Minutes of the Executive Council

MONDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2016
MORNING SESSION

1. CALL TO ORDER OF THE REGULAR MEETING

The meeting was called to order at 9:00 hours.  President Bob Campbell was in the Chair. In attendance: Marc Brière, Madonna Gardiner, Wayne Little, Greg Krokosh, Gary Esslinger, Cosimo Crupi, Jamie vanSydenborgh, Doug Gaetz, Ken Bye, Bill Blair, Jérôme Martel, Annette Melanson and Pierrette Labrie.

Brother Camara was absent with permission.

2. HOURS OF SESSION OF THE REGULAR MEETING

m/s       Gary Esslinger / Jamie vanSydenborgh

That the hours of session be as follows:

Monday:         9:00 a.m. - 11:45 a.m.; 1:15 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
                       4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. Open Discussion
Tuesday:        9:00 a.m. - 11:45 a.m.; 1:15 p.m. - 5:00
Wednesday:   9:00 a.m. - 11:45 a.m.; 1:15 p.m. - 5:00
Thursday:       9:00 a.m. - 11:45 a.m.; 1:15 p.m. - 5:00

• MOTION CARRIED.

3.  ADOPTION OF AGENDA

m/s      Doug Gaetz / Greg Krokosh

That the agenda be adopted as printed with the following additions:

New Business

No addition

Open discussion

4.         Expenditure related to the UTE Structure (M. Brière)
5.         Workforce Adjustment (WFA) (K. Bye)
6.         LROs Correspondence to RVP (C. Crupi)
7.         Performance Review and Innovation (J. vanSydenborgh)
8.         WFA Pacific Region (Wayne Little)
9.         National vs Regional Briefing (D. Gaetz)
10.       RVP Access in the Workplaces (C. Crupi)
11.       Phoenix Requirement Receipts (D. Gaetz)

• Recorded Vote #1.  MOTION CARRIED.

4.   ADOPTION OF MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING

m/s      Wayne Little / Ken Bye

That the minutes of the Executive Council Meeting of September 2016 be adopted.

• Recorded Vote #2.  MOTION CARRIED.

President Campbell turned the Chair over to Brother Brière, First National Vice-President.

5.  PRESIDENT’S FOLLOW UP ITEMS

m/s      Bob Campbell / Madonna Gardiner

That the follow up items of the President be adopted.

• Recorded Vote #3.  MOTION CARRIED.

Brother Camara joined the meeting.

6.  REPORT OF THE PRESIDENT

m/s      Bob Campbell / Madonna Gardiner

That the report of the President be adopted.

• Recorded Vote #4.  MOTION CARRIED.

President Campbell resumed the Chair.

7.  REPORT OF THE 1^st NATIONAL VICE-PRESIDENT

m/s      Marc Brière / Madonna Gardiner

That the report of the 1^st National Vice-President be adopted.

• Recorded Vote #5.  MOTION CARRIED.

8.  REPORT OF THE 2^nd NATIONAL VICE-PRESIDENT

m/s      Madonna Gardiner / Marc Brière

That the report of the 2^nd National Vice-President be adopted.

• Recorded Vote #6.  MOTION CARRIED

9.  REPORT OF THE REGIONAL VICE-PRESIDENTS / ALTERNATES

m/s       Doug Gaetz / Bill Blair

That the activity reports of the RVPs and ARVPs be adopted.

• Recorded Vote #7.  MOTION CARRIED.

President Campbell turned the Chair over to Brother Brière, First National Vice-President.

10. REPORT OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

m/s      Bob Campbell / Madonna Gardiner

That the report of the Executive Committee be adopted.

• Recorded Vote #8.  MOTION CARRIED.

President Campbell resumed the Chair.

11 a)   REPORT OF THE STAFFING COMMITTEE

m/s      Ken Bye / Daniel Camara

That the report of the Staffing Committee be adopted.

• Recorded Vote #9.  MOTION CARRIED.

11 b)   REPORT OF THE BY-LAWS COMMITTEE

m/s      Daniel Camara / Ken Bye

That the report of the By-Laws Committee be adopted.

m/s      Doug Gaetz / Gary Esslinger

That we deal with housekeeping recommendations as a block except the following recommendations that will be dealt individually: 4, 9, 11, 17 and 24.

