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GENERAL TEAMSTERS, LOCAL UNION NO. 326
affiliated with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters

Some sober comments about politics in the U.S. from our General President James P Hoffa in the Detroit News - So very relevant with the Canadian Federal Election in May. It's time on both sides of the borders that people started electing politicians that think about the working people and famillies as opposed to greed riddled companies. We understand and are frustrated with the current leaders of all parties but let's not give a right wing government any more power.

The following report was given by Brother Rick Eichel:

PRAIRE REGION REPORT FOR TEAMSTERS CANADA MEETINGS
MARCO ISLAND
WEEK OF MARCH 20/2011

THE PRAIRES

I am pleased to report that all the Locals in Joint Council 90 have white balloted for the IBT Delegate Election.  The one exception is the Rail Division due to the fact that both divisions have national elections. The TCRC have twenty three members running for eleven positions with the votes being counted on April 28th.  The Maintenance and Way Division have five members running for three delegate positions and one alternate position, the date for their vote count is April 12.

On the organizing front there has not been any success concerning FedEx in any of the Provinces.  I understand the other Locals are experiencing the same difficulties. All areas are keeping the phone lines open but have not had a big or concentrated effort. This is with keeping Teamsters Canada position regarding expenditures concerning this Company.  The Locals are trying to organize school bus companies but there has not been a lot of positive action to report.  We will continue to pursue any and all leads pertaining to this industry as the employees truly do need representation.  The drive for the Rail this winter was greeted with mixed results as some areas did better than others but all the organizers gained valuable information and contacts if needed for the future.

The prairies have ratified a two year agreement for Allied Systems. We were able to negotiate some positive language improvements along with a couple of small monetary gains in pension and tool allowance improvements. This is definitely much better than the CAW did for the Ontario and Quebec ex-Teamsters.  Our members are very busy and the company is struggling to recruit and retain new employees.  We are looking forward to the possibility of meeting and working with Jack Cooper this week.  (this could all be mute if the rumours of Allied’s demise come true)

Work is again picking up in the prairie region and the unemployment numbers are starting to drop again. This is evident by UPS who adopted a weekly bonus system for the Alberta drivers for the first two years. This is on top of the LOU for the improved progression rates that have been in effect for the last several years. This progression improvement and bonus system is now going to be implemented in Saskatchewan for local 395. Here we go again.

CATSA the governing body for airport pre-board screening has put out a REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL, this means that all airports are up for new companies to bid on the work. There will be four regions. British Columbia, the Prairies, Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes. They are saying that no company will be awarded more than one region, therefore, the likelihood of change is immense.  Our phones have lit up with potential employers looking for the business. We think there are a couple of companies that have a good chance and we have been having extensive discussions concerning the important issues that need to be addressed in their bids. The bids close in August and the winners will take over in November.

POLITICS

There is a lot of turmoil in Alberta with the announcement of Premier Stelmachs departure. Many are calling for him to leave office now but the plan is for an orderly departure in September when they have a leadership convention. Some say the fiscal hawks will not win as Albertans want services like infrastructure and healthcare. There are several people that have already thrown their hat into the ring. The right wing, Wild Rose Party is very organized and has a lot of support. Their leader Danielle Smith is a very smart and well-spoken individual but has an agenda most Albertans have not yet seen. There is a new group called the Alberta Party that is gaining some support and has some very credible people working for them. There is no election set for the near future but when it is called it will prove to be very interesting.

Saskatchewan’s provincial election is scheduled for this fall and the Saskatchewan Party seems to have an edge on the NDP. The good economic times are as a result of the Saskatchewan Party, at least that’s what a lot of people are thinking.

Manitoba’s provincial election is also this fall and we feel the NDP will be re-elected, although not with the same heavy majority as the last election.

