Are you looking for a new direction?

You may not be thinking about what is next for your future in the City of Calgary. Being comfortable is a wonderful feeling. In the work environment we are always dealing with change. These changes can be difficult, but we have to be able to figure out how we fit in the system after the change. After 30 years of a system that has offered a level of stability, we are now facing a changing work environment. Jobs that once were our end path are now outside our reach or laterally no different than what we currently do financially. I would like to offer an avenue to explore the changes coming, and how you may be able to once again figure out how you will fit in the changing job environment.

In Water Services there is an employment coach working in Learning & Employee Development. Barbara Mathies is charged with the task of helping anyone figure out their current career path, or decide how to change paths. I believe that her role in Water Services is about to get very busy. With the Job Evaluation system complete, new directions will be sought by many more in Water Services. Barbara will help you figure out what you may need in order to get one step further down the path of rediscovering your options within the City.

With many upper and lower management positions becoming vacant due to retirement, as well as lateral movement within our outside workforce, you should be figuring out all of your options. Change is for the most part an essential part of redeveloping business processes. For the most part the change is out of our hands. It can be difficult for everyone involved in the changes, but as City workers we are very good at adapting to new or recycled processes. If you are thinking about changing career paths, or want to know your options within the corporation, I urge you to contact Barbara Mathies at 403-268-4482 or email her at Barbara.Mathies@calgary.ca

Speaking of learning opportunities, if you struggle or know someone who want to upgrade their education, you should check out the OWL (Outdoor Workers Learning) Program which is just starting up this year. Some of the things they will be covering (from the website).

• work more safely
• learn technical skills more quickly
• adapt to changes on the job
• improve communication
• plan their career advancement
• understand important pay and benefits information
• prepare for certifications such as a GED
• read and write more efficiently
• become more comfortable using technology
• complete and use forms and documents
• protect themselves at work (safety and employee rights)
• solve problems by relying on themselves and not others (because they know where to find information and how to use it)
• participate with more confidence in work related activities
• be more active in union activities
• support family learning
• become more informed users of public services, such as health care
• access community resources

We are being watched. Be extra safe out there.

It finally happened. Three City cops were caught on camera rushing to go to Tim Horton's. In fact one of the cops was acting in an especially hurried manner but all were going to have their coffee break. The police officer was reprimanded and I would like to share my insights on how the technology of this world have helped both our lives, and the loves of others.

I'm going to speak on our habits as drivers. For many of us we see countless wrongs in our City that never sleeps. A pedestrian jaywalking, a driver making an unsafe lane change, accidents or near misses right before our eyes. Today though, people are recording everything. On their cell phones, in their cars, and mounted on a variety of different devices.

A City of Calgary vehicle is a walking billboard, complete with vehicle identification. We have a CFOS system installed in many of the vehicles which can verify our locations, and determine where we are at any time. We are constantly being watched, and we need to be careful.

At this point in history the world reacts. Here is an example. A "concerned citizen" thinks a City vehicle is driving unsafely, and they suggest the driver is smoking an illegal substance. At this point the City is obligated to act. The driver will be contacted, and the random drug testing will commence. You will be transported to a testing facility, and when you test negative, no one will apologize, no one will go after the citizen. Now combine this with on board video cameras, and you have a situation where now your written up for bad driving.

I'm not saying don't go to Tim Horton's. What I am saying is be careful out on the road, because you never know when your going to called into the office because of some citizen and their video camera. It's not going away, and we are going to have to watch ourselves even more now that people are blindly recording us.

The ripples of JE

I knew it was going to happen, but I didn't know how it was going to happen. Years of my life, put into a project that I thought would help those in my union. In fact it has helped many, but what we didn't expect was how labour pools would be affected. In the weirdest turn of events, those who got a raise, would in fact suffer a loss. What has happened in Roads has now happened in Water Services.

What is most infuriating to me is that good people are being hurt financially by a system that was supposed to be designed to correct a broken and outdated evaluation system and wage protect the employees. It's in my department, probably was for awhile now. It's affecting the laborers, and they don't deserve to lose money. None of us do, that's not how we interpreted it.

If anything, people should be protected and commended on helping turn a system around. Right now, that is not what is being reflected today in my conversation with an labourer who is dealing with the situation as we speak. He doesn't speak highly of the union right now, and I don't blame him. In our conversation I corrected him on a few facts, but the body of it all just didn't sit right at all.

Imagine I told you that you were getting a raise, but because your needed elsewhere, you would now because of that raise, be making less in your new position. In fact if I was not getting a raise, I would now be making more money where they needed me now... You would think I was crazy. Yet this is happening right now.

All I can say is that the officers are working on a solution, and I can only trust that a solution will be found. It is a dreadful thought that members are suffering the loss of income when they need it the most.

