local voice november 2013

COPE 378 Social Events

Strong Steward Training

Call Centre Action Month

African Grandmothers Tribunal

BC Hydro Accountability

ALSO INSIDE

Quarterly publication for members of the Canadian Office & Professional Employees Union, Local 378

Local VoiceVolume 8 | Issue #4 Fall 2013

together FAIRNESS WORKS

President's Word on a New Campaign

CoPe 378 events

Call Centre Action month

6

8

10

In This IssueconTenTs

3 PresIdenT’s oPenIng Message by David Black

4 TransLaTIons

6 socIaL evenTs

7 new TraInIng for sTrong sTewards

8 PresIdenT’s word

10 caLL cenTre workers deserve resPecT as ProfessIonaLs

11 sTaff ProfILe: caThy hIranI

12 afrIcan grandMoThers TrIbunaL

14 wInnIng a TransIT referenduM

15 sTandIng uP for sIck TIMe aT Icbc

16 aIrcare Is PeoPLe care

17 Lessons froM Labour coLLege

18 forcIng accounTabILITy on hydro fInances

19 day of reckonIng coMes for bc LIberaLs on hydro raTes by John Horgan

20 bargaInIng brIefs

22 fraser InsTITuTe aTTacks PensIons

23 bargaInIng unITs

24 organIzed LaughTer

President’s opening Message

My twin daughters started kindergarten this fall. Of course, my wife and I have done our best at home to encourage their kindness and empa-thy, and instill a sense of fairness. But it’s one thing to do that with us

and their older sister, it’s another thing altogether within a group of strangers. They’re doing great – perfecting the alphabet and counting higher, and each day brings a new lesson about fairness, sharing and teamwork. When I hear about their days at suppertime I’m reminded how much these early lessons form the foundation of your union’s daily work.

To that end we’ve enthusiastically joined the Canadian Labour Con-gress’ together FAIRNESS WORKS campaign, which you can visit online at fairnessworks.ca. The goal of the campaign is twofold: to engage members with their unions by sparking open, honest dialogue; and to talk to Canadians about the benefits unions bring to our broader society – not just for union members. Read more on page 8.

We are refining the education we offer our stewards for this fall. In response to feedback from members, classes will focus on worksite-specific training. This addition will allow activists to delve more deeply into their collective agreements and talk about strategies specific to the culture of their employers.

Starting on page 12 we feature a sto-ry on an event COPE 378 was proud to sponsor the Stephen Lewis Foundation’s African Grandmothers Tribunal. Partici-pants heard directly from women whose adult children had died of AIDS and are now raising their grandchildren under de-plorable circumstances. Despite success in stemming the tide of the pandemic, in-ternational funding for HIV and AIDS pro-grams is dropping. But as the grandmoth-ers’ stories were in turn heartbreaking and inspirational, there is hope that bearing witness to this tribunal will spark renewed help from Canadians and the rest of the international community.

And, as always, we’re working on serv-ing and supporting our members in their worksites. I’m proud of the lessons my daughters are learning in kindergarten, and I hope we at COPE 378 are making them proud through our commitment to fairness and teamwork.

USW 2009

The canadian office and Professional employees union, Local 378, is affiliated with the canadian office and Professional employees union, the british columbia federation of Labour, the canadian Labour congress, unI global union and IndustriaLL.

Canadian Office and Professional Employees Union, Local 378, Executive Board Members:President: david blackSecretary-Treasurer: Lori MayhewVice Presidents: annette Toth (Icbc), gwenne farrell (utilities), heather Lee (combined units)Accenture Business Services Executive Board Members: Melanie greenlaw, nancy de vriesBC Hydro Executive Board Members: calvin Jonas, rysa kronebuschICBC Executive Board Members: yasmin carroll, karin cirez, Mike ferguson, Joyce galuska, Trevor hansenFortisBC Energy Board Member: Tim bouzovetskyFortisBC Inc. and FortisBC Customer Service Centres: stephanie smithCombined Units Executive Board Members: colleen finn, Laurie kirk, Petro koromvokis, keith Parkinson, Tim weigelt

COPE 378 Communications & Campaigns:communications director: sage aaroncommunications officer: Jarrah hodge

COPE 378 Senior Union Representatives:brad bastien, glen MacInnes, Jaime zygmunt

COPE 378 Union Representatives:carrol edwards, Jack gerow, cathy hirani, barry hodson, ken howie, barbara Junker, Pat Junnila, sarah Melsness, bonnie Merriman, brian nelson, kevin Payne, cheryl Popeniuk, kelly Quinn, karen rockwell, stephen von sychowski

COPE 378 Administrative & Office Staff:Joanne banfield, karen caston, elaine chilman, Lise cluff, adele earwaker, yudon garie, shelley Lockhart, carol McLuskie, karen Mcrae, kim smith, Miriam spinner

COPE 378 Financial Staff: damen bring, sandi Malhame, donna Morris, barbara Liang, amandeep sandhu

COPE 378 Legal & Advocacy Department:Jim Quail (Legal director), Leigha worth

Occupational Health & Safety & WCB Appeals:steve Milne

Organizing:georgi bates, caitlin gilroy

Job Evaluation:Teresa davie

LTD Trust Administrator:Jim Moynham

coPe 378 Local voice is the official quarterly magazine published for the members of the canadian office and Professional employees union, Local 378.Isbn 1918-9753 coPe Local 378 voiceLetters to the editor are welcome but may be edited for brevity and clarity. Please contact coPe Local 378 for permission to reprint articles, graphics, or photographs.

address all correspondence to: coPe 378 communications2nd floor, 4595 canada way, burnaby, b.c. v5g 1J9Phone: 604-299-0378 Toll free: 1-800-664-6838fax: 604-299-8211

visit coPe 378’s website at www.cope378.caor contact us via email at [email protected]: sage aaron

David Black

President, COPE 378

COPE 378 Local Voice voLuMe 8 Issue #4 fall 2013 | 3

4 | voLuMe 8 Issue #4 fall 2013 COPE 378 Local Voice

Social eventscoPe 378with

This summer was packed with social events for our union members.

COPE 378 members marched in the Vancouver PRIDE Parade and attended family-friendly

Labour Day picnics across the province. Members from a variety of workplaces in Victoria

formed a team to take part in the Michael Dunahee Slo-Pitch Tournament of Hope. Our

team brought home the trophy for their division. COPE 378 also held social nights for our

members at Whitecaps soccer, BC Lions football and Canadians baseball games.


Starting in December, COPE 378 job stewards will be offered new training opportunities to develop the skills and knowledge needed to effectively rep-

resent their coworkers.“Even though our annual spring Job Steward Semi-

nar and fall Job Steward 1 and 2 classes have always been very valuable, we heard from a lot of stewards that they wanted more opportunities to build their skills,” said COPE 378 Vice-President and Education Committee Chair Gwenne Farrell. “This fits with the union’s move to have stewards more actively engaged with grievance handling.”

Grievances are made up of formal steps. Each step is an opportunity for the union and the employer to find a resolution to the grievance. Most, but not all collective agreements outline three steps. COPE 378’s new train-ing will provide stewards with the full skill set needed to take grievances past the initial investigation and filing stage on to step two of the procedure.

In addition to teaching a broader set of skills the training will also place new emphasis on workplace-specific issues. The fall 2013 training program is broken into separate sessions for ICBC, Accenture, the Fortis group (gas, electric and customer service), BC Hydro and the Transit group. These will feature updated ma-terials and multimedia content that the union hopes will empower more stewards to monitor and resolve day-to-day issues for members.

In 2014 COPE 378 will roll out similar training for all of the other bargaining units. Smaller workplaces with similar collective agreements may be grouped together, and every activist in each bargaining unit will have the opportunity to attend a session.

