Public Service Alliance of Canada BC

Bargaining proposal calls for protections for all Union members at CBSA through arming implementation

Our FB Bargaining Team met with Treasury Board/CBSA for four days the week of October 9 in an effort to bring us closer to a new collective agreement. At the outset, our team expressed disappointment and frustration over CBSA’s communications to Union members over the summer regarding the Arming Initiative, including management’s Intranet postings and direct discussions with our members. We reminded the Employer that these actions on the part of CBSA represent both a violation of labour law and a barrier to constructive negotiations. In response to CBSA’s position, our team tabled a bargaining demand calling for full job security for every member of our union at CBSA. Treasury Board/CBSA refused to make any job security commitments at the bargaining table. We are holding to our demand.

CBSA is being reckless and irresponsible in threatening potential job loss over the implementation of the Arming Initiative. Our hope is that the Employer will do the right thing, return to the bargaining table next month and work with our team to ensure that all PSAC members at CBSA are guaranteed full job security under our new contract as firearms are introduced.

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Your bargaining team was back at the table on Monday October 15 - the first day in the two weeks of negotiations with CRA that are scheduled until October 26. We met with the employer and received some responses on several outstanding issues.

We have three sub-committees that are currently meeting as part of the bargaining process: the ACS-SP classification conversion sub-committee, the Workforce Adjustment (WFA) sub-committee and a sub-committee that is discussing issues affecting term workers at the Agency. We expect reports from all three sub-committees early this week. Once your team has the reports, we will move to deal with other remaining issues.

Once again, we will be continuing to issue bulletins during these next two weeks of negotiations.

Another thank you to our members

Your team thanks all of the members who are in the workplace showing their support by wearing our “Deliver the Deal!” stickers that were distributed on Monday. Your message to our employer is helping us get a fair settlement at the table.

Postponement of our December Treasury Board bargaining sessions has become necessary, due to delays with the Essential Service Agreements (ESAs) and the compensation studies.

Essential Service Agreements

To date, many Departments have not met their legal obligations to provide the most basic information in regards to essential services agreements. This has resulted in PSAC filing complaints with the Public Service Labour Relations Board (PSLRB), in order to force Departments to provide the necessary information to conclude the ESAs. While we are pushing the PSLRB to act on our complaints, we are also continuing to seek the information from the Departments.

Previously known as designations, these agreements identify essential tasks that must continue in the event of a strike between the parties. The completion of ESAs is an integral part of the negotiations process; this employer inaction is therefore causing delays in bargaining.

Compensation Studies

At the request of PSAC and Treasury Board, the PSLRB is conducting two compensation studies; one examining Treasury Board employees performing enforcement work, and another for members of the Technical Services (TC) bargaining unit. These compensation studies were expected to be completed by December 2007. Unfortunately, due to a number of circumstances, both compensation studies will be delayed into the new year. Your bargaining teams need to have access to the studies’ outcomes in order to proceed at the bargaining table. The results of the studies are critical to the negotiation of economic increases.

We expect most, if not all tables to complete work on demands that can be negotiated without the completion of the pay studies during the October/November bargaining sessions. Given this, we have postponed the December 2007 negotiations sessions. During December, negotiating team members will be engaged in mobilization activities in the field. We encourage members to participate in these activities, and remain involved in the negotiation of their next collective agreement.

PSAC Okanagan Area Council Minutes of Meeting September 21, 2007, Pacific Agri-Food Research Centre, Summerland

In Attendance:

• Susan Yaciw UTE 20003
• Linda Woods NAT 20140
• Kelly Megyesi CEIU 20915
• Jennifer Leenhouts CEIU 20972
• Darrell-Lee McKenzie AGR 20043
• Rowena Santo UTE 20026
• Kareen Stanich AGR 20043
• Brenda Williams UTE 20026
• Roberta Gourlie CEIU 20915

The meeting was called to order at 6:00 p.m. with Susan Yaciw in the chair.

