MINUTES OF THE PRESIDENTS’ CONFERENCE
October 21-23, 2004
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2004
AFTERNOON SESSION
The meeting was called to order at 1:15 pm. Betty Bannon, President of
the Union of Taxation Employees presided. All members of the Executive
Council were in attendance.
It was decided by the majority to open all Presidents’ Conferences’ from
now on, with the union song Solidarity Forever.
President Bannon asked the participants for a moment of silence for our
members who have deceased since last year.
Point of privilege – Brunette from Montérégie
Brother Denis Brunette asked his Brothers and Sisters to bring down any
toiletries from their room to be given to a charitable organization.
The point was well taken by the President.
Point of privilege – Crupi from Thunder Bay
Brother Crupi announced that on September 12th his local lost a great
activist from Thunder Bay in the name of Sister Elizabeth Helen Menuz.
She was a dear friend to a lot of people and a great activist. The night
she died she was talking on the phone with her strike captain. She held
many union positions locally, regionally and nationally. He thanked those
who have sent emails, cards and donations.
The point of privilege was well taken by the President.
President Bannon advised all participants that Marcel Bertrand, Diana Gee,
David Quist and Lyson Paquette were appointed Harassment Complaint(s)
Administrators for the duration of this Conference and that any harassment
issues during the conference should to be addressed to them. Brother
Doug Gaetz will be acting as our CPR trainer if need be and if anybody
would like to see their name added to the list as CPR trainer, they should
give their name to Sister Labrie.
President Bannon read part of a thank you letter that she received from
Jessica Alleva, who attended the Global Young Leaders Conference in Washington
D.C. and New York City with the financial support of UTE. Sister Alleva
said that the UTE’s support made this once in a lifetime opportunity
a reality for her.
President Bannon then asked the Local Presidents to introduce themselves.
She then introduced the Executive Council members, the Labour Relations
Officers, and her Executive and Administrative Assistants. (See attached
list of participants Delegates & Observers)
She also recognized Brother Dave Flinn past National President and she
introduced two guests from the PSAC Sister Sarah Belanger and Brother Steve
Jelly.
OPENING REMARKS
President Bannon welcomed everyone to the September Presidents’ Conference
that we were finally able to hold. She talked about the tentative agreement
saying that although it was not what we hoped for, the team should be commended
for their tireless and unselfish commitment that they gave throughout the
process. She gave special congratulations to the members in the Cash section,
Mailroom, Client Services and Call Centres who carried the weight of the
rest of the membership during the strategic actions without hesitation.
She mentioned that it was safe to say that no one was happy about the latest
tentative agreement and that it was a very hard decision for the negotiating
team to come to an agreement and to put this out to the members for a vote.
The vote will take place from November 19th to December 8th with the results
being announced on December 9th. She mentioned also that in the next few
days there would be a lot of discussion regarding the strike and the tentative
agreement. She expected that everyone would have their chance at a microphone
and as usual the discussion would remain professional and respectful to
everyone. Sister Bannon concluded by saying that early on in the process
she resigned herself to the fact that whatever decisions she would make
in regard to the strike, she would be in trouble with someone and that
she also learned that humans were only given hindsight to make them mad.
HOURS OF SESSION
M/S/C Doug Gaetz/Jean-Pierre Bonin
That the hours of session be as follows:
Thursday: 1:15 to 5:00
Friday: 0900 to 11:45; 1:15 to 5:00;
Saturday: 0900 to 11:45; 1:15 to 5:00.
MOTION CARRIED.
ADOPTION OF AGENDA
(See attached Agenda and Items
submitted by the Local Presidents)
M/S/C Jacques Lafontaine/Barb Stewart
That the agenda be adopted as circulated with the following additions
from the floor.
• UTE/CEUDA Membership – Halifax
• Transfer Membership to 70000 – St.John’s TSO
• President’s Letter re. CEUDA/UTE – Surrey
• Leave without pay - Surrey
• Membership List – Burnaby Fraser
• Sustainable Development – Greater Toronto
• Pilot Project ITSO non residence– Ottawa TSO
• Rumors on PM-1 in Collection disappearing – Ottawa TSO
• Strategic Strike Pay – Kingston
• Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) – Northern BC & Yukon
• OSH Training – Edmonton
MOTION CARRIED.
Sampling of pictures, with music, from the strike was shown on a large
screen. Sister Bannon advised that Brother Fournier would have a copy on
CD made available for each local.
EXECUTIVE COUNCIL BUSINESS
The Chairperson reported briefly on some of the business conducted by
the Executive Council earlier during the week. (See
Council Minutes October 19-23).
- Sister Bannon will recommend that members who are on loan
or acting with headquarters would work from their home location and
not come to Ottawa.
- Report from the Ad Hoc UTE National Building Committee. The committee
worked with a broker and looked at various sites. Two recommendations
were submitted for adoption and they were carried. (See item 15 from
the Council minutes)
- Adopted a resolution to allocate $2000 to the Strike Appeals and Holiday
Relief Funds.
- Adopted a resolution to establish an Ad Hoc Political Information
Committee. There will be an election on Saturday.
- Under Discussion items: possibility for members to have ITPR training.
MOTION CARRIED.
SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS TO OUR ACTIVISTS
President Bannon recognized four (4) valuable activists who have been
active for many years. Brother Denis Lalancette and Brother
Nick Stein have shown their commitment on many occasions. Brother
Lalancette is the chairperson of the Bargaining Committee while Brother
Stein is serving as a member of the Executive Council and is also on the
Bargaining Committee. Brother Stein delivered to us varied presentations
on WFA. They were both presented with a 20 year service pin. Sister
Pamela Abbott, Regional Vice-President
for the Pacific Region was presented a 10-year service pin for her dedication
over the past 10 years and Brother Shawn Bergeron, Regional Vice-President
for the Prairies Region was presented a 5-year pin for his commitment to
the membership.
Brother Campbell recognized another valuable activist Brother
Terry Dupuis,
Regional Vice-President for the Rocky Mountains Region, by presenting
him with a 20 year service pin.
President Bannon introduced Sister Lynn Scott-Cadieux, the newest Local
President of the Policy & Planning local in Ottawa. We now have a total
of 51 Locals.
