Another One in BC

Exactly. That is why unions use a large portion of membership dues to help elect candidates that support their agendas.

Could it be, Claude, that the government stepped in because the union members you refer to are feeding at the public trough? And feeding pretty darned well too I might add.

James, hold your fire until you see what is being constructed here in Canada.

"Those who form unions do so to increase their power at the table with management, requiring that collective bargaining laws that recognize their rights at the table are observed."

That statement just about perfectly describes the situation here. Those who have designed their ‘national’ programmes, their dangerous licensing schemes, and their associations are all busily trying to have the government declare them as the ultimate authority over all Canadian Home Inspectors. And they do so having never consulted the average Canadian Inspector to see what we want.

None of them recognize the rights or desires of the average Canadian Home Inspector. If you are not a member of one of these Little private associations you have no power to influence change. If you are a member you have even less opportunity to exercise your influence as those that do are not members for long. That is not good enough and this situation will soon change.

The playing field is about to be leveled.

okay

George, unfortunately if you believe everything published in the media you certainly would be right. But the reality is the real issues of workload, and the neutering of the union gets missed as key points in the discussion.

I would suggest for those that want to believe in your suggestion of greedy money grabbing professors feeding at the through you might want to read the issues presented for public consumption at the following website - http://www.opseu.org/caat/caat_ac/vote-issue-sheets.htm

I simply suggest gather facts, before making statements that are not just false but malicious. Perhaps you underestimate what it takes to get a real tenured teaching position in a college or university today.

I find it hard to see how much of a work load you talk about for the Professors .
I see very many of your posts are made in the day time .
This leads me to believe it is on Company time ( Yes today is a holiday ).
Most companies would fire a person who makes as many posts as you do on company time .
Correct me if I am wrong but I saw that a Professor is in the top 5% of wages in Canada.
If this is so then 95% of the people make less then a teacher makes .
I understand over 50% of the work force in Canada makes less then 50% of a teacher .

Workload includes not just teaching, but preparation and evaluation and other student support functions. Yes, I do not spend 40 hours in a classroom. But I do have up to 44 hours of assigned work as a maximum. As an example I spend between 4 to 8 hours each week function as a Health and Safety Rep, performing inspections about 50 weeks per year, as well as attend a monthly meeting. That is position taken seriously by OSHA - Ontario as well as the college.

My posts have nothing to do with my college job, other than your belief that it might have.

One thing that you fail to realize is the value placed on academics and the continued contact with the industry. Just becuase someone teaches, that does not exclude them from participating and staying relevant and up to date in what is happening in their respective field/job markets.

Yes you are wrong in stating college professors are in the top 5%. Perhaps university professors - there’s a difference. So that would negate what you believe to be your point about how you see a fair comparison.

Canadian Salary Surveys
http://www.livingin-canada.com/work-salaries-wages-canada.html
http://www.payscale.com/research/CA/Country=Canada/Salary/by_Employer_Type

Now let’s consider another POV - how many home inspectors earn in excess of $100,000 if not substantially more per year. I know a few right here in Ontario that earn in excess of $200,000. That does not make them the poster inspectors for all home inspectors. I know a few that have had to give up their inspection business and find a job that brought in a weekly paycheck to survive.

I would be interested in how you make that assumption.
They said the Titanic would never sink and it did.
They say the Bumble Bee can not fly and it does .
The guy who invented the snow board competition was told that is the silliest thing you have ever done and it is useless and dumb .
Did you see how great the competition is at the Olympics Looks like he was correct .
Here in Canada we have had many secret dictatorial associations just spin their wheels and do little for the home Inspector .
Time will tell if a new group with no directors from the other associations to poison their ideas just might be the new broom needed in Canada.

I just might be the one on this forum who has belonged to a union the longest .

“I just might be the one on this forum who has belonged to a union the longest .”
Really sorry to hear that.

If all you’ve built out of your own inspection business, is a job, then I see your point in needing a babysitting service.

All it takes is averaging one inspection/day, 5 days a week to make over 100k/yr. That’s still only a part time work load … why the hell would I need the union to bolster inferior business people? Let nature take it’s natural course and let them die. Seriously. The only thing unions do, is give failures a place to show up, do minimal work and collect their paycheck.

I’ll tell you a story. I was 19 years old and just finished my journeyman welding. I got some work in a union shop because a fellow I met in school worked there and I thought, what the hell, work is work. It wasn’t even a full day and guys were stopping me, telling me in a joking way, I was going to work myself out of a job. By day 2, the peer pressure to not work so hard was starting to get thick. By the end of the week, the old timers wouldn’t even talk to me. It was piece work and I buried those guys.
I got fed up with the BS and went to the company the union shop was building pieces for and offered to build the units in half the time. Long story short, I took a ton of work away from that union shop.

Unions are for the weak.

I’ll even go one better than my last post …

I will offer to help any of you union guys to make more money from your business … for free … even your beloved union won’t do that for you.

