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Spring/Summer, 2017 Volume 7 l Issue 27
UNIFOR LOCAL 6004 The Membership
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1. Clerical Bargaining
2. Making Ontario Fair
3. New Stewards
Membership Meeting
4. Labour News
5. Softwood Lumber
6. Local 6004 News/Contacts
In This Issue:
With Bell Clerical bargaining expected to start in September we will be in the midst of negotiations before we know it. At this stage in the process we have completed the first few critical steps in the Bell Clerical bargaining process. On April 19th we voted on Local 6004’s proposals, set our Locals priorities and elected Local 6004’s Bargaining Caucus. On May 24 – 26, Derek MacLeod & Robyn Robbins met with the nine Bell Clerical Bargaining Caucuses from Locals across Ontario & Quebec. During this three day meeting in Ottawa 30 people from Locals across Ontario & Quebec met to discuss and vote on the items we want to see addressed when we start bargaining in September. These 30 people had some very productive discussions and had to make some difficult decisions during these three days of meetings. The Local Bargaining Caucuses from Ontario also had to elect their three Bargaining Committee members. So representing Ontario at the next round of bargaining will be; Derek MacLeod, Simone Sladkowski & Bobby Pearsall. The Bargaining Committee members for Quebec will be; Veronique Figliuzzi, Hugues Perrault & Steve Couillard. These six people will support Josephine Petcher & Olivier Carrier from Unifor at bargaining. We will have a very strong group representing us at bargaining with diverse backgrounds, experience, and knowledge. There will be periodic updates as we get closer to bargaining and the first formal communication from the Bargaining Committee will likely be after the Union and Bell have exchanged their demands. Once formal negotiations commence, weekly updates will be sent by the bargaining committee. These will be posted on our web site and sent to members’ home email address.
Bargaining Update
Bargaining Update
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Making It Fairer For Ontario
Years of organizing, mobilizing, lobbying, rallying and working with community partners has culminated with the introduction of sweeping new changes to the laws governing work in Ontario. On June 1, the Ontario government introduced the ‘Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act’ (Bill 148) in response to the realities of increasingly more precarious work and the public call for stronger rules that protect workers and a higher minimum wage. The new changes will help raise the floor for all workers, particularly those who are most overrepresented in precarious work such as women, young workers, workers of colour, workers with disabilities and those from newcomer communities. Unifor has been at the forefront of pushing for major legislative changes to address the nature of work today, through the government’s Changing Workplaces Review. The more than two year Changing Workplaces Review examined both the Employment Standards and Labour Relations Acts with the stated goal of tackling the growth of precarious, insecure work. Its final report was issued on May 23, 2017, containing 173 recommendations for the government to consider. The new legislation would include:
An increase to the minimum wage to $14 on January 1, 2018 and up to $15 on January 1, 2019.
Card check certification in the home care and building services sectors, as well as for temp agency workers.
Equal pay for part-time, casual, seasonal and temporary workers.
New provisions around scheduling that require employers to pay workers for three hours, in the case of a cancelled shift.
Increasing proactive enforcement of the Employment Standards Act and higher fines for employers who break the law.
An expanded definition of employee and employer to prevent the misclassification of dependent contractors. 10 days of Personal Emergency Leave for all workers, including two paid days.
This is a significant victory, but it is not over yet. The new act has only passed first reading and will soon move to committee hearings over the summer, where Unifor members will have the opportunity to present and urge the government to move quickly to enact the new legislation. Derek MacLeod & Veronique Prevost from Local 6004 should be participating in these hearings when they occur over the summer. Unifor will also continue advocating for three weeks of vacation for all workers, paid leave for domestic violence survivors and card check certification for other sectors dominated by precarious work, such as retail and fast food. When we are successful in winning positive changes for workers, these new laws could serve as a model for other provinces and federally-regulated sectors like Bell Canada.
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In May, Local 6004 issued a call for steward nominations to represent the
members on the 7th floor at 160 Elgin in Ottawa. The call yielded eight
nominated agents, five new stewards and three continuing on for their second
three year term. Here are the stewards acclaimed to their positions:
Chirine Refai
Philippe Cadieux Michel Bailey
Marie-France Gaudreault
Robert Orme James Oliver
Richard Levesque Oscar Gahire Habarugira
Thanks to all for stepping up to the challenge. We hope that everyone will join the Local in supporting them as they take on this new role.
