Report of the Finance Committee

Finance Committee
Report of the Finance Committee
March 2017

Marc Brière

The Committee met at the UTE National Office on January 24, 25, 26 and 27, 2017.

IN ATTENDANCE: Marc Brière – Chair and 1st National Vice-President, Doug Gaetz – Co-Chair and RVP-Atlantic, Gary Esslinger – Co-Chair and RVP-Prairies, David Webster – Presidents’ Representative and Vice-President Kingston - Local 00011, Stephanie Wolff and Liam Merrigan – Technical Advisors.

The committee conducted a comprehensive review of UTE expenditures and a thorough analysis of its cost structure.

First, the Committee reviewed each of the budget line items included in our financial statements. The Committee also reviewed UTE’s By-Laws and Regulations as well as the Resolutions of Record from a financial point of view. For example, the Committee has revised the budgets allocated in some of our Regulations.

While acknowledging that National Office staffing is the responsibility of the National President, the Committee examined the human resources costs of the UTE, specifically the number of employees working for our organization for each type of employment.

The Committee had also been tasked to evaluate and compare different options for our rental situation, i.e. whether it would be better to renew our lease at the current location on the 8th floor of the PSAC National Office or whether it would be more beneficial to relocate, either by renting a local at another location or by purchasing a building. This process will take some time and it is just beginning.

The Committee met with Mr. Pierre Benoit, a real estate broker with Primecorp Commercial Realty inc. We discussed our current situation and our needs. Mr. Benoit gave us an overview of the situation in the commercial real estate market in the Ottawa area. He then showed us some examples of rental leases with different durations for premises located in buildings of different categories. This consultation was free. However, we will have to sign a contract with the broker if we wish to continue to cooperate with him. To this end, it was agreed that Mr. Benoit should forward his proposed contract to the National Office for consideration. I would like to mention that the Committee was very satisfied with this meeting and greatly appreciated the professionalism demonstrated by the broker.

For information purposes, our current lease costs $322420 annually, or $35 per square foot, multiplied by the area we occupy, which is 9212 square feet. Our lease expires on December 31, 2017. PSAC Holdings has advised UTE that the next lease term will be three (3) years (01-01-2018 to 12-31-2020) and that the annual cost would increase to $359,268, or $39 per square foot.

During its deliberations, the Committee considered several scenarios or proposals that would allow our Component to save significant sums of money without affecting our core missions of representing our members and defending their interests.

Here are some suggestions that were discussed and deserve to be considered but for which we do not make any recommendations at this stage:

  • To eliminate the top-up payments for per diems and kilometric rates for PSAC events;
  • To eliminate the first Presidents’ Conference (September) immediately following a UTE Triennial Convention;
  • To hold the UTE Triennial Conventions in Ottawa on a permanent basis;
  • That only the UTE Executive Committee attend the CLC Triennial Conventions instead of the entire Executive Council attending;
  • To reduce the amount of the travel grants to locals to 1.95 times the cost of an Air Canada Flex Class Airfare;
  • To use new technologies (ex.: Skype) to help reduce the costs of National Committee meetings;
  • To revise budget line items for which the budget is set by the By-Laws and Regulations as well as the Resolutions of Record, for which we spend only a fraction of the budget on a regular basis;
  • To request from the locals of each region to better schedule their AGMs together in order to reduce the travel costs for the RVPs and the National Officers attending these meetings;
  • To allow the members to choose to receive the Union News electronically instead of receiving a hard copy;
  • To eliminate Regulation No. 23 – Marguerite Stonehouse Memorial Scholarships (Labour College of Canada Scholarship) and to rename one of the two UTE National Scholarships after Marguerite Stonehouse;
  • To relocate the UTE National Office.

Following this meeting, the Finance Committee recommends the following:

Recommendation #1:

Be it resolved that Regulation No. 18 be amended to read as follows:

REGULATION NO. 18 - ALTERNATE LOCATION FUND

18.1 ALTERNATE LOCATION FUND POLICY

(1)       Locals having members who work in locations situated more than one hundred (100) kilometers away from the Local and who must communicate with its members by either visiting these locations or bringing activists from locations to Local meetings may access this fund once twice per calendar year, for each of its locations.

