The snowy ripples of Roads.

Overtime is a huge conversation. I'm going to talk a bit about how extraordinary circumstances have changed the landscape of snow removal.

A few years ago we had some pretty big snow events that the normal chinooks did not handle for our great city. So the head of Roads came up with a solution. At first I was in principal totally against this but the workforce thought otherwise.

The new policy said that if a certain amount of snow accumulated on the ground any worker in Roads could come in and be guaranteed work. Anyone on opposing shifts could walk in, and be given a job. Of course Roads blew through their budget. It was a bad couple of years for snow and they spent money. We just included the policy in our collective agreement and you can read the letter of understanding number 13 of our collective agreement (page 124).

From my point of view this was a wonderful solution for Roads as supervisors and foreman would be freed from calling employees in when the snow fell. This saved hours of leaving messages, and it put lots of money into the employees in Roads. Fundamentally though is caused a problem with another clause in the contract.

Let me introduce Clause 5.16 which was designed to maintain an equalized distribution of overtime. The clause was very hard to enforce but the overall the premise is the corporation agrees to maintain lists of their employees overtime and in in a period of one year promise to equalize overtime. They do this by calling people who have less time than others first. The complex nature of this goes through operating sections and distribution within these sections. In a perfect world these sections would house permanent employees who can monitor their time effectively. This doesn't occur in some sections and with the letter of understanding in Roads, it is almost impossible to manage certain situations.

All of this comes to a head when the union hall patiently awaits for the distribution year is to be up and then waits for an actual griever which should number at least one for each of our 54 operating sections. Except all is quiet. Without the Roads Letter of Understanding, and incidents like the recent flooding all we have are known hours worked in the aggregate. It takes time and evidence to connect the dots. I have at least a handful of examples that I know about, but without an active griever this situation puts the hall in an interesting situation. Should they proceed on the employees behalf?

The answer is not complex. 99.9% of the time the Local in question will not act without the presence of a griever. Overtime distribution is only simple when evidence can offer proof with no doubt that the policy was ignored. There are cases where a small group of employees gain an incredible amount of OT during the year. Some of these cases are so strong a union hall would be remiss to ignore it. Yet every year (14 that I have been part of) I can not count on one hand the case where those who grieved the offense made any personal gains, or set the system straight.

I have seen two people who do the same job in a small group of workers have difference in overtime hours amounting in the hundreds of hours. How is this possible? I can only say that when I was in the office filling in on a Friday I salivated at an opportunity to force hundreds of hours to be be paid to workers that were not called at all. I can say that without instigation it is rare this will ever be the case. These examples are gems that require investigation to proceed. Remember the union hall is not an ambulance chaser. Our Local has 40 – 70 grievances on the go at any given time. The officers are not looking for more.

The problem is simple: How to ensure equal distribution? My solution involves using current technology. Without it the old method is just slow and so time consuming you would think there must be a better way. It is more likely that under scrutiny and with the scarce evidence that does usually exist, these potential grievances affect another employee. Which is why this situation usually looses steam by the end of the cycle.

What I can say is overtime should be distributed equally. It’s contractual. It is difficult to enforce when OT is not mandatory, or is spread among a base of workers that are regularly moved or work opposite of problem work-sites. Equalizing OT is the last thing on the minds of supervisors, and foreman. They would rather call up the “guaranteed he will say yes” employee than work through the list. When they are caught the likely response will be “By the year end we will strive to equalize the overtime.” And our response will be the same, “We will hold you to that at the end of the cycle. Prepare for a potential grievance.”

The only way to change this is with a few solid equalization grievances that would force supervisors to change their methods. It might also ripple in another direction where employees are held to task when they suggest they are free for extra time and never accept offers. Again the argument fails when non-mandatory overtime is distributed among a relief labour force.

In my experience, factual proof and a group effort is the key to success. When it finally happens I am sure I will be the first to let you know how much it cost the city in added overtime. Don't kid yourself eventually this could happen. The whale is out there waiting to be caught. Why not just change our communication methods.

The most basic would be text messages. Like in the days of the pager. If we really wanted to make the change, we would go into social media and activate those employees that have smart phones. It might even be cheaper to just subsidize employees with their cell phone bills. The use of technology is only as weak by the most available technology, and at this point text messages are the middle ground. Maybe even email. I would love to see a day where employees can be activated by simply receiving a invitation. Fully automated this would allow experienced workers the ability to share the overtime distribution. This complex algorithm is handled by men, who are contorted by timelines, friendships, social hurdles, and well cut corners that at the time get the jobs done.

I have personally suggested to the Full Time Officers that instead of waiting for employees to come forward, we hold the various units accountable for their practices. When the time comes overtime is a interesting thing. Too much and we risk privatization concerns or valid Full Time Equivalent workers that could be standing next to us. Too little and the extra cash in our pockets evaporates. In a city as large as Calgary. We know situations come up that warrant overtime, but we should be sharing the money as a group keeping everyone happy, not just a select few.

So the letter of understanding number 13 and clause 5.16 are at constant odds. With the weather dumping more snow and cold weather each year the budget for removal is about to explode. With the new money comes many private companies who are drooling over the opportunity to get a piece of that pie. They will promise everything to those that make decisions, and each year they itch to take a bigger slice of the pie.

Recently the City has changed the way they outsource snow removal. Contracting private companies to do the work of City crews. What happened last year was private companies were told what to do, where to do it. Most of the time they were not very good at their job, resulting in 311 calls where city crews had to take up the slack. As we have seen in the past, these companies are not in the market to do the job properly, they do it to make boat loads of money off the City. No offense, I would rather a competent, municipal worker be the one doing the work. At least when I call 311 I know the job will be completed.

So keep in mind that overtime although wonderful for a few of us must be shared so that we not only allow each other to make a little money, but we need show that these overtime hours eventually equate into real jobs that should be filled by other City employees. The more overtime that goes out the more private companies will try to wedge themselves in.

Up to my ears...

I am sorry for not posting in a while. I feel as if I am up to my ears in stuff to do. My deadlines have deadlines. I have been extended into various areas of work and union duties and to be as honest as I can be, I am starting to fail in various areas of my responsibilities.

I am going to organize my thought a little better and get back to you.

Western Municipal Conference 2014 - Summary

I have to say that the WMC was worthwhile for us as a Local to be at. My overall impression is that we send a maximum of 3 - 4 people. Worst case we send two people, one being a member of the higher level Executive if we expect them to answer questions. After this number it becomes unproductive. Not unproductive to the social aspect of these conferences, but instead there is just not enough going on to spread the member out at the conference. We were spread out at the workshops, and we found that all of the workshops were identical in message. There is a heavy concentration put on the Local reports. The President should have an outlined speech prepared that lasts 10 minutes in duration. These reports are quite important to this event and sending our members to this is more about collecting and asking questions about what is going on throughout the provinces. If we chose to not send the a Full Tim Officer a speech prepared would need to be supplied to the attendee.

If I can stress anything, from the sounds of the agreements struck around the provinces it was the coalition of Alberta that made the greatest gains. While we don't always see eye to eye, these coalitions have at least at this convention proven to be vital in seeing how similar tactics can be beat just by using solidarity to our advantage. As of writing this our own negotiations have not be finalized but with contracts of 0.75% or 1% averages per year, it is clear to me that we had the more lucrative deals compared to other municipalities. 

