Public Service Alliance of Canada BC

PSAC Okanagan Area Council Minutes of Meeting April 13, 2007

The Library, Mickie’s Pub, Kelowna
In Attendance:

Susan Yaciw	UTE 20003	Maria-Luiza Romano	AGR 20027
Kareen Stanich	AGR 20043	Joy Harrison	APSAR
Darrell-Lee McKenzie	AGR 20043	Jennifer Leenhouts	CEIU 20972
Roberta Gourlie	CEIU 20915

The meeting was called to order at 5:40 p.m. with Susan Yaciw in the chair.

Continue reading below or download the Okanagan Area Council minutes April 13 2007 (pdf)

Minutes: Minutes from January 27, 2007 were accepted. m/s/c

Treasurer’s Report: The report was presented (see attached) m/s/c. The affiliation rate is up in 2007. The question of the need for an audited financial statement remains.

Action: Dues for 2007 ($1 per Local member located in the Okanagan) should be sent to Darrell-Lee McKenzie

Action: S. Yaciw to check at next BC Regional Council meeting to see if the annual financial report needs to be audited.

Action: CEIU 20972 owes dues for 2006 and 2007. J. Leenhouts to have a cheque forwarded shortly.
Update from Regional Council Okanagan / Kootenay: S. Yaciw reported that the next BC Regional Council meeting is April 27^th. J. Leenhouts requested a bargaining update for all PSAC members (ie/ when is each contract up, what stage is bargaining at, etc.). D-L. McKenzie asked if there is an allowance or subsidy available for Locals and/or Area Councils to affiliate with a District Labour Council.

Action: S. Yaciw to obtain a bargaining update and information on affiliating with District Labour Councils.
Education: Training request discussed at last meeting was submitted. Up-coming courses include: “Talking Union Basics” (TUB), June 2^nd, Kelowna; “Grievance Handling”, June 3^rd, Kelowna; Advanced Steward Training, June 7^th to 10^th, Vancouver.

D-L. McKenzie reported that members living in the south Okanagan would prefer that training be held in Penticton. Members living in the south are encouraged to register for TUB and Grievance Handling courses as there may be a possibility to have the location changed.

Two more days of training are to be scheduled in the Okanagan. Members would still like to see the “Duty to Accommodate” course.

Action: S. Yaciw to discuss with Regina Brennan the possibility of changing the course location to Penticton if registration warrants it, and to request the “Duty to Accommodate” course for the fall.

MP Lobbying: S Yaciw reported that she contacted Stockwell Day (MP Okanagan -Coquihalla) and Ron Cannan (MP Kelowna – Lake Country) by email regarding the anti-scab legislation. Neither MP would accept an appointment. J. Leenhouts reported that she also contacted Ron Cannan by email regarding childcare issues and did not receive a response. R. Gourlie reported that she attended an open house for Colin Mayes (MP Okanagan - Shuswap).

Bargaining: Treasury Board groups have experienced a name change as follows: PA Group (Program and Administrative Services) formerly Table 1; SV Group (Operational Services) formerly Table 2; TC Group (Technical Services) formerly Table 3; EB Group (Education and Library Science) formerly Table 5. Contracts expire as follows: PA Group on June 20, 2007; SV group on August 4, 2007; TC Group on June 21, 2007; and EB Group June 30, 2007. The TC and EB Groups are on the binding arbitration route. The TC Group as well as members working in enforcement will have pay studies conducted. All groups will exchange demands electronically before April 30^th. Negotiations are proceeding with face-to-face meetings scheduled for May and June followed by a summer break. Negotiations will resume in September.

CFIA contract expired in December 2006 and they have already exchanged demands.

CRA contract expires October 31, 2007.

Bargaining updates can be found at http://www.psac.com/bargaining/index-e.shtml

Note that negotiations will be disrupted if a federal election is called.

Many aspects of bargaining and strike activity (timing of strike votes, essential services agreements, etc.) are affected by the PSMA and PSEA legislation.

Political Action: S. Yaciw and D-L. McKenzie participated in the Area Council conference call held March 14^th. Area Councils gave updates on lobbying activities, and the possibility of a federal election was discussed. The Count-Me-In campaign will run again, however no ridings in the Okanagan are targeted.

The election Act was discussed. PSAC activists can be partisan with our members but not with others. We can make political donations as individuals up to $1000 but that the union can not make donations.

There is a strategic plan in BC if an election is called which is modelled on the strike structure. S. Yaciw as Area Council President to take the lead on political action.

Area Council Strategic Planning: J. Harrison presented the following report:
The Session was held in Vancouver February 20 & 21, 2007. Ruth Eisworth & Joy Harrison attended on behalf of the Okanagan Area Council.

The first activity was the mapping of the area councils and their territory. It was apparent that our AC covers the southern part of the province to the Alberta border. To get more of the locals in the area to join, PSAC has prepared a one page leaflet…Also affiliation with District Labour Councils is encouraged.

A workshop discussion was conducted as the “Union Cafe”…5 questions were put to the tables, and for each new question several of the table members moved so that each group was fresh in discussion each new question. The questions were:

• What is the purpose of area councils?
• What are some of the activities that your area council does to fulfill its role in the union?
• What are the challenges/barriers that prevent AC from functioning up to par?
• What should area councils start/stop/continue doing?
• Whose support does the area council need to be more successful?

The next discussion was on the topic of political action, and successful techniques to lobby politicians. A guest speaker from the BC federation of Labour spoke about The Count-Me-In campaign, and provided the website www.count-me-in.net.

Challenges faced by the membership in becoming politically active with the new guidelines.
Ruth & Joy determined the priorities for the area council to be:

1. Have a membership drive. Contact local presidents and invite them to belong. Advise Patrick at the PSAC office so that he can place our meeting dates and minutes of the PSAC website.

2. Hold a strategic planning session: what is the purpose, focus.

3. Develop a mission statement.

4. Invite Surrey-Delta-Langley area council to the Okanagan (contact is Sigrid Hagglund sigridh@uniserve.com).
The committee discussed options for inviting the Surrey-Delta-Langley Area Council to the Okanagan, and expanded discussion to include all BC Area Councils. Would it be possible to hold a follow-up meeting to the strategic planning session in the Okanagan?

Action: S. Yaciw to bring idea of hosting a meeting in the Okanagan to the next council meeting.

Action: K. Stanich to update mailing list and send minutes and meeting dates to Patrick Bragg for posting on the website.

Jurisdictional Vote: J. Leenhouts reported on the up-coming jurisdictional vote to determine which Component (CEIU or NH&W) will represent all PSAC members at Service Canada.

Participation of Locals in the South Okanagan: D-L. McKenzie reported that she attended the AGM at CEIU Local 20917 and spoke about Area Councils, bargaining, and discussed ways to include smaller Locals (ie/ PSAC forum, joining the south Okanagan Labour Council, staring an Area Council). K. Stanich reported that she provided contact information for some of the Locals to R. Santo to determine if there is interest in proceeding further with starting an Area Council. The possibility of rotating our meetings to accommodate interest in the south was discussed (ie/ annual schedule to consist of 2 meetings in Kelowna, 1 meeting each in Vernon and Penticton).

Action: S. Yaciw to discuss with Regina Brennan the possibility of hosting a PSAC Forum in Penticton during her next trip to the Okanagan.

Adjourned at 7:35 p.m. m/s/c

Next Meeting TBA