President's Report - Executive Council

COLLECTIVE BARGAINING:

On December 20, we announced that our bargaining team had no choice but to break off talks with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) bargaining team on the first day of mediation as CRA refused to consider our proposal to discuss telework, a key issue for our members in the current round of bargaining.

The week before, on the eve of mediation and a week before the Holidays, CRA and Treasury Board announced, without notice or consultation with the PSAC or UTE, that members will have to return to work on-site in early 2023.

After mediation abruptly ended, we informed our members that the only way to make real gains at the bargaining table would be to hold strike votes with PSAC and UTE members to obtain a strong strike mandate.

On January 10, 2023, we informed our members that we had made the difficult decision to hold strike votes from the end of January until April 7,2023 for our 35,000 hard-working members at CRA who provide quality services to the Canadian population.

On January 12, the Commissioner of the Canada Revenue Agency stated that "the union refused to participate in mediation" or "did not show up" at a series of virtual town hall meetings held with Agency employees that day. He also said that the union had declared an "impasse" in bargaining. That evening, I issued a statement to set the record straight and provide our members with an accurate account of events.  Among other things, I confirmed that our union had indeed declared an impasse in light of the fact that we were clearly not making progress in our negotiations with the employer and that this decision was not taken lightly by our bargaining team. I did, however, set the record straight that it was not accurate to say that our union "refused to participate in mediation" or that our bargaining team "did not show up" at the mediation session. What is accurate is that our bargaining team did show up at the mediation session and asked the employer to withdraw the return-to-work order and talk about telework during mediation. The employer refused to do so or to discuss the issue at mediation. Seeing no way out, our bargaining team saw no point in continuing this process and withdrew.

Since the beginning of February, members of our bargaining team have participated in multiple information and question and answer sessions on strike votes that have been held in person across the country. In addition, several Regional Vice-Presidents, members of our Local Executives and UTE National Officers also participated in many of the information sessions to provide assistance and support to team members and to show our solidarity with our members. Virtual information and question and answer sessions were also held to give all our members a chance to hear the explanations provided by our negotiating team members and to exercise their voting rights without any restrictions.

During these virtual sessions, information and answers to members' questions were provided by UTE Second National Vice-President, Brother Adam Jackson (English), who has the collective bargaining portfolio, and Brother Eddy Aristil (French), Regional Vice-President for the Montreal region and member of the bargaining team. Short introductions were made by the PSAC National President, Brother Chris Aylward (English) and myself (French).

For my part, I also attended in-person information and question and answer sessions in Moncton, Bathurst, Montreal, Ottawa and Gatineau. The commitment and support from members everywhere were overwhelming.

Regardless of whether the information sessions and question periods were held in person or virtually, it is clear that the vast majority of our members are in favour of giving us a strong strike mandate to force the employer back to the bargaining table with a new mandate, a better attitude with more respect for our bargaining team and ultimately for our members who deserve nothing less from their employer.

I would like to thank all the members of our bargaining team for all their hard work, great efforts and dedication to our members in order to get a strong strike mandate and soon a new fair and reasonable collective agreement for our members.

I would also like to thank the other members of the Executive Council, the members of the Local Executives and Stewards across the country as well as the PSAC staff for their help and support in organizing and conducting the information sessions and question and answer sessions regarding the strike votes.

Everyone is working very hard together, and it is very heartwarming to see all this great solidarity at work.

For several months now, I have been attending all the meetings of the National Strategy and Strike Coordinating Committee and the discussions are intensifying with the upcoming end of the strike votes and the expectation of the final result and the possibility of having to take strike action to finally get the employer to move.

I have also had discussions with the National Revenue critics from the NDP and the Bloc Québécois as well as another senior NDP leader. Both parties have assured us that they support our fight and will oppose any special back-to-work legislation that the federal government may want to introduce in the House of Commons to end any potential strike in the federal public service and force employees back to work.

We continue to work with the PSAC to prepare for any eventuality.

I am pleased to see that several of our union representatives and other UTE members have decided to take strike training provided by the PSAC.

As they say, it is better to prepare for the worst and hope for the best.

There is no doubt in my mind that our union and its bargaining team, with the unwavering support of our members, will be ready to wage a fierce battle with the employer to get the new contract our members deserve. Whether it is at the bargaining table or by taking legal strike action if necessary.

Thank you all for your hard work and dedication and to our members for their hard work and support of our union and the bargaining team.

MEDIA INTERVIEWS:

Starting in December 2022 and continuing into 2023, the news of strike votes and a possible strike by our members working at the Canada Revenue Agency during the peak tax filing period has generated a lot of media interest.

As a result, I have given many interviews to print and electronic media (Internet, radio and television).

