Public
Service Alliance of Canada UNE/SEN Local 00303
Annual
General Meeting – May 22, 2013
In attendance:
Andrew
Shaver (President), David Barnard (Vice-President ), Frances Cordero de Bolaños
(Treasurer), Anne-Marie Murray (Chief Steward), Paula Shewchuk (OHS Rep &
Secretary), Guida Rodrigues, David Yee, Josette Rutababiza, Lakshmee Mulliah,
Sylvie Paradis, Howayda Gohar, Andy Gann, Lauren Dart, Violet Tam, Matthew
Soucie, Karla Hartl, Michael Farrell, Beverley O’Connell, Guida Rodrigues,
Chantale Pharand, Natalie Lapierre, Natalie Beaudoin, Jeannette Monk, Vika
Ross, Maria Muszynska, Michelle Gompf Bagelman, Vika Ross, Ubah Arteh, Iftin
Daud, and Tracey Ferguson was on the phone.
Guest:
Sandy
Bello, Assistant Regional Vice-President, Ontario
(289) 440-2873 Sandy.Bello@une-sen.org
(289) 440-2873 Sandy.Bello@une-sen.org
Meeting Opened at 11:37 a.m. by David Barnard
1. Approval of Minutes
from the last meeting:
Motioned
by Andrew Shaver; seconded by Sylvie Paradis.
2. Approval of Agenda:
Motioned
by Michelle Gompf Bagelman; seconded by Guida Rodrigues.
3. Local 00303 Financial
Statements:
Treasurer
Frances Cordero de Bolaños presented the financial statements for 2012.
According to our Local’s bank account
records, our business account has been inactive for the last 2 calendar years.
For the period of January 1, 2012 to
December 31, 2012, the opening balance was $72.30, and the bank balance as at
December 31, 2012 remained the same at $72.30.
It is important to note that our
Executive Committee is considering undertaking some fundraising initiatives and
other options to raise funds for our local, and these ideas will be discussed
later.
We would like to acknowledge the
efforts of Paula Shewchuk;
she took the initiative to sale plants and through her effort she was able to
raise $30.00. After bank charges, our current balance is $101.23. These funds
were deposited in this current year and it will be shown in our next financial
report.
Michelle
Gompf Bagelman made a motion to approve as presented the financial statements of
Local 00303 for the period ending December 31, 2012; seconded by Sylvie Paradis. Passed
unanimously.
5. Occupational Health and Safety report: There is nothing to report since the
OHSC is re-starting and the first meeting is Thursday, May 23 at 1p.m. Paula
Shewchuk
will have a report at the Special General meeting in June.
Karla Hartl had a
question regarding the mould issue on the 8th floor. Paula Shewchuk
replied that it had occured the previous
year and had been dealt with properly by management and Public Works.
6. President's Report:
I think we can all agree
that this past year has been quite a ride, filled with many ups and downs.
First, the ‘downs’: we
as a Local have experienced the consequences of Workforce Adjustment (WFA);
undergone major changes to how we deliver programs out of our Regional Office;
seen some of our core corporate and financial services centralized, and; have
had to manage escalating levels of generalized stress in the workplace,
associated with all of the above.
And what about the
ups?
I can speak to the fact
that compared with other Federal Departments, anecdotally Canadian Heritage has
been recognized as a leader in its approach to implementing WFA in a fair and
up front fashion; within our own office we have a very healthy relationship
between your elected Local union representatives and Senior Management (as I’ll
explain in greater detail when I talk about our Labour Management Consultation
Committee, or LMCC); and despite the uncertainty and increased workplace
pressures, our membership is still getting the job done, supporting each other
and serving Canadians.
I’m going to briefly
touch on three main items in my report:
WFA, and how we’re doing
LMCC, and how that works
And what the PSAC is
doing to support us during these difficult times
WFA
The Workforce Adjustment
process is now in its second year, and whether a member has been impacted,
affected or is simply aware of the effect of WFA on their colleagues, it’s been
a difficult time for us all.