• MOTION CARRIED.
• Recorded Vote #10.  MOTION CARRIED.

m/s      Daniel Camara / Ken Bye

Recommendation No. 4

m/s      Madonna Gardiner / Jamie vanSydenborgh

That paragraph (4) and (5) be treated separately in Section 2 - Special Convention.

• MOTION CARRIED.
• Recorded Vote #11.  MOTION CARRIED.

m/s      Doug Gaetz / Greg Krokosh

That recommendation #4 be referred to the committee with instructions to take out the word "observers" in (4) and (5) of Section 2 – Special Convention.

• MOTION TO REFER CARRIED.

Recommendation No. 9

• Recorded Vote #12.  MOTION CARRIED.

Recommendation No. 11

• Recorded Vote #13.  MOTION CARRIED.

Recommendation No. 17

• Recorded Vote #14.  MOTION DEFEATED.

Recommendation No. 24

• Recorded Vote #15.  MOTION CARRIED.

That the report of the By-Laws Committee be adopted as a whole.

• Recorded Vote #16.  MOTION CARRIED.

Recess for lunch

AFTERNOON SESSION

The meeting was called back to order at 1:15 with President Campbell in the Chair. 

11 c)   REPORT OF THE TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE COMMITTEE

m/s      Madonna Gardiner / Doug Gaetz

That the report of the Technological Change Committee be adopted.

• Recorded Vote #17.  MOTION CARRIED.

11 d)   REPORT OF THE EMPLOYEE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM COMMITTEE

m/s      Wayne Little / Bill Blair

            That the report of the Employee Assistance Program Committee be adopted.

• Recorded Vote #18.  MOTION CARRIED.

11 e)   REPORT OF THE HEALTH & SAFETY COMMITTEE

m/s      Doug Gaetz / Marc Brière

That the report of the Health & Safety Committee be adopted.

• Recorded Vote #19.  MOTION CARRIED.

11 f)    REPORT OF THE EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES COMMITTEE

m/s      Madonna Gardiner / Greg Krokosh

That the report of the Equal Opportunities Committee be postponed until the next day.

• MOTION CARRIED.

11 g)   REPORT OF THE HONOURS AND AWARDS COMMITTEE

m/s      Wayne Little  / Jérôme Martel

That the report of the Honours and Awards Committee be postponed until all the documentation is available.

• MOTION CARRIED.

11 h)   REPORT OF THE WORKFORCE ADJUSTMENT COMMITTEE

m/s      Bill Blair / Cosimo Crupi

That the report of the Workforce Adjustment Committee be postponed until the next day to permit an addition to the report.

• MOTION CARRIED.

OPEN DISCUSSION

The Council members discussed the items under this section.

The meeting recessed at 5 p.m.

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2016
MORNING SESSION

The meeting was called to order at 9:00 with the National President Campbell in the Chair. 

11 i)    REPORT OF THE FINANCE COMMITTEE

m/s      Marc Brière / Doug Gaetz

That the report of the Finance Committee be adopted.

The Committee makes the following recommendations to the Executive Council in regards to the Budget for the years 2018, 2019 and 2020:

m/s      Marc Brière / Gary Esslinger

Recommendation #1:

Be it resolved that the attached budget be forwarded to the 2017 UTE Triennial National Convention.

• Recorded Vote #20.   MOTION CARRIED.

m/s      Marc Brière / Gary Esslinger

Recommendation #2:

Be it resolved that there will be a monthly dues increase in 2018 of $0.75 ($20.50), in 2019 of $0.75 ($21.25), and in 2020 of $0.75 ($22.00). NOTE: this will increase revenue by $225,000 in 2018, $450,000 in 2019, $675,000 in 2020 for a total of $1,350,000.

m/s      Bill Blair / Ken Bye

That recommendation #2 be amended to increase the monthly dues in 2018 by the amount of $1.25 ($21.00) by the amount of $1.50 ($22.50) in 2019 and by the amount of $1.50 ($24.00) in 2020. NOTE: this will increase revenue by $375,000 in 2018, $825,000 in 2019, $1,275,000 in 2020 for a total of $2,475,000.