Continue reading below or download the Okanagan Area Council meeting minutes - Sept 21 (pdf)

Minutes: Minutes from June 22, 2007 were accepted. m/s/c

Area Council Treasurer’s Report: The report was presented (see attached) m/s/c

Old Business:

Audited Financial Report – Books to be audited.

Action: D-L. McKenzie to have books audited at end of December for AGM in January and send copy to REVP.

Affiliating to District Labour Council - One local will affiliate with the South Okanagan Boundry Labour Council at a cost of $0.25 per member per month. The cost to affiliate AGRU 20043 is approximately $240, however there will be a rebate from the REVP. Any PSAC member in the area can attend the meetings which are the 1st Tuesday of every month at 7:00 p.m. (unless the 1st day of the month is a Tuesday, then the meeting is the 2nd Tuesday). Meetings are held at the Penticton Teachers Union office on Ellis Street.

Action: D-L. McKenzie to affiliate AGR 20043 with SOBLC.

Action: Anyone interested in attending meetings should provide contact information (snail and email) to D-L. McKenzie for the mailing list.

PSAC Forum – Was well attended in Penticton and there were new faces in Kelowna and Vernon. It would be nice to see this type of forum on an annual basis.

Action: S. Yaciw to ask Amal Rana for a summary and distribute to Area Council members.

New Business:

BC Regional Council: The next meeting is October 21-22. There will also be leadership training October 17-20, and a meeting with regional office staff on the 23rd. S. yaciw expressed concern about the regions outside the lower mainland and island not having an opportunity for input.

Action: Any items should be forwarded to S. Yaciw.

Political Action: S. Yaciw reported that the committee met by conference call on September 5th (minutes attached). She has written to MP’s and candidates regarding defending public services.

D-L. McKenzie reported that the Labour Picnic in Penticton was excellent. S. Yaciw and K. Megyesi reported that Public Services Are Cool flyers were distributed in Westbank, Kelowna and Vernon.

The transfer of federal non-regulatory laboratories to universities or private sector was discussed as this could potentially affect many members and would also impact the public as federal labs do research that is for public good. Locals and Components are actively working on this issue.

J. Leenhouts reported that at HRSDC jobs are being devolved to the provinces. BC is one of the last provinces to see this happen. Approximately 500 members were affected in Ontario and we would expect 200-250 members in BC affected by this.

BC Regional Convention April 18-20, 2008: Discussed concern about the delegate selection process for Locals with <100 members. How will the process work for affiliating these small Locals and selecting delegates? Also discussed potential resolutions such as one that would allow the REVP to reside outside the lower mainland.

Action: S. Yaciw to inquire how delegate selection will occur.
Action: S. Yaciw to find out deadline for resolution submission.
Action : S. Yaciw to raise at next Regional Council meeting the importance of delegates being made aware of the requirements to be elected / hold office.

PSAC BC Union School: Scheduled November 2-4, 2007 with the theme Public and Proud. Deadline for applications is September 28, 2007. For more information see:
http://www.psacbc.com/education/2007-union-school/

Next Meeting: Saturday December 1, 2007, Kelowna

Action: K. Megyesi to investigate suitable location in Kelowna.

Adjourned at 7:25 p.m. m/s/c

After the summer break, the members of the PSAC Program and Administrative Services (PA) negotiating team returned ready and eager to get down to bargaining with Treasury Board. We are united in our goal of achieving the best possible agreement for our members.

The two parties met every day from October 2 to 5. During that time, the union made presentations to the employer on the following issues:

• changes to the grievance procedure,
• union leave, and
• the Joint Learning Program.

The union also tabled a proposed Memorandum of Understanding on the issue of language training.

During the week, the two teams spent time negotiating several non-monetary operational demands and while progress at the table is slow, it has been steady.

Your PA team is looking forward to being back at the bargaining table on October 30. Negotiations are scheduled to continue up to and including November 2.

Dear Prime Minister:

On behalf of the Public Service Alliance of Canada, I am writing to express our deep concern regarding the recent turn of events in Burma. Canadians and people around the world have been able to witness growing protests in Burma, led by Buddhist monks and nuns, as they have been gathering momentum in recent days.

