Archive for August, 2008



While Labour Day is a time to celebrate labour and our role in building a better world, it also provides us the opportunity to strategize and plan for upcoming challenges. All across the country we must be prepared to mobilize in support of collective bargaining, and, in the face of a looming federal election, to get our message out about the importance of defending quality public services for all Canadians.

It is also appropriate on this day to pay tribute to the many victories of organized labour in the struggle for workers’ rights, better pay and safer jobs. We must be ever vigilant in protecting our hard-won gains and our right to free collective bargaining.

Thinking about our role in building a better world, we must also defend the rights of our brothers and sisters who risk their lives daily fighting for the rights of labour in countries where to be a trade unionist may mark one for violence or murder.

In July, I joined the leaders of Canada’s largest public sector unions and undertook a fact-finding mission to Colombia to examine: human and labour rights, the privatization of public services, working conditions, the impact of free trade and the absence of labour and human rights guarantees. Meeting with union leaders, indigenous groups, politicians, diplomats, and human rights groups, we were able examine first-hand the problems that afflict Colombia, especially given the current government’s human rights record and the concerns about the recent free trade agreement with Canada.

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PSAC SOUTHERN VANCOUVER ISLAND DISTRICT AREA COUNCIL GENERAL MEETING MINUTES - August 21st, 2008, PSAC Victoria Regional Office

Members Present:

  • Nick Humphreys - UEW 20169
  • Virginia Vaillancourt - UVAE 20030
  • Paul Jones - UNDE 21010
  • John Rumsby - UTE 20028
  • Cindy Little - UTE 20028
  • Scott Parker - UTE 20028
  • Ken Waldron - UNDE 21013
  • Graeme Goodmanson - UEW 20169
  • Peter Neelands - NRU 20088

PSAC Victoria RO Staff Present:

  • Dave Jackson - Regional Rep

Regrets:

  • Rosemary MacKenzie - PSAC Admin Assistant
  • Dave Rahmalho UNDE 21011
  • Ian Wiggs UNDE 21008
  • Fabian DeGuire UNDE 21008
  • Wayne Little UTE 20028
  • Anita Hoffman CEIU 20975
  • Mandi Schubert CEIU 20975

Continue reading below or download the August 21st SVIDAC meeting minutes (pdf).

1. Call to order Chairperson Sister Little called the meeting to order at 5:32 pm

2. Introductions Roundtable introductions of members present

3. Proposed Agenda No amendments  m/s/c J. Rumsby/P. Jones

4. Adoption of Minutes from January 29, 2008 1 correction noted on the minutes of June 3/08 - under Victoria Labour Council: change “Provincial” elections to Municipal elections. m/s/c P. Neelands/N. Humphreys

5. JLP (Joint Learning Program)

a) Sponsorship to other Bargaining Groups - concerns raised of not being 100% inclusive . Those members are not able to participate, bring it up with their Components re: concerns if any

b) New Regional Field Coordinator for JLP BC; Karen Geiger (Employer Representative). Not a lot of uptake in BC - encourage members to have JLP course(s) in their workplace.

Recommendation at the UEW Convention; Resolution to have a Duty to Accommodate course through JLP. It was mentioned that there is a new Employment Equity Course coming out and it will include a Duty to Accommodate portion.

6. Report from Pride 15-20 people attended and walked in the parade. 3 Components represented; 20 thousand people lined the streets. The 2 outreach students got Think Public cards signed by the crowd.

7. Resolutions to PSAC Triennial Convention & for the Area Council AGM It was recommended that with the AGM coming up and any Resolutions to the PSAC Triennial Convention must be submitted 6 months in advance of Convention start. A general call for resolutions to the SVIDAC AGM will be sent to all affiliated locals. A sub-committee was formed where resolutions can be sent to: Dave Jackson, Virginia Vaillancourt and Paul Jones. A few suggestions of resolutions were made and the sub-committee will follow up on these.

