CEP Local 592, Port Alberni, B.C.

CEP National Scolarships

2012-01-04T15:18:00.000-08:00

The CEP is accepting applications for the 3 $2000 memorial scholarships for our region for 2012. They are available to members in good standing, their children or the children of retired or deceased members.

There is also a $2000 scholarship promoting equality in recognition of the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women.

Details are posted on the Local 592 notice boards. Contact me for an application form.

Adam Currey
Recording Secretary

No Forward Look for January

2012-01-04T15:10:00.000-08:00

The executive has voted to not publish a Forward Look for January. Although this has been a very eventful month for the local, virtually everything that we have been working on has been relayed to the local at special meetings, the email list and the blog.

Everyone is waiting to hear both from the company and other locals. When we have information to give you we will pass it on either here or through the email list.

Adam Currey
Recording Secretary

Voting Results

2011-12-31T18:09:00.000-08:00

I am pleased to say that Local 592 voted in favour of the Memorandum of Agreement. As far as the Catalyst locals as a group, 4 of the 5 locals voted in favour.

I don't have any further information at this time but will keep you all informed . We had an extraordinary turn out for voting and I would like to thank all our members for attending our Special meeting.

Thank You

Jim

Results to be released Friday evening.

2011-12-29T20:51:00.000-08:00

The polls for our vote have closed. The results will be released Friday night after all locals have voted.

Thanks for your patience.

Adam Currey
Recording Secretary

Important Notice!

2011-12-23T14:30:00.000-08:00

We will be holding three special meetings at Hansen Hall.

Information Meeting: December 27 @ 7:00 P.M.

Votes Meetings: December 29 @ 2:00 P.M. and 7:00 P.M.

All members of Local 592 are strongly urged to attend.

UPDATE ON CONTINUING DISCUSSIONS WITH CATALYST PAPER

2011-12-15T08:17:00.001-08:00

December 15, 2011

UPDATE ON CONTINUING DISCUSSIONS WITH CATALYST PAPER

As reported in the last update on December 13th, discussions between Catalyst Paper, CEP Local Unions and legal counsels concerning CCAA / Bankruptcy process, restructuring of the bondholder debt and possible outcomes have been ongoing over the past three days.

During this period an Independent Forensic Accountant has been reviewing the financial records of the employer to determine the accuracy of their reports to the local unions and this morning will be reporting back to the Locals. In preliminary discussions, he has reported that all the information and data substantiates Catalyst’s information that it requires immediate relief from the bondholders in the form of a reduction in the bond debt and therefore the interest payments that are associated to it.

As indicated in the press release this morning from Catalyst, they are deferring payment on the $21 million US dollar interest payment due on December 15, 2011 and will be taking advantage of the thirty (30) day grace period and delayed interest payment in a move to restructure their bond debt.

Catalyst has assured the Local Unions in a meeting held last evening that the mills will continue to operate during the deferral period in a manner that will see them meet the delivery of the product to their customers and this action will not impact our members’ day-to - day lives.

The Local Unions’ will continue to meet today to discuss the options that are available to them up to and including entering into early negotiations for a renewal of the 2008 – 2012 Labour Agreement. Entering into these discussions is made with the undertaking that any agreement would be contingent upon an agreement being reached with the bondholders to reduce Catalyst’s debt and a standard agreement being reached throughout the three mills.

As was stated by the Catalyst Locals on the conference call – once they enter into the process of bargaining a renewed collective agreement, they will forward a letter stating they are withdrawing from caucus.

The 2012 Executive

2011-12-08T21:28:00.000-08:00

Now that the executive elections are done, here is a list of the 2012 CEP Local 592 Executive.

Jim Vandusen - President
Travis Goodyear - Vice President
Owen Paxton - Vice President
Ian Nicholson - Vice President
Adam Currey - Recording Secretary
Brent Hamelin - Financial Secretary
Randy Teichman - Trustee
Andy Bos - Trustee
Dan Rogers - Safety Officer/Trustee

Wage Delegates: Jim Vandusen, Travis Goodyear, Brent Hamelin. Alternate: Adam Currey

In Solidarity,

Adam Currey

Result of the Special Meeting Vote

2011-12-08T21:15:00.000-08:00

The result of the vote from today's special meetings was in favor of the Wage Delegates talking with the company. We will keep the local as informed as we can.

In Solidarity

Adam Currey
Recording Secretary

RESULTS OF THE VOTE

2011-12-06T09:17:00.000-08:00

The results of the election are in:

Vice President (2 positions, 2 year term)

Doug Chisholm
Ian Nicholson - ELECTED
Owen Paxton - ELECTED

Safety Officer/Trustee (1 position, 1 year term)

Simon Fox
Joan Race
Dan Rogers - ELECTED

Congratulations to those who won, and a sincere thank you to those who put their names forward.

Adam Currey
Recording Secretary

No Forward Look for this Month

2011-12-05T09:43:00.000-08:00

Due to recent developments, we will be busy with other work and will not be putting out a Forward Look for December. The purpose of the Forward Look is to keep our members up-to-date with what has happened over the course of the month. As things happen over the next couple of weeks we will keep you informed with this blog, posters in the mill and Jim's e-mail list. If you would like to be added to Jim's list e-mail him at jvandusen592@gmail.com.

And a reminder, the special meetings will be at 2pm and 7pm on Thursday, December 8th.

Adam Currey
Recording Secretary

Special Meetings

2011-12-04T17:41:00.000-08:00

There will two special meetings on Thursday, December 8th, at 2:00pm and 7:00pm at Hansen Hall to discuss some very important issues. All members are strongly urged to attend.

In Solidarity

Adam Currey
Recording Secretary.

Local 592 Elections

2011-11-22T12:15:00.000-08:00

Local 592 will be holding elections for two positions this month. Elections will be held at the gate November 23rd and November 26th from 4:00am - 8:00am and 4:00pm to 6:00pm. The union hall will be open for voting on November 23rd from 9:00am - Noon and from 1:00pm - 4:30pm.

The nominees are:

Vice President (2 positions, 2 year term)

Doug Chisholm
Ian Nicholson
Owen Paxton

Safety Officer/Trustee (1 position, 1 year term)

Simon Fox
Joan Race
Dan Rogers

At the voting booth we will be handing out Contract Negotiation questionnaires. The Wage Delegates would like your input on which Main Wage issues are important to you so that we can prioritize them to bring to Pre-Wage in February. There will be a ballot box at the guard house or you can drop them off at the hall, if no one is there just drop them off in the mail slot. All questionnaires should be dropped off by December 5th.

In Solidarity

Adam Currey
Recording Secretary
Wage Delegate

The November Forward Look

2011-11-14T23:01:00.000-08:00

The November Forward Look is now online. View it by clicking here.

Just a reminder that the next general meeting is on Monday the 21st. We will be nominating for executive positions.

In Solidarity

Adam Currey
Recording Secretary

The October Forward Look

2011-10-12T21:46:00.000-07:00

The October Forward Look is now online. View it by clicking here.

Also, a reminder that the meeting is on Monday, the 17th.

Statement from the B.C. Federation of Labour on Occupy Wall Street

2011-10-12T21:39:00.000-07:00

Global economic uncertainty is shining a bright light on the rapidly growing gap between rich and poor in North America and around the world. In the United States, the consequences have been widespread and severe. Real unemployment is approaching 20 per cent. People are losing their homes to foreclosures. And, for the first time in generations, few young Americans believe their lives will be as prosperous and secure as their parents.

Here, well paying jobs, fair taxation and strong public services built the Canada we know and love. For 20 years across Canada, however, real wages have stagnated, the richest Canadians and corporations have avoided billions in taxes, and successive governments have weakened public services. This has created a gap between rich and poor not seen in generations, and the gap is widening.

The Conference Board of Canada has identified that Canada had the second largest rate of income inequality growth among peer nations from the mid-1990’s to the mid-2000’s. Clearly, the same conditions that have lead to Wall Street exist in Canada as well.

