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From trash to smash!

Imagine working from home. Sounds nice, right? But for those of us who work at an office, there are certain things we just take for granted: the employer pays for a desk for us to work on, for a chair for us to sit on, for the electricity to run our computers, and for basic office supplies.

But for some of our members who have no choice but to work from home, getting the basic necessities covered by the employer can be challenging.

“We get an allocation of $30 per month – and that’s only when we have sufficient hours to qualify,” said Géraldine Fortin, a member of the bargaining team for field employees at Statistical Survey Operations.

“Thirty dollars a month, that only covers your basic phone service,” said Fortin.

For field interviewers, a land line is a job requirement.

“The desk I work on, I bought it. The chair I use, I bought it,” said Fortin. “And whether or not it’s ergonomic, the employer doesn’t care.”

She also forked over some of her own dough to furnish her office with a bulletin board, shelves and a locking filing cabinet.

Fortin uses her daughter’s old room as an office. She said her closets don’t belong to her anymore – they’ve been transformed into storage for the employer’s paraphernalia.

“I’m always sending stuff back to the employer,” said Fortin. “But that closet is always full.”

Indeed, Fortin said she often gets huge packages from her employer – sometimes up to five boxes the size of laundry hampers!

It’s important to remember that field interviewers’ hours are precarious, which makes it even harder to budget for the things the employer should be paying for in the first place. According to Fortin, some interviewers simply can’t afford the basic office essentials… so they work from their bed or at the dining room table.

Needless to say, there are a lot of things that need fixing in this particular round of negotiations.

Turning frustration into art

For Suzanne Bélanger, chief steward of Local 10040, all that clutter invading her home turned into a chance to express herself.

“Statistics Canada sends us a lot of paperwork and a lot of envelopes,” said Bélanger. “Yes, we can put that in the recycling – but I thought, there ought to be something I can do with this.”

“All that paper: I find it insane.  So at one point I had the idea of making a basket.”

She got to work, crafting intricate baskets out of used envelopes. The final product is a brilliant work of conceptual art; but Bélanger says that she really only planned to use the basket to store supplies in her home office – creating order, using something that previously cluttered her home.

“I’m very crafty, you know,” said Bélanger, who added the baskets were just something she was doing to occupy her evenings.

And so far, the baskets have been a huge smash with her fellow union activists.

“If it can help inspire a different vision of things we can do to call attention to our working conditions… that would be a great thing!”

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Let's talk about mental health

December 3 is the International Day of Disabled Persons. Since its proclamation in 1992, the Day has aimed to “promote an understanding of disability issues and mobilize support for the dignity, rights and well-being of persons with disabilities.”

The United Nations adds that it’s also an opportunity to “increase awareness of gains to be derived from the integration of persons with disabilities in every aspect of political, social, economic and cultural life.”

In recent years, the Public Service Alliance of Canada and the Union of National Employees have worked to de-stigmatize issues around mental health and equip our activists with tools to assist members with mental health issues. In fact, mental health was at the forefront of the PSAC’s 2013 National Health and Safety Conference, which bore the tagline “mental health in the workplace”.

While the union is trying to address this issue, I see no effort on the part of Treasury Board to equip managers and human resources specialists with similar tools. Too often, when faced with an employee coping with mental health issues, the employer predictably reacts by assessing their fitness to work – hoping, of course, that the employee will be found unfit to work. The employer is quite simply saying: if the employee is no longer in the workplace, then the problem is no longer their concern.

This attitude must change.

Persons with disabilities should have the right to work in an environment that accepts and recognizes them as equal. According to the United Nations:

“The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities recognizes in Article 27 the rights of persons with disabilities to work and employment on an equal basis with others. It stresses the right of persons with disabilities to earn a living from freely chosen work, and to work in an environment that is both accessible and accepting.”

Isn’t it time for Treasury Board to provide the right tools to managers and human resources specialists? It’s what’s needed to build work environments that are both accessible and accepting.

This article was written by Geoff Ryan, the Union of National Employees’ national equity representative for disabled persons, as part of our union’s member journalism program. If you’d like to find out more, click here – to pitch a story or for any questions, please send an email to communications@une-sen.org.