8. Political action

a) Request to have Mike Esso from the Victoria Labour Council attend the SVIDAC AGM to discuss the VLC role and affiliation. Encourage locals to invite Mike to their AGMs’ to talk to their members. Motion to invite Mike Esso from the Victoria Labour Council to the AGM to discuss the affiliation.m/s/c N. Humphreys/P. Jones (unanimous)

b) 20th Labour Day Picnic September 1, 2008 *Rain/Shine* Gorge Park (Kinsmen) 1070 Tillicum Rd, Esquimalt. Fun for the whole family. *Kids Games*Clowns*Refreshments* *Kids Eat Free*. Motion that the Area Council Executive review the viability of making a donation to the 20th Annual Labour Day Picnic.
m/s/c N. Humphreys/K. Waldron

Scotia Bank AIDS Walk for Life, Sunday September 14th, 2008 at 10am. Fernwood Square - Raise Money: $100.00/person, Please wear Red t-shirts. Any questions; contact Elaine Jeffery at caringuno@shaw.ca or check out the link at http://www.aidswalkforlife.ca/Victoria.htm

9. Adjournment Motion to adjourn meeting. Meeting adjourned at 6:15 pm. m/s/c P. Jones/K. Waldron

Next Meeting: AGM September 30th, 2008 5:30pm at the PSAC Regional Office 210-1497 ADMIRALS ROAD

Greetings and Happy Labour Day! Here is some information regarding events taking place on September 1st.

In Vancouver, The BC Federation of Labour is organizing a rally to press for a $10 minimum wage and to overturn the massive pay increases the Campbell government has given politicians and top bureaucrats. The rally is at the Vancouver Art Gallery, Robson St. side, starting at 11AM and ending at noon. Look for the PSAC flags and join the contingent from our union. A convoy of trucks, cars, taxi, motorbikes, etc will also be travelling to the rally from Surrey. Help send Gordon Campbell a message he can’t ignore!

The BC Union Label Trades Council is sponsoring the annual Labour Day picnic in Confederation Park, just off Willingdon Ave. in Burnaby. Join us between 11AM and 4PM (rain or shine) for fun & games for the entire family. PSAC members will be staffing a Think Public! table - drop by to say hello and sign a postcard to your MP to remind them of the value of quality public services.

The annual Labour Day picnic in Victoria also takes place between 11AM and 4PM in Gorge Park. Stop by and meet members of the Southern Vancouver Island Area Council - they will also be staffing a Think Public! table.

Events are taking place in more communities thoughout the province - contact your local Labour Council for details, or download this poster (pdf).

The Forgotten War Against Chinese North Americans

Friday, November 21st at 8pm
Fairmont Social Lounge, St. John’s College, 2111 Lower Mall, University of British Columbia

A panel/discussion focusing on the experience of Chinese and Chinese-North-Americans on the west coast between 1880-1920. There will be two speakers:  Dr. Jean Pfaelzer, author of the award-winning book Driven Out: The Forgotten War Against Chinese Americans (Random House 2007) and Dr. Patricia Roy, author of A White Man’s Province: British Columbia Politicians and Chinese and Japanese Immigrants 1858-1914.

Sponsored by the Departments of English and History, Canadian Studies, US Studies, Centre for Chinese Research, and St. John’s College, and the Chinese Canadian Historical Society of British Columbia.

The 2009 BC Regional Health & Safety Conference has been tentatively scheduled for February 28-March 1, 2009 at the Hilton Metrotown in Burnaby.

We are currently seeking members who are willing to play a leading role in the organization of the 2009 H&S Conference. The organizing team will work closely with James Little and myself and will be expected to provide their services up to and during the conference.

If you wish to join us on the organizing committee please review the following for instructions on our criteria and application process.

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stewards networkNominate the exceptional work that is bringing PSAC locals in BC together!

Local Development has been a successful initiative that has been with us for many years. This year, we in BC want to get even more creative with developing strong and vibrant Locals in the workplace and as a result we have created the PSAC Local Achievement Awards. We want to recognize and honor Locals who have achieved workplace victories on behalf of Sisters and Brothers in a variety of categories.

Building strong Locals, one steward at a time.

This is an initiative of the BC Stewards Network, for more information, contact Dave Jackson at the Victoria RO at (250) 950 1050 | 1 (866) 953 1050 | email jacksod@psac.com and download the …

A nomination form is available, to be used by Locals and/or members to nominate a Local whose victory at the Local level deserves recognition. Watch for more information coming soon in the mail.

