The Union of National Employees was placed in trusteeship by the PSAC National Board of Directors on October 21, 2022. Since then, several updates have been made to help the component progress on its journey out of trusteeship, with a goal of accomplishing this in time for next August when the Triennial Convention is scheduled.
UNE was placed in trusteeship due to governance issues and not for financial reasons. UNE currently finds itself in a very sound financial position. As a result, all elected officers were relieved of their positions and the membership will elect a new National Executive at the next Convention.
What does this mean for members of UNE?
For members looking for help, support and service levels remain unchanged, and every effort will be made to maintain business as usual. UNE staff and local officers remain available to provide assistance and support to the UNE membership. Elected officers have been replaced by Deputy Trustees who have been assigned to each region. The Deputy Trustees are here to support Locals with their work, including representing UNE on LMCC’s running general meetings, working on grievances and staffing complaints.
You can find each Deputy Trustee, their assigned region, and their contact information on the UNE website:
https://unesen.ca/who_we_are/regions/
Chris Little-Gagne = Ottawa/Gatineau
Diane Levola = Ontario
Yvon Beaudoin = Quebec
Geoff Ryan = Alberta/NWT/Nunavut
Gail Budgell = Atlantic
Gloria Pfeifer = Saskatchewan and Manitoba
Shirley Torres = British Columbia/Yukon
The trusteeship has not changed the roles and responsibilities of UNE locals or local officers. Members are expected to continue to contact their Locals as their first point of contact. They will then contact the assigned Deputy Trustee, as required.
Any questions about component business can be directed to the Deputy Trustees or UNE Staff.
Questions about Trusteeship should be directed to John Gordon, Administrator or Mark Pecek, Assistant Administrator.
The PSAC National Board of Directors (NBoD) has placed the Union of National Employees (UNE) in trusteeship, effective October 24, 2022. The NBoD has appointed PSAC National Executive Vice-President Sharon DeSousa as Trustee of UNE.
Maintaining service and representation to UNE members remains our priority. UNE members should continue to contact their Local representative or their UNE National Labour Relations Officer for representation assistance. The operations of UNE shall continue during this period, and PSAC remains dedicated to working with UNE members and staff to uphold the responsibilities of UNE.
Further information will be shared as soon as possible.
The Council for Global Equality have partnered with Franklin and Marshall College in Pennsylvania to launch the first ever global LGBTQI perception index, which is aiming to get a comparative sense of how LGBTQI people in different countries feel about their human rights and safety in their countries. They’ve received 165,000 responses so far, but have indicated to me that the responses from Canada are fairly low, with only about 1,800 Canadians responding. They’d like to increase that number and if you are able to share this out to your networks, that would be great. I did the survey and it really is only a few questions and doesn’t take more than a minute.
Chris Little-Gagné (he/him/il) UNE National Equity Representative for 2SLGBTQ+
PSAC has filed an unfair labour practice complaint against Treasury Board for refusing to begin talks to negotiate a new dental care plan for tens of thousands of federal public service workers.
After surveying members, receiving thousands of responses, and preparing a package of proposals, PSAC has been pushing the government to come to the table to begin negotiations for the dental plan. However, Treasury Board continues to delay talks to address the important issues our members have identified with their current plan.
PSAC negotiates changes to the dental plan separately from the regular collective bargaining process. This process is also different than the recently concluded negotiations for the Public Service Health Care Plan agreement. PSAC negotiates the dental plan independently of other federal public sector unions.
Canada is fortunate to have a population that is made up of numerous distinct ethnic and cultural groups. Since the 1970s the Canadian Government officially adopted the ideology of Multiculturalism because of its emphasis on the social importance of immigration.
In the early days of the promotion of Multiculturalism, the dominant culture was very intimidated by the influx of various ethnic and cultural groups. It was often said that “if you come to Canada, you should be forced to adopt the Canadian culture”. This confused me because I didn’t fully understand what exactly “Canadian culture” was? My Canadian friends identified as Italian, French, or even European. Should I be adopting one of these cultures to be considered Canadian? Should I be eating more poutine, or adopting the word “eh” into my vocabulary? I was already using a tuque and ordering a double, double from Timmy’s. I even bought a Two-Four from the beer store for the May 2/4 long weekend, but I was still not considered Canadian enough.