Point of privilege – Melanson from Saint John
Sister Melanson wanted to recognize James Britain who received the regional
Union of Taxation Employees Scholarship in 2003. In May 2004, James was
awarded a Masters of Sociology Degree at the Spring Convocation of Acadia
University in Wolfville, NS and is the first graduate since the university
opened in 1838 to complete a master in Sociology Program in 8 months; a
program that typically takes 3 years to complete. James wanted to send
his indebted gratitude and appreciation to the Union of Taxation Employees
for their support, both fiscal and political. It has been due to the support
of unionists and concerned persons that have helped encourage his study
and analysis of these and other issues affecting the working class of Colombia,
to achieve their desired and justly deserved goals of social justice, equity
and respect.
The point of privilege was well taken by the President.
Point of privilege – Sellmeyer from Burnaby Fraser
Sister Jean Sterling had a cancer surgery and is recovering. Sisters Earle
Peach and Regina Brennan from the PSAC wrote a song and here is the first
verse.
Her name is Jean
She’s the one who made your sign
She worked five nights this week
Making stuff for the picket line
She’s an ordinary worker
Who’s discovered her own might
She’s the soul of what we do
She’s the heart of this fight
There will be a 50/50 draw; the money collected will be used to help make
a CD of the song and for a donation to Sister Sterling.
The point of privilege was well taken by the President.
Brother Campbell offered to all locals, the possibility of direct deposit
of their local dues cheque, through electronic banking. He asked the interested
locals to fill in the form provided in their kit and send it to Donna Nitz
at the National Office.
SPECIAL GUEST SPEAKER
President Bannon introduced Hassan Yussuff, CLC Executive Vice-President
and the Officer responsible for Health, Safety and Environmental Protection
as well as Human Rights issues. He was invited today to thank him as
a fellow unionist for his involvement in our negotiations and his attempt
to make a good collective agreement happen. Sister Bannon personally
thanked Brother Yussuff for the work that he did. Brother Hassan thanked
Sister Bannon for inviting him and stressed his gratitude to the negotiating
team and to Sister Turmel who invited him to participate in the bargaining
process. He then stated as a piece of advice that they should appreciate
that the bargaining team showed a great deal of determination to get
the best collective agreement they could negotiate. It was much better
to take this offer than to be legislated back in. Brother Yussuff went
on to say that it was the employer’s bad faith bargaining that resulted in what they have now
in front of them as an agreement. He concluded saying that the union’s
strength was every one of them and that they should support their bargaining
team all the way to the ratification of the agreement. He also wished
to pay a tribute to his good friend Sister Turmel by stating that we
have a militant, determined, passionate leader in our organization.
Sister Turmel made it clear at meetings with the Minister of Labour
and the president of Treasury Board, Reg Alcock that our union was
ready to negotiate but not to roll over and play dead. President Bannon
added that Sister Turmel had been invited to be here today but that
she was traveling out of town on union business.
REPORT OF THE NATIONAL COMMITTEES
The Chairperson of the OSH Committee Brother Chris Aylward introduced
the members of the committee as follows: Brothers Lalancette and Wenzel
and Sister Lina Ruel the staff adviser. With respect to the first aid policy
he thanked all the locals for providing information on amending the policy.
In August the employer was amicable in receiving the changes but there
has been no other meeting because of the labour situation. Brother Aylward
mentioned that all locals should have received by now the Injury and Illness
Policy. On the OSH Committee Training subject, he said that we have enough
trainers in all of the regions and the committee member training will start
next month. He asked that if there were any members who have not received
the training that they let their RVP know. The posters on environmental
sensitivity awareness were also sent out to all locals. The study on defibrillators
has been done and concluded “training and equipping volunteers to
attempt earlier defibrillation within a structured response system can
increase the number of survivors. Trained laypersons can use automated
external defibrillators (AED) safely and effectively.” We will bring
this to the employer again next month.
ITEMS SUBMITTED BY THE LOCAL PRESIDENTS
President Bannon explained that we would deal with items on bargaining
at the end.
1. UTE/CEUDA – GST Pools / GST Audit (Saskatoon Local 40023)
Local: There are about a dozen members in the GST pool that were transferred
to CEUDA who were not doing just GST work Load. Can we get them transferred
back?
President: Sister the National Office was advised by the local, these
people were doing pure GST work loads. That is why they were transferred
to CEUDA. If you are now telling me that the workload is blended and not
pure GST Please advise the National Office of the type of workload, the
name of the individuals and there PSAC ID numbers, we will attempt to get
them transferred back to UTE.
2. Membership Lists (Edmonton Local 30025 & Burnaby Fraser 20007)
Local: Although we gave the updates to the national office on our members
or we do it online i.e. changes of address or phone number etc., it seems
that we can’t have an updated list at the local level when needed
ex. preparation for the strike.
President: There is only one data bank and it is the property of the PSAC.
They can produce lists depending on what your needs are.
UTE does not have a data bank. We do changes of address, etc., on the
PSAC data bank and you can get them through the PSAC. For your information,
the national office has mailed out our newsletter to all the membership
and just a few came back so the list is accurate.
Local: As a suggestion we may think on having our own electronic data
because for some reasons the changes do not get through the main database.
3. Written Presentation to Conciliation Board (Edmonton Local 30025)
Local: We would like to congratulate the PSAC on their report.
President: We had good comments from members, the bargaining team members
and politicians on the good job that was done on the presentation.
Point of privilege - Quist from Peterborough
Brother Quist read from a letter that he received from out west as follows:
Dear Dave as a PSAC and UTE member I have been working hard to get our
local NDP candidate elected this 28th of June. My efforts are constantly
being hampered by the Conservative Candidate, a Dave Quist. If this is
you running in my riding of Nanaimo, you will have a lot of explaining
to do. Signed James Little.
The point of privilege was well taken by the President.
4. Presidents Minutes (Peterborough Local 00008)
Local: The local would like to thank Sister Labrie for her efforts in
expanding on the content of the minutes and for providing the related documents
such as list of participants, agenda items etc., that are made available
on the web.
5. Resolutions on the floor (Peterborough Local 00008)
Local: Would like the minutes to show that the December 2002 resolution
(re a youth conference) was in contravention to the by-laws and that an
error was made so that the history is shown in the minutes. In the future,
if any resolution that comes from the floor contravenes our by-laws, that
the executive council through the Chairperson rule it out of order when
the resolution is presented on the floor and not at the next session of
the executive council. The local added that it is important that when the
local presidents pass a resolution at 100%, that the intent on the floor
be respected.
President: In most cases if the Chairperson recognizes that a resolution
is out of order as it’s being read, she will let the floor know.
6. Family related leave (Peterborough Local 00008)
Local: Do any locals have a broad interpretation, in their office, on
this issue or is it jurisprudence?
Other locals: It depends a lot on whom (management) you are dealing
with. The first day of school is a given.
