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Welcome to COPE Local 397
The Canadian Office and Professional Employees Union (COPE), Local 397 is a progressive and professional Union with Members who work at Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI), Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Saskatchewan NDP Provincial and Caucus Offices and Saskatchewan NDP Constituency Assistants. We have over 1,600 members. LABOUR DAY CLASSIC TAILGATINGGoing to the Saskatchewan Rough Rider Labour Day Classic?
So Here’s The Deal: Tickets are $5.00. Tickets will be on sale at noon in the Wheatland Room on August 27th and September 3rd, 2010, or at the door on Sepstember 5th. The Best Rural Municipality Agreement on the PrairiesCOPE Local 397 is pleased to announce the signing of a first contract with the RM of Alexander. Members are very pleased with the benefits that this agreement will bring them. COPE Local 397 is very excited to have negotiated this contract which to our knowledge, contains the finest language of any agreement with a prairie rural municipality. Our thanks to Cindy McLean, Leta Atkinson, Mike Dalrymple, and Patti Harris for their hard work in obtaining such an achievement.
Constituency Assistant's Sign Off a New 3 Year AgreementOn July 14th, 2010 COPE Local 397 was very pleased to sign off a new three year agreement for the NDP Constituency Assistants. President Garry Hamblin and NDP MLA Kevin Yates signing the document under the watchful eyes of our Bargaining Committee members Stacey Landin and Tracey Goodheart, COPE Local 397 Treasurer Jackie Lazar, COPE Local 397 Union Representative Colleen Malley, NDP Chief of Staff Stephen Moore and Cheryl Stecyk, NDP Director of Administration and Human Resources. The agreement came after much intense negotiation and under the threat of potential job action. Congratulations to our members whose solidarity was instrumental in bringing this agreement to a very successful conclusion.
Date: June 30, 2010
COPE NATIONAL CONVENTION 2010
The COPE National Convention is an event, which takes place every three years, and this our third National Convention since the breakaway from the International to form our own Canadian union was especially significant. As has become our practice, we continue to send all of our delegate entitlement to events such as this and as a result, we had 17 COPE Local 397 members, and an additional 2 who attended as observers there. COPE Nationals are a uniquely Canadian event, as a sizeable portion of our Locals are located in Quebec, and translation, with the necessary equipment and translators is the order of the day. Speeches are given in English, French or a mix of both with translation as required. Fascinating if you have never been there. This third COPE National convention took place in Whistler, British Columbia amidst the spectacular Coast Mountain range. It being the off-season of course, there was no skiing, but mountain bikers were out in full force. Also being the off-season, accommodation was extremely reasonable, costing about 2/3 of comparable accommodation in Regina, which was a bit of a pleasant shock. Convention opened on Friday June 11, 2010 at 9:00AM, delegates having registered the night before and earlier that morning. Thanks to Joan Gateley-Johnson, and Angela McLean for their participation on the Credentials Committee in this regard.
COPE National President Serge Cadieux then gave a speech to delegates about the challenges and gains made by our union over the last six years. The progress of COPE in this time frame is truly remarkable. In an era where union density is under attack from right wing governments across the country, our union continues to grow. Guest speaker Gwen Barlee, director of the Western Canada Wilderness Committee warned of the ecological devastation brought about with the introduction in B.C. of the so-called green initiative ‘River Runoff’ dam installations. The Constitution Committee reported on proposed changes to the Constitution, which were all adopted. One of the proposed changes that came as a result of this will be that the minimum dues that Locals must charge will be raised to 1.5% from its current level, in response to the concern that the National has over the financial viability of smaller locals. For our members this will mean that dues will rise on January 1, 2011 by $0.50 per $100.00 earned. To finish out the afternoon, Luc Desnoyers, the deputy critic for labour for the Bloc Quebecois gave delegates a view that most from our delegation certainly, would never be exposed to. Listening to him speak of the society that the Bloc wishes to create in Quebec, one couldn’t help thinking that he sounded a whole lot like an NDP MLA! Saturday morning opened with an inspirational address [yes it really was] from Ken Georghetti, the President of the Canadian Labour Congress who spoke extensively on Pensions and the growing need to address the coming pension crisis in this country. That politicians of all stripes are now pushing for pension change can be attributed directly to the efforts of labour, and it will be interesting to see what comes next now that there appears to be a will for change. Francine Descarries, professor of sociology at the UQAM discussed the difficulties that women have balancing work and the growing needs of families who are often caught looking after both children and increasingly, aging parents. Resolutions were again brought forward on a wide variety of topics including violence against women, pensions, and environmental issues. During the course of Saturday, the Vice Presidents of the different regions gave their reports. As Vice President of Region 3, I gave the report covering the events of the last three years since the last convention in our Region. Thank you to our delegates for receiving it so warmly. So many of our delegates lined up to the microphones to speak to the progress of our Local that speakers had to be turned away in order to recess for the afternoon, and the Region 4 Vice President had to give his report the next day!
Sunday brought the election of officers with all past officers acclimated into their positions and then adjournment. The next convention will be held in 2013 in Region 3, and COPE Local 397 will most likely be the host union. Thanks to Colleen Malley and Jaime Garcia who served ably on the Resolutions Committee. Also to those on the Sergeant at Arms Committee who worked so hard checking credentials at the door and handing out delegate materials. Thanks Denny Vachon, Bryan Mackenzie and Nikki Kluk. And I would remiss if I didn’t mention our two Observers who attended convention on their own dime, but who pitched in checking translation equipment in and out to delegates, Diane Knash-Rapp and Kim Wilson. And to all the delegates: Thanks for all your participation and some of their comments follow:
Prairie School for Union WomenThe annual Prairie School for Union Women offers trade union women an intensive four days of learning in a supportive environment. The goals of this school are to develop women’s personal and leadership skills and build solidarity among women workers. So says the brochure for the Prairie School for Union Women [PSUW]. What the brochure doesn’t say is that this school is the premier source of information for our women members. Courses are facilitated by women for women. In an age when funding for women’s issues has been cut by right wing governments at all levels, PSUW stands virtually alone as a place where women activists can attend and hear information on issues from a uniquely feminist viewpoint. We know that sending members who have never been to events like schools and conventions builds activists in our Local.
Carmen Doyle
Clearly the school was excellent as evidenced from the comments we received.
75th Anniversary of the On to Ottawa Trek7:00 p.m. On June 14, 1935 the 1500 relief camp workers who were riding the rails to Ottawa were stopped in Regina. On July 1, 1935 Regina City Police and the RCMP attacked local citizens and Trekkers who were assembled for a public meeting. A police-provoked riot broke out in downtown Regina, resulting in two deaths, and many injuries and arrests. On June 14, 2010 there will be a multi-media event to mark this anniversary. There will be music, entertainment, a new film on the Regina Riot and a celebration of our past. This will all be filmed as a part of a documentary on the Trek and the Riot. This will be an opportunity to link the past with the present and the future. The many social gains that have been achieved since 1935 are under attack on many fronts. This is an opportunity to show support for each other, and opposition to Bills 5, 6, 43 and 80, the demise of SCN, the privatization of our crowns, the sell-off of provincial lands....the list goes on. Bring a banner or a sign, and some friends and join in at the Turvey Centre on June 14th. This is a great opportunity to rally in support of each other and demonstrate our solidarity.
PROTESTERS GATHER ON THE LEGISLATURE LAWN
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Jaime Garcia, Darin Milo, Jackie Lazar, Judy Bell, President Garry Hamblin, and Union Representative Colleen Malley showing the COPE Local 397 flag at the May 18th protest rally on the Legislature lawn |
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More flags a flying on the front lawn of the Legislature |
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Garry Hamblin rallying at the Legislature protesting the current Government’s attack against Saskatchewan's working people |
The first long weekend in May has come and gone
and that can only mean one thing!
Again this year thanks to your Provincial Council and Executive Board, we are running this very popular event. |
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BY THE NUMBERS, HERE’S WHAT YOU GOTTA DO
| 1. | Wear the COPE Local 397 t-shirt that you were given, every Casual Day. If your shirt is worn out, ‘lost’ in the dryer, or you’ve grown a wee bit, no problem, just contact us and we will be more than happy to send ya another one. |
| 2. | Take a picture of yourself and your friends wearing your COPE Local 397 t-shirt. |
| 3. | Send the picture to the union office at cope397@sasktel.net and don’t forget to tell us who is in the picture with you. |
| 4. | Enter as many times as you want to starting immediately through the end of August, but only one entry per Casual Friday please. |
| 5. | Sit back and wait for the winning to start. |
WHAT WE’LL DO
| 1. | We will post the pics of you and your buds on our website every week in all your black shirted glory. |
| 2. | We will throw all the names of those pictured into a draw. |
| 3. | We will draw 15 PAIRS of tickets on August 31st for the much coveted SASKATCHEWAN RIDERS LABOUR DAY CLASSIC. Limit of one pair of tickets per winner. |
| 4. | Oh yeah, just about forgot. We will also host another KICK A** TAILGATE PARTY [proceeds to Cerebral Palsy] at the COPE UNION office in Regina on the morning of game day, just like we did last year. Details on this year's party to follow. |
GO 13TH MAN! [hmmm, maybe not :)]
Hey that’s nice, but you live in Manitoba? No problem we didn’t forget about you.
Can you say ‘Banjo Bowl’? Yeah that’s right we have two tickets up for grabs to the annual Saskatchewan/Winnipeg clash that takes place right after Labour Day. Sorry no tailgate party in Winnipeg this year anyway. :)
You are a COPE 397 member in Alberta?
We STILL have you covered. Tickets go on sale on June 1 and we will get two tickets to a game for you.
As some may be aware, there is a looming pension crisis in Canada.
As is usual, labour groups such as the Canadian Labour Congress are taking the lead in not only drawing attention to this problem, but also proposing the solutions.
» Canadian Labour Congress »
To get where we need to be on this issue, politicians must have the need for change underscored to them by groups of concerned citizens [read voters :)]
And where do we find groups of concerned voters to press this vital issue?
Why, the union movement of course!
It had been noted that at the upcoming Federation of Canadian Municipalities meeting, there is a resolution being proposed by the Mayor of Toronto to increase the Guaranteed Income Supplement by 15% and institute a federal system of pension insurance. » FCM Pension Resolution »
It is important that the Mayors of both Regina and Saskatoon support this resolution, so on May 21, 2010 at the request of the Canadian Labour Congress off we trotted to meet the mayor of Saskatoon, Don Atchison. [Others met with Mayor Fiacco]
Have to say we were very pleasantly surprised with Mayor Atchison’s knowledge and personal experience on the subject of pension shortfall, and we look forward to seeing him support this resolution at the upcoming FCM meeting.
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COPE Local 397 members Tracey Goodheart and Tom Howe meet with Mayor Don Atchison (pictured on the left) – Garry Hamblin holding the camera |
As some members are aware, Leta Atkinson has taken ill and is expected to be off work for some time. We wish her a speedy recovery and look forward to having her back in the workplace.
While we look forward to her return, in order to minimize service disruption to our members, we have arranged for Steve Schultz to take her place on a temporary basis.
Steve is a long time steward at SGI and is known to many members in Head Office. Steve has also been a COPE Local 397 Executive Board member for many years and as such, brings a wealth of experience to this assignment.
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Welcome aboard Steve, thanks for stepping up to the plate for the benefit of the members!
A Message from Larry Hubich
President of the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour (SFL)
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The Women’s Committee of COPE Local 397 would like to thank all the SGI staff and friends for their generous donations of books and their purchases of books, which made the 2010 Book Sale a huge success. Once again we outdid ourselves and raised the profits of the sale to the best ever.
We raised a whopping $1700.00 for the Saskatchewan Ovarian Cancer Survivors group, which is a part of Ovarian Cancer Canada.
We also want to thank everyone that helped make this happen. The people who donated their coffee breaks and lunch hour to come out and help work at the sale, the facilities people for co-ordinating tables, keys and a room for storing our books till the sale, and to the corporation for endorsing this event. All these factors are very important in making this a success and truly this was a great success! Again we thank you and deeply appreciate all the help.
Kendra Chesney
On behalf of the COPE Local 397 Women’s Committee
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September 12 - 14, 2010
Delta Regina, Saskatchewan
The SFL Occupational Health and Safety Committee is again sponsoring a province-wide conference at the Delta Regina Convention Centre.