In British Columbia, a decade of tax cuts for the richest British Columbians and corporations combined with stagnant wages for average income earners have left British Columbia families struggling to make ends meet and nervous about their futures. As the cost of living has increased, household debt has piled up and savings eroded. This has got to stop.

The Occupy Wall Street movement expresses an underlying desire for fairness and equality in the economy and our society. The B.C. Federation of Labour stands in solidarity with that desire, as part of the 99 percent, and calls on the governments of British Columbia and Canada to act swiftly and decisively to narrow the gap. The BC Fed will support an ongoing peaceful occupation in Vancouver on these important issues.

Members of the B.C. Federation of Labour will gather Saturday October 15th at the Vancouver Art Gallery at 12:00 p.m. in solidarity with the Occupy Wall Street movement's call for good jobs, fair taxes and strong public services.

For more information visit http://act.bcfed.ca/solidaritywithoccupywallstreet/

No Forward Look for September

2011-09-12T16:42:00.000-07:00

I did not receive any Forward Look articles, so I will not be putting out an issue this month. If anything happens Jim will contact those on his email list. With summer ending we should have a lot more to report in the coming months. Jim, Doug and I will be going to the Western Region conference and there is an upcoming Wage Caucus meeting in Vancouver on the 1st of October.

I would like to remind everyone that the general meeting will be on Monday, September the 19th at 7pm. On the agenda will be the notice of motion about the strike dues from the last round of negotiations. Jim and Doug will report on the President's council meeting. We will also have updates on what has been going on with Standing Committee, financial reports, etc. throughout the summer.

In solidarity,

Adam Currey
Recording Secretary

Brent Hamelin Stepping Down as Vice President

2011-08-07T15:48:00.001-07:00

Brent Hamelin has decided to step down from his position as Vice President of Local 592 for personal reasons. I would like to thank Brent for his contributions to the local as a member of the executive over the last several years. I learned much from him and look forward to working with him as a fellow wage delegate.

In the short term, I will be taking on Brent's responsibilities until we have an election to fill the position permanently.

In Solidarity,

Adam Currey

Recording Secretary

Forward Look for August

2011-08-07T15:42:00.000-07:00

The August Forward Look is now online. View it by clicking here.

In Solidarity,

Adam Currey
Recording Secretary

No Forward Look this month

2011-07-05T12:13:00.000-07:00

As we had no columns for the month and little to report, we have canceled the Forward Look for July. We will publish one for August to keep everyone up to date in the absence of an August general meeting.

Any pressing information will be put on the blog or will be sent out on Jim's email list.

In solidarity

Adam Currey
Recording Secretary

Notice of Motion Withdrawn

2011-07-05T12:04:00.000-07:00

The Notice of Motion:

“That the strike assistance funds from 2007 and 2008 negotiations be put in a separate strike assistance account to only be used if needed for strike assistance for the 2012 negotiations.”

This motion was withdrawn by the executive to add some clarification. We will bring a new motion at a later date.

In Solidarity

Adam Currey
Recording Secretary

The June Edition of the Forward Look

2011-06-14T23:24:00.000-07:00

The June edition of the Forward Look is now online. View it by clicking here.

In Solidarity

Adam Currey
Recording Secretary

Notice of Motion

2011-05-19T16:37:00.000-07:00

“That the strike assistance funds from 2007 and 2008 negotiations be put in a separate strike assistance account to only be used if needed for strike assistance for the 2012 negotiations.”

This motion will be voted on at the June 20th General meeting.

In solidarity,

Adam Currey
Recording Secretary

New Forward Look

2011-05-10T22:14:00.000-07:00

The May edition of the Forward Look is now online. View it by clicking here.

In Solidarity

Adam Currey
Recording Secretary

The April Forward Look Is Now Online...

2011-04-08T22:14:00.001-07:00

As of April 4th I am officially back in the mill after a few months of parental leave which included a trip south and lots of time with my family.

Back to business. The April Forward Look is now online. View it by clicking here.

In Solidarity,

Adam Currey
Recording Secretary
CEP Local 592

CEP scholarships available

2011-01-05T15:37:00.000-08:00

The CEP National have announced two scholarships.

The first is for members in good standing, their children or the children of retired or deceased members who were in good standing. Three scholarships of $2000 each will be rewarded.

The second scholarship is for women who are members in good standing, their children or the children of retired or deceased members. Applicants must be entering or undertaking study at a college, university, CEGEP or technological institute for the 2011/2012 session in male dominated fields such as trades, technology, operations and blue collar work. This scholarship is also for $2000.

All applications must be in by April 15, 2011.

For more details or to get an application get in contact with Roger Haggerty.

In solidarity

Adam Currey

New Forward Look

2010-12-15T22:27:00.000-08:00

The December Forward Look is now online. View it by clicking here.

In solidarity,

Adam Currey

Daryl De Rooy Celebration of Life

2010-11-22T20:45:00.000-08:00

Brothers and Sisters,

I am sure most of you have heard that Daryl passed away on November the 18th. The company should be putting out something very soon but for those readers who may not have access to that I thought something should be posted here regarding the Celebration of Life for Daryl.

This will be held Friday, November 26th at 2:00 p.m. at the Italian Hall, 4065 6th Ave. in Port Alberni. Please note that this venue has changed and there may still be some notices coming out that indicate that it is at Hansen Hall. It was decided today that a larger hall would be needed and was changed after some earlier notices had gone out.

We are all deeply saddened at the loss of a great friend and a great union activist who fought hard for many years for the membership of Local 592. I will miss him greatly.

As per his family's request, in lieu of flowers, please make a donation in memory of Daryl to the BC Transplant Society, http://www.transplant.bc.ca.

In solidarity,

Tim Thompson

November Forward Look

2010-11-12T22:23:00.000-08:00

The November Forward Look is now online. View by clicking here.

In solidarity,

Adam Currey

October Forward Look

2010-10-14T21:59:00.000-07:00

The October edition of the Forward Look is now online. You can view it by clicking here.

Date Change for the Next General Meeting

2010-10-11T01:49:00.000-07:00

Just a reminder that the date of the next general meeting has been changed to October 25th.

In Solidarity,

Adam Currey

RESULTS OF THE VOTE

2010-10-01T20:19:00.000-07:00

The results of the vote:

“ARE YOU IN FAVOUR OF SENDING THE WAGE DELEGATES TO NEGOTIATE A NEW COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT”

Yes 2%

No 98%

In solidarity

Adam Currey

2010-09-12T17:20:00.001-07:00

Hi All

Just an update on what has transpired since our meetings in the mill with Kevin Clarke early last week. Following similar meetings in all the Catalyst mills the Presidents, some of their Wage Delegates, Dave Schaub and Don Boucher had a conference call to discuss our plan moving forward. After lengthy discussion all the other locals agreed to go to their memberships and allow them to vote on whether or not they want their Wage Delegates to negotiate a new Collective Agreement. They also agreed with our position that all the locals conduct these votes on the same day. Due to the other locals needing time to post notices and the National Convention later this week, the date that was chosen is September 30.

So we will be postponing our vote that was scheduled for tomorrow, Monday September 13th and will be voting along with the other locals on the 30th.

Due to this extremely short notice we will still conduct the 2 pm meeting for any of our members that wish to attend. We will have a brief discussion and answer questions but no vote will be held. At 7 pm we will have a brief discussion and then begin our General Meeting .

Thank You
Jim

September Forward Look Now Online

2010-09-06T02:19:00.000-07:00

The September Forward Look is not online. You can view it by clicking here.

In Solidarity

Adam Currey

Upcoming Dates

2010-09-04T23:17:00.000-07:00

There are a number of things coming up in the next two weeks.

Kevin Clarke is visiting the mill to sell his list of concessions on the 7th.