LOCAL 987

As we all know the big news is the Locals success in organizing the taxis drivers in the Edmonton and Fort McMurray areas.  Previously they had organized the Edmonton airport taxi group and now have a ratified agreement which is running smoothly.  Most recently they won Labour Board decisions and votes (93%) with the greater Edmonton area and Fort McMurray taxi groups which, in theory puts several companies together for the purposes of bargaining.  This is a huge victory on two fronts, one, that the Teamsters win a huge group of new members and two, that the decisions are a change in the way the Alberta Labour Board looks at the definition of an employee. This is a big improvement for all of labour and our congratulations to 987. Good luck in their negotiations. (I will ask Dave to fill us all in more at the end of my report)  They are also working on signing two other new groups, Capital Taxi and Co-op Taxi.  They are also in the process of signing a petition for the Pepsi employees in Edmonton that are now represented by an association. This group consists of approximately 100 people.  The Local has filed a federal application for certification of a new First Nations group of EMT attendants and 911 operators on the Blood Indian reserve and are awaiting a response from the Board.

Their negotiations have seen positive results with ratifications at Sobeys, Federated Co-op, Canada Bread, MacDonald’s Consolidated, McKesson, Canadian Linen and Versacold.

With all of the new work and possibilities of other taxi groups the Local has hired a new Business Agent named Akram Ali Shammie.   Twenty one year office employee Wendy Dudgen will be retiring at the end of April.  Wendy does the pension work but could do it all in the office, we wish her good health and times in her retirement.

LOCAL 362

Although we had a good early response in an organizing drive on Manitoulin, a medium sized freight company, the four dollar raise they received ended the fury instantly. Since the interest disappeared the Company has changed their operating business, making an organizing drive in the future near impossible. At least the playing field is a little more level for our Union companies competing for the same freight. 

The Locals organizer has recently been spending his time on volunteer firefighters in a County north of Edmonton. The taxi decisions are helping our fight for this new type of possible member.  There is still a lot to overcome in getting this new group but there is about 1000 in the province working for different County’s.   It appears that if we are able to organize this group it will be by County.

In 2010 the CFL and Byers contracts were ratified and we are now dealing with merger issues as these two companies merged in December following our Common Employer Application. Although there are issues with a merger, the alternative could have been much worse. As a result of this merger we lost the Byers clerical group to a larger unit with OTE.

We have recently ratified all our other freight agreements with the exception of Reimer for which a meeting is being planned as I give this report. This is proving to come with some difficulty, our last agreement expired with money coming back into the contract on the last day, however, the company did not implement this. Local 31 is grieving this and Local 362 has filed a labour board complaint.

It was fortunate we raided the CAW for WSI when we did as shortly thereafter BFI bought them. BFI were Teamsters but a much smaller group so we would not even have made the ballots if a Common Employer Application had been made. The Business Agents are close to a deal on this new combined group of three bargaining units.

A new group called Winalta has been ratified. Pre Board Screeners with Garda in Edmonton and Fort McMurray are in negotiations along with Lafarge in both Edmonton and Fort McMurray.  Burnco Calgary will be the big ready-mix contract open later this summer. The negotiations with a much smaller Burnco group in Red Deer are being slow played, this is the group that had a seven month lock out two years ago.  The Diversified Transportation Transit group in Fort McMurray has turned down an offer and we are applying for mediation.

The Local will be voting the Industrial Construction Agreement the weekend following these meetings. It has been a very different round of bargaining as I have never seen all the trades come together and stay together to deal with common issues. The monetary increases are built around a unique formula that is based on CPI and the price of oil.  The low end would be  around 2% and 5% on the high end.  There are some big projects to start soon and we are working at getting members to the Union friendly contractors. Maintenance work should be very busy with some major shutdowns on the planning board for the spring and fall.  There are three smaller pipeline projects currently going.

The movie industry should be busier in 2011 than 2010 as a result of the marketing work done by the group of Unions of which we are a part of.  Unfortunately, our Government incentives fall way behind other jurisdictions.

Local 362 has also hired a new Business Agent named Ryan Adams who will be replacing the retiring Keith Norris of our Edmonton office. Keith has been at the local since 1990 and we will be missing a valuable piece of the organization. Our best wishes to Keith and his family.

