Category Archives: Union

NEGOTIATION UPDATE

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NEGOTIATIONS WITH GLACIER MEDIA COMMENCE JUNE 29


Victoria Joint Council of Newspaper Unions

Negotiations between the Victoria Times Colonist and the Victoria Joint Council of Newspaper Unions will commence on Friday, June 29, 2012.  The CEP (Compositors, Platemakers and Pressmen) will be the first of the Unions to meet the company to discuss their “peculiar” issues.

Further meetings will be scheduled at a later date. The Joint Council will update you once the dates are confirmed

 

Victoria Joint Council of Newspaper Unions.

CWA/SCA Canada Local 30223 (VVING)                                                                  203-2610 Douglas St.

CWA/SCA Canada Local 30403 (Mailers)                                                                Victoria, B.C. V8T 4M1

CEP Local 2000                                                                                                              Phone: 250-388-7328

Fax: 250-384-6733  E-mail: vving@vving.ca

 

 

Conservatives launch new attack on unions with ‘grossly unfair’ public disclosure bill

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CWA Canada is calling on members to help fight passage through Parliament of a private member’s bill that would introduce onerous reporting rules for unions that are not required of other dues-deducting organizations.

The Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) says Bill C-377 in its current form would be the “most costly and discriminatory bill faced by the labour movement” in this country.

Every labour organization and all unions, including locals, branches, councils, lodges, etc., would have to disclose detailed financial information, salaries, supplier contracts, loans, accounts receivables, investments, spending on organizing, collective bargaining, education, training, lobbying and all political activities. The information would be made public on a Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) website.

“This bill is grossly unfair and hypocritical,” says CWA Canada Director Martin O’Hanlon. “It’s just plain wrong to single out labour groups for special scrutiny, especially when even taxpayer-funded MPs don’t disclose full details of their spending.

“This is nothing but yet another ideological Conservative attack on unions that comes right out of the Republican party playbook in the United States. No fair-minded Canadian should stand for this, regardless of what party they support.”

The CLC points out the bill is backed by such anti-union groups as the Fraser Institute, the Merit Shop Contractors and the Canadian Federation of Independent Business because they would have access to detailed information about everything a union spends money on and allow them to assess a union’s strength. The information, provided at taxpayer and union expense, can be used to threaten collective bargaining rights and organizing drives.

CWA Canada is urging its members to contact their MPs as soon as possible to let the government know that it’s wrong to single out labour groups for such scrutiny. The bill is currently at an early stage of proceedings in the House, with debate scheduled for today, March 13. A vote would likely occur next week; if passed, it would be referred to the Finance Committee for consideration and potentially public hearings.

The bill’s sponsor, Conservative MP Russ Hiebert, conforms to his party’s now standard practise of introducing legislation to deal with non-existent problems. A slick website that has been created in support of the bill (almost certainly at taxpayer expense) contains misleading and incorrect information, which the MP apparently hopes will be believed if it’s repeated often enough.

Although he acknowledges that unions already disclose financial information to their members in accordance with their own bylaws and provincial regulations, he seeks public disclosure because of “tax benefits these institutions receive” which he has pegged at $400 million a year.

There is not a shred of truth to that claim: Unions do not receive any public subsidy. It is workers and their families, not unions, who receive an income tax deduction related to their dues. The tax treatment of these workers is exactly the same as that for dues-paying members of the law societies, medical associations or employers who belong to industry associations.

Opposition House leader Joe Comartin called the proposed legislation “a frontal attack on the labour movement” when the bill was given second reading in February. The NDP MP said it would, in fact, threaten rights to privacy, association and freedom of speech.

The strategy behind similar, but less onerous, legislation in the U.S. was that “every dollar spent on disclosure and reporting” was a dollar not spent on other union activities, said Comartin.

While the website dismisses as negligible the expense to unions to assemble and report such information, the CLC estimates it would take the average local union — most of which are run by volunteers — 200 to 400 hours annually at a significant cost to their treasuries. Some estimates say it would add 20 per cent to the current costs, and for some of the pension funds, it would require them to file returns “the size of a large city’s phone book.”

