Final Day of Convention + Education Day.

It is commendable on just how smoothly the convention went this year. The resolutions that were presented were all dealt within a responsible manner and time frame. The coordination of speakers, business and education was done very well. Even the elections were run with such professionalism I was glad to be a part of this years program. Of course there is always room for improvement. Some would have liked to see more NDP involvement. For myself it was nice to just see the amount of our own members running for the NDP in this election.

My mistake in procedure the previous day was a good lesson for me. I found out how politics extends in everything I do in CUPE. Whether I would do a good job or not, I was not the choice of my colleagues. I won't get into the details but I watched as my actions lead to many being instructed to distance themselves from me. As my core brothers and sisters extended their opinions openly to me, others were not so direct. In the end, I removed myself from running, and learned a lesson I will not soon repeat in the future. Officially I look forward to what sister Jody Carey will bring to the provincial division and will watch as she prepared the newest executive for their tasks.

The education day proved to be valuable for me as well. I took the social media course and I learned a little more than I was expecting. I have been really switching gears lately on the whole social media aspect of the union movement. It seems as if we need to centralize the process, and I am starting to see how this can be accomplished in a secure manner.

I am very pleased with where CUPE Alberta is going, and I am going to be paying close attention to it along with National this year. I am very glad I got to go to Red Deer and will be reporting great things at my next general meeting next month with the Local.

Convention for CUPE Alberta - Day 2

I hesitated to post this entry, but after sleeping or more accurately not sleeping on it I reconsidered. As a fairly new union member, I made an error in judgement that got me in some hot water. Below is the post as it was written after my day 2 at convention for CUPE Alberta... unedited.

The dynamics of Convention are very similar to the dynamics of a Local. There are many people who want to do the business of the union, and it is up to the membership to decide. Allies are formed, the votes are cast and the membership supports those who made it in.

Today I ran against the wishes of Calgary Caucus and put my name forth in the election for the Secretary. I did this because I know I can do the job, expand on what we are doing and bring the executive to the present when it comes to distributing information. I have a few allies for my position but the candidates that are running are also gifted for the role as well. In this case my opponents have more of the allies I need to win. Tomorrow the votes will be cast, and tomorrow I find out how much of a mistake I made.

Here is it what I should have done.

1. Told the Calgary Caucus that I wanted to run and a free vote should be allowed for the position of Secretary.
2. If they allowed the group to have a free vote, cheer internally and run, If not... bow out or leave caucus.

This is what I did.

1. Voted with the Caucus on Treasurer, AVP Calgary, Respecting the North for their GVP, and stayed silent on the fact that Jody was coming down to the convention to run for Secretary and that Calgary Caucus nominated Jody for the position.
2. Regret the moment I said nothing,
3. The vote was taken. I abstained (which is in my local seen as capitulation)
4. I decided to run for the position.
5. I told a few in the caucus who politely warned me of my decision.
6. I ran for Secretary.

I made a mistake in procedure, and I know it, but removing my name from the list would be another mistake. I got my start outside of my Local in CUPE Alberta and I have learned in the past that waiting for the most opportune time may never happen. I am passionate, I want to see change, and I am confident that CUPE Alberta's mandate is a fight worth taking on. I know I can do the job, I was at convention, I wanted to run and I think I would do a great job. The problem is more about the mistake's meaning. By going against a Caucus I am by example showing that I can go off the approved path. I know this, but I just could not sit back and just watch another opportunity to contribute to CUPE pass by. I enjoy this work, and I can't explain why but in some weird way the labour movement moved me.

I made a mistake going against caucus and that mistake will help define my future decisions. Will it cripple me, no. Will I become negative towards CUPE... no. Will I run again if I lose now... You bet I will. Do I know I went against caucus? Yes. Do I regret it? I regret going against the rules of Caucus, but I don't regret running. Will I fail at this attempt. Probably, but I will learn so much from it.

I would like to apologize to CUPE Alberta, the Calgary Caucus, and my Local. If you know me I am a stickler for procedure. What I did today was not who I normally am, and I am wresting with what I have done and if my actions were justified. At the time of this entry I believed so.

Convention First Day

I am getting to know my way around the convention highlights. The day starts out with lots of formal procedures, committee reports and what I wait for. The Presidents report and the Treasurer report. From the looks of it the province is going in a good direction, and for the most part people are satisfied with the direction we have headed. The president had some pretty good experiences that she shared with us. It felt nice to listen to the report, but there was an underlining situation that even I was unaware of. In this world, the small things can turn into big things.

When the Treasurer gave his report I had some basic questions about where we can save money. I like the idea of revenue neutral conferences/conventions. I think every dollar we save means another dollar to a worthy cause. To be fair to the executive, they have been doing a great job at saving money and spending more effectively. For example I think we should buy our own vehicle for the president. We currently lease from National and I say we are not getting the best possible deal. The money is still in my mind being distributed ineffectively. This will not be solved in a day. I am not on the executive and from what I can tell this is not a priority. So I will move on.