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Giving back

Every year, the Union of National Employees selects a charity to support around the holidays. This year, the National Executive chose to focus on the Atlantic region, because it hadn’t been chosen in some time. On Sunday, a $1,000 donation will be presented to Christmas Daddies.

It’s one of the longest-running telethons in North America – and it’s entirely a volunteer effort! Since its debut in 1964, it has helped to raise $27 million to help children from economically-disadvantaged families. The funds go towards the purchase of Christmas gifts, such as toys and clothing – but also towards providing basic necessities such as food, heating and other forms of financial assistance.

The telethons will be broadcast live from Sydney, Halifax, Moncton and Charlottetown this Sunday, December 1.

“It’s not just a Christmas telethon,” explained National Executive Vice-President Eddie Kennedy, who will attend the Sydney telethon. “The money raised will go towards helping anyone who finds themselves in financial need, no matter their religious beliefs.”

While Canada gained over 13,000 jobs last month, many provinces are still struggling with a high unemployment rate. Nova Scotia’s unemployment rate recently climbed to 9.1%. In the past year, only British Columbia and Nova Scotia have seen their unemployment rates rise.

“Cape Breton in particular has been struggling through hard economical times,” said Kennedy, who is also a denizen of the island. “The unemployment rate is above 15% and many families have at least one person who has to travel away just to send money home to support their family.”

The Union of National Employees has been making holiday donations for over a decade now, ever since the union chose to support worthy causes instead of sending holiday cards to members. Last year, the Union of National Employees made a donation to the Inuvik Food Bank.

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Who's saying nice things about unions?

Unions being spoken of in a positive light? It’s rare, trust us… we know!

But last week, we stumbled upon a few great pieces that praised unions. Since we’re rather used to being maligned, we thought we’d share these with you… (you know, for some good news for a change!).

First up, as part of its Wealth Paradox series examining the income divide in Canada, the Globe and Mail’s Greg Keenan pointed to unions as one of the forces against income inequality – and how, unfortunately, the decrease in union membership is a contributing factor to our present income gap. (so, there’s a bit of bad news in here after all – sorry!).

“The drop in unionized jobs ripples throughout the economy – in part because when enough workers are members of unions, their wage and benefit levels set standards that non-unionized companies usually have to meet.”

And though stagnant wages are an issue, upward social mobility is another. While post-secondary education is one way to pull yourself up by your bootstraps, the article does point to unionized jobs as “a ticket to the middle class” for workers without the degree.

South of the border, where the income gap is the widest of any industrialized society, unions were also portrayed in a positive light by someone who’s soon to have a lot of influence on the global economy.

Last week, during her senate confirmation hearing to become chairwoman of the Federal Reserve, Vice-chairwoman Janet Yellen pointed to the decline of unions as one of the contributing factors to income inequality, which she characterized as a “very serious problem” in the United States.

“The head of the Fed is one of the most powerful people on the planet,” said Cenk Uygur, host and co-founder of The Young Turks, a progressive web-based news show.

“You can’t argue that having the head of the Fed saying that we need to strengthen unions and crack down on Wall Street deregulation, that that doesn’t increase the chances that you at least stop the endless separation between the rich and poor,” said power panelist Ben Mankiewicz.

Last but not least, The Simpsons also showcased unions in a positive light last Sunday. In this particular episode, entitled Labor Pains, Lisa Simpson convinces a group of underpaid and exploited cheerleaders to unionize.

“Don’t worry, collective bargaining will enable us to secure concessions,” said Lisa… before opting for rallying chant better tailored to her audience.

“We’re gonna push ‘em back. Push ‘em back. Push ‘em way, way back. All the way to a new contract. Cause union power is a fact!”

Mike LeBlanc, a Simpsons fan and an assistant regional vice-president in the Atlantic region, said the latest episode was particularly topical.

“The Simpsons are just a mirror of what is going on in society,” said LeBlanc. “Maybe people are finally realizing that unions are a good thing.”

LeBlanc said he was happy to see Lisa, the most progressive character on the show, fight unfair labour practices.

“And there was one point in the show that really reminded me of my own experience on the bargaining team,” he added.

In that particular scene, the rich Texan boss says, “fine. I’m gonna give it some thought, then say no in the nicest way possible.”