7. Citizenship and Federal Government
Employment (Peterborough Local 00008)
Local: What is the ruling on having
American citizens do our job?
MacDonald: Chairperson of the Staffing Committee answered that people
applying for a job with the federal government must be Canadian Citizen
or a landed immigrant and that this person was lucky that nobody has ever
questioned it. Now that someone has done the work for a competition this
may come out.
8. UTE CEUDA membership (Halifax 80003)
Local: As you know CEUDA members did not receive the leadership that they
deserve on the strike lines and that it fell into UTE’s hands to
provide them with leadership. Would Sister Turmel step in and do something
to have these members transferred to us as they are not being represented
by CEUDA?
President: Sister Turmel has no authority under the constitution
to transfer these members.
I asked council to give us some concrete facts such as lack of leadership,
lack of being on site, etc., so we can go back to Sister Turmel and Brother
Moran with these facts.
Point of privilege - Little from Victoria
Brother Little read an open letter to UTE membership from Brother James
Little, local 20028 who has accepted a Regional Rep’s position
with the PSAC in Vancouver. Brother James will not be seeking re-election
to the position of President Representative on the UTE National Staffing
Committee. He thanked everyone who has supported him in the past and
also the members of the Staffing Committee with whom he had the pleasure
of working with over the last 5 years.
The point of privilege was well taken by the President.
The meeting recessed at 1700 hours.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2004
MORNING SESSION
The Conference was called to order at 09:00 a.m. with Sister Bannon presiding.
Sister Bannon referred to a grievance that was filed in 1990 on family
leave - Registration of child in kindergarten - between Susan Levesque,
grievor and Treasury Board. PSSRB File no. 166-2-18980. (Please refer to
the file)
REPORT OF THE NATIONAL COMMITTEES
The Chairperson of EO Committee Sister Linda Cassidy introduced the members
of the committee. Darlene Bembridge local president representative, Brother
Terry Dupuis co-Chairperson and Sister Lina Ruel staff advisor. This time
at the Presidents’ Conference, we have the chance to have most members
of the committee present: Gerard Ennis, Greg Read, Cindy Little, Maria
Peter. Sister Simone Smith is absent.
Sister Cassidy asked that applications for the next National EO Conference
be sent in by next week. The deadline has passed for the registration at
the PSAC National Women Conference next February in Vancouver. We asked
for an extension because of the strike and the answer was no, because they
had received lots of applications to choose from. At our 2002 Convention,
a resolution was adopted requesting that the PSAC submit a request to the
Canadian Human Rights Commission for an interpretation of Section 15 of
the Employment Equity Act on the ‘consultation and collaboration
with employee representatives’, the response was not favorable. (See
our bulletin 17/04) The committee met last Sunday and Monday and has completed
an Employment Systems Review Module that was presented to the Executive
Council Monday afternoon for roll out in their regions. Brother Sabri Khayat
will present this module during the National EO Conference in January.
On the question of how was the selection of members done with respect
to the PSAC National Women Conference, Sister Cassidy answered that all
applications were sent to the component then forwarded to the EO Committee.
The Chairperson of the EO Committee in consultation with the committee
members and the RVPs provided a ranking by region, language, gender, equity
etc., to the PSAC. We do not know yet how many seats will be allocated.
We expect for UTE to get between 10 and 20 seats.
ITEM SUBMITTED BY THE LOCAL PRESIDENTS
9. Transfer of members to 70000 (St. John’s TSO 90001)
Local: Is it possible that when a local is to lose members that
we be advised in advance?
President: We talked about this yesterday under the Executive Council
Business sections. They are acting members with headquarters that do not
leave their home location. We would ask the local to initiate the transfer
because we do not know who they are. We can ask Sister Bastien, our membership
clerk, to make a note to contact the local if she sees a member from outside
who shows up in headquarters.
Ottawa H.O. Asked that no transfer be done until the local president is
contacted to see exactly where the members are working and check if it
is an assignment or a permanent job etc..
President: Will attempt to do what we can before transferring anyone.
The ones we are concerned with are the members working in the field but
are assigned to headquarters. We want these members to be transferred to
the local where they work.
10. President’s letter re. CEUDA/UTE (Surrey 20029)
Local: Members that have been transferred from CEUDA are starting to receive
their UTE card but no letter was sent from the National President welcoming
them.
President: There is a letter signed by myself, which goes out with the
new member kit that is sent by the PSAC. We could prepare something for
members that have been transferred from CEUDA.
11. Leave without pay and pension (Surrey)
Local: Is there something that was done with respect to who pays the wages
when we are on leave without pay?
President: When the legislation changed, the PSAC did some work on it
and then it kind of died. About one year ago we put it back on the table
with the PSAC. We have some RVPs that have more than 3 years off now. We
have talked to the CCRA and they said no. We are attempting to resurrect
this issue again with the PSAC but not many components seem excited about
this. We will continue to work on the issue and have the PSAC move on this.
Local: Would a resolution to convention be in order?
President: We could do that.
12. Sustainable Development (Toronto Centre 00013)
Local: Has there been any problem with this or any grievance? Management
says that it is the employee’s responsibility to dispose of their
garbage every night in the appropriate bin in a central depot.
Ottawa TSO: This has been put in place last summer in their office.
President: How many locals have experienced this situation? Quite a few
answered yes.
Other locals: There are grievances on the issue.
Aylward: Brother Aylward stated that it was indeed a Health and Safety
issue and that it should be brought to the local health & safety committee.
If nothing is done at that level it should be brought to the attention
of the National H & S Policy Committee. Do not empty garbage cans.
President: There will be a survey in October to find out how aware the
employees are with respect to the sustainable development program.
13. Pilot Project ITSO (Ottawa TSO 70010)
Local: Wants to inform the members that there is a project going on about
centralizing with ITSO, the collectors and auditors who are working on
non-residence files. If the project is successful there could be members
affected by this because they are looking in taking indeterminate employees.
President: We had the information deck on this for quite some time. I
would ask the WFA chairperson to comment.
Stein: Chairperson of the WFA stated that the committee knows that this
is happening in the field and that his understanding is that there is no
budget allocated to that project. The committee was assured that there
would be no loss of jobs in the field as a result of this initiative and
will keep an eye on the situation.
Local: On the question when does the WFA Policy apply with these situations,
Brother Stein answered that the position of the WFA committee is that
the WFA Policy is in effect when we become aware of a workforce adjustment
situation.
ITSO: When this project started, we expected 14 full-time people to arrive
but nobody has arrived as of yet.
