Report of the President - Executive Council

Report of the President - Executive Council
June 2017

Bob Campbell - Item 6

Collective Bargaining: 

Regarding the last Collective Agreement, which expired on October 31, 2016:

The 150-day deadline per Appendix E came and went on March 24, 2017 and many members did not receive all payments due to them under the new collective agreement, particularly retroactive salary payments, and adjustments to current rates of pay. The CRA’s only response to failing to meet this contractual deadline was to issue a statement noting that they made every reasonable effort to do so. Members who are aggrieved if they did not receive full payments due to them under the terms of the collective agreement should file grievances to seek redress.

Negotiations on the Reopener clause took place May 3 and 4, 2017, and they proved to be disappointing.  The employer made a final offer of an additional 0.5% for 2014 and 0.5% for 2015. Our Team indicated that our members rejected a “me too” clause linked to the Treasury Board PA group last year, and that this wage position reflects what was negotiated for the PA group. Our position is that our union has always negotiated separate from Treasury Board, and that we are not interested in simply replicating what was agreed to there. CRA is a separate employer. What’s more, management’s position does nothing to close the wage gap with other comparable groups in the public service. We are proceeding to binding arbitration with the Public Service Labour Relations Board.

The Ad hoc Committees have met and continue to meet on the Appendix G-Memorandum of Understanding on scheduling and the Letter of Understanding on staffing issues.

Regarding the next round of bargaining:

Notice to bargain was served on October 31, 2016. It is required by law to serve notice before the current contract expires. The input call for bargaining demands was sent in March and the deadline for receipt is June 1, 2017. Subsequently, the National Bargaining Committee will meet to discuss, select and prioritize our demands. The new Bargaining Team will be selected and will proceed to negotiations with the CRA sometime after our Triennial Convention in July.

FOLLOW-UP WITH THE REVENUE MINISTER: In December of 2016, our Executive Council met with Revenue Minister Lebouthillier and we outlined to her our current concerns of the Service Renewal Initiative at the CRA, the Pension Bill C-27, CRA bargaining and the Phoenix fiasco. We attempted to communicate to her the gross lack of respect the Canada Revenue Agency was showing its employees, especially in regard to the rollout of their Service Renewal Initiative. She committed to us during that meeting that she would personally look into those issues. However, not only did she fail to return to us with any update on the action she promised you would take, but to exacerbate the lack of respect, she chose to have the CRA Commissioner, the very source of our concerns, respond to my subsequent enquiries on the matter. It seems very clear to me that the issues we raised with her have fallen completely on deaf ears, and that she is not very interested at all in our concerns. We were so impressed and hopeful that the first-ever meeting between a Revenue Minister and the Union of Taxation Employees would spark the beginning of a return to the sound consultation and collaboration we once enjoyed with the Canada Revenue Agency. I could not be more disappointed to learn that does not appear to be the case, and I have communicated this to the Revenue Minister.

BILL C-10 CHALLENGE: In mid-August, the Ontario Court of Appeal upheld the Ontario Superior Court decision that Bill C-10, the Expenditure Restraint Act, did not violate our Charter rights. Bill C-10, passed by the former Conservative government in 2009, rolled back negotiated wage increases for our members for years 2011 and 2012. In mid-October, the PSAC applied for leave to appeal this decision to the Supreme Court of Canada. In February, we received news that the Supreme Court was disinclined to hear our appeal. This marks the end of the road for our legal challenges to Bill C-10.

PHOENIX ISSUES: Our members continue to suffer as a result of the new Phoenix Pay System. Thousands of members are still being paid incorrectly, or not at all. The situation does not appear to be getting any better at all. For this compelling reason, we are boycotting the employer’s National Public Service week activities, and are asking all our members to do the same. If the amount of money that the Treasury Board as a whole dedicates to NPSW were redirected to fixing the Phoenix debacle, many of our members would be much better off.

