The regular activities and responsibilities for the position of Second National Vice-President are Executive Council meetings, Presidents’ Conferences, the Executive Committee, which did not meet as often as in the previous term, and national union-management meetings. I am responsible for bargaining as Chair of the Standing Bargaining Committee and the National Bargaining Committee. I am automatically a member of the bargaining team that, in my view, is necessary for ensuring continuity and monitoring the bargaining process. This also provides corporate memory about bargaining within the UTE. When we are in a bargaining period, I also must ensure that communication for bargaining is fair. I must also provide regular articles for publishing in the UTE newsletter. I have to replace the President and the 1st National Vice-President at meetings of the PSAC National Board of Directors when they are absent. I must also repeat this task at the National Office level, which I had to do on one occasion during the term just ending. I am a member of the National Technological Change Committee and the Honours and Awards Committee. I participate actively in Local AGMs (primarily those in the regions of Quebec) and also their inter-regional meeting. I am also an active member on the PSAC Regional Council of Saguenay Lac St-Jean Chibougamau-Chapais. I have written more than 10 articles and managed to have them published in the regional newspaper Le Quotidien of Saguenay Lac St-Jean pertaining to the policies put forward by the Conservatives and their representative of the neighbouring county in the hopes that the latter and the Conservatives will not be re-elected.
As I mentioned in my 2008 and 2011 report, the modus operandi established among the three national positions reflects the reciprocity of two of these three positions, which sometimes complicates relationships at the national level. I often have to assert my viewpoints, and the language issue is a major obstacle. I am of the view that the national positions should tend towards bilingualism.
I attended the various ad hoc meetings and the regional and national UTE conferences, the PSAC Convention, the PSAC Québec, the Canadian Labour Congress and the Fédération des travailleuses et travailleurs du Québec. I am politically active by being in constant contact with my region’s MPs.
HONOURS AND AWARDS COMMITTEE
I attend the various meetings of the Honours and Awards Committee in order to select recipients of honours and awards as set out in the UTE By-laws and Regulations. This committee has made many amendments and enhancements to the regulations and to the various awards. In addition, the committee ensured that it established a more comprehensive and complex evaluation system for awarding scholarships to try being as fair as possible. I also promote the various awards at the locals’ AGMs. Honours and awards are increasingly being bestowed for recognizing the involvement and dedication of union activists at all levels of the union. They are also for enabling selected individuals (students, humanists) to receive monetary awards to help them in their studies or organizations.
The issuing of various recognition awards is beneficial for the entire UTE because this gets the young people interested and prepares the next generation.
The UTE members are now convinced of the soundness that their Union has an important role to play in society, and the feeling of belonging is strong.
TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE COMMITTEE
The committee meets with the employer regularly to update the implementation of new technologies and existing technological change. The committee also oversees the setting up of pilot projects to shield workers from its impacts. The committee closely monitors the potential impacts of those changes on jobs in order to keep the Union and the WFA Committee informed to ensure that workers’ rights are respected.
Technological changes are now almost non-existent, at least the impacts are not as great. The employer’s involvement on this committee has also decreased, and it appears that this committee is becoming less important. However, it is crucial for this committee to continue its activities to prevent any change that would impact our members.
BARGAINING
The primary roles and activities of the 2nd National Vice-President responsible for bargaining are set out in By-law 8 section 4 and certain parts of By-law 10 of the UTE By-laws:
BY-LAW 8 SECTION 4
- oversee the implementation of the Regulation governing Collective Bargaining procedures;
- issue frequent bulletins on the state of negotiations during the bargaining process;
- be the Chairperson of the Standing Bargaining Committee;
- participate on the PSAC/CRA Negotiating Team;
- be the Chairperson of the National Collective Bargaining Committee;
- is a member of the PSAC National Strike Co-ordinating Committee; and
- ensure that the bargaining process for UTE is handled in a sound manner in the best interests of the members;
- attend and participate in discussions and meetings in preparation for bargaining between PSAC/UTE and the employer.
The bargaining process that began in October 2012 has not ended and, at time of writing, we have reached a turning point in this bargaining process. In fact, the CRA and the PSAC/UTE have finished two mediation sessions, and the bargaining team members and the PSAC are about to arrange information sessions for all members of all UTE locals across the country because the employer has published its proposal and we have to do the finalizing. It has been more than 15 months of bargaining and mediation without finding any middle ground. The major problem is that CRA cannot make any offers without the Harper government having authorized it. This government’s desire to reduce the public service and eliminate the rights of workers and their unions means that we cannot reach an agreement. A number of rights asserted by the UTE that are required for its members remain unaddressed. The length of the collective agreement is also a major hindrance because we cannot begin another bargaining process as of September (even earlier) since the Harper government’s intentions against our sick leave are clear.
I would also like to provide you with part of my 2011 report. I didn’t have a crystal ball then, and I still don’t have one, but read on:
We all realize that this is not the agreement of our dreams, but given the economic situation, it is a good agreement because we have suffered no losses. We have to acknowledge the good faith demonstrated by CRA in the process. The agreements between Treasury Board and the Conservative budget clearly indicate the intention to attack our severance pay and possibly other articles in our collective agreement. That intention points to a bumpy ride in bargaining and we shall have to prepare and plan our activities carefully in order to try to limit the losses during the next bargaining process. Personally, I wish to make no concessions, but we have to remain realistic: the protection of our gains in the collective agreement is the business of every UTE member because our collective agreement is our heritage …
It is up to us to maintain solidarity and be prepared to mobilize, in order not to be the next target of the callous policies of the government in place. The double standards and inequities embraced by the leaders of this country and their lack of respect for the workers who participate in the economy have to end. Roll on the day when politicians preach by example; it is a long way off because a defeated Conservative MP with 14 years of service will receive $106,000 annually (having earned $232,000 as a minister) and it seems he will be entitled to severance, according to remarks by the defeated Bloc MP who will receive $31,900 annually.