Organizations seem to all try similar tactics with employees through the Provincial lines. Saskatoon had a converstation over their defined benefit plans that forced them to choose between the plan and any increases to their contracts indefinately. The members chose to modify the plan. In their case they went from an 80 factor to an 85 factor. Which was oddly similar to the tactics given to us where we were told we would need to go from an 85 factor to a 90. Our Saskatchewan members have gone in a different direction to Alberta. We are seeing through these conferences first hand of how both sides have been playing out.

If I could make any suggestions, the speakers were good at either starting conversations about funding municipalites to the new rulings concerning drugs testing. These presentations especially those that could be brought back to the memberships would be better if they were emailed or video taped. It is unlikely I will remember everything that was presented, and reference documents would be valuable.

The inclusion of the National President and Treasurer is also important but I found that the message was slightly changed but mostly the same between the two. They latched on the ongoing and seemingly never ending fight left and right leaning organization go head to head on. This time highlighting the Manning Centre and their targeting of unions as being a credible threat to the organization of more conservative municipal governments. Their ability to be present at the meeting validates the conference at least to be able to hear the National points of view. The push for the Sector meetings coming up was also evident. I am a bigger believer in the sector meetings than the current committee structures. The National had asked us to have a conversation about offsetting this convference to odd years while the National Sector would meet on the even. As of writing this suggestion was deemed premature.

I look forward to these events, and enjoy the smaller city feel to these events. Saskatoon was prepping for a Jazz Festival, which was extrodinary considering the size of the town. It was great to be able to walk to our hotel listening to Collin James, and not have to spend time traveling to and from the conference location. Saskatoon is great location for this conference, and the Locals that joined us all seemed to be there to collect information in all the various forms provided at the venue. I was happy to be able to attend on behalf of the Local and thank our members for the opportunity.

Western Municipal Conference 2014 Day 3

After a supplied breakfast, we jumped right into reports.

Local 787 - With about 500 members of both inside and outside workers. Currently in the 2nd of a 3 year contract. The post schedules for 10 days and were able to get disciplinary records down from 36 months on file down to 24. Boot allowance from $300 to $400 a year. Swimwear for pools is now capped at $200 per year. This local is very active in the community making sure to give back to those.

Local 900 - Multiple subs with the City of Kamloops. 2 of the 7 Units in Bargaining. Not going well. The remaining 5 units are going to enter into bargaining in the next two years. Having issues with OnCall

Local 1004 - This local was under administration for the past year. The story told was about the issues that they faced as a Local being put under administration. In there case the executive became unstable and started unravelling publicly. Elections are set to go this year and the system will be set to reset to come out of administration.

Local 1015 - Not bargaining until next year. Lloydminster has gone through some huge changes over the years. While they are making headway on letters of understanding. They are still working within their contract.

Local 1032 - Entering into contract negotiations this fall. Subs signed a 2% per year for a few years. A member tried to sue the employer and union for 1.2 million and was unsuccessful in the courts with this suit. The member started these suits after being dismissed. The courts upheld a Supreme Court ruling that stated when a collective agreement is struct the courts must respect those committees.

Local 1936 - Social Services Local - with about 1100 members. Bargaining happens at a provincial level with a mix of other unions. They settled a deal for 4% over 5 years as well as a comparability money clause that compares to the health system. In this case it was a 7.5% raise in the 5 year deal. Also has a clause that deals with GDP and sharing the difference with the unions involved. The deal sounded very complex and with the time allotted this wasn't explained further. While this report wasn't relevant to the municipal conference, it was a new look at a system of bargaining that I was unaware of.

CUPE BC - Talked about Core Reviews as well as some of the current projects that the Division is undertaking.

Our conference broke out into our final meeting rooms where the Provincial groups met in order to talk more specifically about the issues of these locals. The conversations were around AMEC, the attendance managment programs, medical return to work documents, wants as it comes to the sectoral conference coming down the line from the National and as well the side discussions that for me were invaluable. Local 1015 for instance has a sick time policy that is very different to ours. While we have 119 days of S/A with instances that result in the attendance policies. In Lloydminster they have accrued sick time of about 15 days per year that don't expire until they individually reach 119 days. For those who burn through their sick time a sick bank is maintained by the Local. They manage a 150 days of sick time that is renewed from the entire Local membership. This time is managed by a committee that makes sure the time is used properly.

We also talked about the overall medical documents that are shared with the employer. 3rd Parties are asking for information that goes above and beyond the requirements for a return to work document.

After the meeting we returned to the main meeting room and skimmed over the issues from each of the provinces. 

BC - Talking about building solidarity over talking to the members over elections and collective bargaining.

AB - Talked about the National Conference, also building solidarity. Selling off municipal assets.

MB - Planning for the next municipal conference and how it compares to the national sector conference. A suggestion was made by National on spreading out the meeting dates to be biannual opposed to annually. Also talked about reaching out to the smaller Locals on getting them more involved.

SK - Only talked about holding the conference annually and a bit about elections.

Good of Union - Thanks to everyone that came out.

Western Municipal Conference 2014 Day 2

Day two of the WMC started with rain. The walk while wet is quite nice in Saskatoon. After putting together my to go breakfast, I joined our delegation at the Radisson. We started the second day with a welcome from our National President Paul Moist. He opened with a few Municipal stories that show what private corruption has done in some of the Ontario cities which resulted in work being brought back into municipal workers hands.

Paul touched on P3's, the Manning institute, Pensions, the right to strike, working with the Mayors, the recognizable work of the municipal workforce in times of crisis, the truth about why P3's are so expensive through the current school building project by the Alberta Gov't. This speech was very heavily loaded with information.

Paul touched on the Sector Councils. Who would meet ever two years, and encourages the western provinces to consider the costs of the sector meetings and the coordination with the National over these events. His estimates is that around 1000 members will be at the sector conference. Which is the way it should be for issues of these magnitudes. 

In Mr. Moist address, he pointed out the importance of unions in the workforce, the organizations that regularly fight against the message of unions. His importance was heavily on the continued support of unionized workers throughout the Canadian atmosphere.

We continued into the Local Reports

Local 46 - Currently bargaining with the employer, active grievances. Talked about a common issue of rehiring retired members that do not need to put into the LAPP. Causing some problems with the overall funding.

Local 50 - City of Victoria. The incredible similarities between this Local an ours. They too went through garbage collection issues, pools, and parks issues that rang very identical to Local 37 employees.

Local 59 - Full time president paid by the employer. Contract ended December 2012. At that time the Defined Benefit was an issue and they had to make some concessions. They agreed to the concessions. Was able to increase their vacation plan, get a boot allowance. Four years for 4.5%. Elections in June, where all members were acclaimed. Also talked about

Natasha Morely spoke on the Drug and Alcohol Policies. Starting out in Industrial settings these policies are moving towards municipal organizations. While there are different forms of these policies Natasha has spoke on different ways in which the law looks at these policies. Challenging these polices go from grievances all the way up to human rights forums.