There will be two special meetings on the 13th at 2PM and 7PM. The general meeting will follow the 7PM meeting, a week earlier than usual.

In Solidarity

Adam Currey

Information on the President's Council Meeting.

2010-08-24T11:42:00.001-07:00

On August 23, the Catalyst Paper President's Council met with the company for their regularly scheduled meeting. At the meeting the company asked for a number of concessions from the locals.

As a result of this, Jim will be sending more information on the situation to those on his email list by tomorrow evening. We will also be putting out notices around the mill.

To get on Jim's email list contact him at jvandusen592@gmail.com.

June Forward Look

2010-06-15T12:06:00.000-07:00

This month's Forward Look is now online. View it by clicking here.

In Solidarity.

Adam Currey

Information About the Upcoming General Meeting.

2010-06-06T21:38:00.000-07:00

The Local 592 Wage Delegates will be seeking approval from the executive and then the membership to support the laid off members at Elk Falls.

Vote and details at the General Meeting on Monday, June 21st.

In Solidarity,

Adam Currey
Recording Secretary

No Forward Look this month

2010-05-14T16:20:00.000-07:00

We don't have any articles this month, so I won't be putting out a Forward Look. If anything pressing comes up I will put it up on the blog or Jim will send out an email.

In solidarity

Adam Currey

Local 592 Wage Delegate Report

2010-04-15T22:35:00.000-07:00

Late last week Roy and I met with Brian Johnson and Tom Paisley and we were presented with a letter asking us to postpone our wage increase due May 1,2010. They informed us that this request was being made to all the Catalyst locals. The Catalyst locals met Monday evening and decided that the Presidents would meet with the company to inform them that the locals would not be entertaining this request.

The following day Jim Britton, Mike Fenton, Don Bouchier, Bob Hughf and the Presidents met with Brian Johnston and Steve Boniferro. Jim told them that we were not in favour of postponing our wage increase but we would still be willing to meet with them to discuss the challenges facing this company. Brian said that they were pleased to hear this and they are eager to resume talks with the local unions. The date for this meeting will be set in the days to come.

At Monday night’s General meeting we will be seeking direction from this local on how to proceed. The Wage Delegates will be recommending that Local 592 Wage Delegates attend these talks with the Company.

I apologize for the short notice but due to the urgency of the group to have this meeting as soon as everyone’s schedule will permit, we have no choice but to bring this to our local Monday night.

A full report will be given Monday night prior to voting on our recommendation. This is an extremely important issue and I urge our members come out, get the facts, express your opinion and be involved in the decision.

Jim VanDusen
President
Wage Delegate

April Forward Look

2010-04-12T13:08:00.000-07:00

The April edition of the Forward Look is now online. View it here.

2010-03-12T11:59:00.000-08:00

This month's Forward Look is now online. View it by clicking here.

In Solidarity.

Adam Currey

2010-02-18T13:23:00.000-08:00

I'd like to remind members that anyone in Local 592 can publish an article in the Forward Look. Articles are due on the Friday before the executive meeting, for March that is on Friday the 5th. You can write them in an email or in a Word document. Send them to me by clicking on my name under the heading "email addresses" on the right of this page.

In Solidarity,

Adam Currey

2010-02-18T13:15:00.000-08:00

The CEP 592 Labour Agreement for 2008 to 2012 is now online. View it by clicking here.

In Solidarity

Adam Currey

February Forward Look.

2010-02-11T22:58:00.000-08:00

The February Forward Look is now online. View it here.

In Solidarity,
Adam Currey

2010-01-18T09:48:00.000-08:00

The January edition of the Forward Look is now online. Read it here .

In Solidarity,

Adam Currey

December Forward Look

2009-12-09T14:47:00.000-08:00

The December Issue of the Forward Look is now online. Read it here.

In Solidarity,

Tim

November Forward Look

2009-11-11T19:16:00.000-08:00

UPDATE: The final version is now up.

Here is the final run of this month's Forward Look. Jim's article is now included.

There are three articles up, plus the agenda for this month's meeting on Monday night. Just a reminder that Monday night is nomination night and there are a number of positions up for election (including mine as I will not be running this year).

Hope to see you there.

In solidarity,

Tim

November Meetings

2009-11-06T09:38:00.000-08:00

My apologies for not having gotten this up earlier, here or at the mill site, but the dates for this month's Executive and General meetings are as follows:

Executive: Monday, November 9th, 6:00 PM

General: Monday, November 16th, 7:00 PM

Business:
Notice of Motion: Bylaw amendments re: Executive changes.
2010 Executive Nominations

Thanks,

Tim

October Forward Look

2009-10-16T12:13:00.000-07:00

The October Forward Look is up. You can view it here. The Agenda for Monday's meeting is on the final page.

Tim

CEP Press Release

2009-09-23T15:23:00.000-07:00

Press Release
Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada

CEP Frustrated by Moving Goalposts
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 22, 2009

CAMPBELL RIVER – CEP members in Campbell River are frustrated by the latest attempt by
their employer, Catalyst Paper, to blame the workers for the dismal state of the pulp and paper
industry.

“What we need is to find solutions for an industry in trouble,” states CEP Local 1123 President
Ian Simpson. “Catalyst seems to think that they can overcome fibre supply and market issues by gutting our collective agreement. We know that there has never been an operation saved when the workers give concessions.
“Catalyst is proposing a massive reduction in wages and benefits but has no suggestions for how
to find better operating solutions for the mill,” continues Simpson. “We have made several
major proposals to Catalyst on reducing labour costs in a variety of ways. Despite the fact that
we have met their stated goal of an $80 per tonne cost structure, Catalyst has now asked for an
additional 40 to 45% reduction in the pay package of our members.”

“What is most upsetting to us is that Catalyst is asking these two locals to cut the throats of their
Brothers and Sisters in other Catalyst operations,” states National Rep Mike Fenton. “If they
were to accept this agreement, Catalyst will permanently shut down another operation. It’s no
secret that they are aiming for a two mill operation.”

“The most frustrating part of all of this is the moving goalposts,” continues Fenton. “We have
been meeting with the employer off and on for months. Once the Locals achieved what the
company had asked for, they would change their position and made more dramatic demands. No
matter what was achieved, it was never enough for Catalyst. It is time for the entire industry,
provincial and federal governments to get together and address the issues that are destroying this industry rather than attacking workers.”

CEP represents 120,000 members from coast to coast in energy, paper, telecommunications,
graphical, media and assorted other industries.

For more information contact:
Ian Simpson, President, CEP Local 1123
Mike Fenton, CEP National Representative

Dog Days of Summer

2009-08-10T21:14:00.000-07:00

The summer doldrums seems to affect all kinds of things, like the Forward Look. There will be no Forward Look this month since there were no articles submitted.

However, there is an advertising poster for a Union Night with the Whitecaps that you can view by clicking on the link. If you're a soccer fan and you're going to be in Vancouver on September 18th check it out. This event is a United Way fundraiser and $4 from every ticket will be donated to the United Way. Tickets are $15 and are a $21 value. So, not only a good deal for Whitecaps fans, but you can also help out the United Way drive.

In solidarity,

Tim

July Forward Look

2009-07-14T23:02:00.001-07:00

The July Forward Look is now up. It is a fairly short version. A printed edition will be going into the mill later this week (I think).

Click here to view or above.

One note. The google site that I have this files stored in keeps saying that they will eventually migrate to a new google site. I don't know how this will affect the links so anyone notices that the links no longer work, please let me know and I'll do my best to fix them up. The transition may be smooth but I'll have to wait and see.

Thanks and hope everyone is enjoying this great summer.

In solidarity,

Tim

June Forward Look

2009-06-12T11:46:00.000-07:00

The June Forward Look is now online. Find it by clicking here.

Please note that due to the fact there was really only the one article, we have not published a print version this month.