AGMS/ PSAC REGIONAL CONVENTIONS / CLC CONVENTION: We have just completed another AGM season, as can be easily seen from my itinerary. We are now in the thick of the PSAC Regional Convention circuit. We attempt to have a National Officer presence at all of these regionals conventions. As of the submission of this report, I have attended the PSAC Prairies Convention, the PSAC National Capital Region Convention, and the PSAC Ontario Convention. Marc has attended the PSAC Quebec Convention. The last two, British Columbia and Atlantic are scheduled for June. As well, myself and most of the Executive Council attended the 28th Canadian Labour Congress Constitutional Convention in Toronto, where PSAC member and activist Larry Rousseau was elected as Executive Vice-President. Congratulations to Brother Rousseau.

UTE TRIENNIAL CONVENTION:  The Triennial Convention is upon us next month. The staff at the National Office have outdone themselves with planning. At the March Executive Council meeting, The Convention Committee Terms of Reference were adopted; as well as Convention Committee members, Credentials Committee members, and Convention Nominations Committee members were adopted. All participants are now registered and resolutions have been deliberated at the Committee meetings. Please continue to watch for our on-going series of Convention Comments for helpful information on the business of Convention, and the UTE Convention website for news on Host Committee activities. The Host Committee has planned an exciting Fun Night and a great overall Convention experience.

NATIONAL OFFICE STAFFING: With the return of Brother David Girard to the office, we have ended the term position of Sister Kayla Minor. We thank Sister Minor for her service to the organization and wish her well as she returns to the PSAC family

We have begun an indeterminate job process for an administrative support position, as Sister Louise James has retired at the end of May. Thank you to Sister James for her commitment and service to UTE over the past 10 years, and best wishes for a well-earned retirement.

Meetings with CRA:  Meetings with the CRA have resumed in earnest, since the moratorium on joint consultations was lifted last year.  We are returning to the NUMCC table on June15, 2017, for the first time in 2 years. Several sub-Committee meetings were held, on issues of staffing; Compensation; WFA; UMA; EAP, etc. As well, the new Deputy Commissioner of Revenue, Nancy Chahwan, telephoned me to introduce herself and advise me that she is embracing her new role.

Thank You: This is my last Executive Council report as your President and it would be remiss of me not to make some personal comments about my tenure.  It has been truly amazing to have the pleasure of meeting and speaking with so many of our members.  I have attended picket lines, AGMs, meet and greets, UMI sessions, plant gates, social events etc. that gave me the opportunity to speak with the members.  We truly have the most informed and active membership within the PSAC.  They are the ones that kept me going.  In my 42 years involved in the union I have seen many changes, some good and some bad, but our members have always come through. They have always done the right thing.  They are what makes us strong and no one should ever forget that.  You cannot be an effective Leader without your membership beside you.

I have worked with several Executive Councils since 1991 and each one was different from the others.  All informative, challenging in some way and exciting.  I’d like to thank all those who served and are serving on the Executive Council for the experiences that you brought to me, and the many friendships that have lasted for years. I must thank my Local 60005, Saint John, who have supported me and helped me do what I have done. One of the things I always kept in mind was what my actions would do for the members and that I never wanted to disappoint. I would like to comment about three people who have also worked with the National Executive for some time.  That is Pierrette Labrie and Shane O’Brien, and Annette Melanson.  Pierrette the one who makes sure that I have everything that I need and want without question.  She has been with me since I started as President and goes out of her way to make sure that whatever I am doing that I have everything that I need.  From time to time, she also acts as my memory since she is younger than me!  Thank you Pierrette.

Shane, I have known as a local and regional politician long before he was staff and is probably to best tactician that I have ever met.  His political savvy and knowledge has been invaluable to me as a National President.  Not that I always took his advice, but it was there, and some of our discussions/debates were the foundation of some of our best campaigns. We have been friends for well over thirty years and I was honored to be his best man for two weddings. Thank you Shane.

Sister Annette, who I talked into leaving her home and family in Saint John to move with me to Ottawa to work for the membership, I could not have done this job without her. She has been my sounding board and my conscience over the last six years. She would always let me rant, then just say “Robert”, and I would know that I had to calm down and rethink what I wanted to do. She has done so much for the members of UTE that most people would never know and she always had my back. Thank you Annette.