The Conference will include speakers and workshops on the following subjects:
| 1. | Occupational Health and Safety Act & Regulations |
| 2. | Effective OH&S Working Committees |
| 3. | Harassment Investigation in the Workplace |
| 4. | Workers' Compensation |
| 5. | Duty to Accommodate |
| 6. | Why Does my Work Hurt? |
| 7. | Blame the Worker |
| 8. | The Corruption of Health and Safety in Canada |
| 9. | Violence in the Workplace |
If anyone is interested in attending this Conference, please complete the registration form included in the brochure and return it to the Union Office.
Applications must be in on or before August 4, 2010.
May 29 and 30th, 2010
Campbell Collegiate
Regina, Saskatchewan
Come out and meet union activists from all across Southern Saskatchewan. Learn from great instructors and from others. Share information and have a great time in a unionized setting.
This is a great opportunity for new activists and members who might want to get involved.
If anyone is interested in attending this School, please complete both the Union Education Application together with the registration form included on the brochure and return both forms to the Union Office.
Applications must be in on or before May 12, 2010.
The Bargaining Committee met with SGI Management the week of April 12th for what turned out to be two days’ bargaining. Progress was made on those areas of the Collective Agreement that are considered by both sides to be ‘housekeeping’ issues.
It was suggested by SGI Management that the mandate that they have been given is similar to the settlement that SGEU recently ratified with their members at the Public Service Commission. For those who are unaware of that settlement, the details can be found at http://www.sgeu.org/news/public-service-sector-ratifies-deal.
We still say however that this agreement falls far short of what the members who work at SGI deserve. It is absolutely unacceptable that SGI Vice Presidents receive increases of 50% or more over the last two years while those at the bottom who can least afford it receive far less.
We would ask that SGI members take a look at the recently ratified SGEU agreement and give us their opinion. Feel free to email me at presidentcope397@sasktel.net
We recently attended a Public Sector Bargaining Conference facilitated by President of the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour, Larry Hubich.
In attendance were, amongst others, all the unions representing the other major Crown Corporations. The discussion amongst those representing members at the Crown Corporations was illuminating to say the least.
It was very interesting to see the number of ‘common’ Management proposals around Earned Days Off and wage increases that are at each bargaining table, including ours.
There were also representatives there from those representing health care workers who are still without an agreement.
We were very pleased to be part of this series of ongoing Public Sector Bargaining Conferences. This type of discussion may well lead to a common approach to bargaining which has not been seen in some time. We will continue to engage in these discussion to the mutual benefit of all our members.
Garry Hamblin
President
At the March 12th Provincial Council meeting, a motion was passed to affiliate COPE Local 397 with the NDP.
This issue was also discussed with members at the two membership meetings in February and March [in fact we advertised that this was going to be discussed on the meeting notice], and at the Steward’s meeting, which also took place in March. I have also discussed the implications of NDP affiliation at a number of meetings over the last couple of months and in the ‘President’s Message’ portion of the website posted on March 24th, 2010.
Background as to why this decision was taken can be read here » President's Message
I had asked that members call me if there were any questions and there have been a few enquiries from members recently which lead me to believe that there are some misconceptions as to what affiliation means.
So let’s clear them up.
Here are some questions that we have been getting.
| Question: | Is my name on a list that is being sent to the NDP? |
| Answer: | No, absolutely not, we have a privacy policy and member’s names, addresses and other information are not shared outside this organization other than to do our annual survey. Never have been, never will be. |
| Question: | Is there going to be a deduction from my paycheque for this initiative? |
| Answer: | No. The affiliation fee is $.25 per member per month and this comes out of the dues that we already receive. |
| Question: | I don’t want my dues supporting a political party. |
| Answer: | No problem, while we will remain affiliated to the NDP as per the motion that was passed, we will remove the $.25 that represents 'your' portion of the monthly affiliation submission at your request. Just send us an email. |
| Question: | Ok, this was discussed on the COPE website and at the monthly meetings but why wasn’t a notice sent to every member at SGI? |
| Answer: | We aren’t allowed to distribute ‘political’ information through SGI’s mail distribution system, for obvious reasons. Aside from this though we have publicized this issue at meetings, membership meetings and our website, to make sure members are aware. |
As always, if members have concerns over this, or any other issue, please don’t hesitate to call me at 535-4580.
Thanks.
Garry Hamblin
President
The [other] President’s Tour continues as Leta Atkinson and I traveled to Weyburn on March 3, 2010 to meet with members there.
As luck would have it, Weyburn is also the hometown of Wanda Bartlett, one of the top table officers of the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour, so it seemed appropriate to invite her along to the meeting as ‘special’ guest.
We had a fantastic meeting with members there, the turnout comprising of the vast majority of the staff, and an excellent discussion was had. Of particular concern was the state of SGI bargaining and we were only too happy to bring everyone up to date. The other major concern was the diminishing customer service standards as a result of recent new procedures.
Thanks to Wanda Bartlett for stopping by and extolling the virtues of the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour and the Weyburn and District Labour Council.
Hearty thanks as well to Kathy McFadden who worked hard to arrange and coordinate our visit there.
Where next?
You tell us.
We would really like to come and hear your concerns. These types of meetings continue to prove themselves over and over again as a wonderful way to find out what is going on in your workplace.
Interested?
Call me at 535-4580 and we will be happy to set something up.
Garry Hamblin
President
COPE Local 397 welcomes our newest Members employed at the Rural Municipality of Alexander No. 600 in Manitoba. These Members are the professional employees who work in the Rural Municipality office serving the taxpayers of the RM. This Unit was organized in late 2009. Since being certified the Members have met with their Union Representative, Leta Atkinson, and have developed a proposal package. A bargaining committee has been selected and bargaining dates are being set for April and May. |
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Seated from left to right: Cindy McLean, Annette Chevrefils, |
We have just been informed that SGI has finally acceded to the many complaints and concerns aired by employees in the Auto Claims Centers and announced that there will be ten new adjusting positions posted.
It is our understanding that these positions will be in Regina and Saskatoon and will be posted immediately.
While this is certainly encouraging news, we will be listening closely to our members in those areas as to whether this is an adequate number of positions. We further note that there are no new positions in the rural areas, notably Prince Albert which is of great concern.
We would like to thank those members who, in refusing to work unpaid overtime, and refusing to work excessive amounts of overtime, helped underscore the need for more staff and bring about this change.
We would also be remiss if we didn’t also thank Maureen Bongie, Chair of the Auto Claims Workload Committee who has tirelessly been collecting claims statistics and who was able to show on a number of occasions, the need for additional staff.
Garry Hamblin
President
Recently two of our activists in Saskatoon, Pamela Garneau and Gina Smith organized a ‘lunch and learn’ the topic of which was to be the Save Our Saskatchewan (SOS) Crowns campaign.
Our intrepid duo asked for and received permission, booked a room and invited Jennifer Britton, the Coordinator of the SOS Crowns campaign [www.soscrowns.ca] to be the guest speaker.
Jennifer had recently been on the Gormley show to explain SOS Crowns initiatives, mainly those of education as to what Crowns are, and pointing out areas where the Sask Party government was attempting to restrict the services traditionally offered by some of the Crowns. One must assume she was very effective as immediately after her appearance on the show, Ken Cheveldayoff was trotted out to attempt to refute everything that she had said.
In any event the Union Office received a call from SGI to the effect that the ‘lunch and learn’ which was scheduled would not be allowed to go forward.
Apparently the information that would be presented at this lunch and learn is ‘too political’.
Interesting stuff. Why would anyone want to suppress education as to what the Crowns do? Especially when the target audience, in this case, are the employees of a Crown themselves.
Garry Hamblin
President, COPE Local 397
The continuing saga of the mismanagement in the Auto Claims Centers.
On January 26, 2010 in response to numerous phone calls and emails from concerned members working in the Regina Northwest and Regina East Claims centers, a meeting was held in the Union Office.
Recent changes in the way that claims are dispatched have caused great disruption in the Auto Claims Centers. Once again Claims management has attempted to deal with the chronic short-staffing in these areas with yet another technological band-aid.
This has resulted in our members being forced once again, to deal with angry customers upset with the lengthy delays endemic with an overwhelming number of claims.
Of the members present at the meeting, just about everyone had a story revolving around the fact that the phone system recently put in place simply doesn’t work.
It was noted that in order to deal with Adjusters being unable to return the huge numbers of voice-mail messages being left, the number of voice-mails customers can leave has merely been cut in half, from forty voice-mails to twenty.
There is no ‘zero out’ option for customers when they can’t leave a voice-mail due to full mailboxes. This results in many customers getting frustrated and simply showing up at the Claim Center and demanding to see the handling Adjuster.
We asked for the name of someone members could direct customer’s complaints to.
It would seem to us that it is grossly unfair that our members should have to bear the brunt of customer complaints brought about by a change in the Claims reporting system that they didn’t cause. Just give us a name and phone number of someone that our members could give out to unhappy customers.
We are still waiting.
In the meantime, our members have been asked to work overtime to deal with ‘backlog’.
We think that members are best served by refusing overtime unless it is made mandatory [three hours maximum].
Members didn’t create the nightmare in these centers, why should they have to clean them up?
The answer is obvious to those who actually do the work.
Hire enough staff to do the job already!
We thank the members who came out on their own time to share their experiences with us. The turnout was excellent and the two-hour discussion that followed was illuminating for all.
If there are further concerns on this issue and until enough staff are hired in these centers we have no doubt there will be, please don’t hesitate to contact your Union Representative, or myself, directly.
Garry Hamblin
President, COPE Local 397
Phone: (306) 535-4580
e-mail: presidentcope397@sasktel.net
SGI GroupWise e-mail: ghamblin@sgi.sk.ca
Phone: (306) 359-6411
e-mail: colleen.malley@sasktel.net
SGI GroupWise e-mail: union-colleen@sgi.sk.ca
Phone: (306) 352-9551
e-mail: leta.atkinson@sasktel.net
SGI GroupWise e-mail: union-leta@sgi.sk.ca
The recent decision by our Prime Minister Stephen Harper to prorogue parliament has left a sour taste in the mouths of many Canadians. As trade unionists, democracy is one of our fundamental core-beliefs. Democracy enables the average person to have a voice to represent their concerns. It not only holds those elected to be accountable for their actions, but also makes them answer as to why they display inaction on serious issues.
Clearly, the Federal Conservative minority has been feeling the heat of one mistake after another. I would consider them to be a comedy of errors, if the end result didn't have such negative consequences. This is the same government that ran on a platform of openness and accountability. Instead, they duck and hide when Canadians begin to point to serious problems.
Unfortunately proroguing parliament, is their latest tactic in their desperate bid to keep power. The fallout is some bills will die on the table, because our Prime Minister's ego seems to be more important than running the country.
Fortunately, in a true democracy, we do have the right to voice our displeasure. The wonderful world of Facebook is one such venue that has been organizing average Canadians from all walks of life to let those in power know how we feel. While labour has always been a fierce advocate of democracy, we are seeing all sorts of people step up. This is a broad issue that affects all walks of life. As I write this, the group is over 190,000 strong and growing. The group has decided to plan a day that Canadians can gather and express how they feel. This is happening across Canada in all major cities on Saturday, January 23rd. Feel free to stop by and remind those in power that they are not elected to tell us what to do. They are not elected to shut down parliament, while getting paid. They are there to serve Canadians, not to thumb their noses at us, and our democracy.
Here is the link to the main page: "Canadians Against Proroguing Parliament"
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?v=wall&ref=mf&gid=260348091419
Here are the links for the 2 Saskatchewan groups:
Saskatoon Rally Group - If you are interested in helping, or just adding your name to the group: http://www.facebook.com/groups.php?ref=sb#/group.php?gid=264977381210
The Saskatoon rally will take place at 1:00 at the City Hall Square on January 23rd.
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Regina Rally Group - If you are interested in helping, or just adding your name to the group: http://www.facebook.com/groups.php?ref=sb#/group.php?gid=253266656648
The Regina rally will take place at 1:00 at the Scarth Street Mall on January 23rd.
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Remember, democracy is about serving the citizens the best way possible, not about discarding the interests of those citizens in the name of retaining power.
Darin Milo
Trustee
On October 21 to 23rd, 2009 the 54th Annual Convention of the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour was held at TCU Place in Saskatoon.
We have said over the last couple of years that Union events such as these need to be shared with rank-and-file members. So, for the first time ever, COPE Local 397 sent its full delegate allocation of 20 members to this event. It’s not inexpensive to do this, but frankly we feel that spending member’s money on the members themselves is always good value.
