2015 CUPE National Convention

It has been a long day, but this will be the norm for the next few days. As we flew out from Calgary, we arrived with just enough time to visit the hotel and register for the convention. This year much of what will be available in paper is available with a new CUPE multi-platform app. Downloading it on our tablets and phones, we can now see attendees, message them, and set up our days schedule. Even in its infancy the application is a good addition to the conference.

After registration we sat and listened to Municipal Sector concerns, and the facts as they progressed is that we have mobilized in various provinces, but there are waves of similar attacks on many of the municipally funded systems. Provinces alike told stories of strikes and public service sell offs are still taking place. Water, Pensions, Infrastructure has been a common thread in the last few years. There was a long presentation on Pensions told us about the different but similar methods employers have moved to attack Defined Benefit Pension structures. We also listened to a report from a resident of Greece. He spoke about the austerity and ground level movements that have pushed back on the constant buzz of corporations proposing to take over these public services that have been struggling with the current crisis in Greece.

In Vancouver it is raining, enough that the complimentary umbrella our hotel offered us has been a godsend as we walk back to our hotel to check into the hotel. While I won't be in this room for much of the convention, I am grateful our Local has sent me here. It is a ocean side room, 16 floors up and less than a five minute walk to the convention floor. 

The Pension meeting was held in the same room as the municipal sector conference. Mark Hancock started into the meeting with the common strategies that employers take when attacking pensions. It was much of the same information that we had to deal with in Alberta. Good information as there are people in the room that have not yet had to deal with this attack as of yet. We moved into a Pannel discussion, on the issues of how to fight successfully on Pension scrums. 

Monday

While today was mostly procedural, we did manage to approve reports from the President, and Treasurer of the National. What we found out through the Presidents report is that the world of CUPE is full of active labour disputes complete with short to long strikes. That these strikes have been important in the resolution of the disputes, and that the right to strike is necessary in the process of bargaining. We also found time to think of those that CUPE lost since our last convention.

We were able to also discuss and go over the resolutions put before us. The resolutions were for the Monday Constitutional in nature and we were able to make changes with very little debate. The constitution will now have the code of conduct placed inside the constitution. We have also changed language to be more inclusive and changed the trial procedures to have more teeth than previously written. The floor was very good in highlighting the problems with the trial procedures, and it was quite eye opening to see a local similar to our own size deal with the trial procedure at a cost of over $100,000. They blamed the process on the vagueness of how complaints are acted upon. We also added the opportunity to go to mediation before the trial procedure.

The day was quite long as after convention business we went through the election procedure, This year we see a few candidates running for the position of President. Fred Hahn from Ontario, and Mark Hancock from BC. The two candidates are very good at sharing their views, speaking to members, taking positions and on paper both candidates are close on many points. After listening to their answers it became evident that both are running on short notice, and have fallen short on some of the needs of the leader of CUPE. I imagine that we will have a new leader who will be taking many french lessons and will be involved in a potentially rough transition. The good news is that both are GVP's on the National Executive Board and have a history on the workings of the Union.

Currently there is no one running against the Treasurer which for myself is disappointing, but it will make for a very short election and I anticipate that we may see quorum lost on Friday due to a large exodus of Eastern Provinces. We have 1200 members registered as of credentials and 600 of them look as if they are from Ontario, 300 from Quebec and the if they leave I don't think we will see quorum for long. Diversity positions were also up and those running for positions came across as scattered, and of those RVP and GVP positions it looks as if all of the positions are being re-offered by the incumbent except for Alberta.

After the election forum, which like many before it felt very scripted was filled with text book answers, and I can say that I would feel comfortable with either candidate if they won. Mark whether his appearance or his demeanour comes across as a little closed and represents based on logic. While my feeling from Fred is that his has the ability to access more emotional levels among the workers present. Both are strong, both can take questions and craft them to the needs of the moment. For myself this comes down to trust and actual numbers present.