LOCAL 395

As stated earlier the organizer is making contacts on the pre board screeners. They are Steel workers now, but if the employer changes they will be ready to start signing cards. They are pleased with the contacts they are making.  Super Save Waste has moved into the Province and the Local is working very hard on this fast growing company.

As evident by UPS paying over the collective agreement, Saskatchewan’s economy is picking up steam.  Lafarge in Saskatoon just ratified with 15% in the first year and 3% and 3% in the second and third years. The negotiations are starting the end of the month with Saputo Dairies, which is the Locals largest employer.  Agra Foods is also scheduled to start bargaining. The Local has some other smaller units coming into negotiations this year. As always some good some bad as they are having difficulties with Waste Management and the company’s request for concessions. Negotiations continue with this group.

There is not much to report on the pipeline or industrial construction at this time.

LOCAL 979

The Locals organizing energy has been heavily focused on the Lotteries group, as can be expected.  At the end of my report I will ask Kelly to tell us in more detail the state of affairs with this group. Ikea is entering Manitoba and is building a new store, so the Local will be targeting this company as they start to hire employees.

The Local has ratified a three deal with Fastfrate, another three years with Tallcrete and a five year agreement with PLH. They are voting Aeroguard with a very good one year offer. Reimers’ offer is also being voted soon.  They are currently negotiating with Kleyson, Reimers’ maintenance department , Inland Pipe and Aggregate and the Casinos Managers.

Industrial Construction and pipeline is slow at this time with about 25 members working on the Wuskwatim Hydro project in the north.  When the east side road project starts it should employ approximately 50-100 members.

Brother Ashdown’s retirement party was well attended and a fun filled night with many roasts was had by all. We will miss Brother Ashdowns skills, humour and caring for our organization and members.

TCRC DIVISION

The Calgary office reports they have been on the road lately visiting the members and dealing with a multitude of grievances and issues.   At the end of the year they will be busy negotiating the CP Rail traffic controllers as well as the CN engineers.

Planning is underway for this year’s charity golf tournament with Local 362.

MAINTENANCE AND WAY DIVISION

They are in negotiations with several small groups such as Burlington North and the Hudson Bay Railway and they will be soon voting an offer with Via Rail.

They were successful in defeating the CAW in regards to the Ontario North group and are now in the process of dealing with charges against some of the Local’s lodge executives.
They are also on the road traveling as the seasonal crews are now starting back for the busy summer schedule of repair and maintenance. They expect to be back to full employment very soon.

This concludes my report. Thank you.

For all Members of the Industrial Construciton division the following is an update from the Building Trades Framework Bargaining Committee regarding the negotiations to the 2011-2015 Collective Agreement - Bargaining Update

How well do you know your fellow Teamster?

Brother Harry Denison passed away last year but the story of parts of his life are worth repeating and remembering.

As a teenager Harry joined the Canadian Air Force and was a mid-gunner in a Halifax bomber, which was  shot down over Germany (or as Harry thought had a mid-air collision).  Harry was the sole survivor from a crew of seven. 

Harry’s fall of 22,000 feet without a parachute (and surviving) landed him in a forest in occupied Europe  - and in the Guiness Book of Records.   Harry’s nickname was “No Chute”, from that time on.  He became a prisoner of war after he was found, injured, by two Russian workers who turned Harry over to a German army post.  Harry recuperated from his broken ribs and bruises in a German hospital.  The crash happened in March, 1945 and Harry was home by August.

While researching his book, “The Mystery of Frankenberg’s Canadian Airman”, Peter Hessel was mistakenly led to believe that Harry was the murdered Canadian Peter was basing his book on.  Imagine his surprise when he found Harry alive and well, in 2004.  When Peter explained to Harry the reason for his call Harry said he had  been lucky all his life.  He said,  “I was supposed to die that night when my plane crashed but I didn’t.”

After Harry’s death a member of Parliament rose to pay tribute to Harry, in the House of Commons.

Upon returning to Canada Harry began his 50 year career in trucking.  He was one of the first ice-road truckers.  Harry was a member of Teamsters Local 362 for 28 years.  Always with a smile, and a joke to tell - Harry is remembered fondly by many.