In any event, as most will know the morning of the first day was overshadowed by the appearance of George W. Bush who was speaking in the same building at the same time as delegates were filling the hall. There was concern over the security arrangements as Bush, as past President of that country to the south of us, travels with numerous security staff.
Have to say though that other than the odd security glitch, the TCU staff did an admirable job of keeping delegates, demonstrators and security personnel from interfering with one another.
Once on to Convention, delegates debated resolutions [a number of them put forward by COPE Local 397] and heard speakers on a huge variety of topics. As one sits on the Convention floor one cannot help but be struck by the fact that the information discussed is unavailable in just about any other forum.
Delegates heard from Marie Clarke Walker the Executive Vice-President of the Canadian Labour Congress who condemned white collar, corporate criminals in the context of the current economic crisis. ‘Greedy and incompetent CEOs are stealing from the economy’, she said.
The Convention was honored to hear from workers of locked-out XL Beef in Moose Jaw in the afternoon.
On Thursday, Jennifer Britton from Save Our Saskatchewan (SOS) Crowns gave her presentation and workers passed resolutions supporting this initiative.
Murray Dobbin, political writer and commentator, addressed the delegation arguing that governments and their corporate allies are ‘explicitly and deliberately attacking democracy through free trade agreements, privatization, deregulation, corporate tax cuts, and anti-union legislation.’
Economist, Armine Yalnizyan, noted that ‘the biggest recession since the Great Depression has turned into the Great Bailout with banks getting 62 billion dollars in handouts and the rest of us getting scraps.’
Bob Sass, well known Occupational Health and Safety activist presented on behalf of the National Ban Asbestos Committee, noting their efforts to create a public registry of public buildings where asbestos is located.
Our own delegates were very active in the running of the Convention, and we have no doubt that it was an educational and enjoyable experience for them.
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| Pam Garneau, Joan Gateley-Johnson and Gina Smith on the Credentials Committee |
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| COPE Local 397 Sergeant-at-Arms Crew Nikki Kluk, Maureen Bongie, Shalen Bilboe, Nasha Kuzma and Nathan Schneider |
Some comments from our COPE Local 397 members were as follows:
‘As a first-time delegate to the Convention I am grateful for the opportunity to attend. Not only was I there to hear the issues that affect me in my workplace, but it was also interesting to hear the issues that other Unions brought forward. I enjoyed getting the chance to speak to workers in a variety of fields; everyone was very friendly and respectful. Volunteering on a committee was a great way to feel instantly welcomed and gave me a chance to meet new people right away and to help as much as I could.’
-Nikki Kluk
‘This was my second SFL Convention. I think it's important to send delegates to these conventions because it energizes the membership. It gives them something to be a part of, and it helps them take the Union home with them. Sending delegates educates members who may have otherwise been uninvolved in Union issues, for example, Bill 80. This time I was helping maintain order, as the Sergeant-at-Arms. It feels good to know that this Convention is being run through hard-working volunteers, many of which were COPE members.’
-Nathan Schneider
‘My SFL Experience:
Wow. Incredible. It was a very awesome learning experience. An experience I wish every Union and non-Union member in Saskatchewan could experience. It opened my eyes to so many important issues (political and human rights). I've been a Union member for almost six years and during my first five years, I didn't really understand Unions and quite honestly had a very low opinion of Unions and Union members. By becoming more involved with the Union and taking small steps on educating myself on what Unions actually mean and stand for, has made me a strong believer in Unions. Attending the SFL Convention has literally changed my life and taught me that I have a voice and must let it be heard. Loved it!!!’
-Gina Smith
‘My experience at that Convention was not what I envisioned. It exceeded all of my expectations. I thought I'd be bored and the days would be long, but I was happily mistaken. My first reaction was the feeling of "Family". I can truly say what "Solidarity" means now. I learned so much, and now I have valuable information that I can pass on to our members when they ask me, "What good is a Union anyway?" The experience left me with a warm feeling of Pride, and I'm glad I was invited to attend. I would love to go again next year, but will understand if our Local wants to send others who have never attended. I am 100% positive that they will leave with a higher respect about Unions as a whole and would hope they have the same "go team go" attitude that I left with.
-Candace Lozinski
‘As you were aware I was a first time delegate to the SFL. I cannot say enough how much I enjoyed the convention. The guest speakers were all interesting and topics discussed are all critical to the success of our province. Jennifer Britton, CEP SOS Crowns Campaign presentation was very well done. Thanks Jennifer!
I remember when my Dad worked for SaskPower and the Conservatives came into power, and the fear that my dad may loose his job (over 25 years of employment with SaskPower) was a real threat. These were the goals of the conservatives to foster and implement privatization of the Crowns and justifying it because we need this "competition" to get better rates. One only has to look next door to Alberta to see how affordable automobile insurance is. Look a little farther and see how affordable private health care is in the States.
You can only spend a dollar once and once the Crowns are gone, where does the revenue come from to support things like health care and education?’
-Michelle Ottenbreitt
All in all a hugely successful event for COPE Local 397 and we are already looking forward to next year.
Garry Hamblin
President
On November 18th, the Union Business Rep and I made the trip to Estevan for our 19th [I think] branch visit. Members were given an update on the activities of the Local, and we heard a number of concerns from those in attendance. There were members there from Weyburn as well, and given that both branches fall under the same Management a number of the concerns raised were common to both.
We thank Karen Umpherville for organizing this for us, much appreciated.
As always, we look forward to our next opportunity to meet with interested members, please don’t hesitate to call me to arrange a visit with your workgroup.
Garry Hamblin
President
COPE Local 397 is sponsoring an Edmonton Oilers Game Day Package for its Members and a guest.
Come and see the Edmonton Oilers play the Anaheim Ducks live in Edmonton on Sunday, February 14th, 2010.
The cost for COPE Local 397 Members and a guest is $100 per person.
Package includes bus from North Battleford to Edmonton and return, ticket to the game, one meal on board the bus and a chance to win an autographed Edmonton Oilers Stick.
The bus leaves Tim Horton’s at the Frontier Mall in North Battleford at noon and will return after the game.
There are 45 available tickets for this trip. They will go fast. For more information please contact Allan Landry at 306-441-5622 or contact Tricia at the Union Office at 306-352-4240 or union-tricia@sgi.sk.ca. Payment for Game Day Packages can be made by Visa, MasterCard and Interac at the Union Office.
Dave Miller our long time Union Representative has retired as of November 30, 2009. Dave was with COPE Local 397 for approximately 15 years and we all wish him the very best in his well deserved retirement.
Replacing Dave is Leta Atkinson who can be reached at (306) 352-9551, or at leta.atkinson@sasktel.net or union-leta@sgi.sk.ca on SGI GroupWise.
Leta Atkinson was born and raised on a family farm near Springwater Saskatchewan. She received her high school and post secondary education in Saskatoon. Both Leta’s mother and father where proud prairie activists in the National Farmers Union, Community Clinics and the CCF/NDP. Upon completing her post secondary education Leta moved to Winnipeg and joined the work force. She returned to Saskatchewan to raise her family. Leta worked in the private sector until 1986 when she was recruited for an Advocacy Position. Leta refers to this as “finding her niche”. For the past 24 years Leta has worked as an advocate. Leta comes to us from SEIU-West where she has been a Union Representative for Healthcare Workers for the past fifteen years.
As a COPE Local 397 member Leta has been active on Provincial Council, as a Trustee on our Local Executive Board. Leta looks forward to meeting the activists and rank and file members in her service areas and assisting in building solidarity and strength in our Union.
Please join us in welcoming Leta to our organization ! |
COPE Steward School students hard at work |
On October 13, 2009 once again COPE Local 397 activists gathered together at the 2nd Annual Steward’s School, in Regina. We have said many times, and will continue to repeat, that next to the Members themselves, Stewards are the most important people in this organization. As such, they deserve as much support as we can give them. One way to make sure they get the support that they need is an annual School.
‘Stewards at Work’ was the theme and students heard information on a wide range of subjects.
Once again ably facilitated by Judy Bell and Karen Pardy, students were lead through such subjects as diverse as the importance of the 5 ‘W’s to an overview of Steward involvement in first step grievances, students were taken through the process.
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More Students hard at work |
A highlight of the COPE Steward Schools is always the quality and diversity of the guest speakers. This year we were graced with the presence of:
Larry Kowalchuk, staff lawyer for RWDSU and Cara Banks from the SFL on the state of recent anti union legislation proposed or passed by the Sask Party government.
Terry Zahorski of the Regina and District Labour Council who expounded on the role of Labour Councils.
Jen Britton from the ‘Save Our Saskatchewan Crowns’ campaign who gave an excellent presentation on the role and importance of Crown Corporations including SGI.
National President Serge Cadieux who again gracefully gave of his time to speak to the students and give out certificates.
As demonstrated by the student evaluations, once again this School was an outstanding success.
Thank you to Karen Pardy and Judy Bell who facilitated and to our staff who work many hours behind the scenes to ensure this event comes off flawlessly.
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COPE National President Serge Cadieux and COPE Local 397 President Garry Hamblin presenting a certificate to Mike Cook |
Interested in attending?
Next year’s school will rotate back to Saskatoon, October 12th to the 14th, 2010. If you wish to go, please just let us know by contacting Tricia at the Union Office by e-mail at union-tricia@sgi.sk.ca or by phone at 306-352-4240, it’s never too early to get your name on the list.
Garry Hamblin
President
On October 20, 2009, COPE Local 397 is pleased to announce that we have certified the office staff of the RM of Alexander No. 600 in Manitoba as Members.
We welcome these new Members on board and we anticipate that we will be negotiating their first contract in January of next year. Glad to have ya with us.
There are a number of large RM’s in Manitoba most of whom have significant numbers of office staff. We will be continuing our push in this area and are proud to be organizing those in need of Union affiliation.
Our thanks to COPE Local 397 Organizer Mike Dalrymple for his tireless efforts in this area.
Garry Hamblin
President
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Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities |
More than half a billion persons are disabled as a result of mental, physical or sensory impairment and no matter which part of the world they are in, their lives are often limited by physical or social barriers. During the past two decades, much has been accomplished in recognition of disabled persons. One of the turning points was the International Year of Disabled Persons proclaimed by the General Assembly in 1981.
The following year, the International Decade of Disabled Persons was designated (1983-1992) to promote "equality" and "full participation" of disabled persons in social life and development.
In 1992, to commemorate the anniversary of the World Program of Action concerning Disabled Persons, December 3rd was proclaimed International Day for Disabled Persons by the General Assembly of the United Nations. International Day for Disabled Persons has been designated to promote understanding about disability issues and to increase awareness of gains to be derived from integrating disabled persons into all aspects of political, social, economic and cultural life.
Twenty years ago on December 6, a 25 year-old man named Marc Lepine walked into the University of Montreal's School of Engineering Building with a semi-automatic rifle.
Once inside the school, Lepine began a shooting spree during which he murdered 14 women and injured 13 otherse; nine women and four men. Lepine believed it was because of female students that he was not accepted to the engineering school. Before killing himself, he left an explanatory letter that contained a tirade against feminists as well as a list of 19 prominent women whom he particularly despised.
The 14 women who died in the massacre were: Anne-Marie Edward, Anne-Marie Lemay, Annie St. Arneault, Annie Turcotte, Barbara Daigneault, Barbara Maria Klueznick, Genevieve Bergeron, Helen Colgan, Maud Haviernick, Maryse Laganiere, Maryse Leclair, Michele Richard, Natalie Croteau and Sonia Pelletier.
These women became symbols, tragic representatives, of injustice against women. Women's groups across the country organized vigils, marches and memorials. There was an increase in support for educational programs and resources to reduce violence against women. Both federal and provincial governments made commitments to end violence against women. In 1991, the Canadian government proclaimed December 6 National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women.
On November 6, 2009, we concluded bargaining Essential Services with SGI and we have a signed Letter of Understanding with the Employer.
It is with mixed feelings that we announce this, as Members know our stand on this draconian, one sided, and we feel ultimately unconstitutional, piece of Legislation known as Bill 5, the Essential Services Act.
This piece of legislation compels us to ultimately deal away the rights of some Members in relation to their ability to participate in any possible job action.
However, we took the direction that we were given from our Shop Stewards in May of 2009 who were clear that some sort of agreement should be pursued.
We can say though, that the number of Members who may be impacted is very minimal and given that the Essential Services Act is a way of life [for now] for both the Employer and ourselves, we are pleased with the result.
Although this agreement is concluded, our opposition to this Legislation continues. The Local continues to be a plaintiff on the Constitutional challenge to Bill 5 and Bill 6, and I continue to be a personal plaintiff as well.