Post incident testing, reasonable cause testing, return to work and random testing are the most common.

Human rights protects against disability and drug addiction falls under a disability. Challenges circle around discrimination towards bonafide occupational requirement. 3 Part Meorin Test is used to determine undo hardship by the employer. The key is whether there is an actual disability for the Human Rights Tribunal to decide upon.

If this is not able to be done through a disability, the artbritration procedure is next on the validity of the policy itself. In for cause testing (reasonable cause and post incident training) this process is valid under safety sensitive workplaces. 

After a provided lunch Charles our National Treasurer spoke to us about LAPP and the fight Alberta went through to keep the plan as is. There is a similar fight underway in Quebec over the same or similar issues. The need to market CUPE in the social fabric has been underway in both the west and the east. He used the Calgary campaign that dealt with the (Local 38,37,709) campaign to highlight the jobs done in the City. The current involvement in the election campaigns across the country. Charles highlighted the union/conservative heightened involvement in the municipal elections and to me has hinted that while this process is important it will be different going into the next set of elections as groups like the Manning Institute are also planning on involving themselves in the municipal political process.

We broke off to a workshop on Drugs and Alcohol in the workplace.

Local 69 - Finished Bargaining. Was able to secure a 3 year deal. Was able to secure 2.5% each year. Also improved boot allowance.

Local 338 - Kelowna had some issues and they went almost immediately to a strike vote. 94% Strike mandate is currently dealing with a mediator. 

Local 342 - Very good relationship with the employer. In the 3rd year of their 4 year contract.

Local 374 - Currently in Negotiations

Local 386 - CUPE Family Gives back is a coalition to foster political action with the community.

Local 389 - Currently in a Strike in one of their subs. Also bargaining in other subs. Very involved with the help of the National and CUPE BC on the political front.

Local 399 - 500 members of outside workers. Have been battling the employer for some time. 

Local 402 - Had some subs that were on strike and others where a contract was resigned. City has built a new city hall, 2 new pools and the Local should grow to around 3000 members.

Local 403 - Has many auxiliaries who are not protected by the contract. Also had a frustrating time bargaining with the employer. Went to mediation and had a hard go with requested concessions. 815 days from the contract expiring the Local had a contract. A poem was read which was really well written. I wish I would have recorded it. It received a standing ovation.

Local 500 - Still working within a 4 year contract, and making strides at protecting custodial and golf course workers who are being attacked. The President also spoke about organizing some contracted workers that were being shamefully paid for swamping work at very low and non-regular wages.

Local 709 - Reported on the Coalition which helped with a four year deal. Talked about the campaign to highlight the CUPE work force.

Local 859 - Spoke about being bullied by the employer. A IEBW President was hired as a manager and they have had multiple digit grievances. Reminds me of our Local.

We finished the day off with a social dinner provided by the conference. The food was great and the service I must say for the week from both Hotels was wonderful. I would like to think it had to do with the standards I like to see at all hotels, but I think it had more to do with the Jazz Festival and the sold out situation of all of the Hotels. I have been to a few Western Municipals and while this one was good it wasn't the best I have been to. With the numbers provided by the Locals so far, we are perhaps one of the more successful bargaining teams at this event.

Western Municipal Conference 2014 Day 1

Western Municipal Conference 2014

Thursday June 19, 2014

CUPE 342 - We were welcomed to the Saskatoon WMC at the Radisson Hotel. As we went through the package I noticed that the room was full of familiar faces, and some new ones. 

The CUPE Saskatchewan president Tom Graham caught us up with some of the Sask issues he is dealing with. What is so evident from an Alberta perspective is that the issues are either being rehashed or we are in a province where when Alberta went right, Saskatchewan went left. It is frightening but interesting on the directions they are going.

Jordana Feist, a National Researcher spoke to us about "Building Better Communities". Starting off with a progressive look on revenue, and how a stall in wages for most have also stalled the tax income generated by municipalities. What was unclear was what income levels Jordana was speaking to when it comes to the comparisons of high income earners and everyone else. What was also unclear was what area of society could be taxed based on good environmental impacts and bad impacts (parking taxes, road tolls, etc.)

Jordana talked about identifying what communities need and how we are going to be able to pay for it through progressive taxation. I didn't quite understand but look forward to asking her is the shroud that looks like progressive taxation that actually on inspection is more of a regressive system. In my opinion, regressive taxes, where a pay per use or locked in fee for use seem to affect low income earners more heavily than top earners. I understand that paying for municipal wants and needs are difficult when you consider the way in which Federal taxes as well as Provincial taxes are shared. Adding another layer of taxes, can be problematic for the low to middle income earner, since in many cases they are locked into their geographic locations.

Jordana made some great points. But we quickly moved to the next speaker. 

Mark Janson spoke much about the attacks on the defined benefit pension plan system. He started out in the public pension system with OAS, CPP, and then talked about private pension & saving agreements. Private plans include workplace pensions, RRSP's, and TFSA's. He went into the differences between Defined Contributions and Defined Benefits, with the new Shared Risk or Target Benefit plans recently introduced to the pension markets. Most alarming being retroactive changes to Defined Benefits where past promises can be changed when converted to a Target Benefit plan. Like those in New Brunswick.

While questions were short, Mark Janson had to leave on a flight after a few Saskatchewan based questions that related to the current state of the plans. In short the presentation was more about education about the facts and a testing ground for the prepared rebuttals that CUPE uses to fight the ideological battles being fought on the political front. The presentation was to be emailed to the hall if your interested in the PowerPoint please contact the Hall. 

After a supplied lunch from the Radisson we started into the Local Reports

Local 15 - 18 Different Sectors in the Local. Many different areas involved in bargaining. I looked at the website and was impressed witht the layout. This local has a grievance committee, something the Executive have been discussing for lightly but never managed to proceed with. 

Local 23 - 2500 Casuals, they are working towards recognizing their accrued seniority.

Local 30 - Epcor Bargaining is underway. Northland Bargaining is complex with the stadium change. Huge increases for Fort Sask for a 3 year deal (5%, 2.5%*, 3%) 2014-2016.

Local 37 - Reported on the world of Local 37 and the negotiations as of now. Also talked about an arbitration that deals with medial marajuana.

Local 38 - Explained the bargaining coalition. Took the lead in the Coalition towards the last contract with the City. Also talked about the latest assault case in which the Local won their case against the City.

We then went straight into the last speaker of the day. Niki Ashton, MP Churchill, Manitoba. A past CUPE member who has been at the parliament fighting as an NDP against issues from the PC government. She talked about the current actions of the PC government that has in her words been "rammed through parliament". Her speech touched many areas of the actions of the current government. It would be hard to explain the entire speech, but from my feeling this was a well crafted NDP speech. Niki went from Oil Pipelines, to TFW Program, to overthrowing the Harper Government. I wonder sometimes if we are arguing party politics or if it has just come down to a government that is more driven to pass party promises than a government that listens to its constituents. I think it is a bit of both.