I will have much more to say about many more individuals at Convention but I wanted to thank the members, Council and Annette, Pierrette and Shane in this report.  THANK YOU ALL! 

WEB/COMMUNICATIONS:

Our website is working well.  We have been updating the website with both historical reports, and current updates.  Information on our upcoming convention is available on our site.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY:

All IT systems have been running well. Regular software maintenance of internal computers, servers and network was performed. We needed to purchase a new UPS for our server room because the previous one went defective.

DONATIONS / SPONSORSHIPS as of May 29, 2017

RECIPIENT/BÉNÉFICIAIRE

CITY/VILLE

AMOUNT

APPROVED BY

   

MONTANT

APPROUVÉ PAR

BUDGET

 

18,000.00

 

The Diana Gee Memorial Trust

Toronto ON

1,000.00

Council/Conseil

Big Brothers Big Sisters - Bowl for Kids Sake

Summerside PE

300.00

Bob/Marc

Kingston Elite Cheerleading

Kingston ON

300.00

Bob/Marc

Bikers Against Child Abuse

Manotick ON

500.00

Bob/Marc

Ashley Stewart - Forum for Young Canadians

Summerside PE

250.00

Bob/Marc

Matthew Kastern - South Calgary Rec Hockey League

Calgary AB

300.00

Bob/Marc

1st Summerside Pathfinder Unit

Miscouche PE

300.00

Bob/Marc

Valérie Bégin- Turcotte

Rouyn-Noranda

500.00

Bob/Marc

MADD Canada

Ottawa

428.27

Bob/Marc

Frasier Canyon Hospital - In memory of Elmer Johnson

BC

100.00

Bob/Marc

Denis Boudreau and Tracy Lanteigne-Little Snipers hockey team

Bathurst, NB

300.00

Bob/Marc

Michelle Laforge -Belledune Storm Atom AAA hockey team

Bathurst, NB

100.00

Bob/Marc

SPCA - Bathurst by Lisa Arseneau

Bathurst, NB

100.00

Bob/Marc

Philippe Neveu @ Festival des Rameurs dory race

Bathurst, NB

250.00

Bob/Marc

Melanie Charlong

Bathurst, NB

100.00

Bob/Marc

Chaleur Ground Search and Rescue Inc.

Bathurst, NB

250.00

Bob/Marc

Total spent / Total dépensé

 

5,078.27

 

Balance - UTE / Solde SEI

 

12,921.73

 

Presidents' Use / A l'usage du président

 

2,000.00

 

The Mission - Help with Christmas dinners

Ottawa

   

The Ottawa Food Bank - In lieu of Christmas cards

Ottawa

   

The Snowsuit Fund of Ottawa

Ottawa

   

Total spent / Total dépensé

 

0.00

 

Balance - President / Solde - Président

 

2,000.00

 

Total Balance - Donations - UTE and President /
Solde total - Dons - SEI et Président

 

14,921.73

 

Extraordinary Donations from Surplus /
Dons Extraordinaires provenant du surplus

 

5,000.00

 

NON-UTE EVENTS as of May 29, 2017

RECIPIENT
BÉNÉFICIAIRE

REASON
RAISON

AMOUNT
MONTANT

 

BUDGET - 2017

     

20,000.00

 

2016 Carry Over / Report de 2016

     

19,597.47

 

TOTAL BUDGET - 2016

     

39,597.47

           

Deoraj Mahabirsingh

PSAC National Health & Safety

Nov 18-20/16

Montréal QC

 

1,879.33

Theresa Greenough 

CLC Winter school

Jan 22-27/17

BC

 

650.00

Kimberley Koch

CLC Pacific Region Winter School

Jan 2017

Harrison BC

 

1,250.00

 

TOTAL SPENT / DÉPENSES

     

3,779.33

 

BUDGET AVAILABLE / DISPONIBLE

     

35,818.14

           

Approved - No Claim Received

 

Location

Advance

Approved

Approuvé - Aucune réclamation reçue

 

Location

Avance

Approuvé

Raffi Sahakian

Conférence Régionale AFPC

Nov 4-6/16

Estérel

 

188.00

Saïda Alibhay

Conférence Régionale AFPC

Nov 4-6/16

Estérel

 

188.00

Treana Campbell

PSAC National Health & Safety

Nov 18-20/16

Montréal QC

 

1,053.00

           
 

NET BUDGET AVAILABLE / DISPONIBLE

   

34,389.14

GRIEVANCES:

Since our last Executive Council meeting, the National Office received one hundred forty-five (145) grievances, other than classification.