So you see, we are all Teamsters but each have our own tales to tell.

TEAMSTERS CANADA YOUTH COMMITTEE

The following is a report by Brother Cody Finley, Local 362’s representative on the Teamster’s Canada Youth Committee:

In fall of 2009 Teamsters Canada created a National Youth Committee.  The Committee consists of 15 Members, who represent the four Joint Councils in Canada (JC36, JC52, JC90, JC91) as well as Members of the TCRC and the TCRC MWED.  These Members, appointed by each Joint Council and conference, are from various industries that the Teamsters Union represents, such as: bottling, construction, freight, dairy, retail, small packages, and rail.   Special mention must be made to Sister Brigitte Sottile. Brigitte is the Director of Education for Teamsters Canada and one the biggest supporters and an asset to the Youth Committee and the Union.

The Committee is dedicated to promoting the interests of the youth and gives them a voice within our Union, and generally improves the economic and social well being of youth Members.  The main purpose of the Committee is to unify young Local Members of the different Local Unions, through local, regional, provincial, and national networks.  Young Members represent a substantial percentage of the Teamsters Union Membership and they are a powerful resource for the Union.  The Committee believes that active participation of the youth will enhance our Union’s strength at the bargaining table, organizing campaigns and in the political arena.

The 4th meeting was recently held in Vancouver on February 7th and 8th, 2011.  Members of the Committee gave reports on their Local Unions, and what they have been doing to let people know about the Youth Committee.  Discussions were held regarding the Facebook page which is approaching 350 Members.  The page is growing and the idea is that it will hopefully become a forum for actions going on within the Union i.e. charity events, strikes, lockouts, and organizing.  The page also includes facts and history about Teamsters. If you are interested in joining or getting more information please check us out on FACEBOOKand look for “TCYC CJTC”. We look forward to seeing new Members!

The Committee also discussed becoming more visible.  The Committee has agreed that becoming involved in charity events, through volunteering and helping with fundraising as a Member of the Youth Committee and your Local Union, will assist in achieving this goal.  Discussions were also held about making contacts within your Local to become more involved as a young Teamster Member.

The Youth Committee held discussions to get our posters out to the Union boards in lunch rooms, as well as a pamphlet to offer more information on who we are and our goals as young proud Members of the Teamsters Union.  If you have not seen them yet the Committee has also developed a pin and hat for younger Members of the Union.  They are available at your Local Union. 

If you have any questions or would like to become involved with the Youth Committee please contact Local 362 and they will provide your contact information to me.

Looking forward to hearing from you.
Cody Finley, Local 362 JC90 Teamsters Canada Youth Committee

 

LETTER OF COMMENDATION RECEIVED BY THE ALBERTA BUILDING TRADES

To whom it may concern:

As a just-retired columnist with the Edmonton Sun, I had the pleasure over of watching The Building Trades of Alberta’s reputation as a great community member grow and grow in recent years.

The donations made from the Building Trades Foundation has been significant and profound – both to the Glenrose Hospital and to the STARS airborne  ambulance organization, plus hundreds of smaller donations. Your choice of organizations to support have always been first-rate.

I would suggest, as a consequence, that the Building Trades of Alberta now has a significantly higher public  profile in the province, for all the right reasons.

It is now seen as a labour organization that truly cares about the communities its members live in and serve. The initial reaction of general public, when the Building Trades name comes up in conversation, would be “those  trade folks who give an awful lot to charity.”

I would suggest the positive image has made Building Trades of Alberta members themselves more proud of the organization they belong to, as they too can bask indirectly in the positive light you have created for all in the trades movements.

Of course philanthropy is at the heart of such giving. But the reality is also skilled “reputation management” and I would suggest the Building Trades of Alberta have, over the past few years, done a great deal to improve the image of all trades professionals in Alberta.

Well done.

Graham Hicks

Page Six columnist (retired) Edmonton Sun

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OPEN AGREEMENTS AS AT DECEMBER 22, 2010