Stepping Up

Every year we go through elections. This year we will once again go through the process of elections. We have a few positions up for election. If you have attended enough meetings then you will be eligible to run for:

• President
• Treasurer
• Sargent-at-Arms
• Executive-at-Large

Of course the two top jobs will be a circus but there are many good people running for the job and for different reasons but if you are up to the challenge I encourage you to put your name up for election. I will be running again for my current Executive-at-Large position as well as Sargent-at-Arms. Our bylaws allow you to run for more than one position and I hope to fill one of the two roles. My campaign should start later but I wanted to encourage those who thought about running to come out and run for a position.

You have to do three things.

1. Get an election form from the National Rep at the union hall.
2. Have two members in good standing endorse you.
3. Submit the form to the National Rep by the end of the January general meeting.

Being involved in your local has many levels. If you are up for it like I am you should run. Elections are a great form of democracy in action and this year we have some very important roles up for election.

November Update

Just wanted to give you a quick update. December is a big month for all of us.

CUPE National 2011 - My opinion.

First off I am absolutely thankful that I was sent to the National convention. I hope to be part of the National in a greater capacity for years to come. This final report on my experiences while at convention are merely observations. I trust that the system is sound and will continue to function like it has in the past. The labour movement is large and wonderful and I look forward to assisting it where I can.

In my last few reports I talked about what I saw on the convention floor. After reviewing the videos I found that perhaps I talked more about what I didn't like than what I did. I thought I should round out the report.

What did I like? Let me list the ways.

• The sheer amount of people who were there to effect positive change.
• The countless forums and meetings where like minds come together.
• The sector meetings that brought new information about how the other provinces are dealing with attacks on public services.
• The after events that allowed us to unwind and talk about CUPE in less formal atmospheres.
• The use of parliamentary procedures that ensured safe, fair discussion.
• The confirmation that our direction was sound.

There is an amazing thing that we as Locals can be a part of. The reshaping of our union. Six hundred thousand people is a lot of shape. We go in many different directions and we constantly seem to step over each others issues to get to our own. If you can understand this desire on a human level and translate it into a movement you will get quite far in CUPE. We are emotional people, with issues that transverse and overlap. For the past few years the union has been taken down a very good path. So good in fact I think some of the smaller issues are now able to come to the surface. This convention was a mixture of our leadership steering us down a path and the members nudging the course a little to the side.

For the two years in between conventions that large group of people are split up into smaller groups. Each one with very similar and very different problems. On a National level we make broad decisions. We speak with grand ideas. It is infuriating and inspiring at the same time.

This is my assessment of the National Convention. The process of the convention is slow and complex for new members. The system because of the complexity can be difficult to move ideas forward. it can also protect against ideas that are not well thought out and can harm the union in the long run. This is not the biggest most concerning issue. It is the structure of CUPE that needs to be addressed. At this point CUPE is overseen by the NEB (National Executive Board). These leaders represent their prospective provinces, and like the position says it comes with a lots of responsibility. The NEB as it stands needs to be reworked, and this my friends is my most concerning issue. I wish I could get into what I thought was needed to revamp the system. Representation by population might be a start, but there was a concerning situation that happened and I am not sure if it was for the better or worse. A move was made to add more diversity NEB representatives to the board. It was a broken attempt at adding a backdoor to the system. Ultimately the move failed, but it made me think about the NEB.

The NEB is supposed to be elected, but I think that for the past few years, these positions have been appointed due to unwritten provincial understandings that keep the peace between each other. I am sure it is nothing but from where I stood there is a real inequality in provincial distribution. This is due to many underlying decisions that were made probably before my time. What I do see is that the election process that we partake in is quite odd when it comes to these top positions. I'm a little new to the process though. I would rather run against someone and lose then run against no one and win. I will take some time later this year and really take a look at the NEB, but for now it sits in the back of my brain and I need to figure out if what I am seeing is the absolute best configuration CUPE can offer itself.

The most exciting process in this is that we are getting more political then before. The National level should be the place for this. Just as the Provincial bodies should be involving themselves at that level. Personally I struggle with the current set up of our government and think that with today's technology we could be offering society a better voice in the process. Saying this the system we have now puts CUPE in tight quarters with the NDP. I am glad to see that we have an official opposition on the floor but there may be a time where our Labour friendly party has to make a choice that disrupts our partnership. Politics is messy and dirty whether we want to see that or not. I again digress.

I wish that people would just be able to sit in a room and decide what is best for all of us instead of what is best for most of us (or the small few of us). Perhaps I am just still a little green at all this but there has got to be a better way then what style of Government we have now. The obstacle we face right now are quite frankly a government that I supported years ago. They have proven to be no better then the liberals now that they have a majority. It is the people that I care about, the society that we all live in. Instead personal interests, power, prestige seem to get the best of people or at the very least their promises. The NDP will have to just scream in every fashion to the people that what government is doing is still old fashion, and hard working people still today are being left in the dust as the rich get richer. I just do not believe in the trickle down effect anymore. Why does everything have to be for insane profit? Oh dang it I digress again.

The truth is every bill that the PC party has will pass, everything the opposition will say to stop it will fail and until the population sees what is happening and actually change the system from the inside out, it will be more of the same. It is important that CUPE gets on the train to educate the people, to show that the fight they are fighting is not against the people, but against the insane profits that companies insist on making for the betterment of the trickle down effect.

CUPE National is on the right track and beyond all the little things that come with any organization. The system needs to be reformed a little from the inside but the message is the same, the genuine betterment of Labour.

Day 6 - Changes coming.

Yesterday was very interesting. We had a few constitutional resolutions that I was surprised with and some that I didn't think would have passed but did.

Here is what I think, what's done is done. CUPE National is becoming a well oiled machine, and the members are figuring this out. Their motions are very simple sounding but have grave repercussions on what happens on the floor of convention. Let me use two examples, quorum and committees.

We now have another committee for Librarians. The 10,000 members we represent (quoted from the resolution) have seen a need for representation as committee within CUPE National. They believe that "There is no appropriate way for library workers to meet and discuss issues and exchange information" and that "a National committee would achieve this goal". It is an amazingly worded resolution. I commend them on it because they have achieved a great step in the National process. They have moved their issue to generically speaking to the front of CUPE National's line.

Lets put committees into perspective. Committees on the National level have an NEB liaison who transmits their desires to the board. Every two years they get one priority resolution that hits the floor, guaranteed. Of course the climax of this is from now until we run out of money (sarcastic because we have a 0.8% per capita) there will always be a libraries committee. This is because committees never fully achieve their goals. It is an important fact because the fights that committees do are tough ones that will one ultimately repurpose themselves rather than stand down. I commend the committees for their work, but I think in 10 years we have a lot more of them just because of how the National organizes itself.