Don't forget the General Meeting on Monday night at 7:00 p.m. We will be dealing with some important issues.

Thanks.

Tim

Western Region FYI - May 18

2009-05-21T21:44:00.000-07:00

This weeks edition of the Western Region FYI can be viewed here.

Western Region FYI - May 18

Court Rebuffs Forestry Giant

2009-05-19T21:25:00.000-07:00

After tonight's General meeting, Steve Smith approached me with a newspaper clipping of the following article that he thought would be of interest to everyone. It is titled Court rebuffs forestry giant and the original can be found here. Here is what the article says:

Court rebuffs forestry giant
By Lynn Moore, Canwest News ServiceMay 5, 2009

Insolvent AbitibiBowater Inc. must abide by its collective labour agreement and allow its unionized workers early retirement with full benefits, a Quebec Superior Court Judge ruled yesterday.
The Montreal-based forestry giant's decision to unilaterally suspend a new provision of the collective agreement that improved its workers' pension plan is "illegal," Justice Clement Gascon said in a ruling.
"This ruling sends a clear message that collective agreements must be respected" during bankruptcy protection proceedings, Gaetan Menard, an executive with the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada, said.
During contract negotiations, Abitibi-Consolidated, which in 2007 merged with Bowater, signed an agreement with the CEPU that would allow employees with 20 years of service to retire at age 57, instead of age 58, with full pension benefits. It also increased slightly the company's pension-plan contributions.
For their part, workers agreed to contribute another one-half per cent of their salary to the pension plan from May 1.
The company,under bankruptcy protection in the U.S. and Canada, is not appealing Gascon's ruling.
AbitibiBowater, which argued in court that it could not afford the cost of the new provisions as it seeks to restructure, had already begun taking those extra deductions from its employees, the court heard last week.
"The term double standard comes to mind," Gascon told the court while giving his reasons for the ruling.
About 200 Abitibi workers had informed the company they wanted to take early retirement, as early as May 1, the court had heard. On April 27, their union was informed by an e-mail that the company was suspending the pension improvements and those workers had the option of returning to work.
© Copyright (c) The Province

General Meeting Reminder

2009-05-18T15:50:00.001-07:00

Just a reminder that this month's General Meeting is on Tuesday, May 19 at 7:00 pm not on Monday as normal.

See you Tuesday night.

May Forward Look

2009-05-12T16:30:00.000-07:00

The May edition of the Forward Look is online here. A print version will be available in the mill later this week.

Additionally, please note that the General Meeting is on Tuesday next week (May 19) not Monday as usual. This is due to Monday being Victoria Day.

Important: Shop Stewards Meeting Cancelled

2009-04-29T16:05:00.001-07:00

Important Notice: The Shop Stewards scheduled for Monday, May 4 has been canceled. This is due to the need for an emergency Executive meeting to discuss some issues that cannot wait for the following week.

The emergency Executive meeting will be at 6:30 p.m.

Thank you to the Shop Stewards for your understanding in this matter.

In solidarity,

Tim (on behalf of the President)

April Forward Look

2009-04-16T15:30:00.000-07:00

The April Forward Look is now online. You can view it here.

I spent some time preparing the print edition so that it looks better and that should be out tonight in the mill. The online edition this month is identical to the print edition, partly because I am out of time since I have to work night shift tonight and partly because we have several contributions this month. Since it is designed to be printed it will also look better if you want to print it out for your perusal.

I have stuck to the single column format since that does make it easier to read online (no scrolling back and forth).

As ever, your input is appreciated.

My wife just read it and noted a couple of mistakes (taking great glee in catching me in them) so they have been corrected in the online edition but not the print edition. My apologies.

Executive Meeting Change

2009-04-08T17:33:00.000-07:00

Just a note for any Executive members that Jim has not been able to contact. The Executive meeting scheduled for Tuesday night has been postponed until Wednesday night at 6:00 PM due to the meeting in Vancouver on Tuesday.

Tim

Letter from Garneau

2009-04-08T14:30:00.000-07:00

Our president and all the other presidents of the locals that represent Catalyst workers received the following letter from Richard Garneau, CEO of Catalyst. Jim has asked me to post this so the membership can be informed what Garneau is asking. In short, Catalyst is asking us to forego the wage increase scheduled for May 1, 2009.

The timing of releasing this on the blog was driven in part by the fact that Kim Pedersen emailed a copy of the letter that was addressed to Jim to all the supervisors in the mill. This was done before Jim had a chance to contact the executive. Jim was waiting until we heard if there was a meeting set up or not before communicating all of this. It is my opinion that this is a serious breach of protocol by Pedersen and Jim has spoken to him, with little response, and I think we will be pursuing this further.

There is a meeting set up with all the other locals next Tuesday in Vancouver to discuss the issue involved and your wage delegates will be attending.

The body of the letter is copied below and you can view the pdf of the letter here.

April 6, 2009

Mr. Jim Van Dusen
President, Local 592
Communications, Energy and Paperworkers (via email)
Union of Canada
Port Alberni Division

Dear Jim,

I am writing to ask for your help in providing Catalyst every opportunity to emerge from the current economic crisis with the financial strength necessary to be successful in the future. Over the last several months we have worked together to find ways to reduce our labour costs in order to become more competitive. We appreciate the effort that has been made in developing plans and overcoming challenges to achieve our $80 per tonne objective. This objective is paramount as our competitors continue to reduce their costs. As we indicated many times, the low cost mills will emerge from this recession/depression while higher cost mills will be casualties. It has been hard work done in good faith by many in the worst market environment anyone can recall. Unfortunately, the market situation has continued to deteriorate well beyond what many believed possible as print continues to move to electronic media, daily newspapers file for bankruptcy protection and advertising expenses shrink. Demand has declined for every product in every market as shown in the table below and it is our belief, supported by widely accepted industry perspectives, that the situation will continue to worsen.

(Note: There is a table here in the original that did not translate well to the blog so I removed it. See the original here. - Tim)

Clearly we need to continue to look at every opportunity to reduce our cost through this difficult period. A number of actions are already being implemented to help reduce our costs and to conserve cash including:
• Curtailment of production
• Freezing of non-union salaries for 2008 & 2009
• Continual focus on reducing SG&A
• Restriction placed on travel
• Reduced staff positions
• Municipal tax reduction
• Reduced training and consultant budget

Despite our collective best efforts, more must be done to ensure we have the strength to build our future. It is in this context that I respectfully request you seek the approval of your membership to forego the wage increase scheduled to take effect May 1, 2009. I would appreciate your response to this request as soon as possible.

Sincerely,
Richard Garneau
President & Chief Executive Officer

Obviously, something of this magnitude has to be discussed with the other locals so we can formulate a joint plan that will be brought back to the membership.

I am going to close comments to this post due to the sensitivity of this request and the need to discuss it with the other locals first. Thank you for your understanding.

In solidarity,

Tim

April Meetings

2009-04-05T15:22:00.000-07:00

My apologies at being so late getting this up. A pdf of the meeting dates for April can be found here.

Shop Stewards - Monday, April 6th, 7:00 PM.

Executive - Wednesday, April 15th, 6:00 PM. NOTE: This has been changed from Tuesday.
***Note change of day due to Easter Monday Stat and Vancouver Wage Delegate Meeting***

General - Monday, April 20th, 7:00 PM.

Also, just a reminder that Forward Look articles need to be sent to me sometime in the coming week. Please send them to my Gmail address and not my Catalyst email. My Gmail address is available in the sidebar of this blog.

In solidarity,

Tim

Western Region FYI - March 30

2009-03-31T10:21:00.000-07:00

Here is this week's Western Region FYI.

Western Region FYI - March 23

2009-03-23T11:52:00.001-07:00

This weeks edition of the Western Region FYI can be viewed here.