Senior Union Representative Brad Bastien has been spearheading the creation of the new curriculum for stewards. The new materials draw on feedback from COPE 378 stewards, staff and elected representatives, and integrate best practices from training provided by other unions and the Canadian Labour Congress.

“This is one of the most important things we do, be-cause the job steward is the most important position in the union. Stewards are the first point of contact most members have with the union,” Bastien explained.

“With the right knowledge, stewards can file and re-solve grievances, but without it, most of that work ends up falling on the union representatives who work in the COPE 378 office. It’s become clear that’s not sustainable in terms of staff workload, and it leaves stewards and members disempowered,” Bastien noted.

“When a steward can confidently file grievances and present the grievances at stages one and two, it can be really rewarding for them and the member,” Farrell ex-plained, “because they’re giving individual attention and using their on-the-ground understanding of the culture of that specific workplace.”

When asked why stewards should be interested in the new training, Farrell drew on her own experience: “Learning to handle grievances taught me better public speaking, improved my writing, and fo-cussed my critical thinking and people skills. While helping out fellow union members I add-ed skills to my toolbox that helped my career, inside and outside of the union. I’m excited to offer our stewards the same opportunity.”

JobsTewardsnew Training for strong stewards

Job stewards training

Job Steward

Level 1 and 2

training held in

October 2013


President’s worddavId bLack

It can be all too easy to take for granted the role of unions in improving both our working conditions and our ability to support our families. After all, significant

labour achievements like the 40-hour work week, the establishment of Employment Insurance, pensions, ba-sic workplace safety requirements and the weekend have been around for a long time.

But the work unions do today is no less important and it requires the same type of commitment to stand-ing together. This is why your union is pleased to join with unions across Canada as part of a new together FAIRNESS WORKS campaign.

Throughout the year we’ll be having many one-on-one conversations about the union advantage and why it not only helps COPE 378 members, but makes Canada better for all. For example, did you know the average union worker earns $4.97 per hour more than the average non-union worker in Canada? In B.C. that works out to an extra $48 million every week paid into local economies, supporting local businesses and com-munity services.

And unions are continually fighting on specific ini-tiatives to make our country and communities better. COPE 378 is working hard as part of the Canadian La-bour Congress to win significant improvements to the Canada Pension Plan, which will help every Canadian when they retire, regardless of whether or not they are a union member.

Closer to home, our union also contributes to a better world through our work campaigning for safer working conditions. Members are volunteering on their workplace health and safety committees and broader union committees which advocate for a variety of issues including defending Grant’s Law in solidarity with late-night retail workers.

But the caring acts of our members don’t end there. Each year so many of you participate in workplace Unit-ed Way campaigns to make sure those less fortunate and those who need help in our community are sup-ported. COPE 378 partners with employers for these drives and time and again, members have been recog-nized for the money and time they donate to the United Way each year. Our efforts in these campaigns make it possible for the United Way to deliver key services to fight child poverty, bullying and seniors’ isolation.

As our workplaces are affected by globalization, Canada’s unions are more relevant than ever. Through unions, working people are the one group standing up for good jobs and protecting the middle class since our governments certainly aren’t.

This is why the together FAIRNESS WORKS cam-paign is so essential. COPE 378 looks forward to having conversations with as many members as possible about what union membership means for them, and how it contributes to health, income, safety and security. We look forward to having an ongoing discussion with you about how together FAIRNESS WORKS, and how your union helps make things better in your life, your com-munity and Canada.

David Black

"...Significant labour achievements like the 40-hour work week, the

establishment of Employment Insurance, pensions, basic workplace

safety requirements and the weekend have been around for a long time...

This is why your union is pleased to join with unions across Canada as

part of a new together FAIRNeSS WoRKS campaign."

– David Black

President David Black at together FAIRNeSS WoRKS

training with steward Patty Kim and executive board

members Rysa Kronebusch and Colleen Finn.


togetherWE'VE GOTFAIR TREATMENTAT WORK.

Helping a senior determine which bus to take to the library, ensuring someone’s electri-cal account is set up in their new home,

collecting important information after a car ac-cident – these are just a few of the jobs hundreds of COPE 378 members perform in call centres. In October, COPE 378 is highlighting as the work of these professionals as part of UNI Global Union’s Call Centre Action Month campaign.

“Based on their education, skills, and the com-plex tasks they perform each day, call centre work-ers are professionals,” states UNI’s 2013 global call centre report.

Stephen Von Sychowski, now a COPE 378 union representative, started in customer service at the Coast Mountain Bus Company. “The members in that call centre are well-trained and committed to providing good service,” he explains. “They’re helping people get around the Lower Mainland by public transit. A lot of our callers were people who couldn’t afford a smartphone or computer, or didn’t have technological skills, but they still needed to get around.”

“We’re the front line,” says fellow COPE 378 Execu-tive Board Member Nancy de Vries, who works at the Vernon Accenture call centre for BC Hydro, “We deal with everything, from someone’s power getting dis-connected to trouble calls like when someone spots a downed power line. We make sure it gets passed on so things get fixed and we walk the caller through steps to make sure they’re safe.”

“The call centre staff are the number one contact for everything. They probably have more overall knowl-edge than most people working in any other depart-ment,” agrees fellow Executive Board Member Stepha-nie Smith of the FortisBC Inc. call centre workers.

Unfortunately call centre workers’ skills and pro-fessionalism aren’t always recognized in their wages and working conditions.

“In many call centres … employees are frequently under pressure to meet a quota while having very little control over their own schedules or work flow. Threats, heavy monitoring and the pace of work lead to quick burnout,” UNI’s report notes.

COPE 378 members working in call centres face challenges seen across the sector. Smith says she hears from members who are stressed and burned out by overly strict and punitive monitoring of employ-ees’ work while dealing with nearly impossible targets. COPE 378 Executive Board Member Melanie Greenlaw has worked at BC Hydro Customer Care (Accenture) for eight years. She says she and her coworkers face the same issues, which have led to high turnover.

The presence of a union can make a big differ-ence. UNI found median annual pay in union call cen-tres was about seven per cent higher. Union call cen-tres also tended to invest more in training and place limits on performance monitoring. It’s not just workers who benefit: customers receive better service when they’re talking to someone who’s properly trained, and companies see a much lower turnover rate.

COPE 378 members share in that union advan-tage. Of CMBC, Von Sychowski explained: “There are always things that can be improved, but it wasn’t like the horror stories you hear about non-union call cen-tres. Through the union we got fairer wages, a regular work schedule and benefits.”

de Vries agrees, “Day-to-day, it definitely helps to have a union to make sure the employer is being fair overall.”

“In many call

centres … employees

are frequently under

pressure to meet a

quota while having

very little control

over their own

schedules or

work flow.”

– UNI 's report

call centre workers deserve respect as Professionalsby Jarrah hodge, coMMunIcaTIons offIcer

caLL cenTre acTIon

Bruce, ICBC

Janie,

FortisBC


cathy hirani sTaff

ProfILe

Union Representative Cathy Hirani started at Enterprise Car Rental in 1993 when the com-pany was still called National. Cathy became

involved with the union in 2007 after the business changed hands. Most of the managers left the new company due to a new contract. New managers were brought in and, as Cathy puts it, “Everything went to hell.” In 2008 the company moved to pare down staff. Management and non-union staff started performing work that should’ve been reserved for COPE 378 members.

“I realized I had to become more proactive, especial-ly after the other job steward at our location left,” Cathy explains. “I liked giving a voice to people who didn’t have one. But that’s always been my personality – I stand up for other people. Being a job steward gave me the cred-ibility I needed in the employer’s eyes to get things done. It was quite rewarding.”