You union guys PM me, we all know who you are, and I will help you.

It’s easy to offer you guys this cause I know none of you guys are in my area, so there’s no way to cross into my business circles.

So, I’m serious … and you will see that once you establish a good cash flow, you won’t want the union fooling with your stuff either.

PS. I only go on these forums about once a week or so, so be patient.

Claude you are fighting a losing battle if you are trying to convince those who work for themselves that ‘teachers’ have a hard life. Please don’t lecture us on ‘prep’ time as one of the hidden sources of work hours. Believe me, we all know about ‘prep’ time.

How many months of paid holiday does a teacher get at public expense? How much does the average teacher contribute to the public old age security system and how much do they extract? Now compare that to the average home inspector.

It is probably not a good idea to try to justify your profession’s profligate life style by quoting one of their union’s web sites. It makes the independent, self employed amongst us just a little suspicious.

FRITZ- those are brave words coming from someone who is about to have licensing crammed down his throat. Remember this conversation when you have a public overseer looking over your shoulder and your competition deciding if you meet their self imposed minimum standards of education and experience.

Are you changing your tune? I thought you were one of those pushing the union idea for home inspectors.

Thanks Fritz ,of course we know all companies treat their staff corectly , well almost all
Associated Auctioneers Inc. Fined $5,000 For Employment Standards Violation

February 18, 2010

London, Ont. - Associated Auctioneers Inc. was fined $5,000 on February 10, 2010, for violating the Employment Standards Act (ESA).
On April 24, 2007, an employment standards officer issued an order to Associated Auctioneers Inc. requiring the company to comply with the ESA regarding hours of work and overtime pay.
On November 27, 2007, the officer reviewed a portion of the company’s payroll records. The officer found that an employee had worked overtime hours since April 24, 2007, but had not been paid the appropriate overtime pay as set out in the ESA.
Associated Auctioneers Inc. pleaded guilty to failing to pay an employee overtime pay.
The fine was imposed by Justice of the Peace Robert Gay. In addition to the fine, the court imposed a 25-per-cent victim fine surcharge on the total, as required by the Provincial Offences Act. The surcharge is credited to a special provincial government fund to assist victims of crime.

Court Information at a Glance

Location: Ontario Court of Justice
824 Dundas St.
London, Ont.
Judge: Justice of the Peace Robert Gay
**Date of Conviction: **February 10, 2010
Defendants: Associated Auctioneers Inc.
**Matter: **Employment Standards
**Convictions: **ESA, Section 22
Crown Counsel: Catherine Glaister

PDF Version - 27 Ko

CONTACTS

Interesting find Roy - but how does this apply/relate to home inspectors?

1- How many home inspectors exist as employees compared to the number of single/independents out there?
2- How about those inspectors under specific “terms” of “contract” such as that sweet deal with Sears/Home Depot/Lowes on anyone else?
3- When was the first or even last time a home inspector was paid overtime? Sounds like an interesting new concept - but who will pay it?
4. Should the industry now require all home inspectors and employers to undergo the scrutiny of a background check?

Claude on his lunch break…

But Claude, its because of your union that you get a lunch break; I haven’t had a lunch break since I quit my day job…:stuck_out_tongue:

2- How about those inspectors under specific “terms” of “contract” such as that sweet deal with Sears/Home Depot/Lowes on anyone else?

OH! Do you mean like John L one of the greatest most knowledgeable Home Inspectors I ever met Great teacher good home Inspector now works for home Depot in an upper management positions .
Treatment by the oldest Ontario home Inspections associations .
What back up and support did he get from you and other directors of that association .
At least he was man enough to stand up for his principles and keep his word and walk away after .
To many others just quit going to meeting and let did little .
I am others did the same thing move on .
You of course make good money teaching and this industry looks to me to be just a hobby for you and a great place to sell your products .
http://www.inspectsupport.com/

Claude says
("Interesting find Roy - but how does this apply/relate to home inspectors? ")

I guess you did not see it was in answer to
Thanks Fritz ,of course we know all companies treat their staff corectly , well almost all
Associated Auctioneers Inc. Fined $5,000 For Employment Standards Violation

he seems to be against Unions too .

Roy - when is enough - really enough?
Me thinks you enjoy crapping on me and my business relations too much…Time for plan - “B”.

Please tell me the last time I plugged my “business” here.

Marcel - I just offer the lunch and break tid bits as an interesting side bar to my good friend Roy - keeping tabs on me! Afterall he thought I had too much free time, and certainly you have to work by the “union” rules.

All I’ve ever seen in unions is driving up prices, so they get their slice of the pie, and opening the doors for anyone who pays them dues, to find work. I’m not saying all union members are bums, but a lot of bums get into the unions, and have the weight of the union to support them in their laziness or incompetence. In my opinion, unions do absolutely nothing to improve industry standards. Their sole existence is geared towards making money for themselves, and supporting guys who couldn’t get work on their own merit, as well as many who can.