I recently attended an
All-President’s conference that was hosted by our Component, the Union of
National Employees, and during that conference I participated in a break-out
session with other presidents representing Locals that work for Treasury Board
(like us). I can tell you that our
experience of WFA has been extremely well-managed compared with what has
happened in other Departments. Canadian
Heritage was singled out by one of the senior union leaders in the National
Capital Region, as having done what was widely considered a very good job being
transparent and fair with regards to the implementation of WFA.
That being said, we have
to remember that the union is here to protect our rights, and WFA is a
negotiated process between the Union and the Employer, with specific rules and
regulations governing the actions of senior management and outlining the rights
of all our members.
If you have any on-going
questions or concerns about WFA, please come see one of your local executive
members for information and advice. And
as always, if we don’t have the answer right away we’ll help you find it – for
example by contacting Sandy, or our other area and national leadership.
LMCC
The Labour-Management
Consultation Committee used to meet quarterly, but in light of the rapid pace
of changes that come with WFA, Grants and Contribution Modernization Initiative
(GCMI), centralized services, and other major on-going initiatives, we now meet
on a monthly basis. The committee is
made up of two union reps (President and Chief Steward), and the Senior
Management team (RExD, Program Directors, and in some cases Head of
HR/Corporate Services). We discuss
general workplace issues and provide constructive feedback to management from a
union perspective.
The LMCC is a tool for
each and every member to be heard by Senior Management in a safe and anonymous
way. We never discuss specific
individuals or cases, but focus on the issues, and in this way we aim to ensure
that our collective agreement rights are respected, and that within our
workplace we have a positive, honest and transparent Labour/Management
relationship.
If you have any
questions about the LMCC, or have issues you’d like us to raise, please
approach either the President or Chief Steward at any time.
PSAC
support during difficult times
The current environment
within the Federal Government is extremely stressful and filled with
uncertainty. As mentioned above, we’re
experiencing WFA, GCMI, on-going centralization, and are constantly being asked
to do more with less.
The PSAC recognizes what
this kind of stress does to everyone, which is why they launched the “We Are
All Affected” campaign, to educate our membership and members of the general
public on what the current campaign of Federal cuts means to us as employees,
and to Canadians who rely on our services.
In fact, the PSAC offers
a host of educational opportunities for members, to better understand what
resources are available to them, how the union supports and promotes its
members’ interests, and how the labour movement as a whole continues to fight
for the rights of workers both unionized and non-unionized. I would encourage everyone to visit the PSAC
website, and to stay current on free training being offered by the PSAC Ontario
Regional Office.
Another key focus in the
past year has been Mental Health in the workplace. Part of our rights as workers includes the
right to a safe and healthy workplace.
In fact, this past year the Mental Health Commission of Canada released
a groundbreaking set of guidelines, including a Psychological Health and Safety
Action Guide for Employers, as part of a greater Mental Health Strategy for
Canada. The PSAC has launched a
complementary campaign titled “Mental Health Matters,” with more information, that
I would encourage everyone to look at, on the web (links at end of this document).
The next major campaign
underway by the PSAC is a “Fight Back” campaign, that includes asking its
membership to be counted so they can show politicians that workers’ rights
cannot be taken away and that Canadian public sector unions remain as strong
and relevant as ever.
At an upcoming
membership meeting we’ll be discussing the “Fight Back” campaign in greater
detail, but if in the interim you have any questions about the resources
available from the PSAC and the major campaigns currently underway, please come
see any member of your local Executive.
You may notice a theme
here: “come see your Local executive”.
We are here, elected by you to serve you. This is your Local, your union and we are
your resources, here to ensure your collective rights are respected and
enforced.
This year has been
difficult, and it may not get easier in the year ahead, but we have the tools
in place to support each other, and are positioning ourselves to remain a
strong and vital force in the service of you, our membership.
