garbage collection should be broken by contracting out more collection. In addition, the public and press are not fearful of attacking the Mayor's obvious union bias and this is great news for MOCAO.
 
Since Mayor Miller joined Toronto Council in the mid 90's he has been the point man for the Building Trades as he was instrumental in giving them a monopoly for  9 ICI trades in public tenders during amalgamation of the 5 cities/boroughs. He continues to this day to be a major stumbling block in our efforts to achieve open tendering for all qualified bidders regardless of union affiliation. For over a dozen years, we have gone to Toronto City Hall and been treated like second class citizen by Miller and his NDP allies.  Hopefully the tide has turned as Union Monopoly is now a dirty word and our arguments for fiscal accountability and fairness will gain traction with the public and the press.
 
Opportunity knocks and we will be speaking for you in upcoming deputations to Toronto City Hall committees on Capital Budgets this fall.   Spread the good word but remember it will not be easy.  

Sincerely,
 
David McDonald, Chair
Merit OpenShop Contractors Association
 
 
Ontario Court of Appeal Uphold Sanctity of Solicter Client Privileged Internal OH&S Accidental Investigation Reports
 
A recent decision of the Ontario Court of Appeal in R. v. Bruce Power Inc., [2009] ONCA 573(CanLII), affirms that where an employer has taken the important step of protecting a sensitive, detailed internal accident investigation report properly with solicitor-client privilege, that
report is not subject to seizure by the Ontario Ministry of Labour (MOL). In Bruce Power, the Court held that the Crown's seizure of a solicitor-client privileged accident investigation report was prejudicial to Bruce Power's right to a fair trial. All charges against Bruce Power and two
of its supervisors under the Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act ("OHSA") were stayed. read more.
The Legal Corner
Instalment #6
By: Steve Bernardo, Lawyer
Mathews Dinsdale & Clark LLP 
 
In instalment #4 we discussed the employees who would fall within various bargaining units in the context of Union Applications for Certification.
Because the results of a certification application are sometimes determined by whether one or two employees did or did not sign a union card, the status of foremen is of paramount importance.
The Ontario Labour Relations Board excludes non-working foremen from participation in certification matters.  Therefore, to be considered a part of the bargaining unit a working foreman would first have to perform work in the trade of the applicant union for over fifty (50%) percent of the time he was at work on the date of an Application for Certification.  Assuming he meets this criteria, the working foreman also must NOT perform certain functions to such an extent that the Labour Board would determine him or her to be managerial and therefore excluded from the bargaining unit. read more.
Merit Benefits in a Downturn
The recent slowdown in construction activity has brought a reminder of how well the HourBank design of Merit Benefits Plan fits the construction workforce and how cost effective the coverage is.
 
The HourBank system allows workers to maintain coverage during periods of layoff. Over the past several years, with opportunities more plentiful, banking coverage wasn't viewed as a particularly necessary feature by many people. With work now more scarce in some sectors, there are many employees who are maintaing their benefit coverage thanks to the hours...read more.
Federal Government Urges Small, Medium-Sized Business to work on Pandemic Plans
The federal government is trying to encourage small and medium-sized businesses that don't have pandemic plans to start working on them.
Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq announced Wednesday that the federal government is giving the International Centre for Infectious Diseases in Winnipeg a $926,600 contract to develop tools and strategies that businesses can adapt to their own individual needs in the months ahead. read more.
Discount for Payroll Services Provided by ADP 
Merit OpenShop Contractors Association is pleased to announce a new affinity partnership with ADP. This partnership will enable our member companies to obtain a 25% discount on ADP's standard book price of payroll services, using their telephone or fax solution or their secure web-based payroll application, pay@work. In addition, ADP will also waive payroll implementation costs for Merit member companies.
 
As a value added benefit, ADP will produce a report of hours worked each payroll period for the employees that participate in the Hour Bank Benefit Plan.
To find out about how outsourcing your payroll can benefit your business, please call 1-866-787-8269 and mention Merit OpenShop Contractors Association offer or visit www.adp.ca/chooseadp.
 