We have been asked by Members whether or not they have been deemed ‘essential’.
The Legislation provides for the individuals and classifications to be named in the event of ‘a work stoppage or a potential work stoppage’ and we have agreed to abide by these principals.
Therefore, there will not be a list published of those named ‘essential’, unless and until a work stoppage becomes a possibility.
In the end, it is our hope that the Legislation is overturned and we never again have to negotiate away our Member’s rights.
Garry Hamblin
President
The [other] President’s Tour continued on Wednesday October 7th as Colleen Malley and I together with Provincial Council Member, Maureen Bongie, met with 21 members who work at the Call Center. Very ably coordinated by Janice Scherr, we heard a number of concerns from members on this our 18th such meeting. Given that bargaining seems to be on everyone’s mind, we ended up with a couple of excellent bargaining ideas.
Members shared that approximately 25% of the complaint calls they receive are from customers upset that they can’t get through to staff at the auto claims centers! Interestingly the Corporation apparently doesn’t track those calls.
We continue to feel that these meetings are an excellent way to meet members and give them an opportunity to give us their viewpoint.
Thanks again to Janice and to all the members who gave up their evening to be with us.
Garry Hamblin
President
Our 17th stop on the [Other] President’s Branch Tour saw Dave Miller and I back in Regina, meeting with the members at Regina Salvage, on September 23, 2009.
As has become the case, members had lots of questions and concerns and we heard a number of issues from them. Amongst these, the method that is chosen to collect outstanding accounts from members will need addressing. We will not tolerate verbal abuse of the members.
Aside from issues, we also got a couple of great bargaining ideas, which we will take forward to the table.
We thank Mike Bloos for very capably organizing this meeting, and of course thanks to the members who gave up their evening to tell us their stories. Very much appreciated.
Garry Hamblin
President
IT’S GOING TO BE A SEMPLE-Y GREAT TIME!
We are very, very proud to present to you the New and Improved Annual Union Party.
What’s the same?
Well…… it’s still at the Turvey Center, and it is still on a Saturday night.
Yeah the meal is still fantastic [and if you have been to this event before you know I’m not kidding]
Of course there is still a great door prize, in this case a 42” LG flat screen and a secondary prize home theatre.
Naturally there will be the usual good company of your union brothers and sisters.
What’s different?
Oh, just about everything else.
The entertainment will be…… the one and only.
Jack Semple.
Yeah.
That one. www.jacksemple.com
If you know the name, you know that a good time is guaranteed. This guy knows how to rock, you WON’T be disappointed.
For this very special event, ticket prices are $10 for members and one accompanying ticket. Non-member price [which just covers costs] is $25 each.
If you are coming in from out of town and want to arrange a bus through your Sub-Local to Regina COPE Local 397 will pay ½ the cost as reimbursement. Talk to your Sub-Local Chairperson for details.
Hey, this may sell out so act early. We now accept VISA, MASTERCARD, and Interac [Interac in person only].
Call Tricia Deis at the Union Office at 352-4240.
With the change in government there has been a level of concern amongst members about the direction that the new ruling party may take in regards to the Crown Corporations, including SGI.
At a recent Provincial Council meeting, this issue was discussed extensively and the direction given was to discuss with other Crown unions the potential of a joint campaign to combat the possibility that the Government may decide to consider privatizing some or all of them. Your Provincial Council’s consensus opinion is that a pro active campaign is more effective than reacting after the fact.
Now we realize that the Government is on record as not wanting to privatize the Crowns, but we are reminded that they also were on record as being against essential services legislation before they were elected as well. We all know how that turned out!
We have been in discussion with our Union counterparts who represent SaskPower, SaskEnergy and SaskTel amongst others.
The result of this is the Save Our Saskatchewan Crowns initiative which members can read about here [ http://www.soscrowns.ca ].
This initiative is also profiled in the newest edition of The Labour Reporter which will be on member’s desks shortly. Our involvement in this campaign came about after the article was written so rest assured while we are not mentioned; the commitment of COPE Local 397 is substantial.
So take a moment to look at the Save Our Saskatchewan Crowns website, become a supporter if you wish, and please give me your feedback. As I said, we are strongly committed to this initiative, and would love to hear what you, the members think of it.
Unions Now More Than Ever,
Save Our Saskatchewan Crowns
Garry Hamblin
President
You guys did your part and wore your black COPE Local 397 shirts on casual Fridays and sent us the pictures. Wow, did you ever, entries this year were up 50% over last year. Good job all of you! (» Rider Labour Day Classic Contest Pics)
So we did our part and drew names and this year’s lucky winners of a pair of Rider Labour Day Classic tickets each are:
Deb Roussel
Glenda Hansen
Reighan Parenteau
Rick Hagel
Cherie Beler
Nigel Buller
Dan Hitchings
Barb L’Heureux
Patricia Porter Pow
Harold Peters
Carmen Doyle
Ken Stobbs
Celine Nelson
Paulette Pearson
Kevin Deibert
Whether you won tickets from us, or you have your own tickets to the Labour Day Classic, don’t forget that we are hosting our first ever COPE 397 RIDER LABOUR DAY CLASSIC TAILGATE PARTY. Come on by, park your car here [subject to availability] and walk on over to the game.
Doors open [well OK parking lot tent, weather permitting] at 11:30 a.m. at the Regina Union Center 2709 12th Avenue. Tickets are $5 [all proceeds to Cerebral Palsy].
Contact Steve Schultz at 775-6795, Lana Taylor at 751-1400 or Tricia Deis at the Union Office 352-4240 [Visa, MasterCard by phone, Interac in person]
Garry Hamblin
President
In the past we have done a paper survey to Members, however, these take an inordinately long time to mail out, receive back, tabulate and extrapolate information from. This year and from this point forward surveys will be done by phone, and in response to a couple of members questions we are, in fact, running one right now.
Your input is valuable in preparing for negotiations and the other challenges ahead. To assist us in making the necessary decisions in the best interests of the Membership of the Union, please take a few minutes to participate in the phone survey being done this week and next. Your input is very important to us.
If you have any inquiries about this please contact Garry Hamblin at 535-4580
C’mon who doesn’t like tailgaters?
We are of course talking about the 1st Annual COPE Local 397 Rider Labour Day Classic Tailgate Party!
Yah, you heard right.
In cooperation with the Saskatchewan Cerebral Palsy Association [the official charity of COPE Local 397], we are proud to present our very own, very first Rider Labour Day Classic Tailgate Party.
What’s better than going to the Labour Day Classic?
Going to the COPE Local 397 Tailgate Party beforehand of course.
For $5, you can get a burger and a beverage and once you and yours are satisfied sufficiently, walk over to the game. It’s a 2:00 start so we’ll be open for business at 11:30. [Can’t have your beverage until noon though, them’s the rules apparently.]
What you need to attend: A ticket to the Rider Labour Day Classic. We don’t care if you are in scope, out of scope or are even a member of COPE Local 397. Hey, ALL the proceeds are going to charity so everyone’s money is welcome.
| Where: | Regina Union Center - 2709 12th Avenue, Regina |
| Why: | Cuz it will be a ripping great time. Well, and it is for charity. |
| When: | September 6th at 11:30 to just before kick off time. |
How Can I Get In On This: Tickets are $5.00. Tickets will be on sale at noon in the Wheatland Room on August 14th and August 21st, 2009. You can also use your Visa or MasterCard by calling Tricia Deis at 352-4240. Using Interac? Just drop by the Union office.
So hot on the heels of the SGI President’s Elvis April 29th, 2009 message suggesting that one of the essential priorities of the Corporation is to ‘control administrative costs and seek efficiencies’ comes 2008’s Payee Report.
For those who aren’t familiar with this report, it is issued every year by Crown Investments Corporation and amongst other things lists all the employees of SGI who make over $50,000.
A Bit Of A Disclaimer
Before we get into the details of the SGI Executive pay it must be noted that the amount reported is T4 earnings which may include such things as vacation payout, taxable benefits and so on. Because of this it is a bit misleading to conclude that the amount reported is an annual wage.
We also haven’t made comparisons for the position of SGI President as the person in that job changed towards the latter part of the year, which would make a comparison unfair.
And we’d be remiss if we didn’t point out that the current SGI President was not replaced in his previous role as VP of Claims and Salvage and presumably still carries those duties along with his new ones. If we were to assume this and given that he is the President of SGI it may be that an increase of 26.8% is justified.
Nevertheless
As we look over the amounts reported for the SGI Executive T4 earnings we find the following:
The Vice-President of Underwriting made a tidy $279,969 for himself which is a 23.6% increase over what was reported for him for 2007.
When we go back and look at what this individual made in 2006 it will be calculated that he is now taking home 50.3% more than he did two years ago.
50.3%
Absolutely jaw dropping.
For doing the same job.
More outrageous when you consider that when you compare him to the other SGI Executives his raise was amongst the smallest.
Kind of unfair to him really. Perhaps he needs a union. :)
Anyway.
Let’s look at the Vice-President of Canadian Operations who drew an additional 26.7% over the previous year, an additional 58.7% over the previous two years.
Or how about the Vice-President of Systems and Facilities who picked up 30.8% more in 2008 than in 2007 and a staggering 64.6% more than in 2006.
SGI’s Chief Financial Officer made an additional $63,748 in taxable income for 2008 securing him a 31.9% increase over the year before. He also saw an additional $102,782 over 2006 giving him a 64.2% increase over two years.
But Wait There’s More, 80% more in fact
The Vice-President of the Auto Fund turned in a performance worth a 32.2% increase over the year before.
If we look at this individual’s two year T4 income we see that there was an absolutely eye popping 80.5% increase over two years.
80.5% with the same job title.
As we have said before, we have nothing against wage increases, and certainly SGI has done well over the last few years.
Maybe there is a retention and recruitment issue with the Executive that we are unaware of that they are trying to compensate for. :)
In any event, we can say this
When SGI moved to be a top tier crown, it was anticipated that there would be more trickle down than just to a few executives at the top. That seems to be where it stops though, middle management certainly aren’t getting these types of increases, never mind the in scope staff.
We hope that when there is control of administrative costs the search for those efficiencies doesn’t begin at the bottom.
Garry Hamblin
President
On June 17th, 2009 as part of our continuing effort to meet with members and hear their concerns, we met with about 20 members from Commercial Auto and Surety who work on the 7th floor. With me was Dave Miller their Business Representative.
Members were given a report on the state of the Local and we had an excellent discussion about Essential Services and how it will affect us.
These members made sure we heard their input on various workplace issues such as overtime, the reporting of sick leave, and many other topics. The round table discussion that followed was memorable and we thank the members for the time spent with us and for sharing with us.
We would like to mention that if members need any special arrangements to attend one of these meetings we can accommodate their requirements.
Many thanks go to Provincial Council members Lana Taylor and Steve Schultz who attended this meeting and special thanks to Lana for setting this up and coordinating the meeting.
While these workplace meetings will slow over the summer, we are looking forward to meeting with Regina Salvage in September Beyond that, we will be carrying on with this very important initiative to listen to members and hear their issues and concerns.
If you want us to get together with your group, please don’t hesitate to either call your Business Rep, or call me directly at 535-4580.
Garry Hamblin
President
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On Tuesday, June 16, 2009, the Young Workers Committee held its second edition of the Charity Rock Band Tournament at the Press Box in Regina. All funds raised were donated to Cerebral Palsy Association of Saskatchewan, which is COPE Local 397’s official charity for 2009. The event was a great success; over $500 was raised.
This year’s Tournament was different from last year as participants registered as bands instead of individuals and band members could perform not just with the guitar, but the drums, bass and the microphone. The event was organized as a Steak Night; so attendees could also enjoy a meal while they were entertain by the aspiring rockers.
The Karaoke style competition was judged by percentage success and based on their enthusiasm and presentation. Our judging panel was composed of COPE Local 397 President, Garry Hamblin, Business Representative Colleen Malley and Susan Hones from the Cerebral Palsy Association of Saskatchewan. The panel had a tight competition to judge as Swamp Ducks, Collin and the Plastic Experience and Heavy Metal Headbangers took to the stage. In the end, Collin and the Plastic Experience narrowly edged out the other two bands. They were the recipients of Roughriders Game Tickets and Fan Pack and bragging rights for the year.
A new attendance record was set with 60 members in attendance, nearly triple the number from 2008. Attendees also drew some wonderful door prizes and enjoyed each other companies as well as becoming aware about Cerebral Palsy.
