“My colleagues and I cut a copper pipe to welcome everybody to the building,” says Ducharme. “It was a momentous day and even though we had a massive blizzard that day, it was a great event.” UA Local 254’s 1,400 members service commercial and industrial mechanical needs from plumbing, steamfitting, sprinkler fitting, refrigeration and welding. Members have maintained the plumbing and fire protection systems of the institutions, buildings, and industries that keep Winnipeg up and running. UA Local 254’s strong training and certification program keeps all members upto-date with legislation and regulation as well as keep the end-users, the client and homeowner’s, safe. Ducharme says that even though UA’s national, provincial, and municipal standards are as high as they are, “they can always be better”, which is the sign of someone who truly cares about safety. “They can always be tighter,” says Ducharme. “Especially with COVID. We had to adapt to that, and we didn’t experience any kind of slow down during the pandemic. Everything stayed operational because we have two hospitals that have to stay running.” Adapting meant UA Local 254 members, during the height of uncertainty, were not only working, but working in unprecedented circumstances. UA Local 254 members pivoted to remote deliveries, and adopted new and stringent sanitization standards. UA Local 254 Training Facility 66 JUNE 2023 | BUSINESS ELITE CANADA
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTE4MTQ=