Day 5 - Full day of suprises.

Day 4 - Elections on the Floor and Goodbye to Claude

There were a hand full of resolutions handled today. I was able to speak on one of them specifically the young workers resolution. It managed to pass and my heart stopped beating in my throat about 10 minutes after I took my seat.

The big news was the elections. Lots of people were up. The President (Paul Moist) was reelected, or appointed depending on how you look at it. The regional vice presidents were again reelected and run unopposed. The treasurer though was a interesting process to be part of. We had 4 people running, then three, then two then a winner. It was great because was had a candidate who had to have 50%+1 to win. Many times in my life in the union it isn't about 50%+1 it is about majority. So I thought that this would be no different and we would have a vote split scenario.

Ultimately we have new treasurer. He sounds wonderful and I hope he continues to do the work of the union. Congrats Charles!

My only problem is that the elections stalled the other work that we come to do here. That being the resolutions themselves. Considering that from everyone I talk to so far the majority of the members here this week will be skipping out early to get home to their respective provinces. Which means we have 1 day and a  half left to cover roughly 200 resolutions. <sigh>

Day 3 - Wednesday - Continuing Strong

Yesterday was absolutely great. The convention floor did a few things with style. The discussion on the floor was kept to a minimum when no opposing sides stood by the mic. This translated in 3 to 5 members instead of a never ending line of the same opinion. It also reduced the need for mic muffins. The discussions were limited to 3 minutes. With 5 in the Que at any given time a resolution would take 15 minutes minimum to discuss. With almost 300 Resolutions, you can start to see the importance of keeping the deluge of the same opinion up at the mic.

Today there was still the procedure of CUPE and from what I gather all groups of this size as we stood by and gave our thanks to NDP leader Jack Layton as his wife was on the convention floor. I sometimes forget that we are all people with real connections before we are people with a message. The presentation to Olivia was very tasteful.

Just a note to who ever reads this. The convention is in every respect our Parliament and being on the floor during business is important to the next direction of CUPE. We lost quorum at 5:30pm yesterday. The day was supposed to go to 6pm. Hopefully tomorrow will be better when it comes to resolutions.

Day 3 - Tueday - Ramp up.

Day 2 - Monday - It starts today.

Lets get this convention started. Here is my video before the convention floor.

Take a close look in the video. Do you recognize our member in the resolution committee.

Good on you Elizabeth, way to be involved!

My final thoughts on the day.

Day 1 - Sunday - Sectoral Meetings

It has been a busy day. Sometimes I think this is what a Full time officers day can be like. It is 8:45pm and I am considering going out to either a 100 year celebration event for CUPE Local 1004 or go to a welcome reception about 20 minutes from here.

I have tried to go to everything I can. The membership sent me, and I don't want to disapoint. Here was my day.

After arriving from Calgary, the sky train took me about 5 blocks from my hotel. I went to my first sectoral meeting. The message was fighting P3's on the Water front. Seems that the public services are being eyed by money making corporations. I guess when you make water for about a penny a litre and people buy it in a bottle at the store for $2 a litre, companies want to get their hands on as much water as possible. The meeting was not well attended but the message was put across. I am so new at this even still with all of my provincial experience. The convention is going much the way I expected. Lots of people listening and a few people talking. Of those that are talking it is pretty easy to hear the message. The campaigning has also ramped up. Which is good because the position of recording secretary should have many people running for the position. Anyways there is a push from the private companies to privatize water. I can't believe that people are for such an action, but given the wrong leadership anything is possible. I haven't heard of one P3 that has worked in the public favor when it comes to being cheaper. In the end the user always ends up paying more. We heard from a passionate Spanish woman who I wish I remembered her name. She spoke about how in her country, the water system is under constant attack and her activism in her union is filled with the threat of potential rape and murder. I can't imagine being this woman.

I ate my lunch in the second sectoral meeting. I listened to Municipal leaders from all over the province talk about their areas. The meeting was better attended and a quick reference to P3's and the attempt to privatize water was mentioned. I am starting to see a trend. What was really great was the information about what other locals are doing to protect their workers. Some of the provinces are seeing what we saw years past, while others are seeing new attacks on the public works. I was highly interested in the thought process of having dedicated members at council meetings. The idea that we act instead of react was proactive and I think showed initiative towards building trust with the councilors as well as understanding where they stand on issues. Calgary has the council meetings recorded and publicized online and I think as a local we should have someone paying attention to what is being said by our councilors. We also learned about CETA. Again the CUPE National board is pushing to continue to fight against CETA. At the National level it seems like a lot of this stuff is way over my head. In a way it is. My grounded life as a city outside worker is far from some of these issues.

I went to the pensions forum. I was very impressed with the information provided. Pensions is a very complex social/economical/political/financial/fundamental/etc argument and we can attack it from all sides. The panel was honest and showed an amazing ability to talk about the issues Pensions face. Almost all of my questions were answered before I even was able to ask them. I really want to see the video recording of this pannel discussion. It was informative on so many levels.

Supper was again quick, I ran into some Alberta young members which is awesome considering what it takes to make it here in the first place. We chatted while I scarfed my dinner down. Next up was the Young Workers Caucus. Again I got to see a whole bunch of new faces and committee members that I have enjoyed being with for the last two years. It is the underlying message I find running through CUPE. The connections we make throughout the process are just as important as the convention itself.

I am super tired and probably going to fall asleep to the financial report. I wish I had the time to look over it with finer detail. So much money goes to the National. It would be nice to understand where it all goes.

CUPE Convention 2011

I have been fortunate enough to be able to go to my first CUPE National Convention. My hope is that I can blog about as much of the goings on as possible.

Stay tuned this week for updates.

Labour Relations and Us

During the last general membership meeting we passed a motion that sent about five of the membership to a dinner. It was after the dinner that we enjoyed a speech from Mark Asbell who is the chair of the Alberta Labour Relations Board. He spoke about where Labour Relations is going.

What I enjoyed were the examples Mark gave on understanding the climate of both the employee and the employer. He talked about the managment styles, technological changes in the labour environment, and what happens when legislation comes in between certifications. Mark really hit home whether he realized it or not on the current situation with AUPE and CUPE over health workers. From Marks perspective I learned a valuable lesson on perception and reality.

If you would like to listen to the evening, the let me record the event. It isn't the highest quality, but we if your wondering who is the bald guy in the picture, his name is Neil and he is lauded by Mark many times in his message. Please sit back and enjoy.



Here is the question answer after the speech. I will upload the full video when I get a chance.

The evening was for me very informative. Seeing labour issues from another perspective is refreshing. Mark used 3 examples of how tactics used in labour law both positively and negatively affected the environment.