President: Brother Stein will follow-up on this with headquarters.
14. Rumour on the PM 1 disappearing (Ottawa TSO 70010)
Local: The rumour is that there would be no PM-1 in the TSOs.
Over the past two weeks we had team leaders in collection suggesting to
PM-1s to try to get on the PM-2 list and to look for jobs in other areas.
We have approximately 250 people in collection and about ¾ are
PM-1s.
President: This rumour has been there for quite some time. We have asked
Dave Miller and Guy Proulx many times and we have always been told that
there will be PM-1s in TSOs. It might be timely for us to ask the question
again.
MacDonald: Brother MacDonald Chairperson of the Staffing committee commented
that we had discussions with the employer for about 10 years now. There
is no question that as a result of the work change over the years, that
there will be reduction in the amount of PM-1s that are needed in TSOs.
It’s not right for managers to stress this message as is not taking
place now. This will not happen in 2 weeks or even 2 years. All they should
be saying to people is that over a time period, there will be less PM-1s
collection jobs and to move forward you may want to consider looking for
a PM-2 job. If managers were playing fair with their employees, they should
be providing information such as I just gave you. For an example what could
happen in Ottawa is that they could ship the workload from the TSO to ITSO
but that for a office the size of Thunder Bay, there is no place to move
people.
Other locals: Some re-organization will take place but no talks of job
lost for PM-1s.
15. Strategic Strike Pay (Kingston 00011)
M/S Dave Berofe/Barb Stewart
Whereas members who participated in the strategic strikes lost a proportion
of their pay.
Be it Resolved that the Executive Council forward a motion to the next
PSAC NBoD that these members be further compensated to ensure they did
not lose any salary.
Rational: In small offices (approx. 15 employees), they felt vulnerable
and the situation had a big effect on them with respect to their salary.
President: Explained that the strategic strike pay is 60% of the gross
salary. It is non-taxable and there will be no T4 issued. Most people will
take home about the same amount of money and sometimes even more depending
on the non-mandatory deductions.
MOTION DEFEATED.
16. OSH Training (Edmonton 30025)
Local: Suggested that it could be the time now that CEUDA is gone to bring
some changes to these meetings by letting the employer know that we are
unionist and that we are here on behalf of the members.
President: The only thing that was pertaining to CEUDA was the delivery
of dangerous goods. Perhaps we could make some changes in the delivery
of the training.
17. Alternate Dispute Resolution (Northern B.C. & Yukon 20002)
Sister Myhre from Northern BC & Yukon was absent on personnel business.
Her issue on ADR was discussed later.
Point of privilege - Pamela Abbott, RVP from Pacific Region
Sister Abbott on behalf of the Pacific region thanked the bargaining team
for being away on Thanksgiving weekend negotiating for all of us. Each
members of the team received a bag of goodies.
The point of privilege was well taken by the President.
BARGAINING ISSUES
President Bannon asked Brother Lalancette to make his opening remarks.
The local presidents would then speak on the issues.
Brother Lalancette made reference to the main amendments made to the agreement
and that Sister Cassidy would read the agreement on term employees (see
PSAC ratification vote kit). He started by thanking the other members of
the team for their commitment, their patience and their knowledge.
He also thanked the National President and all the Regional Vice-Presidents
as well, for their involvement and their dedication and finally the Local
Presidents and their Executive Members for their leadership during the
strike actions and the National Office Staff for their support.
Economic increase to be applied to the rates of pay in effect;
Effective on November 1, 2003: 2.5%
Effective on November 1, 2004: 2.25%
Effective on November 1, 2005: 2.4%
Effective on November 1, 2006: 2.5%
18. Bargaining/Strike (Peterborough 00008)
Local: Stated that their members are disappointed with the outcome and
they feel that a damage control system needs to be done. The cancellation
of the September Presidents’ Conference was a missed opportunity
to have everybody here to provide some uniformity across Canada. The local
asked what the rational behind this was.
President: We had asked the RVPs to contact their locals and find out
if the locals would feel comfortable coming to the Presidents’ Conference
if there were strike activities going on, and based on the majority, it
was postponed.
Local: Would like to see our UTE political structure run our strike and
not have the PSAC run it.
President: To make this happen we would have to change Regulation 15.
The bargaining agent is the one who calls and runs the strike. As far as
input, we got most of what we asked for.
We missed an opportunity at Council last June to provide guidance on where
we want it to go and what specific things we wish to do. We didn’t
have that discussion.
Local: Any member receiving money from the employer (sick leave, annual
leave) during a strike would be required to contribute 25% to the PSAC
Hardship Fund is that correct?
President: Referred to section 24 sub-section 7 of the PSAC Constitution.
We have asked Sister Turmel who is the only one to interpret the constitution
and it reads: ‘’not withstanding sub-section 1 and 5 of this
section members who received remuneration during a legal strike of their
bargaining unit shall be required to remit 25% of the remuneration they
received from the employer for each day worked during the legal strike
to the PSAC. The money received under this sub-section shall be set aside
for a National Hardship Fund…’’. (Please refer to PSAC
XO25/04)
The funds cannot be kept in the local. They have to be remitted to the
regional strike welfare fund.
Local: If there were a no vote, would we get another negotiating team?
What king of training has our negotiating team received? And would you
be asking for anyone’s resignation?
President: No to the first question.
As far as training, most of them have been through the process once, twice,
three times. There was a session with PSAC prior to the commencement of negotiations
and our team worked very closely with the negotiator.
Alan Nymark is causing us the most trouble. The discussion that has not
taken place with the team as of now is if we should ask for Nymark’s
resignation. He is the one who could have averted or ended the strike.
Stein: Said that he had the privilege in helping select the bargaining
team members with Sister Bannon and Brother Lalancette. The responsibility
of the bargaining team members is to know the collective agreement.
RATIFICATION
KITS
Ratification kit: PSAC is trying to make it simple and less in volume.
They would show only a sample of the pay grid instead of having 30 on that.
There would also be speakers’ notes for the ratification vote meetings
and we will provide them to each local and to each council executive member.
When the kit is ready we could have a bulletin on the content of the kit
with some information for the locals that could be sent by email.
DISCUSSION ON THE BARGAINING RESULTS
President Bannon suggested that the locals share their comments and questions
and that then the team will answer questions.
Most of the locals that went to the microphone commended the negotiating
team for their sacrifices, dedication and for their hard work in the process.
LOCALS
We are very disappointed in the team, in the leadership and in the PSAC.
We should have our own contact in parliament instead of having the CLC
lobbying for us.