Spoiler alert! (Seriously! Spoiler alert!)

Luckily for the cheerleaders, they end up winning the fight against their employer and get a wage increase (at the expense of the non-unionized peanut vendors, unfortunately!).

Have you seen some positive stories featuring unions? Why not share them in the comments! Better yet, share them on our Facebook page or Tweet them to us at @my_une.

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Great bargaining meetings and great pizza too!

Tons of Treasury Board and Parks Canada bargaining demands were received last Friday (which, incidentally, was the deadline for these things…)! Not only does this mean that our membership is clearly looking to play an active part in the collective bargaining process, but it also means that quite a few meetings were held to discuss bargaining demands.

For an inside look at what took place during those meetings, we reached out to a few local presidents to find out more.

In beautiful British Columbia, Local President Lise Tataryn said the discussions went very well.

“We talked about disability coverage, sick leave, extended health benefits,” said Tataryn. “It’s important to have those discussions.”

During the meeting, members of Local 20106 used the PSAC’s program of demands for Parks Canada to guide their discussions.

“We supported a few of the proposals in the program and put those forward,” added Tataryn.

Before letting us go, Tataryn mentioned that pizza and refreshments were used to lure members to the meeting. Yum! That said, she’s interested in getting other ideas on how to get members to union meetings.

Got an idea to share with Lise and the rest of us? Leave a comment below.

Over in Manitoba, Richard Landry of Local 50316 said his meeting required a bit more coordination because his members are spread out across 5 buildings – it’s also a composite Local that represents, among others, members at Statistics Canada, in passport offices and at Library and Archives Canada.

“We tried to make it as convenient as possible for everyone to attend the meeting,” said Landry.

On top of the classic pizza tactic used to draw members to the meeting, Landry said he also pinned posters to all the sites’ union boards and dropped off pamphlets on all the desks.

And what do discussions on collective bargaining look like in a composite local?

“Different sites have different priorities,” explained the local president. “For our site, one of the points that we were quite interested in was compensatory time.” Landry’s workplace often requires bursts of overtime – in fact, we caught up with him during a double-shift. Ouch!

Over and above the bargaining demands, this particular meeting led to some great discussions about engaging members.

“We had a great discussion about promoting the image of our Local in these sites,” explained Landry. “In the past, there had been a certain degree of negativity about the union.”

“We want to promote the union in a positive way. We want to build positive relationships with the members – instead of coming out of the blue with requests for their time whenever we have a meeting.”

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Trans Day of Remembrance – Nov. 20

What is Trans Day of Remembrance? This is the day that we, in the trans community, set aside to remember and honour our dead:  specifically, our dead brothers and sisters that have been killed because they are trans – killed because they dared to be themselves.

Killed because of intolerance and bigotry.

Killed because they did not fit into someone’s viewpoint of what makes a man or a woman.

They were of different races, of different religions, of different ages and from different countries around the world – and they died horrible deaths… beaten to death, shot, stabbed, beheaded, run over by cars….

We remember and honour them because it’s important to honour their bravery and conviction to live their lives honestly and to be the person they were meant to be.

And it’s important to remember them because, there but for happenstance, go we all.

In 2013 alone, there were a total of 238 cases where trans people were killed, according to Transgender Europe.

As trans people, we all know that this could happen to us – and we know that it’s up to us to continue to fight for the rights and protections that will make all of us safe. But it’s up to all of us to stand up and say, “No! This is not right!”

So please, on November 20, remember my fallen brothers and sisters. Keep them in your thoughts and prayers. Attend a Trans Day of Remembrance ceremony in your community, if you can. Above all, please support the efforts of all of those who are trying to advance the cause of getting trans rights enshrined in law, in all the countries around the world.

Let all of us help stop the killing.

To see a list of those persons being memorialized this year, go to www.transgenderdor.org

Kate Hart is the Union of National Employees’ national equity representative for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. This article was written as part of our union’s member journalism program. If you’d like to find out more, click here – to pitch a story or for any questions, please send an email to communications@une-sen.org.

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Last chance: Bargaining Conferences

Good news: if you want to attend your bargaining conference, there’s still time to put your name forward! The UNE has extended the application deadline to November 22 for Treasury Board and Parks Canada bargaining units.