The membership spoke.

I have to say I was not surprised by the vote last night. I was on the opposing side. Two bylaw changes that I thought had a chance to be passed were not. What I think happened last night is the membership doesn't fully trust the Executive and giving them more power was not in the cards. I thought I should let everyone know how it all panned out.

You can still argue your case to the Executive where they will still recommend to go forward or not with your grievance to arbitration. Then you will still be able to argue your case to the membership and they will still be the deciding factor whether a grievance goes forward or not. Basically status quot. The changes proved too dramatic for the membership and I must say after being on the floor and on the Executive I struggled with this decision. I was definitely not the majority on the floor that night.

The other bylaw change that did not pass was the surprise to me. We wanted to show that the past decade we had been operating in such a way that we were not accessing a bylaw to its full capacity. The committee wanted to close the hole in the bylaw that would allow a member to put forward a notice of motion if the expense was not approved by the Executive. This one also failed to change.

All in all the meeting was pretty long. We ended with a new Executive-at-large being voted in. Congrats to Dan Van Tassel who will fulfill the remainder of the term.

Remember that if you have children and you would like a toy from Santa please sign up your kids soon.

Next meeting will be November 18th, 2011. I look forward to seeing all of you come before it gets really cold.

New Executive Position to be filled this October

Yesterday Joey Phillips stepped down in her role as an Executive-At-Large. Her quick departure will be filled quite soon as our next meeting is after the thanksgiving long weekend. If you are eligible please come to the meeting in October and put your name forth.

See you at 7pm at the Hall on October 11th, 2011

October Meeting 2011

This months meeting is pretty important when it comes to meeting attendance. We will be discussing two bylaw changes that I believe if your for or against you should be in attendance to cast a ballot. In the 5 years I have been going to meetings, the bylaws have never dealt with the membership so directly. In this case we are proposing some bylaw changes that in essence puts your trust in the elected members of the Executive.

The first proposed bylaw is one that we have actually been following for many years instead of the current bylaw. It deals with expenditures of funds. Currently we practice that if the expenditure is from the floor in the form of a motion it first has to go to the Executive for approval. Then if it passes the funds come back to the floor for a vote. The bylaw coming forward describes this process. The current bylaw speaks another way right now in that a notice of motion can be made if the executive do not agree with the expenditure.

The last proposed bylaw change is one I have personally struggled with but have endorsed this change. When a grievance goes to arbitration, the union must decide if it is worth to go forward and fight the issue. If the issue is not going to win, it is the responsibility of the members to be cautious in making bad case laws that can be used against us and other unions in the future. Currently the Executive decide whether or not they want to proceed by listening to the member, listening to the recommendations from the lawyer, and have their questions answered in a closed meeting. They then recommend to the members a direction. The members then vote on the issue. The bylaw change in question will remove the members from the decision. The Executive become the final decider. It will be up to you in October whether you agree with this shift in process. To be clear our local currently lets the members decide. Other locals set up grievance committees and they decide the merits. Either way works, just how it works is different.

I personally support both bylaws as they stand and I look forward to the discussion to see if I am in the majority or not. Please attend if you can, the more the better.

September is upon ss and so is a very important holiday.

Please make sure that on Labour Day you take a moment to remember the Labour movement that CUPE stands for.

Deadline to Register for the CUPE Fall School is approaching fast. Courses are on Sept 24,25. Deadline is the 9th. Call the hall if your interested. No bookoffs but the local will pay for the course and intown per diem.

See you at the September Meeting on Tuesday the 13th 7pm.

August Meeting.

For the second time in so many years of trying to have an August meeting we had no quorum. I think it is time to try something different.

Next meeting is second Tuesday in Sept at 7pm. See you there.

Naramata Day 3

This is truly a wonderful place to dwell. The morning was started early with the sound of a cricket that decided to live in our room. The price you have to pay for the mountain living. Like clockwork the Naramata Centre has 3 meals. 7:45 - 8:30 was breakfast. I have been able to eat all of my meals so far outside in the warm sun.

We had our first workshops at 9am. Mine was the "Young Leaders". I was the oldest one there minus the facilitator who coincidentally was also a young worker years earlier. The course was a brief history of how unions have made ebbs and flows within the prevailing governments. Pointing out that we are about to hit another flow soon, it is interesting to see the reaction in the crowd... or perhaps I should say the lack of reaction. Being on the National Committee I have seen another side of CUPE. A side where we are trying to reach out to everyone and anyone just to shake some excitement into their bones. They are part of the largest union in Canada and sometimes I think people just don't get it. I guess it's not really that jaw dropping, I too didn't know what I was part of until I was thrust into the upper areas of CUPE.

Needless to say the course was wonderful, and I am sure I have made some impressions, as they have made some in me.

We finished up the day with a course on P3's. I had an uneasy moment when I saw that our premier was a member. Seems a little to close when you contract out to the very organization you promote. We finished off the weekend by bringing everyone together for our last goodbyes and made our way to the airport. Naramata is a great place to not only learn but relax. I have built some good contacts here and hope to see some of them again in the near future.

Fwd: July 2011 meeting

This months meeting went quite late. The motion to have summer meetings
this year was a good move. Most of the meeting was regular business
but we had many of the Parks issues were coming to light. I am very
glad that we had those conversations. Join us next month for the
second summer meeting. JEQ was also on the list with some motions that
will bring some light to the next steps. Remember to call the hall if
you have any questions.

Naramata Day 1-2

I have been participating in meetings for the National Young Workers Committee this month in Naramata, BC. I am quite convinced that this meeting although my last was the best meeting I have been to yet. The structure I have finally come to enjoy and feel comfortable with the members involved. It will be sad to not see them with the same frequency. We discussed our final proposals for the National convention coming up. Unfortunately I can not see myself going to the national in Vancouver. The meeting will be monumental but I will most likely be on the bottom of the totem pole when it comes to my priority in the delegation. No matter, the young workers that will be going, will be very well suited for the task of selling our resolutions.

Naramata is a wonderful place. I look forward to seeing the rest of the facilities and surroundings as I now embark on the young workers conference put on by CUPE BC. A first for me, this 3 day event is sure to be full of promise. There are over 70 participants who will take part in the workshops throughout the week. I wish CUPE AB had the same kind of young worker coined conference. Time will tell but the energy here is exciting.

Till tomorrow...

Three more years

Last night the Local members decided to accept the contract offer.

Here is how the money looks:
2011 - 2.5%
2012 - 3%
2013 - 3%

Many other contractual changes took place. For more information please call the hall.