With the summer drawing to an end PSAC members in BC were busy keeping bargaining front and centre while enjoying the weather … here are some photos & brief reports.

Throughout the summer members of CEIU Local 20961 are holding payday actions. They plan to continue until a collective agreement is reached.

On August 21, just before the Canada Post bargaining team returned to the table, members of UPCE Local 20101 working at the Main Post Office in Vancouver held a Day of Action barbecue - the day started out with cloudy skies but the blue sky and sun arrived at nooon. Members passed out “Stamp Out Deregulaton” leaflets to the public while members from CUPW, APOC and CUPE all showed their support.

On August 22 a small but spirited group of PSAC Young workers and their supporters came out to Trout Lake Park for some fun and barbeque.

Scroll down or click ‘continue reading’ for more, click on the thumbnails for a larger version, and click the photos to advance the slideshow.

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PSAC SOUTHERN VANCOUVER ISLAND DISTRICT AREA COUNCIL GENERAL MEETING MINUTES – June 3rd, 2008

PSAC Victoria Regional Office

Members Present:

  • Nick Humphreys – UEW 20169
  • Virginia Vaillancourt – UVAE 20030
  • Mandi Schubert – CEIU 20975
  • Cindy Little – UTE 20028
  • Ian Wiggs – UNDE 21008
  • Ken Waldron – UNDE 21013
  • Graeme Goodmanson – UEW 20169
  • Aniko Varga – AGR 20064
  • Jack Gale – GSU 20001
  • Fabian De Guire – UNDE 21008
  • Brenda Esplen – UTE 20028
  • Paul Jones – UNDE 21010

PSAC Victoria RO Staff Present:

  • Rosemary MacKenzie – Admin Assistant
  • Dave Jackson – Regional Rep

Regrets:

  • John Rumsby - UTE 20028
  • Wayne Little – UTE 20028
  • Peter Neelands – NRU 20088

Continue reading below, or download the Southern Vancouver Island Area Council June 3 2008 minutes (pdf).

Call to order Chairperson Sister Little called the meeting to order at 5:32pm

Introductions Roundtable introductions of members present

Proposed Agenda No amendments m/s/c N Humphreys/M Schubert

Adoption of Minutes from April 9, 2008 m/s/c J Gale/G Goodmanson

Sponsorship of JLP sessions A presentation was made by JLP April 9, 2008. The SVIDAC Executive met May 20th to discuss the sponsorships. Ken Waldron will be the chair of the committee to organize JLP sessions. Mandi Schubert and Virginia Vaillancourt will assist with organizing.

Update on Victoria Labour Council Volunteers needed for June 14th Childcare Rally at the legislature. Labour Day Picnic - September 1, 2008 9am - PSAC will have tables. Looking for more unions.Provincial elections mid November; Labour Council is helping.Labour council closes for July and August. There is $600.00 available to assist a local with affiliation to the VLC. The cost is $4.00/member/year to affiliate. The year begins the day you affiliate. VLC meets every 3rd Wednesday of the month and the new location is Burnside/Gorge Community Centre

Political Action Child Care Rally June 14th - On June 14th, the Canadian Labour Congress and the Victoria Labour Council’s Women’s Committee are holding a ‘Family Fun BBQ’ in support of a National child care system that will provide affordable, accessible, not-for-profit, quality child care for the children of Canada. Irving Park, 250 Menzies St.,Victoria, 12:00 – 3:00pm. Please gather at the Legislature by 11:30 am. We will walk together to Irving Park in support of a National child care system that will provide affordable, accessible, not-for profit, quality child care for the children of Canada.