You can put your name forward for consideration using our application form.

Very soon, our three national officers will review all applications and select delegates to the bargaining conference. Seeing as there is limited space, they will select members with the goal of ensuring women representation, geographic, occupational and equity group diversity.

If you have any questions, please consult our collective bargaining FAQ or email us at communications@une-sen.org.

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Rethink your vocab!

With the Indigenous Games well under way in Brazil, we felt this would be a great time to discuss our vocabulary. We took this opportunity to speak with Survival International, an organization that advocates on behalf of tribal peoples.

They’ve recently launched a campaign called Stamp it Out, aimed at challenging language that has, for centuries, belittled tribal people and portrayed them as somehow being in a transitional state towards inevitably joining industrialized societies.

These ideas are imbued in words such as ‘primitive’ and ‘stone age’.

“Primitive is one of the words that people use in the media,” said Kayla Wieche, a spokeswoman for Survival International.

“It’s an example of racism against tribal people,” she added “that somehow industrialized societies are further along than tribal people – that’s what the word ‘primitive’ really conveys.”

And of course, if a society is deemed to be “primitive” or “stone age”, it’s not a far leap for some to decide that industrialized societies know what’s best for them.

Wieche said the word was recently sprinkled liberally throughout a book review featured in the Wall Street Journal.

“It was really shocking to see that sort of racism in a major US newspaper.”

Survival International is urging allies to send e-cards to those who seriously need to rethink their vernacular.

The organization has followed up this campaign with a similar one aimed at India, where such words are freely used without a second thought. The campaign is named “Proud, not primitive”.

What other words do you think we should strike from our lexicon? Leave a comment below!

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Lest we forget – Remembrance Day 2013

Each year, millions of Canadians wear a poppy to honour our veterans and remember those who paid the ultimate price to defend our nation.

This particular Remembrance Day falls on the heels of the Harper Government’s decision to shut down nine district veterans offices. These include offices in Sydney, Charlottetown, Corner Brook, Thunder Bay, Windsor, Brandon, Saskatoon, Prince George and Kelowna.

The closure of these offices will mean that veterans in those cities will have to endure long drives to obtain adequate services – or use a website.

One 73-year-old veteran in Sydney told CTV news that he’ll have to drive five hours to get services in Halifax.

Yvan Thauvette, national president of the Union of Veterans Affairs Employees, explained to CTV that long journeys are very difficult for veterans who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder.

“Their concentration is affected. They are unable to travel for long periods. And they need, especially if it’s for medical information, a face-to-face (meeting) with either a case manager or a client services agent.”

Among soldiers who served in combat operations, the risk of suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder or a major depressive episode is at least 30%. A recent study by the VAC and the DND revealed that veterans are at much greater risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder than active service personnel.

The 2011 study revealed that 24.5% of veterans receiving disability benefits under the Pension Act and 42.5% of veterans receiving benefits under the New Veterans Charter are currently suffering from chronic symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

“Canadian government is choosing to throw money at an ad campaign to repair its image at the expense of Canada’s veterans,” wrote PSAC President Robyn Benson in an op-ed recently published in the Brandon Sun. “The government is ignoring the voices of veterans and is whitewashing its own betrayal with advertising.”

Canadian veterans are upset – and rightly so.

“Through veiled words and actions you indicate that the economy is more important than the people who protect it,” wrote David MacLeod, who served in the Canadian Forces from 1982 to 2010, in an open letter to Stephen Harper.

In his letter, MacLeod disinvited the prime minister and his caucus from Remembrance Day ceremonies.

“Your continued hostility towards Canada’s Veterans makes you an unwelcome guest,” added MacLeod. “Please demonstrate appropriate behaviour by taking a minute of silence at 11 a.m. on Nov 11 – in your office.”

The Union of National Employees will take part in the Remembrance Day ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier near Parliament Hill in Ottawa. Assistant Vice-President Evelyn Beckert (NCR-Separate Employers) will be there to lay a wreath on behalf of our union.

Update: Thanks Evelyn for representing the UNE!

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A jam-packed AGM

Full disclosure: some of us have never been to an annual general meeting. To get a better idea of what happens at these things, the UNE communications officer was sent to spy on the AGM of Local 70130.