Our Alberta Caucus was a packed affair. Like before we were given a meeting room that barely fit our needs and the emotions in the room were once again palpable. We were able to hear from Fred first and then Mark. We were also able to take some time to ask questions. It was clear even before going into this caucus that Fred was not going to be the strong candidate in the room. Fred handled himself well considering the questions and with the time he was given to decide to run for the position. There were many factors going into the decision to support Mark, and while I don't think we had much discussion on the issue, we did choose the candidate more on the politics of the situation than for who was the better candidate. While I am comfortable with choosing Mark, I don't think the room was entirely comfortable with the ideals built on caucus choice. With the way we left it we will be supporting Sister Marle for GVP, David Graham for RVP, Mark Hancock for President, and Charle Fluery for Treasurer.

Before caucus choice we went over an educational on C15. A resolution that deals with building the strike fund and also funding the defense fund. Probably because of a recent move towards removing the waiting period to access strike funds. We will be voting on a method to put triggers in to cover the strike fund if it falls below 50 million dollars. While the mood is positive towards making access quicker, there is also a feeling that it is not a unanimous movement. In Alberta at least there was some fear on creating these triggers as we sit in situations where the strike fund might be drained due to the many contracts that could require these funds over the next few years.

I finished off the night a 8pm. Leaving the convention facility for some needed food. I had a very good conversation on the convention with fellow CUPE Alberta members and made my way to bed early the following day.

Tuesday

The theme today is speakers, and committee reports. Again we model the days events to have a resolutions based closely to the committee that prioritized the resolution. I was very pleased with just how well the resolution flowed. One comment would be that almost all of the resolutions as they were written could have been dealt with at the NEB level. Seeing how there was almost no debate from the con microphone. In the previous day we dealt with a list of resolutions that also included some fresh 900 series resolutions. 901 was set up as an omnibus to refer constitutional, and general resolutions for referral to the NEB. While many of these resolutions may be contentious, and most resolutions that do not pass on the floor migrate to the NEB anyways, I think some of the referrals would be better discussed on the floor and decided by the membership. What I am unclear on is if a referral to the NEB is a properly moved referral process when convention is in place and what will be of the other resolutions that are not specifically referred to the NEB.

The speakers can be found (here - Provide Link).

There were also moments worth noting. Resolution 299 spoke about opposing a policy on carding in law enforcement agencies in Canada. 300 spoke about racial profiling. I can't see how some of these resolutions could fail. They are based on the premise that people deserve the benefit of the doubt and are treated as innocent instead of guilty. I have never had to feel demeaned. I am glad they passed with the discussion that was allowed.

Charles, and I toughed out the day on the floor till the end to stay and listen to the resolutions. We had a member that was having a rough day, and I hope they were able to get to a clinic. The full time officers were not unanimous but had decided that our group did not need to stay until 6pm. I'm sure there was some important issues that the rest of the our group had to handle, but the idea that we could leave early was one that I could not feel good about. I would like to say that I do understand that the day was a long one, almost as long as the day previously. Long days are part of this convention. It is not for everyone and I think we should look at this as we decide who is allowed to go to sanctioned events. I consider being sent to convention a privilege and use my youth to my advantage. Perhaps we should look at what the expectation is on members sent to convention and if they should be expected to sit from 9am to 6:00pm with a two hour lunch. 

I can hope that the group will be able to find forgiveness for me as I make a calculated risk in re-booking my flight at my expense. From a look at the numbers I think that we may not be able to maintain quorum on Friday.

I shut my participation down this evening, instead going to bed early. I missed the dance, but I will be ready for the Alberta/BC event next evening and be fresh for the elections tomorrow.

Wednesday

The tone has changed today. With elections on everyone's minds, both Mark and Fred have ample supporters passing out information.

We started out the day with a continuation of the strategic document. A document that makes it clear that CUPE will be turning more to internal needs of the organization. Pushing the organization towards staffing issues, specialization, potential reorganization of the national body. It seems that with the changing of the guard we are also making changes to how we proceed. With so many contracts potentially up for negotiation, I feel as if we are returning to our roots and concentrating on more political fights.

The election of the next president happened on the mark. While awaiting for the results of a brand new president, we spent the time reminiscing over Paul and shared in many video and personal thanks. While I am not to fond of spending time waiting for election results, it was a good way of saying goodbye to Paul.