President Bannon: With respect to lobbying, she said that one of our contacts
with the Minister of Labour happens to be Brother Hassan from CLC, who
was called in by Sister Turmel because he had a past relationship with
the minister.
Our UTE Ad Hoc Political Information Committee will be mandated to gather
political contact information at the municipal, provincial and federal
levels for all of our locals to use. We started it because we found out
during this round, that political interventions were required.
On the question can we know who voted yes or no within our negotiating
team?
President Bannon said that the recommendation going for acceptance was
unanimous from the team and that she was not prepared to order the team
to tell how they voted. She suggested that they (the locals) talk to each
member individually and if the team members wish to tell how they voted,
they will.
Is there something in the constitution stating that the team can’t
divulge how they voted?
The Chairperson: Regulation 15 section 3.10 stipulates: all negotiating
team members and members of the NBoD shall fully support the recommendation
of the negotiating team.
Brother Gaetz challenged the Chairperson seconded by David Quist.
What you just read does not say that the team can’t divulge how
they voted.
The Chairperson: When it says that each member must fully support the
recommendation of the team they must do that in full fashion as if they
voted unanimously and will be supported publicly as one.
All those if favour of sustaining the Chair please show.
On a show of hand the chair was sustained.
This was our opportunity to call the government’s bluff as far as
the legislation threat was concerned. Members in Saskatoon would have preferred
to be legislated back in and get nothing; but they would have gone back
to work with their dignity intact.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Q: What about acting pay for permanent members? Permanents are not going
up in wages but terms are. Was this on the table?
A: (Stein) It has been on the table up to the end and he believes it’s
still is. Every time we thought we had a good chance on this the employer
would come back with claw backs and the team always made sure they
were taken off the table at the end. This time we were not successful.
Q: Have you thought about binding arbitration?
A: (Stein) My beliefs are that I could never give away my right to strike
and if we want to go to binding arbitration, that decision would have to
be made by the membership prior to the next round of bargaining.
Q: If the vote were defeated what process would we be taking?
A: (Bannon) If the tentative agreement or the employer’s offer
is defeated we will remain in a legal strike position and the members
will have to be told what the ramifications would be if they vote yes
or no.
Q: Why did we accept a 4 years contract?
A: (Bannon) Wages were not under negotiation.
(Brunette) The employer’s improved wage mandate at all tables
was based on the acceptance of a four-year term. The employer made it
clear that both the economic increase and the length of the agreements/final
offers were fixed and not open to discussion with the team.
Q: What about the Compassionate Care Leave benefits that was in effect
as of January 2004? As we know, unemployment insurance pays 60% of the
salary; would the agency complete the salary as it is done for maternity
leave?
A: (Bannon) No. It was not part of the bargaining demands. It would have
to be presented at the next round of negotiations.
Q: Could we have something in writing of what happened during the last
stage of negotiations?
A: (Bannon) Yes.
Q: What would you change in the process for the next time?
A: (Lalancette) Would have changed the employer negotiator Peter Cenne
who was uncompromising and whose mandate was from the Treasury Board and
not the CRA. I would like to change the political aspect of the process
so the government would not be able to force us back in. I would like that
more power be given to the Labour Relations Commission versus the negotiator
and the conciliation board so today we would be all happy.
(Stein) The only way I would like to change the process would be by
going back to the table and we either have a collective agreement before
the last contract expires or we don’t.
He added that for the next time, Bill C-25 would be in force by the time
we have the ability to strike. That means that 60 days after we have taken
a strike vote we would have to take strike actions.
(Aylward) We have to change the way we bargain and we have been saying
this since 1999. It’s time now to start to do something and not just
say it. We have to get the legislation changed because that’s
what has put us in a box.
(Cassidy) Next time I would probably be sitting with the participants
and not up here at this table but I have a few more years to go before
making that decision again.
(Brunette) We have to change the legislation as Brother Aylward stated.
Q: Were the allegations on bargaining in bad faith pursued?
A: (Bannon) The charges against CCRA were not dropped. They are working
on a back to work protocol in the event there would be disciplinary actions
against any of our members across the country. They will try to trade and
get the back to work protocol. We know of one case in Newfoundland as of
now. There is also a bad faith bargaining charge against Reg Alcock.
Q: Have we sought legal advice in reference to the back to work legislation
threat?
A: (Bannon) No. The government has the power to exercise back to work legislation.
Q: If the ratification vote is defeated, can we strategize our strike
activities for April?
A: (Bannon) Correct. The National Strike Coordinating Committee would
meet to talk about this and strategic actions to be taken.
Q: At the time, had it been considered to keep the lines up on Thursday
and Friday to conduct damage control?
A: (Bannon) No it had not been considered. Table 1 had decided that effective
Thursday we would all be out on a general strike and back to work on Friday.
We were forced to go out Thursday. We did not like that they made that
choice for us. Then when the team went back in, we could not have half
of the membership out and the rest working so we sent our members back
in on Friday.
Q: Has the team thought of not rendering a decision and leave the decision
to the membership?
A: (Stein) He said he was speaking only for himself in saying that he
believes that he was negotiating at the table to come back with a tentative
agreement and a recommendation of yes and to stay at the table until he
got one.
Q: Why didn’t you just walk away when the employer said that money
was not negotiable?
A: (Aylward) Because that would have been a very stupid thing to do,
to walk away from the table. First of all because the employer would
have said the next day, ‘this is why your union walked away’ and
also because we did not believe that it was not negotiable. We couldn’t
accept that.
Q: What about scabs? Would they be disciplined in all locals?
A: (Bannon) Scabs are in violation of the constitution if they cross their
own picket line. Local components are also in violation of the constitution
if they do not discipline the scabs and I (Bannon) would be the first one
laying a charge against any locals that do not comply with the constitution.
We will sent you a checklist of what you have to do to run your investigation
and if you send it back fast enough, the PSAC NBoD may hold a one day meeting
to have the scabs suspended before the vote takes place.
Q: Until we get a signed agreement are we still on a legal strike position?
A: (Bannon) Yes you are. We have gone back to work because we have a tentative
agreement. The decision is left to the component as of now, if we go back
to NUMCs and joint committee meetings other than OSH and Employment Equity
meetings, because both are legislated, and if we decide to ban overtime.
We will ask you to vote later on these three issues: Overtime, NUMCs
and joint committee meetings.
(Stein) No to NUMCs for now.
Q: What preventive job actions, for the next three years, can we take
once we are back in our offices?