Ratification of Proposals 2011

Official Notice Link.Join me Tuesday, June 28 at 7:00pm at the Dream Centre. Location is 4510 Macleod Trail SW. You need your union card. Looking forward to voting, it would be great to see all of you there. Information is availible if you call the hall.

Western Municipal 2011 - Day 3

The final day was like many other conferences, full of reports from affiliated locals. Many things were revealed on current negotiations. I was pleased to hear about all of the creative ways in which locals have achieved their wage goals.

In fact during the reports I was taken outside to discuss the current JEQ program and what we needed to be aware of. In Saskatchewan they recently discovered some of the holes where the evaluation caused some rifts between the members.

Otherwise the wrap of the conference was on time and many of us are now waiting to return to our respective homes.

Western Municipal 2011 - Day 2

This is my first Western Municipal Conference, my expectations of this event have been driven way up, but my feeling is that because of most of the other conferences happening so close to this event, it may come under my expectations concerning the size.

The conference is pretty small in comparison to the other conferences we have been attending. This can be seen as a good thing since the speakers are able to take questions from the floor in a more open atmosphere and the low key nature makes for a closer feel.

Speaker - Bill
Today I heard from a Labour Lawyer who said quite a bit about surveillance and how it may be admitted. Noting that the privacy laws in Alberta are not as spelled out as some of the provinces around us. I was interested in his words because he spoke about serendipitous and obvious surveillance. When an employer follows your every move after suspecting you of a fraudulent claim everything depends on how the information is expected to be admitted into court. It was interesting to me that obvious surveillance was admitted  more easily for various reasons. I didn't really know that there were questions that one could ask about incriminating evidence but context and professional explanation can negate what to some seems to be incriminating footage.

It was a very powerful conversation because it struck my own personal struggles with releasing information. This blog can be seen by everyone. It is important for me to be able to stand by what I am saying, but at the same time I must be cautious about what I am saying. People want short concise news about events that impact them. However the information can only be compressed so much until you lose the context of the message. I will continue to work hard in displaying evidence based information be cognizant that my opinion of my employer be kept out of this dialogue. I look to others who read this as a check on my output.

The National President
Paul Moist dropped in to speak to us. He started in Local 500 and has had ties with them ever since. He took some time and spoke about CETA and how it may be affecting us legislation is signed. I have been taking this topic lightly as I didn't quite understand it. It's high level CUPE and it is coming down to the local level. In fact we are fighting a Federal process that will affect every Canadian union or not. Needless to say I am starting to take CETA more seriously as the deadline draws near.

Protest
We joined together with the CUPW Letter Carriers and rallied beside them on the street in downtown Winnipeg. With our placards and those of other unions, we basically shut a street down. It was great, and I learned something today that I didn't know. The post office is sole owned by... wait for it.... the Federal Govt. They have been making a profit for the past 16 years... and they still are. Which begs the question, why are stamps going up in price if all the extra money goes into the Feds pockets? I thought the price was going up because the postal office was loosing money?

A simple person could see the profits as perhaps a hidden tax within the postal system. I know as the mobile world advances the need for a reliable mail system will start to suffer. I also know that we still need paper even after I bought an e-reader. Even after I got access to computers at work and at home and on my phone. For some reason the world still transfers documents on paper. As long as documents, parcels and things need to be delivered there will be a need for a letter carrier.

Don't get me started on the private companies. UPS and their handling fees are enough to make me sick. Their inability to deliver a package to my home without charging me an extra fee is astounding. Why would I ever want to see Canada Post disappear?

Anyways, to all the Government officials out there. Stop screwing with Pension plans for regular working people when you yourself get an unbelievable retirement package. It's important for a reason, and you need to fund it properly. I'm digressing... I apologize.

Workshop - Political Action 
Pretty darn good course. It was a very short conversation about what the unions role can be concerning political action. We talked and I grew a little. I have a urning for having conversations like these. How do you wage a good campaign? Can you just be simple, or do you have to go for the gold medal in informing the public. Politics is an amazing, complicated, polarizing, colorful, and full of facets.

Dinner
Like lunch (soup and sandwiches), the dinner was a medley of healthy salads, vegetables and roast beef. We watched the hockey game on the wall and enjoyed each others company. The good thing about a small conference is the small lines, and open conversation.

One more day, and I am on my way home.

Local 38 is voting to Strike...

I just read today Local 38 will have a strike vote. FYI: Our sister union is about a month or so ahead of us in bargaining.

Keep your ears to the ground brothers and sisters. Our coalition includes Local 38, and if they vote to have strike action, we may be next. Please read the article in the Calgary Herald and here in the Calgary Sun. Local 38 is not asking for anything over two years that is close to what the alderman have voted themselves in one year.

Union meetings I assume will be a different tone for the next few months. Please attend next week to our general meeting if you have any questions.

CUPE Weeklong School - Day 4 & 5

These were my days.

7am - Wake up/Shower
7:45am - Breakfast
9am - Class Starts: Awesome real examples of Labour Law... learning occurs.
12pm - Lunch
1pm - Continue with learning... apply what we have learned.
6pm - Supper
7:30pm - Study
11pm - Sleep. Repeat.

The course was so involved I wish it had been able to go on for another week. To me it seemed as if every story or occurrence was another stack of real experience I could use on a future issue.

Tonight is the BBQ. I look forward to a little more relaxing, and a little less reading.

I have really enjoyed this years week long school.

CUPE Weeklong School - Day 3

My second day of Labour Law has proven to be a jaw dropper. I have found out that I have made some pretty large leaps of faith in my own local and hope that when I get back I can right those mistakes. One of the issues I thought of was the recent raiding by AUPE. I had thought that the AUPE was covered under NUPGE. After listening to some arguments on raiding I find out that AUPE which used to be part of NUPGE was penalized in 2001. I am not sure if they are still a member of NUPGE, but if they are not it stands to reason that AUPE has nothing to loose by raiding other locals. In CUPE you must be affiliated to the national body, I am not sure if the same is true for NUPGE. Either way it has changed the way I look at our CLC partnerships in general.

Also of note is the fact that I didn't know the labour code as much as I should. The body seems so far removed from our local that I just thought it was something that the national reps needed to know. There is a lot more than just strike information held by the labour code and I will be diving right into that the minute I get home.

Mostly I have learned that many others that have had to fight issues have offered many good examples of what to expect with future issues. It is comforting to know what my members rights are in the case of filing grievances and I hope to translate that back to the members on issues that I will be dealing with in the future. There are so many rules, it seems like they just keep coming and overlapping the deeper I get into CUPE.

I am glad I have come to take Labour Law. This course is a precursor for Labour College. I am getting more and more excited to participate in that school. My guess would be that next year when they offer the course, I will be making plans to try to attend.