During the same period, two hundred twenty (220) grievances were presented dealing with a variety of issues, including mostly hours of work and Article 34.18. In this quarter, we received one hundred seventy-three (172) grievance replies from CRA, twelve (12) of which were allowed, one hundred and fifty-three (153) were denied and seven (7) were withdrawn by the grievor.

OPENED INVENTORY

REC’D

TO BE
PRESENTED

AWAITING
REPLY

ADJ.

CLOSED

Nov /96 – Nov 18/11

4852

 

 

32

4820

Nov 19/11 – Nov 16/12

128

 

 

12

116

Nov 19/12 – March 5/13

33

1[1]

 

1

31

March 6/13 – May 24/13

29

 

 

2

27

May 27/13 – Sept 11/13

43

 

 

15

28

Sept 12/13 – Nov 19/13

14

 

 

7

7

Nov 20/13 - Mar 6/14

24

 

 

7

17

Mar 7/14 – May 21/14

41

 

 

6

35

May 22/14 – Sept 11/14

46

 

 

5

41

Sept 12/14 – Nov 26/14

70

 

 

11

59

Nov 27/14 – Mar 04/15

39

 

 

5

34

Mar 5/15 – May 27/15

38

 

 

7

31

May 28/15 – Sept 3/15

58

 

 

16

42

Sept 4/15 – Nov 24/15

479

10[2]

 

120

349

Nov 25/15 – Feb 23/16

72

   6[3]

 

5

61

Feb 24/16 – May 25/16

235

   5[4]

 

14

216

May 26/16 – Sept 7/16

39

2

 

11

26

Sept 8/16 – Nov 22/16

57

6

 

28

23

Nov 23/16 – Feb 21/17

56

21

 

17

18

Feb 22/17 – May 24/17

145

44

100[5]

 

1

There are presently ninety-five (95) grievances in the National Office inventory which have not yet been presented at the Final Level. Included in this number are thirteen (13) grievances dealing with Compressed Schedule/Work Week Hours of Work, fourteen (14) with PSTAR and fifteen (15) Rejection on Probation/Termination.

As has been previously mentioned, with respect to the 14 PSTAR grievances, we have recently concluded a Memorandum of Settlement and these grievances will be withdrawn when the terms of the settlement are implemented.

[1]. Grievance held in abeyance at request of PSAC pending judicial review of WSIB appeal.

[2]. PSTAR grievances being held in abeyance pending court proceedings, but will be scheduled in the near future.

[3]. Grievances are being held in abeyance at the grievor’s request pending a CHRC complaint.?

[4]. Two grievances are held in abeyance at the request of grievor and legal counsel pending the grievor’s criminal trial. Three other grievances are held in abeyance pending the completion of an MOA that will exist until Sept 2017. Two grievances are pending settlement discussions and two are held in abeyance at the request of the grievor.

[5]. Grievances related to one-time vacation leave presented in May.

POLICY GRIEVANCE:

There were no new policy grievances filed during this period.

CLASSIFICATION GRIEVANCES:

We did not receive any new classification grievances received during this quarter.

OPENED INVENTORY

REC’D

CLOSED

OUTSTANDING

Jun 04/00 – June 1/10

535

535

 

June 1/10 – Feb 28/11

4

4

 

March 1/11 – March 6/14

6

6

 

March 7/14 – May 21/14

1

1

 

May 22/14 – Nov 25/15

0

 

 

Nov 26/15 – Feb 23/16

1

 

1

Feb 24/16 – May 25/16

14

 

12

May 26/16 - Sept 7/16

0

 

 

Sept 8/16 – Nov 22/16

0

 

 

Nov 23/16 – Feb 21/17

0

 

 

Feb 22/17 – May 24/17

0

 

 

INDEPENDENT THIRD PARTY REVIEWS (ITPRs):

During this quarter, the National Office did not present any ITPRs. No new ITPRs were received in the National Office concerning staffing.