Hiebert also glosses over the cost to taxpayers, which will amount to millions of dollars to create a massive database, related materials and hundreds of CRA staff to administer it all.

What’s in a union?

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Source: j-source.ca

 

Rhiannon Russell listens in as journalists from the Hamilton Spectator, Toronto Star, London Free Press and CTV discuss unions in the newsroom, publisher influence and working for free.

Hamilton Spectator reporter Nicole MacIntyre opened the panel discussion with a tale of woe. Six years ago, her friend and (now former) colleague jumped ship for the National Post – and has never had a pay raise since. She makes $40,000 a year.

The Spectator is unionized; the Post isn’t. MacIntyre said joining the union “was the smartest thing I’ve ever done.”

Read entire story here

 

Black Press members turn down proposed contract

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Source: mediaunion.ca

Members of the Black Press Lower Mainland bargaining unit voted 128 -84 (60%) to turn down a proposed rollover of their collective agreement.

The company was proposing a four-year contract with wage increases of 0%, 0%, 1% and 2%.

Over 80 per cent of the membership voted.

The next step will be to form a bargaining committee and engage in formal bargaining with the company.

 

Talks hit impasse at Victoria Times Colonist

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Source: cwa-scacanada.ca

Union members picket outside the Times Colonist in this photo from 2002. The strike began at noon on Sept. 3, 2002 and was ultimately to last exactly nine weeks.

An about-face by management of the Victoria Times Colonist has brought contract talks with three unions screeching to a halt.

The Victoria Joint Council of Newspaper Unions says meetings planned for next week have been cancelled and no new dates have been scheduled. The impasse was reached when the employer attempted to reintroduce significant items the Council believed had been removed.

Negotiations to renew three collective agreements that expired at the start of this year began on May 1. Two CWA Canada Locals and the Communications Energy and Paperworkers bargain jointly at the newspaper, which is now owned by Postmedia Network.

The Victoria-Vancouver Island Newspaper Guild represents 153 employees in editorial, advertising, circulation, maintenance, information technology and business departments. The 35 workers in the mailroom belong to Local 30403 while CEP’s 29 members work in the pressroom, pre-press and composing.

The unions faced similar difficulties in negotiations four years ago when the newspaper was still owned by Canwest. The company at that time went into talks seeking major concessions that one union spokesman described as “total decimation.” In the end, however, they were able to reach agreement on new contracts that went forward rather than backward.

Deadline deal averts strike at Windsor Star

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Source: cwa-scacanada.ca

Windsor Typographical Union | CWA Canada Local 30553

A tentative deal reached between three unions and the Windsor Star mere minutes ahead of a Friday midnight strike deadline scored all-around thumbs up in ratification votes yesterday. The three-year collective agreement mostly preserves an enviable early-retirement provision that new owner Postmedia Network wanted to abolish. It was that stance at the outset of talks early in the new year, along with what amounted to a proposed wage freeze, that galvanized 230 union members and led to a 96-per-cent strike vote in late March. Brian Beaumont, vice-president of the Windsor Typographical Union (WTU) and chair of its bargaining committee, says these were a “tough set of negotiations given the economic times.” Postmedia, which last year purchased newspaper assets from a virtually bankrupt Canwest, made it clear “it did not want to move forward with any wage increases.” In the end, he says, “We got the best deal possible and that’s what we told our members (on Sunday).” The WTU, with 72 workers in the mailroom; the Canadian Auto Workers, which represents staff in the newsroom, advertising and business office; and the Communications Energy and Paperworkers (pressroom) voted 100, 93 and 100 per cent respectively to ratify the contract that contains modest wage increases. David Esposti, the CWA Canada staff representative who assisted the WTU in the joint-council negotiations, says the 60 part-time hopper feeders are the big winners. While all full-time workers get a $1,000 lump sum in lieu of a first-year increase (followed by 1.0 per cent in year two and 1.5 per cent in the third year), they get a lump sum of $500 plus a one-per-cent wage increase in the first year. The other major victory for the part-timers, says Esposti, is that they retain their guaranteed minimum shift of four hours, which Postmedia wanted to trim to three, amounting to a 25-per-cent pay cut. “By the end of this three-year contract,” he says, “WTU members will be making more than $17 an hour.” Esposti says the “elephant in the room” during the four days of mediation last week was the early retirement provision, which allows employees qualified to retire at age 60 to receive half pay, full benefits and pension contributions until age 65. Under the new arrangement, which is now in effect for all future contracts until existing employees have exercised their rights, retirees will receive 45 per cent pay and full benefits for four years and pension contributions for two years. In addition, says Esposti, the employer-funded pension plan contributions increase by 25 cents in year two and a similar amount in year three, bringing the total to $15 per shift. All three unions saw gains, including a night-shift premium that goes from $14.50 to $15 in year two; vision care increases $25 to $275 every two years; and sons- and daughters-in-law are now included as immediate family for three-day bereavement leave entitlement. Esposti says there were several contract language changes that benefitted the WTU and one that retained the union’s jurisdiction but gave the employer a break on overtime rules. The last two collective agreements at the Windsor Star were achieved within minutes either side of a strike/lockout deadline. This agreement will expire at the end of 2013.