A: (Bannon) We should educate the members in light of what occurred with
this agreement in the way that they should do only what their job description
is telling them to do; nothing more because they will not be told how great
they are or receive thanks for doing more.
Q: Anything we can do about the employer taking out 36 hours or else (compressed
day) out of our pay cheque?
A: (Bannon) This is contrary to their definition of ‘’a day
is a day’’ 7.5 hours. We could go back to headquarters and
convince them that their definition of ‘’a day is a day’’ has
to work both ways. Nick is taking note. (Bannon)
Q: How would the selection be done for terms to become permanents?
A: (Cassidy) Unfortunately we did not get the automatic rollover and unfortunately
we did not get the employer to agree that the employees be appointed without
a competition. Ex.: if a local has 50 terms that have over 3 years employment
and that they only have permanent positions for 20 employees they will
have to go through a competition process.
Breakdown as follows: there is a total of 1072 over 3 year’s
terms: 543 in TCs, 300 in TSOs, and 227 in headquarters.
In headquarters ITB Branch, a term over 3 years as a result of a ‘’Sunset
funding’’, funding created for special projects with a
specific end date, these terms will not qualify for positions under
this particular clause.
However, in TCs most terms over three years are focused in two areas.
In Surrey where they have 55 terms over 3 years, they will be accommodated.
In TCs where they have 200 terms, the chances are very slim that all
200 will be
positioned. We were guaranteed that the monitoring and reviewing of this
would take place in existing union regional and national management forums.
We have the commitment from the employer that they will staff the 25%.
If the employer decided tomorrow to lay-off 300 people we would still
have 275 members that would become permanent. We could not have the employer
put on paper that they will not turn around tomorrow and lay-off all
the terms.
‘’ If the tentative agreement is turned down the offer on
terms is gone ‘’.
This is not limited to three (3) TCs as the rumour said, but this is for
the 1072 which they rounded-up to 1100 terms employees across the country
in TSOs, TCs and Headquarters.
Q: What would happen to terms that have been employed for 9 or 10 years
under a funded benefit program?
A: (Bannon) If there are 10 employees and 5 jobs they will have to compete.
They should have been employed permanently years ago. We all agree with
that. We will all try to get these members a permanent job. The details
of the commitment that has been made will have to be worked out with the
CRA.
(Cassidy) I did ask the question about these specific members in St.
Stephen, NB. In order to know if they were falling under the ‘’Sunset
funding’’ project and we were told NO.
Q: Is the T1 pool not considered as a project anymore? And what about
the GST pool?
A: Yes it’s correct; it is considered a permanent job in nature.
On GST pool, we would try to get more clarification on that.
Q: Would the competitions be opened only to terms?
A: It should but I think it would depend on the manager. This would have
to be discussed further with the employer.
Q: What about people that crossed
picket lines ‘’the first
day only’’ and who after that did not participate in any
strike actions?
A: (Bannon) Non participation in strike activities is not against the
constitution. If they are at home and the employer is not paying them,
they are on strike.
Officially when a person crosses the picket lines once, that person
is a scab and he/she should be charged. The locals have to call a ‘’membership’’ general
meeting to decide what kind of disciplinary actions should be taken.
Different recommendations have been made for different situations.
Ex.: someone who is very disrespectful and/or obnoxious, we have seen
recommendations to the NBoD that stated that these people should be suspended
for life with a review every 5 years and fine for all the time they have
scabbed.
For someone who scabs once and regrets it and pays their salary to the
hardship fund, then the local meeting may decide on the disciplinary actions.
If disciplinary actions are recommended, the committee report should be
placed before a special or general meeting of the local for voting and
it will need a 2/3 majority. If the recommendation is carried then it will
be sent to the Standing Discipline Committee of the Board. That Board would
verify that the process was done properly according to PSAC Regulation
19 on Governing Membership Discipline. (Please refer to Reg. 19)
Q: What about if the membership voted NO to this tentative agreement,
would we bring in a different team?
A: (Stein) He thought that any team that you would put at the table would
have to make that kind of decision among themselves as to know if they
wanted to continue this process or not.
Q: Why did the team come out with this agreement?
A: (Aylward) Because of a few factors. As it has been mentioned earlier
the fear of being legislated back as it has been in 1991 was one. We
also asked ourselves that if we kept our members out for another one,
two or three weeks, would we achieve something else, and the team answer
was no, we can’t. We had achieved what we could with that employer.
GENERAL COMMENTS FROM THE PARTICIPANTS
- Few of our Regional Strike Coordinating Committee recommendations
were followed. These recommendations went from the regional office
to PSAC headquarters and no feedback was sent to us on our recommendations.
It was frustrating after having met and worked to prepare these recommendations
that the proposed ideas, proposals and dislikes were not taken under
consideration. Ex.: we were not in favour of rotating strike actions.
- Now we are faced with fear of going back to the picket line.
- Extreme
frustration and disappointment to see that at some tables, there was
some concession bargaining going on. We should have waited until these
concessions were off the table before agreeing to anything.
- Every person
in this room has worked hard and let’s take it
as a learning experience and let’s positively build on
it. In preparing the locals for the next situation, we would
have to work on the administrative skills i.e. membership lists.
- Suggestion from the Chairperson that next time all recommendations
should be forwarded to the RVP and the National Office for consideration.
She also mentioned that a document from the National President on what
happened during the last 72 hours of the process would be distributed
to the participants. It would also be available on the website.
- We should educate our politicians now, so they know what the
real issues are and we may get more support for the employees that they
have chosen to disrespect.
- This is the best that the team could have gotten with the attitude
of the managers.
- We found new bonds and solidarity, we learned a lot about each other,
about ourselves, about our community and about the people in our community.
- The government must have known what they were doing because lots of
members would be retiring in the next 5 years and it would not be their
best 5 years with respect to their pension benefits.
- Members do not agree with the overall situation but they believe that
they have founded a new stronger local.
- Head Office local thanked all their members for the excellent job
during the strike and the fact that it is generating a lot of union interest
in the local.
- We have to thank our families who put up with us during these difficult
times.
- A national literature coming from the national office would be very
nice and helpful.
- It was a very nice surprise to see the involvement in Kitchener and
that we did not have one scab that crossed the picket line.
- A designated member commented that being in the inside; he was able
to help in many ways. You could see managers pushing carts, playing cashier
and receptionist, etc. It was a very effective strategy for his local.
- PMs are not happy, they felt that they have been sold out, and they
want to withdraw from the union dues.
- Recommendation for next time would be that when we get the employer
to come back to the table that we stay out and show support to the team
until they come back with a good offer.