To name a few, I have given multiple interviews in English and French to Radio-Canada, CBC, CTV, Global, the Ottawa Citizen, the Hill Times, Noovo television, TVA, La Presse Canadienne, le Journal de Montréal, La Presse, Le Devoir, Le Droit, the Canadian Press, the Toronto Star, as well as to a multitude of radio stations and other media outlets across the country.

The interviews focused mainly on the strike votes and a possible strike but also much about the decision of Treasury Board and the Canada Revenue Agency to force our members to return to work partially at the employer's workplace and the subsequent roll-out of the new policy.

In all of these interviews, I have proudly defended the work done by our members and the decisions made by our bargaining team and our Union and I have fiercely attacked the Federal Government and the Canada Revenue Agency for their incredible lack of respect for our members both at the bargaining table and with respect to the forced return of employees to the workplace without consulting the Union.

I would like to thank the other representatives within our union, whether at the national, regional or local level, who have also spoken publicly and given media interviews on the same issues.

Together, let's continue to proudly represent and publicly defend our members and the legitimate demands we are putting forward on their behalf.

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETINGS (AGMs):

Several of our Locals have held their Annual General Meetings (AGMs) since the beginning of the year, particularly in the Pacific and Southwestern Ontario regions. Our two National Vice- Presidents and I are proud and happy to attend as many AGMs as possible, regardless of the format. The two (2) main topics of discussion continue to be the difficult situation regarding negotiations for the renewal of our contract and the deployment of our members' on-site presence at 40% of their schedule.

On behalf of the three (3) National Officers, I would like to thank our Locals for the invitations and warm welcome and I would like to sincerely thank them for their excellent work at the meetings and for their continued dedication to our members.

I would also like to thank our Information Technology Specialist, Alex Thon, and the various technicians at Electronic Language Communications Ltd. for their excellent work in providing technical support at the meetings. I would also like to thank our Web/Communications Officer, Susan Duncan, for her excellent work in assisting the Locals in their preparations for the AGMs.

MEETINGS WITH SENIOR CRA OFFICIALS:

The frequency of my meetings with the Agency's Chief Human Resources Officer has increased significantly over the past few months. We meet on an almost weekly basis primarily due to the employer's deployment of our members' on-site presence and the issues that this decision has created. We have also had ad hoc and unplanned discussions.

I have also had discussions with other senior Agency officials regarding current issues and topics such as:

• Meetings on the potential return of employees to the workplace (Journey to Hybrid);
• Updates to the Agency's security programs;
• Changes to the Field GST/HST Rulings Program;
• Potential transfer of term employees (ABSB);
• Temporary exception to the education standard for the SP0401 position.

STAFFING AT THE NATIONAL OFFICE:

Senior Labour Relations Officer Shane O'Brien and my Executive Assistant Daniel Camara have now completed the selection process to fill the Labour Relations Officer position vacated by the retirement of Brother Kent MacDonald. All candidates who met the selection criteria were invited for an assessment of their ability to communicate in writing in the English language and their ability to conduct research, identify issues, develop persuasive arguments and defend positions. A reasonable number of candidates achieved the minimum passing mark established by the selection board.

In accordance with the collective bargaining agreement between the UTE and the Alliance Employees Union (AEU) (Unit V), preference is given first to qualified candidates in the following order:

1. Employees of the Alliance Employees Union (AEU) Bargaining Unit V;   
2. Other members of the Alliance Employees Union;   
3. PSAC and Component employees who are not AEU members; and   
4. members of the Union of Taxation Employees.

While respecting the above-mentioned preference criteria, the Selection Board members made a recommendation to offer indeterminate employment to Sister Kristina Cooke. The UTE Executive Committee has endorsed this recommendation and Kristina will join our National Office team effective March 6, 2023.

With respect to the administrative support position, the committee has reviewed approximately 30 resumes from applicants and will be inviting candidates who meet the selection criteria to come in for a test of their written communication skills in both official languages immediately following the March Presidents' Conference. With the departure of Sister Nunes, we intend to hire two (2) people for this position.

Please note that we will also be posting the Senior Labour Relations Officer position immediately following the March Presidents' Conference.

Finally, we will also be conducting a staffing process to hire a Communications and Media Relations Officer.

CONVENTION COMMITTEES AND THE 19th UTE NATIONAL TRIENNIAL CONVENTION:

The call letter inviting Local and Executive Council members to attend the UTE Nineteenth National Triennial Convention was sent out on February 9.

As we enter the hectic period leading up to the Convention, please keep in mind the important deadlines. Participants have until Saturday, March 25 to register and/or submit a resolution. Delegates to the various convention committees will be in session from April 30 to May 2.

