saves the employer a lot of money, and
no matter how the market performs,
our members get a minimum 3 per
cent return—even in a down year. If
the market is up, that full return goes
to them. Last year, for instance, our
return was 9.45 per cent.”
“Because many other pensions are
underfunded, they may only get 45
per cent to transfer their funds. With
our pension, there are no worries
about that. We can arrange Collective
Agreements includes wage increases
of $2.00 per hour and Pension contri-
bution increase of $1.00 per hour for
all of the BUC members.”
“It is a win-win-win for everybody,”
says Bromell. “Our members get more
money, more value in their pension,
health benefit plans comparable, with
the employer still saving over five
dollars an hour.”
Wall-to-Wall Union
What has the reaction been to a new
kid on the block? Bromell says other
unions have definitely taken notice.
“We have a niche and created some-
thing very effective,” he says. “If they
don’t want to change their model, that
is great, that means less competition
for our contractors.”
The BUC is what is known as a “wall-to-
wall” union, meaning it can represent
different industries. This makes it easy
for companies to deal with because it
means one collective agreement as
130 BUSINESS ELITE CANADA | JANUARY 2019