I'm disappointed this is happening, but I understand how this has happened. Which is even more disappointing, and makes me sick to think that this could be with us for years to come. You see it ripples out. Not only does it alter the employees current income, it changes the employees vacation pay, their insurance payout in case of accidental death, it potentially changes pension valuations, and the list goes on...

I'll keep updating how this situation develops. Please contact the hall if you are experiencing this issue in your department.

LAPP and Election Forum

Some of you have had a letter circulate your work areas. It talks about a situation that LAPP has placed on its members. They would like to know the best of the worst options to affect the pension plan. Most worrisome is the removal to guarantee the cost of living section.

If you have any questions, I urge you to call the hall. Or call your representative in government. Our defined benefit pension is under constant attack, and this can not be allowed to happen. I have been told that our plan is properly funded and is secure. If you have noticed, the plan has been increasing in costs, and with this situation is something worth your concern.

also

There will be an election forum at the hall on February 9th, 2013 from 9:00am to 12:00pm. The candidates will be available to answer your questions.

The Parking Project

Well it took more than two decades but now you are one of many who will have to get a parking pass for Manchester. I've been saying this for years there is not enough parking at Manchester. Well my friends unless you have one of these passes you will be faced with a fine, a tow or see both. This turn of events has been a long time coming. You have until the end of this week to get your parking pass I urge all of you who are at Manchester for any length of time to fill out the form and get the pass.

If by chance you have a little bit of money stashed away for parking you can enter into the lottery where you can be entered to win a pass above ground or below ground all to yourself. The white pass illustrated above is for first-come parking. The good news is that it's tax-deductible and you'll have a spot guaranteed but if you're city worker who works early hours the first-come lot should be all you'll ever need.

Don't get towed! Get a parking pass.

Poster is here.

This is my poster for the campaign. Please watch for it, and if you have suggestions, please let me know where I can place a poster. Thanks.

Join me on facebook. Group name: "Scott Cush for CUPE37" and thanks for coming to my site.

Important information for all outside workers.

Job Evaluation implementation has shown some weakness as of late. Specifically when it comes to page 3 of 18 in the Letter of Understanding on implementing the JEQ.

“5. For employees in labour pools whose hourly rate of pay in the new pay structure is higher than the job worked most rate of pay, they will be placed at the step that equals the next highest hourly rate of pay above their job worked most rate of pay. Increases thereafter shall be as per the Collective Agreement”

At the time, my interpretation of this was that when an employee is doing their "most hours worked” job they will be placed in the appropriate step that is higher than what the previous pay rate was. What is being interpreted is that the employee is actually placed at the lower step for the entire year until they achieve their hours.

Let’s say I have 5 jobs and I work each job 19.8% of the time, except for one where I work a few more hours than the others. In a labour pool if I am protected for one of the jobs, I am not protected for the 4 others. What’s worse is if I enjoyed a raise in my protected job and the raise was at step 2 or 1, I now get to wait a full year (or two!) before I can return to the higher step. When I move from job to job I still stay at step 2. Let’s take a look at how this happened.

When the evaluation system was being created a base line was needed for who could write any particular job evaluation. The formula for this was designed around most hours worked. For purposes of applying job protections such as red circling or wage increases the same formula was used. The intent of this system was that people working a specific job could not lose money. In fact that intent of the Job Evaluation was that workers didn’t lose what they were currently entitled to as a wage. The problems come in when we look at labour pools or stable movements in various relief postings. In a labour pool a worker may be working multiple jobs in a day or week and their most hours worked is a fraction of what others who have enjoyed a stable one job shift, between stable same band jobs. This means the idea of wage protection is somewhat skewed for the current workforce.

Fast forward to today. Our brothers and sisters in Roads are starting to figure out what happens when you work multiple positions. An unfortunate situation has and is unfolding. If your most hours worked job got a raise and the raise was higher in a lower step of that next band the employee was reduced to the lower step. If you’re in a labour pool those who have achieved a wage at step 2 oer 3 can now see a drop in their personal step system. In basic terms employees are losing money, in some cases lots of it.

One by-product of the JEQ is a clean sweep of relief postings, as well as sweeps in job importance. Simply put, people are going to start moving around to other jobs, because of money, shifts and quality of life. This is going to happen naturally and forcefully. In this case, it will definitely be a little of both.

I want you to know that the Full-time officers and Executive are aware of the problem and have been searching for solutions all parties can agree to. This may not be the answer you personally are looking for but it is the only one I am authorized to give at the present time. When a solution is found whatever it is will be communicated to the members affected. In fact if you are interested in the solutions being pitched you need to call the Hall and ask.

In the mean time, many employees who thought they were getting a raise (no matter how small), may have found that in fact they are losing money when they are not in the job they were established at most hours worked. Currently Roads is the first affected area, but I suspect many other departments will start to realize this issue as pay cheques are distributed in the weeks or months ahead.