A friend who was a former job steward at COPE 378 encouraged Cathy to run for a councillor position. When she was elected, she started attending regular council meetings, and took advantage of more steward training opportunities.

“I really liked the positive, supportive energy of the union,” Cathy remembers as she realized how fulfilling the involvement could be. Cathy applied for and was accepted to COPE 378’s union representative training, using a fund set aside by the car rental companies for member training. The training included some class-room time, but most of Cathy’s learning was done by job shadowing various union representatives in the

COPE 378 office. She is particularly grateful for current Senior Union Representative Glen MacInnes’ support and guidance at that time.

What surprised Cathy most when she started work-ing in the union office was the sheer size of the job:

“After the first few days I remember thinking ‘What a big job.’ I didn’t realize the scope, the depth or the learn-ing curve involved ... It’s been a little over a year and I’m still learning so much.”

Since being hired as a full-time union rep, Cathy has participated in two rounds of collective bargaining and has presented one case to arbitration. She will be taking the lead on bargaining for the first time in the upcoming negotiations with Hertz.

Cathy is an anomaly in the COPE 378 office be-cause she represents the unit where she used to work, along with other car rental companies.

"It’s a mixed blessing,” she says. “On one hand you have the advantage of really understanding the issues. On the other hand, you’re personally invested. The members you represent are like family and sometimes it can be difficult to achieve the necessary detach-ment,” Cathy explains.

“The car rental companies are also very diverse and multicultural. I need to be sensitive to where there might be language barriers or cultural differ-ences when I’m investigating grievances or supporting members in arbitrations. It’s rewarding. Overall, I love the work,” Cathy adds.

Cathy lives in south Surrey with her husband of 20 years and their two sons and one daughter.

Staff

Pro

file

"I liked giving a voice to people who didn't have one."

– Cathy Hirani

by sage aaron, coMMunIcaTIons dIrecTor


None of us will leave this place the same,” said Patsy George, moderator of the Stephen Lewis Foundation’s African Grandmothers Tribunal

held in Vancouver on September 7. The purposes of the tribunal were to shine a public light on the denial of African grandmothers’ human rights and to help Af-rican grandmothers and their organizations issue a call for urgent action.

The tribunal focused on personal stories delivered by African grandmothers whose adult children died of AIDS, leaving them to care for orphans.

One grandmother, Thusile Dladla from Swaziland, found herself caring for six grandchildren after three of her four children died. She told the audience: “You lose the love you had together with your family and instead of that love you have bad memories of AIDS.”

Mama “F” from Zimbabwe was not able to attend in person but told her story through a proxy. In 1992 Mama “F” found out she was HIV-positive.

“I thought about my son, who was two-and-a-half then,” she said, “I kept saying to myself, ‘I will stand up, I will be strong.’”

When she told her husband, an alcoholic, he re-fused to get tested. The next day she got a letter saying he had filed for divorce. The divorce law in Zimbabwe has a three-year waiting period to try to force the cou-ple to reconcile. During that time, Mama “F” said, “he would come back and … beat me up.”

Her husband stole her HIV results and produced them in court, trying to get the right to the house and children, but the judge ordered him to move out and let her stay in the house with the children. Unfortunately, he soon lost his job and came back.

“Getting him to leave now has been a big problem,” she said. Mama “F” went to the Zimbabwe Women Lawyers Association and got help getting a protection order. However, she’s had difficulty getting police to enforce it.

Mama “F”’s daughter died of meningitis and she lost her brother to suicide. She is now caring for four chil-dren in addition to her son. She faces challenges get-ting medical care and feeding the children. However, an organization called Chiedza has helped teach her new skills and pay for the kids to go to school.

“I was at the end of the road … I was thinking of suicide,” she said. “But Chiedza saved my life.”

As Stephen Lewis said in his introduction to the program, “At the root of all this lies gender inequality … Until we break gender inequality we will never break the pandemic.”

No two grandmothers had the exact same story. One widow from Uganda told about dealing with her male in-laws’ attempts to forcibly take her land. Magret Ongwen, from rural Kenya, had challenged her com-munity’s tradition of “wife inheritance.” When her hus-band died she was expected to let herself be inherited by one of his male relatives, but she refused. When her co-wives all died soon after, she was left to care for six orphans plus her own children and grandchildren. Community members told her if she was not inherited her children would die, but it is now ten years later and they have all survived.

“Everyone is marveling in the village,” she said proudly.But there were also common threads between the

stories: the experience of ignorance and stigma being directed at their families, the pain of losing their loved

african grandmothers Tribunal

sTePhenLewIsfoundaTIon

Above:

Left to right is

Magret Ongwen

and her translator

Theo Sowa, CEO of the African Women’s

Development Fund and one of the tribunal “judges”

“I was at

the end of

the road...

I was

thinking of

suicide.”

– Mama "F"

by Jarrah hodge, coMMunIcaTIons offIcer


sTePhenLewIs

foundaTIon

ones, frustration at the lack of access to HIV/AIDS treatment. Remarkably, they also shared a sense of empowerment and pride for having cared successfully for many orphans (one woman and her husband were caring for 24 children from both sides of their family), helping other grandmothers in similar situations, and making change in their communities.

For example, in addition to her volunteer work feeding orphans from her home, Dladla is working with other grandmothers to lobby the Swaziland government to change the pension laws to better support them.

Mama “F” now volunteers with Chiedza, doing coun-seling and working as a paralegal with battered women.

“I always tell people they must know their rights. They mustn’t be quiet,” she said. “I will step in if something is wrong.”

Later, the audience also heard observations and recommendations from a panel of “judges”, including B.C. Representative for Children and Youth Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond; feminist Gloria Steinem; former Bo-tswanan Minister of Health Joy Phumaphi; and Theo Sowa, CEO of the African Women’s Development Fund. The judges thanked the grandmothers for making such a tremendous difference in their communities. They also strongly condemned the situation.

“What it reflects is a really pernicious intersection between HIV/AIDS and discrimination against women,” said Theo Sowa. She pointed out that many African countries have enshrined legal rights for women, but that does very little when the rights are not enforced and women have little knowledge of them.

Sowa said we need to support on-the-ground organizations working specifically with women, and grandmothers in particular. She said that out of $15 billion in UNAIDS money spent in Africa last year, only $20 million was actually spent on programs tar-geted at women.

Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond asked us to consider the human rights context. Of all the accords endorsed worldwide, she said, “Nowhere is it once asserted that it is the grandmothers of the world who have the re-sponsibility to deliver the rights to the people.” In ad-dition, grandmothers’ own human rights are violated because they face poverty, homelessness and lack of access to medical care.

“We must be clear that failure to remunerate care-giving work … is actually a form of structural discrimi-nation against women,” Turpel-Lafond added. She said grandmothers need to have access to state pensions or at least cash transfers at a reasonable age, and that tuition costs and school fees must be abolished.

Joy Phumaphi added that we need better data, dis-aggregated so we can tell who is not receiving treat-

ment and why. She also drew attention to a major problem that she sees: women like grandmothers be-ing de-prioritized for treatment because they are un-likely to spread the disease.

“We must continuously insist on the human rights … to HIV/AIDS treatment for each and every member of our community,” Phumaphi concluded.

Finally, Gloria Steinem looked at the issue through a wider lens of global gender inequality. She highlighted the way the grandmothers had talked about their home and family lives: “There is a major difference in power between males and females … If we do not have demo-cratic homes we will never have a democratic society.”

To end the day, Stephen Lewis Foundation co-founder Ilana Landsberg-Lewis took the stage along with the grandmothers to call for action.

“We, the grandmothers of Africa, speak to you now as the guardians of the future,” said Zodwa Hilda Ndl-ovu of South Africa. “It is time. We shall overcome.”