The staging of this event helps the Young Workers Committee meet its goals for 2009 ahead of schedule. At the end of 2008, the Young Workers Committee had set three targets, which were to 1) hold a social event (The United Way GenNext Snow Pitch Tournament), 2) an educational event (Youth Committee Meet and Greet) and 3) a charitable event (Charity Rock Band Tournament).
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Jaime Garcia, Young Workers Committee Chairperson ably assisted by Young Worker and past Provincial Council Member, Janna Marcinkiw |
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Rockin' Hard |
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And, boy did we give away stuff. Here Young Workers Committee members Nikki Kluk, Shalen Bilboe and Nasha Kuzma give away a prize. |
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And, giving out another one. |
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And... even more give aways. |
Hey, if you missed out, this is an annual event, we had an awesome turnout, a great time and we look forward to doing it all over again next year. |
COPE Local 397 would like to thank all members of the Young Workers Committee and volunteers for a job well done. Keep up the good work!
Jaime Garcia
2nd Vice President
Chair, COPE Local 397 Young Workers Committee
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As a Local we have never before taken the opportunity to gather the Shop Stewards together before bargaining, but as members know by now, it is our feeling that next to the members themselves, Shop Stewards are the Local’s most important asset. As such, it seemed only appropriate to provide a forum to hear their opinions on issues that will be critical as we move forward through the bargaining process. The Stewards were not only there to give their input into upcoming SGI bargaining including potential job action strategy, but also to lend their voices to the Day of Action called by the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour. In the morning, President Garry Hamblin gave a talk on legislation both current and upcoming that is now, or will affect the unit. Stewards were made aware not only of the problems endemic with the ill-conceived Essential Services [Bill 5] legislation, but various other Bills as well. The changes to the Trade Union Act [Bill 6] were also detailed and there was discussion of Bill 80, the Construction Industry Labour Relations Act. This bill appears to have been written solely to allow the Christian Labour Association of Canada (CLAC) to gain a toehold in Saskatchewan. There was also discussion of the latest affront to the Canadian Constitution also known as Bill 43, The Trespass to Property Act. This Act will require citizens wishing to engage in peaceful demonstration or protest to require permission of the government before so doing on Crown lands such as the Legislature. Following these discussions, the SGI Unit Stewards met with the Executive of the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour for a short rally underneath the COPE 397 billboard. Union Rights are indeed a cornerstone of democracy, a message echoed in a short talk given under the billboard by SFL President, Larry Hubich. |
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We got lots of great input and ideas from our Stewards and we thank them for taking the time to give them to us. If you are a Steward and you missed this meeting, we are happy to say that the feedback we received from this group of activists has convinced us that we need to continue to have events such as this. Unions Now More Than Ever. |
| Garry Hamblin President COPE Local 397 Vice-President COPE Region 3 |
It is with some anxiety and rising concern that I read of the Saskatchewan Party’s rejection of the amendment to Bill 43, The Trespass to Property Act, which was passed in unmodified form in the Legislature on Monday.
The Trespass Act [the first of its kind in Saskatchewan] will make it illegal for anyone to be on public property without the consent of the Saskatchewan Party government.
This will include persons who engage in demonstrations, protest and marches throughout the entire province.
Other provinces have similar laws, but Saskatchewan will be the only province where no exemption for peaceful demonstration or protest exists. This exemption was the subject of the amendment that the NDP opposition was trying to get accepted to no avail on Monday.
Justice Minister Don Morgan says the right to demonstrate exists whether spelled out in The Trespass Act or not, hence the Saskatchewan Party rejection of this amendment.
If this is true, then why not simply spell these rights out as per the Manitoba legislation that the Saskatchewan Party is so quick to point out this legislation is modeled on?
This legislation tramples on the rights of every citizen in Saskatchewan by curtailing their ability to gather in peaceful protest or demonstration if they so choose, without the permission of the prevailing government.
When governments take away the rights of citizens to peacefully demonstrate and protest, one can only wonder what future legislation they are contemplating that they think citizens won’t like.
With issues such as nuclear power, changes in services offered by Crown Corporations, privatization of public services and others looming on the horizon, one doesn’t have to speculate too hard.
Garry Hamblin
President
COPE Region 3 Vice-President
This editorial recently appeared in both the Regina Leader Post and the Saskatoon Star Phoenix and will soon be published in the upcoming edition of the Sasquatch.
Given the latest announcement by the President of SGI, Earl Cameron in reference to the World Health Organization’s raising of the H1N1 pandemic threat alert from level 4 to level 5, we have begun to receive calls and emails from concerned members.
We would like to go on record as supporting the concept of a pandemic plan such as SGI has put in place. We could hardly do otherwise given that we have a pandemic plan of our own which awaits only Provincial Council approval to be finalized.
Members have asked us why precautions are being put in place that are absent in other Crowns. The answer quite simply is that SGI conceived of, and was in a position to, put a plan in place well ahead of many of its contemporaries. As a result, SGI currently has a finished plan in place while others have yet to produce a plan or their pandemic plans only exist in draft form. For this they must be commended.
While we think this kind of preparation is laudable, we remind members that the Collective Bargaining Agreement is still in effect, and is not suspended while the pandemic plan is in place.
One will find that in some areas the pandemic plan SGI is putting into place allows for procedures that exceed the provisions of the CBA. While not mentioned in Mr. Cameron’s letter, allowing sick time to go negative such that members can continue to draw on sick time when they have no sick time balance, and paying members who may have been exposed to H1N1 virus to stay home, are two such examples.
There are other areas that are not so generous, such as forcing members to take unpaid leave if they voluntarily travel to Mexico for example, and we will be watching closely to ensure no infringement of the CBA takes place. We note that the World Health Organization is not recommending travel restrictions on travel to Mexico, or that the border with Mexico be closed.
As stated earlier, we as a Union also have our own finished pandemic plan and given that it must apply to all of our bargaining units including SGI, it is separate and apart from any plan that SGI has put into place. As such, the SGI pandemic plan applies to their activities only and not to Union activities.
Currently the Union is evaluating the situation and so far given that there are no confirmed cases of H1N1 in Saskatchewan, it is business as usual for us. That may change when and if serious confirmed cases of H1N1 are discovered in this province. We continue to monitor this situation very closely.
Garry Hamblin
President
COPE Region 3 Vice President
Yens grew up on a small farm near Cut Knife. Yens is 36 and lives in Regina with his wife, Maureen and their two daughters.
In 2007, Yens was the NDP candidate in Regina South and in 2008 he became the provincial president. He has been a leader in his community, including his church, the Canadian Bar Association, the Regina Business Association, the Salvation Army and Saskatchewan Express. Yens was national youth vice president of the National Farmers Union and was president of his law school student government.
So here we go again.
Recently Members of the SGI Bargaining Unit began to receive emails from ‘BackCheck’ which is the company that was contracted to do the Criminal Records Checks that were the subject of a grievance and ultimately resolved.
When the grievance was resolved the Corporation made it clear that they were going to continue to 'invite' Members to provide a criminal records check on a voluntary basis.
We had originally complained that 'invites' that Members were receiving were not clear enough that compliance was not mandatory.
After we complained, the Corporation sent out information to all ‘grandfathered’ employees [potentially over 80% of the Members’] noting that compliance is not mandatory. They also said that BackCheck would be sending out, in their words:
Within the next two weeks, you will receive a personalized eInvite from BackCheck inviting you to complete this process. Please note the eInvite is valid for only a three-week period from the date of issue.
Ok, we thought. Problem solved. Members will know that the latest invites are not mandatory.
We saw no reason to get excited about Members being ‘invited’, as long as the Corporation properly informs Members that they don’t have to comply, then there is no problem. If Members, for some reason want to comply and provide a criminal records check, we have no problem with that either.
Everyone’s happy.
Right?
All’s well that ends well.
Right?
Except that over the last couple of days, Members [including myself] began receiving this latest from BackCheck.
Saskatchewan Government Insurance has requested that you complete a Criminal History Check. For your convenience, Saskatchewan Government Insurance has partnered with BackCheck to allow you to do this online. The results of your eInvite Criminal History Check will be sent directly to Saskatchewan Government Insurance within one (1) business day.
If you are unable to complete this requirement for any reason, please inform your contact at Saskatchewan Government Insurance directly.’ [emphasis mine]
There is nothing in this communication [again] that denotes that compliance is not mandatory. In fact, the last line would infer that non-compliance must be explained to a ‘contact’ at SGI.
Why you would have to ‘inform your contact’ because you declined to do something which isn’t mandatory escapes me.
Anyway, this silliness continues. Why the Corporation can’t simply send folks an email ‘inviting’ Members to participate, note to them that it isn’t mandatory and then forget about it until the next time they want to ‘invite’ them is totally beyond me.
HOWEVER, WHAT IS IMPORTANT FOR MEMBERS TO KNOW IS THAT NOTHING HAS CHANGED. Everyone who HAD to have a CRC has now complied I am told. Anybody else who gets an invitation or email DOES NOT have to comply.
The same exceptions, however, apply as before. That is, if Members have changed jobs such that they have transferred, promoted, demoted, auto progressed or TPHD'd over 30 days then they have to comply.
If Members have any questions about whether they have to comply with a request for a criminal records check or not, please contact the Union office at (306) 352-4240 and you will be directed to your area’s Business Representative.
And as always, if there is any further clarification or questions, please call me direct at (306) 535-4580.
Garry Hamblin
President
COPE Region 3 Vice President
This can only mean the return of...
BLACK FRIDAYS
Yes, once again, this year thanks to your Provincial Council and Executive Board, you can show your COPE pride for a chance at Rider tickets.
And hey, not just any Rider tickets, Labour Day Classic Rider tickets.
How sweet is that?
C'mon, you know the drill.
Send us a picture of yourself and/or your work buds wearing the black COPE t-shirt ya got last year, on Casual Fridays starting immediately through the end of August.
Enter as often as you like (one entry per Casual Friday please) and the names go into a draw for a chance at one pair of Rider Labour Day Classic tickets. 15 pairs to be given away, don't miss out.
As always, see the contest 'fine print' below.
WHAT YOU DO
Send us pictures of you or you and your work pals on Casual Fridays at cope397@sasktel.net. Please tell us who is in the picture with you.
Enter as many times as you want to starting immediately through the end of August, but only one entry per Casual Friday please.
Please make sure your camera displays the date so we can post your pictures chronologically.
Send your pics in full resolution so that we can clearly see you and your buddies.
WHAT WE DO
We will post your pics from each Casual Friday on our website at www.cope397.ca.
Before the game [cuz it ain't much good to do it afterwards] we'll draw names for 15 pairs of tickets. One pair per winner only.
WHAT THE RIDERS WILL DO
With the assistance of 30 COPE Members and friends in the stands, they can't help but kick..........the football.
THE COPE T-SHIRT THAT I GOT LAST YEAR IS GETTING THREADBARE AND I CAN'T WEAR IT TO WORK ANYMORE.
Well, of course, you wore it everywhere right? Maybe you wore it so much that it is now worn out/torn/covered in paint from reno-ing the basement.
No problem, just return your poor worn and abused shirt to us and we'll be happy to give you a new one. No questions asked. Well...........except to confirm that you still need the same size :)
I CAN'T FIND MY COPE SHIRT AND I MUST GO TO THE LABOUR DAY CLASSIC!
It didn't come out of the wash or you gave it to Aunt Myrtle cuz she needed a new nightshirt and now she won't give it back?
Once again, no problem, if you have no old shirt for us to replace, we'll be happy to sell you a new one at cost for the ridiculously low price of $11.
Deb Higgins first sought the New Democratic Party nomination in Moose Jaw Wakamow in 1999 and was elected September 16, 1999 in the general election.
She was most recently re-elected in 2007.
Deb is now the opposition critic for Municipal Affairs, Liquor and Gaming and Saskatchewan Gaming Corporation.
Deb and her husband Don are life-long residents of the Moose Jaw Wakamow constituency.
Deb is running for the leadership of the NDP party. Her desire to become Leader of the NDP is a continuation of her commitment to her community, the NDP and our great province.
At the time of our announcement in February regarding the settlement of the criminal records check grievance, SGI had made it clear that they were going to continue to ‘invite’ our Members to do a criminal records check.
They are apparently making good on their stated intention in this regard as evidenced by the latest flood of phone calls and emails from concerned Members today.
A new round of criminal records check ‘invites’ has gone out [I just checked and I received one myself] and I would ask that Members draw their attention to the fourth line of the email. Specifically; ‘Employees have the option of voluntarily [emphasis mine] completing the Criminal Record Check.’