When local governments began promoting multicultural events in various cities, that is when I “came out of the closet” and openly practiced my ethnic culture. I was no longer afraid to be me. I did not have to be embarrassed about practicing my culture openly in public. I could freely wear my ethnic clothing, eat my ethnic food and observe my culture’s art and music being appreciated by all. It also gave me the opportunity to learn about and appreciate the food, art and music of other cultures. It made me a more aware and appreciative person. To me, appreciating the cultures of all communities is what made me a true Canadian.
Multiculturalism is intended to encourage the various cultures to thrive in our society. I believe that a true “melting pot” would only flourish in a society that shows respect and appreciation for all cultures within that community. Some people believe that the promotion of multiculturalism would promote tribalism…. It would cause people to only interact within their own communities. That is not true. People tend to be intimidated by what they don’t know or understand. When people don’t understand the language that you speak or the religion that you follow or the food that you eat, they tend not to make the effort to integrate. This gives rise to tensions between people of different cultural backgrounds. People are too afraid that multiculturalism would result in their culture being eroded. However, the more one is exposed to other cultures, the more comfortable one become with integrating.
I believe that there are a lot more advantages to Multiculturalism than most people realize. It promotes a higher level of tolerance towards minorities, which in turn leads to a more peaceful society. When we learn from different cultures, life becomes much more exciting. It helps us to be more respectful of others and appreciate the cultural values and social norms of all. Beyond the Food and the Festivals, interacting with people of various backgrounds helps us to breakdown the ethnic or social stereotypes that one may have previously adopted. This helps us to look at things from various points of view and to work collaboratively in diverse ethno-social groups. In a multicultural society one is exposed to new ways of doing things and a different perspective of looking at things. This could only benefit us as a society.
The most important benefit of Multiculturalism is that it promotes the adoption of social justice for all. On this Multiculturalism Day let us all celebrate the diversity of all the communities in Canada and to affirm our commitment to democracy, equality, and mutual respect to all cultures in our world.
Sam Padayachee National Equity Representative for Racialized Members
PSAC has successfully negotiated long overdue improvements to the Public Service Health Care Plan (PSHCP), which provides benefits to most federal public service workers and retirees.
As part of the agreement, PSAC secured improvements to vision care and massage therapy benefits. Plan members will also see a major increase to psychological services, as well as an expansion of eligible psychological practitioners covered. Acupuncture will now be covered when performed by a licensed acupuncturist, and a prescription will no longer be required to access paramedical benefits like massage therapy or chiropractic treatment.
PSAC also won a significant victory to protect the rights of 2SLGBTQIA+ members, increasing coverage for gender-affirming care and procedures.
These improvements reflect priorities identified by PSAC’s membership during a comprehensive survey. The changes will take effect on July 1, 2023.
The PSHCP hadn’t been reviewed since 2006 and needed significant updates, especially to reflect increased health care service costs.
PSAC negotiates the health care plan directly with Treasury Board, alongside other bargaining agents of the National Joint Council and the National Association of Federal Retirees, representing retired members. This is done outside the regular bargaining process for collective agreements. This final agreement is subject to Treasury Board approval.
PSAC is pushing for a quick resolution as Treasury Board continues to delay implementation of a pay parity arbitration ruling that is meant to close a pay gap for many TC group members.
PSAC won a successful arbitration ruling in January 2022, with the arbitrator ruling that the pay gap should be closed between Engineering and Scientific Support (EG) members in the Technical Services (TC) group and EGs at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). The TC group covers nearly 10,700 members, with the EG classification making up more than 60 per cent of its members.
Since then, Treasury Board has refused to make payments to any EG members in the TC group, arguing they won’t implement the changes until PSAC and the government reach a new collective agreement.
We believe this is a clear violation of the arbitration ruling. We are addressing this situation with the arbitrator to have it resolved favourably in the near future. Closing this pay gap is long overdue and the government should not deny workers amounts that they are rightly owed.
These new rates will be subject to any further gains made in the current round of negotiations, which are underway now with Treasury Board. PSAC will be seeking regular annual economic increases for EGs and for all TC members, along with allowances for specific groups.
This arbitration decision has no impact on what PSAC is seeking at the table in this round of bargaining. Check out our bargaining toolkit to learn more about this round of bargaining, the issues that matter most, and how to get involved.
Please be sure to keep your contact information up to date to receive the latest updates for TC members.
In 1834 the British Parliament abolished slavery in the British Empire. In March 2021, Canada’s House of Parliament finally voted to recognize the end of this atrocious part of our history by designating August 1st as Emancipation Day.