- We would have to do concerted damage control before the next time
we ask the membership for a strike vote.
- A
local urged members to use management to their
advantage because some of the managers were as
upset as we were about the whole situation. We
should remind them of what they went through
and that it could happen again. In a lot of cases,
the battle was with Nymark and not management.
- In some locals, management was not as understanding.
- Many locals had no scabs and it is encouraging.
- We have to move forward and start political action now.
- We hope to have space on the web site to display thank you messages
for people who supported us during the strike. We will send the messages
to the national office.
- Mailroom clerk who have been pushing carts do not have the opportunity
to really meet people and now they feel that they are part of the office
and the union. They were happy to be out for that reason.
- A local of 1700 members had no scabs. Management was supportive and
has stated that they have the most respect for the CR-2s in the mailroom
and others.
- Sydney thanked the team, their local and a special thanks to Sister
Cassidy.
- Winnipeg TSO no scabs.
- Vancouver was commended by their RVP for their idea of the pin ‘’lets
talk’’ that they handed to the employer together with t-shirts
for their designated employees going in that says ‘’our hearts
are on the line’’. The RVP thanked Surrey for their help
to Burnaby Fraser that had a hard time through the process. Thank you
to Prince George for their determination.
- We should be very pleased with the fact that there were very few scabs.
We had 0 from the Atlantic, 0 from the Prairies, 4 from the Rocky Mountains,
4 from the Northern and Eastern Ontario, 3 from the Quebec region. This
is substantially different from 1991. Sister Bannon attributed that to the leadership
of the people in the room.
- Thanks to local executive who showed CEUDA members how we work as
Brothers and Sisters and the fact that these members were former UTE
members.
The bargaining team answered the above questions and made the following
comments:
Brother Lalancette stated that it was a first to have all members of the
team to do the presentation to the board because usually only the bargaining
agent and the researcher do it. He invited the participants to go back
to the conciliation board report and to look at the items in dispute which
have no cost related and you would see what was left to be negotiated starting
from the Friday to the Wednesday and what you have gained. The team received
mixed messages from the membership and as negotiators we had to take what
we thought the best decision for the majority of the members.
Brother Kosiba thanked all the people in the room for their
support to the bargaining team and to their locals. He said that he was
disappointed but that the team got what they could.
Brother Stein answered
some of the questions and said that the team had to make a difficult
decision. We all based our decision at the vote on different reasons. We
also had to take into consideration the recommendation of the National
President and the fear of legislation. He was glad that the people in the
room respected the decision of the team. He thanked everybody for their
solidarity.
Brother Aylward thanked the 51 locals and the 26000 members that they
represented at the table. The team, when at the table, was very appreciative
of their support. He answered some of the questions asked. This round of
bargaining was different in the way that it has a very unique dynamic because
while negotiating at the table, members were on picket lines. Another very
unique dynamic was that at the same time five (5) other bargaining units
were negotiating at the same time. He concluded stating that we have to
change the bargaining process for the membership and for the organization
and the only way to do that is through political involvement to get the
legislation changed.
Sister Cassidy indicated that she would not repeat what the other members
of the team had said. She thanked all the members and specially her eight-
(8) locals in the Atlantic who had to put up with her every day. She thanked
the person for the turkey and apple pie for Thanksgiving Day because it
is things like this that makes you remember that there are people out there
for you. She thanked all the locals for their support of the Newfoundland
local, for what they were going through. Their whole executive is facing
disciplinary actions because they may be talking to a member in the work
place. She emphasized on the fact that the bargaining team didn’t
hold out only on one specific issue, but on the package of bargaining demands
that the locals had sent them, saying these issues are important. We were
asked on October the 14th to consider if we believed that we could obtain
more for the members and the decision of the team was no. She stated that
as Brother Stein said, she couldn’t send a recommendation of no.
The recommendation has to be that we recommend this because that is the
best we can get for the members as a team. She concluded saying that Brother
Campbell had asked her to write an article for the next newsletter on the
diary of a bargaining team member from start to finish and she hopes it
will give everybody an insight into the process and what it means.
Brother Denis Brunette thanked the members of his local executive that
had supported him during his numerous absences to be with the team. He
commented on the issues which echoed the views of the other team members.
He concluded by saying that he was still convinced that all the work that
was done, was done in thinking of the membership and he wished a good ratification
vote to all.
The meeting recessed at 5:00 p.m.
The Executive Council met for a short session.
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2004
MORNING SESSION
The meeting was called to order at 09:00 a.m. with National First Vice-President
Bob Campbell in the Chair.
Brother Campbell announced that the CRA ratification vote would not be
posted on the PSAC website before November 5th.
Point of privilege – M. Bertrand, RVP from Quebec Region
Brother Bertrand referred to a memorandum issued recently by the Harassment
Committee to remind each local that they must remit to the committee each
month of September, a harassment statistic report on harassment cases from
their local. As a reminder, a form had been put in the presidents’ kit.
Point of privilege - Sellmeyer – Burnaby Fraser
Thanked everybody for the 50/50 draw and announced that the draw will
be held after the break for people that did not have the chance to buy
tickets.
Brother Gaetz had information for the Ad Hoc Political Information Committee.
The points of privilege were well received by the Chairperson.
ITEMS SUBMITTED BY THE LOCAL PRESIDENTS
19. ADR (Northern BC and Yukon 20002)
Local: Requested an update on ADR.
Chair: Brother Campbell asked Sister Bannon to answer that question.
Bannon: We were proceeding with the AUMI. After the strike it will depend
if Sue Parks is still sitting on the regional committee. For now we will
await to see what happens in the Atlantic before going ahead.
20. Appointment of a strike manual committee (Laval 10028)
Local: Would it be possible to form a committee that would have the mandate
to give a post mortem/feed back on the strike and who would also produce
a manual adapted to UTE Locals’ needs for future reference?
Chair: Any suggestions should be sent to our standing bargaining committee.
REPORT OF THE NATIONAL COMMITTEES
Brother Bob Campbell Chairperson of the Finance Committee reported that
Financial Statements have been sent out every month and he said to make
sure that people look at them and understand what is going on, especially
if members are planning to sit on the convention finance committee.
Brother Bob Campbell Chairperson of the Communication Committee explained
where we are right now by saying that Sister Susan Duncan had worked and
helped a lot to bring the website where it is now and with the newsletter.
We are asking for articles from locals and to let us know of any suggested
improvements. Some locals have received some good feedback from their membership
and that is what we are looking for. The committee answered a few questions
from the delegates.