CONCLUSION
I thank the members of the Technological Change Committee, the Honours and Awards Committee, the National Bargaining Committee, the Standing Bargaining Committee, the Bargaining Team, the members of the Executive Council and all UTE staff members. A special thank-you to all local officers from coast to coast; you are the key to success, the light that enables us to see clearly and the link among us all.
In June, I had announced my retirement because the commitments and copious travel have an impact on one’s health, especially when you don’t give it the attention it needs for maintaining it because your dedication is focused on the causes running in your veins, namely justice, equity, respect for humanity and the vital role of the union in balancing society and the economy. At the September Presidents’ Conference, some locals asked me to carry on the battle with them. I reviewed my decision to retire. I felt guilty dropping the Union at a historic time in the survival of unions and the middle class, which continue to suffer attacks from the Conservatives and their friends, the multi-nationals, whose only aim is to increase their profits regardless of the collateral damage. Since only fools don’t change their mind, I discussed it with my wife and decided to try another term to at least finish out the current round of bargaining and help our union community, the middle class and society as best as I can. However, the Executive Council’s decision in December regarding the position of 2nd National Vice-President had the same impact on me as one involving a PSAC employee who is declared surplus, i.e. I spent two months going through questioning and moments of intense stress that even challenged, wrongly or rightly, my commitment, abilities, skills and ultimately my entire being. Once again, after discussing it with my wife and people in whom I have utmost confidence, I concluded that I no longer had the interest or desire to go through another national campaign for the position of 2nd National Vice-President because, after all, nobody is irreplaceable and why not let go in order to pay a bit more attention to my health. That being said, I will run for the position of Regional Vice-President of the Quebec region.
I would be remiss if I did not clarify the following. I have no problem speaking to you openly about what I experienced following the December council because my goal is not to expose anything since the facts are there and cannot be undone. I hope that the position of 2nd National Vice-President will survive; it is vital.
However, I urge you to keep in mind that the essential thing in this part of my report, the important thing is to ensure that the labour organizations and middle class survive, thatall means necessary should be used to overcome the Conservative government or any other government that will want to take fault with labour organizations and try creating an imbalance that would benefit those who are better off to the detriment of this planet’s middle class and those less fortunate. It is not complex; it is a humanitarian matter because the “race to the bottom” is unacceptable.
We cannot do without each other, and we must go into survival mode following the constant attacks from the Harper government. The work of each and every one of us is crucial, and we are leaders in our community of workers. We are also key players in the community where we live, and we are actively involved in the evolution of our society both economically and for all other aspects of every-day life. At the core of each one of us there is a unique being, but when we look closer, there is only colour, language and location that create the differences because we all have a common goal: to live and survive based on our knowledge and our needs, as primal as they may be. It is also these differences that create the beauty of the human race.
As I said to you, I am an eternal optimist, and the dark days are ahead; we cannot dodge the confrontation to ensure that the gains in our collective agreement, our jobs, our rights and our families are protected. We have no choice; I no longer doubt that this government is not in favour of workers and their rights. A country’s economy exists because of its workers. Health and safety are provided through their jobs; to not respect that is to not recognize the value of a lost life.
If you read my report and are in agreement with me, tell me so when you see me. That will be a joy for me.
In closing, I am attaching an article that I wrote in my region’s newspaper Le Quotidien.
[translation]
Posted on April 07, 2011 at 10:08 a.m. | Updated on April 07, 2011 at 10:08 a.m.
THE COSTS OF A ZERO DEFICIT
Le Quotidien Feb. 25, 2014
“Effacement du déficit fédéral par le parti conservateur” [elimination of the federal deficit by the Conservative party] is the title of an article by Francis Valles in la Presse published in Le Quotidien last Saturday (February 15, 2014).
Beyond the fact that the reporter clearly identifies that the drop in the deficit is due to the elimination of 19,200 public servant positions, it was the money in the unemployment insurance fund that had absorbed the deficit. Oddly enough, that build-up in the insurance fund occurred after amendments to the legislation that complicated or prevented workers from receiving unemployment premiums. I quote “On December 31, 2008, the surplus in the fund even reached $57.2 billion! In 2009, the fund’s name changed, but the surplus was brought down to only $2 billion! The rest went to absorbing past deficits or, in other words, to reducing the debt”.
How can a government appropriate a fund that was financed only by workers and employers for dealing with the vagaries of the economy and then boast about doing its job well?
It is as though your bank, to which you own money for a loan, while emptying your account through subterfuge claims that, through its sound management, it has prospered, and it will extend the benefit to you by not increasing the interest rate that it charges you…!!
In my view, this is embezzlement and a demonstration of failure to respect workers, with the obvious aim for the Conservative party being to get re-elected.
As a Canadian, what interest do I have in seeing the deficit brought down to zero if unemployment is high, jobs are lost, new jobs are mostly temporary and paid at minimum wage? Who will keep the economy going when my buying power is seriously reduced and the cost of living continues to climb? Worst still, what happens when food safety through labelling is no longer required because inspection is a thing of the past, when safety in airplanes is no longer guaranteed because inspection is left to the care of the airlines and when confidential information is no longer protected? What will be the true cost of a zero deficit?
Denis Lalancette
Chicoutimi
Respectfully submitted
Denis Lalancette
2nd National Vice-President