• Read the latest news from Burma at labourstart.org

In solidarity with the monks who sacrificed their lives, and to the students and youth who bravely confronted the military dictatorship through peaceful protest, the Burmese Federation of Trade Unions called a general strike for October 1. Once again, the military dictatorship has carried out acts of extreme violence against the Burmese people, including repeatedly firing weapons directly into crowds of peaceful demonstrators, and carrying out mass arrests and murderous assaults.

What is most disturbing is that such gross violations of human rights are standard fare for this regime. Not only has it regularly engaged in the barbaric practice of forced labour and imprisoned the leaders of the movement for democracy such as Aung San Suu Kyi, but also it has unleashed military and police terror each time the courageous people of Burma have attempted to stand up against the dictatorship.

In response, governments around the world, including the Government of Canada, have expressed condemnation of these acts. As recently as June, 2007, the House of Commons unanimously demanded that the Burmese military junta release Suu Kyi from the lengthy house arrest she has endured. She has been forced to spend 11 of the past 17 years in detention since she won a landslide election. The Public Service Alliance of Canada supports an expanded demand that all of Burma’s political prisoners, including the thousands of monks recently arrested in Rangoon, as well as student leaders, be immediately freed.

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The Human Rights Committee meeting, scheduled for October 11th, has been canceled due to lack of availability of members. The next meeting, set by the committee at your June meeting, is Tuesday, November 6th. A meeting reminder will be sent out closer to the date.

In the meantime - the poster design contest is still underway!

To: PSAC-BC Locals/Branches with members in the Metro Vancouver Region

You are invited to the Vancouver Area Council’s ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING on Tuesday, October 16 at the PSAC Vancouver Regional Office (#200-5238 Joyce Street). Dinner at 5:30 pm, meeting at 6 pm.

All locals/branches with members in New Westminster, Burnaby, Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Vancouver, North Vancouver, West Vancouver and Squamish are welcome to attend!

Tentative agenda:

• Message from Regional Executive Vice-President, Kay Sinclair
• Executive Reports (President, Vice-President, Treasurer, etc.)
• Youth Representative Report
• TB Bargaining update - PA unit, member-negotiator Megan Adam
• Area Council Executive Officer Elections
• Other Business

Please note, only member locals/branches who have paid Area Council dues in full will have the right to vote in the election of officers or other business which may arise. Please RSVP to Monica Urrutia by October 12th as dinner will be served

On October 17, 2007 — The United Nations Day for the Eradication of Poverty — join millions around the world as they STAND UP and SPEAK OUT to Make Poverty History. STAND UP is an innovative and exciting challenge issued by the Global Call to Action Against Poverty and the United Nations Millennium Campaign.

Last year, 23.5 million people worldwide, including 49,000 Canadians, stood up against poverty in a 24 hour period, setting a Guinness World Record.

Show your support for the global fight against poverty and let world leaders know that we are holding them accountable for their promises to end poverty by 2015.

What qualifies as a STAND UP event?

A STAND UP event can be almost anything - a concert, vigil, picnic. It can take place anywhere: at work, in the streets, at the family dinner table, or classroom. The only requirement is that there must be a time when everyone reads a poverty pledge and STANDS UP for 1 minute to be counted for the Guinness World Record.

What are PSAC members doing?

On October 16 and 17, PSAC members will be joining people around the world by standing up and speaking out at their own events. To be counted, events in BC must take place between October 16 at 2:00 p.m. and October 17 at 2:00 p.m. To be included in the Stand Up and Speak Out count, please e-mail the following information to Janet St. Jean (stjeanj@psac-afpc.com) at PSAC’s Social Justice Fund no later than 8:00 p.m. (EST) on October 17.

• Your Local/Branch
• Date, time and location of your event
• Number of people counted and;
• Contact information

Note: members are encouraged to participate in the count by raising their hand if standing up is not possible.

Download the … (all .pdf)

• Stand up and speak out against poverty instructions for PSAC members
• Stand up and speak out against poverty poster
• Stand up and speak out against poverty info. flyer

For more information contact the Vancouver Regional Office.