Web links:
7. Dues/fundraising:
We are the only Local in
Ontario without any dues going to the Local. Local dues are usually a flat rate
(as opposed to a %) and at this moment in time, Local 00303 has no operating
budget. We have 48 deductees. (41
are union members).
Your executive is proposing a flat rate per member
per month, to build an operating budget to cover our annual banking fees
(approx. $2 per month - $25 per annum) and for contingency - perhaps to allow a Local member to take a
training course once a year.
This can be as low as an extra .05 cents
per member per paycheque, giving us $62.40 per annum. Ten cents would give us $124.80
To put it in perspective:
Our component, the Union of National Employees/Syndicat des Employées et
Employés Nationaux , is the 2nd largest, and has the 3rd
lowest dues. (our current % is .5433% )
At the August 2011
National meeting, 3 resolutions were passed on the floor which added to the
contribution per member per month:CS47 – three assistant VPs for Atlantic added
.11 centsCS47 – three assistant VPs for Ontario added .08 centsCS14a – having
Human Rights reps attend the National Executive meetings added .09 cents.
Some more math: 15 cents
per member per paycheque =$187.20 and 25 cents=$312.
We could also hold
fundraisers (bake sales, silent auctions) to top up. A garage sale of items has
been suggested, as has a pot luck. I have also investigated other fundraising
initiatives.
I would suggest we
authorize a minimum of .05$ per member per paycheque to Local 00303 via our pay
in combination with a fundraiser at least once a year as the best option at
this time. This is a sustaining amount to cover our operating costs that causes
no financial hardship to any member.
This
item generated much discussion. It was raised by Howayda Gohar
that some years ago local dues were apparently deducted from members but then
went unaccounted for. This will be clarified before the next meeting. Maria Muszynska asks if the 5 cents can
come from UNE/SEN to the Local i.e. can the structure of the dues levels be
changed? Andrew Shaver says it is a good point and should be tabled for the
next National Triennial. This item will be discussed more
thoroughly at a Special General Meeting to be called for June, a minimum 30
days from today’s date.
8.
Elections: David
Barnard explains which positions are up for election at this AGM. He
outlined that a Special General Meeting will be held to modify the Local's
by-laws in order to split the responsibilities of Secretary/Treasurer into
separate positions.
For Local President:
Sandy
Bello asks if any nominations were received in advance; there were none. She requests
nominations from the floor.
Howayda
Gohar.nominates Andrew Shaver, seconded by Maria Muszynska.
Sandy
Bello requests nominations from the floor, three times. There are no more.
Andrew
Shaver is asked if he will accept. He does.
Andrew
Shaver is acclaimed as Local President.
For Secretary/Treasurer:
Sandy
Bello asks if any nominations were received in advance; there were none. She
requests nominations from the floor.
Andrew
Shaver nominates Frances Cordero de Bolaños, seconded by
Karla Hartl.
Sandy
Bello requests nominations from the floor, three times. There are no more.
Frances
Cordero de Bolaños is asked if she will accept. She does.
Frances
Cordero de Bolaños is acclaimed as Treasurer.
For Occupational Health
& Safety Representative:
Sandy
Bello asks if any nominations were received in advance; there were none. She
requests nominations from the floor.
Frances
Cordero de Bolaños nominates Paula Shewchuk, seconded by Michelle Gompf
Bagelman.
Sandy
Bello requests nominations from the floor, three times. There are no more.
Paula
Shewchuk is asked if she will accept. She does.
Paula
Shewchuk is acclaimed as OHS Representative.
Sandy Bello swears in the new executive members.
9. David Barnard
asks if there is any other business
and encourages the membership to stay after the meeting closes to discuss
issues directly with their executive.
The minutes of
this meeting and the date of the Special General Meeting to discuss
Dues/Fundraising and to modify the By-laws to allow the splitting of the
Secretary/Treasurer position will be sent out shortly.
10. David Barnard closes the meeting at 12:28 p.m.