Otherwise the school is pushing forwards quite well. The tone so far has been different from last year. I would say it is more toned down and serious this year. A few more days to go though. Our evening fundraiser which will be for the victims of the Slave Lake fire should be extremely fun. We are continuing our friendly poker tournament where the proceeds will go to the cause.

The picture above is an call to mobilize put on by the privatization course. They are running a mock meeting where we (the students) are of local 9999 and we are organizing to vocalize our displeasure at an attempt by council (our teachers) to privatize our water treatment plants. We march tomorrow.

CUPE Weeklong School - Day 2

My day is still going (9:45pm). As much as Labour Law is interesting, the homework is bar none more than I have ever done (excluding reading convention booklets).

This is a great eye opener for those who haven't the slightest clue about the grievance procedures in place in today's union. My eyes hurt to even edit this. I am going to take a break and have a beer at the social which this year is put on totally by the members in attendance. In years previous CUPE Alberta has bought everyone a beer. Not so this event. Probably for the best. I mean we're grown adults, who I think can fork over a buck for our own beer.

Side Note: Another one of my birthdays spent at a CUPE week long school. Not a bad place to enjoy it. People here are all happy to learn and congregate with those brothers and sisters who are trying to better their union lives.

Day 2 we have a quiz and I eagerly look forward to it.

CUPE Weeklong School - Day 1

I have had the pleasure of attending my second weeklong school put on by CUPE Alberta. I will be taking Labour Law, which is a pre-requisite for the CLC labour school. From what I can gather the course is very well done and includes a little tiny bit of reading (another 3 inch binder) which will cover some examples and general rules of labour laws.

We have changed venues from Red Deer College to Olds College in hopes of sending a message to the Red Deer management who have decided to privatize a book store filled will CUPE members.

The dorms are near identical to those found in Red Deer. The only difference I can smell so far is our proximity to the farm life which is paramount to the courses offered here in Olds. It feels good to be away from the bustle of Red Deer, and I think I will be very impressed with the venue as chosen. Along with the location comes the lack of what we city folk take for granted, wireless access. From what I am told there is access but at the current moment it doesn’t extend to the dorm rooms, which is not really a big deal.

I did manage to get some much needed sleep though. After my last time through this program I was able to get a full night of sleep. I am sure that as the week progresses my sleep needs will be taxed as school life and the social aspect will start colliding. Many of the brothers and sisters in attendance are not from my local and this presents a good opportunity to find out what is happening in their neck of the woods.

Day 5 at the CLC: Short Day, we travel home.

Last evening there was a dance held at the Westin. I wasn’t able to make that event, but from what everyone tells me the hotel ballroom was packed and the band that played was awesome. Today after spending the morning packing my things, I made my way down to the convention. The mood was a lot different today compared to yesterday. The stage was stripped of all the delegate tables, many of the delegates who were eagerly waiting to get in were noticeably absent. The reason I suspect is that today the emphasis was more on the education of the membership instead of the business of the CLC.

The first speaker was talking about how we need to start embracing social media, and how using avenues like Facebook are vital to getting the information out to the members we represent.  It was also a message of caution on the boundaries that are broken when using social media. Not everyone needs to know certain information. Overall the information was interesting and those in attendance seemed to be actively listening to what was being said.

The day was ended short. Friday was considered a travel day back to our respective homes. As we said goodbye many issues were left unanswered and it would be up to our CLC representatives to struggle over their relevance at future board meetings.

I will take this opportunity to wrap up the week. I am quite impressed with the democracy that has occurred here today. The issues we will be striving for in the next 3 years are absolutely attainable but I fear will be very difficult to achieve. The Progressive Conservative majority that this country now follows has some very different views of how the federal level should be run. I think that it will be up to us to inform the populous that people need to have certain government run programs. It all comes down to your belief structure. Do you strive for personal wealth and personal sustainability? Or do you strive for community wealth and cooperation. At the federal level I hope that we all are striving for the later.

The past days have been at little overwhelming, but now that I know the rules if I am given the opportunity to participate next year I will gladly take up the opportunity. If I could go back and do one thing differently it would be to have had the program in my hands before I arrived in Vancouver. I received a binder that was 3 inches thick of information that I had to process over the course of the four days. With all of the programs running during the days and the evenings, I would be surprised if anyone could have thumbed through all the information handed to us as we registered.

Day 4 at the CLC

Day four was by far the realization that the CLC is something that is way bigger than any one any one organization that I have every been a part of. Overall the day was awesome, and my experience will be something I will remember for years to come. There was a weird ending to the day, but I have my suspicions that it was staged for day 5.

I am going to recap in the end after I go into a explaining a few points, and then bring it all together. What I saw was very interesting to my development to the union cause. Would I change a few things, of course. The level of the CLC requires the use of order that can take your breath away. Here are a few things I noticed.

Mic Muffins
I got be one of these "muffins" for CUPE. This idea was new to me, but it wasn't so out of the question. The most major problem with Resolutions is that those that stand behind them, also sit at a major seat in the CLC (Example: Paul Moist who is chair of one of the resolutions committees.). Consider that 0.5% of the convention floor is filled with active people who have valid points on the process. 2000 people for which 10 would like to speak on any given issue. Each person is given 3 minutes to share that point, and in most cases they go over their time trying to sum up. Equals thirty minutes of listening on one resolution. You can start to see that if you have an important point, you could miss your opportunity if the chair calls the question and tests the house. Which in a room this large is an important step in advancing the agenda.

So to further the cause I became one of those guys that sits in a chair at the appropriate pro/con microphone. When the resolution was to come up, the speaker for my chair would appear. The positive side to this is that good pro/con debate can take place with people who know the issues. The negative side to this is that as a new speaker on a hot issue, you will never ever get a chance to speak unless the previous list of speakers takes far less than their 3 minutes.

Motions on the Floor
No motion can be brought to the floor if another motion is currently being debated. So being an effective Chair at the CLC level means that everything is a motion, before a microphone is recognized.  Ingenious... and frustrating if you have an issue you wish to bring to the floor. Case in point, an "Action Caucus" was struck during the convention and they tried to mobilize a petition. However after the petition was signed, there was no appropriate method to introduce it to the floor because the daily agenda was already approved. Points of order do not come into play.

The importance of this factor is that the issues of the day can overtake the issues of the convention. Since convention is run every 3 years, certain resolutions need to be passed. However in the next point I digress into this.

The Undecided Resolutions
The kicker in all of this is why we don't necessarily need to OR absolutely need to spend more time on resolutions. If we don't get submitted resolutions covered at the floor, our national delegates will meet and decide on them at their closed door meetings. Good if your delegate is in the majority, bad if they are not. To compound this problem, the days events are split up into speakers, panels, resolutions, and entertainment. All of which play a role at the convention in furthering education, future direction, and participation by those in attendance.