With a vote of 1239 for Mark and 908 for Fred, it was going to be a close race either way. Fred will likely still stay as the GVP representing Ontario and Mark will be taking quite a few trips across Canada just commuting back and forth from BC. Elections are pretty exciting and it was kind of nice being on the winning side. Alberta had chosen Mark, mostly for political reasons, but  after listening to him, I am sure he will be able to hold his ground and the ground work laid by CUPE.

After lunch we were able to honour a member Danny Cavina for the Literacy Award. The NEB member had been for many years pushing issues of literacy in his province. He will be missed as he will be heading up the regional Federation of Labour.

The afternoon was a mixture of committee reports, resolutions, and elections. There were mostly very dry very easy resolutions for the floor. At times, we had some good debate, and resolution C15 which did manage to pass reassigned new triggers in how the National funds its Defense Fund. The only Con voice was from Calgary, who was able to I think try to bring a rational explanation to a very emotional decision. While it is clear that the Defense Fund has been underfunded in the past, the feel of this resolution was not to raise per-capita or devise better ways at awarding monies. Instead the floor felt confident that the trigger in place was one that could be manageable in order to divert funds in a responsible way. 50 to 80 million dollars sounds like a lot except when you look at how much pay can go out during a large or long strike.

The evening was spent at Steam Works pub. CUPE BC and CUPE Alberta made sure everyone had a great time, Mark had won, BC and Alberta made sure to enjoy the moment, it was a good time had by all.

Thursday

Looking at the resolutions coming forward 301 is on the schedule. Also C7 speaking to adding DVP members for the NEB. These are finally the most controversial. It has only taken days of slam dunk resolutions but I think we will see a few of the only resolutions to be debated on the floor. Up until now we have been a part of a process of obvious choices, and while they probably should have been decided by the NEB, we have made some small choices in the future of the organization. What will be interesting is the timing. It seems as if these resolutions have been made towards the end of the convention business of the day. We should hit these around 4:30pm

Again committee reports and resolutions mixed in with speakers and awards are filling the day. We finished the Election process this morning by reinstalling caucus choices for all of the NEB members. While it was mostly a formality, all of the selections ran unopposed. We finished the morning by continuing the strategic document conversations.

Over Lunch our Local members took part in the Rally held outside of the convention centre. It wasn't the best attended, but it did feel a little manufactured. We supported the Leap project that tries to tackle climate change at this stage through the upcoming Paris conference. We spent an hour supporting the gathering and left when the message shifted towards a more musical section of the protest.

 Naomi Klein spent the beginning of the afternoon speaking to us about climate change and how it is a union issue. She had a great set of points but I think overshadowed her arguments that we must move as far away from oil as possible. I think Naomi is taking a very hard stance, on the issue. She showed pictures of off shore oil tankers sitting in Seattle with hundreds of plastic kayaks. I wish climate change looked at the processing of oil as a part of the current energy cycles instead of the big bad dirty oil project. Plastic is still primarily made from the product and investment into renewable energy will take time. I think what is being said is that without some sort of larger intervention, climate change will continue as the easier forms of oil collection continues to fuel the needs of those who use it.

The rest of the afternoon was talk over a bunch of general resolutions. It is so nice to see people speak about the issues that mean so much to them. I am watching as we discuss these issues, various Pro speakers line up for the impending 301 resolution. It is cleaver but also defeats the purpose of free standing microphones. The mic muffins are respectful and I considered standing at the Con.

Resolution No 301 (Covers 304, 305, 307, 313, 314, 315)

CUPE National Will:

Eliminate the waiting period for strike pay and provide strike pay from the first day of the strike.

The union hall managed to get 9 Pro and 9 Con speakers through before testing the house. Both sides were logical, emotional, of sound mind, a little bit of fear-mongering. In the end we had to do a standing count. With a tiled doors the floor did the business of the convention on this resolution. I have never had to do this in National but it was done in a quick and decisive manner. The process took just over an hour from start of the debate to a decision.

Total Cast - 1639 votes

In favour - 802

Against - 837

The vote was so close, the issue turned out to truly be divisive. While I wasn't a fan of just how the vote was taken, it was done as calmly as it could have been in the environment that it was done in. What you could see was curious is that the credentials committee confirmed just over 2200 registered. With the 50% mark for quorum being set around 1100, if we have members who have left already for home, we will only be able to loose 500 delegates before we loose quorum on Friday.