CRA POLICY REVIEW GRIEVANCES:

Currently there are no CRA Policy Grievances in our inventory.

May 24, 2017


DATE              ACTIVITY

FEBRUARY

13-15               Local 20026 AGM                                                                  Penticton
16-17               Local 20003 AGM                                                                  Kelowna
21                    Local 20007 AGM                                                                  Burnaby
22                    Local 20027 AGM                                                                  Vancouver
23-24               Local 20029 AGM                                                                  Surrey

MARCH

7-8                   UTE Executive Council Meeting                                             Ottawa
9-11                 Presidents’ Conference                                                          Ottawa
12                    UTE Executive Council Meeting                                             Ottawa
15                    UTE Convention Planning Meeting                                        Ottawa
21                    PSAC Pre-Budget Briefing                                                     Ottawa

APRIL

4                      UTE Convention Planning Meeting                                        Ottawa
4                      Telephone Call from New Deputy Com. Of the CRA              Ottawa
5                      Arbitration Hearing                                                                  Ottawa
6                      Teleconference w/CRA re. the 150-day contract deadline     Ottawa
11                    Local 70000 AGM                                                                   Ottawa
19-20               Local 00001 AGM                                                                  Toronto
21-24               PSAC Prairies Regional Convention                                      Winnipeg
25                    Meeting on UTE Policy Paper                                                Ottawa
26-30               UTE Convention Committee Meetings                                   Ottawa
28                    Day of Mourning Ceremony                                                   Ottawa

MAY

2                      Local 00013 AGM                                                                  Toronto
3                      PSAC NBoD Conference Call                                                Toronto
4                      Local 00048 AGM                                                                  Toronto
5-7                   PSAC NCR Regional Convention                                          Ottawa
7-12                 CLC Convention                                                                     Toronto
25-28               PSAC Ontario Regional Convention                                      Toronto

JUNE

1-4                   NCR Regional Meeting                                                           Mt. Tremblant, Qc.
6-8                   PSAC NBoD                                                                           Ottawa
9-11                 Membership Appreciation BBQ                                              Winnipeg
12-16               UTE Executive Council Meeting                                             Ottawa
15                    NUMC                                                                                     Ottawa
22-25               PSAC Atlantic Regional Convention                                      Saint John


 

APRIL / AVRIL 2017

 

 

 

MEMBERSHIP:

FULL

RAND

SUSPENDED

TOTAL

 

 

 

SUSPENDUS

ATLANTIC REGION / RÉGION DE L'ATLANTIQUE

 

 

 

 

 

Saint John (60005)

312

 

 

 

312

Bathurst (60006)

90

 

 

 

90

Moncton (60008)

83

 

 

 

83

Halifax (80003)

283

 

 

 

283

Sydney (80004)

92

 

 

 

92

St. John's T.C. / C.F. de St. John's (90000)

519

9

 

 

528

St. John's T.S.O. / St. John's B.S.F. (90001)

371

5

 

 

376

Charlottetown (90002)

115

 

 

 

115

Summerside (90006)

800

 

2

 

802

 

2665

14

2

 

2681

QUEBEC REGION / RÉGION DE QUÉBEC

 

 

 

 

 

Jonquière (10004)

514

3

 

 

517

Shawinigan South / Shawinigan-Sud (10005)

973

 

 

 

973

Québec (10006)

257

 

 

 

257

Trois-Rivières (10027)

40

1

 

 

41

Chicoutimi (10110)

75

 

 

 

75

 

1859

4

0

 

1863

MONTREAL REGION / RÉGION DE MONTRÉAL

 

 

 

 

 

Sherbrooke (10007)

67

 

 

 

67

Montréal (10008)

794

7

 

 

