Thank you to all who participated!
Below are photos sent to us by local from coast to coast to coast.
You can still send in your photos and we’ll add them to our flickr feed.
Email Greg McNamara, Communications & Research Officer at greg.mcnamara@une-sen.org.
By now, you have heard that PSAC and other federal public service unions are calling on all members to help send a message to the Liberals by participating in a national action day on June 8th.
So what does your local have planned?
Visit our website here and leave a comment – we want to know. Tell us what you have planned for your local and we will share it on social media. If you have a page set up, let us know and we will post links. We also hope you will send us photos of members in action!
If you haven’t already, click here to download a customizable PDF that you can use as a poster.
The members of PSAC Local 70395 recently voted in favour of the agreement negotiated with the Canadian Museum of Nature. The Local had been in negotiations for the last 2 years.
Highlights of the four-year contract, which expires June 14, 2018, include:
Just as importantly, the Local was able to achieve its bargaining mandate of no concessions in the collective agreement / bargaining process.
“Reaching an agreement was a long process and the negotiation team worked hard to protect and improve our collective agreement,” said Local President Roger Bull. “We offer them sincere thanks for their efforts on behalf of all members.”
Local 70395 represents approximately 100 workers employed by the Canadian Museum of Nature in Gatineau and Ottawa. They work in the areas of administration, advancement, collections, experience and education, facilities, finance, human resources, IT, marketing and media relations protection services, research and visitor services.
Your regional seminar is fast approaching and it’s the best place to learn about our union and the many things we do.
This event is jam-packed with lectures and workshops to help you gain the knowledge and confidence you’ll need to help our members. It’s also a great place to meet active members just like you and forge long-lasting friendships.
For a sneak-peek at what else we have in store for you, check out the agenda.
Participants should arrive between 7:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. on Friday, August 19, 2016 to register. You should select representatives from your Local to attend the seminar. The Union of National Employees will fund two delegates per Local as well as one youth:
During the seminar, youth delegates will elect two of their peers to represent them as delegates to our 2017 convention.
You must register by Friday, July 8, 2016. Unfortunately, we cannot consider late registrations.
Should you have any questions, please contact Suzanne Boucher at: suzanne.boucher@une-sen.org.
In solidarity,
Your regional team:
Mary Anne Walker, Regional Vice-President, Ontario
Diane Levola, Assistant Regional Vice-President, Ontario
Andrew Shaver, Assistant Regional Vice-President, Ontario
Craig Reynolds, Assistant Regional Vice-President, Ontario
Sandy Bello, Regional Representative for Human Rights, Ontario
Since December 16, 2015, PSAC members employed by the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (the OLG) have demonstrated tremendous and overwhelming solidarity in the face of a brutal five-month lock out imposed by the OLG.
Today, following the successful lobbying efforts of our members, including their direct conversations with the Premier of Ontario, the union and the employer agreed to a process of binding arbitration to resolve all outstanding issues between parties.
PSAC members at the OLG will return to work starting Thursday, June 2, 2016.
We congratulate our members for the tremendous courage and determination they brought to the picket line and the bargaining table.
The president of the Treasury Board, Minister Scott Brison today informed PSAC that the Liberals will be repealing the Harper government’s Bill C4, division 17 that restricted our members’ rights to collective bargaining.
“We recognize this as an attempt to correct some of the harm done by the Conservatives. We are looking forward to further discussions to ensure that this round of bargaining will be conducted in a fair manner,” said Robyn Benson, PSAC National President.
“PSAC has asserted that Bill C4 is an attack on our members’ fundamental charter rights and not consistent with a free and democratic society.”
“Our members worked tirelessly to lobby members of parliament about the injustices of this Bill. I want to thank them for their continued vigilance,” concluded Benson.
Documents and photos from the Local Presidents’ Conference, held April 21-24, 2016 are now available on the UNE website.
http://en.une-sen.org/events/conferences/LP/2016/
Thanks to all who attended. Your participation made this event successful.
Stay tuned for more information about the Local Member Engagement program and the “We don’t say” campaign.
By Sebastian Westerlund
The international day against homophobia on May 17 highlights the impact of stigma on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer individuals. Raising awareness about the difficult realities facing this population is an essential part of providing inclusive and open-minded customer service.
This day asks us to reflect on how certain policies and practices erase the existence of LGBTQ+ individuals. Our assumptions about gender and sexuality often unknowingly contribute to an institutional climate of heteronormativity that alienates this population.
The day against homophobia thus provides us with an opportunity to broaden our awareness and understanding of how workplace policies can affect LGBT people, knowledge that can help us to be inclusive and welcoming to them in our daily work.
On May 17, we encourage you to reflect on ways to challenge homophobia, biphobia and transphobia, in order to help build a more inclusive public service.
Sebastian Westerlund is a UNE member based in Montreal.
The settlement will apply to thousands of eligible current and former Interviewers and Senior Interviewers who worked at Statistics Canada between March 8, 1985 and November 5, 1987 and for SSO between November 6, 1987 and November 30, 2013.
“This a huge victory for thousands of our members,” said Robyn Benson, PSAC National President. “PSAC has fought to reach a pay equity settlement with Statistical Survey Operations for years.”
“This is a long time coming. Our members have finally achieved pay equity. ”
“We achieved this victory because our members fought hard with us for many years and never gave up.”
“This struggle builds on the pay equity movement that continues today. We will continue urging the Liberal government to make proactive pay equity legislation a reality without further delay.”
“I’m very happy that PSAC has won this extremely long struggle. This will put between $40-$45 million in the pockets of our members, whose work has been undervalued and who have a long history of precarious employment. The settlement means a lot to them,” added Doug Marshall, National President, Union of National Employees.
Now that the settlement has been signed, PSAC and SSO representatives will work out the details as to the calculation and disbursement of the monies owed. SSO estimates the payments will average between $1500 and $2000 per worker.
As this settlement will apply to several thousand individuals and spans a period of over 30 years, the SSO will make best efforts to commence making payments to eligible employees early in 2017.
In 2002, PSAC filed a complaint with the Canadian Human Rights Commission on behalf of members employed with seven separate employers, including SSO.
After over a decade of legal wrangling, the SSO case was referred to the Public Service Labour Relations and Employment Board for a hearing in 2014 which eventually led to further discussions between PSAC and SSO, finally resulting in this settlement.
PSAC and other federal public service unions are calling on all members to help send a message to the new Liberal government by participating in a national action on June 8th.
The Liberals have also failed to restore fair collective bargaining by refusing to repeal the unfair labour laws passed by the Conservatives.
PSAC’s bargaining teams have been at the bargaining table with Treasury Board three times since the new government came into power. We are also in bargaining with Parks Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and an important vote is underway at CRA. We need to tell the government to come to the table with new proposals – not recycled Conservative messages. A new government should give itself a new mandate.
The outcome of Treasury Board bargaining will set a pattern for others. We need to send a message to the Liberal government before bargaining resumes in June that we expect a fair contract.