UA 527Welcome to UA Local 527 Southwestern Ontario. The United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry of the United States and Canada or 'UA' as it is commonly known is a multi-craft union whose members are engaged in the fabrication, installation and servicing of piping systems. There are approximately 326,000 highly-skilled United Association members who belong to over 300 individual local unions across North America. Founded in 1889, the United Association is one of the most respected and influential building trades unions in the U. S. and Canada today. It serves as a collective voice for workers through negotiation and collective bargaining with employing contractor groups, such as the Mechanical Contractors Association of America, and the National Association of Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors. The UA is also a key member of the Building and Construction Trades Department, the AFL-CIO, and the Canadian Federation of Labour. The United Association has been training qualified pipe tradesmen longer than anyone else in the industry
Over the last 40 years Prof. Sami M. Fereig has acquired extensive experience in Structural Engineering, Construction Engineering and Managment, and construction disputes. He also has numerous publications in scientific journals. He has practised in both North America and the Middle East, and was a Professor at Kuwait University, and a visiting Professor at various Universities both in the Middle East and North America. He is actively involved in construction contract administration and project management with a number of organizations which include public and private companies in both Engineering and construction. He is the program director of the Certificate in Conflict and Dispute Management for Project Managers, offered through Projacs International in participation with Conrad Grebel University College and the University of Waterloo. This program has been running successfully since 2002. He is also the author of a five-volume series of textbooks published between 2005 and 2007 dealing with contract management in Engineering and construction projects.