PRC CC Apr 2002

Prairie Region Council

Conference Call - April 29, 2002

Present:
    Robyn Benson (REVP)                             Pat Davis (Regional Coordinator)
      Greg Krokosh (S. AB)                             Steve Pellerin-Fowlie (S AB)
      Marianne Hladun (N SK)                        Satinder Bains (S SK)
      Dale Buck (MB)                                      Barb Hall (MB)
      Debbie Metz (DCL)                                 Don Rogers (EG)
      Balwinder Dhaliwal (RWC)                      Brian Molsberry (Alt. REVP)
      Shelley Jamieson (EA)

Regrets:
    Niru Channan (N AB)                            Jo Chelick (N AB)
       Della Winkler (N SK)                           Janet Letwinka (S SK)
       Mary Jane Ellis (MB)                           Pat Mason (MB)

Call to Order:
The meeting was called to order at 11:05 a.m. Winnipeg time with Sister Robyn Benson in the Chair.

Adoption of Agenda:
The agenda was reviewed by Sister Benson. No agenda items were added.

1.) G6B & G8
Sr. Benson provided an overview of planning to date. The Calgary Area Council is taking the lead in coordinating PSAC’s involvement in the G6B & G8 activities. The G6B will be held from June 21 – 25/02 at the University of Calgary. The PRC is committed to attending the rally on Sunday, June 23 and the Labour Day on Monday, June 24/02 sponsored by the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC).

PRC Members that want to participate in the G8 Activities at the Solidarity Village from June 25 – 27, returning home on June 28 are welcome to do so, using the Political Action Budget.

The Calgary Area Council is charged with finding accommodations and overseeing the activities of G8 for PSAC members, including the Area Councils and members of the Executive including Sister Turmel, Brother Gordon, Sister Ducharme, Brother White, Brother Des Lauriers, and of course Sister Benson. Accommodations may be tents and trailers.

Funding for the G6B & G8 is $5,000.00 from the Political Action budget. If the Saskatchewan election is held in 2002, money will need to be set aside for PSAC Prairie Region’s involvement in the campaign. If the election is called for 2003, the potential exists to draw additional funds from the Political Action budget.

PSAC HQ may be able to provide donations in the form of funding for a booth, including literature and promotional items.

2.) RWC Budget Line Items:
Sister Dhaliwal initiated a discussion regarding how money can be accessed by the individual RWC’s. Sister Benson suggested Sister Dhaliwal consult with Brother Rogers regarding the application form created for Equity Group funding requests. Sister Benson advised there are two RWC Line Items; the Regional Women’s Committee Special Events and the RWC Assistance. Sister Benson recalls the RWC Assistance was previously developed to assist in funding for the National RWC Conference.

Action: Sister Dhaliwal will:
            * Contact Brother Rogers to consult on the application form
          * Contact each RO to confirm which RWCs are active.
          * Sister Dhaliwal will review the two RWC budget line items & in consultation with Sister Benson, will distribute funding as appropriate.

3.) DND Supply Chain
Robyn reviewed the information shared at the PRC Meeting in February 2002, providing the cost information and the contact reps for each RO. Lobby Kits have been disbursed to the Local Presidents. The PRC can focus their efforts on supporting Locals by offering assistance and letting each Local take the lead on what actions they want to take and by becoming involved in the MP Petition Campaign (attached). PRC Members can also get in touch with the ROs to see what assistance they require.

The budget of $111,500.00 covers; ads, promotions, pamphlets, leave without pay for lobbying MP’s, hall rentals and a 1-800 number. It does not include the cost of the RO staff. There is a calendar of events, which Sister Benson reviewed, highlighting ad release dates and May 15 – Day of Action. Sister Buck would like to see the PRC in Winnipeg and Edmonton get involved in the Day of Action which may include a BBQ to raise awareness among the members. Regional Reps are Joanna Miazga (Edmonton), Blaine Pilatzke (Regina) and Dianna Brown (Winnipeg).

For more information, please see:

The Prairie Region Website at http://www.psac.com/Prairie_Region/

The PSAC Website at http://www.psac.com/home-e.htm or

The UNDE Website at http://www.unde-uedn.com/english/index.html

Action: All PRC Reps should:
            * Become informed on the issues
            * Contact the Local President and offer assistance according to the Local President’s plan.
            * Contact the Regional Rep responsible for UNDE and offer assistance according to the Regional Rep’s plan.

4.) Term Study & Town Hall:
Sister Davis presented an overview of the objectives of the Term Study & reported on the Committees activities in the region including the focus group, the workplace visits and the Town Hall. The Committee advised Sister Davis and the Town Hall participants that the results of the meetings across the country (Halifax, Montreal, NCR, Winnipeg - Vancouver next) were consistent. The cities were chosen based on the fact that they had the highest percentage of term employees.

Sister Hall & Brother Rogers reported 15 people attended the workplace meeting at CEIU. The report from an Agriculture local was that 6 terms were in attendance at the workplace meeting.