801

Rouyn-Noranda (10009)

30

 

 

 

30

Montérégie South Shore / Montérégie Rive Sud (10017)

149

1

 

 

150

Laval (10028)

248

5

 

 

253

Outaouais (70035)

56

3

1

 

60

 

1344

16

1

 

1361

NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION / RÉGION DE LA CAPITALE NATIONALE

 

 

 

 

Ottawa Headquarters / Administration centrale d'Ottawa (70000)

2208

37

13

 

2258

Ottawa East / Ottawa-Est (70001)

450

21

6

 

477

Ottawa Centre / Ottawa Centre (70004)

429

32

10

 

471

Ottawa I.T.S.O. / B.S.I.O. d'Ottawa (70009)

273

23

5

 

301

Ottawa T.S.O. / B.S.F. d'Ottawa (70010)

329

13

 

 

342

Ottawa Technology Centre / Centre de technologie d'Ottawa (70030)

1220

97

6

 

1323

 

4909

223

40

 

5172

NORTHERN & EASTERN ONTARIO REGION / RÉGION DU NORD ET DU SUD DE L'ONTARIO

 

Peterborough (00008)

72

 

 

 

72

Kingston (00011)

79

 

 

 

79

Belleville (00012)

129

1

 

 

130

Thunder Bay (00020)

84

 

 

 

84

Sudbury T.C. / C.F. de Sudbury (00042)

1479

21

1

 

1501

 

1843

22

1

 

1866

SOUTHWESTERN ONTARIO REGION / RÉGION DU SUD-OUEST DE L'ONTARIO

 

 

 

Hamilton (00014)

684

5

1

 

690

Kitchener (00015)

294

1

 

 

295

St. Catharines (00016)

174

 

 

 

174

London (00017)

307

 

 

 

307

Windsor (00018)

181

 

 

 

181

 

1640

6

1

 

1647

GREATER TORONTO REGION / RÉGION DU GRAND TORONTO

 

 

 

 

Toronto East / Toronto-Est (00001)

616

11

 

 

627

Toronto Centre / Toronto Centre (00013)

832

26

 

 

858

Toronto North / Toronto-Nord (00048)

563

16

6

 

585

Toronto West / Toronto-Ouest (00051)

446

1

1

 

448

Barrie (00052)

96

1

1

 

98

 

2553

55

8

 

2616

PRAIRIE REGION / RÉGION DES PRAIRIES

 

 

 

 

 

Regina (40022)

137

2

1

 

140

Winnipeg (50021)

409

3

 

 

412

Winnipeg T.C. / C.F. de Winnipeg (50031)

1306

9

 

 

1315

Winnipeg C.C.S.C. / C.A.S.R. de Winnipeg (50032)

147

4

 

 

151

 

1999

18

1

 

2018

ROCKY MOUNTAIN REGION / RÉGION DES MONTAGNE ROCHEUSES

 

 

 

 

Calgary Call Centre / Centre d'appels de Calgary (30022)

276

6

 

 

282

Calgary (30024)

403

15

1

 

419

Edmonton (30025)

703

3

4

 

710

Lethbridge (30027)

34

 

 

 

34

Saskatoon (40023)

216

 

 

 

216

 

1632

24

5

 

1661

PACIFIC REGION / RÉGION DU PACIFIQUE

 

 

 

 

 

Prince George (20002)

98

8

 

 

106

Kelowna (20003)

58

 

 

 

58

Fraser Valley T.S.O. / B.S.F. de Fraser Valley (20007)

572

1

 

 

573

Penticton (20026)

214

 

 

 

214

Vancouver (20027)

644

8

1

 

653

Victoria (20028)

250

 

 

 

250

Surrey T.C. / C.F. de Surrey (20029)

755

31

 

 

786

Pacific Region Call Centre / Centre d'appels de la région du Pacifique (20050)

355

11

 

 

366

 

2946

59

1

 

3006

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unallotted

98

1133

0

 

1231

 

23488

1574

60

 

25122

 

 

 

 

 

 

Respectfully submitted,

Bob Campbell,
National President