Western Region FYI - March 23

Western Region FYI

2009-03-17T20:13:00.000-07:00

At the recent Caucus meeting we were informed that the Western Region will be putting out a weekly communication letter. I asked if it was okay to post it on the blog and was told it would be fine so here it is.

Western Region FYI

Posting Comments

2009-03-14T21:21:00.000-07:00

Once again another reminder. If you would like to post comments on this blog please provide your name or your comment will not be posted.

Thanks.

March Forward Look

2009-03-12T14:04:00.000-07:00

The March Forward Look is now online. View it here.

Also, a separate pdf of the Agenda for Monday's General Meeting is her e.

In solidarity,

Tim

Notice of Motion

2009-02-18T18:25:00.000-08:00

A motion was made at the General Meeting on Monday night that will be dealt with at next months meeting. A pdf of the motion can be found here.

The Notice of Motion reads:

That we change Article 1, Section 6(a) from
“Fifteen (15) members excluding Executive Officers shall constitute quorum at a meeting of this local union:
TO
“Eleven (11) members excluding Executive Officers shall constitute quorum at a meeting of this local union.”
Motion moved by Owen Paxton

February Forward Look

2009-02-13T17:03:00.001-08:00

The February Forward Look is now online. You can find it by clicking here.

There was only one contribution this month so it is an abbreviated edition. Also, because there was only one submitted article it was decided that we would not put a printed version in the mill this month.

February Forward Look Articles

2009-02-04T12:59:00.000-08:00

Just a reminder that the deadline is approaching to get your Forward Look articles in for February. The Executive Meeting is Monday so I need them no later than Sunday night so I can print it up for Executive review.

Thanks.

Tim

February Meetings

2009-01-29T11:13:00.000-08:00

The Meeting Notice for February is online.

Meeting times for February are:

Shop Stewards: Monday, February 2nd, 7:00 p.m.

Executive: Monday, February 9th, 6:00 p.m.

General: Monday, February 16th, 7:00 p.m.

EFAP Services

2009-01-13T12:07:00.000-08:00

Kelly Sasaki has just emailed me the latest EFAP Services information. I have put a link to it in the sidebar so it can be readily accessible.

January Forward Look

2009-01-13T11:48:00.000-08:00

The January Forward Look is up. Just click on the link to read it.

There has been some requests and discussions about returning to a printed, abbreviated Forward Look for distribution in the mill. Since there is a motion on the books to take the Forward Look 100% online, it requires a motion to go back to a printed edition. With that in mind there is an Executive Recommendation that proposes a trial period until June of an abbreviated Forward Look. This would be in the order of a 4 page edition featuring only submitted articles and not any of the extras found in the online edition. We will be dealing with this motion, and several others, at the General Meeting on Monday Night. In addition, we will be electing committees including the Safety Committee. So come on out and let your voice be heard.

In solidarity,

Tim

Pattern Agreement Link

2009-01-08T00:05:00.000-08:00

I've added a link in the sidebar to the Canfor Pattern Agreement. I know many are interested in just what the agreement says and there was a link to it in an earlier post but for some reason I never got it up in the links section. So now it is. (It is a little over 5 mb in size so it will take a few seconds to download.)

Tim

January Meeting Dates

2009-01-05T08:37:00.000-08:00

Here are the meeting dates for January.

Shop Stewards: Monday, January 5th, 7:00 PM.
Executive: Monday, January 12th, 6:00 PM.
General: Monday, January 19th, 7:00 PM.

Business: Elections of Committees.

I hope to have the yearly meeting dates up soon. I just haven't had time over the holidays to get to it.

I hope everyone had a nice Christmas season and my wishes to all of you for a happy 2009.

Just a reminder that Forward Look articles are due no later than January 9th.

In solidarity,

Tim

Merry Christmas

2008-12-24T18:03:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to take this opportunity to wish everyone a safe and happy Christmas.

It has been a difficult year to say the least and 2009 may see more difficult times depending on market conditions. But, at this time of the year it is important to stop and consider the blessings of family and friends and be thankful for the good things in life that these same family and friends bring.

I was recently in Vernon visiting my family and had the pleasure numerous times of having my newest grandson fall asleep in my arms. Even though there were times where chaos seemed to reign (especially surrounding his two older brothers), I was still able to recognize what a privelege and joy it was to hold this little bundle, born prematurely back in June, as he rested peacefully in my arms. (If you saw him now you would never believe he was a preemie.)

Most of you know that my faith focuses on the message of Christianity and without wanting to offend anyone I would like to leave you with the message given to working class shepherds in the fields of Bethlehem 2000 years ago. A message that is still appropriate today with all the wars and struggles that we face in life. "Peace on earth, goodwill to all people" is what I wish and pray for each and every one of you who read this blog.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Tim

Newfoundland Revokes Resource Lease

2008-12-17T17:50:00.000-08:00

An email from the Western Region pointed to this CTV article. Danny Williams, premier of Newfoundland, says this:

It just makes sense that the province have the rights to its own resources considering AbitibiBowater will no longer operate in the province.

"These resources belong to the people of my province and they're going back to the people of my province," Williams said, noting the mill was part of the original 1905 deal in exchange for resource rights.

He says the company may be compensated for power related capital assets, and it will also be allowed to use provincial resource assets until March 28, when the mill is slated for closure.

I don't know, sounds like a good idea to me.

December Agenda

2008-12-09T17:48:00.000-08:00

Greetings to all from Halcyon Hot Springs where I am enjoying a few days soaking in the hot pools with my wife.

Due to a lack of contributions this month to the Forward Look and being on my 22 days off there will be no online Forward Look this month. The new President will post his article directly to the blog.

The Agenda for the December 15th General meeting can be found here. Make sure you come out to get all the latest info on what's happening.

Now, back to my holidays.

In solidarity,

Tim

Election Results

2008-12-04T20:41:00.000-08:00

The elections are now complete, and we will be having the Installation of Officers at our December 15th General Meeting.

The successful candidates are:

Trustee:
Doug Chisholm

Alternate Wage Delegate:
Tim Thompson

Congratulations to all.

Our 2009 Executive Board:

President
Jim VanDusen

Vice President
John Young

Vice President
Brent Hamelin

Recording Secretary
Tim Thompson

Financial Sec. Treasurer
Norm Skipsey

3rd Year Trustee
Randy Teichman

2nd Year Trustee
John Egresits

1st Year Trustee
Doug Chisholm

Safety Officer
Travis Goodyear

Local 592 Wage Delegates
Jim VanDusen
Phil Guild
Daryl De Rooy
Tim Thompson (alternate)

My thanks to John Young, Brent Hamelin, Steve Smith, Owen Paxton and Dave Warrender for letting their names stand and running for an Executive Board or Wage Delegate position.

Jim VanDusen

Christmas curtailment at Catalyst Port Alberni mill

2008-11-26T18:51:00.000-08:00

The following is a bulletin sent out earlier today announcing the dates that we will be shutting down around Christmas.

November 26, 2008
In light of declining orders and to manage fibre, energy and related input costs effectively in the short and long-term, the Port Alberni mill will shut down during the Christmas period.
The production curtailment of PM5 will begin on Monday, December 22nd at 6:00am, with startup commencing on Monday, January 5th at 6:00am. The production curtailment for all other areas will be as of Tuesday, December 23rd at 6:00am. Steam plant start-up will be on Friday,January 2nd at 8:00am. Other areas will begin start-up work on Saturday, January 3rd at 6:00am as required.
Crew requirements during this period will be confirmed and announced within the next few days,but will be limited to essential personnel only.
Kim Pedersen
General Manager
Port Alberni Operations

As I said yesterday I will be meeting with the company in the next few days to discuss all the details regarding this curtailment.

Jim VanDusen

Company's served notice they are shutting down for Christmas Stats.

2008-11-24T18:44:00.000-08:00

The company served notice that they will not be running on the Christmas stats. Earlier this evening Kim Pederson sent out the following email to all Alberni users .