Case in point, the NDP are against the embridge pipeline. I can't see a scenario where they ever will. According to the NDP website, they are set to reduce the use of fossil fuels completely. Which is a great project to try to achieve. In the world we live in, Oil is energy and the world needs lots of it. Alberta might never be ready for the NDP politics, with the jobs that revolve around our Oil. I always wonder what the argument is on the other side of the country when the price of Oil is down. The whole premise revolves around sustaining jobs and keeping money flowing. As it sits right now with the dollar as it is that manufacturing is down and oil production is up. I am not sure I could be in politics. The big big picture of the problems we have right now, make it difficult to deal with the smaller real problems our current situation has us in.

I was happy to hear from Niki Ashton. When I look at how she got where she is now I am impressed at her drive. From the polls it looks like she is only getting more and more popular in her riding. Which is impressive considering she used to be a CUPE member and now she is part of the NDP trying to expose the real changes that are coming down the political pipe. She inspires me to be more than I am, and perhaps could be down the road. 

We broke out to our workshops. I was allotted Pensions and we were tasked with a Pensions problem. It was a good workshop but it wasn't my most favourite form of education. To be honest with you the turn out this year for the WMC was not superb. We have less than I expected but the overall event has proven to be worthwhile so far, as the speakers are open to questions, and make sound arguments in their messages. Saskatoon is beautiful and when it isn't raining the location we are staying is really great visually and central to much of what we need while the conference is going.

We have a social tonight and as networking goes I am hoping to make some good connections with the Locals across the West.

The bargaining process and MEBAC

Strike Mandate

Last week our sister Local 38 voted 82% for a strike vote. Which is great to hear considering we are in a coalition and the city needs to know that we are prepared to walk the line. I'm expecting the City to come back with a counter offer and then we can get on with a ratification vote.

Depending on what side of the fence you sit on the results from Local 38 are mixed. Twenty five hundred people voted which truly is impressive. If you consider that at the peak the Local represents higher than 4000 members. The problem of physically casting a vote is not lost on those inside executives. Our own local will have a handful of sights to cast a vote, but with over 100 different meeting areas, it will be up to the members to make their way to the voting stations.

I have always from my first days in the union wondered why we can't just use technology to reach the members. I can say we are getting there, but with every advancement also comes the technology stragglers that are not comfortable with the changes. I can say that in my lifetime there will come a day when an application running on a phone will be in existence that will reach our members. I can't say when this will happen, but with the way our members are spread out I think it will be a necessity in order to keep in touch with the membership.

Which brings me to our vote coming up next week. It is vital to our bargaining process that you show up to our voting locations. While my hope is that the ALT direct the bargaining teams with a new offer. That ratification may need to be boosted with the show of Local 37's mandate to Strike.

If you are worried about what a strike means to your immediate bottom line. Let me help you first by explaining this process. A strike mandate tells all sides of what the final outcome will lead to. If the bargaining team is offered a deal, they will bring it to the membership to decide on acceptance (ratification). If we decide not to accept, then the clock start. Essentially at this point either the employer locks out the employees or the employees go on strike.

If you have a concern over things like: Mortgage/Rent, Food, Bills... you should go talk to your bank about deferred payments, lines of credit, etc. You may need to dig into your savings, or even ask for help from friends and family. You may to consider the need to go to the food bank. Strike pay is not a lot of money when you walk the line.

If you are worried about your safety because you will be asked to cross picket lines you should talk with your employer about their plans on ensuring your safety while at work. Our coalition covers all of the Locals involved in the bargaining process. Crossing a line destroys solidarity and the rifts that strikes cause are felt for years down the line. In my calculations a strike will cause huge logistic issues with the corporation and may result in cascading failures across the board. Just in terms of CUPE Local 37, 38, 1169, and ATU a strike on any end will put a huge pressure on the Management Exempt ME teams. It is unlikely that only a handful of emergency issues will be handled by these teams and band-aid solutions will be the method of choice until a resolution is found. I for one have been training ME and Engineers in the chance of a strike and I can tell you for most part these teams are not excited about the new duties assigned to them.

If you are asked to do other members work, you need to remember what we are fighting for. If history is any indication it is highly likely that after a deal is struck with our members, higher wages will be assigned to ME positions (Calgary Herald Article).  As well we are also fighting for non-unionized employees who for most part take their wage increases through the hard work done by unionized employees.

7% over 3 years it what is being offered. With the bulk of the increases happening at the last year. You have to ask yourself... If you are the reason for 4% increases in taxes this year why are you being offered 1.8% in 2014? You have to ask yourself... If the cost of living is around 3% why are you being offered 1.8%? Why can Enmax get offered 3.5% x 3 years as a Utility but the other Utilities are offered less? This is crazy deep argument that many of us fail to have because we are too busy trying to live in this bustling City. In many cases you will be asked to read between the lines because all of us have varying levels of responsibilities when it comes to these issues. The Corporation will say this is too expensive, the Media will use this to sell newspapers, the National Union will try to get the best deal for the members, and you will be in the middle trying to figure out what 7% broken down over 1095 days means to your own life.

What you need to remember is that in the coalition the first group to sign will probably set the stage for the rest. I thought that Enmax would have been that domino, but it seems the as the sole owner, The City of Calgary, they have decided that Enmax is somehow different. If I concede to this thought, and somehow agree that they are in fact different. Is 7% fair? To me this is close to fair, but it needs to rise about 2 - 3% to be what the market in Alberta can and will bare.

Personally I would like see the percentages spread out more evenly. I would also like to have a conversation on why we even talk about percentages? A compounded 3% increase is vastly different on $40,000 than it is on $100,000.

MEBAC

On another note the Municipal Employees Benefit Association of Calgary (MEBAC) is having their Annual General Meeting at Fort Calgary this week. This association covers the other side of our perceived wages in the form of benefits. Negotiations with the City have been not going so well and if you think that you're working with the City because of the benefit package more than the wages you should consider going to the AGM June 18, 2014 @ 5pm in Fort Calgary.

We are having a difficult time with the City when it comes to our new agreement and your questions should be addressed at this meeting. I know you have very busy lives, but I have yet been to an AGM where full quorum is met. The importance of this meeting is tiered. You get ask questions, you get real answers as well you get a document that goes over just how much money is spent on the benefits with the City of Calgary. Current negotiations have stalled to a point where it becoming difficult to find middle ground. The City would like you to pay more for your benefits, in fact substantially more. A good showing at the AGM would be a great way to let the City know our benefits are important to us.

I won't be there because I am on a plane to Saskatchewan in the afternoon, but these meetings are very important to me and if I could have changed my flight I would have. Perhaps one day we will be able to listen to these meetings streaming on the internet. Either way I think it is vital that those who can go be there.

Coalition Bargaining Update

For those who don't know, tonight is the last general meeting (official) till the September meeting and we have much to go over.

If you are not aware we are in our cooling off period with the employer before we can legally take a strike vote to see if we have the mandate from the membership to go on strike.

Our sister Local 38 is doing there vote this week. For the laymen out there Labour Relations has very specific rules on how we can go on strike or be locked out and if you are ever wondering what they are please contact me directly. It would take too long to write it out right now.

Tonight we will talk about the looming strike vote and the particulars surrounding the bargaining team. I wish I could talk about it here but having this in print poses some problems since I learned many years ago Labour Relations themselves reads this blog. Besides that there are rules on bargaining in bad faith and we just don't want to go there.