The final day was very interesting to say the least. My prediction that we would loose quorum by noon was accurate. What wasn't predicted was that we had very productive lobbying for resolutions that were very split.We had a situation previously where a standing vote was contested after the fact. It was pointed out to the membership that if there was any questions about the vote it should be done before the results. Which is what it was. The vote concerned a added group of positions that would be added to the NEB. While it was close, the motion did fail on the floor.

I would like to thank the floor for sending me to the convention. I get quite a bit from the process and enjoy every minute I am allowed to be a part of the convention. While I am not totally convinced that everyone who we sent had attended for the right purposes, it was a good show of democracy considering just how important this convention was to the make up of CUPE.

I would like to just put on paper that the National Executive Board is by far the most powerful board of CUPE. The resolutions like conventions before were organized in such a fashion that omnibus situations will squash many movements to make big changes to the makeup of CUPE National. To make my point there were over 50 resolutions from many different directions placed in one super resolution. I would like to point out that by doing this the NEB will with one vote make very different choices in the direction of CUPE. I would be hard pressed to say that it will pass.

The Proverbial Sick Note

Just and FYI.

For as long as I can remember if you were going to miss work due to illness before a holiday you needed to bring in a note. It was what people did and they did it knowing they would not be paid without it.

Until now.

Local 38 challenged the practice and won making the new practice the same any other missed time due to S/A event. Like before if the absence is deemed suspicious they have the right to ask for a doctors note. For the rest of us we don't have to worry about going to a doctor just to get paid for the holiday. This is a real win that I hope you share with those working around you.

Resignation to the CUPE Alberta Division

Today I resigned my position of Recording Secretary to the CUPE Alberta Division. Entering into my second term, I was on track to being more ready than the first time. Or that was what I thought.

I may dive into the details later . As I write this my Resignation letter is waiting for the Division Executive to open their email. I have included what it said below.I have included it on my blog for my records. I have quit so few projects in my life this decision was very taxing on my mind. While this was one of the hardest choices I have made, it was also obvious when I laid it out on the table.

I am sure I will comment on this further when I realize what I wake up tomorrow

Sent to the CUPE Alberta Executive Division Via Email

October 27, 2015

Effective immediately I will be stepping down as Recording Secretary for the Alberta Division. I have experienced a significant change in responsibilities at work, my family life has had a wonderful and time enveloping baby girl, and because of these two factors my CUPE time has been reduced back to my core Local levels. I have tried avenues that I believed were viable but admit I am without any more options but this course.

While I have had a wonderful and challenging time with CUPE Alberta I have been unable to get ahead of the workload of the Division. I have been behind on various tasks for months and with my current employment responsibilities have been unable to continue in any effective capacity.

I had hoped to catch up and pass these duties on to someone else at the 2016 Convention. I had attempted a motion to catch up through my backlog but it was unsuccessful. I was aware as to just how much time I had asked for, as well understand the difficult nature of the request. The Division Table Officers felt the preferable solution would be to delegate my role out to the Executive. I had thought about delegation and know this would be better done without me. I never took on this role to delegate my duties out to others.

I will miss the issues, and the drive to a better more socially responsible Alberta. I will miss the people who share the CUPE drive to do more for the cause. I wish you all the best, and hope to keep the connections I have made with you. I thank all of you that had supported me, and apologize for this resignation. I have quit very few things in my life and this was one of the hardest but most logical decisions I have ever made.

There will be a transition period that I will try to assist and will help where I can. As of this message I have some odds and ends to complete and the process of transferring information and supplies will proceed. I will forward all emails to a Division designate and I will forward all Division documents to the President or designate. The Google Drive has been taken offline as instructed by the Executive, and all CUPE Alberta files have been placed on a USB Drive which will be included in the returned documents. I am scrubbing my emails and removing personal items off the computer, when this is compete I will have the laptop returned to the Division.

I would like to apologize for the backlog and delays this may cause those who have to work on my duties. While this role is mostly administrative, I am sure the Division Table Officers will assist whomever is delegated these roles.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact me at my personal email address scottcush@gmail.com.