Members might well ask why this line isn’t contained in the first paragraph or isn’t further highlighted given the concerns raised about this issue, but in any event compliance with this ‘invite’ is NOT MANDATORY.
Members DO NOT have to comply with this latest ‘invite’ to provide a criminal records check, unless of course, for some reason they wish to.
If you have any further questions or concerns about whether or not compliance is necessary, please do not hesitate to contact the Union office at (306) 352-4238.
Garry Hamblin
President
COPE Region 3 Vice President
The [Other] President’s Workplace Tour continues with a visit to our Members at Regina East and Regina NorthWest Claim Centers. This meeting was held in response to a special request made by Members who came to the March 12th Membership Meeting. [FYI, if you want us to meet with your workplace, please don’t wait for a Membership Meeting, just call me or the staff, and we’ll set it up.]
These Members felt that things had degenerated in their workplace such that they needed to discuss issues with their Union. Good for them.
While the request came from Members at East, we added Members from NorthWest as well.
Regardless of where these Members came from, the issue is pretty much the same as we are finding in almost all of the Auto Claim Centers. Not enough staff in these workplaces to do an even adequate job, with the weight of the resultant customer unhappiness being borne by our Members.
For example, Members related that while the Corporation’s ‘Vision and Values’ customer service target for a total loss offer on a written off vehicle is two days, the reality is that three or four WEEKS may pass before offers can made.
Members are constantly pressured to work overtime and some of them are working 20 hours per week doing so.
Member after Member arose, some in tears, to relate how frustrating it was to want to do a good job, but be unable to, due to the lack of manpower.
So busy are these workplaces that in one of them, Adjusters are told that they can only discuss vehicle damage appraisals with the Appraiser, when the Appraiser is on their breaks or at lunch. The Appraisers are simply too busy otherwise. Their Business Representative Dave Miller was taking detailed notes and this blatant disregard for the CBA will be raised with Management shortly.
Some Members discussed their plans to leave these workplaces as soon as the opportunity arises, and at least one has already done so.
The message that we continue to bring to Members is that the mismanagement in these workplaces is not their fault. I sometimes hear from Management that the level of staffing in any workplace is an exclusive Management ‘right’, and not the domain of the Union. My response is that with ‘rights’ come responsibilities, and responsibility for the mess that these Centers have become rests, therefore, squarely on Management.
My thanks to Meaghen McGuire for setting this up, and most of all thanks to the Members who gave of their precious free time to give their input and ideas.
Garry Hamblin
President
COPE Region 3 Vice President
As part of our commitment to the Members to bring relevent topics to their attention, we have arranged for candidates for the NDP leadership to attend and address our upcoming General Membership Meetings.
We are very excited about this series of guest speakers and have thus far arranged for the following candidates to attend.
Dwain Lingenfelter |
March 12th |
Deb Higgins, MLA |
April 9th |
Yens Pederson |
May 14th |
We encourage you to attend these meetings and bring along your questions and concerns.
Garry Hamblin
President
COPE Region 3 Vice President
Thanks to the hard work of Alan Landry, the Constitution Committee, your Provincial Council and a cast of thousands [well OK, dozens :) ] the COPE Local 397 Constitution amendments are done and out to you, the members, for your vote.
What’s in My Mailbox?
You will, over the next few days receive a copy of the ‘new and improved’ Constitution as well as a ballot and a self-addressed stamped envelope and covering letter.
The vast majority of the changes incorporated in the document are as a result of our having to have a Constitution that is reflective of our National organization. There are other housekeeping changes as well. There has been no change in the make up of the Provincial Council or Executive Board from the last Constitution, which was an area of concern to some.
Why Do I Have To Vote?
Constitutional changes require a vote by the membership to take effect, hence the need for this balloting process.
Constitutional review is not generally the most exciting of processes, we know, but please take a moment and read through the documents you’ve been sent.
These proposed amendments have been fully endorsed by the COPE Local 397 Executive Board and Provincial Council.
What’s With All The Crossouts? Don’t You Guys Have Spellcheck?
As you read the Constitution document you will notice that passages have been crossed out which represents old language that is being replaced.
You will also in most cases notice words in bold beside the replaced language which represents new language.
In some cases the old language is being deleted and there is no new language.
When Do I Have To Have It Back?
The ballots have to be back to the office by February 20, 2009.
I Have Questions.
Please don’t hesitate to call Allan Landry at (306) 446-1916, myself at 535-4580 or any of your elected representatives if you have any questions.
Garry Hamblin
President
COPE Region 3 Vice-President
The following documents regarding the proposed amendments to the COPE Local 397 Constitution and By-Laws which govern the operation of your Union are posted here for your information.
» Constitution and By-Laws - Proposed Amendments - 2009
» Constitution and By-Laws 2007
This is the eleventh branch visit we have done, and while we have heard issues from members in every previous meeting, this was one of the most moving.
The workloads in this area are absolutely crushing, and Management’s refusal to address staffing issues is having serious impact on members.
When we do branch visits we generally hear about a variety of issues which also include the endemic short staffing throughout the Corporation.
Short staffing, however, was the only issue these members wanted brought forward.
The situation in Saskatoon Central, Saskatoon East and Saskatoon West appears to have degenerated to the point where those centers simply will not be able to operate without massive amounts of overtime from our members.
At this meeting member after member stood up, some in tears, to describe how they are unable to cope with the demands placed on them.
A number of members have been diagnosed with anxiety, which appears to stem directly from the workplace.
Leaves from the workplace, members are told by Management, are amongst the highest in the Corporation.
Little wonder.
There are incessant demands for overtime, this workplace being the one where last year, as there was a voluntary overtime ban in Saskatoon Central, some members were told by Management that they must work the mandatory three hours of overtime.
It is interesting that the Saskatoon City Police have recently requested an increase in their staff citing a 47% increase in the number of traffic accidents that they need to attend. However, for some reason this fact is lost on Management when considering staffing requirements.
In fact, using the AVP for the area's own statistics there would need to be six adjusters hired in Saskatoon, just to bring the average claims intake to 1999 levels!
We met with the adjusters for over three hours. It was a very emotional meeting, however, a number of members told us that it was beneficial to know that they are not alone in being unable to handle the workload assigned to them. The message we gave them was that the mismanagement of staffing resources in this area is not the fault of the staff.
The problems in these workplaces stem from much higher.
In any event, and more importantly, the members themselves decided that they are no longer prepared to sacrifice their families and their health, when it is clear that their concerns are falling on deaf ears.
After a short discussion it was clear that there was not one member prepared to continue to provide voluntary overtime in these workplaces.
We congratulate and commend these members for their stand on this issue.
Good for them.
As members know, currently our options to deal with this issue are limited.
We will, however, continue to raise this issue with Management in the hopes that they wake up and do the job they are [highly] paid for.
There was an excellent turnout at this meeting with the vast majority of adjusters from the Saskatoon branches attending.
Our thanks to Jeremy Piller and Maureen Bongie for expediting this gathering, and also to the members who gave up their precious [and rare] family time to share their story with us.
Garry Hamblin
President
COPE Region 3 Vice-President
Next up on (the other) President’s Tour, we traveled to Tisdale to meet with the members there and discuss their concerns. Tisdale is a smaller center, but has the same workplace issues we are hearing everywhere else. As is becoming common every place we go, workplace demands are impacting the health, mental and otherwise of our members. Members feel pressured to work overtime to keep up with workloads. Break times are also an issue. In the case of one member, her appointments are scheduled in such a way that breaks are completely denied to her. Their business representative, Dave Miller is looking after this concern.
The group had many questions for us, which we were glad to answer. It was an excellent meeting and we thank Tom Beck, their Provincial Council member for arranging this.
Garry Hamblin
President
COPE Region 3 Vice-President
On February 22nd, Dave Miller and I met with the SGI Regina Appraisal staff to discuss their concerns, which center mostly around the chronic understaffing that they face. As we have heard in most of the other workplaces that we have visited, the constant demands for overtime are taking their toll on the health and home lives of our members.
This department is so short staffed that the members there (there are 19) can only go on holidays, two members at a time. This means that their holiday schedule is spread from May to October.
Curiously, Management doesn’t only restrict the number of members going on holidays to just two, they also think they have the right to assign vacation times as well. Did we mention that the members are also only allowed to take two weeks of holidays over the May to October time frame, and are forced to take the balance of holidays over the winter months?
Absolutely outrageous!
Their Business Representative, Dave Miller is already working on this issue.
The basic problem of course is that this company absolutely refuses to hire enough staff to address workloads.
In addition to workload issues, we also discussed industry comparables for appraiser’s wages. We will continue to work with the Appraisers on this issue as they continue to provide information to us.
Our thanks to Jim Jeffries for his assistance.
We look forward to meeting with the Saskatoon Appraisers shortly.
Garry Hamblin
President
COPE Region 3 Vice-President
On December 10th, we had dinner with the current and former members who worked and are working on the 9th floor Systems. There were 11 members in attendance and we had another excellent meeting with them. Some of these are now at the ROC [and have parking spaces!] and we spent about 3 ½ hours with them listening to concerns.
We received some truly excellent ideas for bargaining from this bunch, for which we are always grateful.
Of more concern is the ongoing issue which revolves around shift work. As a Union, we have some work to do around shift differential and weekend premium as a result of this and we will take this matter back to the bargaining table.
There was also a concern raised about the carry forward of stat holiday time, which we were not aware of previously. These members often have to reschedule a stat holiday and are told that they can take the holiday when it is mutually convenient. As a result, some members are holding upwards of 60 hours of statutory holiday time stretching back up to two years as a ‘mutually convenient’ time has yet to be found . This is unacceptable and Colleen Malley, their Business Rep, will be taking this issue to HR for a solution.
As always, this was a productive meeting and we thank the members for giving up their personal time to share their concerns and issues with us.
Garry Hamblin
President
COPE Region 3 Vice-President
With reference to Murray Mandryk's recent column related to provincial essential services legislation, I would beg to differ that there is any "reasonableness" attached to it.
Most people think that essential services legislation was brought into being to assure the public's health and safety were there to be work stoppages in either Health or Highways. At least that's certainly the spin the minister of Labour put on the issue.
Few people appreciate that this ill-advised act affects workers in all government departments and Crown corporations.
I am president of the Canadian Office and Professional Employees (COPE) Local 397 and our members include the workers at SGI. I have been told we, too, will have to negotiate so-called "essential" services with management. I would greatly appreciate if someone could tell me what possible threat to health and public safety striking insurance workers pose such that they need to be deemed "essential" and deprived of their right to take job action.
I would point out to readers that our members have not been on strike since 1948 (which lasted one day) and hardly deserve the heavy-handed approach being taken by the government in the form of essential services legislation. One can be forgiven for thinking that this action by the government isn't about essential services at all, but union-busting for the sake of ideology.
This is why we at COPE Local 397 have joined the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour in its constitutional challenge of this outright attack on the rights of workers, and why I am also an individual plaintiff in this action.
I have asked Labour Minister Rob Norris before and, having received no reply, I ask again, "what possible threat to health and public safety do striking insurance workers pose"?
Garry Hamblin
President
COPE Region 3 Vice-President
This editorial appeared in both the Regina Leader Post and the Saskatoon Star Phoenix on November 25, 2008
It would appear that Mr. Harper has misjudged the ability of opposition parties to take action in the face of his goading of them in Parliament. His proposal to remove the right to strike from government workers, remove the relevence of pay equity, and strip all political parties of their vote subsidy will finally prove to be a bridge too far for this government.
There is a very real possibility of a labour friendly [or at least not completely labour hostile :) ] government in the form of a coalition of the NDP and Liberals, supported by the BLOC in the coming days.
In support of this history making proposition, there is a rally planned for Thursday sponsored by the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour. At COPE Local 397, we endorse the opportunity represented by this coalition government and as such we will be in attendance.
C’mon and help us fly the COPE flag and join us there.
The Time: Thursday, December 4, 2008 7:30 PM
The Place: University of Regina, Education Auditorium
This is one of eleven labour sponsored rallies that will be taking place across the country. You can read of further details about these rallies and the proposed coalition government at the National COPE/SEPB website.
You can show your support for a coaliltion government here: http://canadianlabour.ca/en/coalition-government-en
Garry Hamblin
President
COPE Region 3 Vice President
SFL Vice-President
Garry Hamblin
President
This event was held October 22 to 25, 2008 at the Conexus Arts Centre in Regina.