The meeting is going to be long. How long? We start at 7pm, and I don't think we will be done talking about bargaining until at least 8pm. With the other issues on the table I can see this being a very very late night. Make sure to eat something before you come.

Make no mistake we are on track to take a strike vote soon. Like our counterparts from the inside workers we need to know that you are either onside with the current bargaining talks or if you are not. With Enmax signing 10.5% over 3 years it would be foolish to think that number is far off from realistic. As it sits right now the offer on the table is below that number. How far below? Come to the meeting and find out.

At the very least find out some information about all of the rumor you are hearing in the field. At the most you will be more aware than ever on just how we got here and where we plan to go.

The process of contract negotiation is a migraine on paper, but is designed to be fair and unemotional. You may feel angry just reading that we are taking a strike vote, but you should also be aware that the Employer has aligned almost all of the major union contracts to expire at the same time and that time is right now. If you ever want to chat about the complex nature of bargaining come talk to me or visit the hall and book an appointment with a full time officer.

See you tonight.

Mediation has Failed...

Attention City Workers. Both outside and in. Our Local 37 bargaining talks have as of Thursday failed. Which means we are steps away from taking a strike vote. There is a process that is being followed and while we are not officially on Strike. It is looking like we may need to drive home a point that a booming economy and our City in the middle of it can not expect to role back wages, that need to at the very least see cost of living target being matched.

Now don't panic yet. We knew the City was going to play hard ball on the finances. They have too many Locals up at the same time and in order to play the bargaining game we knew they would be tough this year.

That being said. ENMAX has signed for 3.5% each year for three years. It wouldn't be out of the question to expect the same from the sole beneficiary our beloved Corporation the City of Calgary. We know this is possible, the City of Calgary has decided to try to convince us that the economy is just not that hot right now.

I know that 3% increases were not what you were looking for either, but I have to say compared to others it is around the norm in Calgary.

Job Steward information meetings at the Hall are set for May 26, and 28 of this year at 7pm. If you want information that your fellow employees will be asking about those are the meetings to attend. If you are not a Job Steward we can fix that.

Otherwise the next general meeting is June 10, 2014 at 7pm at the Hall. I can guess this will be one of the main topics for discussion that night.

A strike vote is a complex matter that I wish I could get into on this posting. Either way we are heading in this direction. Local 38 is in a cooling down period and I can surmise we may be soon to follow.

Update

I have been stupid busy these last months. I wanted to let everyone know that I haven't forgotten about this site. CUPE Alberta has been on my plate these last few weeks and I am trying to catch up. It has taken a year for me to start to understand how the provincial division works and I am starting to feel comfortable but also backed up with the deadlines.

The City is changing as well. If you don't know we are in bargaining right now and headed towards mediation. Which for those of you who care about negotiations is a big deal. I am not on the bargaining committee but it is something that is on my mind considering just how many unions are negotiating at the same time.

The National and Province are heavily dealing with Pensions and a connection campaign called "Unite for Fairness". Of course they are trying to get locals who want autonomy to just release Local information. Of course this will fail. I am hoping that someone up top figures out that if they just developed a facebook app, members would come to them in droves. Live and learn it is something that will always be in the back burner. Connecting the front end with the back end is always a struggle.

I will be redesigning this site for a few reasons. When I figure out how you will be the first to see it. Fusion tables are on my plate at the moment and it will probably have something along those lines.

A lot is going on right now and I will take a moment later this week to elaborate. The biggest ask I have is that you phone your MLA and tell them the Pension legislation is a problem that they do not need to fix.

Think Tank

This week the Executive had their two day Think Tank. It was a pretty good team building moment and I it gave me a look into how the next year will go. I am looking forward to the 2014 year and hope that people will get more involved considering this is a bargaining year and quite important.

2014 CUPE Alberta Division Convention

This week marks the 64th Annual Convention for the Alberta Division. I as Recording Secretary I will be busy all week making sure everything is in order. This will be an interesting convention. A new treasurer will be elected along with new GVP, all the AVP's are up and we will be electing a Young Worker VP and Diversity VP. After this convention the executive may look entirely different.

Three Minutes Thirty Seconds

If you click Here you will get a peak behind the PC MLA's. The interview is pretty normal but what interests me is what happens from the 3min 30sec part of the interview. The union pension issue is a huge one and if you think your MLA may be on the fence you might be right. When Donna Kennedy-Glans went Independent yesterday she had an interview with the CBC in Calgary over the radio. It is an absolutely bare look at what is going on behind the scenes in politics. Whatever you believe the truths are her comments on caucus ring true in many situations. To me this shows that the pensions debate may be stronger now more than ever.

Next Step VP.

Friends and Co-workers. If you are reading this I need you to see if you can find some time in your busy lives to come down to the hall this Tuesday. Why? Well it has to do with an election, and I would sure appreciate if you came down to support me in my run for Vice President.

If you were one of the 33% that returned your ballots, you know that we had an election where I ran for Treasurer. After loosing to George (who I wish all the luck to), he has by his success caused a vacant position which will be filled tomorrow.

I would like to fill that role, but I don't want to split votes. I am asking members to come down and join me for a meeting where the first order of business will be to elect a new Vice President and a new Exec-At-Large. Both are one year terms.

I know many of you join in the conversation through this site and through the web. For me to win, I need a few of you to come down to cast a vote. What can happen is 30 people show up, 6 people run and someone wins with 6 votes. I don't want this to happen, but it can. Please take some time, and come to the general meeting on Tuesday and vote for me or vote for someone you might believe in. These votes do matter, and I hope after tomorrow to be back on the Executive.

See you on Tuesday. Tomorrow. At 7pm.

Fusion Tables

You may have noticed a new map on the blog. I am dabbling into fusion tables. My goal is to upload all of the data about our Locals locations and who is affected. Then hopefully I will be able to make an interactive map for our members to access and see just what information is happening at any given moment.

2014 Election Results.

676 voted.

Congrats to John MacMillan our New President, George Carnegie out New Treasurer, and Sam Basi for Sargent at Arms. We also have two new Exec at Large, congrats to Lara, and Dustin Withers. They will join Jody Sallans as Executive Members. Here are the numbers. 

75 Kevin Galley

140 Peter Kaufman

184 John MacMillian

93 Don Monroe

176 Cyril Wilson

207 George Caregie

175 Scott Cush

52 Charles Hanmore

94 Alonni Pednault 

10 Denis Theoret

308 Sam Basi

137 Dave Knudsen

165 Mark Langlois

48 Ozzy Reid

361 Lara Petrella

269 Jody Sallans

136 Dayffdd Urqhart

194 Batista Verardi

207 Dustin Withers

One Week To Go

I just want to thank everyone that voted, either for me or against. Next week at this time we will be going to tally those votes and find out who is going and who is staying. I hope I am staying but whatever happens the next day I will be going on a bus to Edmonton to protest our Pensions. If you want to come vote, please come in on the Saturday, and stay until the end. I think we are either going to the Blackfoot Inn or the Shamrock for some drinks afterwards.

Get those ballots in on Monday or Plan to come in to vote. Or don't do either and hopefully we can figure out a future more reliable way to keep you involved.