COPE 378 joined with other B.C. unions to support this unique and extremely important event.

President David Black said, “It was one of the most moving events I’ll probably ever attend. The stories re-ally stay with you. I hope the grandmothers’ courage will help continue to build support for their movement to help make the urgent legal and cultural reforms that are needed.”

Moderator

Patsy George

and judges

african grandmothers Tribunal

Crowd at

the Chan Centre

SEPTEMBER 7, 2013

To help the Stephen

Lewis Foundation support

African Grandmothers visit

stephenlewisfoundation.org

PleASe SuPPoRT


Lessons from L.a.: winning a Transit referendum TransIT

In the lead up to the 2013 provin-cial election Premier Christy Clark surprised many municipal leaders

by promising any new money towards transit spending would be put to a referendum. Many are worried that a referendum would be an unfair and risky way to al-locate resources and could end up pitting neighboring communities against each other.

Regardless, the government seems intent on carry-ing the referendum through.

COPE 378 represents members at TransLink and Coast Mountain Bus. It’s important not only for the job security of our members that the referendum be suc-cessful, but for other reasons as well. Transit jobs are good, green jobs that support our economy while re-ducing our collective carbon footprint. Expanded tran-sit will also have a measurable impact on improving the quality of life for all COPE 378 members who rely on transit to get around through shorter, easier commutes.

Late this September COPE 378 Communications Officer Jarrah Hodge attended a Carbon Talks ses-sion focused on how to win such a referendum. The speakers were columnist and political strategist Bill Tieleman and Denny Zane, the executive director for Move LA – a coalition that was instrumental in getting a two-thirds referendum passed to double the rapid transit in Los Angeles County.

Coming out of the Carbon Talks sessions there were a few clear takeaways. First: it is possible to win. But to do so organizations and individuals working to-wards expanded transit need to bring together strange bedfellows—business, labour, environmental groups, student groups, and political parties of all stripes.

Another key factor is the timing and the shape of the referendum question. Ideally, the question would be specific: a question that ties funding to specific proj-ects and initiatives, and it should have something that appeals broadly to everyone, especially south of Fraser communities. The preference would also be to have a vote that requires a majority across the region, not thresholds for each municipality. And lastly, a mail-in-ballot would be preferable rather than a one-time vote in conjunction with the civic elections.

It would also be unwise to have TransLink lead the referendum. It would be too easy for anyone oppos-ing expanded transit to make the question about giving more money to TransLink.

Instead, a winning argument would promote how expanded transit would meet the needs of people in Metro Vancouver by improving service, air quality and quality of living — all for a modest cost.

Interestingly, the Move LA coalition members that were perhaps most influential with government were businesses. In Metro Vancouver there is clear evidence that expanded transit has an economic benefit – trucks moving goods are less encumbered by traffic, consum-ers get to shops more easily and workers spend less time commuting. Former Vancouver city councillor and Business in Vancouver co-founder Peter Ladner has been working with local businesses by talking about the L.A. model and what could be replicated here.

As labour groups and other organizations grapple with the referendum, the L.A. experience sets out a strategic route towards a successful campaign.

Transit jobs are good, green jobs that

support our economy while reducing

our collective carbon footprint.


standing up for sick Time at Icbc Icbc

If you’re off work for an extended period of time for a medical reason, chances are you’d rather not be. But you know you have to take care of yourself and talk

with your doctor so you don’t risk making things worse by going back too soon or taking on duties you might not be physically capable of.

Unfortunately, ICBC might sometimes be more concerned with the bottom line than what’s best for your health. Luckily, your union is there to help.

COPE 378 gets to appoint a return-to-work coordi-nator at ICBC to help sick and injured employees return to their jobs with dignity. The union also sits on a joint return-to-work committee to make sure ICBC doesn’t overstep their bounds with these employees.

In 2011, after lengthy negotiations, your union won an arbitration that helped to establish the Framework Agree-ment — a process that ICBC must follow when obtain-ing medical information from members on sick leave. We wanted to make sure ICBC wasn’t getting more informa-tion than they really needed about members’ medical is-sues. It was about protecting members’ health and medi-cal privacy to the greatest extent possible.

The Framework Agreement clearly establishes that if ICBC needs more information even once an em-ployee has submitted their form for paid sick leave, they may require the employee to take ICBC’s written request for clarification to their doctor to discuss. That way ICBC can request the information it needs, but not without the employee talking to their doctor first.

This provision was put to the test earlier this sum-mer when an ICBC employee took sick time after major surgery. Her doctor gave her a return-to-work date, but ICBC wasn’t satisfied and wanted her back

sooner. Their disabil-ity management specialist called her at home to try to get her to agree to an earlier return date. ICBC ended up creating a new return-to-work plan and sending it directly to her doctor for his okay. He signed off on it and the mem-ber was forced to return early, even though she didn’t get to discuss the new plan with her doctor.

The member called her union representative at the COPE 378 office. We tried arguing this was unfair without the proper procedure being followed, that the member should’ve had a chance to run the new plan by her doctor in person instead of ICBC going behind her back.

When ICBC wouldn’t agree, we took the matter to an arbitrator for a decision. Arbitrator Judi Korbin affirmed that ICBC cannot go directly to a member’s doctor, even if they ask and the member agrees. The arbitrator’s ruling is clear and applies to all COPE 378 members at ICBC — you have rights in place to pro-tect your health and your medical privacy. If there’s going to be a change to your return-to-work plan, that change must be decided by you and your doctor first and foremost.

If you or any of your coworkers on sick leave are being asked by ICBC to let them contact your doctor directly, please contact your union repre-sentative at [email protected].

by anneTTe ToTh, vIce-PresIdenT, Icbc

Annette Toth

"Unfortunately,

ICBC might

sometimes

be more

concerned with

the bottom line

than what's

best for your

health."

– Annette Toth


aircare is People care aIrQuaLITy

by heaTher Lee, vIce-PresIdenT, coMbIned unITs

Living in Maple Ridge, I couldn’t help but notice the impact of poor air quality during this summer’s heat wave. Problems with Traffic-Related Air Pollution (TRAP) in B.C., particularly in Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley, are well

documented. The BC Lung Association calls TRAP a clear public health concern because of the documented links between air pollution and a variety of respira-tory illnesses.

“Approximately one-third of all Canadians live within 100 metres of a major road or 500 metres of a highway. Nearly one-third of elementary schools in Canadian cities are located in high-traffic areas,” notes the BC Lung Association’s 2013 State of the Air report.

The report also notes that improved monitoring of and controls on emissions have led to notable improvements over the years. This fact is why jurisdictions like Ontario and Washington have extended their vehicle emissions-testing until 2019.

But even though MetroVancouver and the Fraser Valley Regional District voted unanimously to recommend that our own AirCare program be extended until 2020, the BC Liberal government is still intent on phasing it out for passenger cars and trucks by the end of next year.

This concerns our union directly because COPE 378 represents eight workers at Pacific Vehicle Testing Technology (PVTT), which administers AirCare as a subsidiary of TransLink. Another 150 BCGEU workers also stand to lose their community-sup-porting, green jobs if the program ends. But just as importantly, the problem should concern all of us as people whose families and communities are affected when our air quality declines.

Despite the government declaring “mission accomplished” on this issue, Air-Care still catches close to 40,000 vehicles with emission problems each year. The province’s own program review in 2010 found AirCare keeps 50,000 tonnes of CO2 out of our atmosphere. Without testing that number will compound from one year to the next, growing exponentially. Even newer vehicles will eventually age and that puts them at risk for producing harmful emissions.

Unfortunately, the government gave no opportunity for consultation and of-fered no evidence that would justify cancelling this proven program.