COPE Local 397 delegates in attendance were:
| • | Garry Hamblin, President, COPE Local 397 / SFL Vice-President |
| • | Leta Atkinson (also served on the Union Label League) |
| • | Tom Beck (also served on the Credentials Committee) |
| • | Riley Miller, Alternate Youth VP (also served on the Sergeant-at-Arms Committee) |
| • | Darin Milo |
| • | Nathan Schneider |
| • | Colleen Malley |
| • | Dave Miller |
| • | Mike Dalrymple |
There is no question this has been a tumultuous year for labour relations and the delegates were challenged by numerous resolutions on the Convention floor. COPE Local 397’s resolutions on merit pay, credit checks and criminal records checks were written and submitted for discussion.
There was lots of activity on the Convention floor and here is some of it broken down daily:
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
After the Elder’s blessing and the welcome from both Terry Zahorski, President of the Regina and District Labour Council, and Fred Clipsham, City Councillor, the agenda was adopted and the Convention got underway.
As is usual there was Recognition of Workers Killed on the Job, which is marked with a candle lighting ceremony, one candle for each worker whose death is recognized as compensable by WCB in the last year.
Members of CEP told the delegates of the concessions the employer, Mercury Graphics, was demanding which lead to their strike. They have been on strike since September 7 and have now been advised that the workplace is closing. There was a motion to pass the hat and much needed funds were raised for the striking CEP members.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
A presentation was made by Denis Lemelin from the Canadian Union of Postal Workers on the plans by the Harper government to privatize the post office. We at COPE 397 support them in this fight and astute COPE members will notice that we have ‘sublet’ our space on the Saskatchewan Drive billboard to them starting later this month.
Karl Flecker gave information on the topic of ‘Guest Workers’ giving warning to the way in which these workers will be used to undermine existing unionized workers, while exposing themselves to previously unheard of [in this province at least] exploitation and mistreatment.
Members of the United Steelworkers who currently are on strike at the Allan, Cory and Patience Lakes potash mines came out on the Convention floor and presented their issues with the employer. These workers have been on strike for a number of weeks now on a variety of issues. It’s important to note that they want a greater share of company profits and this has been denied the corporate executive salaries are in the tens of millions of dollars per year each.
The Potash Council of Saskatchewan introduced itself to the Convention floor. This is a first time ever congregation representing ALL the potash workers in the province, union and non union, who have banded together to present a united face to employers in that industry. This is a unique approach in the industry that we will all be watching very closely.
And of course no mention of the SFL Convention would be complete without reference to the now infamous talk from Rob Norris, Sask Party Minister of Labour.
Mr. Norris began his talk by referencing the state of the Saskatchewan economy and then began to speak glowingly of the changes made to the Trade Union Act and the introduction of Essential Services legislation. One has to wonder why Mr. Norris would launch into a rambling discourse on the fairness and balance of these sorry pieces of legislation as he did. His government is being sued over this very matter by the same body that he was speaking to, so the reaction he got at that point could not have been a surprise.
It was interesting to hear the perspective put forth by the media afterwards on Mr. Norris’s attempt to justify the government’s attack on the rights of union members.
As someone that was there I can say there was no orchestrated attempt by delegates to show disrespect to Mr. Norris, as has been widely speculated on.
The delegate’s reaction, vacating their seats, quite frankly, I thought mild, given Mr. Norris’s obvious provocation of them.
In any event, Mr. Norris took very few questions, answered none of them satisfactorily and then left the room, 15 minutes earlier than scheduled.
Perhaps he needs reminding that elected officials need to be accountable to ALL the people, not just those he thinks show him the appropriate amount of respect.
Oh well, that’s what provincial elections are for, isn’t it Brothers and Sisters?
Friday, October 24, 2008
Erin Weir presented on the issue of Saskatchewan resources noting that while Corporate executives makes tens of millions of dollars each, the return to Saskatchewan needs adjustment.
Delegates were also inspired by the worlds of Buffy St. Marie, native song writer and activist who shared her philosophy on music, life experiences, and was even persuaded to sing acapela from the podium itself.
This was the day that the resolutions from COPE Local 397 hit the Convention floor for debate regarding merit pay, criminal record checks, and credit checks.
There was much spirited debate on the floor on these issues, and it was amazing to see first time delegates Riley Miller, Darin Milo and Nathan Schneider attack the microphones to sway the 600 delegates on the floor. It’s not an easy thing to get up in front of 600 people and attempt to put a point across, but these young activists were more than equal to the task.
Given that this was the first time any of them have been at Convention, I have to say I was very impressed with their poise under pressure.
I am also pleased to say that all the resolutions submitted by COPE Local 397 were passed by the delegates.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
For the final day a presentation by Jenn Ruddy announcing the launch of the new publication Sasquatch took place in the morning.
The biennial election of officers for the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour took place with all the major executive officers remaining in place by acclamation.
This was a fascinating experience for the delegates involved. This is the type of event that builds an understanding of union issues and promotes activism. We feel so strongly about the values of convention attendance your Provincial Council has passed a motion to use all our credentials next year to send a full delegation of members to convention. I am very much looking forward to seeing more of our members engaged in this way.
Unions Now More Than Ever,
Garry Hamblin
President
COPE Region 3 Vice President
SFL Vice-President
 |
In recognition of workers killed on the job. This candle was lit specifically for James Walker, father of Laurie Walker who is one of our members |
 |
Rob Norris |
 |
Garry Hamblin to the mike speaking on merit pay |
 |
Nathan Schneider & Leta Atkinson of the COPE delegation voting on a resolution |
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Riley Miller, 1st time speaker, awaits her turm at the mike |
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Buffy St. Marie Native songwriter and activist inspiring the crowd with her presence |
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President Hamblin, chairing the SFL Convention with authority |
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Delegates Tom Beck and Riley Miller |
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Mike Dalrymple, COPE Local 397 Organizer |
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Darin Milo, 1st time speaker leaving the microphone after addressing the delegates |
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WE ASKED YOU……..About Criminal Records Checks and Employment Screening at SGI. YOU TOLD US…….. |
I agree 100% Garry with your stand on SGI employees having to have a criminal record check at this stage of the game. If all Government Corporations are not taking the same stand, then SGI shouldn't be able to do this. I really don't know what it is they are trying to prove. So many employees have been around for years and from what I know, nothing has ever jeopardized people at work because of some criminal history of a co-worker.
To me, it feels like a power struggle saying they can do whatever they feel necessary. I don't see the sense in this one at all. It is going to cause hard feelings. If someone did something they may have regretted doing in the "younger years", but they are good employees, why should that come back and bite them now and possibly affect their home life and their jobs??? I don't understand this.
Good luck on this one.
I am wondering about this criminal record check...
I have nothing to hide. I have never even received a speeding ticket.
I have never given cause to be suspect in any situation.
What if I refuse to consent to the check? What disciplinary action will be done? Will I be suspended without pay until I consent? When found I am innocent, will the pay be reimbursed? What other actions can be imposed against me?
Thanks for your info.
I'd like to know what really is the point of doing the criminal records check. Is it for my safety? For the safety of our customers and the public? What will be next .... psychiatric evaluations?
I TRIED TO REPLY TO THIS NUMEROUS TIMES BUT I AM JUST TO PISSED OFF TO SAY WHAT I REALLY FEEL.
SGI HAS THE MONEY TO IGNORE OUR PRIVACY RIGHTS BUT CAN'T SPEND ANY MONEY FOR PROPER STAFFING WE HAVE BEEN BEGGING THEM FOR THE LAST TO MANY YEARS TO COUNT.
THIS IS FOR SURE OUTRAGEOUS AND INTOLERABLE HOW LOW DO THEY WANT THE MORAL TO GO WITH THE STAFF ? THIS ACT PUTS IT THE LOWEST I HAVE SEEN IN MY XX YEARS.
I agree with the stand the Union is taking with the Criminal Records checks - and from the members that asked me about this they have also indicated they do not agree with the position the corporation is taking.
I agree that our Personal Privacy rights are being compromised.
The Corp. has NO RIGHT looking into someone's Personal Information, especially if they have been employed for years & are quite capable of doing their job.
I whole-heartedly agree the corporation's position is uncalled for and unnecessary and should be fought.
More so, I feel the financial check to be more improper. Whether my credit cards are maxed or not has no bearing on how I perform my job.
Hi Garry,
As for this whole SGI screening... I think it is way out of line. Not only does it invade our privacy as individuals, it also makes us all feel like criminals. As for a corporation, I do believe you have trust in your employees. I think this screening process not only divides management from employees, but also puts a negative look and feel on how we do day to day business. If all the other corporations don't have to do this, why are we singled out? This is a very unfair practice...to all of us.
I have read the updates on the intranet as well as the update on the Union site.
I am a young person with no criminal history WHATSOEVER and I am still outraged.
If SGI wants to impose a Criminal Record check, should this not be completed PRIOR to interviews and employment!? And further more, why all of a sudden did this idea surface, was it not something they should have implemented some years ago?? Seems a little backwards to me.
In my opinion this is unacceptable and I support the Union's decision to proceed with a grievance.
I think my personal privacy rights will be compromised by this highly arbitrary move by Head Office.
And of course, just so members can be assured that we always print both sides of the story…… :-)
I think companies should be allowed to check an employees criminal and act accordingly. I also think that mandatory drug testing should also be implemented.
C’MON TELL US WHAT YA REALLY THINK…
presidentcope397@sasktel.net
Above are some of the e-mails we received on the subject of the Employment Screening Program Phase 2 now implemented by SGI. We have filed a grievance on this issue and we want to hear from you. Aside from e-mails, we have also received phone calls of support on this issue, which of course are kinda hard to print.
Come to think of it we may have received e-mails that we can’t print too. :)
But we want to hear from you and the people you work with.
CRIMINAL RECORDS CHECKS = NO JUSTICE |
|
As most of you may know, SGI has recently announced Phase Two of the Employment Screening program.
ALL employees will be required to provide a criminal record check by December 31, 2009. Yes, that means you and everyone you work with.
Not only that, employees undergoing the screening process will find that ‘active’ CHARGES are also considered, whether there is a conviction obtained ultimately or not.
A third party vender will do these criminal record checks with SGI paying the cost. If however, you require a pardon the Corporation has informed us that they have no intention of paying the costs.
Naturally we are also concerned about the security of our member’s information off site.
In the event that the Corporation finds something in a member’s record that gives it cause for concern, we have been told the sanction that the Corporation may impose, does not exclude DEMOTION OR TERMINATION. The review will be done by a select group of management people from Human Resources, Legal and your AVP. This group will decide how to proceed. We asked for the criteria they would use to make that decision and were told that management has the right to be subjective.
Remember this may affect members who could have worked in their current positions for years without incident.
This, in our opinion, constitutes a major breach of our member’s personal privacy, and as such, is outrageous and intolerable.
We have, under advice from our legal counsel filed a grievance as of August 8, 2008. We expect this matter to get underway very shortly.
In the meantime, if you are asked to comply with this program and refuse to, we are unable to say how the Corporation might react, you may be subject to discipline. Of course we can’t tell you not to comply with the Corporation’s demands; we have to abide by the rules.
But.
IF YOU BECOME SUBJECT TO DISCLIPLINE UPON REFUSAL TO COMPLY WITH THIS OPPRESSIVE PROGRAM, ACCEPT OUR ASSURANCE THAT WE WILL DEFEND YOU.
We are unable to say how long it will take for the grievance to wend its way through arbitration but we have made the commitment to the Corporation that we will do everything possible to move the process forward.
We note there are no criminal record checks for existing employees at SaskTel, SaskPower or SaskEnergy, nor as far as we could determine any plans for such checks.
So, why is SGI taking this outrageous approach?
We accept that there may be small numbers of members whose role requires that a criminal record check be undertaken, perhaps such as those who are involved in the recently announced Enhanced Driver’s License program. We have no intention of standing in the way of Corporate policy when it appears there is a legitimate business reason. In fact as a sign of our good faith, we have already given the Corporation a letter to this effect.
However, the desire of the Corporation to impose criminal record checks on the entire company is a wholesale trampling of the member’s rights with no particular rationale that is obvious to us.
Garry Hamblin
President
Hey, we want to know what you think about all this.
Do you agree that your personal privacy rights are being compromised?
Please e-mail me at presidentcope397@sasktel.net with your thoughts.
Thank you for participating in our contest, wearing your COPE t-shirt on Fridays and sending us your pictures to grace our website.
Very much appreciated.
And speaking of appreciation, we held a draw on Wednesday, September 10, 2008 and pulled names twenty times.
