Over the last week the local has conducted a number of meetings. We have had an Accommodation meeting an Executive meeting and a small Stewards meeting. I can tell you most of the things that were discussed at these meetings but for obvious reasons some things have to remain quiet. The most important reason for that is some things discussed revolved around specific officers.
Accommodation Meeting
On Sept 30th we had an Accommodation meeting. At this meeting there were a number of topics discussed. This meeting was requested by the Employer and we discussed topics ranging from mental health issues to education for our members on what everyone’s responsibilities are when it comes to Accommodation problems.
Executive Meeting
On October 3 we had an Executive meeting. We discussed some larger grievances and how to proceed with them.
1. We discussed the direction the local will be taking in the coming years. For me two of the key points are transparency and communication. I believe these two things go hand in hand. The members have a right to know what is going on and to expect answers from the people that lead them. I hope to increase the use of the union boards and the media sites that I have set up to press these two points home.
2. We discussed a date for a general membership meeting before the end of the month there will be more to follow once we have confirmed the date and location.
3. We discussed mental health issues; I have tasked Joanne Sheehan to contact a professional in that field to possibly discuss the subject with us and possibly management so that we can have a better handle on the topic. This is a union initiative.
4. We discussed scheduling problems. Both Chief Stewards had suggestions on different scheduling ideas. So they have both been tasked to provide templates for proposals to be considered by the members and then brought forward to management. The deadline for the submit templates, please do so. Just keep in mind that scheduling remains the right of the employer and any template that is submitted can be rejected by them.
5. We discussed the resurrection of our security news letter. So if anyone would like to submit department or union related articles please forward them to Joanne Sheehan.
6. We also discussed grievances that are ongoing and how to best pursue others. I will not elaborate on this topic for obvious reasons
Steward Meeting
Following the Executive meeting we had a Stewards meeting. This meeting was quite small but still productive, it gave me a chance to meet and discuss topics with the ground soldiers of the local. Some of the points that I have passed on are as follows:
1. When dealing with grievances the employer should be going through the steward of record on the grievance to discuss the matter at hand. They shouldn’t be going directly to the president for every grievance.
2. I passed out some information on writing grievances. The information booklet I gave out also contains information on how arbitrations are decided and how Collective Agreements are constructed and interpreted by the Arbitrators.