"The company has notified both Local 592 and Local 686 that our intention is not to run through the Christmas stats (December 24, 25, and 26) this year. Further details will follow as soon as possible but hopefully this notice will allow you to start planning for the holidays."

I will be meeting with the company to discuss the details of how this works with our members being paid on an annualized pay system.

Jim VanDusen

December Meeting Notice and Notice of Motion

2008-11-24T16:37:00.000-08:00

The dates of December's meetings can be found here.

In addition, a notice of motion for a bylaw change concerning quorum numbers for the General meetings was made at November's General Meeting. It can be found here.

Articles for the Forward Look need to be sent to my gmail account no later than December 4th so I can get them to someone to print out for the Executive Meeting. I will be on my 22 off and will be in Vernon at the time but I should still be able to manage things.

In solidarity,

Tim

Links in this post:
December Meeting Dates
Notice of Motion

Tentative Agreement Reached

2008-11-20T19:29:00.000-08:00

It has just been announced that a tentative agreement has been reached between CEP and Catalyst Paper. Jim has asked me to post the following announcement:

Tentative Agreement Reached Between Catalyst and CEP
For immediate release
November 20, 2008

PARKSVILLE - The Communications, Energy, and Paperworkers Union of Canada and Catalyst Paper Corporation are pleased to announce that they have reached a tentative agreement on the renewal of the collective agreements for their pulp and paper operations in Crofton, Campbell River, and Powell River.

This new agreement which will be offered for ratification by the union locals in the coming weeks provides for the implementation of the CEP Industry Pattern Agreement as well as a commitment to complete plans which will assist Catalyst Paper in reaching its stated goal of an $80/tonne labour cost structure. These initiatives are intended to help solidify the viability of these operations for the future. The new four-year agreement will also provide a stable labour relations environment through to 2012 as the two parties deal with today’s difficult market conditions.

“We are very pleased that the two parties have reached this tentative agreement,” states Jim Britton, CEP Vice President, Western Region. “With all the uncertainty of the current global economic crisis, it is very good news that we are close to finalizing an agreement with one of our largest employers in BC.”

“Surviving this prolonged downturn in our industry is only possible with the support of the Unions and employees across the business and we commend everyone for getting this tentative agreement in place,” said Catalyst President and CEO Richard Garneau. “This enables us to focus on cost management and the adjustments needed to address current economic and market deterioration and provides for greater certainty of business success over the long-term.”

Catalyst is the largest producer of specialty printing papers and newsprint in Western North America and also produces market kraft pulp and owns Western Canada’s largest paper recycling facility. The company’s six mills have a combined annual capacity of 2.8 million tonnes of production. Catalyst is headquartered in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada and its common shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol CTL.

The Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada represents 150,000 members from coast to coast, including 40,000 members in the pulp and paper industry.

Report From the New President

2008-11-18T10:49:00.000-08:00

Our General meeting was very well attended. I thank all of you that took the time to come out and I hope that we will continue to get these numbers for all our meetings.

Some of the highlights from our meeting were:

Nominations were held for the 2009 Executive Board and Tim has already posted the results, thanks to all those that let their name stand and good luck to all.
A motion was carried to send $200.00 in support of our brothers and sisters in CEP Local 175. On November 17, 2007, Petro-Canada locked-out 260 workers at its refinery in Montreal, refusing to give them the same contract settlement it has already negotiated in other provinces. If you wish to read more about this please click on the link “Petro-Canada Boycott Page.”
There was also a Notice of Motion, from the floor, to lower the number of members needed for a Quorum at our general Meetings. Notices will be posted, in the mill and on our blog, and we will be voting on this at our December General meeting.

The usual procedure is for the newly elected officers to use these next few weeks to receive training from the out – going officers, get sworn in at the December General Meeting and assume office after that. However, because Pete resigned and we were running with an interim President, John Young swore me in after our General Meeting .

I want to thank everyone for their support and kind words of encouragement. I am looking forward to not only working with our new Executive but also with our membership as a whole.

Thank you again for your support

Newly elected President,

Jim VanDusen

Nominations and Acclamations

2008-11-17T20:14:00.000-08:00

The General Meeting has just ended and I thought I would update everyone on Nominations for Executive Positions.

The following people were acclaimed:
President: Jim VanDusen
Vice President: Brent Hamelin
Recording Secretary: Tim Thompson
Financial Secretary-Treasurer: Norm Skipsey
Safety Officer/Guard: Travis Goodyear

There will be an election for the 3 year Trustee position. The candidates are Doug Chisholm and Dave Warrender.

The membership also passed the Notice of Motion regarding the Alternate Wage Delegate. There will be an election for this position. The candidates are Brent Hamelin, Owen Paxton, Steve Smith, Tim Thompson, and John Young.

The elections will be held at the mill gate on November 28, December 1, December 4. You can also vote on these dates at the Union Hall between 9:00 and 5:00.

Good luck to all the candidates.

In solidarity,

Tim

November Forward Look

2008-11-13T17:07:00.000-08:00

The November Forward Look is now posted and can be found here.

Don't forget the General Meeting on Monday, November 17th at 7:00. There is important business to conduct because it is nomination night for your 2009 Executive.

See you there.

Tim

Petro-Canada Boycott

2008-11-13T16:15:00.000-08:00

While preparing the Forward Look, I put a link in the sidebar to CEP's page on the Petro-Canada boycott. There is some good info there if you are interested.

In solidarity,

Tim

Forward Look Coming

2008-11-13T12:21:00.000-08:00

Just a quick update to let you know that I'll try to get to the Forward Look today or tomorrow. I just finished my last night shift and have to get my mind working again before tackling this month's issue. Check back tomorrow and hopefully it will be up.

In solidarity,

Tim

November Forward Look Articles

2008-11-04T21:46:00.000-08:00

Just a reminder that any Forward Look articles need to be in my gmail inbox no later than Friday, November 7 so that I can print it up for review at the Executive meeting on Monday. Since I am working dayshift on Sunday and Monday this is a pretty firm date.

Thanks and I look forward to your submissions. My email is available by clicking on my name in the sidebar and then click on email in the left column of my profile.

In solidarity,

Tim

November Meeting Notice and Notice of Motion

2008-11-03T14:35:00.000-08:00

The November meeting notice can be found here.

In addition, a Notice of Motion regarding a bylaw change was read out at the October meeting and it can be found here.

Changing My Mind

2008-11-02T14:52:00.000-08:00

Just a quick notice to let you know that, partly as a result of the convention, I have decided to let my name stand once again as Recording Secretary contrary to what I said in my last Forward Look article. This is just in case some of you had decided you might like the job. If so, I would still encourage you to run.

Check out my site for a bit more info which I should have up soon.

In solidarity,

Tim

Convention Report Day 5

2008-11-01T12:07:00.000-07:00

The final day of convention started with the credentials report that indicated there were 1014 delegates with a total of 1591 in attendance representing representing 399 locals.

Most of the morning was spent in an Action meeting dealing in part with how to implement the Petro-Canada boycott. For anyone interested I have a few bumper stickers and hard hat stickers plus some information of how terrible the treatment has been by Petro-Canada of the workers from Local 175.

The afternoon was spent finishing up all the resolutions remaining and it is unfortunate that this is always left to the last day because far less debate seems to occur, there is not time to refer anything back to committee and there is even greater pressure not to call for a roll call vote because it is too time consuming. So we basically rush through these final resolutions with little thought given to most of them in my opinion.

There were two resolutions that I spoke of on behalf of the local. One entrenched a rule into all bargaining group rules and the chair ruled that it carried. I challenged it by calling for a roll call vote. Instead, the president called for another vote and ruled that it carried again and though I was standing back at the microphone, I wasn't recognized and that was probably for the best. The resolution wasn't as critical as the next one which I also spoke on. This would have given more power to the National President and allow him to impose a cease and desist on voting on his own authority. I spoke against this because I want the President to consult with others on the Executive Board, including my rank and file reps before issuing any orders. In this day of Blackberrys and conference calls this should not be difficult. This motion was defeated so win one, lose one.