• MOTION TO AMEND CARRIED.

m/s      Jérôme Martel / Daniel Camara

That recommendation #2 be amended to modify the increase amounts as follows:

2018 by $1.00, 2019 by $1.00 and 2020 by $1.00.

• MOTION TO AMEND THE AMENDMENT DEFEATED.
• Recorded Vote #21.   MOTION CARRIED AS AMENDED.

m/s      Marc Brière / Gary Esslinger

Recommendation #3:

Be it resolved that $15,000 from the line item PSAC National Convention, to be held in 2018, be used for promotional items for all delegates and observers in order to promote UTE's visibility at the Convention.

• Recorded Vote #22.   MOTION CARRIED.

m/s      Marc Brière / Gary Esslinger

Recommendation #4:

Be it resolved that the unused portion of the line items Non UTE Union Events, Education - Regional and Education - National be carried over from year to year until 2020.

• Recorded Vote #23.   MOTION CARRIED.

m/s      Marc Brière / Gary Esslinger

Recommendation #6:

Be it resolved that the unused portion of the line item Regional / Inter-Regional Conferences be carried over from year to year until 2023.

Recess for lunch

AFTERNOON SESSION

The meeting was called back to order at 1:15 with President Campbell in the Chair. 

Cont’d 11 i) REPORT OF THE FINANCE COMMITTEE

Recommendation #6:

m/s      Cosimo Crupi / Jamie vanSydenborgh

That recommendation #6 be amended as follows:

Be it resolved that the unused portion of the line item Regional / Inter-Regional Conferences be carried over from year to year until 2023.

Be it resolved that starting from 2024 to 2026 budget cycle that any unused portion of the line item regional/interregional conferences be carried over within that cycle.

• MOTION TO AMEND CARRIED.
• Recorded Vote #24.   MOTION CARRIED.

m/s      Marc Brière / Gary Esslinger

Recommendation #5:

Be it resolved that a new budget line item called Political Action /Campaigns be created starting from the year 2018 ; and

Be it further resolved that the budget for this new line item be established in the amount of $150,000; and

Be it further resolved that the unused portion of the line item Political Action/Campaigns be carried over from year to year until 2020.

• Recorded Vote #25.   MOTION CARRIED.

m/s      Marc Brière / Gary Esslinger

Recommendation #7:

Be it resolved that UTE provides a yearly communication subsidy in the amount of $250 to each Local to help pay, for a period of twelve (12) months, the cost of a data plan; and

Be it further resolved that this communication subsidy be paid to the Locals by UTE National in January 2018, 2019 and 2020.

Be it further resolved that the Locals must provide proof to the UTE National Office that they have a data plan, within sixty (60) days of receiving the subsidy. Otherwise, the subsidy shall be recouped by the National Office; and

• Recorded Vote #26.   MOTION CARRIED.

The Committee also makes the following recommendations in regards to the upcoming Convention.

m/s      Marc Brière / Gary Esslinger

Recommendation #8:

Be it resolved that the 2017 UTE Triennial National Convention Per Diem rates be set at $100 per day for weekdays and $125 per day on the weekend.

• Recorded Vote #27.   MOTION CARRIED.

m/s      Marc Brière / Gary Esslinger

Recommendation #9:

Be it resolved that the 2017 UTE Triennial National Convention registration fee be $50.00 per person.

m/s      Jérôme Martel / Jamie vanSydenborgh

That the recommendation be amended to raise the fee to $100.00 per person.

• MOTION TO AMEND DEFEATED.
• Recorded Vote #28.   MOTION CARRIED.

The Committee also makes the following recommendation:

m/s      Marc Brière / Gary Esslinger

Recommendation #10:

Be it resolved that the following line items be approved for overspending:

UTE
OVER-EXPENDITURES
DECEMBER 2016 EXECUTIVE COUNCIL

• Recorded Vote #29.   MOTION CARRIED.

That the report of the Finance Committee be adopted as a whole.

• Recorded Vote #30.   MOTION CARRIED.

Cont’d 11 f)  REPORT OF THE EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES COMMITTEE

m/s      Madonna Gardiner / Greg Krokosh

That the report of the Equal Opportunities Committee be adopted.