Sincerely,           

Scott Cush

Smoke in the Air

We have been dealing with bad air quality this week in Calgary. I thought I would take some time and tell you that our Union won an arbitration, that deals with another type of smoke. I am hoping to print the document online for your reading pleasure. This has taken us many years to wade through, and the employee had to deal with much of this in a labourer capacity. I am glad to see it resolved and I am even happier that in this case we won.

The case dealt with a worker in Roads that was prescribed medical weed for treatment of pain. While he did not hide his use, HR took steps years ago to remove him from what they described as a safety sensitive positions and treat the Federal legal prescription with a Municipal policy contradiction.

While we are still in talks over compensation throughout this process, the scenario is important because historically the Corporation has relied on the Substance Use Policy as a heavy handed vehicle to not only remove users from substance uses issues by sending them to addiction facilities, but it also dealt with the potential litigation and tuff mitigations required when employees were potentially in safety sensitive positions operate equipment where legally the corporation could be exposed.

The meat of this situation is important, so if I can publish or link to the decision I will.

Orange is the New Blue

Election Results from:

Election Canada.

CBC Results

It was very close. Congrats to everyone that ran.

New President is...

Congrats to Cyril Wilson. Our new Local 37 President for 2015.

Election for President

Some of you know already that I am putting my name forward for CUPE Local 37 President. If you have been on my website you will see that our last President had to step down.

Some of you also know I have just had a baby girl and my campaign took a seat behind this event. Needless to say I am still interested and believe I have the training to take on this role. If you do as well please come and vote.

I would like to encourage everyone who would like to cast a vote for President to please come to the hall tomorrow evening. Naturally it would be great if I got your vote, but for me it is about democracy and your vote does matter in these issues. Due to our bylaws this position will be filled at tomorrows meeting instead of the regular elections in March.

Meet starts at 7pm and I hope that you can make it. I think perhaps maybe 4 people will run in total, but because it is off the floor I am not sure who will be coming forward. Thanks for your time everyone and I look forward to seeing you tomorrow.

Running for CUPE Local 37 position(s).

In this 2015 election I will be running for the position of Assistant Sargent-At-Arms and Executive-At-Large. I'm excited to try to stay a part of the Executive, but admit at the time of the election I will be a father, and a super new one at that. If allowed I will stay on the Executive and keep all of you up to date.

Last Year I ran for the Treasurer and nearly won. I lost by about 40 votes. George has been a good fit for the Treasurer and I am glad he won. At the time, I ran for only one position because I wanted people to know that I really thought it was the right move for me. It resulted in me scrambling for the Ex-A-Lrg position that was vacated by our now President. This year the position of Recording Secretary is up and while I was going to run for the position, it has come to my attention that another member (who has more time in the seat than I) is running. Instead of running against him, I will run for two of the lower ranked positions. It would be great if you could support me when the votes are sent out.

I am also running for the Recording Secretary position that I currently hold with the Alberta Division. I am looking forward to it, and am proud to run for the position.

*** UPDATE ***
The position of President is up for election in our Local. I am putting my name forward. This is a different kind of vote. Members will need to come to the hall to cast their ballots. I encourage you to take some time on Tuesday Feb 10, 2015 to come and cast that vote.

CUPE Alberta Recording Secretary for 2015

Provincial Brothers and Sisters,

I am running again for the Recording Secretary of CUPE Alberta and I would like your support to continue. In this last term I have learned so much and if elected again I look forward to working towards changing some of our structural composition. Of course I will still move forward with what matters to our affiliates decided by you at convention.

It has been a great two years for me, but it has been a difficult year overall. With the pension fights and floods we also still face educational issues, an even more conservative government, the aftermath of temporary foreign workers and the list goes on. I have felt supported and I have learned so much from the different kinds of structures of the Locals throughout the Province. Since my role deals more with records and structures, I can say that I now better understand the Division.

There are a few hurdles I would like to talk about that challenged me in this role.

1. Our communication structure. 
2. My views on the reorganization of the current roles.
3. The workload of the Division.

My oversight of the administrative level of the Division has shown me the limitations of utilizing censored communication from Locals. To make our current system work we have always worked with the regional and area offices to coordinate updates and due to privacy rules it seemed to change the way we could share information. We spent the next year and a half finding a solution, but the situation created a problem for how information could be shared and how information was designed to move. For months we were catching up, and still are. I am happy to say that thanks to an authorization form completed by the National Reps we are back on track. I think we can do a better job at transferring and collecting information, and I think it is vital in keeping current with today's issues, and restrictions on collecting data. It comes down to what form of communication is appropriate and can we introduce safe ways to get information out faster.