One final resolution calling for CEP to launch a national campaign that pressures provincial and federal governments to make Occupational Health & Safety and labour education mandatory in all secondary schools. The committee recommended non-concurrence and this led to a number of delegates rising up in opposition to the committee's recommendation. I spoke on this as well because I remember all too vividly the last fatality in our mill and my feeling that they were killing our babies. The floor of the convention was clearly in favour of this resolution and soundly defeated the committees recommendation and then overwhelmingly voted acceptance of a motion of concurrence.

Overall, it was a good convention and I enjoyed it although it certainly wears you down during the course of the week. I would like to thank the past President and the Executive and membership for allowing me to go on behalf of the local. I think I represented 592 honourably and partcipated in discussions that had a potential impact on our local.

I don't know how interested anyone is in this since it failed to spark any comments, but we must remember the importance of this convention because decisions are made that can impact our local. I once heard someone describe convention as being like a general meeting for the whole union. This is essentially what it is with resolutions being like motions at one of our general meetings, with some coming from the executive and some coming from the mill.

Personally, the inspiration I mentioned the other day fades fast, but I am still rethinking my decision to not run again. I'll let you know when I decide.

My thanks to those of you who did find some of this of interest and read my lengthy posts. We definitely need members to get more involved in the local for the general good and interest of the membership and not just for specific reasons. I will try and have more to say about the future of the local in my next Forward Look article.

See you around the mill.

In solidarity,

Tim

Final Convention Report Coming Soon

2008-10-31T20:49:00.000-07:00

I'll try and get the final day's convention report up tomorrow sometime. I didn't purchase another 24 hours of internet so had to wait until I got home to post anything. I spent today travelling back from Montreal and I'm too tired to write a report tonight. The last day wasn't too eventful but I did speak on a couple of resolutions and I'll go into a bit more detail tomorrow.

In solidarity,

Tim (tired but glad to be back in Port Alberni)

Convention Report Day 4

2008-10-29T10:23:00.000-07:00

Greetings from snowy Montreal. Actually, it has stopped now and there is nothing on the ground but I'm sure it's cold out there. Fortunately for an avid indoorsman like myself there is a massive underground system here and I'm going exploring this afternoon, and maybe take some pictures (since I brought my camera system and hauled it around the airports.)

Today's report is rather short because it was election day. However, there were no National elections and the only election we had in the Western Region was for our four Rank and File members on the Executive Board. Since five were nominated we had to have an election.

Each local cast there total number of votes representing their memberships. 592's count was 326 votes. There were a total possible 40,162 votes. 38,819 were cast and there were no spoiled ballots. We had to vote forHere are the results: four of the candidates and at least one had to be for a woman.

Here are the results:

Mark Cameron - 35,983
Donna Fauchoux - 33,419
Brent Reid - 30,754
Terry Schneider - 28,903
Angela Adams - 26,217

Angela agreed to step down and be one of the four alternates. The four then drew straws to determine the order they would be called if needed and here are the results in order:

Ian Simpson
Amanda Freystad
Angela Adams
Janet Ingram-Jones

Previously acclaimed were Western Region Vice President Jim Britton, AVP Don Boucher, AVP Wendy Sol and Women's Committee members, Lara Acheson and Maria Shupenia.

My congratulations on behalf of our local to all who let their names stand and to all who were successful. Just as a matter of interest, Brent Reid is a member of Local 630 in Campbell River and Ian Simpson is the President of Local 1123 in Campbell River.

I think we will be well served by our Rank and File members and I am looking forward to greater communications with them. Mark Cameron, newly elected today, began blogging in September (a real rookie) and hopefully, he can use the blog to communicate some of what's going on at the Executive level. You can find Mark's Rank & File site here.

That's it for today brothers and sisters. Tomorrow is the last day and we will have to finish up all the resolutions, slap each other on the back one last time and return home for another two years.

In solidarity,

Tim

Convention Report Day 3

2008-10-28T16:13:00.000-07:00

Day three of the convention began with the usual credentials report which showed there are 1035 delegates registered and with all the alternates, guests, reps, observers and staff the total in attendance is 1582 representing 397 locals.

We then heard an address from Laura Penny (and here is her Wikipedia entry). This was followed by an address from NDP leader, Jack Layton who gave a very inspiring speech although one delegate at my table said he had heard that speech five times on TV during the election campaign. I'll admit to not being a huge NDP fan over the last number of years, but, I have to admit that it is a party that comes closest to caring about the interests of the common working person, and that certainly makes me rethink my opinions.

The Neil Reimer award was presented to Nancy Minton.

We then heard from CLC President Ken Georgetti before dealing with a couple of General Resolutions including an emergency resolution dealing with the 11 month lockout of Local 175 by Petro-Canada and calling for a national boycott campaign against Petro-Canada until a settlement is achieved and also calling on local unions to financially support Local 175 on the occasion of the one-year anniversary of the lockout on November 17. I have a handout on the lockout and if anyone wants further details, just ask in the comments and I'll elaborate a bit more. The main point, I think is that the local is just seeking the pattern agreement from a company who recorded record profits in 2007 of 2.73 billion dollars. It is also interesting that the pattern was established between Petro-Canada, Edmonton Refinery and CEP Local 501 on May 13, 2007.

The afternoon session was down to business dealing with numerous Constitutional and General Resolutions. I won't bore you with every detail and even though there were some important resolutions passed, there are none that I will highlight but be sure to read tomorrow's convention report on the CEP site for further information, if you are interested. (Here is the link to today's report.)

A donation was taken yesterday (I believe) from the delegates on the floor that was designated to go to a local Montreal charity called Accueil Bonneau which helps the homeless in the city. The donation would be matched by National Union funds and I'm happy to report that $5,701 was donated from the floor and the National matched and rounded up for a donation of $11,500 to this organization.

The last item of the day was the Spina Bifida presentation where the Union makes its annual donation of 10 cents per member and locals who choose to donate come and make their presentation. Unfortunately, I was not up on this prior to convention and never brought it up with the Executive so we did not make a donation as we have in the past.

I had a good opportunity to talk with the brothers from Local 603 whose resolution I spoke against yesterday. They wanted to assure me that the resolution regarding a "me too" clause did not directly refer to us as I had said when I spoke, but was designed to help prevent their own local from going down that path in the future. It was good to clear the air and I have continued to bump into Caucus members who, while not necessarily supporting what we did, are at least understanding. Their main difficulty was our failure to keep Caucus adequately informed and I understand that.

I also find these Conventions somewhat like a revival meeting and I have to admit that I am rethinking my decision to step down from the Executive as I reported in the last Forward Look. However, I need to come back and discuss this with those who may be thinking about running because I don't want to discourage or mislead anyone. It's the nature of a Convention like this that you can't help but be inspired to become more active. Time will tell. I am trying to resist the urge......

That's it for today. I will try and get a report up tomorrow before the Banquet that happens at every convention.

In solidarity,

Tim

Convention Report Day 2

2008-10-27T15:13:00.000-07:00

Day 2 of the convention got underway this morning with the credentials report which I didn't catch. However, the afternoon report indicated that there were 1033 delegates registered and 1481 total in attendance.

Each day of the convention there is a 50-50 draw with half the proceeds going to the winner and half to the Spina Bifida Association. I report on this because the winner's take today was $1805. I won't say who won but he did a very generous thing in taking only $500 and donating the rest back to the Spina Bifida Association. A very commendable thing to do in my opinion.

There then followed and presentation from the Young Workers Committee and then a CMAW video. The CEP Humanity Fund report followed and I think this is something that we should have a real good look at in our local. It works on the idea of 1 cent per hour donation with a matching company donation if you can negotiate that. The fund is another useful tool in the fight to end poverty and that interests me a lot.