Although this day marks the end of the enslavement of People of African descent, Emancipation Day must be observed as the recognition of the struggles of all marginalized communities. A struggle that continues to this day. When we recognize the struggles of the past, we can take steps to avoid repeating those mistakes and move forward to improving the lives of all the people.
We need to realize that signing a piece of paper to abolish slavery may have ended the physical bondage of Canadians of African descent, but the mental bondage, the mental slavery still exists. Nelson Mandela said, “For to be free is not merely to cast of one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others”. I believe that one way in which we can begin to erode this mental bondage is to teach the next generation of Canadians the parts of our horrendous history that has been ignored and to ensure that these atrocities never happen again. We need to learn about our true history and heritage so we can begin to move forward with the healing.
As a society, we need to come up with new and innovative ways of combating all forms of oppression that we experience today. In other words, we need to identify the social, economic, legal and political restrictions imposed on marginalized communities and ensure that appropriate steps are taken to liberate these communities. We still experience discrimination in health, housing, employment, gender, sexual orientation, and economic equality, to name a few. Until we overcome these obstacles, Canada will not be a free and just home for all of its people.
On this second Emancipation Day in Canada, let us all remember the past, reflect on the present and plan for the future. Peace, Justice and Freedom for all.
“A luta continua”
Sam Padayachee UNE National Equity Representative for Racialized Members
A look back on John Watkins and the 2SLGBTQ+ Purge by the Canadian Government
By Kay Hacker
Content warning: This article includes explicit descriptions of systematic, institutionalized homophobia and transphobia, as well as non-graphic descriptions of violence against members of the LGBTQ2S+ community. This article also contains non-graphic mentions of torture and death. Finally, this article talks in-depth about police violence and police brutality involving the RCMP.
Every June, the rainbow flags come out for the ultimate celebration of love and all the diverse forms it takes- a way to celebrate our Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Two-Spirit and otherwise Queer and Trans (LGBTQ2S+) siblings in all their beautiful diversity. Many people wonder- why June, specifically?
Well, Pride isn’t always in June. In fact, in Vancouver, Pride is usually celebrated in August! This year marks Vancouver Pride’s 44th anniversary. But internationally, June is recognized as Pride month as a result of the Stonewall Riots in New York City. The Stonewall Inn is a well-known gathering place for LGBTQ2S+ people. In the 60s, it was subject to frequent police harassment. When the police raided the bar in 1969, the patrons (many of whom were trans women of colour) fought back and rioted against police brutality.
See, that’s the thing about Pride: it’s more than just a rainbow party, and more than just a celebration. Pride is a reminder to keep fighting. Pride is a reminder that we as LGBTQ2S+ people are still here, a rebuke and vindication against those who have tried to erase us.
Let me tell you about this fight. Let me tell you about the history of LGBTQ2S+ membership in the public service.
In the 1950s and 60s, the Canadian government made a concerted effort to remove any “suspected homosexuals” (not the words we would use today) from the public service. At first, the focus was mainly on MSM (men who have sex with men), as well as men who acted in ways that did not conform to their expected gender roles, such as wearing the wrong kind of clothes, since the vast majority of public servants were men. WSW (women who have sex with women) and women who acted outside their expected gender roles were also subject to persecution.
Why? Because they stepped outside of what society expected and that was considered dangerous. This was the Cold War, and for the Canadian government it was Us against Them. And there could be no “homosexuals” on our side, therefore They must be against Us.
It was considered a threat to national security to have LGBTQ2S+ people in the public service and specifically in the diplomatic apparatus, since gay public servants might be vulnerable to blackmail. Anything other than perfectly adhering to the gender you were assigned at birth and being attracted to the correct gender in the correct way left folks exposed to violence, discrimination and even criminal prosecution. So, according to the Canadian government, the best way to make the public service less vulnerable to blackmail was to uncover and uproot every possible weak spot (read: LGBTQ2S+ person) before the Russians could.
Despite the fact that there was no evidence of any successful attempts to blackmail LGBTQ2S+ members of the public service, the RCMP launched a massive campaign to unearth any member of the public service suspected of “perversion”. They monitored LGBTQ2S+ establishments and photographed patrons, conducted brutal interviews of suspected and confirmed gay public servants and tracked people down in their private lives. I invite you to think of each violation of these peoples’ basic human rights as an act of violence. LGBTQ2S+ public servants were forced into hiding, fearing for their jobs and for their safety. Thousands of “suspected homosexuals” were put on file in what is now called the LGBTQ purge.