This particular Local represents all members of the Passport Program at Citizenship and Immigration and Service Canada in the National Capital Region. It’s a Local that represents close to 900 members! To be precise, it includes members working at the mail-in centre, the call centre, headquarters and at the two passport counter offices in the Ottawa-Gatineau area.

Given the mix of French and English-speaking members there, Local President Rose Touhey and Local Vice-President Karl Lafrenière took turns explaining the proceedings in both official languages. This allowed everyone to fully participate.

And over and above the tasty coffee and snacks, members were also treated to a few words from their elected representatives and union staff.

We heard that the commissionaires were starstruck when they saw PSAC Regional Executive Vice-President Larry Rousseau walk into the building – let’s just say that he’s been spending a lot of time on TV these days!

Rousseau came to the meeting to meet members and talk about how the Budget Implementation Act (Bill C-4) is likely to impact us.

“The Conservative government is trying to take away our rights as workers – to take away our ability to get to the kind of collective agreement we want to have.” said Rousseau. “And that is what is absolutely unacceptable here.”

Rousseau also took the time to commend the Local for their hard work. This particular Local has worked tremendously hard to achieve better working conditions and establish better relations with management.

“If I need examples to give to other Locals as to how things can work, I draw them from Local 70130,” said Rousseau to enthusiastic applause.

Those sentiments were later echoed by Labour Relations Officer Jim McDonald.

“Over the past couple of years, we’ve addressed some tough issues. We’ve had some great successes and we’ve set some important precedents – and all the while, we’ve been able to maintain and foster good relations with our counterparts at Passport Canada,” said McDonald.

“This Local works very hard; they sure keep me busy,” he added. “My phone rings off the wall!”

UNE National President Doug Marshall also took the opportunity to talk about the important changes to collective bargaining hidden in Bill C-4.

“This government is preparing things for us,” said Marshall. “This bill is designed to weaken our ability to deal with the employer and deal with the issues that you wish to have in your collective agreement.”

“The government wants to eliminate other negotiation options and send us to the Public Interest Commission,” warned Marshall. “What the commission is going to look at is the state of the economy – not whether your wages are fair, not whether your terms and conditions are the same as the outside – they’re going to look at the economy.”

Needless to say, the economy isn’t doing so well these days!

Marshall also took the time to encourage members to think about bargaining demands (side note: if your Local belongs to a Treasury Board or Parks Canada bargaining unit, the deadline for your Local to submit bargaining demands is November 15!). Local 70130 will hold a meeting to discuss bargaining very shortly.

This meeting also became a great opportunity to quickly explain the success of the web-based campaign we launched regarding the dissolution of Passport Canada. The government released the news last May, smack dab in the middle of a Senate scandal and another scandal involving a certain notorious Toronto mayor. Despite our attempts, the media just wasn’t interested in our scandal-free story.

The good news is that our campaign reached well over 1.5 million Canadians – and it drove nearly ten thousand of those to our website for more information. We also received tons of testimonials about the great work Passport Canada employees provide. Whether communicating to us via email, Facebook or Twitter, Canadians were clear: they love Passport Canada and they weren’t happy with the government’s decision.

That campaign managed to revive some media interest in the story, right before July 2 – the official date marking the end of Passport Canada.

Finally, it wouldn’t be an annual general meeting without the basics! After the budget was explained and approved by the membership, elections were promptly held.

Since this is such a large Local, half the executive positions are up for election on alternating years. Once elected, these officials serve a two-year term.

Karl Lafrenière, who also serves as an assistant regional vice-president for the Outside Canada region, was re-elected to the position of Local Vice-President. Isabelle Beaudoin, who also serves as a regional human rights representative on the same regional team, was re-elected to the position of third local vice-president.

The elections also saw Jean-François Lamothe re-elected as secretary and Kasandra De Lima re-elected as human rights representative. Kenton Little and Darrel Klerks were both newly-elected to the positions of building vice-presidents for their respective buildings.

And, last but not least, Benoit Brosseau was appointed as a new shop steward.

We’d like to extend our thanks to members of Local 70130 for allowing us to attend their annual general meeting. We wish all elected officers the best of luck!