Brother Stein recommended that the details of the Shneidman case on jurisprudence
be placed in the newsletter. Brother Campbell answered that this would
be taken into consideration.
President Bannon opened the following items for discussions and then asked
for a vote by a show of hands.
- Should there be a ban on overtime: NO
- Should we continue to have NUMC meetings: NO
- Should we return to National/Local joint committee meetings excluding
the ones legislated under the Canadian Labour Code and WFA: NO
The no vote on the last item was to show solidarity to the two (2) locals
in St. John’s Newfoundland. President Bannon explained that Sue Parks
and Ken Warren, CRA managers at the TC office, have been atrocious on the
picket lines. They have called the police who decided to come with their
horses. The employer is now filing an injunction and they are investigating
union time of the executive to see if it is credible.
Brother Ennis from
the TSO office in Newfoundland added that since the injunction, management
has not been talking with the executive and that basically nothing has
happened because he himself has been away from the office since September
21st. Management is probably waiting for him to return to work to proceed
with these issues.
Sister Gardiner from the TC office in Newfoundland
on her part said that the situation was slightly different in her office
because as she has not been in the office since the incident, management
did not take disciplinary actions as of yet. She did not know what would
happen to her executive when she goes back to the office on Monday. She
said that Sue Parks who was a member of the negotiating team should have
been in Ottawa negotiating and putting pressure to her counterpart to
get back to the table. She added that every time Sue Parks crossed the
picket line, it was a slap in the face of our members. On the day of the
horse’s
incident, Sue Parks would not agree to go in the building last or to
go home and work. She was spreading the rumour, to her managers, to her
employees and to people in the region and across the country, that she
did not have any control once the police had arrived. The local had a meeting
with the police and they were told that up to the time that they were marching
to separate the lines that if she would have said the word stop, go home
and close the office, that they would have done it.
Some members who wanted
to take annual leave and go home were forced and threatened by Sue Parks
at 3:00 pm. to go in with her. They were scared. Sue Parks was the higher-ranking
CRA official on the picket line that day and she refused to make the
decision to close the building.
A suggestion was made that a good way to show solidarity would be to innovate
and to hold the next Executive Council meeting in Newfoundland instead
of Ottawa and to invite the employer to also have the NUMC in Newfoundland
so it would be, this time, in the hand of the employer to participate or
not to participate. This action would show the employer that the Executive
Council could go where the problems are.
President Bannon made a point in saying that the next Executive Council
meeting was in December and that the Brother wants us to go to Newfoundland.
She added that Council would take under advisement the suggestion and that
maybe the next Presidents’ Conference should be in Newfoundland.
The participants showed very clearly their approval with very loud applause.
President Bannon said that if things do not get better, that we would certainly
look in having the next Presidents’ Conference in Newfoundland next
March.
President Bannon stated that the result of the three (3) hand votes would
be discussed with the Executive Council members after this meeting of the
Presidents’ Conference and that she will render a decision. She will
prepare something in writing the next week, to give the members some guidance
on the”no” participation.
President Bannon stated that the decision
taken at council would be reviewed on December 9th.
The ratification dates are:
November 19th till December 8th and the results would be announced on
December 9th.
Point of privilege – G. Ennis from St.John’s TSO
Brother Ennis thanked his Brothers and Sisters on behalf of his local
executive for their solidarity and support.
The point of privilege was well taken by the Chairperson.
NATIONAL COMMITTEE REPORTS
The Chairperson of the By-Law Committee Brother Aylward reported that
the UTE Policy & Procedures Manual has been extensively reviewed. It
would be sent to all locals electronically and posted
on the website as
well as it would be placed in the local help manual.
Sister Hilde Sellmeyer announced that the 50/50 draw collected $347.00.
The winner was Brother Andy Murdock from the PSAC.
Sister Diana Gee together with Brothers Jude Dias and Scott Gallant won
a basket of goodies prepared by the Pacific Region.
ELECTIONS TO STANDING COMMITTEES
Bargaining Committee
Garry Kaschak was elected as TSO representative to the Bargaining Committee.
Jean-Pierre Fraser was acclaimed as TC representative to the Bargaining
Committee.
Staffing Committee
Normand Pelletier was elected as TSO’s representative to the Staffing
Committee.
Madonna Gardiner was acclaimed as TC’s representative to the Staffing
Committee.
Technological Change Committee
Brian Oldford was acclaimed as the representative to the Technological
Change Committee.
Health and Safety Committee
Norbert Wenzel was elected to the Health and Safety Committee.
Equal Opportunities Committee
Darlene Bembridge was acclaimed to the Equal Opportunities Committee.
Employee Assistance Program Committee
Hector Walters was elected to the Employee Assistance Program Committee.
Finance Committee
Bruce Wilson was acclaimed to the Finance Committee.
Workforce Adjustment Committee
Doug Gaetz was acclaimed as TSO representative to the Workforce Adjustment
Committee.
John Kosiba was acclaimed as TC representative to the Workforce Adjustment
Committee.
Harassment Committee
Patricia Payton was acclaimed to the Harassment Committee.
Communications Committee
Barry Melanson was acclaimed to the Communications Committee
Ad Hoc Political Information Committee
Newly formed committee to lobby federal, provincial and municipal parties.
Hugh McGoldrick was elected to the Ad Hoc Political Information Committee
m/s N. Pelletier/J. Dee
That the ballots be destroyed.
MOTION CARRIED.
SPECIAL PRESENTATION TO OUR ACTIVISTS
President Bannon presented a 15 year pin to Brother
Kent Macdonald, Regional
Vice-President for the Eastern and Northern Region in recognition of his
dedication and involvement to the union movement and this organization.
Brother MacDonald thanked everybody and indicated that this was much appreciated.
CLOSING REMARKS
President Bannon remarks went from the ratification votes where the bargaining
team will be touring part the country, as well as herself to who would
be running for the top three (3) positions of the organization at the next
National Convention. She stated that Brother Chris
Aylward would be running as National 2nd Vice-President, that Brother
Bob Campbell would be offering for the position of 1st National Vice-President and that herself Sister
Betty Bannon would be offering for the position of National President.
She also mentioned that preparations were ongoing for the 2005 National
Convention in Saint John, N.B. She asked the locals to take the opportunity
of the ratification votes to encourage the membership and to get them more
involved because regardless of the outcome, the strike did bring us together.
She said that she couldn’t be more proud than she was of the executives
at all levels, the picket captains and the members who came through for
us during the strike.
The meeting adjourned at 2:00 PM.
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