How else can I get involved?

There are several other ways that you can be part of STAND UP and SPEAK OUT to Make Poverty History.

• Organize your own STAND UP and SPEAK OUT to Make Poverty History event. Check out our creative ideas.
• Insert a STAND UP and SPEAK OUT to Make Poverty History moment into an existing event or gathering — a sporting match, workplace lunchroom, a classroom, conference, or a movie theatre.
• Attend a STAND UP and SPEAK OUT to Make Poverty History Action organized by others in your community. Click to see what’s happening across Canada.
• Register your Stand Up Event and report your numbers after the event at standagainstpoverty.org/events/create

For more information visit: makepovertyhistory.ca/stand-up

Jamey Mills, PSAC-BC Youth Coordinator and BC Fed Young Worker’s Committee chair, was one of the determined volunteers who helped campaign to get the “Grant’s Law” approved. When told about the regulation’s approval, Mills commented, “I was so excited about this! It was such an empowering moment, it’s really sad it took such an unfortunate event to get a progressive change like this in place.”

• If you are a young worker and member of the Public Service Alliance of Canada and want to get involved and support similar work, please contact Jamey Mills at jamey_m@telus.net for more information.

VICTORIA - A regulation requiring a mandatory prepayment system at service stations throughout the province will be in effect Feb. 1, 2008, to help protect employees who work late at night, Labour and Citizens’ Services Minister Olga Ilich said today.

“Government’s priority is to protect all workers in British Columbia,” said Ilich. “We want to make sure that people return home safely after a day’s work.”

The regulation makes a prepayment system mandatory in service stations across B.C. 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This expands on other regulations brought in following the tragic death of station attendant Grant De Patie in 2005.

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The negotiations started in July 2006. From the start, the Corps of Commissionaires displayed its usual bag of bad tricks. They fired one of the members of the PSAC negotiating team and imposed disciplinary measures on another. However, that only served to strengthen our members’ resilience and solidarity. The members fought the firing and the disciplinary measures and they won. The Corps had to reinstate our member and it dropped the disciplinary measures against the other member of the negotiating team.

The parties reached a tentative agreement in February 2007 and the agreement was promptly ratified by the PSAC. However, the Corps kept refusing to sign it. This prompted the PSAC to file a complaint of bad faith bargaining and, after one day of hearings on October 2, the Corps finally agreed to ratify the new collective agreement.

The contract provides our members with a grievance and arbitration procedure, health and safety provisions, a hiring process, job security and salary increases. The contract expires in March 09.

For our members, the signing of this collective agreement demonstrates once again that solidarity among the membership will always win the struggle, even against the toughest employer.

Our proposal: a fair, objective standard for assigning shift work

During the lead-up to bargaining, members across the country raised concerns about the lack of clear, objective standards with respect to how employees are assigned work hours. In some parts of the country, who works when is mutually agreed upon. In other cases, management assigns the shifts.

To deal with the issue our team has brought a bargaining demand to the table that proposes a clear, transparent and fair standard for the allocation of shifts. While VSSA’s and the hours for shifts would remain the same as under our current contract, under our proposal individuals would bid on the shift or line they wish to work for all shift-based work schedules at CBSA. The shift or line would be assigned by seniority, rather than management making the decision unilaterally.

Recent problems at Pearson and P.E. Trudeau airports in Toronto and Montreal have only served to reinforce the fact that we need a fair system around the allocation of shifts. Seniority is recognized in worksites around the world as the only way to ensure fairness and objectivity. Our years of service with our employer should be respected.

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To: PSAC-BC Locals/Branches

Please let your Aboriginal, GLBT, People with Disabilities and Racially visible members know that the next PSAC-BC Human Rights Committee meeting is Thursday, October 11th at 5:45 pm at the PSAC Vancouver Regional Office #200-5238 Joyce Street. Please RSVP by October 9th as a light dinner is planned.

Out of town participants are welcome to join via teleconference. Please RSVP by October 9th to ensure a call is set-up.