We believe AirCare should be expanded to include heavy trucks and diesel en-gines, but not instead of testing passenger vehicles and trucks. Light-duty vehi-cles are the largest source of smog-forming pollutants and greatest contributor to ground-level ozone, a significant factor in respiratory illnesses, especially among children and the elderly. One set of emitters shouldn’t be swapped for another. The government needs to wake up to the facts and maintain this program that provides good, green jobs and a cleaner environment for all of us.

"The BC Lung Association calls TRAP a clear public health concern because of the documented links between air pollution and a variety of respiratory illnesses." – Heather Lee

Heather Lee

1/3of Canadianslive within 100 metres

of a major road or 500

metres of a highway

Ap

pro

xim

atel

y


Lessons from Labour college educaTIon

by Trevor hansen, TeMPorary unIon rePresenTaTIve and coPe 378 board MeMber

For two weeks this past May and August, I attended the Canadian Labour Congress’ Labour College of Canada with 28 other activists from unions across

the country. The college is an intensive learning pro-gram for union activists who want to enhance their leadership capacities and gain a greater understand-ing of broader social justice and labour movements.

The program asked us to take on a variety of readings, assignments, lectures, discussions and research. We stud-ied political economy, theory and practice of unions, or-ganizing for change, emerging issues, strategic research, and leadership, and more. Between the May and August sessions, each of us also conducted a research project in conjunction with our unions.

I chose to research the most recent round of col-lective bargaining and job action in my own bargaining unit, ICBC. Having served on the union’s bargaining and job action committees during this difficult round of ne-gotiations, I was away from the workplace during much of what happened. I wanted to engage in conversation with my colleagues from across the corporation to better understand their perspectives and what resonated with them now, several months after signing our new collec-tive agreement. I sincerely thank those who took the time to speak with me in confidence.

It was deeply valuable to have these conversations.Despite the fact that extensive attention was devoted to communicating with members throughout the bargain-ing and job action process, many I spoke with remained unsatisfied with at least one aspect of their experience during bargaining and job action.

Ultimately, the collective agreement we achieved was one of the best contracts of those negotiated in the B.C. public sector during this period. I credit this to the resolve

of each and every member who supported one another and our leadership during the bargaining process.

That being said, careful consideration must be given to the feedback of my colleagues. They reported over-whelmingly that they still feel overworked, underappreci-ated, and somewhat disengaged from ICBC and feel that the bargaining process did not fully address their con-cerns.

There is an expectation for those who graduate from Labour College to apply what they learned into some-thing concrete: to give back to our union and the larger labour movement. With that in mind, I am looking for-ward to being able to work with my brothers and sisters at ICBC to understand what we need to achieve, what is possible to achieve, and what each of us can contribute toward our goals.

I thank the leadership of COPE 378 and COPE-SEPB for their support in allowing me this opportu-nity to work with and learn from union activists from across Canada.

è InTervIewee sTaTIsTIcs froM Trevor's Icbc research:

• 75 per cent female • 13.75 years = average seniority• 50 per cent work in the claims division • 25 per cent work in the driver licensing division • 25 per cent work in other divisions of ICBC• 88 per cent participated in the strike vote• 100 per cent participated in the

ratification vote• 62 per cent were satisfied with how their job

steward performed during bargaining/job action

Ultimately, the collective agreement we

achieved was one of the best contracts

of those negotiated in the

B.C. public sector during this period.

LABOUR

COLLEGE

GRADUATION

Left to right:

Trevor Hansen,

Gwenne Farrell,

David Black and

Angela Mclean,

president of

COPE 397.


bc hydro forcing accountability on hydro finances

Late this summer an internal BC Hydro document was leaked

to our union. Inside was explosive information that would be deeply troubling for our Hydro and Accen-

ture members, as well as all BC Hydro customers. The document predicted BC Hydro would have to raise rates by 26.4 per cent by 2016 to even begin to address the debt brought on by the last 12 years of BC Liberal mismanagement.

Energy Minister Bill Bennett said he would try to scale back the increase, but ruled out doing so through a public, independent process at the B.C. Utilities Com-mission (BCUC).

This wasn’t surprising: the government has repeat-edly exempted BC Hydro from BCUC scrutiny on key is-sues like this, smart meters and private power projects. But COPE 378 Legal Director Jim Quail joined forces with an unlikely ally, Richard Stout of the Association of Major Power Customers of BC, as special guests on the Shaw public affairs show Voice of BC with Vaughn Palm-er. The concept was for the show with questions from commentators and policy experts to fill the accountabil-ity gap left by the government’s repeated avoidance of the Utilities Commission.

“There’s some really nasty medicine to be admin-istered, but it’s only necessary to get over the conse-

quences of really bad policy over the last decade,” said Quail during the show, call-ing the rate forecasts “chick-ens coming home to roost.”

Stout said the business-es he represents are looking for “an open, transparent fil-ing where we can get into all the accounts of the util-ity … in my experience what a utility asks for and what it

gets can be very, very different numbers with an effec-tive utilities commission.

During the show Marjorie Griffin Cohen of the Ca-nadian Centre for Policy Alternatives asked: “Whereas BC Hydro used to supply most of the generation of electricity, now it has been instructed by government to buy it from private power producers. To what extent is this responsible for the increase in prices?”

“It’s a large part,” Quail replied immediately. “The in-dependent power producers provide a little more now than 15 per cent of BC Hydro’s electricity, but are almost half of the cost of energy. That’s how out-of-whack things are.”

Stout said his big concern was not so much who owns the project, but that it’s necessary to ask: “Do we need it and when do we need it? ... The hidden cost of some of these IPP projects is what it actually costs to make that power reliable.”

Quail and Stout agreed on the vast majority of issues brought up during the show: Hydro should have had to demonstrate a business case to the BCUC for Smart Meters before rolling out the program, it must stop us-ing deferral accounts to create the illusion of a balanced budget, and more transparency and independent over-sight is desperately needed.

One of the few disagreements was over the hydro rates charged to big industry, a question asked by econ-omist Marvin Shaffer. Stout said he believes industry cur-rently pay fair rates, while Quail argued industry should pay more because their projects bear a bigger load on the system and require more infrastructure.

In the end, the public still deserves a BCUC hear-ing on BC Hydro rates, but this show went a long way toward showing the public what major issues are facing the Crown corporation.

watch the entire show online at the voice of bc vimeo channel: http://vimeo.com/user5085932

Jim Quail,

COPE 378 Legal

Director

"There’s some really nasty medicine to be administered, but it’s only necessary to get over the consequences of really bad

policy over the last decade ..." – Jim Quail

Voice of BC,

public affairs show


PoLITIcaLacTIonday of reckoning comes for bc Liberals

When COPE 378 recently revealed leaked docu-ments concerning a secret 26 per cent in-crease in hydro rates over the next two years,

they helped customers in B.C. realize just how poorly the BC Liberals have managed our utility, and what the consequences will be for family budgets.

Everyone in British Columbia knew a hydro rate hike was on the way - everyone except Premier Christy Clark who said as recently as July, “I can’t say if they will go up.”

The document, produced by a Hydro "rates work-ing group," which is made up of senior public officials including the deputy energy minister and deputy fi-nance minister, shows British Columbians can expect to see a shocking hike that will add $273 per year to the average residential customer’s bill.

This means that when the Liberals told British Colum-bians before the election that rates were under control, it simply wasn’t true.

New Democrats and BC Hydro workers, like those at COPE 378, have been saying for years that this day of reckoning would eventually come to pass after years of bad Liberal policies that have been damaging BC Hydro. At every step of the way the Liberals told voters the opposite.