If you are an existing ADP client, you are eligible for two free months of processing when you call in. Please contact Sabrina Aslam at 416-207-7974 or [email protected] to take advantage of this offer.   
Optional Life Insurance Now Avaliable
 
Although the Merit Benefit Plan offers basic life insurance and additional benefit for accidental death, they may not alone meet your insurance needs. Merit now offers optional Life Insurance through Great West Life. Employees and Employers can now be covered up to $150,000. No medicals or lifestyle questionnaire needed if application is made within 31 days of being in benefit.
 
Employees can opt in at any time. For more information or receive an application form contact Mercon at 1-877-263-7266 or [email protected]
Member News
 
Congratulations To Cal Herd and his team from Fairway Electric who won the HHCA Golf Tournament Scramble on August 20th at Beverly Golf and Country Club. MOCAO was a proud sponsor of the Longest Drive on course competition.  
 
Please send us any news our annoucements that your company has and we will include it into our next newsletter
 
Benefit News
Benefit Plan Webinars for Employees
These Webinars are offered for both HourBank and Office/Supervisory employees and their spouses. Listed below are the times for the webinars. They are 30 minutes in length. Please let your employees know and if they are interested in participating please email Mercon at [email protected].  
Thursday September 3 at 2pm ET.
Thursday September 24 at 7:30pm ET.
Thursday October 8 at 2pm ET.
Thursday October 22 at 7:30pm ET.
 
Remitting Late Hours
Just a reminder, if you are remitting Late Hours for your company, you must complete a separate remittance form rather than including them with the current month's hours. This will ensure that the hours in each of your employee's HourBank is correct.
 
***If you have any ideas for improvement to the benefit plan or any general comments, please let Marie know at 1-888-303-9878. She will be at the Mercon Benefits annual meeting in September.*** 
Member Discounts and Partners  
Click on their name or the logo on the sidebar
 
Petro Canada and Esso Fleet Programs
MOCAO member firms receive 2.0 cents off per liter on fuels, top-up fuels and car washes when they use the ESSO Business Plus Credit Card or Petro-Canada Supervisor. Existing fleet card holders may enroll in the plan.
 
ConstructionJobStores.com
This is a website where you can post positions for free, search resumes, etc. This service is free for our members. You must register first (can be anonymous) and then follow the links. Please contact Nick at MOCAO for the password for employers only.
 
We are the world's leading risk and insurance services firm. We now offer an exclusive program to Merit OpenShop Contractors Association members. We offer our services to provide members a complete risk and insurance solution. Packaged program includes insurance for property/equipment, general liability, and umbrella liability to name a few. More info can be found in our Brochures
 
Maestro is a Canadian owned and operated software developer specializing in software for construction and construction related business. General contractors, service providers and trades can all benefit from maestro tools.
 
Whether you want to learn about flexible banking choices, convenient payment options or simple ways to manage your cash, we can help. Talk to a Business Advisor to discover how you can start saving time and money today. Group RSP plans are available which allow you to remit your members' contributions using pre-tax dollars. Ths provides your members with the tax benefit of contributing to an RSp without having to wait for a tax return. 
 
Let our occupational specialists guide you through the complex issues of disability claims management for your work site.
 
Standard Life Group
RRSP or Pension Plan
Retirement plans for employees. No expenses.
Contact Us
If you have more inquiries about the association or if you have any questions or comments regarding our newsletter or submissions for next month please feel free to contact Nick or Marie at 416-483-3856 or toll-free 1-888-303-9878. Check out or website at www.openshop.ca or send us an email at [email protected] .
 
Merit OpenShop Contractors Association
638A Sheppard Ave. W
Toronto, ON M3H 3X8
416-483-3856 or 1-888-303-9878
In This Issue
Ontario Court of Appeal Uphold Sanctity of Soliciter Client Privileged Internal OH&S Accidental Investigation
The Legal Corner
Merit Benefits in a Downturn
Federal Government Urges Small, Medium Sized businesses to work on Pandemic Plans
ADP Payroll Services
Optional Life Insurance Now Available
Members Discounts and Partners
  
 
 
 
Partner Companies
 
 
Wellington At Work