Debate
I would like to say the CLC floor is more the real lack of debate. In a regular CUPE convention the debate on the floor follows the following method. If there is a PRO and CON microphone, the people who are lined up will alternate PRO, then CON. After debate has ended or the chair calls a successful question, the membership will vote on the issue weighing in on what they have heard. In the event of a referral the issue would then be brought back for further discussion.

The CLC follows a different structure. The chair will look out and see who is at the microphones, and recognizes them in whatever order they stood at their location. This resulted in many many PRO speeches that were all neither arguments for, but verbal stances to support the resolutions.

Now I am all for "RA RA" high energy feel good speeches, but we could have plowed through resolutions if the chair did not follow this method. I understand that some of the members were sent to push their resolutions forward, some like to hear themselves speak, and some who are climbing the movement ladder need to vocalize and get the message out there... but after you hear leader after leader continuously go over their 3 minutes, talking about how they admittedly support the resolution, it gets old fast.

This was my only real pet peeve at the convention. Since many of the resolutions presented to the floor neither required debate or would have had a chance of failing. In fact the composite resolutions or as I like to call them "super resolutions" were written in such verbiage as to not cause any real objection by the parties involved. To be honest some of the composite resolutions were so generic or all encompassing, it was hard for anyone to see any fault in their purpose.

Speeches
Lets say this whole convention was a string of words. Powerful words, important words, inspiring words. Needless to say a lot of listening was required. I enjoyed every minute of it. The whole process was so grande yet the rules were like our own hall. At our local meetings, we say our piece and we sit down. Sometimes we go long but most of the time we say what we feel and we move forward.

It seems that when you have such limited time at a microphone you tend to either say your piece and be content with that, or you continue daring the Chair to switch off your voice. Many who spoke were presidents of their national unions. All of them except one over the entire convention were unable to follow the 3 minute rule. At first the crowd despised the 3 minute rule, but by the end people could only respect it.

I will go away from this convention with a great understanding of how emotional speeches are required by those that lead at this level. Not the uncontrollable sobbing, or the loud yelling, but planned pronunciation in words that one speaks to masses.

Business of the Convention
If we were to deal with resolutions, and nothing else I would still be sitting in Vancouver weeks later. We would grind to a halt, listening to the debate. However what other important reasons would the delegation have to come to this event if not to decide who and what they will strive for in the years to come?

I'm not in a position where I could correct the balance a convention must try to attain when allotting time to the business of the organization in a convention. Tough questions for those who create agendas. For me this is an easy answer:
- Reschedule the speakers or panels for the evenings,
- Revamp the elections to be ballots submitted throughout the convention with candidates declared before the convention begins,
- Open the convention with very rapid introductions, and jump into resolutions.
- Plow, plow, plow through the issues. If the microphones are all PRO, call the question or refer to the CLC board.
- Live stream this event online! So much was information and so little of the 3.3 million union members affiliated to the CLC will ever hear about what went on here.

Overall Experience
All of my grumblings aside. I was very interested in the CLC. After seeing what goes on, I would be very interested in going back. That being said, our local should be involved on a more intimate level. If we really want to be part of the CLC in another capacity other than as a voter at the convention. We should be getting involved in the committees. Otherwise we risk sending our members to an event that we really only involve ourselves a few times each year.

As it stands right now, I think that we should be sending at the very least two union officers (From the Full time all the way to the (Executive-at-Large), and one member off the floor to help continue the education of our local. This year we sent five, all from the executive with 3 of the five as our full time officers. My personal belief is that the office needs to have one of the full time officers at all times in the office. Perhaps with technology my opinions may change, but not having those officers available to the membership is a risky move.

End of Day 4
So I said that convention ended a little weird on the Thursday. The day was getting long, and we were loosing quorum. One of the members was recognized on the microphone and questioned if we still had quorum. There was some confusion whether we did, and the Chair decided that we just had enough. So the member referred all the remaining motions to the CLC board for review. Which was passed by the membership and essentially ended the convention when it came to business. This move must have been planned because day 5 looks like it will be all educational.

It was weird because we had so much more business to go over. I would have thought we should have to delay the educational and just continue with business the next day until we really lost quorum. I'm new at this so I probably don't get the finer points to the convention, so I will hold my tongue on this one.

Since most of the elections were done, resolutions were referred and we were one day away from leaving. I prepared for Day 5 by riding the very impressive sky-train in the city.

Day 3 at the CLC: Today we hear Layton, more resolutions and perhaps have an election.

Yesterday we started once again into finalizing resolutions. Like I said before, the CLC chomps through resolutions like a carnivore. I believe the super resolutions encompassed 41 regular resolutions and about a handful of constitutional resolutions. Consider the absolute number of resolutions covered... quite impressive.

The democracy over the issues can be palpable. The afternoon was rife with very open and honest views on the issues at hand. We started into constitutional changes over things like raiding. A very open and interesting conversation emerged. Many on the floor detest the practice of raiding, but no one group could be singled out as a culprit. Needless to say the convention floor was adimate that raiding was not acceptable, and that by changing some rules, we would be able to better control the practice. I'm not sure about that, but I can tell from the reaction on the floor, the intention was clear. Stop the practice, and get back to organizing the unorganized.

Changing the constitution can be quite disruptive to groups, and the first late day referral was in my opinion the right move since the super resolution in question was so watered down it looked nothing like the combination of resolutions that created it.

Last night the young workers put on a forum panel which I attended. The result was good conversation with a union representative from Wisconsin and many interesting developments on the moment of the young workers in Canada. Afterwards the band Conscience, originally from Calgary, performed for us a few of their new tracks. I was impressed and finally tuckered out. Long days for me are a great motivator on why you sent us here in the first. place.

Today should be quite interesting, I hope to be able to upload some video. I have a problem with sound reverberation with my camera. I thought you should see what kinds of conversations occur in an event of this magnitude.

Stay tuned.

Day 2 at the CLC

Efficient use of time. I have to say that the CLC knows how to debate resolutions. Speeches abound mostly Pro for the resolutions (Over 90% so far). The super resolutions have covered a mulititude of fair-tax, child care, and retirement resolutions. For the most part these resolutions keep in tact the ideas behind the singular resolutions, but I have to admit they are a bit watered down. I guess we all have to water our wine down to get what we want. Overall the debate hasn't been too over the top. Personally I would like to see a quicker testing of the floor when we have so many pro speakers. However as it was pointed out today, at the CLC we recognize those that have waited in the lines instead of going Pro... Con, if oppositions exist. The chair has spoken, and in that made it very clear that testing the house is only done after about 7 speakers (or about 2 times through the microphones).