Your 2013 candidates for Recording Secretary

It's official. Update**** Five Six candidates are running.

In no particular order:
- Elizabeth Tweedale (current)
- Scott Cush
- Frank West
- Randy LaPierre
- Robert Dauphinais
- Cyril Wilson

I wish all luck in their campaigns but I will be giving them a run for their money.

Facebook Group - "Scott Cush for CUPE 37"

My next post will be my platform and my itinerary for where I will be in the next few months for the campaigning. I look forward to talking with as many members as I can.

It's time for me to run... for Recording Secretary.

To all the people who have been following our union through this blog. I have some news. I am going to run for Recording Secretary. The decision to run came back in May of 2012. This membership with the help of CUPE National and CUPE Alberta sent me on a four week condensed school aptly titled "Labour College". Put on by the Canadian Labour Congress I was flown to Port Elgin, Ontario. We spent the intensive courses in a training centre built and designed by the Canadian Auto Workers. By itself the facility is amazing, but meeting other labour minded students from CUPE and other unions in Canada I was faced with the next stage in my life. I believe that it means more full time involvement in the daily business of our Local.

Of the three positions in our hall the position of Recording Secretary is one I believe I would do a great job with. I'm quite excited about the opportunity, and with my wife on board with this decision I am 100% invested in running my campaign.

Here is the role from the Bylaws (Section 9B)

The Recording Secretary shall:

1. Keep full and accurate account of the proceedings of all regular, special membership and board meetings.

2. Record all alterations in the By-laws.

3. Answer correspondence and fulfill other secretarial duties.

4. File a copy of all letters sent out and keep other secretarial duties.

5. Prepare and distribute all circulars and notices to members.

6. Preside over all membership and board meetings in the absence of both the President and Vice President.

7. Have prepared and sign all authorizations for payments.

8. Be Ex-officio on all committees.

9. In conjunction with the other full-time officers, be aware of all grievances and act on them where applicable.

10. Recruit new Job Stewards.

11. Receive assistance from the office staff to fulfill his union responsibilities.

12. Be responsible for the normal operations of the office and the staff and shall recommend any changes to the Executive Board.

As you can see there is a lot of areas the recording secretary must cover. What it doesn't cover are some of the extra curricular items. A full time officer is expected to answer their phone whenever they are needed (day or night). Many of the events put on by the Local have the expectation that the full time officer will be present. They are accountable to the Local, our Sub-Locals, and guardians of our collective agreements. Whenever a grievance is filed, the full time officers are charged with applying the collective agreement and fighting for our members. They must also recognize and correct violations of the agreement from both management and our members. There is some traveling and my goal is to share my reports again through this forum online for you to read whenever you want to. This is just the tip, and I am excited to give my all for the Local.

For me this has been a multi-year journey of being involved and getting more experience with the union movement. 

My journey went like this:

• Joined the City in 2001. 5 years later I went to my first union meeting.
• Became a job steward, and moving up the ranks have become the chair of the stewards committee for over 2 years. I am active on the communication, social, bylaw, Calgary District Labour Council, CUPE Calgary District Council, and recently finished a multi-year commitment to the Joint Job Evaluation Team.
• Was elected to the position of Executive-at-Large, and was reelected last year.
• While on the executive I was able to be on the CUPE Alberta Executive, and a working group for CUPE National. 
• I learned a lot from multiple schools and courses to finally being accepted to the Canadian Labour Congress - Labour College.
• I have seen many different views of CUPE, other unions, and management systems within our own local. I am still learning the small differences, but the core is the same. Equal opportunities and benefits for all members in all areas. An extremely difficult task when we look at our diverse labour force.

I will be putting my name forth on Tuesday, January 8th to run for the position. I hope you take the time to find out what my goals are, and tell me what you want from the union. I am excited to take this next step. I will have 3 months to get out to see you, and hopefully set up a system by which you can once again plug in to the workings of your union.

On January 8th or 9th. I will change the orientation of this blog a little to highlight which direction I want our Local to head, and share with you some of my goals and promises. Please continue to follow me. and if your on facebook please support my cause and join my facebook group.

The Deadline for March Elections...and JEQ

January 8th, 2012 is the final day for getting your nomination forms in if your interested in running for a position for March 2013 Elections. According to the bylaws if your interested. You must declare your intentions at next weeks general meeting.

Also the application of the JEQ in our various work units have been applied in various ways. If you have any concerns please call the hall. A universal application of the job evaluation system is essential to a fair equitable system. As well application of the pay steps and wage protection can in some instances negatively affect the workers in those positions. We are working on correcting this situation but we need actual application of pay rates reported to the union hall.

See you all next week.