2012

November 21, 2012

The focus of the evening is to explore the industrial relations scene for private sector unionized industries. Our panel plans to cover the following questions:

(1) What are key bargaining issues today in the private sector for both companies and unions? Are there patterns or themes? What impact has declining union density had on private sector unions?

(2) Given the current and growing economic crisis in Europe, Asia and North America, what is the current climate in the private sector industries in BC and what are the short and long term forecast(s) and challenges? Are companies and unions in the private sector working together towards solutions or are they at odds?

(3) Are traditional collective agreement provisions and concepts such as seniority and service enhanced benefits such as vacation entitlement according to years of service the way of the past?

(4) Mergers have been the recent trend amongst unions. What are the upsides and downsides of this trend?

Our panel of Guest Speakers to address this topic will be:

Andy Smith, President & CEO, BC Maritime Employers Association. Andy became the President of the BC Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) in 2007. He recently concluded 2 historic 8 year collective agreements on the waterfront which have greatly improved the APG international reputation for reliability. Prior to his role at the BCMEA, he worked as an advisor to the president on labour, environmental and forest policy matters at Interfor, a major BC forest company.

Tom Sigurdson, Executive Director of the BC Building & Construction Trades. Tom is a former Canadian provincial level politician. Tom has also worked as the Training Plan Coordinator for Teamsters Local 213 in Vancouver BC.

Roslyn Kunin, Director of the BC office of the Canada West Foundation. Roslyn has a Ph.D. in economics from UBC, and an Honorary Doctor of Laws from UVIC. She has received numerous awards including the Order of Canada. She is in practice as a consulting economist.

Mark Thompson, Professor Emeritus, Sauder School of Business. Professor Thompson is widely published on the topic of industrial relations. He received his M.Sc. and PhD in Industrial Relations from Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations. In 2009, he received an Honorary Doctorate in Social Sciences from Laval University. He is also an arbitrator, and frequently comments on industrial relations issues in the media.

VENUE CHANGE: The Plaza 500 is undergoing renovations. This meeting will be at Coast Plaza Hotel & Suites, 1763 Comox St. A no host bar opens at 5:30pm with dinner at 6:30pm. Please reserve by November 14, 2012 as we ONLY arrange seating/dinner for advance reservations. Admission without a reservation will not be guaranteed and is more expensive.

Doesn’t it always bother you when the media refers to the NHL “Collective Bargaining Agreement” instead of the more familiar term? What is all the talk about players’ agents and free agency? What really goes on in the labour relations world of pro sports, with their millionaire athletes and iconic teams? Join us for a glimpse into the world of pro sports labour relations.

Our panel of Guest Speakers to address this topic will be:

Peter A. Gall, Q. C. is well known to you all as employer side counsel and partner at Heenan Blaikie. Did you know that Peter previously taught sports law at Stanford Law School and currently teaches sports law at the University of Victoria Law School?He will lead a discussion with people from our own Canadian Football League (CFL);

Wally Buono spent 9 seasons as BC Lions General Manager and head coach. He recently resigned as head coach to concentrate on General Manager duties. In 2011, the Lions had a spectacular recovery from a slow start to capture the Grey Cup for a second time with Wally as coach. Buono, is the CFL’s winningest coach with a regular-season record of 254-139-3 and a record-tying five Grey Cup titles. His consistency and success have been recognized with the CFL’s Coach of the Year award in 2006, 1993 and 1992 – becoming only the 3rd coach to receive the award that many times;

Edward Molstad is the Legal Counsel with the CFL’s Player Association (CFLPA). Ed played defensive end with the University of Alberta Football Team and went on to play professionally with the Edmonton Eskimos (1968-1973). During Ed’s career as a CFL player, he completed his Law degree and started a legal practice, as a Player Representative and later, a member of the CFLPA Executive Committee. He was appointed Legal Counsel for the CFLPA in 1974 and has continued to serve in that capacity to the present day;

Daniel Vertlieb will present the Players’ Agents perspective. He is an attorney in Arizona, and has 10 years sports and media experience in baseball and football. He is an NFLPA and CFLPA licensed agent. Dan’s experience in Baseball includes working with Major League Baseball in 2009 salary arbitration cases and worked with the Vancouver Canadians.

VENUE CHANGE: The Plaza 500 is undergoing renovations. This meeting will be at Coast Plaza Hotel & Suites, 1763 Comox St. A no host bar opens at 5:30pm with dinner at 6:30pm. Please reserve by February 10, 2012 as we ONLY arrange seating/dinner for advance reservations. Admission without a reservation will not be guaranteed and is more expensive.