Employees form union at MBS radio in Saint John

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Source: cmg.ca

The majority of employees at three Saint John radio stations have signed cards to join the Canadian Media Guild (CMG). The stations are K-100, 98.9 Big John FM and 93 CFBC, all owned by Maritime Broadcasting System (MBS).

“My colleagues and I love radio and enjoy working together,” says Gary Stackhouse, the host of the “Big John” morning show and one of the first employees to sign a union card. “We look forward to improving our working lives and making the case for better local radio in Saint John.”

The CMG has filed the union cards with the Canada Industrial Relations Board and is seeking immediate certification of the union so that it can begin bargaining a first collective agreement. Under federal labour law, a group of employees can receive union certification without a vote if more than 50% of the members of the proposed bargaining unit have signed union cards.

“We are delighted to welcome our Saint John colleagues into the Guild family,” says Carmel Smyth, national president of the CMG. “It is inspiring to see a group of workers come together and make the decision to improve their lives by joining the union. Working in private radio can be incredibly rewarding and also very challenging and we’ll be there to help this group enjoy the best of it.”

The Canadian Media Guild represents 6,000 workers across Canada at eleven media organizations, including CBC/Radio-Canada employees in Saint-John and workers at CJRC, a Cogeco-owned radio station in Gatineau, Quebec. The CMG’s parent union, CWA/SCA Canada, co-ordinated the organizing campaign at MBS in Saint John and represents workers at the Saint John Telegraph-Journal.

Windsor Star unions heading directly to mediation

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Windsor Typographical Union | CWA Canada Local 30553

CWA Canada members who work at the Windsor Star are one step closer to a strike deadline.

A conciliator agreed today, during a conference call with representatives of three unions and management, to issue a no-board report.

“What this means is that we now will skip conciliation and go directly to mediation,” says David Esposti, the CWA Canada staff representative who has been involved in the negotiations.

Mediation is scheduled for May 10 − 13, with a strike deadline of 12:01 a.m. May 14.

An attempt by Postmedia Network to eliminate an early-retirement provision in their contracts has galvanized members of the three unions, including the Windsor Typographical Union (WTU). Those 65 members, who work in the mailroom, face an additional threat in that the company wants to reduce part-time hopper feeders’ guaranteed minimum shift from four hours to three.

The WTU, the Canadian Auto Workers, which represents staff in the newsroom, advertising and business office, and the Communications Energy and Paperworkers (pressroom), on March 27 collectively voted 96 per cent in favour of giving their joint council a strike mandate.

Workers at Windsor Star give bargaining team strike mandate

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Windsor Typographical Union | CWA Canada Local 30553

Postmedia Network’s attempt to eliminate an early-retirement provision in their contracts has employees at the Windsor Star up in arms.

Members of three unions on Sunday voted 96 per cent in favour of giving their joint council a strike mandate, which could see them hoisting picket signs by mid-May.

David Esposti, the CWA Canada staff representative who has been assisting the Windsor Typographical Union (WTU) in negotiations that began in late 2010, says Postmedia’s assault on their contracts has electrified the membership.

“This is a very serious undertaking. The three unions are standing together on this issue,” he says.