Recommendation #1:

Aboriginal Peoples: Lisa Halbach 30024
1^st Alternate Adeleen Greer 30025 - 2^nd Alternate Victoria Norris 30024

Persons with Disabilities: Jim Austin 40023
1^st Alternate Varinder (Vic) Johal 20027 - 2^nd Alternate Tony Crupi 00020

Women: Cheryl Seymour 80003
1^st Alternate Binta Boly 10008 - 2^nd Alternate Rhea Sandy 70001

GLBT : Iain MacFarlane 00013
1^st Alternate Varinder (Vic) Johal 20027 - 2^nd Alternate Nicole Frandsen 30022

Racially Visible : Georges Ten 20050
1^st Alternate Zaineel Braun 00016 - 2^nd Alternate Binta Boly 10008

• Recorded Vote #31.   MOTION CARRIED.

That the report of the Equal Opportunities Committee be adopted as a whole.

• Recorded Vote #32.   MOTION CARRIED.

Cont’d 11 g) REPORT OF THE HONOURS AND AWARDS COMMITTEE

m/s      Wayne Little  / Jérôme Martel

That the report of the Honours and Awards Committee be adopted.

The student Zak Pham, whose parent is from Local 20027, was selected to receive the subsidy in order to go to Cameroon in accordance with Regulation 24.10.1 and Nancy McCarrel, from Local 70030 was the selected member to receive the subsidy to go to Cameroon according to Regulation 24.10.2.

• Recorded Vote #33.   MOTION CARRIED.

Cont’d 11 h) REPORT OF THE WORKFORCE ADJUSTMENT COMMITTEE

m/s      Bill Blair / Cosimo Crupi

That the report of the Workforce Adjustment Committee be adopted.

• Recorded Vote #34.   MOTION CARRIED.

11 j)    REPORT OF THE COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE

m/s      Gary Esslinger / Daniel Camara

That the report of the Communications Committee be adopted.

• Recorded Vote #35.  MOTION CARRIED.

11 k)   REPORT OF THE BARGAINING COMMITTEE

m/s      Madonna Gardiner / Gary Esslinger

That the report of the Bargaining Committee be adopted.

• Recorded Vote #36.  MOTION CARRIED.

11l)  REPORT OF THE POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE (PAC)

m/s      Jamie vanSydenborgh / Cosimo Crupi

That the report of the Political Action Committee be adopted.

• Recorded Vote #37.  MOTION CARRIED.

11 m) REPORT OF THE CALL CENTRE COMMITTEE

m/s      Ken Bye / Greg Krokosh

That the report of the Call Centre Committee be adopted.

• Recorded Vote #38.  MOTION CARRIED.

11 n)   REPORT OF THE AD HOC UNION MANAGEMENT APPROACH (UMA) AND CONFLICT RESOLUTION COMMITTEE

m/s      Doug Gaetz / Wayne Little

That the report of the Ad-Hoc UMA and Conflict Resolution Committee be adopted.

• Recorded Vote #39.  MOTION CARRIED.

11 o)   REPORT OF THE AD HOC STRUCTURE COMMITTEE

m/s      Jamie vanSydenborgh / Bill Blair

That the report of the Ad-Hoc Structure Committee be adopted.

• Recorded Vote #40.  MOTION CARRIED.

The meeting recessed at 5 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2016
MORNING SESSION

The meeting was called to order at 9:00 with President Campbell in the Chair. 

12.  ADOPTION OF FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

m/s      Marc Brière / Gary Esslinger

That the Financial Statements as of September 30, 2016 be adopted.

• Recorded Vote #41.   MOTION CARRIED.

13.  EXPENSE CLAIMS OVER 90 DAYS

None

14.  COLLECTIVE BARGAINING

A short discussion on bargaining took place.

15.   NEW NAME FOR THE NORTHERN B.C. & YUKON LOCAL

m/s      Wayne Little / Doug Gaetz

Whereas at Local 20002 Northern BC and Yukon 2015 AGM the membership passed a motion to change the local name from Northern BC & Yukon, to Prince George, Local 20002.

Be it resolved that the Northern BC & Yukon, Local 20002 be renamed within the Regulations of the UTE in all applicable areas to reflect the change to the Prince George, Local 20002.

• Recorded Vote #42.  MOTION CARRIED.

16.   APPOINTMENT OF AUDITORS FOR THE YEAR 2016

m/s      Marc Brière / Gary Esslinger        

Be it resolved that we appoint Andrews & Co. as auditor for fiscal year 2016.