(2)       A budget of ten five thousand dollars ($10,000.00) ($5,000.00) per year shall be allotted for this fund.

18.2 PROCEDURE

(1)       The Local President must submit their request in writing and receive prior authorization from the President or the 1st Vice-President.

(2)       The request must include the nature of the event and an explanation of how the Local will use the funds.

(3)       When the funds are utilized by a member who lives in a location, the Local will be reimbursed for two (2) of the following costs:

(a) travel;

(b) accommodation;

(c) per diem; or

(d) loss of wages.

(4)       The Local may also request funding for other forms of communication or participation of members i.e. conference call, group bussing to events and any other reasonable situation.

(5)       When the funds is to be are utilized by Local Executives to visit a location, UTE will fund two (2) members of the Local Executive to visit the location. The Local will be reimbursed in the same manner as per Paragraph 18.2(3).

Recommendation #2:

Be it resolved that Regulation No. 19 be amended to read as follows:

REGULATION NO. 19 – LOCAL TRANSLATION FUND GUIDELINES

The five thousand dollars ($5,000.00) Local translation fund be allocated as follows:

(1)       A budget of two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500.00) per year shall be allotted for this fund. The fund will be distributed on a first come first served basis.

(2)       A Local may not use more than one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,000.00) ($500.00) per year.

(3)       It is the responsibility of the Local to get prior written approval from the 1st Vice-President or in their absence the President to expend these funds. This approval is on the financial amount not on content.

(4)       Translation completed without prior authorization will be the responsibility of the Local.

(5)       The Local will submit the invoice to the National Office for payment.

Recommendation #3:

Be it resolved that Regulation No. 22.7 be amended to read as follows:

REGULATION NO. 22 – TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR THE POSITION OF THE ELECTED PAID OFFICERS

22.7Severance Pay

(a) Guidelines

  1. Subject to Regulation below, when the employment of an Officer terminates for any reason other than removal from office under Section 25, Sub-Section 1 of the Constitution of the PSAC, there shall be an entitlement to one (1) week’s pay at the current rate of pay for each completed year of continuous employment in UTE, in respect of which severance pay has not been previously paid.  Severance pay shall not exceed twenty-eight (28) weeks of pay.
  2. Severance pay entitlement determined in accordance with Regulation above shall be abated by the full amount of severance pay payable by the Public Service for the period of Public Service employment included in the total eligible service.
  3. Notwithstanding Regulation above, if an Officer who terminates employment with UTE returns to employment in the Public Service, the entitlement to severance pay shall be only for the period of continuous employment with UTE.
  4. If an Officer dies during the employment with UTE, there shall be paid to the estate an amount equal to the amount that Officer would have otherwise been entitled to at the time of termination of employment with UTE.

(b) Termination of the accumulation of severance pay

  1. Effective March 8, 2017, the severance pay provided under Regulation 22.7 for elected paid officers of the Union of Taxation Employees will cease to accumulate.
  2. The elected officers of the Union of Taxation Employees who have accumulated severance pay under Regulation 22.7, prior to March 8, 2017, are entitled to receive their severance pay already accumulated in accordance with the guidelines of the said Regulation.

(c) Terms and options for the payment of severance pay

The severance pay amount to which an elected officer is entitled shall be paid, at the elected officer’s discretion, either:

  1. as a single payment at the rate of pay of the elected officer’s position as of March 7, 2017, or
  2. as a single payment at the time of the elected officer’s termination of employment from the Union of Taxation Employees, based on the rate of pay of the elected officer’s position at the date of termination of employment from the Union of Taxation Employees, or
  3. as a combination of options (1) and (2). The elected officer who chooses this option must specify the number of complete weeks payable under option (1) and the number of weeks remaining to be paid under option (2).