It was the Liberals who brought in expensive pri-vate power contracts that force B.C. to buy energy at high rates and sell it at a loss during peak periods. It’s the Liberals who are hiding billions in hydro debt in de-ferral accounts. And it's the Liberals who have repeat-edly sidelined the independent BC Utilities Commission from being able to do their job of looking out for the best interests of Hydro customers.

The 84 per cent cost overrun on the Northwest Transmission Line was on the Liberals’ watch.

It’s because of this mismanagement that Hydro cus-tomers across the province face an unmanageable spike in their Hydro bills. While a massive rate hike may be in-evitable, the New Democrats believe government needs to put the brakes on some of their worst policy decisions. The BC Utilities Commission needs to be allowed to do its job free of political interference from the Liberals.

The New Democrats believe we can no longer af-ford to hide more Hydro debt in deferral accounts, and that the Liberal government needs to develop a plan to pay down the existing accounts. We believe the Lib-erals need to stop forcing BC Hydro to contract with private producers that result in buying expensive power we don’t need. The Liberal government needs to stop raiding dividends on BC Hydro profits that don’t exist.

In September, Energy and Mines Minister Bill Ben-nett revealed the reason for raiding BC Hydro, saying, “We will not be able to balance our budget if we don't receive that dividend.”

New Democrats believe it is wrong for Hydro cus-tomers to pay even more for their utility bills just so the Liberals can save face on their bogus budget elec-tion ploy. The election is over, and the premier needs to start being honest with voters. It’s time to own up to her bogus budget and the rate hike that’s around the corner.

With the BC Liberals in charge, this won’t be the last massive spike.

by John horgan, bc new deMocraT energy crITIc

John Horgan

...a secret 26 per cent increase in hydro rates over the next two years...


faLL 2013 edITIonbargaInIng brIefs

by sheLLey LockharT, caroL McLuskIe and kIM sMITh

absThe collective agreement expired on August 31, 2013. The committee has met and prepared a survey for the membership and then will de-velop proposals for bargaining.The bargaining committee consists of Nancy DeVries, Melanie Green-law, Mike Novak, Jane Tighe and Union Representative Karen Rockwell.

aLMa MaTer socIeTyThe collective agreement expired on May 31, 2013. A tentative agree-ment was reached, but on Sept 30, 2013, the membership voted to re-ject it. A strike vote meeting to discuss what membership is looking for and to conduct a strike vote was held on September 30, 2013. The result was 92 per cent in favour of strike. The bargaining committee consists of Sterling Aurel, Angela Geib and Union Representative Carrol Edwards.

bc hydroThe collective agreement will expire on March 31, 2013. A bargaining committee has been struck and the members were surveyed in Octo-ber. Once the survey results are back, the committee will meet to pre-pare proposals for bargaining.The bargaining committee consists of Bojan Bucic, Andrea Foster, Cal-vin Jonas, Rysa Kronebusch, April Young and Union Representative Bar-bara Junker.

berLITz canadaThe collective agreement expired on June 30, 2011. As previously re-ported, Berlitz proposed a rollover agreement and stated they are not in the position to discuss any monetary issues. The union had requested Berlitz open up their financial records for viewing. After long delay the employer confirmed a meeting in November to review financials. The bargaining committee consists of Collin Patterson and Union Rep-resentative Sarah Melsness.

chcThe bargaining between Columbia Hydro Council and Allied Hydro Council went to interest arbitration as per the collective agreement on June 14, 17 and 24, 2013. The decision of the arbitrator will be final and we are awaiting the decision.Senior Union Representative Brad Bastien sits on the bargaining committee.

coasTaL coMMunITy credIT unIonThe collective agreement expired June 30, 2013. Proposals have been finalized and bargaining dates were held with the employer in October. The bargaining committee consists of Laurie Kirk, Wanda Neil, Emma O’Sullivan, Donna Hedley, Colleen Berge and Union Representative Sarah Melsness.

coasTaL coMMunITy InsuranceThe collective agreement expires December 31, 2013. Proposals have been finalized. Bargaining dates with employer continued in October. The bargaining committee consists of Laura White, Myra Charlton, Sun-shine Defrane and Union Representative Sarah Melsness.

coasT MounTaIn bus co.The collective agreement expired on March 31, 2011. The parties have almost completed bargaining, with just a few items remaining. The par-ties have agreed to meet in sub-committee to discuss retiree benefits. Dates have not yet been scheduled. Once this issue is resolved the par-ties should be able to finish the bargaining process.The bargaining committee consists of Petro Koromvokis, Ray Manning, Ron Williams, Doug Fergus and Union Representative Kevin Payne.

coLLege of PharMacIsTs of bcThe collective agreement expired on February 28, 2013. Notice to start bargaining was given to the employer in January and the members have been surveyed. The bargaining committee consists of Union Representative Pat Junnila.

coraL cabs (rIchMond TaxI)The collective agreement expired on December 31, 2011. The bargain-ing committee has finalized proposals and reviewed them with mem-bership at a meeting on August 26. We will be arranging dates with the employer to begin bargaining. The bargaining committee consists of Ernie Baliss and Union Repre-sentative Cathy Hirani.

doLLar ThrIfTyThe collective agreement expired on December 31, 2012. The members at Dollar Thrifty ratified a three-year collective agreement after 28 days on strike. Highlights of the deal include: wage increases of 2.5 per cent, 3 per cent and 3 per cent retroactive to January 1, 2013, established shifts for part-time employees, employer to fully pay dental plan premiums, and clearer language preventing managers doing bargaining unit work. The bargaining committee consists of Jim Fleck, Steve Gill, Raj Muni, Union Representative Cathy Hirani and Senior Union Representative Glen MacInnes.

dw servIcesThis is a newly organized bargaining unit. After several tries at negotiat-ing a collective agreement, the union applied to the Labour Board for mediation. We are in the process of negotiating a successful collective agreement with the assistance of a mediator. Progress is slow; however, the union is optimistic we will have a first collective agreement for this bargaining unit before the end of the year. The bargaining committee consists of Union Representative Carrol Edwards.

enTerPrIse renT-a-carThe collective agreement expired on July 31, 2013. In August, members at Enterprise ratified a three-year collective agreement. Highlights of the deal include: wage increases of 3 per cent, 3 per cent and 3 per cent ret-roactive to August 1, 2013, employer to fully pay dental plan premiums, extended plan premiums and orthodontics premiums, cleaning allow-ance, increase in boot allowance and full-time shift protection. The bargaining committee consists of Osman Halane, Paul McDonnell, Amar Sandhu, Val Salgado, Union Representative Cathy Hirani and Se-nior Union Representative Glen MacInnes.

forTIs eLecTrIcThe collective agreement will expire on December 31, 2013. The bar-gaining committee has been struck and a survey sent out to members in June. The committee met October 8, 9 and 10 to prepare for bargaining.The bargaining committee consists of Stephanie Smith, Janet Maloff, Richard Gaylard, Senior Union Representative Brad Bastien and Union Representative Pat Junnila.

handy PackThe collective agreement expired on May 31 2013. Bargaining will start in late fall.The bargaining committee consists of Union Representative Pat Junnila.

hasTIngs enTerTaInMenT Inc.The collective agreement expired on July 31, 2012. The employer sub-mitted a final offer vote through the Labour Relations Board, and that was voted on June 21 and 22, 2013. The membership at Hastings En-tertainment ratified the final offer. The new collective agreement is cur-rently being edited.The bargaining committee consists of Greg Goulding, Keith Parkinson, Margaret Sykes and Union Representative Karen Rockwell.

kekInow naTIve housIng socIeTyThe collective agreement expired on March 31, 2010. The proposals have been prepared and reviewed with the bargaining committee. The bargaining committee consists of Terry Frank and Union Represen-tative Bonnie Merriman.

keLowna cabsThe collective agreement expired on May 31, 2013. Proposals have been drafted and approved by the members. Now that proposals have been exchanged with Kelowna Cabs, bargaining began on October 21, 2013. The bargaining committee consists of Al Lewis and Union Representa-tive Barry Hodson.

kruger ProducTsThe collective agreement expired on May 31, 2012. The new collective agreement has been ratified and is currently being proof-read by the em-ployer. The new term is from June 1, 2012 to May 31, 2016. Highlights in-clude: a signing bonus of $2,500, a lump sum payment of $2,500, wage increases of 0 per cent, 0 per cent, 2 per cent and 2.5 per cent and a new vacation supplement of one week after the fifth and tenth years of employ-ment and two weeks after the 15th, 20th and 25th years of employment.The bargaining committee consists of Barb Duncan, Bev Woods and Union Representative Karen Rockwell.