The way I see our organization, the money is all the property of CUPE National. Our Locals only just hold on to it for awhile. We distribute those funds in a whole bunch of official and unofficial ways. CUPE Alberta gets funding from the Locals that affiliate and National kicks in some money for good measure. Then the affiliations and the cooperative groups all have a kick at those pots and like any funding people go where the money is. In my mind cooperative funding is important, but it skews the basic per capita measurements. Instead of giving $1.08 per member some Locals are really giving $1.30 per member. This can happen when one group asks a Local for support when they should be asking Division, or National for the funding. This basically drives me crazy.

The political part of this convention is now permeating the air. I can feel it flowing over everything. One unique aspect to this convention is that we are seeing many of our members running for the NDP. These are members that want to see change and have stepped up to the podium. I look forward to watching their campaigns. Even though I am rooting for them, I can not see the NDP gaining a stronghold in our province. Albertans are too Conservative and the Wild Rose are pushing us more so that way. Who knows in the end. The last election pulled a meager 40% to the polls.

Convention worked like clockwork today. We opened convention, we heard the President, the Treasurer, and Brother Paul Moist. We ate food together over a luncheon and we networked at the hospitality suites put forth by Fort Mac and Red Deer. Tomorrow we will start to dive into the committee reports and deal with resolutions. The direction of CUPE will come up and I am sure an emergency resolution as always will be brought forward last minute.

Till Thursday.

2012 CUPE Alberta Convention - Registration

CUPE Alberta Convention - Arrival

This week is the Alberta Division Convention for CUPE. Stay tuned, this week will be full of CUPE Alberta Updates.

New VP - Chuck Hanmore

Congrats Chuck. He along with 8 others ran for the position. It was a good turn out for the elections. Too bad most of them couldn't stay for the rest of the meeting.

I look forward to working with Chuck for the remainder of the VP term.

Meeting tonight. Elections continue.

We are electing the VP tonight. Make sure you come to cast your vote. One year term because Don Monroe our previous VP was elected in as president half way into his term.

Retirement Banquet 2012

I would like you to consider eating out with your local on April 28th, 2012. 5:30p - cocktails, 6:30p - dinner.

Every year we celebrate the retirees that came before us all. We break bread together, we drink wine and eat (oh do we eat) a buffet of wonderful meats and vegetables.

We have some cheerleaders and a live band which allows us to dance and mingle with many people we call friends and coworkers.

The price is too good to beat. At $25 a ticket you will get double your money's worth in food. Not to mention the drinks. Then we have door prizes that will make you want to smile. It is by far the best event our local puts on and this year you should be part of it.

Old Timer Tickets

If you want to go to the old timer game next week before the general meeting contact the hall and see if they still have tickets.

We sponsored the event but the game is before the general meeting by one day.

Get them before they are all gone.

Winning

I remember when I won my first argument in the Union Hall's General Meeting. I remember when I won my first election, when I spoke at my first Provincial Convention, when I saw a direct violation of the collective agreement, and witnessing my first discipline. Today I remember my first big win.

I sometimes need a reminder of what winning feels like. Many times when I think I am right, even with proof I can be wrong. Today I got some great news about a grievance I investigated months and months ago. I thought it had gone by the wayside, but today I was handed the resolution. The union won. It was a policy grievance in a department other than my own. I was doing a Friday shift at the hall when the issue came to us. A member walked in and wanted to know what could be done about an issue of overtime. Not being from that department I had to be brought up to speed. The shifts were alien to me but the basics were understandable. By the end of the day I thought I had figured out the issue and after revising the investigation one final time I passed it on to the the Full Time officers. I recommended the Union file the grievance.

Then I watched it from arms length. I watched it go through the grievance processes and I eventually let it go while I concerned myself with other issues. Our local can be working on over 30 grievances a month, and that is just one part of what the Union does. When our President showed me the resolution I felt good about my part. I felt good that a member with a real issue was able to confide in me and see a good outcome. I felt good because they won, and because they won I won as well.

I will savor this win because many times we don't win. Many times the issue is just not black and white and the member is clearly in the wrong.

The members all of whom were affected will all received what was owed to them. I feel pretty good right now and the members when they are finally informed will probably feel vindicated. Many of them probably wrote this issue off months ago. Of course I can't give anymore information that I have now, but I just wanted to say it feels good to win one. Even though I was just the investigative partner in this process.

See you all at the General Meeting next Tuesday at 7pm.

The Official List

When I last checked the ballots were still being counted. I will be visiting the hall after 4pm.

As of 6:20pm.

President - Don Monroe
Treasurer - Chad Ennis
Sargeant-At-Arms - Sam Basi
Executive-At-Large - Scott Cush, Jody Sallans, Dafydd Urquhart
Trustee - Mark Langlois

Congrats to all.

Election Tomorrow

Elections are tomorrow and I will let you know who is in for two more years.

Good luck to all who are running.

A few more days and the next Executive will be chosen. I have placed my votes. If you haven't yet be at the hall in the morning on Saturday if you want to vote.