Otherwise, I am quite impressed with the momentum of this event. It is great to see so many people on or close to the same page on issues affecting our country. I have to point out that there was a pro-speaker today on the child care super resolution that reminded us that 30 years ago we were talking about the same issue of affordable child care. Personally it can be daunting to think that these issues could last that long. What I do know is that the CLC is setting themselves up for another 3 years of fighting issues that seem to effect regular people but must climb over the wall of big business and the profit monster that exists in these companies.

This event is absolutely massive, and I don't think I can under sell this basic fact. When we got here we were hearing that attendance would be in the 2500 range. What I am told is that number is closer to 1900. As I progress in CUPE I keep getting an even bigger picture of what a labour movement is. From local, to provincial, to national. I can now see another tier. The conference is all about groups of national unions. Were talking millions of workers represented here. This movement just achieved a critical mass in my mind that makes any worthwhile movement if implemented properly shine in the forefront of any politician willing to listen.

CLC Open for Business

I walked into the convention centre with my mouth open wide. This space is massive, there is a lot of people here and they all have a pretty good idea what they want to get out of this event. Many unions from all over Canada associated with the house of labour are in attendance. CUPE who is a major player in the union landscape disappears into the vast amount of unions in the building.

We have just spent most of the morning doing the intros. Big news is that the new leader of the opposition Jack Layton will be speaking on Wednesday instead of Thursday. Other than that the reports are coming out and we should be diving right into the meat of the resolutions.

One of the most interesting things I have seen is how the CLC deals with resolutions. The 4 day event needs to get through speakers, bureaucratic procedures, elections, and resolutions. It's amazing how much gets done. There is a booklet full of this years resolutions, and with the amount of debate on the floor it would impossible to get through all of them. So the CLC groups resolutions together to make them super resolutions (not the real title). They encompass large amounts of information that are similar. We handled 5 super resolutions and they collectively held 20 resolutions between them. There are weaknesses and strengths in each method.

The strength to this is that a resolution can pass with a very broad sense to its self covering many items. A weakness is we can pass a resolution based on a single issue or defeat it for the same reasons. If today was any indication of the next few days, there will be some very interesting debate and some very interesting theater.

I keep getting reminded that the discussions on these issues have happened many times over before it hits the floor. A lot of the discussion is just a reminder or short notes for those not in touch with that issue. Already there are a few people who have been up to the mic speaking on many issues. I am considering getting up to the mic and speaking on an issue, but I have to remind myself of how much bigger this event is. We are talking on a National level. Many of the local decisions, play only a small role in the larger picture.

I'm writing this as the Vancouver Canucks have just moved on to the next set of playoffs. Good thing too since the theme for this night will be staying in and studying the next days agenda items. There is so much information and events happening here, I feel like I could be up for 26 hours and still not have a handle on everything going on here in Vancouver.

One of the speakers was the Oscar-winning director Charles Ferguson (pictured above). He recently won an Oscar for the movie "Inside Job". Since I have seen this film earlier and I was very impressed that we had the pleasure of hearing him. His take on the state of the economy in the states was mostly about greed and the problems with a system that doesn't put in place adequate rules to keep financial institutions in line. The movie is being screened here at the hotel in about 30 min from writing this. Like I said so much going on, not enough time to do everything.

CLC Begins

This years Canadian Labour Congress is starting and you have sent 5 members to Vancouver to take part in the event. I will be submitting the days events online to help you understand what really goes on in the upper world of CUPE. So far the first day has been quite dry. CUPE Caucus held in the Fairmont has put us on the same page. There is a question however to how long the convention will go without a major disruption. Union raiding has become a hot button issue and some of us CUPE members would like to see some heated debate on the topic. We have a few CUPE endorsed members running for some of the positions and we will be looking to put our roughly 300 members in attendance to task. Rumor has it that we will see roughly 2500 people at this convention. Should be a very productive week.

Late Night Executive Meeting

Lot of issues to discuss. One of my longest meetings ever. 6pm to 10:30pm. Please come to the general meeting next week Tuesday May 10th, at 7pm.

Tonight is the Retirement Banquet

Many members say to me the union gives me nothing... To those brothers and sisters please allow me to fill you in on one of the absolute best values put on for the members of this local. The retirement banquet is an annual event held in a local hotel. This year like many before it will be held in the Glenmore Inn and Convention Centre. For $25 a ticket you get a huge buffet, drinks, a bottle of wine for the table, live music, dancing, a huge desert buffet, a chance to win some great door prizes, and last but not least you can reconnect with previous retirees.

Next year the event will run as it did this year. I encourage anyone who eats good food and enjoys an evening with friends to buy tickets and see what this union can give back to you. I will be enjoying this event with my girlfriend and many of the local 37 past and present members.

Congrats to Parks

Many Parks employees turned out to help initiate the funding for the fight back against the recent RFP (Request For Proposals) in the contracting out of 4 districts in Parks. The unanimous decision will see us fighting the city by highlighting to the council our discontent for this practice. Keeping the city jobs within the city workers is vital to ensuring we keep costs down. We know the work and the city needs to know this action is not acceptable to Local 37 employees.

We will also be holding meetings in July and August this year to help facilitate with the seasonal staff that have said they would like to be able to voice their concerns and help with the business of the local.

Thanks to everyone that showed up. Many other issues were discussed by the membership in attendance and I wish I could go over the 3.5hr meeting with precision but it was a long meeting and you really need to be there to get the full effect.

See you next month.

Attention Parks April General Meeting.

Next week at the general meeting you should be in attendance. A motion coming forward to run a campaign to fight against contracting out will come forward. Your attendance is important in giving us direction is this very important initiative.

Results of CUPE Alberta Election

After a valiant effort CUPE Local 37 was able to get 2 of the 4 positions we were running for at the convention.  Congratulations to Kevin Galley as he continues to follow the Alternate Area Vice President role. Also Peter Kaufman has been elected into the trustee role. Both were incumbents who were lucky enough to run unopposed. Congrats!

Chad Ennis and Scott Cush who were running for President and GVP South were unsuccessful by very few votes. Given that we were two months short of the other people running, the closeness was very respectable. We wish the successful members Marle Roberts who was successful for her run at President and Jake Braaten as he continues his last year as Southern GVP.

I have to say that this year due to two hospitality suites and a hotel that wanted to work with us to squelch the party noise we had a very great turn of events. The hotel allowed both suites to join up into a meeting area on the main floor. I have never seen in my limited two years of experience a time when everyone running was able to speak openly and in such solidarity that the tune of the convention was that of working on the real issues of the province. I was glad to be part of the discussion and look forward to supporting and watching the new executive take on the new priorities delivered by the over 31 motions and 16 constitutional resolutions put forth.