Sister Davis reported there were approximately 40 people at the Town Hall on April 25 and most of the people that presented identified themselves as Indeterminate Members speaking on behalf of Term Members who feared repercussions in the workplace should they present their story themselves. Sister Davis expressed appreciation of the locals and components who went above and beyond; for example, Agriculture sponsored a member to travel from Swift Current to present. This member provided numerous examples of Terms experiences. Another member was sponsored by CEIU to travel in from Regina – again the member did an exceptional job representing the members back in Saskatchewan. The Shilo Local also had a vocal member who clearly expressed his experience and frustration at being a long-term Term.

Sister Davis noted that of the last 17 term studies held, this is the first to actually call on Term Employees to express their viewpoints. PSAC will be sure to bring the issues to the negotiation table if they are not resolved by this study.

Action:     PRC Members will:
              * Promote the use of the website and written submissions among your contacts to ensure Term Members are heard. The website address is:

        http://www.psac.com/CB/Joint-Initiatives/Terms/index-e.htm.

5.) $7 Million Training Initiative
Update by Sister Benson on the work in progress – the Committee has established the role of the key staff to develop the programs and has identified Core Program for delivery. In the Prairies, Sister Judy Shannon has already delivered several sessions on “Understanding Your Collective Agreement” at HRDC. The timelines indicate the start of pilots in May & June 2002, however, no final copy of the minutes has been released for February 2002, and minutes for the April 2002 meeting have yet to be received. Information will be passed along as soon as possible.

Action: PRC Members will:
* Advise Sister Shannon of large meetings where educational sessions can be planned in conjunction with your meetings.

6.) Roundtable
Sister Hladun reported the Saskatoon Reps are working with Sister Marion Searle of the SFL and are hoping to connect at the Prairie RWC Conference this weekend. The Saskatoon Area Council has a Conference of Locals on June 5 with both Brother Molsberry and Sister Benson attending. The Saskatoon Reps have been busy updating the SFL and CLC contact lists and their letters have been sent out long ago.

The Communication Committee is considering using the services of the SK Abilities Council as they prepared everything for the Prairies RWC Conference and it is fabulous. Expect price list in May and order forms by August 1. Sister Buck reports she is awaiting quotes from two Manitoba companies which produce union-made promotional items. The list of items runs from A – Z.

Brother Bains reported his letters have gone out, and the replies are starting to come in to the Regina RO.

Brother Pellerin-Fowlie and Brother Krokosh will work together this afternoon to start the process of sending their letters out to the locals.

Sister Buck is responsible for the locals towards the Brandon & western part of the province. Sister Buck has initiated contact with the VPs in all Components and to date has received only 2 replies back.

Sister Hall reports the By-Law Committee will be meeting prior to the Prairies RWC Conference. Sister Hall is responsible for the Northern Manitoba locals which are basically CEIU and Health & Welfare. She has been in contact with the NVPs. Sister Hall & the PRC congratulate Brother Don Rogers on his election as CEIU NVP for Manitoba. Sister Hall is located in close proximity to Brother Rogers in the workplace, and will make effective use of this connection.

Brother Rogers reported he met with Sister Benson to review and develop a plan on the Equity Group Funding. A funding application form has been created and has already been put to use for the Access Conference. Brother Rogers reported that he did a brief presentation on the PRC EG position to the CEIU Conference. Brother Rogers will be presenting anti-harassment training in the workplace starting next week. Brother Rogers starts his duties as CEIU NVP in Manitoba in September. Congratulations, Brother Rogers!

Sister Dhaliwal stated that she and Sister Benson will be presenting at the Pay Equity Legislative Review. Sister Benson traveled to Edmonton last week to assist Sister Dhaliwal and the Edmonton RWC members in researching and preparing their oral and written submissions. Sister Dhaliwal reports she has received 35 written submissions to date, and expects 5 members to speak in addition to herself and Sister Benson.

Sister Benson provided an explanation of the Pay Equity Legislative Review. Please encourage members to log-on to the website to provide their perspective at:

http://www.payequityreview.gc.ca/index-e.html

7.) Prairies RWC Conference
Sister Hladun provided an overview of the activities for the Prairies RWC Conference. Please advise Sister Jamieson if you would like a copy of the agenda. Sister Benson recognized the excellent work of the Committee including Sister Hladun and is looking forward to the Conference.

8.) Parks
All activities are on hold awaiting the appointment of a conciliation board. The PSSRB is not ready, however, PSAC is. Mid-May is optimistic, so job action likely won’t be that soon. Businesses in Parks have been advised of a labour dispute.

Action:   PRC Members will:
             * Get in touch will local presidents to assist with demonstrations.
             * Contact Regional Reps to assist with mobilization.
             * Especially in SK, Reps to contact small locals of 2 – 3 members to remind them they are not forgotten and to assist with mobilization.

9.) Biographies

Sister Buck on behalf of the Communication Committee noted the biographies must be in asap as the Communication Committee wants to prepare a pamphlet in time for the June meeting. It was noted that none of the Communication Committee has turned in their biographies yet, and it is suspected that they have not started them. Sister Jamieson was compelled to share that Sister Hall promptly turned in her biography when the PRC was first elected. Brother Rogers turned in his biography 10 seconds ago - 14 more to go!

Meeting adjourned at 12:30 pm Winnipeg time.

Back to Prairie Region Home Page