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Thanks again for helping promote your organization COPE Local 397.
GO 13th MAN !
As most of you know, the Government rammed through the Essential Services legislation as well as the changes to the Trade Union Act, otherwise known as Bills 5 and 6. This legislation is now law and as such, those workers who are employed by the Government directly or by a Crown Corporation are going to be affected.
There is no doubt that the Employees at SGI will come under the Essential Services Act and there will be workers there designated as essential. These workers will have the right to strike stripped away from them, and will be unable to participate in job action should the need arise.
It is our opinion that this legislation is unwarranted, unnecessary, and more importantly...................unconstitutional.
As such we have joined along with the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour (SFL) and its other affiliates in a constitutional challenge to this ill conceived piece of blatant union busting.
The Statement of Claim to Regina Court of Queen's Bench number 1059/08 is located here.
» Statement of Claim QBG 1059/08.
We will never stand idly by while our Members' rights are eroded.
Therefore.
We are proud to be amongst the 19 affiliates (and counting) and four individuals listed as plaintiffs in this action.
This action is being taken in concert with a complaint being filed by the SFL with the International Labour Organization (ILO) over the legality of the legislation.
These challenges have attracted the attention of various labour organizations nationally and internationally.
Here at COPE Local 397, we put out an appeal for financial support through the COPE/SEPB National organization and the response was overwhelming.
We are very grateful for the support received and it underscores to us again that solidarity is one of the many benefits of Union membership in general and of the COPE/SEPB family in particular.
It is clear that not only our own National Union, but Unions across the nation, and across the world are reacting to the right wing, business driven agenda of this government.
As a result, and to raise awareness of this issue, Members in Saskatoon and Regina may notice a series of billboards in various locations in their cities.
Rural Members in selected markets will be able to hear the following radio ad:
That there has been 59 years of labour peace, at SGI in particular, is a testament to the collective bargaining process.
Collective bargaining, simply, works.
The balance that exists when workers have the ability to strike is counterbalanced by the employer's ability to lock out.
As a result, both sides are motivated to engage in meaningful discussions at the contract table. The collective bargaining process has proven itself over and over again as the solution that works.
But for collective bargaining to work there must be balance.
Disrupting the balance that this process is based on, and giving all the power to one of the parties, in this case the employer, will encourage abuse of one side by the other. Essential Services legislation will remove the ability of workers to effectively strike ruining this balance.
A clearer recipe for labour unrest could not exist, and we have already seen disputes in the potash and grain industries, as the summer of 2008 rapidly turns to one of discontent.
The government was asked to submit these pieces of legislation to the courts to test their constitutionality before they were implemented. Doing so would save time and money on all sides and possibly negate the need for a constitutional challenge. They refused.
The Labour Minister has said that the rationale for Essential Services legislation is one of ensuring public safety. He was asked numerous times (by me) what threat to public safety potentially striking SGI workers could pose. He has refused to answer.
In the absence of consultation or even acknowledgement from the government to the concerns of labour, there is little choice but to attack the obvious unconstitutionality of this legislation.
We are proud to rise up in support of this historic challenge to legislation which so clearly will disrupt the balance of power in this province in favour of employers and governments.
The road to success in this matter has the potential to be a long one. But in the labour movement we are nothing if not tenacious, and with our brothers and sisters across this entire nation behind us, we will never be alone.
With this court action, we have the opportunity to shape this province and this country and restore the balance that existed previously.
We are confident that we will prevail.
Garry Hamblin
President
COPE/SEPB Region 3 Vice President
The 2007 Payee Disclosure Report can be found here.
Makes for an interesting comparison with the 2006 Payee Report which can be found here.
Please note these numbers do not include benefits which would be in addition to salary
The President of SGI now receives $271,762.00 which is an increase of $33,715.00 over his $238,047.00 wage in 2006. This represents an increase of 14% in just one year.
Being a Vice President is also a nice touch, which if we look at the VP of Claims and Salvage as an example, in 2006 the job paid $193,588.00 and in 2007 paid $226,755.00, an increase of $33,176.00 or a 17.1% increase.
The Vice President of Systems and Facilities earned a tidy $159,327.00 in 2006, but for 2007 received an additional $41,093.00 for a 25.8% increase.
The VP of Underwriting managed a 23.6% increase given that there was a $44,102.00 increase over the year before.
If you were the Vice President of Canadian Operations a pay increase of $44,496.00 came your way, an increase of 25.2% over 2006.
Similar increases are to be found across the Executive spectrum but let’s look at one more.
The Vice President of the Auto Fund received $146,755.00 in 2006 and got a increase of $53, 806.00 in 2007 which represents a boost of 36.5%. Yes, that’s in one year.
All in all, when looked at across the board, just a bit more than the 4% than the members got.
Now in fairness some of the Executives have had to take on additional tasks.
Just like a lot of the members.
Of course when the members get additional work to do, it’s often called ‘other related duties’, and there is no pay raise.
Hey we don’t begrudge anyone a pay increase, SGI has been a very successful company over the last few years. Quite simply put, we think that the people who helped make it that way should see the same kind of recognition.
Garry Hamblin
President
COPE/SEPB Region 3 Vice President
WHAT YOU DO
Send us pictures of you or you and your work buddies on Casual Day at cope397@sasktel.net. Make sure you tell us who is in the picture with you, cuz hey we don’t know everyone.Enter as many times as you like over July and August, but only one submission per Casual Day please. Set your camera such that it displays the date so that we can post your pics online by specific Casual Day. And oh yeah, when you send your pics make sure you send them in full resolution, we want to see your smiling face in all its glory, not some pixilated approximation of you.
WHAT WE DO
We will post your pics from each Casual Day on our website at www.cope397.ca
At the end of August we will put everyone’s name into the President’s hat [have you seen the guy? He needs one!] and draw names to win tickets for the Rider game against Calgary on October 3, 2008.
WHAT THE RIDERS WILL DO
With the assistance of 20 COPE members in the stands, they will crush the living .......uh er.....well....they will beat Calgary really, really badly.
Go 13th man! YEAH!
I asked Rob Norris the Minister for Labour at the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour Executive meeting on Wednesday May 14th, 2008.
Yes, we were talking about the infamous Essential Services Legislation otherwise known as Bill 5 which has now passed 3rd reading and has been proclaimed into law.
There has been much discussion about this Bill along with its evil companion Bill 6, the Amendments to the Trade Union Act. Most of the discussion has centered around the application of Essential Services to those in health care or perhaps highways workers. What members may not know is that this Legislation will apply to those who work for any Crown Corporation as well, including SGI.
Of course, the government knows this full well and has hidden behind the discussion of essential services in those other areas and not discussed its application elsewhere much.
So when Minister Norris showed up for a 30 minute meet and greet [reduced from the one hour he was supposed to be there originally] with the SFL Executive, it seemed the right time to ask him about those of us in COPE Local 397 who work for SGI.
I have to be honest, in my opinion this man can spin buzzwords into cliché sentences faster than anyone I have ever met.
I asked him initially why this legislation was necessary, especially when the position of the Sask Party prior to the election was that essential service legislation was unnecessary.
The answer was that Essential Service Legislation was needed to ensure public safety.
Ok, so what threat to public safety could striking SGI insurance workers possibly pose?
I asked three times.
Three.
The answer he kept repeating [yes, I got the same answer pretty much all three times] was not just unclear, it wasn’t even comprehendible. All I can say is that the response included the word, ‘dynamism’ twice in one sentence and did not contain words ‘SGI’ or even ‘workers’ once.
We know the answer though don’t we Rob? The answer is that COPE Local 397 members walking off the job do not pose a threat to public safety.
The real answer is that we are being targeted because we are ‘union members’.
Garry Hamblin
President
COPE/SEPB Region 3 Vice President
Keep watching this site for details on how and when we will be distributing
COPE Casual Friday T-shirts !
COPE Casual Friday T-shirts are being distributed today, Monday, June 9, 2008... if you haven't already received your t-shirt, please see your Shop Steward who will be picking up the t-shirts and arranging for distribution on coffee breaks and the lunch hour.
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May 1 is the traditional day that Unions and their Members celebrate worker’s rights around the world. Unions are the ones who fought for and helped bring about the introduction of such things as universal health care and worker benefits such as unemployment insurance, maternity leave and so on.
When surveyed nearly three quarters of Canadians agree that Unions improve wages and working conditions. Nearly 60% agree that Unions are necessary and important entities in society.
So why does this current government feel the need to attack Unions and the workers they represent with Union busting legislation such as Bills 5 and 6 currently making their way through the Legislature?
Bill 5 is the so called Essential Services legislation which will make it virtually impossible for anybody working for a Crown or Government to ever be able to mount an effective strike again. Bill 6 contemplates changes to the Trade Union Act which will make legal 90% of employer communication which is currently illegal. This Bill will, at the stroke of a pen, legalize employer bullying in the workplace.
It is with this in mind that the Executive and Provincial Council of COPE Local 397 together with several members attended the May 1 rally at the Legislature organized by the SFL.
Virtually every Union in Saskatchewan was well represented at this demonstration, with buses coming in from all corners of the Province carrying workers eager to add their voices to those concerned about this drastic erosion of worker’s rights.
Larry Hubich of the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour, I believe, summed up the feelings of those present best, when in reference to the Essential Services Legislation he said;
"This government hates Unions and that's what it's all about. It's not got anything to do with public safety, it's not got anything to do with ensuring democracy in the workplace,"
While the rally at the Legislation was a success, and COPE Local 397 had an excellent presence there, this fight is not yet won.
We at COPE Local 397 will continue to stand up for the rights of our Members and we will not waver in our commitment to press our agenda both with government and in our various workplaces.
Garry Hamblin
President
COPE/SEPB Region 3 Vice President
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Finally, after much hard work on the part of our website design team the website is redone.
Not only the look is new, but a more logical way for our Members to get at the information they want and need has been provided. There is now not only better organization of existing information but there is space for new features.
You will see that we have provided space for some of our Committees so that they can feature their events, contact information and accomplishments.
We are very excited about the new 'Ask Garry', 'Bargaining Proposals', 'Did You Know?', 'OH&S', 'Promo Items' and 'For Sale' pages.
On our 'For Sale' pages, we have a place for Members to submit their items for sale and also for the Union to dispose of asset items no longer required. Psssst... anybody wanna buy a broken laser printer? : )
The web construction process isn't complete, as there are some placeholders for information and content which is not yet available, but over the next couple of weeks this will all be filled in.
So, what do you think? If there is a feature you'd like to see let us know.
And of course, as always, if you have something of interest that you think the membership would want to read about, submit it to us for consideration at cope397@sasktel.net.
Garry Hamblin
President
COPE/SEPB Region 3 Vice President
As a Steward in your workplace, you are a spokesperson for your Union. You are a vital link between the membership and the elected leadership. For many members who don’t attend membership meetings, you may be the only union representative with whom they come in contact.
In the course of your work as a Steward, many questions will arise. The links on the Steward Info page provide some practical information and general resources for all COPE Local 397 Stewards.
The Young Workers Committee’s role is to encourage young workers, 35 years old and under, to get involved in the Union and to bring the issues of young workers to the attention of the Union. Every year we strive to accomplish a charitable, an educational and a social event that is open to all members. We encourage all young members to get involved and active and to discover the rewarding opportunities that COPE Local 397 offers their members. We are always looking for enthusiastic members in the committee, so please contact us if you’d like to get involved.
Committee Members:
Jaime Garcia (Chair),
Regina: Janna Marcinkiw, Yaoyin Zhang, Tiffany Caron, Nasha Kuzma, Nikki Kluk, Shalen Bilboe, Sheena Edmiston, Shauna Forsberg
Saskatoon: Jeremy Piller, Jeremy Hoffart, Nathan Schneider
The Women's Committee brings issues that affect Women to the attention of the Executive and encourages women to get involved in the affairs of the Local
Committee Members:
Karen Pardy (Chair), Denise Nicurity, Jude Kramer, Patricia Harvey-Roberts, Colleen Malley, Dolores Czarnecki, Kendra Chesney, Judy Bell, Valerie Leippi, Laura Topp, Janna Marcinkiw
The Aboriginal Committee brings issues that affect Aboriginal members to the attention of the Executive; to work together to resolve the issues and encourages involvement in the affairs of the Local.
Committee Members:
Lisa Mohrbutter (Chair), Joyce Wndigo, Don Poitras, Jacqueline LInke, Valerie Leippi
Are you a Member who is making a difference in your community?
Do you have a special talent or hobby?