At the March Presidents' Conference, Brother Gary Esslinger, RVP Prairie Region, will make a brief presentation on the 2023 Convention Host Committee.

Finally, as it has been four (4) years since our last planning visit to Winnipeg, we are currently in discussions with the Fairmont and Radisson Hotels to visit the site for logistical reasons and to ensure that all our requirements are met for the convention.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE CANADIAN LABOUR CONGRESS (CLC):

As mentioned in my previous report, the 30th CLC General Assembly will be held from Monday, May 8 to Friday, May 12, 2023, in Montreal.

We have secured rooms for all the executive officers who have indicated their interest in attending the meeting. We will be staying at the InterContinental Hotel in Montreal which is located near the Palais des congrès in Montreal.

We are currently collecting credentials. If you have not already done so, I invite the officers of the Executive Council to send their credentials to Sister Lepage as soon as possible as the deadline for registration to attend the meeting is April 6, 2023.

Respectfully submitted,

Marc Brière  
National President

INFORMATION/TECHNOLOGY:

All IT systems have been running well. Regular software maintenance of computers, servers and network was performed.

 We renewed the subscription of our cloud patch management service.

 We enabled a new MFA feature that provides more information during the authentication process.

We are continuing to have virtual AGMs. So far, we have 17 scheduled AGMs for 2023.

WEB/COMMUNICATIONS:

Our website is working well, and updates are occurring in a timely fashion.

We produced two videos this quarter, one on negotiations and strike votes and the other on the strike mandate and what to expect.

We updated the convention posters and reprinted them.  Two posters will be provided to each local and member of Executive Council at the Presidents’ Conference.  
We created the convention landing page and added the convention call. Further information will be added as it becomes available.   
https://www.ute-sei.org/en/news-events/convention/convention-2023

Work continues on our new website.

DONATIONS / SPONSORSHIPS

As of February 27, 2023

Non-UTE Union Events

As of December 31, 2022

Non-UTE Union Events 

As of February 27, 2023

GRIEVANCE:

GRIEVANCE REPORT  
DECEMBER 1st 2022 to FEBRUARY 28TH, 2023

During Q4, thirty-eight (38) new grievances were received in the National office. Fifty-one (51) grievances were presented. Thirty-seven (37) final level reply was received from CRA, thirty-two (32) were denied, two (2) was partially allowed, three (3) were withdrawn and nine (9) were closed.

1. Grievance hearing was held in February 2023.
2. Three grievances awaiting disposition of unfair labor complaint.
3. One grievance held in abeyance pending disposition unfair labor practice complaint. One grievance held in abeyance pending claim for damages arising from Phoenix pay issues.
4. Grievance to be held in abeyance pending resolution of discussions with Compensation.
5. Reply held in abeyance with the agreement of the grievor pending replies to 2 related grievances where the grievor represent himself.

There are presently one hundred eighty-six (186) grievances in the National Office inventory which have not yet been presented at the Final Level dealing with a variety of issues.

POLICY GRIEVANCES

There was (1) one new Policy Grievance dealing with the employers’ return to work directive.

There three (3) Policy Grievances sent to adjudication during this period, dealing with Articles 6, 25, 27, 28 and Vaccination Policy. These grievances were presented during the last quarter and replies received in this quarter. All grievances were denied.

CLASSIFICATION GRIEVANCES

There were no new classification grievances filed during this period.

INDEPENDENT THIRD-PARTY REVIEWS (ITPRs)

There were no new ITPR grievances filed during this period. One (1) ITPR was closed Dec 12/22- dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.

CRA POLICY GRIEVANCES

There were no new CRA policy grievances filed during this period.

STATUTORY FREEZE COMPLAINT

As a result of the CRA unilateral actions in scheduling extended Hours of Work, and scheduling Saturday work without overtime compensation, we were successful in persuading the PSAC to file a Statutory Freeze complaint against the CRA. Brother O’Brien worked in collaboration with PSAC Legal Services and outside Legal Counsel in the submission of the complaint which was filed on March 14, 2022. This complaint was heard by the Public Service Labor Relation and Employment Board from January 9 to 12, 2023. No decision has been received to date.