Till Saturday.

Water Services Job Posting - Field Trainer

Right now is the time we see many of the posting for positions that the new hires and the rehires subsequently will miss out on. One of these jobs is mine. I thought I would share the document here. Field Trainer for Water Services.

It is the top rate for us non-trade, Local 37 Positions. If you like showing people how to use Fall Protection, Confined Spaces and Atmospheric Detectors.... APPLY

Mail In Your Ballots. It is worth it.

With 1950+ ballots mailed out, not everyone has received them yet. Please make sure that you mail in the ballot as soon as you can. It is important that you have your voice heard. If you haven't received them yet, the address you provided the City or the Hall may be incorrect. Call the hall to verify your address and if you did miss it, come into vote.

With 6 people running, every vote can help work out to the vote split that can occur. Because we don't have a 50% majority rule, if everyone voted the winner could win with as little as 330 votes.

If you consider our history with mail in ballots, we have been slowly increasing the turnout but we could see as little as 900 returned. We hover around 800. Creating a potential win with as little as 150 votes. I think you get my point on the importance of your ballot. You will make the difference.

Take the five minutes to mark some X's and we will know who has won in beginnings of March.

Pension Town Hall in Calgary

IMPORTANT

Local Authorities Pension Plan (LAPP)Town Hall Meeting
on the Government Attacks to Your Pension
Hosted by Marle Roberts, CUPE Alberta President
All plan members, spouses/partners are urged to attend this very important meeting on how we can fight the changes to our pension plans.
WHEN: Thursday February 13, 2014 7:00 P.M.
WHERE: Clarion Hotel & Conference Centre 2120 – 16th Avenue NE
Calgary, AB
PLEASE ATTEND – Your Pension is at Stake!

Good idea, lots of candidates, just missing members.

When the political forum was proposed it was a good idea. For the most part almost every candidate showed up for the event. In the end 3 members and two full time officers showed up to watch the event unfold. We had a National Representative to moderate, coffee brewing, seats set up and in the end it was all cancelled. It was a good idea in principal but we face the same issues that everyone else faces. Time.

I am a big believer that we could have used technology to our advantage in these cases. Recording the event and streaming it is an option that allows the members a chance to be part of the process keeping in mind their busy schedules. That is what it comes down to. Scheduling our lives and our locations to come to an event like this is difficult. When I started this process I thought about using multimedia and now more than ever I am a bigger believer.

We have been spending money upgrading the hall and in the next few months I plan on bringing forth changes to make the process even more accessible. If you need an idea check out our twin Local to the North. Local 30 in Edmonton has an awesome website that we should be striving for. Local 1169 in Calgary has used simple email mailing lists in order to reach the membership. Our Local should be paving the way in showing how to reach all of its members. University radio stations like CJSW go as far as recording the events and posting them on their website for future review. In a fast paced world, we need to think about not slowing down our members, instead we need to catch them during their down time, whether that is when they read a text, or check out their social media sites, or even in the form of cataloged data bases.

I know people are not used to twitter, or facebook. Our website is not used to its absolute potential but in the end I believe we need to get in touch with our membership in better and faster ways. Political Forums are great, but people have to be there to hear them.

Remember to please mail in your ballot. They will be counted in March.

The 2014 Political Union Forum

Saturday is the day we all come together to listen to the candidates. Hopefully

Make sure if you are wondering who you are going to vote to come out and ask the candidates your questions. I am looking forward to the forum and hope that many of you show up.

Starts at Noon and goes for a couple of hours.

One thing of note, I received my mail in ballot today. Which was supposed to arrive on Monday. The idea was that people could come to the forum and then when they received the ballot they would be more informed. If everyone else got the ballots, I hope they take the time to come out to the forum to see who is running.

One month to go, lets all get those ballots in.

I wanted to apologize to many of you I have not been able to see. Water Services is having a manpower issue and I can't seem to get out of my area. I have been locked down at the fire department training our fall protection and confined space courses. I did manage to get out to the plants but the business continuity (or strike backup plan) is in full swing. I wish they would just realize that no matter what plan they put in place, a strike on any level will paralyze the city.

See you tomorrow.

CUPE Alberta 2014 Pre-Convention

I spent the weekend in Edmonton with the CUPE Alberta Division Executive. While the the weekend went well will be busily preparing for convention in March and that means preparing all of the work that needs to be done by everyone involved.

We talked a bit about Locals that have disaffiliated or stepped back and Locals that are new members of the Alberta Division. The politics of any situation are interesting and will be bittersweet. Optics of any situation can be different between the Locals and the members and so too can be different at the Provincial and National level. Disagreements and cooperative situations arise and as they do so comes the discussions.

I remember when I first learned that for every dollar I give to my local over 50% of it goes to affiliations such as national, provincial and union friendly groups that help fight the constant battles that unions face. I was at first unhappy with the level of money that was leaving the Hall. In the first year of my time at the union meetings I was ready to disaffiliate from the AFL, stop giving to the Aspen Foundation and downloading much of the the projects on to the National Rep. I didn't know what everyone did and I definitely did not see past the membership on some of the bigger issues.

I'm not saying there isn't some areas that I would change if I could. I am constantly pushing for more online meetings, using technology to our advantage and reducing our need to travel large distances physically for short meetings. I would love to see a more frugal spending model for our conventions, and reorganizing our financial labour relationships by encouraging more affiliations. I have many ideas of how to make sure the money spent at the Provincial and National levels is done so with greater oversight. My opinions are normal and many share my insights. Yet until you get to the Provincial and National stage you never know why a group does what they do. If you ever want to know why we don't reduce in some of these areas, just ask me and I will bend your ear off.

One of my first conventions was when we had a Division Executive that wanted to buy Airline vouchers for the President so that they could use them for the travel that was required for various meetings. At the time I was against this because I thought that the President should be in Alberta, and that Alberta was full of great roads that could be traversed by car. Later I would learn that the President of the Local is also the Regional Vice President for the National Executive Board. Many duties of the board are to travel to the east to conduct business and sit on committees. Now those flights were paid for by National, but many meetings in Alberta are happening where travel by car is just too tight. I was not able to see the importance of such a motion in the bigger picture, and for that I learned a lesson.

I think it is important to realize the duties of each level of CUPE and follow through with the appropriate expectations. For instance if I have an idea to fight against privatization, my Local will expect that the National will help support it financially. When the Government puts forth bad legislation, it is up to the Province to attempt to speak with the Minister and elaborate to anyone who will listen that the Legislation can be better for the people with out the changes.

Often these lines can sometimes blur, and when that happens a measure of temperance is important. When I first started into the workings of CUPE I was surprised at the human factor. We tend to forget that there is a person or people behind the policy papers. That under the good intentions we have regular people behind the scenes who have made mistakes and have their own ideas on union trajectory.

In the case of Provincial affiliation I understand the reasons for it, but my suggestion is to fight the urge to leave. I have to ask myself are we leaving for the right reasons? What benefit is there to leaving? If we leave is there a means to reopen the dialogue with the group if we reconsider? Sometimes the people get in the way of the priorities, when that happens communicating these issues is vital to repairing the human relationships. When you think about it we need the people behind the policies, and in order to fight for Labour, we need to strengthen our Labour friendly affiliates.

