Category: National Executive

The National Executive met recently, in a meeting that was largely dominated by convention preparations. And it’s no wonder; with convention only a few months away, you’ll be waking up in beautiful British Columbia before you know it (albeit, a bit jet-lagged)!

The highlight of the meeting was the announcement that our UNE family won’t be split apart. As reported in an earlier article, Pɑssport Canada members will be staying with the UNE.

The meeting was also a great opportunity to extend our thanks to Garry Larouche, who announced that he will be retiring sometime after convention. Garry has been involved with our union since 1977 and was a powerful voice on many TC-group bargaining teams.

Andy Yung was also thanked for his service to our union, as he will be taking a hiatus from his assistant regional vice-president position during the next mandate. Andy was given kudos for his talents with numbers and his skills with hospitality suites.

After the conclusion of the National Executive meeting, it was off to the races! …the race to tackle convention resolutions, that is. There were three convention committees charged with examining all the resolutions that will be presented at convention.

All in all, there were over 60 resolutions submitted to convention. Members will be able to peruse these resolutions shortly, once we put the finishing touches on each committee’s report.

 

 

The National Executive will meet in Ottawa from May 29 to 31, before convention committee meetings. The first session will start at 9 a.m. at the Minto Suites Hotel.

If your Local wishes to place an item on the agenda, please contact your Regional Vice-President and provide him or her with clear and concise information. He or she will gladly bring your item before the executive.

About the National Executive:
The National Executive is responsible for the policies, programs and direction of the Union of National Employees. Between conventions, it makes important decisions and creates policies that help look after our union. The executive also carries out resolutions adopted by the members during the last convention. Its members meets three times per year to review the union’s activities and ensure that they reflect the will of the membership.

A pretty jam-packed national executive meeting was held last month in Ottawa. While the city was caught in the deadly grip of a deep freeze, our union leaders were fired up and ready to get to the important business of running our union.

“I found it rather intense,” admitted Hayley Millington, who was just recently elected the national equity representative for women.

Understandably, it was particularly intense for Millington because this was her first time attending a meeting of the National Executive.

“There’s a lot of information to process,” Millington added. “But I also found it really impressive. There were so many different characters around the table, but they were able to work together to get the job done.”

“Everyone is different but everyone’s goal is the same.”

And, certainly one of the key goals, as of late, is engaging our membership­­­. During the meeting, the National Executive recommitted itself to reach out to as many members as possible as part of the pledge card campaign.

Related: Watch Robyn Benson’s video about the pledge card campaign

Like many, Millington fears that union leaders at all levels have to contend with a certain level of apathy. That’s why she feels engagement is so crucial.

“I’m trying to be active in my Local,” she said proudly. “When it’s time for those pledge cards, I speak to members in the lobby. I call them over and do my best to engage them.”

“For those of us who are active, sometimes it’s hard to bridge that gap to reach them,” explained Millington. “Sometimes we can become sort of uneasy about approaching because we’re unsure about how they’ll respond. But now is a good time to engage.”

The National Executive also gave the thumbs up to an improved bargaining process aimed at single bargaining units. Unlike Treasury Board and Parks Canada bargaining units, single-bargaining units have to draft bargaining demands without the help of a program of demands.

“Locals shouldn’t be left on their own to figure out what changes should be brought to their collective agreement,” explained National President Doug Marshall.

“From now on, we’ll play a much more active role in helping these locals craft bargaining demands,” he added.”

For example, if a particular issue keeps being grieved, the UNE may suggest bringing a bargaining demand to address that issue. Since each workplace has its own culture (and its hiccups), this tailored approach at dealing with bargaining should help win stronger collective agreements.

“We’ve gotten some really great feedback on this,” added Marshall. “We’re looking forward to providing more support and working a lot more closely with local leaders.”

The National Executive will meet in Ottawa from January 21 to 23. The first session will start at 9:00 a.m. at the Union of National Employees’ boardroom.

If your Local wishes to place an item on the agenda, please contact your Regional Vice-President and provide him or her with clear and concise information. He or she will gladly bring your item before the executive.