The wages of the 65 WTU members who work in the mailroom are also threatened: The company wants to reduce part-time hopper feeders’ guaranteed minimum shift from four hours to three, which amounts to a 25-per-cent pay cut, says Esposti.

The collective agreement that expired at the end of December was reached three years ago only minutes after a midnight strike-lockout deadline. Standing united, the WTU, the Communications Energy and Paperworkers (pressroom) and the Canadian Auto Workers (newsroom, advertising, business office) were able to win modest improvements and made no concessions.

This time around, the newspaper is in the hands of Postmedia Network, a group of Canwest creditors who purchased the failing company’s publishing division last summer. In the runup to an initial public offering expected this spring, Postmedia has been cutting hundreds of jobs at the former Canwest newspapers.

With conciliation scheduled for next week, Esposti says the joint council is eager to get on with some serious negotiations and not waste time getting to mediation, the last stage before they can be in a legal strike position. “Let’s start the dance, sooner rather than later,” is the message he’d like to send to management.

JOB 1: 180 DEGREES

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Organizer faces monumental task of growing the membership

Source: cwa-scacanada.ca

It’s day two on the job for Dave Bosveld and he can barely contain his enthusiasm for the monumental task ahead: Help to turn around the precipitous decline in union numbers across North America.

He begins as Organizing Director for CWA Canada by blazing trails in relatively unmarked territory.

Rather than wait for disgruntled workers to come to the union, he says, his goal is to have CWA Canada be proactive and select specific targets for organizing. It’s time that things were done differently, he says: “All unions are at a critical juncture. We need to change or die.”

Bosveld, 37, has been an activist for eight years and an organizer for four. He cut his union milk teeth from 2007 to 2009 as president of a local that represents 1,300 Bell Canada workers in the Toronto area. Last fall, he wrapped up a campaign to organize 1,600 workers at a Bell Mobility call centre that culminated in an application, which is now before the Canada Labour Relations Board along with Unfair Labour Practise charges that were filed in September.

Although the “resistance from that company (Bell) was incredible,” it only served to whet his appetite. When he was made aware of the CWA Canada position, he didn’t hesitate to go for it. “Good union jobs don’t come up often, especially full-time organizing,” he says.

It’s organizing that’s going to save unions, declares Bosveld. He notes there has been a lot of economic growth, such as an explosion in call centres operated by communication giants such as Rogers, Bell and Telus, and “we’re on the sidelines.”

It is important for a union to grow, says Bosveld, not just for financial reasons, but because it needs to become more powerful.

In his experience, the most common issue that comes up in a non-unionized workplace is fairness or rather, lack of it. Favoured treatment for family or friends is often a bone of contention. But other issues, such as pay, job security and hours — all of which can be addressed in a collective agreement — are major factors in a group of workers’ decision to seek a union’s help.

Bosveld says that, while the Web and social media are great tools for organizing and he intends to use them, he still favours “face-to-face and one-on-one meetings with workers.”

“It’s crucial,” he says, “to have two-way communication and encourage workers to understand that it’s about them and they have to build an organization that takes ownership of their issues.” What these people need, says Bosveld, is CWA Canada’s support as they create their own union.

He acknowledges that employers “clearly have the upper hand in North America” thanks to right-wing agendas and regulations that favour business, all of which has a negative impact on workers.

Bosveld also knows that he’s up against anti-union sentiment that is characterized by an attitude of ‘I don’t have that so you shouldn’t get it.’ “We have to flip that,” he says, “and get workers saying ‘Why am I NOT getting that?'”

He faults our education system for not teaching the “labour side of the story in history class” with the result that students don’t realize that “this weekend is brought to you by organized labour.”

They also need to understand that celebrities they idolize, such as Michael Jordan, would not be as well off as they are without associations and unions that protect their interests.

Bosveld is passionate about organizing and draws inspiration from legendary figures such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the civil rights activist who was a strong advocate for the labour movement. While his “I Have A Dream” speech has become a defining moment in American history, his addresses to labour organizations such as CWA Canada affiliate AFL-CIO also invigorated activists in the 1960s.

Like King, Bosveld has a dream and he hopes his efforts will bolster the faltering Canadian labour movement.