Who should you vote for?

Bio

Starting in 2001 as a Labourer for Sewers (Now Water Services), I knew little about the City. Starting in storm infrastructure in Bearspaw, I was transferred to Manchester where I spent the next few years on the cleaning machines, helping out with the boiler, flushing trucks and trouble. Eventually I switched to weekends where I made the choice to go to a union meeting. That's when my union life started. I wasn't fed up, I didn't know what to be angry about. All I knew was that a percentage of my cheque went to this group. What I found out was overwhelming.

After my first union meeting, I was overwhelmed with the procedures, the motions, and the issues. It wasn't until later when I joined committees, ran as an executive member and started really diving into the structures of CUPE, and our relationships with the different departments.

It took a while to get over this but around 50% of the dues that come off my pay go east to our National headquarters. Those funds keep the National Reps employed, fight legal battles, support committees, fund projects, support affiliations, and much more. At first glance as a member the air is sucked out of your lungs. CUPE is the biggest union in the country. After some time you realize just how large the organization is. However I am pretty sure I will never know the true scope of this labour giant.

Our local is pretty large too. With about 3000 members at our peak season, we pail in comparison to the over 600,000 brothers and sisters of the National body. We hold our own though. Local 37 is affiliated to organizations like the provincial division of CUPE, the AFL, labour councils, institutions. We sit on joint committees, where more of the complex items like MEBAC and recycling organizations in order to make sure we are at the top of our game. Keep in mind we also employ 3 office staff through their own separate union, and share offices with Local 8, Local 709 and offer up our hall to members for rent and the city to train employees.

You might have heard about our sister union Local 38. The inside workers are aligned currently with our own bargaining coalition where we and other civic unions are making sure the City is bargaining fairly.

I learned that even though we have many members, we are from very different departments, and cover basic labouring to plant operation and many trades. We even found through the JEQ that we had employees that oversaw the work of other 37 employees, and even disciplined them. It was a wake up call for me as our Local truly is full of many different kinds of workers, with lines that have been graying for years.

If voted in, my hope is to not only respect these differences, but also align areas that don't seem to be operating the expected ways with our Collective Agreement. I want to know that in the end your needs and the needs of the union are met.

I am not a spender by practice. I make sure my finances are in order and I am married to a beautiful woman who I love and respect. I am not into overspending and will highlight issues I see with the finances. That being said I do believe in the importance of educating members and fighting labour issues on different fronts. If you ever want my opinion I will give it and I will take the time to listen to any of your concerns.

You should vote for me.

Now that I have that out there, let me tell you why. As for everybody else I will leave that up to you.

I'm here to enforce the Collective Bargaining Agreement. Period.

You may not realize that all of those side deals your co-workers are doing now are hurting other guys down the road. Perhaps it may even affect you. As a union officer I will be on top of the enforcement of agreements that corrupt the integrity of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). The agreement isn't perfect but it does provide direction on specific areas. By keeping the departments accountable, we keep equality among the membership.

I am union educated. And I will continue to educate myself.

Believe me that this is a never ending process. Labour has a robust history. We have multiple agreements that work with the CBA. We always hear about changes that we need to keep on top of. Whether you agree with education, or differ I have taken advantage of the opportunities in order to help the membership out by bettering my understanding of the environment that we live in.

Eventually I was accepted into the Canadian Labour Congress - Labour College. Only a select amount of students are accepted from every union affiliated we all met in Port Elgin, Ontario. The 4 week course was amazing. Split into two weeks, the course is intense. I was able to meet very interesting people who both challenged me and supported me as we went through this process together. At the end of it you come out stronger than when you went in. I was fortunate to be a part of that form of education, and with your help I want to apply it to our union.

Education is a part of the Labour movement and I am committed to continuing the education in order to serve you my fellow members better.

I've been climbing the ladder. This is the next rung.

When I got a job at the City, I thought I knew about the union. After waiting a few years, I stepped into the hall expecting to see a smoke filled parlor. Instead I found friends from many departments, all there for very different but vary similar reasons. I started as a Job Steward, took many courses, was then elected to be an Executive-At-Large. The process has changed me and I know I am ready for the position of Treasurer. Last election I put my hat into the ring for the Recording Secretary. I wasn't successful Locally but it had prepared me for my current Provincial role of Recording Secretary. I really feel as if I would be good for the role, but have also come to the conclusion that I would also do well as the Treasurer. When I spoke with Rich Dalke and found out he wasn't running again, I knew that it was time for me to run.

I am fully committed to providing your union based needs. The position of Treasurer is much more than the title. Successful applicants will have to be comfortable in group settings, know how to speak with authoritative personalities, understand the collective agreement, follow the will of the membership, be passionate about issues that deal with Labour, and the struggles of the membership from both the floor and in the field. In fact I am fully ready to offer my time to deal only with the needs of our union CUPE. I have been going to schools, and applying what I know.

I won't loose sleep over this election.

I know I am the best candidate, but I know those that I am running against will have my support if they are elected. I ask that you figure out what you want in an officer. Not to say I haven't made mistakes along the way. I am confident that I am ready. The union is a large body and I am not striving to advance for the sake of it. I am interested in Union issues and understand the pressures that officers are expected to undergo as full time officers. I have a healthy life, and will with your support give my all to this position. 

We have a forum on Feb 1, 2014 at noon. Afterwards you will get a mailed out ballot and I encourage you to cast your vote.

Defined Benefit Pensions

I am 34 years old. I have a long way to go before I retire and currently in my life I keep hearing this buzzing in my ears. Everyone keeps saying that my defined benefit plan is unfair to all parties involved. I have this bile stomach that keeps finding a way up my esophugus every day I hear about this. Why? Because Pensions are unfair. There I said it. It is a benefit program that benefits a specific party. Our Canadian Pension Plans are multi-faceted and covers a lot of territory. Most have CPP, some of us have been investing in RRSP's and for a select few comparatively to the general population there are company pensions plans. Combined they create a wealth structure after work is complete. For some extremely wealthy individuals a pension is just one of many income streams, while for others they are scraping by on the handouts of strangers. My father wanted me to have a better life than he had.

The common bond among those crying in the media is that of financial bankruptcy. Pensioners are seen as living of the avails of others, and to that I say... what?! I work and I pay just under 50% of the required investment into the company pension, and it pays for knowledgeable investors to sustain a return on the investment. I invest in bank RRSP's and they also invest the money with I might add much larger fees comparatively. The pension is set up in such a way so that when it comes time to retire, I will choose a plan that will pay a specific amount of money based on many factors, and it will do it until I die. In the mean time I will work and let those who invest monitor the funds. Never have I said I would like to defer my payments because I need to pay off my house, or other debts. I work and I sleep, and the hope is that one day I will be able to play. Why is this an unfair pension plan? Well because according to those who feel everyone should shoulder risky bankers making risky choices that all of us have to pay for when they fail, instead the defined benefit is structured so that the payout is the same and adjusted for inflation and costs of living. A guaranteed wage that employers and employees shoulder when times are tough.