 

One of my little pet projects was developing a workable database partially separate from CUPE Regional and digitized for keeping our members informed. It was a lot of work, and I am still constantly working on it, but it has allowed me to stop asking for information, and my hope is that soon it will be so robust we could use it for not just mail-outs, but perhaps as an email list, or with permissions as a text list. With services provided free through companies including Google we have merged calendars, kept information within the executive positions, and my hope is one day incorporate online video conferencing where we can get real time meetings across the province. This technology exists today and used responsibly with our current communication styles can help the Division achieve goals faster, and more economically.

My wish is to be able to email all you (or at very least the Presidents) information and allow you the option of printing the document or just reading it on the screen. I know this isn't always possible and for some Locals it is not available. Our overall mail out could be done differently saving time, money, and delays in information sharing. Turnaround times can be done much faster by embracing email, our website, and other technologies that could be used across the Province.

Our structure puts an enormous expectation on the executive but primary responsibilities fall directly on the President. As a table officers I find like many of you that I am very busy trying to find time to do Division tasks and co-ordinating schedules has been at times difficult. The Division is an important factor in keeping labour friendly values instilled in the Province. The Division President must be in touch with the current pace of politics, our issues, traveling itinerary, keeping in touch with Affiliates, and Labour organizations. Add to this the connection with the National functional roles of the NEB and we have a position that pulls our only full time position in various directions. The executive is comprised of a diverse group of all very worthy but also very busy activists with their own Local issues on top of the Division. All of whom operate on a volunteer model for goals that I believe are worth fighting for but take sometimes hours that they just don't have.

In practice our executive act as hubs for distributing, collecting and deciding on information. Four executive meetings a year is not nearly enough anymore to get Division decisions completed which puts these decisions on the table officers. At this stage this is fine considering what processes are in place. However a more involved executive is better at keeping the affiliates involved.

We have had some email polls, and varying levels of success through doodle polls to include the executive. If the executive want to be more a part of the in-between decisions that are handled by the table, I would suggest that we change their roles, and increase meeting frequency by including them in email polls, video conferencing, and conference calling. Meetings don't always have to be in person as the table regularly meets over the phone. I would prefer to see us doing more video conferencing and believe that it is possible with some changes to our structures.

What I found from the information database about Locals is even though we might like getting phone calls and talking one on one, this method was difficult these last two years. At the time of writing this contact information was more available than the last year.

Now I don't believe in just email, but when it comes to setting up meetings, deciding on issues or basic information updates we should consider email or online forms. We can save time, and still gets the message across. We have been doing announcements through emails, our website postings, as well as help from our National Reps. The Area VP, and Alternate Area VP have become one part of the communication process and their roles could be evolving into much more.

I was very happy to see our President's move to the Edmonton regional office. Now the President is centered it makes sense to use the CUPE administrative staff more openly. This letter you're reading is being sent through Edmonton and I am very grateful for the staff in Calgary who helps with the printing of the affiliate's packages. If I look at the constitution many of the tasks I am responsible for would be suitably done from the area office. Perhaps we should consider this as the Division evolves and the expectations increase. Indeed these are conversations to have down the road to strengthen the Division further.

My Local knows all too well how much more dependence management has on the employees they rely on. My largest roadblock with the Division has been my day job. When we transferred to Gmail accounts it was not only for the protection and storage of correspondence/communication, but a way to also shelter the executive from working on Division business while at work. I'm just as guilty as my union executive in how I do Division work in my random down times and breaks. I know there will be times in the next two years where I will be behind on my responsibilities. I can only say that this role is like many in CUPE, far more involved than advertised, and dependent on managing ones free time.

Thank you for your time, and I look forward to another convention, on the executive or on the floor. Thank you for the last two years. Let’s do two more together. If you would like me to expand on my ideas, or have comments please feel free to write me or call me. I am always happy to have a conversation about the Division inner workings.

In Solidarity,

Scott Cush

President has stepped down.