More info at

cope378.ca


MacLure’s cabsThe collective agreement expires on March 14, 2014. The union has sent out a bargain-ing bulletin and survey to be completed by members. The bargaining committee consists of David Clancy and Union Representative Barry Hodson.

MarIne workers and boILerMakersThe collective agreement expired on December 31, 2012. Bargaining started after Bon-nie Merriman's return from mid-October holidays. The bargaining committee consists of Nancy Batchelor and Union Representative Ken Howie.

MasTer Trade unIonThe collective agreement expires on December 31, 2013. Notice to start bargaining will be served and the bargaining survey will be sent out to the membership soon for their input.The bargaining committee will be elected and will work with Union Representative Bonnie Merriman.

new deMocraTIc ParTyThe current collective agreement expired on June 30, 2013. Notice to start bargaining has been served and the bargaining survey has been sent out to the membership soon for their input. Then bargaining dates will be set. The bargaining committee consists of Karl Riley and Union Representative Stephen Von Sychowski.

PvTTThe collective agreement expired on March 31, 2010. The bargaining committee has prepared proposals in preparation to begin bargaining. The bargaining committee hopes to get bargaining dates with the employer this fall. The bargaining committee consists of Ron Leavitt, Adrian Yee and Union Representative Stephen Von Sychowski.

seIu The collective agreement expires on December 31, 2013. Soon notice to start bargain-ing will be served and the bargaining survey will be sent to members. The bargaining committee will be elected to work along with Union Representative Bonnie Merriman.

sTraTa corPoraTIon 2321 (MeLvILLe resIdences)This is a newly organized bargaining unit negotiating their first collective agreement. All union proposals have been presented to the employer and future bargaining dates are currently being arranged. The bargaining committee consists of Rick Clare and Union Representative Trevor Hansen.

TeaMsTers LocaL 213 – MeMber benefIT PLanThe new collective agreement has been ratified for the term May 1, 2013 to April 30, 2017. Union Representatives Michael Novak and Scott Watson, and steward Bilbeer Sandhu met with the employer in September on a policy grievance for annual vacation. A draft Letter of Understanding on new annual vacation language has been sent to the members for ratification. The bargaining committee consists of Dianne Cecchin, Carol Cumming and Union Representative Bonnie Merriman.

TeLecoMMunIcaTIon workers unIon TwuThe collective agreement expired on July 31, 2011. The bargaining committee has met and finalized proposals. Dates will soon be scheduled to meet with the employer. The bargaining committee consists of Linda Lund, Bill Nielsen and Union Representa-tive Kelly Quinn.

ThunderbIrd wInTer sPorTsThe collective agreement expired on March 31, 2010. There have been tentative dates set to begin collective bargaining in October. The union is currently waiting for the employer to confirm dates.The bargaining committee consists of Union Representative Barbara Junker.

TsML (TransIT PoLIce)The parties exchanged proposals September 12. The next bargaining dates were held on October 29 and 30 with further dates scheduled through the end of the year.The bargaining committee consists of Dan McLachlan, Aaron Chan, Rob Gladwin, Dan Dickhout, Renata Clements and Union Representative Kevin Payne.

TransLInkThe collective agreement expired on March 31, 2012. The new collective agreement has been ratified. The new term is from April 1, 2012 to March 31, 2015. Highlights include: wage increases of 0 per cent, 0 per cent, 2 per cent and 2 per cent.The bargaining committee consists of Pat Keeping, Dave Bunderla, Sara Dhaliwal and Union Representative Kevin Payne.

Tree IsLandThe collective agreement for the members at Tree Island Industries expired on Septem-ber 30, 2012. The new collective agreement was ratified by the members on September 26, 2013. The collective agreement is now being formatted for proofreading.The bargaining committee consists of Doug Howard, Hani Dakkak and Union Repre-sentative Pat Junnila.

unITed fIsherMan and aLLIed worker unIonThe new collective agreement was ratified on September 12, 2013. The term and duration for the renewed collective agreement will be January 1, 2013 through De-cember 31, 2014. The bargaining committee consists of Joanne Demmery and Union Representative Bonnie Merriman.

vancouver TaxI (cenTraL TaxI dIsPaTch)The collective agreement expired on June 30, 2011. COPE 378 has received a quote from Pacific Blue Cross for a medical benefit plan. The union will be arranging dates with the employer to finalize bargaining.The bargaining committee consists of Bernie Stroh and Union Representative Dave Park.

vIcTorIa shIPyards LTd.The collective agreement expired on February 28, 2013. After an initial setback the members were offered the same agreement as the other union members at the ship-yards. The members voted on and accepted the new agreement in late October. The bargaining committee consists of Union Representative Kevin Payne.

wesTMInsTer savIngs credIT unIonThe collective agreement expired on December 31, 2012. In late June, members at Westminster Savings ratified a four-year collective agreement. Highlights include: wage increases of 2 per cent, 2.4 per cent, 2.6 per cent and 2.75 per cent. The bargaining committee consists of Rosie Tzortzatos, Shannon McRae and Union Representative Jack Gerow.

yeLLow PagesThe collective agreement expired on June 30, 2012. YPG is unionized in Quebec, On-tario, Manitoba, Alberta and B.C. Both Ontario and Alberta have ratified a new col-lective agreement. Our bargaining committee met October 3 and 4 in order to pre-pare proposals, after receiving input from members. On October 28 we presented and exchanged proposals with the employer, with further bargaining scheduled for November 20 to 22.The bargaining committee consists of Traian Moldovan, Tim Nemeth, Patrick Evange-lista, Ken Simms and Union Representative Cheryl Popeniuk.

Is PubLIshed by

Phone: 604-299-0378fax: 604-299-8211e-mail: [email protected] 1918-9753 coPe Local 378 voice

coPe 378: President david black Secretary-Treasurer Lori Mayhew

LocaL voIce editor: sage aaron usw 2009desIgned by: dansk design groupdanskdesigngroup.comPrInTed aT: Mitchell Press, burnaby, b.c.

canadian office and Professional employees union, Local 378,2nd floor, 4595 canada way, burnaby, b.c. v5g 1J9PosTaL agreeMenT #41267023

bargaInIng brIefs


fraser Institute attacks PensionsPensIons

So, where do I begin? Once again that right-wing think tank known as the Fraser Institute is attacking the decent pensions enjoyed by many public sec-

tor workers. Not only are they trying to create a divide between workers who have a pension and those who don’t, now they are trying to divide public sector and pri-vate sector workers.

A quick search of the Statistics Canada website shows that only about 33 per cent of Canadians have any type of workplace pension. This number has been declining each year. Most of those workers covered by workplace pensions are in the public sector. Public sector pension plans are usually defined benefit pension plans, while pri-vate sector pension plans tend to be defined contribution pension plans.