About the National Executive:
The National Executive is responsible for the policies, programs and direction of the Union of National Employees. Between conventions, it makes important decisions and creates policies that help look after our union. The executive also carries out resolutions adopted by the members during the last convention. Its members meets three times per year to review the union’s activities and ensure that they reflect the will of the membership.

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.

The National Executive will meet in Winnipeg from September 30 to October 2, 2013. The first session will start at 9:00 a.m. at the Radisson Hotel.

If your Local wishes to place an item on the agenda, please contact your Regional Vice-President and provide him or her with clear and concise information. He or she will gladly bring your item before the executive.

About the National Executive:
The National Executive is responsible for the policies, programs and direction of the Union of National Employees. Between conventions, it makes important decisions and creates policies that help look after our union. The executive also carries out resolutions adopted by the members during the last convention. Its members meets three times per year to review the union’s activities and ensure that they reflect the will of the membership.

The National Executive met last week, immediately following the All Presidents Conference. That’s a long time to be living out of a suitcase! But, despite a rather busy (but nonetheless enjoyable!) weekend, our leaders didn’t waste any time getting right to work.

“It really was a busy weekend,” said Assistant Regional Vice-President Paulette Gaudet of Saskatchewan, who volunteered her help wherever she could: the registration desk, the swag table and the hospitality suite. From working the registration desk alone, Gaudet said she got to meet 90% of the members attending the conference.

“It was awesome to see so many faces and being able to put names to faces!”

The national executive meeting was also the occasion to give a warm welcome to our union’s newest assistant regional vice-president, Bill Bennett.

“If I sound nervous, it’s because I am nervous,” joked Bennett during the introductions. Bennett will be the Atlantic’s assistant regional vice-president in charge of Newfoundland and Labrador. He has been working at Parks Canada since 1988.

One of the first items on the agenda was the attack on the Rand formula. If the Conservatives succeed at eliminating the formula, employees in a unionized workplace would have the option to decide whether or not they wish to pay union dues. We’re not sure of any other service that gives you the option to decide “you know, I don’t feel like paying for this today!”

“Why should only some of the people in a workplace pay for something everyone in that workplace benefits from?” asked PSAC National President Robyn Benson, recently, in the Financial Post.

Members of the national executive agreed that the union needs to engage members. During the meeting, they voted in favour of setting a goal asking local, regional and national leaders to engage with every member, one on one, by the end of 2013. The motion also allocates $40,000 to the regions to support this activity.

Unfortunately, workforce adjustment has become a regular item on the agenda. As previously reported, the National Capital Commission and the National Gallery were two organizations where members were recently told that they’d be out of a job. And with the recent announcement of the Canadian International Development Agency being folded into the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, our members working in development are worried about their future.

Sadly, workforce adjustment is the reason why Regional Assistant Vice-President Benoit Dubeau will no longer be part of the Union of National Employees. Dubeau just recently found a new job.

“Benoit was a very great assistant. He had a lot of potential,” said Regional Vice-President Jean Pierre Naud.

Despite the sad news, Naud says he’s encouraged by the fact that many members are interested in stepping up to the plate.

“I was worried I would have to convince people to step into the position, but it seems like we’ll be having elections shortly,” said Naud.

At the end of a 3-day national executive meeting, the standard item before the adjournment is a roundtable goodbye. By the end of the meeting, we’re pretty sure that Bill Bennett had gotten over his initial nervousness.

“It’s been a busy week and I’ve learned a lot,” he concluded.

“He’s quick on the uptake so he’ll get the hang of it quickly,” joked his fellow regional team member, Angela Decker.

The National Executive will meet in Ottawa from April 8 to 10. The first session will start at 9:00 a.m. in the Union of National Employees boardroom.

If your Local wishes to place an item on the agenda, please contact your Regional Vice-President and provide him or her with clear and concise information. He or she will gladly bring your item before the executive.

About the National Executive:
The National Executive is responsible for the policies, programs and direction of the Union of National Employees. Between conventions, it makes important decisions and creates policies that help look after our union. The executive also carries out resolutions adopted by the members during the last convention. Its members meets three times per year to review the union’s activities and ensure that they reflect the will of the membership.