Bank Account SVIDAC will be moving their account to the Community Savings which is largest fully unionized credit union in the province. The bank will come out to meetings and deal with the signing authorities. No service charges will be levied on operation of your account. For more information contact Par Shihota, Union Liason Officer at Community Savings 1-888-963-2000. Motion to have South Vancouver Island District Area Council put out an email message encouraging locals to switch to Community Savings Credit Union and including information on what bank has to offer. m/s/Unanimously Carried N. Humphreys/I. Wiggs

BC Fed Summer Institute The theme this year is “Women Behaving Politically: Organizing for Change” July 9 – 13, 2008 at UVIC. BC Region providing subsidy 1 for each Regional Women’s Committee and 2 from Victoria Labour Council

TB Mobilization Update Not meeting in June. Going back to the table in September. National Day of Action June 19th right across Canada. We will be holding a couple of Solidarity b-b-q’s in Victoria as well as Nanaimo. One will be at IOS and the other one will be held at Pacific Forestry. Raise awareness across Canada. If members don’t show support, we will be headed down the strike road. CRA received 2.5, 2.5, 2.5 with reclass just over 3% a year. TB Conference call June 4th. National Day of Action to represent anniversary of contract expiring – June 19th kick off to events. Action in fall if needed. Boycott of National Public Service Week based on bad offer. No official position from PSAC as JLP events during NPSW. Use NPSW to get our word out regarding low offer from TB and mobilization. We deserve more than a week. Dave will be sending out a leaflet, hand it out to members.

Victoria Pride Parade July 6th Noon to 5pm. Start at Pandora and Government and walk in front of the Legislature then go to Irving Park. Crafts, speakers, beer garden. There is a lack of funding for the Pride Parade. Motion request for South Vancouver Island District Area Council to donate $100.00 to the Victoria Pride Society. m/s/c P. Jones/M. Schuber. Paul will send out a poster.

Logo Contest On hold pending possible name change which will be discussed at the Annual General Meeting in September. Reminder that SVIDAC affiliation renewal dues are due in September.

Adjournment Motion to adjourn meeting. Meeting adjourned at 6:40 pm. m/s/c F. De Guire/N. Humphreys

  • Thursday, August 28, 7 pm
  • BC Fed Office, 200 - 2118 Joyce St Vancouver (across from Joyce St. skytrain station)

Unions mean better pay, benefits for you and your family, dignity, and respect in your workplace - join a union, it’s your right!

Find out how - hear from young workers who have organized unions and won. Meet organizers from unions in your field of work who can help you make it happen.

Panel of young organizers including - Jason Mann (Int’l Brotherhood of Electrical Workers’), Katherine Shea (UNITE HERE), Darren Miller (International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees), and more.

Your bargaining team, buoyed by membership support from coast to coast tabled a thoughtful and comprehensive offer of settlement with Canada Post this week.

The offer of settlement addresses the key priorities identified by you. They include:

  • Monetary proposals to ensure a fair general wage increase
  • Improvements in the Cost of Living Clause
  • Improvements to the bilingual bonus, travel and meal allowances
  • Improvements in medical benefit entitlements - Article 37
  • Bargaining Unit Protection – Article 7
  • Workload management improvements for those who work in Contact Centres – new language on Preparatory and Wrap Up time
  • Pay and benefit entitlements for actual time worked – Article 4 for part-time workers and article 26.08 for all employees who work overtime
  • Improvements in grievance language in Article 19
  • Stronger anti-harassment language in Article 14
  • Adequate funding for child care centres
  • Family Related Leave Improvements in a variety of clauses in Article 42
  • Protections against unreasonable measurement and surveillance of individual employees – new language
  • Improvements in Appendix M dealing with the access to and provision of training for members who have received formal surplus notice

Your team is not prepared to negotiate any concessions and is interested in moving forward towards the goal of workplace fairness. Your team cannot achieve these goals without your help - support your bargaining team actively over the coming weeks! Canada Post is expected to respond to the union’s offer of settlement on Monday, August 25.

Your Bargaining team in front of the wall of member support — left to right: Seth Sazant, Andrew Baranowski, Erna Post, Richard des Lauriers, Hélène Arbique, René Fredeen and Larissa MacFadden.

The PSAC has applied for Conciliation on August 21, 2008.

At the last session with the BC Corps of Commissionaires held on July 7 and 8, 2008, the parties had tentatively agreed to continue negotiations on August 20 and 22, 2008. These dates were confirmed on August 2, 2008. However, the employer subsequently denied leave to a member of the bargaining team, preventing him to attend the meeting and these dates were cancelled.