NEW STEWARDS ACCLAIMED
There will be two split General Membership meetings to be held on Wednesday, June 28th
Both meetings will be held at 160 Elgin, in the basement conference centre,
room B-16.
Meeting times will be 12h-13h and 16h30-17h30 Both meetings will follow the same agenda.
NOTE: Bell ID card is required to gain access to the basement conference
centre
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Capital Pride
Unifor and Unifor Local 6004 has long been a proud supporter of the LGBTQ community and will once again be joining the Capital Pride Parade scheduled for August 27th. If you would like to join Local 6004, and other Ottawa area Unifor Locals at this year’s parade please contact [email protected] for more details.
Health Care User Fees
Unifor is calling on the federal and provincial governments to put a halt to the practice by clinics of charging user-fees for necessary health services, as found in a ground-breaking new report by the Ontario Health Coalition. In this report, the health coalition found evidence that at least 88 clinics in six provinces have been charging patients extra user-fees. “We expect our governments to uphold the law and defend our right to accessible medical care, where cost is not a barrier to treatment,” said Unifor Health Care Director Andy Savela. “Health care should never be a money-making venture,” said Unifor National President Jerry Dias. “The growth in private clinics is undermining universal accessible health care.
LABOUR NEWS Universal Child Care
Canada’s unions are welcoming the Ontario government’s commitment to a universal approach to child care and say the federal government must do the same.The Ontario government has announced a renewed Early Years and Child Care Policy Framework that pledges to make child care more accessible and affordable to all families, including a plan to invest in new child care spaces and a pledge to grow the non-profit sector.
The federal government is expected to release details about its own National Early Learning and Child Care Framework soon. This year’s federal budget pledged $7 billion over 10 years for early learning and child care.
“The goal must be affordable, inclusive, high-quality child care systems across Canada,” said CLC President, Hassan Yussuff. “We also need a workforce development strategy that addresses wages and working conditions, as well as recruiting and training.”
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The re-introduction of duties on Canadian softwood exports will endanger upwards of 25,000 good jobs in nearly every region of the country, according to Unifor.
“Workers on both sides of the border will be the losers of a trade war,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. “Tariffs on our lumber have already been squashed. The Americans should have learned their lesson the first time.”
The U.S. decision to impose countervailing duties on Canada’s softwood lumber of roughly 20 per cent, along with a second round of duties expected in June, will have devastating consequences for Canada’s forestry industry. Unifor estimates that, if the re-introduced tariffs are left un-checked, softwood exports to the U.S. will be cut in half. Conservative estimates suggest a 25 per cent combined duty could yield a loss of 25,000 jobs.
In 2002 the U.S. government imposed similar tariffs, but international trade tribunals have consistently over-ruled American duties on Canadian lumber. While Unifor is confident that the new U.S. duties are illegal, it can take years for appeals to be resolved.
To curb irreversible damage to Canada’s third largest export industry, Unifor says that the federal government must act swiftly to implement loan guarantees for Canadian mills and federal assistance for affected communities.
“For now, the top priority has to be protecting good Canadian jobs and to cushion the blow to our communities,” said Scott Doherty, Executive Assistant to the Unifor National President.
To protect these jobs Unifor is acting quickly to develop an action plan to reverse the effects of these duties on Canada’s $6 Billion worth of softwood exports to the U.S..
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Good & Wellness If you or someone you know is retiring please contact The Good & Wellness committee so that they can arrange to deliver a gift of appreciation from Local 6004. If you know a member in need of assistance from this committee please feel free to contact the committee by email to the following address. [email protected] Upcoming Dates Local 6004 Executive Meeting………………………………………….June 27th General Membership Meeting…………………………………………June 28th Capital Pride Parade………………………………………………………August 27 th
Contact Information ADDRESS 130 Albert Street, suite B2,
Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5G4
PHONE 613-565-2004
FAX 613-565-2003
WEB SITE www.unifor6004.ca
E-MAIL [email protected]
TWITTER @unifor6004
FACEBOOK Unifor Local 6004
President, Derek MacLeod [email protected] Local Health & Safety Committees (Bell) Peter Mackey (Co-Chair) [email protected] (BCE) Gilbert Soudir [email protected] Employee Assistance (24/7) 1 (800) 387-4765
Bell Benefits 1 (888) 391-0005
LOCAL 6004 NEWS