Just a short entry tonight. It is official that as of tonight Local 37 president John MacMillan has resigned his position as President. Our Vice President Cyril Wilson will take the reigns until a new president is voted in next month. I wish John all the best as he deals with family issues.

I thought worth mentioning since next month will be quite a big meeting considering the election of this position before the March elections.

How to get your Green Shield Health and Dental Premiums from your HeathSpending Account

UPDATED January 8, 2014 - Look for the ***

If you are like most of procrastinators you haven't yet tried to get the remaining Health Spending Account (HSA) from your yearly $300 total be used to pay for your Health and Dental Premiums. As long as they are not Level 1 I am going to show you screen by screen how to do so. Many users of the plan in either level 2 or 3 dental or extended health don't do this and with very little effort you can put this money into your account to offset the premiums.

This money doesn't accumulate and every year will disappear if not used. This is the first year I have done this and considering I have been with the City 14 years I should have done this  back then. With Blue Cross it involved getting your pay advice, photocopying the sheet, blacking out everything but the premiums, and then photocopying that and sending it to Blue Cross. Greenshield has made this process easier with an online method. I went through some tough emails this year over if this process existed with the change to the new provider and I wanted to share just how easy it was to complete. For the people out there who says the union doesn't do anything for you, get ready, I'm about to get you up to $300 of your money that you have already spent back into your bank accounts.

Like me some of you are asking yourself why you need to do this at all. The reasons are more about non-taxable vs. taxable and providing a level of proof and accountability to the user. So if you have $300 or less in your account this will take up to 5 minutes if you know your password and considering doing this online. I have heard there is a way to do it through the mail, but considering you have until February to submit you should consider the web as a viable method.

*** If your benefit premiums are over the $300 amount Green Shield will roll over the costs to the next year and pay you based on your replenished $300 Health Spending Account. I'll talk about this at the end so don't get caught up in this just yet.

What you will need:

1. Online access to Greenshield.ca, 
2. An account name and password.
3. Need to check how much is left in your Health Spending Account.
4. Your last pay stub for the year (cause it has the most money in premiums on it).

First off go to www.greenshield.ca

Login. Then when your in your account click on the "Submit a Claim" button.

Then click on "Health Spending Acct/Non Taxable HSA"

Go to the drop down menu and choose what time of claim. Select "Health and Dental Plan Premiums". Click on "Next".

Go to your pay advice stub and find the advice date (which should be at the top right side of the pay stub.

Then go to near the bottom middle of the letter sized pay stub and look for Extended Health, and Dental Premiums. They are found in the After Tax Deductions. Make note of your YTD contributions and get ready to enter them in the next window.

My advice is do two separate lines, one for health and one for extended health. There are no labels for either but it will be distinguishable for Greenshield since you can only claim either of these expenses.

Choose the primary person on the form since you are the only one with the spending account and fill in the form. If any money was already paid for this (you already submitted earlier) put in the amount where I put in zero. I did a mock fill and it isn't right. Put in the date of the expense being the pay advice stub, then the total amount. I do this at the end of the year so there is no other amounts already paid.

Then Click "Next".

The next screen is the last one before you submit. Make sure the information is accurate. Click on the "Submit" button and all you have to do now is wait.

I have had very good success with those who I have shown this process so far. At the time I was under the impression this was cut off on the last day of the year but I have been told it goes into February.

For me this year I only had $20 in my account. Others have had above $200 and they recieved confirmation of acceptance shortly after they submitted.

*** In January of this year I recieved an email saying that my claim was paid and when I checked it sure enough all $300 of my Health Spending Account was deposited into my 

acount. When I had thought ther might had been a mistake the representative from Green Shield told me that because my premiums for the previous year were not totally covered our plan has a roll over clause that allows the next years health spending account to be applied to the previous years unpaid qualifying claims. What this means for you is that by your premiums (perhaps that alone) you can get paid back up to $300. Seeing that this is considered non-taxable income you are putting a little more money back in your accounts. Which in the end is a really good thing.

This should be automatic, but after doing a few of these with coworkers I found that there are variables and input that should be done by the individual. I think it is a great use of 5 minutes and at the very least makes you get online for the regular benefits that you should be claiming every year.

If this helps, let your coworkers know. It's always nice to find little pockets of money.