These negotiations, for a first collective agreement, included two (2) bargaining units: approximately 40 Commissionaires performing work on behalf of the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) at Library Square and the Vancouver International Airport and 8 Commissionaires performing work on behalf of Fisheries and Oceans Canada at the Seal Cove Coast Guard Base in Prince Rupert.

The application for Conciliation affects the CBSA unit only. The Seal Cove unit falls under different legislation. Therefore, the parties will now be negotiating the two (2) agreements separately.

A couple of months ago, the employer announced they had been notified by CBSA that their contract would end on March 31, 2009, and that a public bid would happen sometime this fall. The employer then imposed an arbitrary deadline for reaching an agreement with the Union. If a deal was in place by September 30th, the employer would be bidding on the work. If such a deal was not in place, the employer would not be bidding on the work. The Union is still hopeful that, with the assistance of a Conciliation Officer, an agreement is still possible.

We are currently in the process of scheduling membership meetings. More information will be provided at that time.

Re: Waves of Resistance - Pan-Canadian Gathering of Young Feminists in Montréal, October 11-13, 2008 - www.rebelles2008.org

rebelles 2008

The PSAC Alliance Executive Committee has approved funding for one young woman member per Region to attend this Conference. To be eligible to apply you should support feminist and equality issues, be a member of the PSAC, and be 30 years of age or younger.

This Gathering will unite young women and young feminists who wish to:

  • Share analysis of feminist issues and take action
  • Consider priorities as young feminists
  • Combine efforts
  • Discuss how to resist and to fight against right-winged influences
  • Create links of solidarity and reinforce the movement of young feminists across Canada.

This is an opportunity for young women from PSAC to engage in the overall young feminist movement.

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PSAC Youth and Invitation to BBQ

Posted on behalf of James Painter, Youth Coordinator, BC Region

Hello,

Earlier this year I was elected the new Youth Representative, with Nicole Jacobson as Alternate. As part of the goal of the youth caucus within PSAC, and the goals outlined to the convention floor, we want to greatly increase young members’ involvement within the PSAC and labour movement.

We are having a barbeque this Friday, August 22nd to allow young members to mix and mingle and find out more information on how they can get involved with the Public Service Alliance and their Local.

The barbeque will be held at Trout Lake Park in Vancouver, which is easily accessibly from Commercial Skytrain Station and will be going from 5 pm until 10 pm.

If you have any questions or want to discuss anything with me, feel free to call me at 604-495-5565 during work hours or at 604-616-3710 outside of working hours, alternatively you can e-mail me at james.painter@cra-arc.gc.ca

In Solidarity, James Painter, Youth Coordinator BC Region

Over the summer months, your bargaining team has worked hard to make sure that your bargaining proposals have been fairly presented and fully understood by Canada Post. For its part, Canada Post has been reluctant to commit to any proposal of substance, and in fact, applied for conciliation before your team presented detailed financial proposals.

It is clear that Canada Post is not interested in seriously discussing the issues that matter to members. Without a doubt, Canada Post needs to change its approach if it wants to achieve a fair collective agreement that builds true workplace respect by contract expiry. Our contract will expire at the end of the month and, in addition to bargaining a fair wage increase, much work remains to be done.

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Four of Canada’s top public sector union leaders, including PSAC National President John Gordon, recently visited Colombia to learn directly about the potential impact of a Canada-Colombia free trade deal on Colombian workers and their families. Here is a report.

We visited Colombia from July 18-25 on behalf of one million Canadian public sector workers. Our mission, among other tasks, was to see for ourselves whether our opposition to the Canada-Colombia free trade agreement was justified. What we saw and learned confirmed that we are right to oppose this deal and to speak out against it on behalf of Colombian workers and their families.

We met with many sectors of Colombian society, including the Colombian Minister of the Interior and government officials, the Canadian ambassador and embassy officials, leaders of the United Central of Workers (CUT) and trade unionists at all levels, members of the opposition Polo Democratico Alternativo, several non-governmental organizations, groups representing indigenous and Afro-Colombian peoples as well as media reporters and ordinary citizens.

We visited the poorest of the poor families displaced from their homes by paramilitary groups to benefit transnational companies wanting to expand agriculture production, mining and other business interests. We were told that more than 4 million people, 10 per cent of the population, have been displaced without reparations.