Over the many years the defined benefit plan was derived from plans offered to highly paid individuals. Many of whom could live on far less demanded that in their contracts a retirement fund would be set up and properly funded. When they retired, the "Golden Parachute" that was packed for them would carry them into their late years. It was a good idea. The labour force said <I'm paraphrasing> "This is something we should be able to have as well" and for some they were allowed the opportunity to be a part of these plans. In return they would pay more upfront and understand that their benefits package would in turn be the deferred value to taking less money or less profit sharing. It was a choice that carried through the years. Though times were sometimes tough and amortization was required to make up losses in the investment markets. People paid more,and for some companies, the extra required money to fully fund the plan was at the time too hard for them to swallow. They deferred payments and promised to return to funding the plan at a later date.

Knowing that markets change the hope was that the losses would be covered or at the very least allow for a pillow to cradle the fall of fully funding the plan. Peoples memories are short and now that pension funds are not fully funded, instead of topping up the plans instead an "emergency" must be declared and austerity measures should be put in place to get a hold of this financial crisis. In other words, people are living longer, less babies are being born to take up the burden of so many boomers retiring, and instead of properly funding pension plans like our predecessors promised, were are just going to say that was then and this is now. Lets move forward.

Except they aren't changing their own retirement plans. They aren't even in the same situation as most Canadians financially and they don't want to look in the mirror. They are doing what every human being does, they are protecting their interests by affecting others.

I know people are living longer and quite frankly it changes the dynamics of what pensions were designed for. It is a valid argument to say people should be allowed to work longer. Don't mandate they work longer. I also see what happens when a retired employee starts collecting a pension and comes back to work as a consultant without resuming to pay into the plan. The system has some weak parts. The goal should be to strengthen the system not dismantle it. Except there is no middle ground here. Pensions are unfair when some have them and some don't. They are representative of peoples wages and in a system of vast differences in pay pensions can seem quite extraordinary compared to their neighbor. It's why we tried to make the government double the CPP contributions. Pensions need to start taking into account the system we live in is as much a social responsibility as it is a capitalistic engine. We need to start seeing that when a person can't live a healthy life, they stress the social structures in far more destructive ways then if they could live with dignity.

To all those people who don't have a defined benefit plan please understand. My parachute isn't golden, it is built one paycheque at a time. It is more of a quilt and put in place as an idea that properly managed shows foresight into a system that uses money to make money. I want to contribute to society and I have chosen a life that won't make me filthy rich, it allows me to contribute to a society that is far stronger when it circulates money among middle class purchases than by philanthropic high income barons who couldn't spend the money they make in two lifetimes. I would rather we all could depend on a livable income when we can no longer contribute to society in a meaningful way but until people stop reaching for the impossible dream that we can all be filthy rich, and start realizing that the greatest wealth in life is a healthy one full of rich meaningful moments where we grow together.

The money that I retire with will be reinvested in the City I love, continuing the theoretically never ending cycles of capitalism. <long breath with long sigh> But I digress.

4 Corners of the City. Respect.

Driving 140km today around the City was just the tip of the very large pool of members. I am hopeful that I can get out to the other areas. In the next couple of weeks you will be seeing a lot of posters and a lot of defacing of those posters. I already saw one of mine defaced, and it wasn't too bad considering. For me that kind of hatred doesn't affect me too much. I would like to ask though if you see someone ripping off a poster or vandalizing the document, remind them that we are not in elementary anymore. While I won't be pressing for repercussions, they should know that the City is pushing the Respectful Workplace Policy with greater strength and frequency.

Yesterday was one of those days, where the Corporation was flexing a muscle. Lately many of the departments are issuing P239 (Discipline) that cover the full range of over the 37 reasons that we document. I'm going to speak about the Respectful Workplace Policy.

The policy means well on paper and is a good practice overall. In the office, the language is quite different to that in the field and it will take generations of change in order to see this change. I always seem to see the look of complete bewilderment when a Local 37 member is brought in for the Respectful Workplace Policy. The corporation sees the policy as a black and white construct and the application is not what you think. We think that respect in the field has more to do with our actions than it does with our language. A language that boils our words down to the concentrated abrasive cussing that would not be tolerated in other surroundings. The concussive swearing becomes normal and as such the field is not affected the same way that the corporation would like to admit.

If anything, please take time to search the policy, and realize that members are having to deal with the ramifications with no real methods of fighting the discipline. Not to say that it isn't impossible to have a defense, it just works much like our clause 5.11. Winning this can be extremely difficult.

Thanks for tuning, in I hope to have fairly regular updates as the election closes in.

East Calgary Landfill and the Bob Bahan Aquatic & Fitness Centre

Went to Bob Bahan Aquatic & Fitness Centre and while I was there I stopped into Ernie Starr Arena. Very nice facilities. I am hoping to build on my visit lists every day. I do wish I had stayed and chatted a little longer. I was quite rusty introducing myself to our member at the pool. Hopefully he goes to this blog and take some time to check the election out. Absolutely no one was in the arena, and I think they were all in a conference room. If they got my poster, sorry about missing you, I wanted to touch base but you helped me for round two.

At East Calgary Landfill there was actually a union wall in the lunch room and I managed to get the poster on the wall. What made my day was an old article I wrote that was underneath the posters. I am glad to see some of my previous words were at least posted in the light of day. Maybe no one will notice the poster is on top of the remnant article.

After my first lunch of this, I think I will instead focus on hand delivery of the posters. Maybe even bring some muffins.

If you want to know where I am going to be next I am setting up a calendar on google. Should be sharable with anyone who wants to see it.

The election is a go. Many candidates to choose from.

Brothers and Sisters we have an election. I am running against 5 other candidates (previously I had said 6) and I look forward to getting my name out there for the vote coming up very soon.

As you can see by the list below. Each position will have a good election. Lots of issues to speak about and I know many will work hard in finding their space in our Local. Follow the race here for coverage, join my facebook group at "Scott Cush for CUPE 37" and follow me on twitter @scottcush. 

Good luck to all that are running. I look forward to a good clean race. Here is who is running. Sorry for any spelling mistakes, it wasn't intentional.

President (5 Running)

Don Monroe

Cyril Wilson

Peter Kaufman

Kevin Galley

John MacMillan

Treasurer (6 Running)

Frank West

Denis Theoret

George Carnegie

Alonni Pednault

Charles Hanmore

Scott Cush

Sargent-at-Arms (4 Running)

Dave Knudsen

Sam Basi

Ozzy Reid

Mark Langlois

3 Executive-at-Large (5 Running)

Dustin Withers

Jody Sallans

Dafydd Urquhart

Laura Petrella

Bastista Verardi

Trustee

One Position was acclaimed.

It is official.

In the next few weeks I will be all over the City passing out posters and talking with members with one goal in mind. To listen to the concerns of Local 37 members.

I am running for the position of the Treasurer of Local 37 and with that title comes a lot of other responsibilities. I take this position very seriously and hope that my time involved has helped craft my experience and established strong ties to issues that effect all of us.

If you see me handing out these posters or putting them on the wall, say hello and chat with me. I am looking forward to seeing as many sites as I can in the next month.

Thanks to everyone that has supported me and to those that don't know me, please take the time to say hello.