This month’s edition of CBJ delves into the compelling background of our country’s largest trade union, LiUNA, and also its International Vice President and Regional Manager for Central & Eastern Canada, Joseph Mancinelli. This union is exceptionally unique, offering a refreshing and progressive philosophy that, quite frankly, many other unions could learn from. The tremendous success of LiUNA, thanks in large part to Mancinelli and other key personnel, has resulted in the fostering of well-established relationships between LiUNA’s employees and the companies they do business
with. Our corporate profile leaves us certain that you’ll be as impressed by their accomplishments as we are – and there’s a lot more to come.

Liberal leader Justin Trudeau delivered a keynote speech at the recent Canadian Council for Public-Private Partnerships in Toronto and, not surprisingly, put much of the blame for Canada’s current infrastructure woes on the ruling Conservative federal government. Infrastructure has been a growing monster for decades and is getting worse. It’s something municipal, provincial and federal levels of government all need to be involved in, as well as business enterprise and the general public. The idea of sharing the costs in a P3 environment makes excellent sense as a means to improve our crumbling infrastructure. One need only take a drive into downtown Toronto to elevate the blood pressure to record highs. Trudeau did hit on a number of good points, but nothing that hasn’t been put on the table before. We’ve all heard the talk, but seen little action. Sections of the Greater Toronto Area are nothing short of a disaster, and will take a minor miracle to fix.

I can still envision those two deathly scared window washers in Manhattan perilously dangling 69 storeys above the ground at One World Trade Center waiting to be rescued. It begs the question: why must windows at more than 700 feet in the sky be that clean? It would seem whatever the rain washes away should suffice. Seriously; putting people’s lives at risk in those types of situations – both the workers’ and rescuers’ – should not be necessary.

Did you know? The intense international athletic footwear rivalry between Puma and Adidas originated from the same German household. Yes, it was a sibling rivalry between Adolf Dassler and his older brother Rudolph. They had been together in the shoe wear business since the 1920s, but eventually disagreed on the future direction of their company. When they split in 1948, Adolph created Adidas, while Rudolph had brought life to the Puma brand. The event that propelled Adolph and Adidas solidly into the No.1 worldwide position for decades to come occurred in 1954, when the German National Team wore Adidas during their World Cup victory. The rest, as they say, is history.

Angus Gillespie

@CanBizJournal