Continue reading at rabble.ca

Your union is raring to get back to bargaining with Treasury Board with negotiations set to resume in the coming weeks.

The bargaining-session dates for each TB unit are as follows:

  • FB – four days September 30 to October 3
  • SV – four days September 30 to October 3
  • EB – four days October 6 to 9
  • PA – four days October 6 to 9
  • Future dates to be determined by each team
  • TC – The union is still in talks with the employer to establish dates for the TC bargaining unit. The dates will be posted once they are confirmed.

After a year of frustrations at the bargaining table, your union sincerely hopes the employer is now ready to seriously negotiate fair contracts and seriously address the issues of wage parity and contracting out.

Your union is determined to fight for fair wages and for protecting quality public services. We ask for your continued support. Visit this web site regularly for future updates on negotiations.

In June we distributed a list of summer suggestions (pdf) on how you can support your bargaining team and challenged people to check off as many support actions by Labour Day. Well, Labour Day is just three weeks away so take a peek and see (pdf), you probably have done more than you think!

You can check off three of the things today by:

We’ll be back to the bargaining table soon. Make sure your views are heard before then!

Canada Post applied for conciliation on August 6th. With this action, the employer has short-circuited the bargaining process by applying to a third party before the union had the opportunity to present a complete set of proposals.

What does this mean for the membership?

  • Your bargaining team will continue to bargain in good faith
  • Your bargaining team will ensure that your issues receive a fair hearing and the respect that they deserve

Note that the bargaining dates that were previously established by both parties will be adhered to. While your bargaining team is very displeased with the employer’s tactics, remember: Together we can make a difference.

PSAC/UPCE at Canada Post | Stronger Together

PSAC staff and members, including REVP Kay Sinclair and BC Regional Council Coordinator Paul Jones, marched under the Multi-Union Pride banner at the Vancouver Pride Parade last Sunday. They joined with other Union members and over 120 other business and community groups to celebrate the diversity of the GLBT community while being cheered on by an estimated 1/2 million onlookers - the largest single day event in Vancouver’s history.

After the parade, summer students Ria and Jade hosted a “Public & Proud To Be” booth at the festival at Sunset Beach. They distributed Think Public! brochures, buttons, & flyers, and invited festival-goers to take action to defend quality public services by sending a postcard to their MP. Kudos, and much thanks to Karla Backer, Jennifer Ho, and Mark Konrad (all from National Local 20088) who ably assisted.

Here are some photos (click the thunbnail, then within the picture to advance to the next one) …

Upcoming: Youth BBQ & outreach

sent via email and posted on behalf of James Painter, Youth Coordinator, BC Region

Hello,

As many of you who were at the recent PSAC Regional Triennial Convention will recall, I was elected the new Youth Representative, with Nicole Jacobson as Alternate. As part of the goal of the youth caucus within PSAC, and the goals outlined to the convention floor, we want to greatly increase youth self-identification among the young members of the PSAC as well as increase their involvement within the PSAC and labour movement. Currently we have about 30 self-identified youth members of approximately 15,000 members in the BC region.

the 2006 youth bbq

the 2006 youth bbq

As part of this we need the help of locals in getting youth members to self-identify. We are also having a barbecue August 22nd to allow newly self-identified youth members and existing members to mix and mingle and find out more information on how they can get involved with the Public Service Alliance and their Local. I will be contacting everyone in the next week or two. In the meantime I have included a copy of the self-identification form and hope I can count on everyone to ask the youth members in their local to self-identify and encourage their eligible members to show up for the barbecue in August. Youth members can self identify online. If they are unable to do so, they can fill out the self identification questionnaire attached to this e-mail and send it in or bring it with them.

The barbeque will be held at Trout Lake Park in Vancouver, which is easily accessibly from Commercial Skytrain Station and will be going from 5 until 10 P.M., August 22nd. If you have any questions or want to discuss anything with me, feel free to call me at 604-495-5565 during work hours or at 604-616-3710 outside of working hours, alternatively you can e-mail me at james.painter@cra-arc.gc.ca

In Solidarity, James Painter, Youth Coordinator BC Region