Defined benefit pension plans guarantee a benefit to the retiree, and the contribution rates are set based on actuarial assumptions about what is needed to fund that guarantee. There are a few aspects to this that the Fraser Institute has picked up and twisted around.

The first thing usually said to attack pensions is that these plans are “gold-plated.” The average pen-sion paid out by the Public Service Pension Plan in 2012 was $19,500. Even when you factor in what the average pension is from CPP that only brings it up to an annual pension of $26,700. That’s not a terrible income, but certainly not what could be described as “gold-plated.”

The Fraser Institute has also made a lot of noise about contributions. Both the employees and the em-ployer contribute to the pensions. The Fraser Institute likes to state that it’s really the taxpayers that pay for the pensions of these workers. But really, if these workers didn’t have a pension plan, their wages would be higher. Overall, the compensation level wouldn’t be any differ-ent than what it is with the pension plan.

In the private sector, most pension plans tend to be defined contribution plans. With these plans, a certain percentage of a worker’s wages are paid into a savings plan. When the worker retires, their pension is based on what the market will pay them. We saw what could hap-pen to these types of plans in the global financial crisis of 2008, when the value of most of these plans fell by 30 per cent.

While the Fraser Institute likes to make much about the fact that public sector workers pay "only" half of their pension contributions, they conveniently forget that in the private sector it is often only the employer who contributes to the retirement savings plan.

The Fraser Institute’s goal is to divide and conquer: they aim to make most people jealous of what others have in an effort to take it away from them ("If I can’t have that, why should they?"). I prefer the opposite: we have achieved this – let’s get it for you, too. I’m con-stantly reminded of the quote from J.S. Woodsworth, “What we desire for ourselves, we wish for all.”

Let’s work to bring everyone up to the same level, not race to the bottom.

"Let’s work to bring everyone up to the same level, not race to the bottom."– Lori Mayhew

The average pension paid out by the Public Service Pension Plan in 2012

was $19,500. Even when you factor in what the average pension is from CPP

that only brings it up to an annual pension of $26,700. That’s not a terrible

income, but certainly not what could be described as “gold-plated.”

by LorI Mayhew, secreTary-Treasurer

approx.

33%33%

Statistics Canada

website shows

that only about

33 per cent

of Canadians

have any type

of workplace

pension


coPe 378 members work at the following properties

accenture business services Union Rep: Jack Gerow

alma Mater society Union Rep: Carrol Edwards

alma Mater society security Union Rep: Carrol Edwards

aviscar Union Rep: Cathy Hirani

bcaa sc & ers Union Rep: Carrol Edwards

bc computerized dispatch (yellow cab) Union Rep: Barry Hodson

bc federation of Labour Union Rep: Cheryl Popeniuk

bc ferry & Marine workers union Union Rep: Cheryl Popeniuk

bcgeu Union Rep: Bonnie Merriman

bc hydro (including Powertech construction services) Union Reps: Barbara Junker, Karen Rockwell

bc nurses’ union Union Rep: Bonnie Merriman

bc Transit Union Rep: Kevin Payne

beach Place ventures Union Rep: Barry Hodson

berlitz canada Union Rep: Trevor Hansen

bonny’s Taxi Union Rep: Barry Hodson

canadian freightways Ltd. Union Rep: Kevin Payne

canadian northern shield/rsa Union Rep: Cheryl Popeniuk

capilano Pet hospital: Union Rep: Trevor Hansen

capilano university Union Rep: Karen Rockwell

carpenters Local 1928 Union Rep: Bonnie Merriman

catalyst Paper Union Rep: Jack Gerow

cIaTu Union Rep: Bonnie Merriman

coast Mountain bus Union Rep: Kevin Payne

coastal community credit union Union Rep: Sarah Melsness

coastal community financial Management Union Rep: Sarah Melsness

coastal community Insurance Union Rep: Sarah Melsness

college of Pharmacists of bc Union Rep: Jack Gerow

college of registered nurses Union Rep: Jack Gerow

columbia hydro Union Rep: Brad Bastien

columbia valley credit union Union Rep: Sarah Melsness

community savings credit union Union Rep: Sarah Melsness

coral cabs (richmond Taxi) Union Rep: Barry Hodson

cuPe 374 Union Rep: Cheryl Popeniuk




cuPe bc & Locals Union Rep: Cheryl Popeniuk

da Townley & associates Union Rep: Cheryl Popeniuk

dollar Thrifty Union Rep: Cathy Hirani

dw services Union Rep: Trevor Hansen

ecojustice Union Rep: Cheryl Popeniuk

enterprise rent-a-car Union Rep: Cathy Hirani

fortisbc customer service centres Union Rep: Pat Junnila

fortisbc energy Inc. Union Rep: Pat Junnila

fortisbc Inc. Union Rep: Pat Junnila

gulf & fraser fishermen’s credit union Union Rep: Sarah Melsness

handy Pack Union Rep: Pat Junnila

hastings entertainment Inc. Union Rep: Yasmin Carroll

hertz Union Rep: Cathy Hirani

Icbc Union Reps: Ken Howie, Kelly Quinn, Stephen Von Sychowski

Island savings credit union and Insurance Union Rep: Sarah Melsness

Iwa forest Industry PP Union Rep: Cheryl Popeniuk

kekinow native housing society Union Rep: Cheryl Popeniuk

kelowna cabs Ltd. Union Rep: Barry Hodson

konica Minolta Union Rep: Trevor Hansen

kruger Products (scott Paper) Union Rep: Karen Rockwell

Ladysmith & district cu Union Rep: Sarah Melsness

Lake city casinos Union Rep: Trevor Hansen

Lu’Ma native housing society Union Rep: Cheryl Popeniuk

MacLure's cabs Ltd. Union Rep: Barry Hodson

Marine workers & boilermakers Union Rep: Ken Howie

Master Trade office Union Rep: Bonnie Merriman

Melville residences Union Rep: Trevor Hansen

new democratic Party Union Rep: Cheryl Popeniuk

Pacific vehicle Testing Union Rep: Kevin Payne

schneider Union Rep: Cathy Hirani

seaspan International Ltd. Union Rep: Kevin Payne

seIu 244 Union Rep: Bonnie Merriman

southern railway Union Rep: Pat Junnila

Teamsters Local 31 Union Rep: Bonnie Merriman

Teamsters Local 155 Union Rep: Bonnie Merriman

Teamsters Local 213 & 213 Member benefit Plan Union Rep: Bonnie Merriman

Telecommunications workers union (Twu) Union Rep: Bonnie Merriman

Telecommunication workers Pension Plan Union Rep: Bonnie Merriman

Teletheatre bc Union Rep: Jack Gerow

Thunderbird winter sports Union Rep: Barbara Junker

TransLink Union Rep: Kevin Payne

Transit Police Union Rep: Kevin Payne

Tree Island Union Rep: Pat Junnila

united fishermen & allied worker union Union Rep: Bonnie Merriman

vancouver Musicians association Union Rep: Bonnie Merriman

vancouver shipyards Ltd. Union Rep: Kevin Payne

vancouver Taxi Ltd. (central Taxi dispatch) Union Rep: Barry Hodson

vantageone credit union Union Rep: Sarah Melsness

victoria shipyards Ltd. Union Rep: Kevin Payne

victoria Trade union Union Rep: Bonnie Merriman

westminster savings credit union Union Rep: Sarah Melsness

working enterprises Union Rep: Cheryl Popeniuk

xylem water solutions Union Rep: Jack Gerow

yellow Pages Union Rep: Cheryl Popeniuk


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local voice november 2013

Documents

union members

sense of fairness

fairness workspresidents

fairness works campaign

new training

canadian labour

im proud

hydro rates