Next was an address by Riccardo Petrella who spoke on issues surrounding capitalism's attempt to own everything. You can read about Riccardo and the other guest speakers here. We then dealt with several General Resolutions dealing with NAFTA, Energy Security and Jobs Campaign, an emergency resolution on the Financial Crisis and a revision of the Energy Policy. The Energy Policy was defeated but later in the day a motion to reconsider was passed and it was then sent back to the General Resolutions Committee for reconsideration with instructions to delete one particular paragraph.

Just as the Constitution Resolutions Committee began their report they were interrupted because Bloc leader Gilles Duceppe had made a surprise visit and he then gave a speech.

The afternoon session was mostly down to work dealing with resolutions but first CEP presented a peace prize to Willie Adams, International Secretary-Treasurer of the ILWU who gave a fairly rousing and inspiring speech.

We then viewed a video on the Forest Industry Crisis followed by the unanimous passage of a General Resolution calling for a Forest Jobs Campaign.

Once again, the Constitution Committee took their seats and the first resolution we dealt with was submitted by Local 603 and called for the doubling of union dues for any local that takes a "me too" clause in their contract. The committee recommended non-concurrence but several speakers spoke and I felt compelled to speak on behalf of our local because this resolution was pointed directly at us and Local 686 and I couldn't let that pass. My job here is to represent the membership and I did not apologize for what we did, but I did explain some of why it was done. The committee's recommendation of non-concurrence passed (which means the resolution does not become part of the constitution. I have to tell you that even though I'm not usually nervous speaking in front of big groups, I was shaking pretty good before and after (must be the coffee.) Hopefully, I'm now used to it because there are two more resolutions that I'm going to have to speak about.

I won't go through all the resolutions that were passed or rejected. You should be able to read the reports on the CEP site. Here's the link to Monday's Newsletter. And here is President Coles' opening speech. Tomorrow is more of the same (here's a link to the Agenda). I'll have a report up after supper (EDT) tomorrow night of those highlights. If you have any questions or want more information about anything specific just leave a comment and I'll try and get it for you. Also, I haven't proof read this report so if there are any spelling or grammatical errors, please excuse me and/or leave a comment and I can correct it.

In solidarity,

Tim

Convention Report Day 1

2008-10-26T20:28:00.000-07:00

Bonjour. Greetings from Montreal. My apologies for not updating the blog last night but internet access at the hotel I'm in is $10 extra for 24 hours so I didn't think I needed to report that I had arrived safely and with no hitches. By posting a bit later tonight then I can also post tomorrow night within the 24 hours and then I'm good for another day.

Anyway, on to the report. The first day of the Convention got underway this morning with the usual intros, welcomes and President's address. President Dave Coles gave a generalized report on what has happened over the last two years. It definitely has been a difficult couple of years in forestry and manufacturing. Later on in the day in the report from the Officer's committee we heard that we had lost 12,000 members in the last two years. This was offset with the addition of 10,000 new members via the amalgamation with the Canadian Telecommunications Employees' Association (CTEA). However, the union is currently debt free and the Defence fund is very healthy. While the president spoke of the pressures on locals and the needs to stay strong and not enter into concessionary bargaining he did say, (and I believe I have this quote right) "of course, we will negotiate special deals to save jobs, and we have."

The Constitutional Committee then dealt with a couple of resolutions that had to be addressed prior to nominations and this took some time because people want to have their say, and they did and they have that right.

Following a lunch break, we heard that there were currently some 1200 in attendance. This includes delegates, alternates, guests, reps, etc.

As I mentioned before, we then heard from the Officers' Report Committee. This committee met in September to review the reports to the Convention and prepare the report for delegates on the state of our union. I suppose this is kind of like an audit and the committee had several recommendations on how things could be improved. I would say of primary interest to all who pay dues to the National is that the financial goals of the last two years have been attained. This includes the elimination of the General Fund debt and the building of the CEP Defence Fund to its strongest position ever. Membership strength remains stable at about 133,000 members due to the aforementioned addition of CTEA that offsets the losses in forestry and manufacturing. There is an impact financially and CEP revenues did not meet budgeted targets for 2007-2008. However, all union accounts are in surplus at this time. The committee report was fairly positive on a number of issues.

We then began the process of nominations and former National President (and one time National rep for our local) Brian Payne took over the chair for the purpose of nominations of National Officers. All three positions were back in by acclamation with Dave Coles as President, Gaetan Menard as Secretary-Treasurer and Peter Murdoch as Media Vice President. Then it was time to break into groups for Regional nominations. For the Western Region, Jim Britton was acclaimed as Vice President. Wendy Sol and Don Boucher were both acclaimed as Administrative Vice Presidents. Two sisters were acclaimed for the Women's Committee. I will have their names later when I know I have the spelling correct. Nominated for Rank and File members on the Executive (four to be elected of whom at least one has to be a woman) are Mark Cameron, Terry Schneider, Donna Fauchoux, Angela Adams and Brent Reid. Finally, nominated for Rank and File alternates were Janet Ingram-Jones, Amanda Freystad and Ian Simpson (I'm not sure about the spellings, except for Ian's). The unsuccessful nominee for Rank and File will have the chance to be nominated for alternate.

On the agenda for tomorrow are a couple more reports, an address by Riccardo Petrella and more work on resolutions.

My apologies for the length of my report but I do want to give you some of the information we are receiving. As it is I have greatly condensed the day. I was fortunate to sit at the table with the delegates from Local 76, Powell River and Local 1132, Crofton. I have been asked a number of times by Caucus members how things are going and I tell them it's fabulous! Actually, I try and relate some of the problems with gate hires and some of the other things we are experiencing, but I try and impress on them the fact that, though many of us did not agree with what happened, most of us realize (or at least I do) that we might not be running at all if we hadn't done something. Most I talk with understand, although they don't like what we did and how we did it. All know how difficult Catalyst is to deal with these days.

Here's the link to CEP's Convention report page although none of the report links seem to work yet.

That's it for now. The baseball game is about to start. I'll have more tomorrow.

In solidarity,

Tim

Preparing for Convention

2008-10-24T19:31:00.000-07:00

Greetings to all who are here checking out the convention reports.

My bags are packed and I'm ready to head out early tomorrow morning for the flight to Vancouver and then Montreal. I'm hoping that I have internet access at the hotel although their web site indicates that standard rooms don't, so I may have to rely on Starbucks to get posts up. Time will tell.

I'm hauling along my DSLR and a couple of lenses so I'll try to get some pictures up of the convention and maybe some Montreal scenics, too if the weather allows. The weather forecast is for rain (at least it's not snow) so I may not venture outside too much.

Anyway, I hope you find this of some interest. It will be different for me this convention going alone, but it should give me time to keep up on the blogging and the World Series. Look for a post sometime tomorrow evening after I register and find out if I have internet access.

In solidarity,

Tim

Convention Reports

2008-10-24T15:44:00.000-07:00

UPDATE: I've just been reminded that my Viewpoint blog is not accessible from the mill like the 592 blog is so I will be using this blog for the Convention reports. Basically, you can ignore what I've said below and just check in here for the reports if you're interested. Thanks to Jim VanDusen for pointing this out to me.

Those of you who are interested in the convention reports I plan to make will find them on my Viewpoint blog. I haven't been using it for much of anything else and that keeps it separate from the other info on this blog (although, I'm not sure there will be much happening here for the next little while, either.)

I'll try and post the links here so you know when a new report goes up. A pre-convention post is up right now and you can view it here.

The length and frequency of the report will be dependent on the availability of internet access and for that I'll just have to wait and say.

I look forward to your comments and visits over on my site.

In solidarity,

Tim

October Forward Look

2008-10-18T15:05:00.001-07:00

At last, another edition of the Forward Look, the first one since May. Click here to download.

In solidarity,

Tim