Thank you to all that supported me, from what I hear the vote was extremely close. Pictures will surely follow. Solidarity!

Rest In Peace - Judy Richardson

Yesterday we lost a good member of CUPE. Judy Richardson past away and I encourage anyone reading this to send their condolences. I remember some of our talks in executive meetings. She had a wonderful sense of humor and helped me along my own path with the union. I was hit hard with this news and still can't believe she is gone.


You will be missed Judy.

March Meeting

So the meeting I expected to see a full house, we managed to make quorum. We elected Peter Kaufman as an Executive-at-Large, Doug Wellis as a Trustee for 3 years and Mark Langlouis for the one year Trustee.

Also decided was the selection for the members off the floor to go to CUPE Alberta Convention in Grande Prairie, two women to go to a conference in Saskatchewan, a whole whack of hockey tickets for the old timers game, and much much more.

Notice of motion is coming to the next meeting. Specifically speaking to a retirement package change. If you would like more information please call the hall.

The day finished with talk about the secondary banks, JEQ, and I brought up that our Parks brothers and sisters are being contracted out. Well partially. Please let the city know that the people we hire are already trained to do the work in our parks. Getting contractors is a dangerous step.

2011 Election Results

Recording Secretary: Elizabeth Tweedale
Vice President: Don Monroe
Assistant Sargent-At-Arms: Ted Bradley and Cyril Wilson
Executive-At-Large: Wayne Gibson, Randy LaPierre and Joey Pillips.

 

Congrats to all, and next general meeting we will elect the vacant positions of Executive-At-Large and Trustee.

February General Meeting

We had enough for quorum, and went over a whole bunch of issues.

Some of the issues were:
- Bargaining concerns and an update,
- The illegal secondary vacation bank,
- Sending a few people to educational conferences,
- JEQ,
- Job steward courses coming up in March
- CUPE Alberta vacancies,
- And so much more.

Come join us next month March 8, 2011 @ 7pm.

How OT Works in Water Services - Construction Services

How does Over Time (OT) get equally distributed in Construction Services?

Two directions, but both build on Personal OT, and affect the Individual Call-Out List (ICL).

First Method

-          Supervisor is called in.

-          Starts calling the Foreman/Crew # that is first on the call-out list.

o   Foreman has a few options. They can say:

§  My crew is ready to work.

§  I don’t have a crew ready to work but I am willing.

§  I don’t want to work the OT

·         Crew associated with that Foreman will not get OT unless on the ICL

o   If crew is ready to work

§  Foreman calls all the workers, and they work accruing OT.

·         If a few of the crew is unavailable the ICL is used to fill spots.

·         Crew must be made up of at least 3 original crew members to affect crew OT.

o   If crew is not ready to work, the supervisor informs the foreman that he must call the other crews on the list before he will let him make up a crew.

§  Continues calling crews on the Call-Out List

·         If no one on the Call-Out List is ready to work, the supervisor goes to the first willing foreman and initiates the ICL procedure.

o   If foreman is ready, but doesn’t have a crew.

§  Supervisor/Foreman calls workers on the ICL

·         Phone number is called. Message is left.

o   You have the opportunity to call back, but once all the spaces are filled, you are out of luck on the call out for that job.

o   Keep track of the phone calls you receive. Keeping the process accountable includes your participation.

·         The ICL is structured the same way Crew Call-Out Lists are except personnel on the list have included what they are qualified and willing to work if called.

o   Organized by amount of personal OT accrued over the year starting April.

§  Crew OT is NOT charged to the job unless a combination of 3 assigned to the crew (including the Foreman) are working the site.

·         Personal OT is also adjusted and rearranges the ICL.

o   If the foreman is not willing to work, but the Foreman has found a replacement for his crew.

§  Supervisor/Foreman calls all the workers, and they work accruing OT.

·         If a few of the crew is unavailable the ICL is used to fill spots.

·         Crew must be made up of at least 3 original crew members to affect crew OT.

o   The Supervisor allows this situation to occur because as of this memo, Foreman OT is associated with the crew they command, and not their actual personal OT. A fix for this situation is being considered and upon implementation this situation will be minimized or eliminated all together.

Second Method

-          If a regular Shift goes over 9.5 hr, or you have been asked to work on the same job after your regular shift.

o   Anyone that doesn’t want the OT can choose to not work.

§  Extra people from same shift are asked to work.

o   If no replacements can be found, People from the Individual Call-Out List (ICL) are called.

-          Crew OT is charged to the job if the combinations of 3 workers assigned to the crew (including the Foreman) are working the site.

o   Personal OT is also adjusted and rearranges the ICL

§  Keep in mind Call-Out Lists are a week behind Manpower.

Why am I not being called out for overtime?

1          You are not on a Construction Services crew.

2         You are not on the Individual Call-Out List (ICL).

a.       If you are interested in working OT on other crews you must inform Bev at (email). The ICL is used by supervisors and crew foreman to fill vacancies. This list is made up of all interested workers that want to work OT for any reason. You must include your Name, Employee #, your qualifications you are willing to work OT as and your hire date with your local union (used for the initial April organization of the ICL.

3         You did not answer your phone/your number is incorrect/did not call back in time.

a.       Keep track of the phone calls and messages. If you have changed your number, it is up to you to update the list. Calling back doesn’t ensure you will get the OT. If the space is filled before you return the call, you will be recorded as called.

4         You did not get called.

a.       If someone with more OT than you is called out. Inform your supervisor immediately and find out why you were not called. There may be a few people with less OT than you, and they are given priority first if they are on the ICL.

5         You are in between local unions/crews.

a.       If you are bouncing around crews, unions, or you are a rover like a track operator you need to make sure you are on the ICL. You may not be called out with crews you have been working on.

6         You are on LOA, S&A, A/V, or you have restrictions that don’t allow you to complete the work required.

a.       If you are approved to be away from your work, you are not eligible to be called for work related duties. Also if you have restrictions that don’t allow you to regularly work the duties of the job. You can’t be call upon to violate those restrictions with OT.

7         Your foreman doesn’t accept OT when called by the supervisor.

a.       You need to make sure you are on the ICL. No foreman, no crew OT.

8         You have asked to be taken off the ICL and have indicated to your foreman that you are not interested in OT.

a.       If you want to work OT again, make sure Bev knows to put you back on the ICL.

Before writing this I was misunderstanding the process myself. If after all of this you need more direction, please contact your Supervisor and feel free to ask any questions, that might make this process or any part of this memo more understandable. I was very surprised to find out that the ICL existed, and to the measure that it was being used. If I can imprint anything through this memo, get on the ICL if you want OT. Otherwise your only avenue for OT is the crew call out list.