The Union of Taxation Employees will advise the elected officer of the number of his or her years of continuous employment no later than two (2) months after the date of the adoption of paragraphs 22.7(b) and 22.7(c).

The elected officer shall advise the Union of Taxation Employees of the term of payment option that she or he selected to cash out his or her severance pay within four (4) months of the date of adoption of paragraphs 22.7(b) and 22.7(c).

An elected officer who does not make a selection under paragraph 22.7(c) will be deemed to have chosen option (2) of the said paragraph.

The Union of Taxation Employees will pay as soon as possible the severance pay payable to any elected officer who has made a selection under paragraph 22.7(c). Payment will be made no later than sixty (60) days after the elected officer has informed the Union of Taxation Employees of his or her choice.

Recommendation #4:

Be it resolved that the following resolution be forwarded to the 2017 UTE Triennial National Convention.

Whereas the information provided at Regional Equal Opportunities Conferences, although valuable, is basic and repetitive for experienced activists attending; and

Whereas a National Equal Opportunities Conference is held in Ottawa within each three-year cycle; and

Whereas the current budgetary situation of the Union of Taxation Employees is difficult and is forcing our organization to review its expenditures and priorities.

Be It Resolved that By-Law 8, Section 2 – Equal Opportunities Conferences – be amended to read as follows:

(1) There shall be Equal Opportunities Conferences constituted in the following manner:

  1. a National Conference shall normally be held in Ottawa the calendar year prior to the Convention;
  2. the dates, location and regions attending the Regional Conferences held prior to the National Equal Opportunities Conference shall be recommended by the Equal Opportunities Committee and approved by the Executive Council;
  3. the Chairperson of the Equal Opportunities Committee or their Alternate shall be the Chairperson of the National and Regional Conferences;
  4. UTE shall fund two (2) members per Local as defined in Regulation;
  5. members of the Equal Opportunities Committee shall be funded to attend the National Conference and the one Regional Conference in which their home Local has been assigned to attend;
  6. it will be the responsibility of the Equal Opportunities Committee to set the agenda and workshops for the Conferences.  Expenses related to the agenda, the workshops, and/or items for the Conferences require prior approval of the 1st Vice-President responsible for Finance, or in their absence the National President;
  7. each Regional Conference shall normally be scheduled for two (2) days on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday;
  8. the National Conference shall normally be scheduled for two and a half (2 ½) days on a Friday, Saturday and Sunday;
  9. members of the Executive Council shall be funded to attend the National Conference and the Regional Conferences in which their home Local has been assigned or to which Locals in their region have been assigned to attend; and
  10. notwithstanding (d), members of UTE in good standing may attend at their own or Local’s expense, subject to space availability.

Be It Further Resolved that By-Law 8 be renumbered accordingly with the changes.

Recommendation #5:

Be It Resolved that the following line items be approved for overspending:

UTE
OVER-EXPENDITURES
MARCH 2017 EXECUTIVE COUNCIL

DATE

LINE ITEM DESCRIPTION

EXPLANATION

2016 BUDGET

ACTUAL+
PROJECTED

OVERAGE

31-Dec-16

President (salary)

Over budget approval

109,720.00

129,025.40

(19,305.40)

31-Dec-16

Vice-President (salary)

Over budget approval

93,920.00

110,236.99

(16 316.99)

31-Dec-16

Vacation Leave

Over budget approval

15,000.00

24,114.81

(9 114.81)

31-Dec-16

National Office – CPP-EI-EHT

Over budget approval

108,000.00

110,791.76

(2 791.76)

31-Dec-16

Employees (Benefits)

Over budget approval

447,000.00

461,145.90

(14 145.90)

31-Dec-16

President/Vice-President (Benefits)

Over budget approval

62,000.00

62,826.92

(826.92)

31-Dec-16

Retirement Leave

Over budget approval

46,000.00

55,383.44

(9,383.44)

I would like to thank the members of the Finance Committee for all of their hard work and deliberation in preparing the recommendations.

Respectfully submitted,

Marc Brière
Chair of the Finance Committee