PRESIDENT’S ITINERARY

DATE             ACTIVITY                      PLACE

NOVEMBER 2022

24                  AGM Bathurst Local 60006                                 Bathurst  
28                  Meeting - Ad Hoc Committee on the UTE Structure Review                      Gatineau  
28                  Rally with PSAC – Where’s Mona?                      Gatineau  
28                  Virtual event – PSAC National Day of Action     Gatineau

DECEMBER 2022

1                    PSAC Holdings Board meeting                         Gatineau  
2                    Meeting with CRA - NUMCC                            Gatineau  
2                    CRA Orientation Experience (virtual)                 Gatineau  
2                    Meeting with CRA - Remote Quality Listening Gatineau  
2                    NSCC meeting                                                   Gatineau  
5-7                Executive Council meeting                                 Ottawa  
8                    Meeting with the CRA Assistant Commissioner, HRB                      Ottawa  
8                    Meeting re: agenda items for the NUMCC        Ottawa  
8                    Meeting with the CRA Commissioner                Ottawa  
8                    NUMCC Meeting                                               Ottawa  
9                    NSCC meeting                                                   Ottawa  
13                  NSCC meeting                                                   Gatineau  
15                  Meeting with CRA - Journey to Hybrid             Gatineau  
20                  NSCC meeting                                                   Gatineau 

JANUARY 2023

11                  NSCC meeting                                                   Gatineau  
12                  Meeting with the CRA Assistant Commissioner, HRB                      Gatineau  
12                  Meeting with PSAC – Finance Branch                Gatineau  
13                  PSAC Holdings Board meeting                          Gatineau  
16-19             QFL Convention                                                 Montreal  
17                  NSCC meeting                                                    Montreal 
19                   AGM Pacific Region Call Centre Local 20050 (virtual)                      Montreal  
20                  Meeting with the CRA Assistant Commissioner, HRB                      Montreal  
20                  NBoD meeting - Retreat follow-up meeting     Ottawa 
23                  Special NBoD meeting                                      Ottawa  
24                  NSCC meeting                                                   Gatineau 
24                   Meeting with Niki Ashton – NDP Revenue Critic                            Gatineau  
25                  Meeting with Jean-Denis Garon – Bloc Québécois Revenue Critic   Gatineau  
26                  Meeting with the CRA Assistant Commissioner, HRB                      Gatineau  
26                  Meeting with PSAC – Finance Branch                Gatineau  
27                  Hearing – Public Interest Commission PSAC/UTE-CRA                   Gatineau  
30                  Meeting with CRA - LPRAB                               Gatineau  
30                  Meeting – UTE 2023 Convention Preparation    Gatineau  
31                  NSCC meeting                                                    Gatineau   
31                  Meeting – PSAC Standing Finance Committee                                Gatineau

FEBRUARY  2023

3                    Meeting with the CRA Assistant Commissioner, HRB                      Gatineau  
6                    Strike votes - Moncton                                      Moncton  
7                    NSCC meeting                                                   Moncton  
8                    UTE-management                                             Gatineau                   
9                    Meeting with the CRA Assistant Commissioner, HRB                      Gatineau                     
10                  Strike votes – Montreal                                     Montreal  
13                  Strike votes – Bathurst                                      Bathurst   
14                  NSCC meeting                                                  Bathurst  
15                  Meeting with the CRA Assistant Commissioner, HRB                      Gatineau  
15                  Meeting – Strike votes - Preparation for virtual sessions                 Gatineau  
16                  Strike votes – Virtual (English)                         Gatineau  
17                  Meeting with the CRA - ABSB/Appeals Branch                               Gatineau  
17                  Meeting – Debrief on virtual Strike votes session                            Gatineau  
17                  Strike votes – Virtual (French)                          Gatineau                             
20                  NBoD meeting - Retreat follow-up meeting   Ottawa 
21                  NSCC meeting                                                 Ottawa  
21-23             PSAC NBoD meeting                                     Ottawa  
22                  UTE Executive Committee meeting                 Ottawa  
22                  AGM Hamilton Local 00014 (virtual)               Gatineau  
24                  Meeting with the CRA - ABSB/Appeals Branch                               Gatineau  
24                  Meeting - Ad Hoc Committee on the UTE Structure Review           Gatineau  
24                  Meeting with PSAC – Finance Branch              Gatineau  
27                  Meeting with the CRA Assistant Commissioner, HRB                      Gatineau   
27                   AGM Penticton Local 20026 (virtual)                Gatineau

Acronyms:

ABSB - Assessment, Benefit, and Service Branch   
AGM - Annual general meeting  
CRA - Canada Revenue Agency  
HRB – Human Resources Branch  
LPRAB – Legislative Policy and Regulatory Affairs Branch  
NBoD - National Board of Directors  
NDP – New Democratic Party  
NSCC - National Strategy/Strike Co-ordinating Committee  
NUMCC - Nation Union Management Consultation Committee  
PSAC - Public Service Alliance of Canada  
QFL –Quebec Federation of Labour  
UTE - Union of Taxation Employees

Respectfully submitted,

Marc Brière  
National President

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