Also, note that the committee is holding a poster design contest.

PSAC SOUTHERN VANCOUVER ISLAND DISTRICT AREA COUNCIL ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING MINUTES September 26, 2007

PSAC Victoria Regional Office

Members Present:

• Nick Humphreys – UEW 20169
• Virginia Vaillancourt – UVAE 20030
• John Rumsby – UTE 20028
• Todd Genereux – UNDE 21011
• Cindy Little – UTE 20028
• Graeme Goodmanson – UEW 20169
• Mandi Schubert – CEIU 20975
• Scott Parker – UTE 20028
• Jim Sidel – DCL 20500
• Ian Wiggs – UNDE 21008
• Ken Waldron – UNDE 21013
• Dave Ramalho – UNDE 21011
• Sharon Hazelwood – NAT 20140
• Pete Wills – UEW 20076
• Dave Jackson – Regional Rep
• James Little – H & S Rep
• Rosemary MacKenzie – Admin Assistant

Continue reading below or download the Southern Vancouver Island Area Council minutes - September 26th (pdf)

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VANCOUVER - The Musqueam First Nation must be consulted before the federal government sells two multimillion-dollar buildings in downtown Vancouver, the Federal Court of Canada said in an order released Friday.

Justice Frederick Gibson issued an interlocutory injunction that prohibits the federal government from “transferring, selling or otherwise disposing of the properties” pending a formal hearing on the matter.

The buildings are located in an area the Musqueam band claims as part of its traditional territory. Lawyer Jim Reynolds, acting for the Musqueam, said the order was granted and the judge’s written reasons would follow later.

The Musqueam action began with an announcement earlier this year that the federal government intended to dispose of nine federal buildings across Canada, including the Sinclair Centre and another buildings on Burrard Street.

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Ottawa - In a week that saw the National Association of Women and the Law forced to close its doors because of funding cuts and the announcement of drastic funding cuts at Environment Canada that threaten environmental monitoring programs and the Canadian Wildlife Service, Canadians should question the Harper Government’s constant refrain that budgetary surpluses should be directed towards tax cuts.

The government announced on Thursday that it will use part of its nearly $14 billion budget surplus to fund $725 million in tax cuts – an amount that adds up to about $35 for every taxpayer.

“Thursday’s announcement is one more example that shows the Harper government’s budgetary policy is out of touch with the views of Canadians, including the members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada. We all want more services not less,” says John Gordon, National President of the PSAC.

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Your bargaining team spent Friday wrapping up the progress that has been made in the last two weeks of negotiations. We are at a critical stage and there are still several important issues on the table that will need to be resolved if we are to reach a settlement.

The employer is continuing to demonstrate a commitment to the process and has agreed to an additional week of negotiations in October. We will be returning to the table in two weeks, starting on October 15. Negotiations are scheduled to continue until October 26.

Your team remains cautiously optimistic that we can achieve a tentative agreement before October 31.

Our ability to achieve a fair settlement continues to depend on your strong support. Stay tuned for information from your Local about how you can show your support for your team and for a fair settlement.

The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation – Granville Island Office and the Public Service Alliance of Canada reached a tentative agreement on September 21, 2007. The three (3) year agreement was ratified by the membership on September 27, 2007.Some of the highlights of the agreement include:

• Effective April 1, 2007, an economic increase of 3.16%, an incentive pay of 3.07% (lump sum) and a corporate award of 2.5% (lump sum).
• Effective April 1, 2008, and April 1, 2009, economic increases, incentive pay and corporate awards as per other corporate employees.
• Effective April 1, 2007, the Granville Island Premium to be increased from 1% to 2%
• Improvements to the Vacation Leave - 2 1/12 days per calendar month after 18 years (from 19) and 2.5 days per calendar month after 28 years (from 30).

Over 40 PSAC members work at CMHC - Granville Island. They perform a variety of duties including Administration, Grounds Maintenance, Market and Events Coordination, Janitorial, Painting, Building Maintenance etc.

The revised collective agreement has an expiry date of March 31, 2010.