All of this happened at the same time that the Public Service Alliance of Canada was taking shape and stepping up for public servants. This happened when my grandparents were finishing high school. You might have been alive when this happened- you certainly know at least one person who was.
I’m only telling you a small portion of the story today. I want to include so much and I know that there is still so much left to uncover. And at the same time, writing this article has been very difficult for me. Each personal narrative that I read, every article trying to capture the sea of pain in a tidy bucket… it feels like a punch in the gut. This is my community- both the LGBTQ2S+ community, and the public service.
To end this article, I want to tell you the part of the story that hit me the hardest and has stuck with me, even now: the story of one man, one victim of the LGBTQ purge. For me, the entire LGBTQ purge is filtered through his experience.
Let me tell you about John Watkins.
John Watkins was Canada’s first ambassador to Moscow. By all records, he was quite good at it, arranging for a landmark meeting between Lester B. Pearson (then-minister for external affairs) and Nikita Khrushchev, the leader of the Soviet Union. He was a good diplomat, and a good man- popular in the public service, always with a story to tell. He was also a man who was attracted to other men. John Watkins died in 1964 at the age of 62, in a hotel in Montreal, of a heart attack. He died at the end of a four-hour long interrogation by the RCMP. By that point, he had been under constant surveillance and daily 3–4-hour interrogations for almost a month.
I would classify 28 days of interrogation as torture. The RCMP classified it as “need-to-know” information, had him declared dead of a totally coincidental heart attack and kept the reality of the situation secret until 1981. The purge of LGBTQ2S+ public servants continued until the early 1970s. LGBTQ2S+ purges continued in the RCMP and the military up until the 1990s.
The government apologized for the purge in 2017, a year before I joined the public service, and paid out a settlement to many of those affected, after victims spent years fighting for recognition.
This is not ancient history- this is living memory. As we celebrate Pride this year, as we lift up LGBTQ2S+ people in our lives, we must remember what came before- the bloody, brutal fight for recognition, and the many barriers towards LGBTQ2S+ survival. Those of us in the PSAC must recognize the history of violence against our LGBTQ2S+ members and work to avoid perpetuating this harm ourselves. The union was not able to protect LGBTQ2S+ members in the past. We will do better this time. We must.
I ask you, this Pride season, as you put up rainbow stickers and temporary tattoos, to remember John Watkins. Remember where we came from. Allies must learn to live with this tragic history, hold space for our pain, because for LGBTQ2S+ public servants, this tragedy is inescapable. It is part of the burden taken on when we chose to be public servants, and it is a burden borne most heavily by public servants who are out and proud.
We must all work towards a better future. The battle for LGBTQ2S+ rights is not over just because June has passed. LGTBQ2S+ people invited you to the party. Now, we invite you to the fight.
Kay Hacker –Local 20278.
Sources:
Levy, R. (2018, October 3). Canada’s Cold War purge of LGBTQ from public service. The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved June 2022, from https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/lgbtq-purge-in-canada
Our history. Public Service Alliance of Canada. (n.d.). Retrieved June 2022, from https://psacunion.ca/our-history
UPI. (1981, December 23). RCMP interrogation of Canada’s first ambassador to Moscow, John Watkins, was kept secret to prevent scandal and to keep counter-espionage operations under wraps. UPI. Retrieved June 2022, from https://www.upi.com/Archives/1981/12/23/RCMP-interrogation-of-Canadas-first-ambassador-to-Moscow-John/1926377931600/
Your Regional Team invites you to participate in the Saskatchewan Regional Seminar scheduled to take place at the Hilton DoubleTree September 16-18, 2022.
UNE Regional Seminars are packed with presentations, workshops and training that will give you the knowledge and tools to help your members. They are also a great place to meet other activists and forge long-lasting friendships.
UNE will fund two (2) participants and an additional (1) youth participant per Local:
The Local President or designate;
A member who has not previously attended a seminar should be given priority
A youth member (age 35 or younger as of December 31, 2023).
Locals should also encourage the participation of equity members and may send additional members at the Local’s expense.
Participants will be expected to arrive for on-site registration at 7:00 p.m. Friday evening, September 16, 2022. Accommodations will be arranged for delegates to spend two nights at the hotel for the Friday and Saturday night of the Seminar as activities are scheduled to take place into the evenings. The Seminar ends on Sunday, September 18 at 12:00p.m.
You must apply by Friday, August 26, 2022. Unfortunately, we will not consider late applications.