• Recorded Vote #43.  MOTION CARRIED.

17.  REGIONAL CONFERENCES’ BUDGET FOR THE YEAR 2017

m/s      Marc Brière / Gary Esslinger

Be it resolved that the following be the Regional budget allocations for the year 2017:

• Recorded Vote #44.  MOTION CARRIED.

18.      AMENDMENT TO REGULATION 7.3 - REGIONAL EDUCATION BUDGETS

m/s      Jérôme Martel / Daniel Camara

Whereas there are conventions every three years; and

Whereas the coming year will be filled with PSAC Regional Conventions and UTE Convention; and

Whereas conventions are vital to the functioning of our Component and of the PSAC; and

Whereas there is consistent turnover of local executive members and delegates and it is very important that they be adequately trained.

Be it resolved that Regulation 7.3 be amended to include in item 6 the PSAC Convention Resolutions Course, the PSAC Convention Procedures Course and UTE’s Workshop on Drafting Resolutions given during the last Presidents’ Conference in the list of UTE-approved courses.

• Recorded Vote #45.  MOTION CARRIED.

OPEN DISCUSSION

The Council members discussed the remaining items under this section.

The meeting recessed at 5 p.m.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2016
AFTERNOON SESSION

The meeting was called to order at 1:15 with President Campbell in the Chair. 

The Council members reviewed four major points to be presented to the Minister of National Revenue, Madame Diane Lebouthillier. Minister Lebouthiller joined the meeting at 4:00pm

• Workforce Adjustment:  This announcement was made to the employees without previous consultation with UTE and most importantly, without respect, not to mention the very bad timing of the announcement just before Christmas; the devastating effect for the permanent employees moving to other offices; and the no less devastating announcement for terms employees losing their job and the closing of 1 call centre. 

We welcome you as the Minister of CRA, someone with heart, who will treat employees with respect.  We need your expertise to help us fulfill our objectives.

• Collective Bargaining: The past round took 4 years to settle as it involved Treasury Board (TB) following Bill-C45 implemented by the Harper government.  When we became an Agency in 1999 under the Liberal government, one of the major selling points to the union was that we would bargain directly with the CRA and we saw this as a very positive step. The two rounds previous to this last one were very successful.  We reached tentative agreements prior to the expiration of the collective agreement.  In fact, both teams were nominated and awarded the CRA Award of Excellence. The recently signed agreement was in place for only 6 days before expiring because TB would not agree to a contract beyond 4 years.  We will be returning to the table in the near future and hope to return to independent bargaining with CRA that does not involve Treasury Board.

• Phoenix System / Political Action: It is very important that our members get paid accurately, and on-time. This problem puts a lot of stress on our members, including those working in Compensation trying to keep up with the workload. With respect to Bill C-27 to amend pension benefit standards, we hope that this government will not change our members’ pensions.  The current government has already stated that defined benefit plans that workers and retirees have already paid into should not be retroactively changed into targeted plans.  We are concerned since the pattern has been to affect severance pay, sick leave and pensions, as it happened for Canada Post workers. We look forward to your support in these important issues.

• Union Management Consultations: President Campbell thanked Madam Lebouthillier for accepting the invitation to be here today.  It is the first time in fifty years that the Minister of Revenue met with UTE.  He expressed UTE’s wish to rebuild the relationship that we used to have with CRA and return to a respectful and meaningful consultation.  He reiterated the fact that UTE has a lot of knowledge and would like to be consulted and given a chance to give input on issues of utmost importance to our members.  He emphasized the importance of having CRA upper management help us achieve a mutual goal of well-being of our members, their employees.

Minister Lebouthillier commented that she was happy to be with us and congratulated the initiative to invite her to meet with UTE Executives.  She went on saying that she has been employed as a social worker and was unionized for 25 years.  She wishes to continue working with us and her objective was to visit offices to find out how their employees feel about their work and workplace and to listen to what they need to be able to continue giving good service to the Canadian public.  She assured us that she will convey to her colleagues our message of respectful and meaningful consultation.

The meeting adjourned at 4:30 p.m.

________________________                  ______________________

Bob Campbell                                             Marc Brière
National President                                       First National Vice-President